John le Carré was born in 1931. For six decades, he wrote novels that came to define our age. The son of a con man, he spent his childhood between boarding school and the London underworld. At sixteen he found refuge at the university of Bern, then later at Oxford. A spell of teaching at Eton led him to a short career in British Intelligence (MI5&6). He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while still a secret servant. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy, and Smiley’s People. At the end of the Cold War, le Carré widened his scope to explore an international landscape including the arms trade and the War on Terror. His memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, was published in 2016 and the last George Smiley novel, A Legacy of Spies, appeared in 2017. He died on December 12, 2020.
One of the NP99: National Post’s best books of 2016
“Recounted with the storytelling élan of a master raconteur — by
turns dramatic and funny, charming, tart and melancholy.” —Michiko
Kakutani, The New York Times
“An illuminating, self-effacing and pleasurable inquiry into le
Carré’s creative process, offering globe-spanning thrills of a
different, but no less captivating kind than those associated with
the novels.” —USA Today
“[Le Carré] is a polished raconteur, with an actor’s protean
self-presentation, gifts of pace and timing, aptitude for entrances
and exits.” —Wall Street Journal
“This incisive and witty memoir, by the man who long ago set the
gold standard for modern espionage novelists, is a glittering
treasure chest of great stories.” —The Seattle Times, "The
Best Books of 2016"
“The Pigeon Tunnel is the literary equivalent of a long night spent
in the company of a grand storyteller, who has saved up a lifetime
of his best tales to share with you over several rounds of fine
scotch. The collection leaves the impression of a man who has gone
to impossible lengths for his words, bringing the farthest reaches
of the globe, some of its cruelest inhabitants, and a small handful
of genuine heroes back home for all of us.”—Entertainment
Weekly
“The name ‘John le Carré’ attracts the audience, but it’s David
Cornwell confiding in us here, as if over dinner, then chatting
long into the evening over snifters of brandy, or, as he unspools
memories of Russia, glasses of vodka.” —Associated Press
“The Pigeon Tunnel contains what le Carré calls 'tiny bits of
history caught in flagrante,' all of them borrowed from the lived
experience of a novelist whose career has more closely resembled
that of a war correspondent than a literary celebrity....Spies are
le Carré’s preferred subject, but through them he grapples with
larger human truths that transcend the cloak-and-dagger
underworld.” —The American Scholar
"Looking back on a life rich enough to spawn multiple
globe-spanning novels...le Carré showcases his grand, cinematic
sense of place and...the ineffable quality that defines a
professional raconteur....The inviting, drinks-beside-the-fire
style from a master of the craft never overtakes the details of le
Carré's remarkable life or his strong insider's opinions on issues
of geopolitical import since World War II." —Library Journal,
starred review
“Always insightful, frequently charming, and sometimes sobering,
the memorable tales told by master storyteller le Carré about his
life will surely delight both longtime fans and
newcomers.” —Publishers Weekly
"For all the cinematic glamour of le Carré's experiences,
reflections on the workaday realities of fiction writing may
provide the most engaging aspect of this colorful valediction. A
satisfying recollection of a literary life
well-lived.” —Kirkus Reviews
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
