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booksandcatsgalore's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
hal3sta's review against another edition
4.0
I ordered the book right after I finished the BBC series. I don't know if I could have followed the book without already knowing the story, there is a lot of catch up on if you aren't already familiar with the conflict and the context of the time and places. The writing is very clever and I loved many of the descriptions, I could see how the TV series pulled so much detail for the sets and characterizations from the book.
phwoargepot's review against another edition
4.0
Very good, definitely one of my favourites by le Carre.
cdbauer1's review against another edition
5.0
An absolute masterwork. There’s a reason Le Carré remains my favorite author.
iniyan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
3.5
letitiaharmon's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first John Le Carre and it gave me way, way more than I expected. I actually think this will be a (rare) re-read for me. The richness of the writing. The complexity of the internal struggle. The fascinating characters. I was so worried upon the first few chapters that this was going to devolve into some kind of Zionist propaganda fiction and it definitely does not. I don't know what it is other than really effing interesting and full.
The main criticism that I have is actually the premise, which I just can't embrace as believable. Once we're past that, it's 5 stars all around, but I cannot accept the idea of an actress with fluid and indefinite political persuasions being recruited out of the blue by the Israeli Gestapo. Kurtz's entire interview process and fervent belief in Charlie as the correct person for the mission is not only obviously foolhardy but deeply undermines my belief in this character as a realistic portrayal of a competent spymaster (which he's supposed to be).
To sum up, this was not the simple and straightforward spy novel I anticipated, and is better for it.
The main criticism that I have is actually the premise, which I just can't embrace as believable. Once we're past that, it's 5 stars all around, but I cannot accept the idea of an actress with fluid and indefinite political persuasions being recruited out of the blue by the Israeli Gestapo. Kurtz's entire interview process and fervent belief in Charlie as the correct person for the mission is not only obviously foolhardy but deeply undermines my belief in this character as a realistic portrayal of a competent spymaster (which he's supposed to be).
To sum up, this was not the simple and straightforward spy novel I anticipated, and is better for it.
cyberdostoevskyangel's review against another edition
4.0
John le Carre still doesn't understand Charlie's nature as intimately and powerfully as Florence Pugh does though
melindor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
left_coast_justin's review against another edition
4.0
This was actually one of the most suspenseful and exciting of Le Carre's books, but it took a long time to get to the exciting part, which means it doesn't quite land on my shelf of favorites. This is also one of the most plot-driven of Le Carre's works, and that makes it rather difficult to review without spoiling.
I was happy embarking on this journey, because it not only started in my old hometown, but in the very neighborhood of the town I lived in so happily. Then -- ooops -- a bomb went off. The rest of the book described the attempt to catch the person(s) who did it. But what the book really is, is one hot mess of a love story between two very troubled people.
The next stage of the book described the recruitment of the titular Drummer Girl, a low-self-esteem creature who gains her strength from acting. This is a very long book, and we spend a lot of time with three characters in particular -- the actress, the mastermind and the soldier.
There is a severe culture clash between this actress, trained in sensitivity, in the arts, in understanding people, and the mastermind, who "as some men may be seen to be in love, so Schulmann was possessed by a deep and awesome hatred." One senses that this is not going to end well. The beginning and the end of the book are set in Germany, and one of the principals, while flying from Munich to Berlin, notes that "Somewhere in that blackness was the railway line which had brought the goods train on its slow journey from the East; somewhere the very siding where it had parked for five nights and six days in the dead of winter to make way for the military transports that mattered so much more, while [he] and his mother, and the hundred and eighteen other Jews who were crammed into their truck, ate the snow and froze, most of them to death."
But this book isn't about the despicable events of WWII, but rather the clashes that arose from Zionism, i.e. the establishment of the Jewish state in the Middle East, on lands that had previously belonged to the Palestinians. (An excellent historical perspective in all this is given in Scott Anderson's book.).
The first half of the book dragged, and honestly, I fell asleep numerous times trying to force my way through it. This book was set in the 1970's, and if this story is indication, I really missed the party -- our heroine, finding herself with her cast in Greece, slept with all of the heterosexual members of the cast, and without thinking too hard about it, I remember four additional men in the book. I am not judgemental about this, but it just seems odd to somebody growing up in the post-AIDS era. The problem with all this is that the recruitment process took forever, despite the fact that "the secret world is of itself attractive." While I enjoy watching actors practice their art onstage, I find hanging out with them after hours somewhat wearying, and that's how I felt about the first half of this book.
Our heroine is somebody whose politics are strongly influenced by the men she interacts with. Had the other party in this conflict gotten to her first, the outcome could have been completely different. (Well, let's be honest: This is a book about Israelis and Palestinians, and it doesn't seem the the outcome is going to change any time soon.) There were some nice moments in this section, though. -- I like a description of the soldier when our lady leaned against him: "His shoulder was as hard as a cliff and about as intimate".
Finally, though, things start to happen, and to my great surprise, the tension was really racheted up. Le Carre's books are mostly about men pondering events happening far away, but in this case we're in the middle of the action, and he writes this really well. Our actress heroine is well aware that any mistake she makes can cost her life, and the sickening sense of dread that accompanies some of these scenes is deeply uncomfortable reading (as intended). This is aside from the moral dread of a woman who approaches the world heart first, but is surrounded by violent and hard men and women who simply want to get the job done.
The ending was wonderful. Well worth a read, but you may have to push yourself past the halfway point.
