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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
A nice followup to Tinker, Tailor, but definitely a lesser book.
My main complaint is that the half of the book that dealt with the action (Westerby in southeast Asia) wasn't nearly as exciting as the more subtle scenes of Smiley in London. Smiley's really the gold here, but he's absent from too much of the book.
Still, a book that's not as good as Tinker, Tailer can still be a pretty good book. Can't wait to read the last one in the trilogy.
My main complaint is that the half of the book that dealt with the action (Westerby in southeast Asia) wasn't nearly as exciting as the more subtle scenes of Smiley in London. Smiley's really the gold here, but he's absent from too much of the book.
Still, a book that's not as good as Tinker, Tailer can still be a pretty good book. Can't wait to read the last one in the trilogy.
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
slow-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
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very good to read abroad, for the sense of — some corner of a foreign field.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
If you like Le Carre you will enjoy this. Some exceptional sections and then some slower pieces uncoil, almost bureaucratic espionage.
Over 20 uses of the word din - just found funny
Violation of Chekhov gun rule but will let it slide.
Over 20 uses of the word din - just found funny
Violation of Chekhov gun rule but will let it slide.
If there are two things I love in life, it's a good Le Carre thriller and some George Smiley - which is why I'd been looking forward to The Honourable Schoolboy for bloody ages.
And it's a mighty read. More than 600 pages of twists, turns and suspense.
The story picks up after the events of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, with Smiley and the gang trying to go after the Russians through the Far East.
At times, it's as gripping as its predecessor. At times you are racing through the action, such as it is.
But only at times.
Sadly, the length is just one of its problems. The final hundred-or-so pages feel like a war of attrition, and you're only finishing the book because you've come so far it would feel tragic to quit.
There's also a slight issue with the narrative device Le Carre uses here. The story is being told by someone else, giving it a slightly detached feel - but it's not consistent, and occasionally (especially towards the end) the device slips and his natural writing style slips through.
It's not a major problem, but it's noticeable.
It's also clear that Le Carre is trying to capture the less glamorous end of spying. Events are happening away from Smiley and so the reader is allowed to feel the frustration as events unfold slowly and deliberately.
Which I'm sure is what happens in the real spy world, but that doesn't necessarily make for a gripping book.
This book does have its moments, and there are long periods where you are enthralled by events - but there are a site too many periods where you're trudging through the mire.
That said, though, an average Le Carre is still better than most spy thrillers out there...
And it's a mighty read. More than 600 pages of twists, turns and suspense.
The story picks up after the events of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, with Smiley and the gang trying to go after the Russians through the Far East.
At times, it's as gripping as its predecessor. At times you are racing through the action, such as it is.
But only at times.
Sadly, the length is just one of its problems. The final hundred-or-so pages feel like a war of attrition, and you're only finishing the book because you've come so far it would feel tragic to quit.
There's also a slight issue with the narrative device Le Carre uses here. The story is being told by someone else, giving it a slightly detached feel - but it's not consistent, and occasionally (especially towards the end) the device slips and his natural writing style slips through.
It's not a major problem, but it's noticeable.
It's also clear that Le Carre is trying to capture the less glamorous end of spying. Events are happening away from Smiley and so the reader is allowed to feel the frustration as events unfold slowly and deliberately.
Which I'm sure is what happens in the real spy world, but that doesn't necessarily make for a gripping book.
This book does have its moments, and there are long periods where you are enthralled by events - but there are a site too many periods where you're trudging through the mire.
That said, though, an average Le Carre is still better than most spy thrillers out there...
John Le Carré has been a favourite author for decades, ever since I read The Little Drummer Girl when I was in my 20s. His careful and even paced, possibly slow crafting of a story, the reveal of the characters, the extraordinary quantity of unspoken language and communication that takes place in the spy game, the subconscious reading of a situation or a person. It's mysterious, unreadable, grim, working up to the excitement of rare moments of monumental action then steep declines into the daily plod and grind. I read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy last year, loved it, and was excited to be starting this second in the George Smiley/Karla trilogy.
