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What Members Thought
2.5 stars really. Although I found this to be a completely confusing book, there were elements that I did enjoy. After reading three books by this author, I am baffled by the acclaim he gets. I've decided to read his first published book, maybe that will explain some things.
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My reading was often interrupted and for short bursts which made it difficult at times to follow the characters and the action. For the last 1/3, I was able to read more consistently and really began to appreciate the fuss made over this book. It's not about solving the mystery as much as it is about describing the people and places of espionage. The characters are memorable and it is interesting to learn what Cold War spy games consisted of- drop boxes and microfilm, double and triple agents, a
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While some of the punch of this was lost by my reading Smiley's People first, it's still a classic in the genre and I enjoyed it immensely. Le Carré's style of indirect prose exactly captures the vague bureaucracy that surrounds spy services and is what draws me to his work again and again.
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A masterpiece. I measure every other espionage book I read against it.
Nov 24, 2011
Tammy AZ
marked it as to-read
Feb 12, 2012
Melissa
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Jun 22, 2012
Sara
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Jan 17, 2013
Dana Arbelaez
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Feb 12, 2013
Kim DeCina
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Jan 05, 2014
Rebekah
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Aug 15, 2014
Mansir
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Sep 27, 2014
grace
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Dec 28, 2014
Kirsty
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Aug 02, 2015
Tim
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Apr 03, 2016
Beth
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Oct 09, 2018
Brenda
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Nov 22, 2021
Kara
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