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A review by komet2020
The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life by John le Carré
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
"THE PIGEON TUNNEL: Stories from My life" is a collection of stories attesting to the colorful and complicated life that was led by its author, John le Carré.
For anyone who has had the privilege of listening to the interviews that John le Carré gave at various times in his life, it quickly becomes apparent that he has lots of interesting things to say about his life and the people who helped shape it, or figured tangentially in it (e.g. his mother, who left him and his older brother when he was 5 and whom he wouldn't meet til he was in his early 20s). Le Carré also had a remarkable gift for mimicry. (Anyone who has heard his imitation of Sir Alec Guinness is in for a treat.)
Through these stories the reader is taken to places as diverse as Switzerland (where le Carré had studied for a time and later became fluent in German); Bonn, West Germany in the early 1960s (where he served as a spy under diplomatic cover); the Soviet Union in the late 1980s; Phnom Penh, Cambodia in the 1970s (where he had gone to do research for his novel, "The Honourable Schoolboy" - which is my favorite John le Carré novel); his home in Cornwall; a New York hotel in 1963 (where he had been sent by his publisher to promote his novel, "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold", which was a best-seller in the U.S. at the time); war-wracked Beirut, Lebanon in 1982; and the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The chapter "Son of the Author's Father" is the longest in the book. It is John le Carré's way of coming to terms with the very complicated relationship he had with his father Ronnie, who was a confidence man, gun runner, inveterate charmer, seducer, con artist, and thief. In reading this story, it became apparent to me that le Carré struggled through most of his life to fully understand how his father had impacted on it. The two men had an on-and-off, uneasy relationship that ran hot and cold.
I enjoyed reading "The Pigeon Tunnel" and highly recommend it to anyone who loves to read engaging, well-told stories.
For anyone who has had the privilege of listening to the interviews that John le Carré gave at various times in his life, it quickly becomes apparent that he has lots of interesting things to say about his life and the people who helped shape it, or figured tangentially in it (e.g. his mother, who left him and his older brother when he was 5 and whom he wouldn't meet til he was in his early 20s). Le Carré also had a remarkable gift for mimicry. (Anyone who has heard his imitation of Sir Alec Guinness is in for a treat.)
Through these stories the reader is taken to places as diverse as Switzerland (where le Carré had studied for a time and later became fluent in German); Bonn, West Germany in the early 1960s (where he served as a spy under diplomatic cover); the Soviet Union in the late 1980s; Phnom Penh, Cambodia in the 1970s (where he had gone to do research for his novel, "The Honourable Schoolboy" - which is my favorite John le Carré novel); his home in Cornwall; a New York hotel in 1963 (where he had been sent by his publisher to promote his novel, "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold", which was a best-seller in the U.S. at the time); war-wracked Beirut, Lebanon in 1982; and the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The chapter "Son of the Author's Father" is the longest in the book. It is John le Carré's way of coming to terms with the very complicated relationship he had with his father Ronnie, who was a confidence man, gun runner, inveterate charmer, seducer, con artist, and thief. In reading this story, it became apparent to me that le Carré struggled through most of his life to fully understand how his father had impacted on it. The two men had an on-and-off, uneasy relationship that ran hot and cold.
I enjoyed reading "The Pigeon Tunnel" and highly recommend it to anyone who loves to read engaging, well-told stories.