RIP to the Master of Spies: John Le Carré

[Xray the Enforcer]

Looks like I have some rereads on my horizon. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-lecarre-dead/2020/12/13/88817eda-1a13-11eb-befb-8864259bd2d8_story.html

I absolutely love how banal spycraft is in Le Carré novels; how fundamentally destabilizing and awful it is to live with nothing but deceit and secrecy. 

[ljkeane]

I was just considering buying Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy yesterday. I’ll have to give it a read now.

[Wall Flower]

7 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

Looks like I have some rereads on my horizon. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-lecarre-dead/2020/12/13/88817eda-1a13-11eb-befb-8864259bd2d8_story.html

I absolutely love how banal spycraft is in Le Carré novels; how fundamentally destabilizing and awful it is to live with nothing but deceit and secrecy. 

One of my favourite authors too. I was already planning a re-read of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy before reading A Legacy of Spies and just purchased a new copy. 

[Mosi Mynn]

One of my favourite authors.  Very sad there will be no more Smiley.

Legacy of Spies is brilliant.  As well as TTSS, read or re-read The Spy Who Came in From the Cold before you dive in.

[TheLastWolf]

The Night Manager 

The only one i read. The rest are in cardboard boxes in the loft. Lazy dad. 

Beautiful 

[C.T. Phipps]

I'm going to watch Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy with my wife to celebrate the man's life.

[SeanF]

Marcus Wolf, head of East German intelligence, was convinced that the Spy Who Came in From the Cold must have had some input from at least one of his own people, so realistic did he consider the portrayal of his service.  

[Jerol]

RIP to a grand master of fiction. I reread Le Carre now and then; his brilliance never ceases to astound me. 

[Zorral]

His works were a rather late discovery for me -- but when I finally read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which I followed with Little Drummer Girl, I was hooked on all his books.  It was he who got me looking at our country's own intelligence failures and scandals -- and then learned how often they were connected to the UK's.  So I ended up reading a great deal of non-fiction in this area too.

Despite what some might say, le Carre's books never seemed far-fetched or contrived, but rather all too mild in comparison to what has actually happened in the murk world.  I was so impressed when the author returned, integrating the contemporary, post-glastnost Russian criminal oligarchy's reach into London's and Europe's financial-real estate-political classes.   No one seemed as enabled to write about this in fiction -- or non-fiction -- as he was.

 

[maarsen]

I have been reading John Le Carre's books now since sometime in the 70s. They were always a great read and ones that made me think also. The world will miss him and his writing.

[Vaughn]

Loved his books.

I also like the Nick Harkaway (nom de plume of one of his sons) works to date. They're probably one of the better parent / child author duos I can think although I'm sure I'm forgetting someone.

[TheLastWolf]

I thought of asking which were his best, but got the answer. Tinker Sailor Soldier Spy and The Spy who came in from the Cold

[Xray the Enforcer]

22 hours ago, C.T. Phipps said:

I'm going to watch Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy with my wife to celebrate the man's life.

I'm very fond of the 2011 film with Gary Oldman. It's been forever since I've seen the version with Alex Guinness, so I will probably fix that this weekend.

[SeanF]

4 hours ago, TheLastWolf said:

I thought of asking which were his best, but got the answer. Tinker Sailor Soldier Spy and The Spy who came in from the Cold

For me, it would be The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.

 

19 hours ago, Zorral said:

His works were a rather late discovery for me -- but when I finally read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which I followed with Little Drummer Girl, I was hooked on all his books.  It was he who got me looking at our country's own intelligence failures and scandals -- and then learned how often they were connected to the UK's.  So I ended up reading a great deal of non-fiction in this area too.

Despite what some might say, le Carre's books never seemed far-fetched or contrived, but rather all too mild in comparison to what has actually happened in the murk world.  I was so impressed when the author returned, integrating the contemporary, post-glastnost Russian criminal oligarchy's reach into London's and Europe's financial-real estate-political classes.   No one seemed as enabled to write about this in fiction -- or non-fiction -- as he was.

 

eg The Men Who Stare At Goats.

[Wall Flower]

5 hours ago, TheLastWolf said:

I thought of asking which were his best, but got the answer. Tinker Sailor Soldier Spy and The Spy who came in from the Cold

My favourite is A Perfect Spy, with the caveat that it's a long time since I read it. Another one for the re-read pile.

[Zorral]

4 hours ago, Wall Flower said:

My favourite is A Perfect Spy, with the caveat that it's a long time since I read it. Another one for the re-read pile.

I too thought A Perfect Spy was a perfect book.

Smiley's People worked very well for me as did The Honourable Schoolboy, Our Kind of Traitor and Legacy of Spies.

It's impossible to have a favorite -- but ya, it would be a split between A Perfect Spy and Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy.

I like the television adaptation of The Night Manager more than the novel though; the same with Russia House.

[Rhom]

I’ve not read his work.  Can I jump straight in with things like Tinker, Tailor or do I need to start earlier?

[A wilding]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the first of a trilogy which continues with The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People; they should be read in order (though you can stop after the first one if you want).

Other than that his books can be read in just about any order, though Smiley pops up in a fair number of them. Maybe avoid the last Smiley book, Agent Running in the Field A Legacy of Spies, which does have mild spoilers for several previous Smiley books.

 

[Zorral]

I cannot imagine how I'd have reacted to Legacy of Spies (2017) if I hadn't read all the others; it's quite a summing up of the career.

But I do like to think that the opening paragraph of the novel would have hit me between the eyes just as much even if I hadn't read any of the others:

Quote

What follows is a truthful account, as best I am able to provide it, of my role in the British deception operation, code-named Windfall, that was mounted against the East German Intelligence Service (Stasi) in the late 1950s and early '60s, and resulted in the death of the best British secret agent I ever worked with, and of the innocent woman for whom he gave his life.

It tells the reader s/he's going to get everything s/he that makes for a good spy yarn, in  61 word sentence. I defy anyone to stop reading after the period. 

 

[Xray the Enforcer]

2 hours ago, A wilding said:

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the first of a trilogy which continues with The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People; they should be read in order (though you can stop after the first one if you want).

Other than that his books can be read in just about any order, though Smiley pops up in a fair number of them. Maybe avoid the last Smiley book, Agent Running in the Field A Legacy of Spies, which does have mild spoilers for several previous Smiley books.

 

I agree with this suggestion. I'd actually start overall with Tinker Tailor -- I think the prose and the setup are a just a bit more accessible and fluid than some of the earlier work, although The Spy Who Came In From the Cold is a really wonderful novel in its own right.