John le Carré: The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

[Meadow337]

That's an incredible link. It wasted entirely too much of my day.

LOL I'm glad you liked it. I can waste hours of my day on that site as well. If you are ever in need of a obscure word - they are sure to have it.

It's good to find a community of like minded readers.

It is indeed very good! Glad you are enjoying it too.

 

[JGL]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was great. I'm going to take a break and read Bernard Cromwell's The Fort, but I'm excited for the rest of the trilogy. I'm sort of glad I put it off this long. It's rare I find something this good to experience for the first time these days.

 

[SeoulMan]

I haven't read a single Le Carre novel, but I'm willing to try. I really enjoyed every film adaptation of his novels and though you can't judge a book by the film, the subject matter and the themes covered in the films were complex enough for me to conclude that the novels can't be worse. I just hope the prose stands up and based on some of the posts in this thread above, the prose isn't a problem at all.

I'm watching A Perfect Spy on DVD and I'm liking it a lot.

 

[Meadow337]

It's not the prose that is a stumbling block in reading his work, but the subject matter. He doesn't deal with the issues of spying lightly, either in exploring the effect on character or motivations behind it.

 

[fiedler]

Yes, I've read CALL FOR THE DEAD; A MURDER OF QUALITY; THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD; and THE LOOKING-GLASS WAR. I'm now reading his 5th novel: A SMALL TOWN IN GERMANY. I've got his entire collection (all 23 fiction novels) and I'm working my way through them in chronological order. An excellent story teller, in deed, is John Le Carre!

Douglas

 

[janebbooks]

There was a recent remake of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The original series that was made years ago with Alec Guinness was absolutely fantastic. That covers much of the Karla series.
From the reviews I read the remake was not as complete.....well, in a couple of hours it couldn't be, of course. Watch the Guinness version if you are able.

Just for you, Pontalba....my review of the Gary Oldman film: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. (I've been reading John LeCarre for years....and have watched almost all the films..)

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A review of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy [DVD] [2011]

TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY...the 2011 film...was very good. Several days earlier I had watched the six hour 1979 television mini-series with Alec Guinness. The story hasn't changed: the movie just omitted several sideline operations leaving only the hunt for the mole in Circus (the British MI-6) during the Cold War years...there were four suspects.

I enjoyed the George Smiley "the spy who came in from the cold" interpretation by Gary Oldman, who was a better age for the role; Guinness as Smiley and Alexander Knox as Control were old men in the BBC production. The other performances including Colin Firth and John Hurt were so-so...compared to the fine cast of the television series. (Although Mark Strong as Jim Prideaux and Benedict Cumberbatch as Peter Guillam were very watchable in this film.) But the settings were dark, dreary, and dull except for the ending scenes.

A redeeming feature...a very snappy cabaret song, Le Mer, sung by Julio Iglesias after the mole was discovered ended the film with sunny portraits of the remaining Circus guys...including Smiley, the last spy, sitting on the "throne" as its chief. (I'm reminded of a regal bright red suit worn by Henry V at the end of a local production of the Shakespeare play.)

Although I could have watched this current film without the plot refreshment of the television series, I believe I did follow the story better. And to see different actors in the main roles was interesting: I have an ancient Greek attitude toward remakes of their favorite dramas. More!

Unfortunately, only two parts of LeCarre's Karla trilogy have been filmed. One day soon I'll watch a dvd of Smiley's People [1982] the last part of the trilogy when I have another six hours to spare! John Le Carre, the author of the novel, co-wrote the screenplay.

Jane

 

[pontalba]

Thanks, very much, Jane.
I've only seen Oldman in a few things, but really like his style.

Hating to admit it, but I haven't gotten to read the Karla trilogy yet, it's staring at me reproachfully. /sigh/ I thought I'd start at the beginning of Smiley, and have read several, but keep getting sidetracked. I am (again) encouraged to get to it!

 

[DATo]

Also a big fan of Le Carre - my favorite, of course, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. If anyone is interested, and has not already seen it, I would heartily recommend a movie written in much the same vein called The Good Shepherd (2006). I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

[Joni Dee]

There was a recent remake of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The original series that was made years ago with Alec Guinness was absolutely fantastic. That covers much of the Karla series.
From the reviews I read the remake was not as complete.....well, in a couple of hours it couldn't be, of course. Watch the Guinness version if you are able.

There was also a second series based on the third novel of the Smiley books called " Smiley's People" again with Guinness who was absolutely amazing.

 

[pontalba]

There was also a second series based on the third novel of the Smiley books called " Smiley's People" again with Guinness who was absolutely amazing.

I've seen it, loved it!

Since my above post re the Karla Trilogy, I've read it/them. Absolutely wonderful! Can't beat LeCarre in this genre.

 

[pontalba]

Also a big fan of Le Carre - my favorite, of course, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. If anyone is interested, and has not already seen it, I would heartily recommend a movie written in much the same vein called The Good Shepherd (2006). I don't think you will be disappointed.

Right. It was excellent.

 

[Juleeming]

It seems sad to be necroing these dead threads, but I'm a newcomer here. "Spy" was the first Le Carre I read as well, and I loved it. It was so much better than the two previous Smiley books, which were kind of like trial runs.

Since that time I've gone through every single one of Le Carre's "spy" books. If you've read Spy and the Smiley/Carla trilogy, you may enjoy Le Carre's latest, A Legacy of Spies, which offers an interesting re-examination of the behind the scenes events that resulted in the story in Spy.

 

[Peder]

It seems sad to be necroing these dead threads, but I'm a newcomer here. "Spy" was the first Le Carre I read as well, and I loved it. It was so much better than the two previous Smiley books, which were kind of like trial runs.

Since that time I've gone through every single one of Le Carre's "spy" books. If you've read Spy and the Smiley/Carla trilogy, you may enjoy Le Carre's latest, A Legacy of Spies, which offers an interesting re-examination of the behind the scenes events that resulted in the story in Spy.

Hi Juleeming,
Nothing at all wrong with reviving discussions of long ago threads -- especially the 'discussions' part.
I, for one, am glad to see your book reviews, which I would say revive an almost lost tradition here at BAR.
So, welcome aboard and keep on posting.
Peder

P.S. and yes, I have read A Legacy of Spies also. It is absolutely fascinating, and leads to much head-scratching to try to remember if the author's and one's own recollections of history coincide. If you missed the nuance the first time around, Legacy will definitely make you want to go back and check your own first reading.

Keep us posted.