Re-reading the novels of John le Carré | Hacker News Reader

Re-reading the novels of John le Carré

the-tls.co.uk

56 pointsnewest20 comments

My favorite tidbit about le Carre is that he invented [1] terms like 'honey pot', 'mole', 'pavement artist', and other spy lingo. There's still some debate on whether or not he did it since he either denies some of these or says he 'can't remember' but, no matter what the truth is, he certainly popularized them greatly. The guy changed language with several new additions and that's a mark of a culturally significant man.

[1] https://www.oregonlive.com/books/2015/11/how_john_le_carre_r...

I always considered Sir Alec Guiness's role in "Tinker Tailor ..." and "Smiley's People" to be the pinnacle of acting in a short run series - he really became George Smiley. Since viewing the recent series "Chernobyl" I for the first time haved added Jared Harris to that pile of excellence for his portrayal of Vaverly Legasov. As troubling as some days seem to be in the world I find comfort that people like Guiness and Harris can still make me lose myself in a complicated character and a great story.

Jared Harris is a tremendous actor. I could watch him watching paint dry whilst reciting the local takeaway menu for 30 minutes and not get bored.

Mick Herron's "Slow Horses" series is fantastic, highly recommended. Slough House (from which the title) is where agents go when they fuck up. So everyone is flawed, and know they have failed. They're the ones who get a whiff of something going on, and their sorting of it is a redemption quest made difficult by the fact that they are fuckups. My memory is that it gets the tech right and the banter is A+ hilarious. (Herron is the author of this TLS piece, hence this recommendation)

This is now also being made into an Apple TV+ original series, starring Gary Oldman.

I'm sure Oldman will be fantastic. He killed it as John le Carre's George Smiley in Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy.

The writer calls 'A Perfect Spy' a masterpiece and rightly so. I highly recommend it. The audio version by Michael Jayston is brilliant. Years after reading it, scenes from the book regularly surface from the backwash of my daydreams.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/best-le-c...

Cold War Espionage is endlessly fascinating. I recommend looking into the story of the Cambridge Five, some of the most notorious Soviet spies in British History: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Five

I would also highly recommend the Travis McGee novels by John D MacDonald.

le Carré is one of my favorite authors. I was happy to see the article cover The Honourable Schoolboy, which is certainly overshadowed by some of his others, but which, to me, always packed the hardest emotional punch. After reading le Carré, it's impossible to see the world in the same way again.

I especially recommend getting the books on tape, the English readers really bring the stories to life.

For another excellent series, check out Martin Cruz Smith, Gorky Park (Arkady Renko series).

I'm actually reading the Karla books now, so I stopped reading the article as the author seems to assume you've already read them.

I can't seem to find any streams of the BBC TV series, which is too bad. The audio book narrator is doing a fine Alec Guinness impersonation, but it would nice to see the real thing.

Of all characters in Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, it is Connie Sachs that is most likely to be replaced by AI.

I doubt it.

Connie Sachs + machine >> Connie Sachs | machine

I wish if Honourable school boy could be adapted for the screen, perhaps as a miniseries, it covers lot of ground, the Hong Kong chapters are a good description of the years under British rule, and the chapter on the fall of Vientiane is also very notable.

You mean of course the fall of Saigon, not Vientiane.

Wow, I had no idea John le Carré was still alive. I loved the movie version of "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold," and the novel's been waiting for me on my Kindle for a while now. I may have to bump that to the top of my reading list...

If you like gritty spy dramas, have a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callan_(TV_series)

Probably a bit dated now, but intense and cynical.

Leaving aside the politics, Fauda and The Americans are excellent in terms of being gritty and attempts to make the tradecraft a bit more realistic than typical spy stuff. I still think there is a long way to go for someone to make a really realistic intelligence series - there would be some great stories from the Northern Ireland conflict for example.

The documentary "Inside the Mossad" is also very interesting.

If you want gritty, British gov, and a bit of The Troubles give The Fall a shot.

> The psychological thriller examines the lives of two hunters -- one is a serial killer who preys on victims in and around Belfast, Northern Ireland, and the other is a female detective drafted from the London Metropolitan Police to catch him. The local authorities have no suspects and no experience with cases involving sexually motivated serial killers; DSI Stella Gibson has. She heads a task force dedicated to solving the crime spree, with a simple motto: Anyone not part of the solution is part of the problem. The killer? He's Paul Spector, a father and a husband leading a double life, as viewers learn from the outset. He's hiding in plain sight, the protagonist in a cat and mouse game that is every police officer's worst nightmare.

Will have a look at that!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com