John Le Carre is dead

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Real name David Cornwell, of course. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is one of the most significant English novels of the late twentieth century and led to one of the most important television dramas ever broadcast. A lot of the rest of his work is, needless to say, not exactly bad either. I've always held that is only genre-snobbery that prevented him from getting the Nobel. Anyway, he was eighty nine, which isn't a bad innings, as far as both of his occupations - author and spook - are concerned.

'Who has a love affair in Immingham? Where is Immingham anyway?'

RIP

[Mr. Smith]

D&*n you 2020. Ironically I was just on a binge with all his interviews last week, one of which I swear was recent.

RIP to the man behind Smiley...RIP...

[DINGO Joe]

Wonder who did it?

[CumbrianLefty]

Was one of the bad guys over the Salman Rushdie business, unfortunately.

(a few other generally OK people also were, of course)

Often cited as left-liberal, but personally identified as a "compassionate conservative" IIRC.

[Silent Hunter]

Wonder who did it?

Pneumonia.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I've never sat down and read any of his books, although I've seen and loved various adaptations. Perhaps it's time to rectify that.

[Blair]

I've never sat down and read any of his books, although I've seen and loved various adaptations. Perhaps it's time to rectify that.

This; I watched Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy again this year and loved it.

I had watched it as a teenager when it came out & even then a fair bit went over my head but I'm now going to finally give the novels a go

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Often cited as left-liberal, but personally identified as a "compassionate conservative" IIRC.

He was a genepool Liberal (with a somewhat rocky relationship to the party for certain fairly obvious reasons given his biography...) and small 'c' conservative often misidentified as some sort of radical, yes. I think for the sort of novelist he was the old centre (so to speak) was an ideal position from which to observe: a critical aspect of Tinker Tailor is that Haydon (like the people he was based on) was at once both a loyal Communist and a genuine hard-right patrician Tory and that, somehow, in that corrupt contradiction lay the seeds of treason.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I've never sat down and read any of his books, although I've seen and loved various adaptations. Perhaps it's time to rectify that.

Very much worth it, though I should warn you that Jim Prideaux's story is even more utterly heartbreaking in the novel than even the television adaptation...

[DINGO Joe]

Wonder who did it?

Pneumonia.

Sure, that's what they want you to believe

[CumbrianLefty]

Wonder who did it?

Pneumonia.

Sure, that's what they want you to believe

Unless that is a double bluff, of course.