Not quite the same reading experience as Tinker, or of any other Le Carré novel I have read. For a start it is extremely long - nearly 700 pages. It is burdened down at the beginning with so much scene setting, so many characters, so much going on but none of it at any pace. It follows on immediately from Tinker in the late 1960s, starting in Hong Kong, the HK part of the Secret Service now in a total freefall, the fall out from Haydon shrinking operations in areas outside of England. In these first chapters we move from Hong Kong to London where Smiley is picking up the pieces, to Tuscany where Jerry Westerby - reporter cum spy is languishing. A multitude of characters are introduced and it takes a while of reading before some coherence and understanding takes place. Once it does however, the book becomes a riveting read, Le Carré deftly balancing the on-the-scene actions of Jerry (mostly) as he tracks down the players involved in the smuggling into Hong Kong - read the west - from communist mainland China of the brother of a highly influential and wealthy Hong Kong based businessman. Interwoven with this is a woman just screaming out to be rescued by Jerry, a pilot of dubious character as are all the SE Asian based characters - hence Jerry as the honourable one, numerous other bit players who flit in and out. Plus of course Smiley, Guillam, the other Circus experts, the Americans - the Cousins with their own investment in the situation, the British bureaucracy exercising its own desire for control and needing to appease the Cousins. It is complicated, at times tedious - especially the scenes where Smiley and co gather to figure out what to do next.
The Hong Kong/Cambodia/Laos action however is fantastic. I was always relieved when the plot moved out of dreary office rooms and secret chambers where men (and one woman) in suits discussed what to do next. Le Carré must have spent time in these regions to depict so well the climate, the grubbiness, the hectic insanity and sleaze of the cities of Hong Kong and Bangkok, the unflappability of the SE Asian people versus the untidiness, loudness, boorishness of the expat mostly British population trying to survive in the sweltering and humid climate. Jerry makes a great spy, a man of great resourcefulness, cunning and flying by the seat of his pants.
It is well worth a read, but do be prepared to spend time rather than racing through. I wonder if a cast of characters at the beginning would have helped - there are a lot of people in this book.
Not quite the same reading experience as Tinker, or of any other Le Carré novel I have read. For a start it is extremely long - nearly 700 pages. It is burdened down at the beginning with so much scene setting, so many characters, so much going on but none of it at any pace. It follows on immediately from Tinker in the late 1960s, starting in Hong Kong, the HK part of the Secret Service now in a total freefall, the fall out from Haydon shrinking operations in areas outside of England. In these first chapters we move from Hong Kong to London where Smiley is picking up the pieces, to Tuscany where Jerry Westerby - reporter cum spy is languishing. A multitude of characters are introduced and it takes a while of reading before some coherence and understanding takes place. Once it does however, the book becomes a riveting read, Le Carré deftly balancing the on-the-scene actions of Jerry (mostly) as he tracks down the players involved in the smuggling into Hong Kong - read the west - from communist mainland China of the brother of a highly influential and wealthy Hong Kong based businessman. Interwoven with this is a woman just screaming out to be rescued by Jerry, a pilot of dubious character as are all the SE Asian based characters - hence Jerry as the honourable one, numerous other bit players who flit in and out. Plus of course Smiley, Guillam, the other Circus experts, the Americans - the Cousins with their own investment in the situation, the British bureaucracy exercising its own desire for control and needing to appease the Cousins. It is complicated, at times tedious - especially the scenes where Smiley and co gather to figure out what to do next.
The Hong Kong/Cambodia/Laos action however is fantastic. I was always relieved when the plot moved out of dreary office rooms and secret chambers where men (and one woman) in suits discussed what to do next. Le Carré must have spent time in these regions to depict so well the climate, the grubbiness, the hectic insanity and sleaze of the cities of Hong Kong and Bangkok, the unflappability of the SE Asian people versus the untidiness, loudness, boorishness of the expat mostly British population trying to survive in the sweltering and humid climate. Jerry makes a great spy, a man of great resourcefulness, cunning and flying by the seat of his pants.
It is well worth a read, but do be prepared to spend time rather than racing through. I wonder if a cast of characters at the beginning would have helped - there are a lot of people in this book.
classic le Carre set against 1970s war in Cambodia and Laos--death and destruction, drugs and corruption. le Carre's ambiguous stance toward intelligence agencies in service of preserving the West comes through strongly. Probably my third time through this book.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
It felt like it dragged in the last third of the book, perhaps because the grim ending became more and more obvious. However, it was still a great read. Classic Le Carré's themes.