Comment by simonsarris | Hacker News Reader

Comment by simonsarris | Hacker News Reader

A few months ago I listened to Casino Royale (narrator Dan Stevens, pretty good) and was kind of bummed at just how poorly it read. It's an OK story with very middling language, badly in need of an editor especially around the end. I was surprised that it received so much popularity when written. But maybe it only could get popular at the time, when the English were in need of a certain kind of hero.

I decided to re-read (via audiobook) my favorite John Le Carre novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (narrator Michael Jayston, one of the best audiobook performances I have ever listened to). So wildly different to have them back-to-back. It made me appreciate Le Carre all the more.

Speaking of audiobooks, Le Carre's own memoir The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life is read by himself and is a must-listen if you like his books. To hear him tell his own tales, with his own accents for the people in his life, definitely one of the cases where the audiobook format is superior.

James Bond was the hero England needed at the time in response to the general dreariness and deprivation most English people were feeling in the post-war years. James Bond is this "omnicompetent" character, he always knows what to do, what to say, how to act in any given situation. He also experiences exotic locales with fine food and drinks. In some ways he represents a return to the "old days" of the British Empire when the UK and England was more relevant and also he represents (especially) masculine wish-fulfilment.

But yes, I can see how to modern audiences it's not so exciting and seems stale. But at the time, it was "hot" because Fleming created so many of the tropes that now we see as tired or dated.

Also known as the "Seinfeld is not funny" phenomenon, at least on TVTropes.

I've recently read the first half dozen Bond books. Casino Royale is definitely a bit of a strange book - I found it really hard to get into until the bombing scene. I have to say though, the following books are a blast, particularly Moonraker. I think in part it's Fleming hitting his stride as a writer, and part getting used to his writing.

I like both the Bond and Smiley books, but I've never understood why people are so quick to directly compare the two characters. Smiley is a man of politics and intrigue, while Bond is a boots-on-the-ground assassin.

Bond would be better compared with a character like Ricki Tarr. The 00 section seems to exist in the Smiley organization, they're called the 'scalphunters'. Here's Carre's description:

"The scalphunters' official name was Travel. They had been formed [...] in the pioneer days of the cold war, when murder and kidnapping and crash blackmail were common currency [...] They were a small outfit, about a dozen men, and they were there to handle the hit-and-run jobs that were too dirty or too risky for the residents abroad."

Sounds a lot like Bond. Tarr even shows up at the office unexpectedly, having problems with a woman, wanting money...

I want to like John Le Carre. His genre is right up my alley. I've tried to read his works and have watched some film adapations to varying degrees of success. I just can't get sucked into the world or I'm not entirely sure whats going on. I'm ususally an avid reader and can get lost in a book and forget about the world around me. Not sure what it is with Le Carre. Maybe the audiobook will be a good option if you're that fond of the performance by Jayston.

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