The Naive and Sentimental Lover
£3.22
Something different - Speaking at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the beginning of this month, John le Carre described his feelings about this novel as toe-curling embarrassment. Since it had been me who d asked him the question about it, I thought it d be interesting to reread the book. This is a story that represents a departure from the author s work in the spy-thriller genre, although his abiding themes of betrayal, secrecy and intrigue still underly this tale of the repressed Aldo Cassidy and his obsession with the wildly unconventional Shamus and Helen. The whole appeal of the story, I think, hinges on whether you think this obsession is realistic and can empathise with Aldo s quest for something greater than his uneasy marriage to the brittle Sandra, or think that Shamus is a hectoring twerp of unparalleled selfishness who uses his (rumoured) artistic talent as an excuse for atrocious behaviour. Personally, this time round, I still found myself believing in the story, although I could see how a little more impatience with the characters would cause a complete loss of faith in it. As for the writing, le Carre s attention to detail in the dialogue remains evident here: for example, the way Sandra ends just a few sentences with the nagging but still tells you a lot about what it would be like to be married to her. And I was interested to come across a few phrases that were to be later re-used in A Perfect Spy, which (like this book) contains a number of autobiographical elements. As an interesting side-trip from the genre that le Carre has dominated for so long, it s to be recommended, but I don t think anyone could argue that this is one of his best.
Synopsis - Also Cassidy is the naive and sentimental lover. A successful, judicious man, he is wrenched away from the ordered certainties of his life by a sudden encounter with Shamus, a wild, carousing artist, and Helen, his nakedly alluring wife.
Too long - Although le Carre has a good style in comparison with other thriller writers, it is not strong enough to hold the reader s interest in the absence of his usual intricate plot. The main character, Aldo, is slow to catch the reader s interest, although he does so in the end, Shamus and Helen are perhaps more interesting but as free spirits you may find them rather dated. The plot is slight and much of the text is taken up by Aldo s thoughts on various subjects. Having said all of this, the book might have been a worthwhile read if it had been cut to a considerably shorter length, as it was, it was a struggle to get through it.
The soul of John Le Carre - I know this book rarely gets a mention in a discussion of Le Carre s greatest works, but I absolutely loved it.The book haunts me still after ten years, so I felt the need to buy it again!The story reveals a deeply emotional side to John Le Carre that you will not find elsewhere.If you are pondering the meaning of love, life and death and wondering what it s all about, take a chance on this book.It moved me deeply.
A minor work unrelated to the rest of his novels. - First of all, this isn t an espionage novel - which will cause many readers to switch off straight away. But it is Le Carre, and therefore it s at least readable on a basic level.It s a slight tale of attempted escapism, emotional ties, and the freedom that artists enjoy, the kind of middle-aged, middle-class upper-middlebrow book that in particularly bad years might ve stood a chance at the Booker.I m sure if you think hard enough about this book you ll find echoes of JLC s relationship with his father in it, or echoes of his own life - but frankly I found the whole think really little more than a piece of extended angst.Marginally entertaining for the completist, but apart from a similarity in tone and style that will appeal to those of us who enjoy JLC s writing, there s very little memorable or even particularly interesting here.