Reviews

Le Carré’s self-admitted mis-step into prestige literary fiction, made during the same breakdown in his marriage that seemed to elevate Small Town in Germany into a snarling genre masterpiece. But the same emotional mania which made that novel sing, here shows Le Carré’s penchant for indulgence in a bid for highbrow acclaim, his ability to dissect the soul destroying hypocrisies in Middle Class/Little England undercut by his delusional first draft stream of consciousness ramblings, and his depiction of pretty much every female character a delusional spiteful wreck differentiated only by how their breasts are described. Moments of poignancy and genius can be found amidst the insanity, but good luck trying to tell which is which.

magicalrocketships's review against another edition

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This was a WILD RIDE and I can't even vaguely attempt to rate it because I have NO IDEA about what just happened to me whilst reading this, but anyway, read it I did and I am changed. I wanted spies and there were no spies; failing that I wanted a queer polyamorous triad and what I got was... vaguely that but everyone was terrible and no one deserved it. It's apparently autobiographical and as such, the last paragraph packs one hell of a punch. Essentially I'm glad I read it but I don't know what I read.

joanna_m's review against another edition

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1.0

I rarely abandon books, and when I do, it is usually within the first chapter, and generally because I dislike the genre or the author's style irritates me. I persevered with this novel for almost 200 pages because I am trying to read all the Le Carres in order, and felt I needed to finish this in order to 'earn' Tinker, Tailor. However, I hated it so much that I felt I had to give up before it irrevocably coloured my view of Le Carre's work. My primary problem with the novel was that it just seemed so pointless, leading up to nothing (I know I didn't finish, but I flicked onwards and read other reviews). I have never accepted the snobiness against 'genre' fiction and in favour of 'literary' fiction, when this example has no plot! The characters are universally unlikeable, the women especially so, really emphasising Le Carre's weak female characters. The most generous interpretation I can take of this is that our 'hero', Aldo, is having a breakdown and hallucinates Shamus (a cringeworthy semi-pun) and Helen as manifestations of his suppressed wild side. I could not connect with the irresponsible Bohemians or the over privilaged rich guys, and I was just left feeling bored and irritated. Read it for completism, not pleasure.

clarentium's review

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emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was at points absurd, confusing, and dense. But I still found it powerful. I can see why people wouldn't like it, thought I very much enjoyed it.

uncle_bunkle's review against another edition

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2.0

Spymaster's strange excursion.

lbwritesdrivel's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

doctortdm's review against another edition

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3.0

The book started out great and then they went to Paris and like many artistic productions from this time, everything turned into a bad trip.

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