Likewise, I'm going to feel this loss a lot. I'm an enormous fan of his work - something that I got from my father who'd loved the Karla trilogy (the three books that start with Tinker Tailor). When his last but one novel came out, I thought I'd go about trying to get a signed copy. So I went to Hatchards in Piccadilly, a very old bookshop that is renowned for being for the more discerning customer (it's actually owned by Waterstones these days, so it's an elaborate facade really). I wondered if they'd have signed copies so I went in on release day to pick one up if they had them. In front of me in the queue was a lady who was after the same. Sadly, the assistant told her, they didn't have any right now, but the author came in fairly regularly and signed what stock they had, so we should check back occasionally. (I managed to get a signed copy that same day in Foyles instead - London being lucky to still have a few good bookshops. It was pre-signed, I didn't get to meet him).
Overall I think Le Carré has been very well served in both TV and film. The Alec Guinness series are wonderful and I re-watch them every few years. Indeed I see that there are HD Blu-ray releases of the two Guinness series, so that could be something to get over the holidays. A Perfect Spy is also excellent, and is a very autobiographical book - his father was an interesting character, and not all the man you might imagine if you ever heard Le Carré speak. The more recent series have also been very enjoyable. I thought The Little Drummer Girl was a very good take on the book, but The Night Manager was especially good with top performances all round. There's also an excellent series of Smiley BBC Radio versions that you can probably find on Audible. They're well worth your time, with Simon Russell Beale, an actor who does appear on film and TV, but is most famous as a stage actor, playing Smiley. Adam On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 4:07 PM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > I spent some time mourning this loss with my family yesterday. I started > reading John le Carre in junior high school (my mom had copies of both “The > Spook Who Sat By The Door” and “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold” in her > bookcase, and I decided to read them both, getting hooked on le Carre”. I > have read all of his novels save one (in reading over his obits, I found to > my horror and delight one I have missed - Single and Single - an oversight > I will correct with great pleasure soon). I have read many of them multiple > times; Spy from the Cold is one of the best books of any kind of the 20th > century, and repays many readings. > > I agree with Kevin that the British mini-series are superb, though I am > never sure why Tinker gets more attention than Smiley’s People; for me both > are equally absorbing. I enjoyed the Hollywood film maybe more than Kevin > seems to have, but not as much as the original. > > Will very much miss having David Cornwell among us, and his ambiguous, > dutiful, resigned take on a complex and shitty world. > > On Sun, 13 Dec 2020 at 8:30 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > >> The writer and former spy is a favorite of mine. I’ve seen both the mini >> series and feature film of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” and I find it >> strange that the film feels like it drags on longer than the mini series >> even though the film is four hours shorter. If you haven’t seen the mini >> series, the interrogation scene (spoilers, even though it’s forty years >> old) between Alec Guinness and Patrick Stewart is worth the purchase of the >> DVDs, along with Ian Richardson in a more subdued yet interesting role than >> the exquisitely evil character he played in the UK “House of Cards.” Le >> Carre did cameos in some of his TV and film adaptations including the more >> recent “Night Manager.” He wrote in depth character pieces with very >> intricate stories. You have to focus on them, or you’ll get lost. >> >> >> https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/news/a-statement-from-jonny-geller-ceo-the-curtis-brown-group >> >> https://twitter.com/jonnygeller/status/1338239733638508547?s=21 >> >> -- >> Kevin M. (RPCV) >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4AMHQGLprO9qjE-_wagVFESYy40QnH9sUwxOR5hLj%3DhXw%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4AMHQGLprO9qjE-_wagVFESYy40QnH9sUwxOR5hLj%3DhXw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > Sent from Gmail Mobile > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKnkkzxZDktdhtNZM6YFN3tXLRaLZ%2BOCPh8QsQUzPS%3DGA%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKnkkzxZDktdhtNZM6YFN3tXLRaLZ%2BOCPh8QsQUzPS%3DGA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGB__%2B59quYCkgS4ZoBnJ0oeADBjRuVO8p8dyz%3DrpwH8BA%40mail.gmail.com.
