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Post by bigjohnritchie on Dec 13, 2020 22:17:58 GMT
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Post by bucknall67 on Dec 13, 2020 22:50:11 GMT
RIP.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2020 23:54:35 GMT
I enjoyed reading his books generally although I found that a couple were actually a bit hard going and unnecessarily long in my opinion. One of the best authors in his genre and it would be nice if there were still a couple of previously unreleased manuscripts ready to be issued.
RIP
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Post by Okie Stokie. on Dec 13, 2020 23:58:54 GMT
R.I.P.
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Post by chuffedstokie on Dec 14, 2020 0:20:57 GMT
Especially like The Night Manager. He had a speaking cameo in that as well.
RIP.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Dec 14, 2020 0:49:16 GMT
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Post by supersimonstainrod on Dec 14, 2020 1:22:45 GMT
Betrayed by the despised Kim Philby,regarded himself as lucky to be alive as some unfortunate intelligence operatives would have died agonising deaths as a result of the treachery.
'Smiley's People;' 'Tinker,Tailor,Soldier,Spy;' and 'A Perfect Spy' provided the richest material for the BBC to produce some of the greatest and repeatedly watchable drama they've ever made.
(Alec Guinness as George Smiley was a genius piece of casting.)
RIP.
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Dec 14, 2020 8:56:46 GMT
A great author who certainly knew the subject he wrote about! I often wondered why he never got a knighthood or similar honour - many inferior novelists did. Perhaps some in government were uneasy about the spotlight an ex employee shone on the murky world of intelligence? Although Intelligence staff always claimed to be laid back about his books and many admitted to enjoying them.
I saw him once. When I worked in Plymouth I occasionally got sent to work on VAT in Cornwall - and on one visit to a trader I was working on the books in a rather splendid home/office in the garden - with views to die for. The lady of the house had a long chat to a neighbour who passed by and told me who he was when he had moved on. He lived most of his life in Cornwall after he became a full time novelist.
RIP JLC
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Post by partickpotter on Dec 14, 2020 9:41:24 GMT
A superb writer - great plots, settings, characters and style.
One of the 20th century’s great authors.
RIP
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Post by prestwichpotter on Dec 14, 2020 10:16:36 GMT
A great author who certainly knew the subject he wrote about! I often wondered why he never got a knighthood or similar honour - many inferior novelists did. Perhaps some in government were uneasy about the spotlight an ex employee shone on the murky world of intelligence? Although Intelligence staff always claimed to be laid back about his books and many admitted to enjoying them. I saw him once. When I worked in Plymouth I occasionally got sent to work on VAT in Cornwall - and on one visit to a trader I was working on the books in a rather splendid home/office in the garden - with views to die for. The lady of the house had a long chat to a neighbour who passed by and told me who he was when he had moved on. He lived most of his life in Cornwall after he became a full time novelist. RIP JLC Would have been pointless offering it to him....
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Dec 14, 2020 11:45:17 GMT
A great author who certainly knew the subject he wrote about! I often wondered why he never got a knighthood or similar honour - many inferior novelists did. Perhaps some in government were uneasy about the spotlight an ex employee shone on the murky world of intelligence? Although Intelligence staff always claimed to be laid back about his books and many admitted to enjoying them. I saw him once. When I worked in Plymouth I occasionally got sent to work on VAT in Cornwall - and on one visit to a trader I was working on the books in a rather splendid home/office in the garden - with views to die for. The lady of the house had a long chat to a neighbour who passed by and told me who he was when he had moved on. He lived most of his life in Cornwall after he became a full time novelist. RIP JLC Would have been pointless offering it to him.... Fair enough. Good sound reasons. I've never really understood why so many of our honours still mention the Empire. Perhaps MBEs etc. should become known as "Member of the British order of Excellence" etc.
