Another Liberal Hypocrit.
They benefit enormously from capitalism, live in free societies, then have the fantasy of “If I were to control the world, ...” And always advocate “share the wealth” and trust horrid Communist dictatorships like Russia, China, Cuba, Cambodia, VietNam, Venezuela, Bolivia, etc. They don’t realy like our EuroSocialist friends because they haven’t gone all the way.
I will never read another on his novels again. Which is OK by me -— he is boring.
The literary genius turns out to be a dimwit.
Another Liberal Hypocrit.
They benefit enormously from capitalism, live in free societies, then have the fantasy of “If I were to control the world, ...” And always advocate “share the wealth” and trust horrid Communist dictatorships like Russia, China, Cuba, Cambodia, VietNam, Venezuela, Bolivia, etc. They don’t realy like our EuroSocialist friends because they haven’t gone all the way.
I will never read another on his novels again. Which is OK by me -— he is boring.
His early works were exceptional, and IMHO the best of his work was the (blushes, polishes spectacles with end of necktie) George Smiley series which began with "A Murder of Quality" and ended with "Smiley's People".
From there it was all downhill, IMHO.
I’ll go against popular opinion here — I thought he was a decent writer. Sometimes uneven, but still worth a read. Also like the fact he’s getting cranky in his old age.
“John LeCarre said he was tempted to defect to the Soviet Union when he worked for British intelligence...”
That revelation comes as no surprise here. Wouldn’t it be kind of funny if it turned out that his stint in British intelligence was, while unknown to him, carefully orchestrated and manipulated by British intelligence to maximize his propensity for betrayal. :)
"A terrible novel" -- it says so right on the cover.
Apparently the "revolutionary portrayal" of "amoral Western agents and the moral equivalence of the East and the West" [Wikipedia] was evident in his first spy novel.
Did the later ones add anything -- or were they just reworkings of the same material?
And what did LeCarré have left to write about when the Cold War ended?
Le Carre is also known for his outspoken criticism of U.S. foreign policy. In an open letter to U.S. voters in 2004 he called the invasion of Iraq a "hare-brained adventure" and called on Americans to boot Bush from office... Le Carre refused to support Rushdie when the Iranian government issued a fatwa, or religious edict, ordering Muslims to kill him because "The Satanic Verses" allegedly insulted Isla
