I can recommend the BBC Radio series as well. All eight are superbly done. I shared them with my dad, a big le Carré fan from way back - one of the few "current" books he kept on our bookshelf when I was growing up was The Spy Who Came In from the Cold. I always enjoyed le Carré's work, though I must admit the only novels of his I've read are Tinker Tailor and A Most Wanted Man.
On Monday, December 14, 2020 at 12:01:55 PM UTC-5 Adam Bowie wrote: > 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. 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