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Post by murphthesurf on Dec 14, 2020 14:10:44 GMT
Betrayed by the despised Kim Philby,regarded himself as lucky to be alive as some unfortunate intelligence operatives would have died agonising deaths as a result of the treachery. 'Smiley's People;' 'Tinker,Tailor,Soldier,Spy;' and 'A Perfect Spy' provided the richest material for the BBC to produce some of the greatest and repeatedly watchable drama they've ever made. (Alec Guinness as George Smiley was a genius piece of casting.) RIP. Excellent post, and a great observation re. Alec Guinness - casting couldn't have got any better. I've never been into reading spy stuff - just never tried it - but it's probably Mr Surf's absolute favourite literary genre, so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if he almost knows all JLC's written works by heart. I might try one of the books now - I just asked him which he recommends I should start with, and he suggested 'The Spy Who Came in From the Cold'. He also mentioned that the most recent JLC book he bought, which wasn't long ago, was 'Agent Running in the Field', which he said makes reference both to Brexit and Trump's America, so I think I might go for that. In a BBC TV News Channel short tribute which is currently running and shows every hour or so, they mention that JLC, real name David Cornwell, 'was always fascinated by lies and lying from a very young age' and that 'he first started spying by spying on his fellow students whilst at university.' Having had a personal outlook like that, plus having worked for both MI5 and MI6, he must've led a hell of a life. RIP
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Dec 14, 2020 14:19:56 GMT
Betrayed by the despised Kim Philby,regarded himself as lucky to be alive as some unfortunate intelligence operatives would have died agonising deaths as a result of the treachery. 'Smiley's People;' 'Tinker,Tailor,Soldier,Spy;' and 'A Perfect Spy' provided the richest material for the BBC to produce some of the greatest and repeatedly watchable drama they've ever made. (Alec Guinness as George Smiley was a genius piece of casting.) RIP. Excellent post, and a great observation re. Alec Guinness - casting couldn't have got any better. I've never been into reading spy stuff - just never tried it - but it's probably Mr Surf's absolute favourite literary genre, so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if he almost knows all JLC's written works by heart. I might try one of the books now - I just asked him which he recommends I should start with, and he suggested 'The Spy Who Came in From the Cold'. He also mentioned that the most recent JLC book he bought, which wasn't long ago, was 'Agent Running in the Field', which he said makes reference both to Brexit and Trump's America, so I think I might go for that. In a BBC TV News Channel short tribute which is currently running and shows every hour or so, they mention that JLC, real name David Cornwell, 'was always fascinated by lies and lying from a very young age' and that 'he first started spying by spying on his fellow students whilst at university.' Having had a personal outlook like that, plus having worked for both MI5 and MI6, he must've led a hell of a life. RIP If you want a tip, the so-called Karla trilogy is well worth a go: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People all deal with the long-running attempt to counter the actions of a Soviet spy code-named Karla. Excellent stuff. Along with Ian Banks and Sebastian Faulks, one of the greatest British writers of the last fifty years.
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Post by murphthesurf on Dec 14, 2020 14:35:06 GMT
Excellent post, and a great observation re. Alec Guinness - casting couldn't have got any better. RIP If you want a tip, the so-called Karla trilogy is well worth a go: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People all deal with the long-running attempt to counter the actions of a Soviet spy code-named Karla. Excellent stuff. Along with Ian Banks and Sebastian Faulks, one of the greatest British writers of the last fifty years. Thank you, RWB! (He's got a fair few by Sebastian Faulks - who, he says, 'also wrote a James Bond book, as did a few other authors since Ian Fleming quit' - and knows of the Iain Banks books but doesn't have any.) Sorry for going a bit off-topic, folks.
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Post by AlliG on Dec 14, 2020 15:36:59 GMT
Many years ago my best friend gave me the Smiley v Karla trilogy book as he couldn't get into the complexity and lack of action.
I was hooked. In fact the less action and the more watching, waiting and listening the better his books are. He really was a master of making you feel the stress, tension and often boredom of endless waiting and worrying that a mistake had been made and something would go wrong.
It is perhaps fortunate that he got his one attempt to get George Smiley to be an "action hero" out of the way at the end of his first novel (Call for the Dead) and thereafter he mainly seemed to have decided to leave all that to other thriller writers.
He is one of the few authors I return to time after time. It doesn't matter that I now know all the main details off by heart, it is the way the nuances of the stories unfold and the pictures are painted. I have about 20 of his books on my Kindle that I regularly read on holiday and I am also currently re-working my way through my collection of Le Carre audiobooks on my morning walk (quite a few are narrated by Michael Jayston who played Peter Guillam in the original Tinker, Tailor TV series).
As well as the obvious books, mentioned on some of the above posts, The Perfect Spy where the main character's father is basically his own father is a fascinating read. The Constant Gardener and Absolute Friends are also great reads.
He did also unfortunately write the only book I have ever given up reading with no intention of going back to in the future, the truly dreadful The Naive and Sentimental Lover, but we are all entitled to one aberration and his next 6 or so novels were all absolute classics.
