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RIP John Le Carre

TimeODanaos
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A fascinating life, often reflected in his pages. No deep understanding of Englishness - from the discomforts of a chap's origins, to their secret love of Germany - is complete without reading him. RIP Mr Cornwell, and thanks.
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Tony C.
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"I used to think it was clever to confuse comedy with tragedy. Now I wish I could distinguish them."

- John le Carré


Fantastic writer, and observer. RIP
 
kip595
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Truly a legend. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold remains one of the finest spy novels ever written, IMHO.

May he and Fleming being having a cuppa somewhere and arguing literature and espionage - R.I.P.
 
Charlemagne1333
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How would one set a ‘honeytrap’ without John le Carré?

His novels also translated well to films. Gary Oldman’s portrayal of a reticent Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, summed up the whole spy novel premise of trusting no one.

A literary great
 
kaapstadflaneur
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One of the absolute best -- so much more than just a genre writer. The Karla Trilogy, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, and A Perfect Spy are more than just thrillers, they're literary novels of the highest order. Some of Le Carre's later books bordered on polemical and lacked the nuance of his earlier Cold War work, but they were nonetheless worth reading for his elegant prose, dry wit, and unique turns of phrase. A major loss. RIP.
 
Tony C.
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kaapstadflaneur kaapstadflaneur
One of the absolute best -- so much more than just a genre writer.

Agreed. When I am asked about my favorite writers, he is always on the list, and the fact that he is known for spy novels is purely coincidental.
 
S
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Charlemagne1333 Charlemagne1333
How would one set a ‘honeytrap’ without John le Carré?

His novels also translated well to films. Gary Oldman’s portrayal of a reticent Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, summed up the whole spy novel premise of trusting no one.

A literary great
The Oldman version is good but the earlier making of Tinker Tailor with Alec Guinness is a true masterpiece, more brooding, thoughtful and considerably more darkly menacing than the Oldman version.
 
Larry S
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Huge fan ... 2020 has been a very rough year. His last interview with Teri Gross on “Fresh Air” still haunts me. His depth of perception on the world, geopolitics, the human condition will be sorely missed. BTW.... Fresh Air on NPR is broadcasting both of Terri’s interviews today. They are terrific.
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Tony C.
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“A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.”

–JLC
 
Charlemagne1333
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S size11s
The Oldman version is good but the earlier making of Tinker Tailor with Alec Guinness is a true masterpiece, more brooding, thoughtful and considerably more darkly menacing than the Oldman version.
Agreed, Guiness’ classic portrayal of Smiley is irrefutable, especially as the film was made not long after the book was published, and was released during the height of the geopolitical tensions of the Cold War - something that no modern day adaptation could illustrate.

Oldman’s version differs, in that 90% of the narrative is expressed through his eyes. His abilty to convey distrust by saying nothing is estimable - a quality more relevant for our times...
 
Gav1967
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What a great loss one of my favourite authors. I have all his books and the one of the only authors I re-read on a regular basis

20201214_190256.jpg 20201214_190227.jpg
 
Norfolk
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Me too...collected early first editions then got every new one for last 30 years. A brilliant writer of the human condition...like Greene.
E660E394-3DA0-4324-BF2C-573DA8D54BC3.jpeg
 
88cut
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Does anyone know if he's wearing an Omega in this picture? Could be a quartz Seamaster from the 80s


5778.jpg
 
Pastorbottle
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88cut 88cut
Here's another picture

JLC-blank_0.jpg
Dunno what it is, but I very much doubt it an Omega…………blow the pic up and I can’t see an Omega logo, can’t read the brand either but there are too many letters to be Omega.
 
Makesbelieve
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It does look like a Quartz Deville or Seamaster from the later 70's early 80's but as it doesn't have the Omega symbol I'd rule either of those two out (unless it was retouched for legal reasons).

Whatever the brand name is it's pretty short as it seems to be the same length as the word below, which given the smallness of the crown is probably ‘QUARTZ’. What about the DOXA 4190 from the 1980s... the crown isn't the same but it definitely has a similar square rather than rectangular shape and matches from a word length perspective.
 
doxa-8420699.jpg
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