Viking Silverview: John Le Carré

I've just read chapter 1. I can tell it's going to be brilliant. John le Carré hasn't lost a beat. Only he has the ability to craft a mesmerizing atmosphere of British Intelligence that keeps you on the edge of your seat, yet still compelling you to linger over his wonderful use of words and detailed application of adjectives. I'm thrilled to journey into this novel.

John Le Carre reinvented the spy novel with fascinating, intricately plotted books involving British intelligence officers matching wits with their counterparts behind the Iron Curtain. Le Carre's characters were a far cry from the "superman" James Bond, as they struggled with personal problems and professional conflicts while working for a secret bureaucracy which sometimes did not return their loyalty. This last novel, discovered after his death by Le Carre's son, continues these themes in a rather short (208 pages) but very readable story. One of the main characters, Julian, has fled the London rat race to open a bookshop in a small English town. He is befriended by a mysterious older man who draws Julian into a far reaching conspiracy. In addition, the "George Smiley" character in this book, Proctor, is a dedicated and smart intelligence officer who is assigned to unravel a complex mystery. A number of other characters are also involved, each with their own agendas. The basic story is well written, and teases out clues for the careful reader as the different plot lines converge. But there are also larger ideas here, concerning the role of Western governments in fighting terrorism, in this case events during the Bosnia Wars. Overall, I found this book to be a very interesting and enjoyable read.

It is bittersweet reading this, knowing that it is LeCarre's last book (at least to our knowledge). A wonderful read, but as with all LeCarre novels, you need to pay attention to the plot and characters. I found myself re-reading earlier passages to clarify issues and characters; but this is the challenge of reading LeCarre!Well written; interesting characters. It flows and reads quickly and easily. Highly entertaining.I won't go in to various plot lines, suffice it to suggest that this is vintage LeCarre, that all LeCarre enthusiasts will enjoy this - and any new LeCarre readers are in for an amazing experience and journey...

It is vintage Le Carre and I thank his son Nick for seeing it through the publishing process. Having read all the Le Carre novels over the years, I can't help but feel that this one was left unpublished in his drawer for a reason. I say this because the end of the book felt unfinished to me. It just stopped. And that is uncharacteristic of his writing. Although there may be many questions when you are in the middle of his stories, he always concludes, at least for me, by summing things up in the end. Yet this one left me with a lot of questions and the characters seemed thin to me. Great story though and I enjoyed it very much. He will be missed.

Lovely book that demonstrates beautifully author Le Carre's skill at portraying the gray corners of the spy business, no matter what country is pulling the strings. Every government explains its decisions as "in the best interests of national security", but the soldiers in the security agencies eventually come to know how hollow and untrustworthy those words are--even as they carry out orders of implementation. "Silverview" is the story of an ex-spy whose ambivalence about his government's motivations and total disillusion ares set in stone after one horrible incident that he is responsible for. His loyalties shift and the rest of his life is spent hiding his changed perspective.Le Carre understood the world of spies and spying and has written his last few books, including "Silverview", in shades of gray.So sorry to see this wonderful author disappear from the scene. If you miss him as much as I do, you might take a look at the books of Mick Herron. A different voice, with a bit less elegance of language, but definitely a worthy follower of the master.