R.I.P
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Dec 14, 2020 16:27:28 GMT
Many years ago my best friend gave me the Smiley v Karla trilogy book as he couldn't get into the complexity and lack of action. I was hooked. In fact the less action and the more watching, waiting and listening the better his books are. He really was a master of making you feel the stress, tension and often boredom of endless waiting and worrying that a mistake had been made and something would go wrong. It is perhaps fortunate that he got his one attempt to get George Smiley to be an "action hero" out of the way at the end of his first novel (Call for the Dead) and thereafter he mainly seemed to have decided to leave all that to other thriller writers. He is one of the few authors I return to time after time. It doesn't matter that I now know all the main details off by heart, it is the way the nuances of the stories unfold and the pictures are painted. I have about 20 of his books on my Kindle that I regularly read on holiday and I am also currently re-working my way through my collection of Le Carre audiobooks on my morning walk (quite a few are narrated by Michael Jayston who played Peter Guillam in the original Tinker, Tailor TV series). As well as the obvious books, mentioned on some of the above posts, The Perfect Spy where the main character's father is basically his own father is a fascinating read. The Constant Gardener and Absolute Friends are also great reads. He did also unfortunately write the only book I have ever given up reading with no intention of going back to in the future, the truly dreadful The Naive and Sentimental Lover, but we are all entitled to one aberration and his next 6 or so novels were all absolute classics. R.I.P Spot on, that. In fairness to the BBC, their production of the 'Smiley' novels in the early 80s starring Alec Guinness did a very good job of capturing what you describe, which is probably the 'real' espionage game: patience, waiting and quiet subterfuge. James Bond is obviously fun and entertaining but also largely nonsense!
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Post by hoffgreen on Dec 14, 2020 18:41:00 GMT
Probably the best introduction to a drama ever.
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Post by RichieBarkerOut! on Dec 14, 2020 21:31:21 GMT
Excellent post, and a great observation re. Alec Guinness - casting couldn't have got any better. I've never been into reading spy stuff - just never tried it - but it's probably Mr Surf's absolute favourite literary genre, so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if he almost knows all JLC's written works by heart. I might try one of the books now - I just asked him which he recommends I should start with, and he suggested 'The Spy Who Came in From the Cold'. He also mentioned that the most recent JLC book he bought, which wasn't long ago, was 'Agent Running in the Field', which he said makes reference both to Brexit and Trump's America, so I think I might go for that. In a BBC TV News Channel short tribute which is currently running and shows every hour or so, they mention that JLC, real name David Cornwell, 'was always fascinated by lies and lying from a very young age' and that 'he first started spying by spying on his fellow students whilst at university.' Having had a personal outlook like that, plus having worked for both MI5 and MI6, he must've led a hell of a life. RIP If you want a tip, the so-called Karla trilogy is well worth a go: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People all deal with the long-running attempt to counter the actions of a Soviet spy code-named Karla. Excellent stuff. Along with Ian Banks and Sebastian Faulks, one of the greatest British writers of the last fifty years. I felt let down by The Honourable Schoolboy and barely consider it worthy of being sandwiched between the other two of the Karla trilogy. On another note, Le Carre's ability to completely describe a character in a couple of sentences was extraordinary.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Dec 15, 2020 15:51:02 GMT
If you want a tip, the so-called Karla trilogy is well worth a go: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People all deal with the long-running attempt to counter the actions of a Soviet spy code-named Karla. Excellent stuff. Along with Ian Banks and Sebastian Faulks, one of the greatest British writers of the last fifty years. I felt let down by The Honourable Schoolboy and barely consider it worthy of being sandwiched between the other two of the Karla trilogy. On another note, Le Carre's ability to completely describe a character in a couple of sentences was extraordinary. Fair point, it is the weakest of the three. Almost like it was marking time until the final one wrapped the whole thing up.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2020 18:51:16 GMT
Probably the best introduction to a drama ever. I came here to say just that. Beat me to it. Two minutes. No words. But you are left with perfect quick sketches of four of the main characters. Esterhase is fussy and fastidious, emulating the others but an outsider and junior to them. Bland is working class, slightly slobby, and academic. Alleline is pompous and seats himself at the head of the table, even though he isn't yet the leader. Haydon performs a literal balancing act with his cup and saucer, and leaves the door open. There is a fifth, symbolically empty chair at the table because we haven't met Smiley yet. And then Alleline says "Right. We shall start." And roll opening credits. The whole thing is beautifully acted. If there's a better opening to a drama, I haven't seen it yet.
