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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
At first I hated it, then loved it, then by the time I was done I was somewhat disgusted with it again.
For starters, whereas Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy treats you like a grown-up, The Honourable Schoolboy (THS) starts off sounding very much like a Nancy Drew sequel -- patiently laying out plain explanations for every term of likeable Circus jargon (and making it seem rather flat and lifeless in the process), as well as offering facile re-introductions for all the characters.
Things really get underway in the middle, but the plot has a much lower "thread count" than does Tinker Tailor, and there really aren't many surprises in it. The narrative is good but whenever it gets close to Smiley and the Circus, it suddenly gets much more hurried and caricatured. I later read that Le Carre was afterwards in doubt about whether he should have included Smiley at all since he felt people were getting needlessly distracted from the "real story" around Jerry Westerby -- which explains his seeming impatience and lack of attention when writing those scenes.
The summary of this book would give you to understand that this is the book where Smiley "gets revenge" on Karla. This pretty much destroys the book's enjoyability for me; it ultimately doesn't develop the story or the characters of the previous book: it spins their wheels before leaving them in the ditch.
The scenes set in the Orient and in the warfare in Cambodia were interesting and vivid. I can bring myself to enjoy this book if I'm looking for a sequel to Joseph Conrad's dank and unquiet "Heart of Darkness", but not if I'm looking for more of what I loved in Tinker, Tailor.
For starters, whereas Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy treats you like a grown-up, The Honourable Schoolboy (THS) starts off sounding very much like a Nancy Drew sequel -- patiently laying out plain explanations for every term of likeable Circus jargon (and making it seem rather flat and lifeless in the process), as well as offering facile re-introductions for all the characters.
Things really get underway in the middle, but the plot has a much lower "thread count" than does Tinker Tailor, and there really aren't many surprises in it. The narrative is good but whenever it gets close to Smiley and the Circus, it suddenly gets much more hurried and caricatured. I later read that Le Carre was afterwards in doubt about whether he should have included Smiley at all since he felt people were getting needlessly distracted from the "real story" around Jerry Westerby -- which explains his seeming impatience and lack of attention when writing those scenes.
The summary of this book would give you to understand that this is the book where Smiley "gets revenge" on Karla.
Spoiler
In fact, Karla barely figures at all except as a name, and Smiley ends the book having achieved precisely nothing. After all is said and done, all the good people are out on their ear again and the world moves on indifferently. The people who "won" succeed by stealing successes worked for by others, and the only other lingering feeling about the success of the main operation was how tragic it truly was for its targets, and for the main character, Jerry.The scenes set in the Orient and in the warfare in Cambodia were interesting and vivid. I can bring myself to enjoy this book if I'm looking for a sequel to Joseph Conrad's dank and unquiet "Heart of Darkness", but not if I'm looking for more of what I loved in Tinker, Tailor.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
another George smiley novel, mostly set in Hong Kong. very good
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really dug this one! It’s not nearly as famous as other George Smiley novels, I think both for its terrible title and also because it’s set amidst the surging postcolonial revolutions of the ‘70s (and the capitalist West’s drug-dealing, death-squad reaction to them), a period that most modern British and American readers alike would prefer to forget about. But that’s exactly why I found it so riveting!
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Probably is actually ok but I got hugely le carre-d out halfway through this one. Couldn’t finish. Maybe I shouldn’t have spammed his books so willing to admit this may be my bad
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes