This book embodies the art of good story telling and impeccable writing. Le Carre captures the atmosphere of his settings so beautifully, his characters are so well embodied and the pace of the narrative never flags for a moment. The struggles, joys, victories and losses are described spectacularly. It comes alive and one may be reading it but the portrayal makes the story playing out like a film. A real espionage story is what this is all about - not the glamour of Fleming or the super-humans of Ludlum - but the grit, drudgery, hard work of agents, human frailty, poky safe-houses and above all, the bureaucratic maze and political meddling.
A must for all serious readers of English fiction.
My generation will be nostalgic for the days of George Smiley and the newer generation will be stimulated, I hope, to read the old classics like
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Penguin Modern Classics)
,
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: A George Smiley Novel
,
The Honourable Schoolboy
,
Smiley's People
etc.
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A Legacy of Spies Paperback – 31 May 2018
by
John le Carré
(Author)
John le Carré
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Print length368 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherPenguin
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Publication date31 May 2018
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Dimensions12.9 x 2.6 x 19.8 cm
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ISBN-100241981611
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ISBN-13978-0241981610
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Product description
Review
Not since The Spy Who Came in From The Cold has le Carré exercised his gift as a storyteller so powerfully and to such thrilling effect -- John Banville ― Guardian
Gripping, fast-paced . . . A splendid novel -- Andrew Marr ― Sunday Times
A brilliant novel of deception, love and trust to join his supreme espionage canon -- Simon Sebag Montefiore ― Evening Standard, Books of the Year
Perhaps the most significant novelist of the second half of the 20th century in Britain. He will have charted our decline and recorded the nature of our bureaucracies like no one else has. He's in the first rank -- Ian McEwan
It gives the reader, at long last, pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that have been missing for 54 years . . . A Legacy of Spies does something remarkable . . . Like wine, le Carré's writing has got richer with age ― The Times
le Carré's masterful new novel -- Jonathan Freedland ― The Guardian
The English canon has rarely seen an acclaimed novelist and popular entertainer sustain such a hot streak in old age . . . A Legacy of Spies achieves many things. Outstandingly, it is a defiant assertion of creative vigour ― The Observer
A Legacy of Spies deploys a complex and ingeniously layered structure to make the past alive in the present once more . . . le Carré has not lost his touch ― Evening Standard
His writing is as crisp as ever . . . another tale of intrigue which will slip effortlessly into its place in the Smiley canon ― Daily Express
What are we to make of Smiley? What is his game? Do we like him? Admire him? Every le Carré reader has wrestled with these questions-and A Legacy of Spies brings them to the fore more directly than any previous book ― Vanity Fair
Gripping, fast-paced . . . A splendid novel -- Andrew Marr ― Sunday Times
A brilliant novel of deception, love and trust to join his supreme espionage canon -- Simon Sebag Montefiore ― Evening Standard, Books of the Year
Perhaps the most significant novelist of the second half of the 20th century in Britain. He will have charted our decline and recorded the nature of our bureaucracies like no one else has. He's in the first rank -- Ian McEwan
It gives the reader, at long last, pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that have been missing for 54 years . . . A Legacy of Spies does something remarkable . . . Like wine, le Carré's writing has got richer with age ― The Times
le Carré's masterful new novel -- Jonathan Freedland ― The Guardian
The English canon has rarely seen an acclaimed novelist and popular entertainer sustain such a hot streak in old age . . . A Legacy of Spies achieves many things. Outstandingly, it is a defiant assertion of creative vigour ― The Observer
A Legacy of Spies deploys a complex and ingeniously layered structure to make the past alive in the present once more . . . le Carré has not lost his touch ― Evening Standard
His writing is as crisp as ever . . . another tale of intrigue which will slip effortlessly into its place in the Smiley canon ― Daily Express
What are we to make of Smiley? What is his game? Do we like him? Admire him? Every le Carré reader has wrestled with these questions-and A Legacy of Spies brings them to the fore more directly than any previous book ― Vanity Fair
About the Author
John le Carré was born in 1931. For six decades, he wrote novels that came to define our age. The son of a confidence trickster, 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 12 December 2020.
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Product details
- Publisher : Penguin (31 May 2018)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0241981611
- ISBN-13 : 978-0241981610
- Item Weight : 340 g
- Dimensions : 12.9 x 2.6 x 19.8 cm
- Country of Origin : India
- Generic Name : Book
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Reviewed in India on 20 September 2017
A must for all serious readers of English fiction.
My generation will be nostalgic for the days of George Smiley and the newer generation will be stimulated, I hope, to read the old classics like [[ASIN:0141194529 The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Penguin Modern Classics)]], [[ASIN:0143119788 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: A George Smiley Novel]], [[ASIN:0340993774 The Honourable Schoolboy]], [[ASIN:0340993782 Smiley's People]] etc.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Fantastic!
By Dippy on 20 September 2017
This book embodies the art of good story telling and impeccable writing. Le Carre captures the atmosphere of his settings so beautifully, his characters are so well embodied and the pace of the narrative never flags for a moment. The struggles, joys, victories and losses are described spectacularly. It comes alive and one may be reading it but the portrayal makes the story playing out like a film. A real espionage story is what this is all about - not the glamour of Fleming or the super-humans of Ludlum - but the grit, drudgery, hard work of agents, human frailty, poky safe-houses and above all, the bureaucratic maze and political meddling.By Dippy on 20 September 2017
A must for all serious readers of English fiction.
My generation will be nostalgic for the days of George Smiley and the newer generation will be stimulated, I hope, to read the old classics like [[ASIN:0141194529 The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Penguin Modern Classics)]], [[ASIN:0143119788 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: A George Smiley Novel]], [[ASIN:0340993774 The Honourable Schoolboy]], [[ASIN:0340993782 Smiley's People]] etc.
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3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in India on 14 February 2018
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Appears to be a final clearing the desk of papers exercise. Strictly for people who have read ( maybe there arent any who havent ?) Spy who came in from the Cold. So dont ever make this your first John Le Carre. The style and the atmosphere is all intact. There is closure finally, tame perhaps, but it can generate a sense of completeness for a Le Carre fan.
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Reviewed in India on 27 August 2018
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This is a master at work. Le Carre will take you back 40 or more years and create an atmosphere for you to understand how Leamas came back from the cold. This book would definitely excite imagination of those who are reading Le Carre for the first time. I feel it is essential for the new readers to read some of the earlier works of the author especially The Spy Who Came in From The Cold. Although the loyal readers of Le Carre' would know the ending of this book yet the brilliant writing would keep you on suspense till the very end.
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Reviewed in India on 16 November 2017
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What a treat! A late masterpiece by the master himself!! Smiley and le Carre are shadows of each other, each improves with vintage. The book is a real life time machine which miraculously recreates a world which sadly was lost to us, or so we thought. By employing the cleverest of literary devices, le Carre delivers his latest gem. The tantalising presence of Smiley, in every page where he is missing, and the brief seance with Peter Guillam at the end must be taken as le Carre's promise of an ensuing epilogue. Marvellous, evocative, humane.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in India on 1 January 2021
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A classic book from one of my favorite author but not his best by miles and I will recommend this book only to the fans of the author and not to the newcomers as he has written some fine books which they should read first.
Reviewed in India on 18 December 2020
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His last novel. A typical bureaucratic approach taken by present generation on old spies while auditing expenditure. An interesting take.
Reviewed in India on 16 September 2017
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What a joy to read this book. As a longtime admirer of John Lecarre, and particularly of his Smiley series of books, this is is a gift! References to incidents in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley's People make it even more interesting. Finally there is a closure for the Smiley series of books.
Reviewed in India on 26 December 2017
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Takes you back to the George Smiley era while keeping you rooted into the present. Makes for far better reading in you have read The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Understanding the Chronology
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2017Verified Purchase
This book is very good read as a standalone; but really quite wonderful if read as a two-header with "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold". It makes for a much fuller, richer reading experience. The comparative brevity of the two books also lend themselves to this approach (I think both books together total less than 500 pages). In this book there are also references to events which took place in "Tinker, Tailor..." and again having read that book it makes this one more rewarding - but absolutely not essential to do so.
You need to be aware of some half-witted newspaper reviews of this book. They don't seem to have read closely and understood the chronology, and so you will read some disparaging comments about George Smiley making an appearance when he is over 100 years old. They have missed the point that the events in "A Legacy..." are not happening in the present day. The chronology is thus: the narrator Peter Guillam is at some point in the 2010s (perhaps even 2017) is reflecting back upon both events in the mid-1990s when he was required by the Service to revisit events of the late 1950s. There are clues to the 1990s setting through the book (e.g. the description of the Mi6 building in Vauxhall makes it seem relatively new; Guillam is asked if he has a mobile phone or an e-mail, which would be odd questions to ask someone nowadays). Then toward the end of the book, Le Carre drops in a line almost as a throw-away which indicates that the narration is reflecting historical events.
It is a lovely touch by Le Carre ; a bit of "circle-within- a-circle" misdirection befitting a novel about spies.
So, for your mental picture assume a Peter Guillam in his mid-eighties; reflecting on a time in the mid-1990s. In the mid-1990s, Guillam is in his early sixties and is recently retired and George Smiley is in his early eighties. Guillam is being required to revisit events of the late 1950s and early 1960s when he was in his late twenties to early thirties.
Not so difficult to get the head around. The critics in the newspaper book reviews should perhaps stick to Dan Brown books.
You need to be aware of some half-witted newspaper reviews of this book. They don't seem to have read closely and understood the chronology, and so you will read some disparaging comments about George Smiley making an appearance when he is over 100 years old. They have missed the point that the events in "A Legacy..." are not happening in the present day. The chronology is thus: the narrator Peter Guillam is at some point in the 2010s (perhaps even 2017) is reflecting back upon both events in the mid-1990s when he was required by the Service to revisit events of the late 1950s. There are clues to the 1990s setting through the book (e.g. the description of the Mi6 building in Vauxhall makes it seem relatively new; Guillam is asked if he has a mobile phone or an e-mail, which would be odd questions to ask someone nowadays). Then toward the end of the book, Le Carre drops in a line almost as a throw-away which indicates that the narration is reflecting historical events.
It is a lovely touch by Le Carre ; a bit of "circle-within- a-circle" misdirection befitting a novel about spies.
So, for your mental picture assume a Peter Guillam in his mid-eighties; reflecting on a time in the mid-1990s. In the mid-1990s, Guillam is in his early sixties and is recently retired and George Smiley is in his early eighties. Guillam is being required to revisit events of the late 1950s and early 1960s when he was in his late twenties to early thirties.
Not so difficult to get the head around. The critics in the newspaper book reviews should perhaps stick to Dan Brown books.
154 people found this helpful
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Mr. William Rodwell
5.0 out of 5 stars
One more for the road...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2017Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this. Unlike the Constant Gardner or The Tailor of Panama this was stripped back and bare, not fussy or over written - in fact very much like The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Raw and full of emotion. The neatness of tying up the plot of The Spy with today's politics of blame, compensation and faux reconciliation made for a compelling read. The character's were old and care worn, but nevertheless were still fresh. The cynicism of old eyes exposed the facade of the new breed. In the end it was done for the best, and who can say more than that - for better or worse; this is the theme and message. All in all a rewarding and enjoyable read that made me reflect, and chimed greatly with the inadequacies of modern values.
22 people found this helpful
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Graham Mummery
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Legacy of the Cold
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 August 2018Verified Purchase
John Le Carre established himself as possibly the greatest writer of spy fiction with his third novel "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" The novel offered a very different picture of the intelligence world to that of the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming with considerably more realism. In it also Le Carre portrayed an intelligence operation where there were no real heroes, and it had a tragic ending with the two main characters caught up in the ruthless machinations of their political masters. Alec Leamas and Liz Gold shot dead on the Berlin Wall. In the same novel, Le Carre's most famous character, George Smiley, also appears as a minor character.
