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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
I like le Carre. This isn't his best. That being said, a lot of the really great parts of this text are parts that were removed or changed in the tv show. It's definitely le carre's style, but he writes intrigue novels better when the main character is a bit more professional, if that makes sense.
Man gets so horny he tries to take down a weapons dealer.
A little difficult to follow the prose and took a very long time to realize that this was a story about an undercover recruit- even what agency (is it even a government one?) the main character is now working for. Felt like way to much detail, side-story, and unnecessary background and backstory in the first 25%. Not sure we even know the main plot, other than some revenge-driven man going after a really bad-man? The whole who, what, when, where, why, how is a very slow, unengaging burn. The entire read feels disjointed and the opposite of 'readable' often going off track and into irrelevant content. Ironic that about halfway through the author uses the phrase 'scattershot method of talking', when scattershot is the abjective that is the only way I can think to describe how this writing actually reads.
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Engaging and tense with a mixed bag ending. I really enjoyed the combination of traditional spy novel with back room Whitehall wrangling, but some of the characters felt a bit flat (female characters in particular were sometimes poorly fleshed out- apparently this is better in the TV series)
The Night Manager is slow to get going, and even as it moves I never got a real sense of urgency, even at the very end. In fact, the ending was almost enough to make me wonder why we went through everything in the first place. There was no consequence. The hero didn't win the day. A case could probably be made for a draw, but there was no well-defined triumph over one side or the other. Which, to be fair, is probably a realistic portrayal of what actually happens in these sorts of things. The problem is, that isn't what I'm looking for as a reader.
Thr description in this novel really stood out to me. Every page was swathed in elegant prose, and it made this a worthwhile read for me. The characters were...bland? Human? Jonathan is the only one who stood out as exceptional, and he unfortunately seemed too exceptional to me. He was damn near perfect by pretty much every estimation. A bit boring, to be honest. Everyone else felt flat. The only other character that interested me was Sophie, and that might have just been Jonathan's psychosis. Hard to say.
I do have a number of gripes about this book, but I did enjoy it. I think I enjoyed the TV series more (Yay female power! And the ending was definitely more satisfying), but I did enjoy the book for the unassuming novel that it is.
Thr description in this novel really stood out to me. Every page was swathed in elegant prose, and it made this a worthwhile read for me. The characters were...bland? Human? Jonathan is the only one who stood out as exceptional, and he unfortunately seemed too exceptional to me. He was damn near perfect by pretty much every estimation. A bit boring, to be honest. Everyone else felt flat. The only other character that interested me was Sophie, and that might have just been Jonathan's psychosis. Hard to say.
I do have a number of gripes about this book, but I did enjoy it. I think I enjoyed the TV series more (Yay female power! And the ending was definitely more satisfying), but I did enjoy the book for the unassuming novel that it is.
dark
medium-paced
Too bleak for me right now
Themes of loyalty and redemption accompany a journey through the most exquisite of luxury and the most repulsive inelegance.
Like every Le Carre novel I’ve read, the reader is challenged to figure out major aspects of the plot for themselves. Events and the motivations of characters are hinted at or described only in the past tense.
A novel of two very different environments: we have Jonathan playing his part in establishing himself within Dicky Roper’s circle, and then we have the back room chicanery of his handlers and the bureaucracy associated with espionage . The latter part I found somewhat overly challenging: keeping up who the characters were, their motivations, which side they were on, which organisation they reported to. All of this, despite the bewilderment, is essential to the plot; if the book was solely about Jonathan’s adventures it would be an identikit James Bond novel.
Like every Le Carre novel I’ve read, the reader is challenged to figure out major aspects of the plot for themselves. Events and the motivations of characters are hinted at or described only in the past tense.
A novel of two very different environments: we have Jonathan playing his part in establishing himself within Dicky Roper’s circle, and then we have the back room chicanery of his handlers and the bureaucracy associated with espionage . The latter part I found somewhat overly challenging: keeping up who the characters were, their motivations, which side they were on, which organisation they reported to. All of this, despite the bewilderment, is essential to the plot; if the book was solely about Jonathan’s adventures it would be an identikit James Bond novel.
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes