John le Carré (1931–2020)

Thanks to the BBC production of this novel, it is probably le Carré's best-known. It's also one of his best, period. I feel I don't need to say much about it, because anyone familiar with spy thrillers probably already knows it, and many other readers will know it at least by reputation. But quickly:

Britain's Cold War era foreign intelligence organization is turned upside down when its aging leader, known as Control, discovers that one of his top five men is a Soviet double agent. In utmost secrecy, he dispatches a veteran operative to contact an informer who claims to know the mole's name, but the operation goes horribly wrong. Now Control is dead, his right-hand man George Smiley has been forced into retirement, and the double agent is still there. It's up to Smiley to infiltrate the organization he once worked for and discover the mole's identity.

Thematically, this is a novel about betrayal: betrayal of one's country, colleagues, friends, even one's spouse. le Carré draws the characters beautifully, tells a convincing story that you'd swear was real (although in the introduction he tells how he made up a great deal of the jargon that sounds so real!), and ties it all together with a page-turner plot.

The BBC production, incidentally, is one of the most faithful to its book that I've ever seen, which is a nice bonus.… (more)

Ailsa Brimley is alarmed by the letter from Stella Rode, wife of a Carne School assistant master, expressing fear that her husband is plotting to kill her. Not knowing what to do, Ailsa turns to her wartime colleague George Smiley, who agrees to investigate. But by the time Smiley arrives at Carne, Stella is dead and the local police are dealing with a peculiar collection of evidence. Can Smiley ferret out the truth before an innocent suspect is sent to the gallows?

A Murder of Quality was John le Carre's second novel, published in 1962. In his 1989 introduction to this edition, he assesses it as "a flawed thriller redeemed by ferocious and quite funny social commentary." Being from the other side of the pond, I confess that much of the social commentary--and thus potential humor--was lost on me. The pretensions of class, education, and religion that mark the social atmosphere, which is based on le Carre's own educational experience, don't mean much to me.

Nevertheless, I found it an enjoyable read and a worthy successor to Call for the Dead. My only regret is that circumstances forced me to read it over such a long time period. It might have been easier to follow if I could have read it in a few days. Even so, I enjoyed it enough to say that it's a novel most fans of the British mystery will enjoy.… (more)

Having read the first three le Carré novels, I jumped ahead to The Night Manager, the tale of Jonathan Pine, a former soldier and hotelier recruited to infiltrate the organization of illegal arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper, "the worst man in the world." My reaction to it is complicated.

I read the book after seeing the based-on miniseries starring Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, an exceptionally good production. But as often happens in the translation from book to film or television, the story changed. The miniseries follows Jonathan Pine as builds up a fake background, worms his way into Roper's organization, executes an exceptionally dangerous operation, and finally foils Roper, although not as his British government handlers had planned. In the background, departmental infighting threatens to derail the operation. Roper is, after all, British, and so long as his operations benefit British industry and interests, certain officials turn a blind eye on his misdeeds.

Throughout the first half of the book, I got the sense that the miniseries had preserved the intent of the original story fairly well. The government intrigue is a lot more complex and there is much more to the development of Pine's fake backstory, but on the whole the spirit is the same. But after that, matters proceed very differently. The government machinations take center stage when Pine's cover is blown, and the primary goal of the agency that recruited him switches from bringing down Roper to extracting Pine before Roper has him killed.

I can't say it's a bad story. Still, the ending threw me. I'm coming to expect that of le Carré, but in this case I have to admit to a "what was that all about?" moment. I also tripped a bit over a mechanical issue: the author changes tense with some frequency for no reason that I could figure out. (I probably just missed the point.) For these reasons, I can't see my way to giving The Night Manager five stars. I liked the mini-series better. But it's still a worthwhile read for those who like international intrigue and suspense.… (more)