The Night Manager
£2.98
Very, Very Average - I came to this after the Smiley Trilogy and the Last Pilgrim. While there are a couple of vignettes in the book using characters from the Last Pilgrim, this does stand on its own and no knowledge of any of the other books before this is necessary.However, after getting just over half way through the book I really stopped caring about any of the characters and I felt that it was really just a glorified James Bond story without the gadgets. The main protagonist starts as an ex-spy working in a hotel in Switzerland, there are some flashbacks, some bed hopping, some pointless plot mechanisms that really felt like Le Carre was trying to shoehorn the story line which was seemed to be heading to a dead end each time. As I say, I didn t finish it so unless the last third was any different then I would say this is not one to match any of the Smiley Books. If you haven t read Le Carre before, for heaven s sake don t start with this one.
Phenomenal - Having read a large chunk of le Carre s work I was blown away by this fantastic book. Dicky Roper is in living memory the best drawn baddie I ve come across - several months after reading the book I can still picture him perfectly. For such a long book it is excellently timed - there are very few slow parts, and whilst the main story is set against a backdrop in internecine struggle within various intelligence agencies, is is still clear and very readable.I don t expect ever to see it but a prequel setting out how Roper got going would be a joy...
Another Great Read... - John Le Carre is the master story teller. His writing never fails to transport the reader, into Jonathan Pine s world of International intrigue. Once you pick this novel up, you won t be able to put it down again. While writing this review, I would also like to recommend The Constantine Legacy by Andrew Towning.
Pine s quest - Jonathan Pine, sometime hotelier, soldier, killer, lover and agent, is swept up in a complex international intrigue. Weapons for sale is the pivot around which money, power and even romance impinge on Jonathan s life. The many roles, varied and useful as they are, leave him with no particular purpose in life. Until he encounters the worst man in the world. The prompt is Sophie, who might have been a lover, but who belongs to Freddie Hamid. Freddie is aligned with Richard Onslow Roper, of Nassau, the Bahamas. The name and location are almost a slap in the face, since the Caribbean island-nations are host to shady firms. Little or no taxes and even less government supervision make it possible for the unscrupulous to engage in many forms of chicanery. Drugs and weapons loom large in that realm.Left at loose ends by the fall of the Soviet Union, British Intelligence services need a fresh cause. If nothing else, all those bureaucratic structures and their personnel need to turn their expertise to new tasks. The problem is that the Cold War enabled influential people to develop links through the various spy networks. How many wealthy aristocrats are now involved in picking up the pieces to further enrich themselves? And which ones are doing so? Pine, picked up by one of the new spin-off intelligence organisations is set to learn answers to these questions. A faked murder sends him to unreachable places with a new identity. It puts him in a position to penetrate the Roper organisation. Throughout this tale, Pine is driven by the ghost of Sophie, who was found beaten to death in Egypt. Even in the backwoods of Quebec, hiding from authorities and maneuvering to complete his mission, he is beset by the image of her in his mind.LeCarre s style is well applied in this tale of international wheeling and dealing. He exhibits a well-versed familiarity with the places described. It s his characters, however, that give this story its richness. From the intelligence bureaucrats through the heavies Roper employs as his protectors and fronts, to Pine and the women his life touches, there are no false images conveyed. The author portrays them effectively and consistently with no distracting or invalid diversions. Which is not to imply any of them are shallow or above credibility. Although the conclusion is unexpected, especially given the circumstances, the spy novel author has brought a new facet to intelligence writing. It s a captivating book and well worth either the established LeCarre fan or someone taking him up for the first time to have in their collection. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Compulsive reading - Having read and enjoyed several of John le Carre s books, I bought The Night Manager for a long foreign trip. It s longer and more complex than some of his other novels but I thought he controls the structure and the narrative very effectively. The characterisations are excellent - even Roper, who s a distinctly nasty piece of work, is portrayed in terms that are a long way from just a black and white baddie. The human relationships in the novel are more lifelike than in some of his other books - perhaps because, with a larger canvas to paint on, le Carre had more space to expand the characters personae. A gripping tale, expertly and enjoyably told.