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Loading... Call for the Dead (1961)by John le Carré
None. Never read Le Carre. Thought I'd start with the first. The problem with that is, the writer's skill is not up to expectations. A fine little story, but not more than that. (  )1   FCH123 | May 1, 2013 |  Delightfully complex, short and sweet. Smart and witty characters and prose. My first le Carré novel and certainly not my last. (  ) TJWilson | Mar 29, 2013 | When I saw the new film version of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" in early 2012, I thought, "I would like to try the George Smiley novels." I had the same thought again recently when I rewatched the movie at home, so I decided to do something about it and bought copies of the Smiley series. I had planned to start them during the summer - the only time I ever read series books - but when I saw that the first two were no longer than about 150 pages each, I decided to start right in. What appealed to me right away is le Carre's prose. It's engaging, detailed prose, full of character without being showy, the sort of mid-century modernist writing I've always enjoyed a lot. Le Carre reminded me a lot of Graham Greene in his ability to sketch a portrait of a character firmly but economically, pulling you into his perspective without actually resorting to first person voice. The book is a triumph as a study of the character of Smiley, even if the plot ultimately resolves itself a little bit abruptly. That's not to say the plot isn't good; in fact, I was pleased to see that the first half of the book is basically a murder mystery, a genre I've always enjoyed. However, le Carre loses his grip just a little bit at the end, when he resorts to "summing things up" unnecessarily while still leaving certain questions unanswered. (My response: pick one appftoach or the other. Don't try to satisfy the audience *and* leave them wondering.) However, the book was a quick and pleasant read - two days! - and I'm moving straight on to the next one with great anticipation to learn more about Smiley and see le Carre hone his craft. That's a solid beginning to a series, to me! (  )1 saroz | Mar 21, 2013 | The beginnings of le Carre's spy series. A basic, unadorned story of espionage and how someone who was your colleague might today be your opposition. Questionable loyalties, questionable lives, and living with lots of suspicion and mistrust. ( )1 majkia | Jan 22, 2013 | Plenty of twists for such a short book. Enjoyable whodunnit/spy story. ( )1 jerhogan | Jan 3, 2013 |
His Zimmer frame in overdrive, Smiley sprinted after Dieter and cornered him by the Thames. "So?" Smiley said. "So?" Dieter replied, before allowing the much older, much weaker man push him into the river. Smiley sat down, exhausted and overwhelmed by a need to recap in case some readers still hadn't quite gathered what was going on. And this time he would make it even easier for them by writing them in bullet points. 1. It was Elsa who was the spy. 2. Sam had become suspicious and was going to denounce her. 3. Dieter... "Well I'm glad that's all cleared up without the Press being involved," cried Maston cheerily. "I take it we can tear up your resignation letter?" On balance Smiley thought he could. It was true there had been a number of rough edges. Some of the plotting had rather stretched credulity and the characterisation had been thinner than he hoped. But it was a more than decent start and his career as Alec Guinness was under way. Is contained inThree Complete Novels: Call for the Dead / A Murder of Quality / The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John le Carré Call For The Dead and A Murder of Quality by John le Carré The Spy Who Came in from the Cold / Call for the Dead / A Murder of Quality / The Looking-Glass War / A Small Town in Germany by John le Carré
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0743431677, Paperback)John le Carré classic novels deftly navigate readers through the intricate shadow worlds of international espionage with unsurpassed skill and knowledge, and have earned him -- and his hero, British Secret Service Agent George Smiley, who is introduced in this, his first novel -- unprecedented worldwide acclaim. George smiley had liked Samuel Fennan, and now Fennan was dead from an apparent suicide. But why? Fennan, a Foreign Office man, had been under investigation for alleged Communist Party activities, but Smiley had made it clear that the investigation -- little more than a routine security check -- was over and that the file on Fennan could be closed. The very next day, Fennan was found dead with a note by his body saying his career was finished and he couldn't go on. Smiley was puzzled... (retrieved from Amazon Thu, 03 Jan 2013 11:34:53 -0500) George Smiley's interview with Samuel Fennan went well & he was able to reassure Fennan that the matter they had discussed would be dropped. Smiley was shocked to discover next day that Fennan had committed suicide as a result of the interview, but why?… (more) |
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 Audible.comThree editions of this book were published by Audible.com.
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