Inspired by Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana, John le Carré's sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic The Tailor of Panama is th...
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Nov 26, 2010
Jim
rated it: 
Yet another Le Carre novel that knocks the spots off so many others I pick up in the average year, borne by the relentless characterisations that gradually shake off the disbelief and draw you in completely to the story being told. What begins as a not very credible collection of near comic caricatures grows into some sort of reality while allowing the plot to strain at the limits of believability, anchored by the thoughts and actions of the principle protagonists. I didn’t warm to the Tailor th
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Jun 17, 2010
John
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The first of le Carre's novels that I have tried, this one was OK. Set in Panama, a local tailor to the wealthy and powerful with a penchant for pleasant meaningless conversation and a prior criminal background becomes a spy for an avaricious young britian. Largely he creates fantastical plots for his spymaster which ultimately culminates in an US invasion.
Although it was written better than 10 years ago, it harkens to recent events that led to the Iraqi innvasion on a mad hunt f More...
Although it was written better than 10 years ago, it harkens to recent events that led to the Iraqi innvasion on a mad hunt f More...
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Sep 26, 2011
Sundarraj
rated it:
It is an atypical spy book. There is no suspense. A tailor in Panama is selected by the British to provide information to the British intelligence because his customers include top level officials of Panama including the President himself.
The tailor has been a con from the beginning of his life. His whole life is based on lies. The British use the information they have on him to coerce him to provide them with intelligence reports based on what he hears his customer's speak.
F More...
The tailor has been a con from the beginning of his life. His whole life is based on lies. The British use the information they have on him to coerce him to provide them with intelligence reports based on what he hears his customer's speak.
F More...
Jan 10, 2011
Dee
rated it: 
I have been on a spy-thriller kick for a little while now. I wanted to read some of Le Carre's books, but they are mostly not available on the Kindle. I was in a used book store and found several of his novels cheap. I decided to "slum" it and read a real book. When trying to decide which book I found a recommendation online that listed The Tailor of Panama as one of Le Carre's top 4 books. If this is one of his best, I'd hate to read the ones not on the list. This book was bad!
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Aug 09, 2010
Richard
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The Tailor of Panama
John le Carré, Coronet Books (1996)
I picked up a tatty copy of the Tailor of Panama because I’d been feeling rather ashamed for never having read a John le Carré novel. And reading just a few pages, I immediately knew I’d like the rest of it. The conversational language, the peppy tongue-in-cheek descriptions – here was a confident writer patient enough to allow a good story to unravel on its own. He doesn’t feel compelled, as many thriller writers do, to ba More...
John le Carré, Coronet Books (1996)
I picked up a tatty copy of the Tailor of Panama because I’d been feeling rather ashamed for never having read a John le Carré novel. And reading just a few pages, I immediately knew I’d like the rest of it. The conversational language, the peppy tongue-in-cheek descriptions – here was a confident writer patient enough to allow a good story to unravel on its own. He doesn’t feel compelled, as many thriller writers do, to ba More...
Oct 19, 2011
Patrick
rated it:
For background information, I read John Le Carre's novel The Tailor of Panama. It is only the second Le Carre novel I've read (the other was his third, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold). And I enjoyed it immensely, I was surprised to see so many negative comments from readers at Amazon.com, but apparently it was a sort of departure from his usual style. He clearly states that Graham Greene's Our Man In Havana was an influence in writing the novel. it is apparent to me that he has done significa
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Dec 27, 2009
Molly
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This was my first le Carre book, and now that I think of it, the first "spy" book I've read. I put "spy" in quotes because all of the characters are so incredibly flawed (in a completely addictive way) that no one really deserves the title of "spy", particularly were that title to imply any sense of heroism. le Carre gives great, detailed descriptions of everything from the specifications of a perfect handmade suit (who knew about the intricacies of the perfect butt
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Apr 03, 2011
Philip
rated it:
The Cold War is over, but that doesn't mean spying is dead. matter of fact, it seems in post-Cold War ear, it's taken a whole different meaning. Such is the idea leCarre's book presents us with. You've got spying on an international level, involving not governmental conspiracies but as well individual intrigues that are personalized on varying levels. The character of Harry Pendel is a man living in the shadow of his past, and just when he figured he'd worked so hard to escape it, in comes a deb
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Sep 08, 2010
Kathy
rated it: 
An overabundance of characters, a storyline that shifts radically and with little warning, and this reader moaning, "What's going on here??" But parts were quite amusing, passages often colorfully written, some personae engaging if not particularly sympathetic.
Le Carre acknowledges Graham Greene in an afterword, but I wonder if some send-ups crept into the actual text. Mellors, for instance - that psuedonym of le Carre's Scotsman - was the name of Lady Chatterly's lover; th More...
Le Carre acknowledges Graham Greene in an afterword, but I wonder if some send-ups crept into the actual text. Mellors, for instance - that psuedonym of le Carre's Scotsman - was the name of Lady Chatterly's lover; th More...
Mar 07, 2010
Laura
rated it:
I like le Carre because he always seem to throw in a bit of politics while telling his mystery. This was no exception giving me a peak at the Panama Canal politics - a little peak. The story was good, about a reluctant spy and a bungling home office desperate for some sort of conspiracy. My only problem was that le Carre became long winded in parts of the story I wasn't that interested in. Or maybe in every scene it only bugged me more when it was about something I didn't want to have to keep re
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Jan 10, 2012
sabisteb
rated it:
Harry Pendel ist ein durch Fehlinvestitionen hochverschuldeter Herrenschneider in Panama City. Pendel ist bekannt in der Oberschicht und seine Frau ist die Chefsekretärin von Ernie Delgado, dem Vorsitzenden der Kanalkommission. Harry Pendel ist somit das perfekte Opfer für Andy Osnard, der für den britischen Geheimdienst arbeitet und Pendels eher unrühmliche Vergangenheit kennt. Er erpresst Pendel für England zu spionieren und weitere Agenten anzuwerben, als Gegenleistung will er dessen Gel More...
Aug 14, 2011
J.
rated it:
Chance Favors The Prepared Mind - Pascal
Not a suspense / espionage in the regular le Carré mode, but a satire of same, and an expansive, elaborate novel at that. Since the demise of the Cold War this author has been casting around for another conflict to narrate, and I'm not sure le Carré has ever allowed himself to be this carried away by his characters and their dramatic entanglements.
That being said, there is an enormous asterisk here. The story of a bourgeoi More...
Jan 29, 2012
Oceana2602
rated it:
I'll let you in on a secret: this book doesn't belong to me.
It sits there on my shelf, but it is not my own. And I don't intend to give it back either.
Yes, that's right, I'm a book thief. (though, legally, I suppose I could argue that a) it's not theft because it was in fact given to me, and b) the giver's behaviour leads to the conclusion that he wanted me to keep it).
The reason I'm keeping this book is not because it is such a good book. I don't really know More...
It sits there on my shelf, but it is not my own. And I don't intend to give it back either.
Yes, that's right, I'm a book thief. (though, legally, I suppose I could argue that a) it's not theft because it was in fact given to me, and b) the giver's behaviour leads to the conclusion that he wanted me to keep it).
The reason I'm keeping this book is not because it is such a good book. I don't really know More...
Aug 01, 2007
Kay
rated it:
I probably picked the wrong book to read as my first Le Carré spy novel, as I'm know there are many "classic" Le Carré novels that are probably more representative, but I still enjoyed this book quite a bit. I knew to expect moral complexities, of course, and a slightly jaundiced and world-weary outlook. Obviously, Le Carré is working in the tradition of Graham Greene here.
What I hadn't expected, though, was how mordantly funny Le Carré can be, not in an overt but in a More...
What I hadn't expected, though, was how mordantly funny Le Carré can be, not in an overt but in a More...
Oct 28, 2008
Mark
rated it:
I had heard that Le Carre was not in the same mold as Ian Fleming or Robert Ludlum, which i was accustomed to, but I had also heard so many good things about his books and I loved the film version of The Constant Gardener (I still need to read that book too). What I had to consider while reading Tailor was that perhaps the real modern world of spies and espionage is not all gunfights, beautiful women and high octane plots. It's more subtle, tedious and if you're not paying attention you will mis
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Jan 14, 2009
Steve
rated it:
As good as any of Graham Greene's espionage fiction. This one line says more about LeCarre's wit and characterization than I can: “Somewhere at the foot of Ancon Hill he had filled the four-track with enough petrol to last him the rest of his life and given a dollar to a black beggar with white hair and one ear eaten off by leprosy or a wild animal or a disenchanted wife.”
