A Small Town in Germany was my favorite Le Carré for a very long time. I loved its misty melancholy tinted with boredom feel. I inhaled the atmosphere. It's what I remember today, way more than the plot. Then I read The Honourable Schoolboy when it came out and I switched allegiances!
Le Carre was a corrective to James Bond; he knew how espionage really worked, and he didn't try to prettify it the way Fleming did. Besides which, he was able to adapt his style and approach to changing global sociopolitical conditions, which is very hard to do.
A Small Town in Germany was my favorite Le Carré for a very long time. I loved its misty melancholy tinted with boredom feel. I inhaled the atmosphere. It's what I remember today, way more than the plot. Then I read The Honourable Schoolboy when it came out and I switched allegiances!
I haven't read The Honourable Schoolboy yet but I'm looking forward to it.
If my TBR pile wasn't so high, I would go read it once again right now! I still have not figured out why it hits me so hard.
Le Carre was a corrective to James Bond; he knew how espionage really worked, and he didn't try to prettify it the way Fleming did. Besides which, he was able to adapt his style and approach to changing global sociopolitical conditions, which is very hard to do.