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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An interesting and engaging plot. Made good use of structure and dramatic irony to create an overbearing sense of impending doom.
Σε αντίθεση με το πρώτο μέρος της τριλογίας, αυτό με κούρασε. Το τρίτο αστέρι πάει βέβαια στον Le Carre, ο οποίος δεν είναι απλώς ένας συγγραφέας noir. Είναι ένας πολύ καλός λογοτέχνης, με ωραίο λεξιλόγιο και ιδιαίτερη ικανότητα να αφηγείται.
I started of a bit slow and I felt as there was a lack of direction in what is actually going on. But after this initial slow part it really picked up and got really interesting and good.
Fully enjoyed reading this one, fantastic spy thriller.
Fully enjoyed reading this one, fantastic spy thriller.
I felt like I had to read this to continue with the George Smiley series but the beginning was very dull and it's so long. Reading some reviews has convinced me I won't get into it and I'm just going to skip to the next one.
Bit of a mess, I think. This is Le Carré's attempt to imitate Conrad. He even mentions Conrad a few times in the novel. But it is a pale imitation. Yes, he employs the shifting point of view, the "hero" broken because of his love for an undeserving woman, and that same hero out of time and place and society. No, the hero isn't George Smiley. It's Jerry Westerby. Alas, he is a boring protagonist, not half so shocking as Le Carré seems to think he is. He's just another offbeat Seventies guy, with his buckskin boots, irreverent style, and moping sense of failure.
There is some Conrad type material in all that. But none of the mastery of language of Conrad. And whereas Conrad's melancholy heroes most often touch the reader with a sense of romanticism, there is none of that, here. This is just another example of Le Carré's hardened cynicism. And it doesn't work, here.
I see that Le Carré traveled to Southeast Asia to research this book. Some of things he writes about Laos, however, are confused. Not too many Beechcraft would have made it off the rugged, short air strips carved out of the mountain tops and sides of Laos. That was a job for the STOL aircraft, Porters and Helio Couriers. Beechcraft were in the Air America inventory, but I can't see them used for exfils or infils on Lao mountain sides.
One thing worth noting that Le Carré did let drop. The notorious White Rose in Vientiane. Not too many people would have known about it when he wrote this book. Fewer know about it today. But it's always mentioned among the veterans and alumni of agents in Laos. Otherwise, Le Carré's imagery falls flat. He has a hard time capturing the feel of Thailand and Issan. And he doesn't mention Nong Khai by name. But that is the place he is describing on the Thai-Laos border. And its imagery is dull and gray, too. Bangkok is a blank on his pages. He does a much better job describing and giving a feel to Hong Kong.
There is some Conrad type material in all that. But none of the mastery of language of Conrad. And whereas Conrad's melancholy heroes most often touch the reader with a sense of romanticism, there is none of that, here. This is just another example of Le Carré's hardened cynicism. And it doesn't work, here.
I see that Le Carré traveled to Southeast Asia to research this book. Some of things he writes about Laos, however, are confused. Not too many Beechcraft would have made it off the rugged, short air strips carved out of the mountain tops and sides of Laos. That was a job for the STOL aircraft, Porters and Helio Couriers. Beechcraft were in the Air America inventory, but I can't see them used for exfils or infils on Lao mountain sides.
One thing worth noting that Le Carré did let drop. The notorious White Rose in Vientiane. Not too many people would have known about it when he wrote this book. Fewer know about it today. But it's always mentioned among the veterans and alumni of agents in Laos. Otherwise, Le Carré's imagery falls flat. He has a hard time capturing the feel of Thailand and Issan. And he doesn't mention Nong Khai by name. But that is the place he is describing on the Thai-Laos border. And its imagery is dull and gray, too. Bangkok is a blank on his pages. He does a much better job describing and giving a feel to Hong Kong.
About halfway through the book, I was really enjoying it, thinking that if it weren't for the frequent references to mistresses, brothels, and concomitant conduct, I'd give the book four stars. (For the most part, the references weren't gratuitous, since they served the plot or illustrated the characters, and it seemed realistic for the time period and setting; but there were occasionally things that didn't seem necessary, and that detracted from my enjoyment of the story.) The story was intriguing, the different layers of the spy work were paced well, and the various characters were colorful and added nuance to the story. The narrative parallels were well done, too, and the character descriptions were skillful—people's whole natures summed up in a few sentences. Then, as the final third of the book unwound, I began to have a sinking feeling that everything was going to go wrong and people were going to die and dear old Smiley was going to be buffeted and battered and blamed again. What do you know, I was right. Le Carré seems to like unhappy endings—I suppose he can't be blamed for writing them: his own work as a spy is sure to have been filled with the unhappiness and harshness of reality, and that would be borne out in his fiction. The conclusion of the story was realistic, but it left me feeling dispirited all the same. However, since I did enjoy seventy percent or so of the book, the rating shall stay at three stars.
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Yet another of the Smiley books. Not one of the better novels in the series, but still quite entertaining. There is something magical about these books, but the characterization and story were less sharp than the preceding ones. Still worth reading!
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I keep picking up Carré books, hoping to get a view into the thrilling spy world of the cold war era. And fine, perhaps spy work is as dull as he makes it sound like, but less forgivable are his paper thin characters.
Perhaps it's because I read this one just after Russia House, but I'm just so tired of
Perhaps it's because I read this one just after Russia House, but I'm just so tired of