January 2025: John le Carré

We are starting 2025 with John le Carré (1931–2020), a British author known mostly for his espionage novels - both his George Smiley series and quite a few standalones.

A few years ago I started the series from the beginning, then got distracted and never got to the actual espionage novels - the first 2 in the series are mysteries (so if you are reading him for the spy novels, you either should skip there or set your expectations accordingly).

So... what are you reading to start the year? :)

Only ever read one Le Carre before (The Spy Who Came In From the Cold) and for me, just so-so. I'm not much of a spy/espionage reader. However, a friend of mine is going to loan me The Constant Gardener. She said she didn't feel as if it was hard core espionage.

This will be my first experience with Le Carre and I hope to read 2 or more. Beginning with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the one friends who read espionage thrillers seem to recommend the most.

I have a couple unread hardbacks kicking around The Night Manager and Absolute Friends so should really get to one of those.

The Constant Gardener by John Le Carre I listened to this on audio and I'm glad I did because I don't think I could have kept reading such a slog-fest! SPOILER: This is Le Carre's indictment of corporate greed set in Kenya. Justin Quayle, was a British diplomat who uncovered a multinational pharmaceutical company's illegal drug trials on unsuspecting Africans. Quayle's wife knew too much and so was "eliminated." The pacing was soooo slow! I'm not a spy thriller/espionage reader to begin with, and this book further confirmed my dislike for that genre. 576 pages