Comments (23)

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Apr 24, 2023N13m4nd rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A former spy is called out of retirement to answer for his past conduct when he had been a part of the moral ambiguity of Cold War espionage. Peter Guillam, who was a minor character in early installments in the George Smiley spy novels,…
Feb 22, 2023UrsulaMaxwell rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Typically Le Carré - clever in every sense. Requires paying attention to details and innuendos. Always the spy master!
NeoRauch
Jul 19, 2022NeoRauch rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
John Le Carre is back with a new book and it is hard to put down once open for reading. The crossing from the past to the present connects his memorable characters to a modern day bureaucracy. The author masterfully shows that yesterday's…
Aug 13, 2019
Lecarre is one of my favorire authors , but this book was a bit difficult at times. It jumps from present to past ,then back to present. and it left me working awful hard to stay with the plot . But there are many interesting,…
May 19, 2019Twiggzette rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
A very disappointing book. I've always enjoyed le Carré in the past because of the quality, clarity, and beauty of his writing. He has a 1st from Oxford in English Literature --- no mean feat --- and lectured at Eaton, among other…
Feb 26, 2019
This novel fills in the events between "Call for the Dead" and "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold", and fleshes out some of the events of the latter novel. It ignores the intermediate events of "A Murder of Quality" (which involves Smiley,…
Jul 29, 2018NedSu rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Full disclosure: I am of that age wherein the narrator finds himself. By my bias, this is a great story, sprinkled with little bits of tradecraft that reminded me that John Le Carre is the master of the spy novel. Len Deighton's works did…
Apr 06, 2018northstar5 rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
In what is probably Le Carre's last book he ties up many loose ends (while still leaving - adding - a few more). A page turner yet somewhat empty. Leaves one longing for his earlier works
Mar 14, 2018dirtbag1 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Le Carre is of course a master wordsmith and for that reason alone this book should be read. However I couldn't help but think that if one had not read his earlier works, this would be a difficult story to follow. Has he run out of ideas?
Feb 25, 2018richibi rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Le Carré's best works are behind him, I think, this one is a rehash of earlier, better, books, with the accent on "hash"
Feb 21, 2018t_naciuk rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
One of the most accessible le Carre reads! He draws the reader in to good and bad relations between characters, thankfully keeping the cast to a manageable number.
Jan 31, 2018dirtbag rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
There is no one who is as good a writer as this guy. This is a must read.
Dec 27, 2017EmilyEm rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Book continues the George Smiley canon with Peter Guillam as this book’s central character. Must have read ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ and ‘The Spy who Came in from the Cold’ first. An intriguing spy story that’s just a bit bogged…
Dec 12, 2017DPLjennyp rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Good for die-hard Smiley fans, but I found they mystery/suspense element didn't shine as brightly as LeCarre's classics.
Nov 07, 2017jazpur rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
John Le Carre and Smiley's people never disappoint.A lot of loose ends from the past come together in this one to make a fascinating story. I hope it makes the small screen some time soon.
Oct 22, 2017talk2terih rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Wonderful fun revisiting the inimitable George Smiley and the twisty, turny, slippery slope that was British Cold War spycraft. But above and beyond that, this book is a thoughtful study on the evolution (or devolution) of spycraft. We…
Oct 11, 2017jefralick rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Five stars. Convoluted LeCarie plot, obscure/arcane vocabulary and pretentious British attitude. It couldn't be better.
Oct 01, 2017
Disappointing. Too talky and too little action.
Oct 01, 2017tjdickey rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Fans of George Smiley, rejoice! John Le Carré returns to some of his best-known characters after a long hiatus, as the fallout from a very cold case (and the offspring of a very cold spy) arise from the embers. Now, in the days of…
Sep 23, 2017harrissusanc rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Peter Guillam has to answer for Smiley in Parliament’s investigation of a Cold War Op and the death of two of its agents, and takes you in on a trove of records, memories and heartbreaks. Some getting used to the old Smiley jargon and…
Sep 16, 2017jhinchcliffe rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
Don't bother! Boring and pretentious. A waste of good paper.
Sep 03, 2017StarGladiator rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Classic Le Carré! Who but he can write of Cold War spycraft at its most byzantine? Of humans with loves and losses, emotions, beliefs and hopes and foibles? But more so, it can be used as a primer for our times! For the Cold War is…
Aug 19, 2017
Spies! The first Smiley in decades.