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Post by lordb on Dec 15, 2020 20:10:28 GMT
Probably the best introduction to a drama ever. I came here to say just that. Beat me to it. Two minutes. No words. But you are left with perfect quick sketches of four of the main characters. Esterhase is fussy and fastidious, emulating the others but an outsider and junior to them. Bland is working class, slightly slobby, and academic. Alleline is pompous and seats himself at the head of the table, even though he isn't yet the leader. Haydon performs a literal balancing act with his cup and saucer, and leaves the door open. There is a fifth, symbolically empty chair at the table because we haven't met Smiley yet. And then Alleline says "Right. We shall start." And roll opening credits. The whole thing is beautifully acted. If there's a better opening to a drama, I haven't seen it yet. Surely BBC will put these on iPlayer
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Post by AlliG on Dec 16, 2020 12:10:38 GMT
Probably the best introduction to a drama ever. I came here to say just that. Beat me to it. Two minutes. No words. But you are left with perfect quick sketches of four of the main characters. Esterhase is fussy and fastidious, emulating the others but an outsider and junior to them. Bland is working class, slightly slobby, and academic. Alleline is pompous and seats himself at the head of the table, even though he isn't yet the leader. Haydon performs a literal balancing act with his cup and saucer, and leaves the door open. There is a fifth, symbolically empty chair at the table because we haven't met Smiley yet. And then Alleline says "Right. We shall start." And roll opening credits. The whole thing is beautifully acted. If there's a better opening to a drama, I haven't seen it yet. I was fortunate to find a cheap DVD of both BBC series a few years ago and they are as enjoyable now as when I first saw the original TV series. The cast list is an incredible Whos Who of British acting. Apart from the obvious stars of the series like Alec Guinness, Ian Richardson, Bernard Hepton, Michael Aldridge & Terence Rigby, there are appearances by Beryl Reid, Dame Eileen Atkins, Patrick Stewart, Ian Bannen, Hywel Bennett, Joss Ackland, Warren Clarke, Sian Phillips, Bill Paterson, Alan Rickman and many others. There is even an appearance by Kurt Jurgens.
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Post by hoffgreen on Dec 16, 2020 19:25:43 GMT
I came here to say just that. Beat me to it. Two minutes. No words. But you are left with perfect quick sketches of four of the main characters. Esterhase is fussy and fastidious, emulating the others but an outsider and junior to them. Bland is working class, slightly slobby, and academic. Alleline is pompous and seats himself at the head of the table, even though he isn't yet the leader. Haydon performs a literal balancing act with his cup and saucer, and leaves the door open. There is a fifth, symbolically empty chair at the table because we haven't met Smiley yet. And then Alleline says "Right. We shall start." And roll opening credits. The whole thing is beautifully acted. If there's a better opening to a drama, I haven't seen it yet. I was fortunate to find a cheap DVD of both BBC series a few years ago and they are as enjoyable now as when I first saw the original TV series. The cast list is an incredible Whos Who of British acting. Apart from the obvious stars of the series like Alec Guinness, Ian Richardson, Bernard Hepton, Michael Aldridge & Terence Rigby, there are appearances by Beryl Reid, Dame Eileen Atkins, Patrick Stewart, Ian Bannen, Hywel Bennett, Joss Ackland, Warren Clarke, Sian Phillips, Bill Paterson, Alan Rickman and many others. There is even an appearance by Kurt Jurgens. Including the late great Barry Foster
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Post by supersimonstainrod on Dec 16, 2020 20:10:21 GMT
I came here to say just that. Beat me to it. Two minutes. No words. But you are left with perfect quick sketches of four of the main characters. Esterhase is fussy and fastidious, emulating the others but an outsider and junior to them. Bland is working class, slightly slobby, and academic. Alleline is pompous and seats himself at the head of the table, even though he isn't yet the leader. Haydon performs a literal balancing act with his cup and saucer, and leaves the door open. There is a fifth, symbolically empty chair at the table because we haven't met Smiley yet. And then Alleline says "Right. We shall start." And roll opening credits. The whole thing is beautifully acted. If there's a better opening to a drama, I haven't seen it yet. I was fortunate to find a cheap DVD of both BBC series a few years ago and they are as enjoyable now as when I first saw the original TV series. The cast list is an incredible Whos Who of British acting. Apart from the obvious stars of the series like Alec Guinness, Ian Richardson, Bernard Hepton, Michael Aldridge & Terence Rigby, there are appearances by Beryl Reid, Dame Eileen Atkins, Patrick Stewart, Ian Bannen, Hywel Bennett, Joss Ackland, Warren Clarke, Sian Phillips, Bill Paterson, Alan Rickman and many others. There is even an appearance by Kurt Jurgens. Binge watched 'A Perfect Spy' yesterday,and had never before noticed that the screenplay was written by Arthur Hopcraft (of 'The Football Man' fame,Graham Taylor's favourite football book.) The BBC adaptations feature a stellar cast as you highlight with great dialogue,but also lonely landscapes,down at heel,gloomy interior locations which all contribute to the sense of intrigue and isolation and that paranoiac sense of being watched. I also find the terminology employed in 'TTSP' and 'SP' so richly evocative: Lamplighters;Scalphunters;Letterbox job etc. Hard to imagine that watching people watching others could be so interesting.
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Post by northstaffycher on Dec 17, 2020 13:17:36 GMT
He has made us think that he is dead, but is he? Could be classic spook double bluff. Probably in Vienna.
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