I was happy embarking on this journey, because it not only started in my old hometown, but in the very neighborhood of the town I lived in so happily. Then -- ooops -- a bomb went off. The rest of the book described the attempt to catch the person(s) who did it. But what the book really is, is one hot mess of a love story between two very troubled people.
The next stage of the book described the recruitment of the titular Drummer Girl, a low-self-esteem creature who gains her strength from acting. This is a very long book, and we spend a lot of time with three characters in particular -- the actress, the mastermind and the soldier.
There is a severe culture clash between this actress, trained in sensitivity, in the arts, in understanding people, and the mastermind, who "as some men may be seen to be in love, so Schulmann was possessed by a deep and awesome hatred." One senses that this is not going to end well. The beginning and the end of the book are set in Germany, and one of the principals, while flying from Munich to Berlin, notes that "Somewhere in that blackness was the railway line which had brought the goods train on its slow journey from the East; somewhere the very siding where it had parked for five nights and six days in the dead of winter to make way for the military transports that mattered so much more, while [he] and his mother, and the hundred and eighteen other Jews who were crammed into their truck, ate the snow and froze, most of them to death."
But this book isn't about the despicable events of WWII, but rather the clashes that arose from Zionism, i.e. the establishment of the Jewish state in the Middle East, on lands that had previously belonged to the Palestinians. (An excellent historical perspective in all this is given in Scott Anderson's book.).
The first half of the book dragged, and honestly, I fell asleep numerous times trying to force my way through it. This book was set in the 1970's, and if this story is indication, I really missed the party -- our heroine, finding herself with her cast in Greece, slept with all of the heterosexual members of the cast, and without thinking too hard about it, I remember four additional men in the book. I am not judgemental about this, but it just seems odd to somebody growing up in the post-AIDS era. The problem with all this is that the recruitment process took forever, despite the fact that "the secret world is of itself attractive." While I enjoy watching actors practice their art onstage, I find hanging out with them after hours somewhat wearying, and that's how I felt about the first half of this book.
Our heroine is somebody whose politics are strongly influenced by the men she interacts with. Had the other party in this conflict gotten to her first, the outcome could have been completely different. (Well, let's be honest: This is a book about Israelis and Palestinians, and it doesn't seem the the outcome is going to change any time soon.) There were some nice moments in this section, though. -- I like a description of the soldier when our lady leaned against him: "His shoulder was as hard as a cliff and about as intimate".
Finally, though, things start to happen, and to my great surprise, the tension was really racheted up. Le Carre's books are mostly about men pondering events happening far away, but in this case we're in the middle of the action, and he writes this really well. Our actress heroine is well aware that any mistake she makes can cost her life, and the sickening sense of dread that accompanies some of these scenes is deeply uncomfortable reading (as intended). This is aside from the moral dread of a woman who approaches the world heart first, but is surrounded by violent and hard men and women who simply want to get the job done.
The ending was wonderful. Well worth a read, but you may have to push yourself past the halfway point.
ritchiiee's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to enjoy this spy novel, but most of the time I couldn't. I don't really know yet how to feel about this one, but for me personally, the cons are outweighing the pros at the moment, so that is the reason it's only getting 2 stars.
Let's make a short list of the things I liked and didn't like, shall we?
Pros:
-The main characters is very detailed. Le Carré did a good job creating a deep protagonist.
-The mind of an extremist is explored in this book. We encounter characters that kill and die for a cause, in this case anti-Zionism in Palestine.
-We get to explore the mental toll it takes to go undercover or become a chesspiece in the intricate plot of international espionage.
Cons:
-The buildup is veeeeerrryy slow. The edition I own is 520 pages, and the novel started picking up pace around page 380 (in my opinion). I get that a good foreplay can lead to a better climax, but I think that when 4/5 of the book is buildup, you're stretching things a little too much.
-The writing style threw me off. It seemed to me that the writing style was very monotonous, which made it harder to estimate how the characters were feeling and how tense the situation was in the different scenes. It also made me lose track of the story once in a while, which doesn't happen that often with other books.
-The relationship between Charlie and Joseph seemed a little forced to me, and I found that more attention should have been spent on the espionage activity instead of this awkward connection between the two characters.
I think that the idea for this novel is genius, and the plot itself is pretty solid, the writing style just made it difficult to pull myself through this one.
Let's make a short list of the things I liked and didn't like, shall we?
Pros:
-The main characters is very detailed. Le Carré did a good job creating a deep protagonist.
-The mind of an extremist is explored in this book. We encounter characters that kill and die for a cause, in this case anti-Zionism in Palestine.
-We get to explore the mental toll it takes to go undercover or become a chesspiece in the intricate plot of international espionage.
Cons:
-The buildup is veeeeerrryy slow. The edition I own is 520 pages, and the novel started picking up pace around page 380 (in my opinion). I get that a good foreplay can lead to a better climax, but I think that when 4/5 of the book is buildup, you're stretching things a little too much.
-The writing style threw me off. It seemed to me that the writing style was very monotonous, which made it harder to estimate how the characters were feeling and how tense the situation was in the different scenes. It also made me lose track of the story once in a while, which doesn't happen that often with other books.
-The relationship between Charlie and Joseph seemed a little forced to me, and I found that more attention should have been spent on the espionage activity instead of this awkward connection between the two characters.
I think that the idea for this novel is genius, and the plot itself is pretty solid, the writing style just made it difficult to pull myself through this one.