Smiley has appeared in a number of Le Carre's novels, sometimes as a principal protagonist as in the first two novels or "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy," in others as a minor character. He makes an appearance in this novel and his presence is felt. But the main character in "A Legacy of Spies" is another character who will be familiar to Le Carre readers namely Peter Guillam who is the narrator here.
Writing in the first person is to my knowledge is new to Le Carre. But it works well. The writing is pacy and lucid. The book makes for a good read. Guillam has been recalled to London in Smiley's absence to deal with a fall out from the events described in "the Spy." Firstly from children of Leamas and Liz, and secondly from political masters with different values to those of the Cold War looking to expose the "sins" of the past.
There has always been an element of Le Carre being a moralist in some of his novels, even if this is not worn on the sleeve. This usually concerns the morality of politics and spying, not to mention matters of loyalties and betrayal. At the end of it Smiley voices a commentary on this which might be that of the whole Cold War. But at the same time the novel progresses as a story. Those wanting just a good read will not be disappointed either.
The novel could be read in isolation. But at the same time what is given here is a tying up of threads in the novels where Smiley appears . Much of it adds background to the events and characters described in "The Spy" and links them into events and characters in the later novels. "A Legacy" makes for a very satisfying tie up of the Smiley/Circus sequence of novels. Perhaps not Le Carre's very greatest, but up near them
Smiley has appeared in a number of Le Carre's novels, sometimes as a principal protagonist as in the first two novels or "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy," in others as a minor character. He makes an appearance in this novel and his presence is felt. But the main character in "A Legacy of Spies" is another character who will be familiar to Le Carre readers namely Peter Guillam who is the narrator here.
Writing in the first person is to my knowledge is new to Le Carre. But it works well. The writing is pacy and lucid. The book makes for a good read. Guillam has been recalled to London in Smiley's absence to deal with a fall out from the events described in "the Spy." Firstly from children of Leamas and Liz, and secondly from political masters with different values to those of the Cold War looking to expose the "sins" of the past.
There has always been an element of Le Carre being a moralist in some of his novels, even if this is not worn on the sleeve. This usually concerns the morality of politics and spying, not to mention matters of loyalties and betrayal. At the end of it Smiley voices a commentary on this which might be that of the whole Cold War. But at the same time the novel progresses as a story. Those wanting just a good read will not be disappointed either.
The novel could be read in isolation. But at the same time what is given here is a tying up of threads in the novels where Smiley appears . Much of it adds background to the events and characters described in "The Spy" and links them into events and characters in the later novels. "A Legacy" makes for a very satisfying tie up of the Smiley/Circus sequence of novels. Perhaps not Le Carre's very greatest, but up near them
11 people found this helpful
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Kat Man Do
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvelous...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 September 2017Verified Purchase
Wow.! Peter Guillam in his dotage, so god only knows how old George is, being forced to relive and explain Operation Windfall to a new generation. This is just the writing of an absolute master of his craft at the top of his form. I absolutely loved it, as George in Tinker Tailor said "This is the start of a very clever knot that turned the Circus inside out" and was probably the start of the slide that led into Operation Testify. I do have some observations though, and I will reread it at some point in the not too distant future to check my own understanding, so frustratingly I'm not going to comment about them here. It is a pity that George only makes a fleeting appearance but it was interesting to see other old friends from the past reappear. Just wonderful writing and I'm sure there could be more.
12 people found this helpful
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mr peter j russell
3.0 out of 5 stars
To tell the truth there were long stretches which were quite boring. Elegantly written
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 October 2017Verified Purchase
I am sorry to say that the master has lost his touch. To tell the truth there were long stretches which were quite boring. Elegantly written, witty and cynical but in the final analysis it promised more than it delivered.
17 people found this helpful
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