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John Le Carrré: Single & Single

novella

novella

Active Member
I thought I'd read all of John Le Carre, but I seem to have missed Single & Single, so I'm starting it today. Has anyone out there read it and do you have anything to say about it?

BTW, I heard an interview with him on Fresh Air (radio show) this week and he was great. Mostly there to promote The Constant Gardener, but I'm a big fan of his cloak-and-dagger biographical tales--the con-artist dad, the trips to Monte Carlo, lying about everything . . .
 
I think it is better than The night manager,The Constant Gardener and the naive lover (the only one I gave to a charity shop after reading it), but not as good as his other books. Still enjoyable, though, specially the father.
 
Thanks for the replies, clue.

Funny, when I first picked up The Constant Gardener I thought it was extremely dull. But earlier this year I gave it another try and liked it fine. Of course, it wasn't near the standard of Tinker Tailor or the Honourable Schoolboy, but it was a decent yarn. And now sales will be through the roof thanks to Hollywood. :rolleyes:

Another one I had a little struggle with was The Perfect Spy, though it did have its merits. Must be hard to be JLC and always have people saying your early books were the best. He's always looking for the 'new' Cold War.

I just liked him better earlier. And bring back Connery as Bond, I say! Who cares if he's long in the tooth.
 
I didn't buy the last one, Absolute Friends. I read the reviews and they said there were long political tirades. I might agree with some of them, but I don't want them in a fiction book.

Oh, yes, bring back Sean Connery.
 
I did read Absolute Friends, and it certainly did have a lot of nonnarrative political diatribe. I found myself skipping bits, which I never do. Not a book I would recommend, but I forgive JLC for it. He was really mad at Bush and Blair, I think.
 
Recommend a Le Carre for a newbie? :) I've seen Le Carre in my forays to the second hand shops, but don't know where to start...

ds
 
Direstraits,
Where to start?
Where to start in answering?! :)
My own sequence began with Spy Who Came in from the Cold and I then read every new one as it came out.
In retrospect Spy looks quite simple compared to his later books where he very quickly found his groove. It is however the introduction to his breakaway style and plotting that are to follow and is therefore well worth reading.

Beyond that read them all, I say, but I also agree that the Smiley/Cold War novels are the cream of the crop. Read these in sequence if you can because, though they are not a series, they nevertheless do come to an end.

Beware, however, that I love LeCarre and slow novels, so the advice of others should definitely be listened to, especially with respect to the 'weaker' ones. :)

Happy reading,
Peder
 
Ah, lovely, thanks, Peder. I shall follow in your footsteps and pick up SWCIFTC. It's a little tricky for me because I see stuff like The Constant Gardener, The Perfect Spy, Tailor of Panama, and I'm so stumped I buy a fantasy book instead.

Thanks again!

ds
 
Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Just kidding, really! :)
But I can't imagine passing up a LeCarre. He was so much better than other writers who tried the style.
Peder
 
Ah, never heard a good scream in the forum before. Good one!

Well, I guess I shouldn't tell you I passed a row of LeCarres today in the bookshop, and didn't even browse them. [putting on earplugs] :D

ds
 
Direstraits,
LOL :)
It's OK, I read other things too. :) :)
But I think you may have noticed that the three you mentioned were probably among his less impressive efforts according to others here. It would be a shame if you were turned off to his good ones by starting with one of them. So they can stay there for a while. Passing them by was not all bad.
Of course, you may not like the genre at all, in which case I'll understand. Not everyone does. No more screams :)

And now I'll leave you to read in peace,
Have to save something for discussion,
Peder
 
Interestingly (though perhaps not that interestingly), the only novel of his I've read is Absolute Friends, which I enjoyed, political diatribes and all. The other one I have on my shelf yet to be read is The Constant Gardener. So it sounds from you lot as though it's all upwards from there!
 
Shade,
You have that right!
I enjoyed them both, despite political diatribes. Friends, however, at least had action. Gardener is what I would call a 'slow' novel with almost all the ominous action off-screen. If you can make it through that one you have pretty clear sailing ahead. Although ......... :)
Peder
 
DS, I would definitely start with either Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or The Honourable Schoolboy (set partly in Hong Kong). After that Smiley's People.

These are great books and all take place in the same 'world', with the Circus (British secret service) running some plan and some of the 'usual suspects' either directly involved or in the margins.

The characterisations are brilliant, and it's interesting to note how much background he wedges in by way of dialogue. I find Le Carre's best writing endlessly instructive.
 
I haven't read any John Le Carre for quite awhile. I went through a Le Carre phase, reading every book as it came out, back in high school and uni days. I haven't read any since. No particular reason, just never thought about it.

This thread has me interested in going back to him. If I remember correctly, his books were always pretty entertaining. They're the sort I like to take on vacations to read while waiting in airports and on the plane.

ell

ps. I looked up his biblography and realize I've got quite a bit of catching up to do. Where does the time go?
 
Oh! Exactly!

Hi Peder
This is exactly what I was saying before about Le Carre! I can take or leave Sean Connery but do love Smiley and his people!! I will go back again and try to pick up where I left off... What was the first one he wrote after the Cold War? I have a feeling it was Perfect Spy but could be completely wrong... It has been a while. Is swapping allowed on this forum? If so, I would be prepared to share the hunt with anyone else in UK who is thinking about re-starting with LeCarre.


Peder said:
Direstraits,
Where to start?
Where to start in answering?! :)
My own sequence began with Spy Who Came in from the Cold and I then read every new one as it came out.
In retrospect Spy looks quite simple compared to his later books where he very quickly found his groove. It is however the introduction to his breakaway style and plotting that are to follow and is therefore well worth reading.

Beyond that read them all, I say, but I also agree that the Smiley/Cold War novels are the cream of the crop. Read these in sequence if you can because, though they are not a series, they nevertheless do come to an end.

Beware, however, that I love LeCarre and slow novels, so the advice of others should definitely be listened to, especially with respect to the 'weaker' ones. :)

Happy reading,
Peder
Click to expand...
 
Linda,
That is a question I wish I could answer, but I can't. I would really love to be able to recall the sequence in which the novels were published, but it has been a long time and what I once did remember I no longer do :(. In fact there was one (or more) before Spy as I recall, and as I also recall it wasn't very interesting at all. Forgettable is the word that comes to mind!
It is remarkable to me how LeCarre seems to have found the magic key all at once, and then used it so successfully to turn out a sequence of great novels.
Peder
 
I think the first novel he wrote that was not Cold War was The Little Drummer Girl. Apparently he wrote that to get away from Smiley, as he didn't like Alec Guinness's characterisation in the BBC series. (HOW could anyone not like that? :confused: )
 
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