Dec 07, 2010
John
rated it:
I can't continue reading this book. I'm on page 156. It's just SO bad. I can't begin to imagine how it got to be on the NYT bestseller list and how it was even made into a movie, let alone a successful one. I really have no clue what it is that makes this book enjoyable for other readers. The characters are dull and uninspiring and basically a bunch of liars and cheaters. I guess my lack of political knowledge about Panama and the canal might affect my enjoyment, but whatever it is, I'm no
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Aug 16, 2010
Philip
rated it:
Three years ago I sat down at work on my first novel, which was a political thriller of sorts. Each time I wrote, I couldn't help but draw reference from this marvellous Le Carre spy thriller. The book carries so much weight in spy detail, intrigue, as well as the complicated influences that keeps governments against each other.
Mar 09, 2010
gaby
rated it:
This is the literary equivalent of a covers record. Le Carre rewrote Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana -- the story of a normal expat dude who starts selling bogus intelligence to the British Foreign Office.
But it's like Le Carre took all the lighthearted nonesense in Greene's story and replaced it with a bare flourescent bulb of concrete reality. Our Man in Havana is funny; The Tailor of Panama is not. It's dark, and real, and full of the dark and terribly real things that peopl More...
But it's like Le Carre took all the lighthearted nonesense in Greene's story and replaced it with a bare flourescent bulb of concrete reality. Our Man in Havana is funny; The Tailor of Panama is not. It's dark, and real, and full of the dark and terribly real things that peopl More...
Feb 09, 2012
Nimbex
rated it:
A pesar de que las intrigas políticas suelen parecerme aburridas y había páginas en las que me importaba tres pepinos lo que me estaban contando, en conjunto, el libro es bastante ameno y se lee muy fácilmente. Supongo que el hecho de que sea una mofa del espionaje moderno lo aligera bastante, aunque la nota final sea más bien seria.
Jul 18, 2011
Jonathan
rated it:
It is a good spy novel of lies and deceit. A MI6 agent is sent on a case
about the Panama Canal and story of an uprising. The tailor lies to the
agent and the story is passed to his boss in London. Helicopters are sent in to solve the problem. The tailor realise his lies have cost dearly.
about the Panama Canal and story of an uprising. The tailor lies to the
agent and the story is passed to his boss in London. Helicopters are sent in to solve the problem. The tailor realise his lies have cost dearly.
Mar 30, 2011
It is difficult to figure out which person is lying the most. Perhaps Harry Pendel, a successful tailor in Panama City, who lives in a world of his own creation as the successful protegé of the non-existsent Mr. Braithwaite. There is also Andy Osnard, a member of the Brittish Intellegence Service and always looking to make a fast buck. The two feed off each other's false worlds but their actions have ramifications in the bigger world of the Canal Zone and Panamanian politics. A different kind of
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Feb 25, 2009
Ilfje
rated it:
I loved this book, even though I'm essentially a fantasy-lover. The story was well-written, the plot well-thought out and the characters appeared very real to me. Not as perfectionalized as a lot of fantasy characters are.
Jan 10, 2012
I read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in anticipation of the movie. Half Price books didn't have The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, so I picked this one up instead. It's slow progress but I am quite determined to finish it.
Jun 04, 2011
Lina
rated it:
I'm usually a Le Carré fan, and the premise certainly sounded good, but I ended up not liking this one. It seemed really uneven - some chapters where he seems to be mocking the art of spying, others where he seems to be more serious, and some chapters where I had no idea what was going on at all.
Apr 19, 2011
George
rated it:
Perhaps it was just me, and my distracted circumstances while reading this book, but I found it to be dull and rather a slog. Somehow I forced myself to finish it, imaging that it had to get better. It did not.
Jan 22, 2011
Sori
rated it:
My nook broke while I was in Cambodia. With slim pickings for English language books, this is what I got stuck with. I guess it was better than watching Thai karaoke during the long bus rides but not by much.
Aug 02, 2011
A pretty good read although not one of the man's greatest works. It improves towards the end and is injected with a healthy dose of cynicism towards the seen and unseen powers that be. Recommended.
Mar 14, 2011
George
rated it:
Creating a conspiracy where none exists just to justify your job? Gee, that would never happen in the real world. And because I lived in Panama for two years, I found this novel and its metaphorical title even more interesting.
Mar 22, 2010
Rod
rated it:
Another fascinating book from John le Carre. He can be a perplexing author in that so many aspects of his book never become explicit, but remain on the implicit side of the scale.
