This book just didn't do it for me. Nothing wrong with the narration, just the actual book. I cant put my finger on it, but the best way to sum it up I suppose is to say "I was not in the least bit entertained".

Firstly this was very well read but My God it's hard work! I wanted to listen to it as I've heard it's a classic but I'm afraid I found it confusing, slow and a bit dull. There's no way I would have been able to stick with it if I had actually been reading it. I'm 30 years old and know nothing about the cold war so maybe this being a part of history I'm unaware of makes a difference. All in all I thought it was OK but I wouldn't reccommend it, sorry!

I read the reviews in advance and was really looking forward to trying out a John Le Carre in audio format, I've never read his books before but naturally know of his fame as a 'spy' novelist. The opening was promising, the narrator is more than competent and I kept waiting to be drawn into the storyline. But it never happened and I tried, I really did. I literally lost the plot and despite the excellent descriptive detail I couldn't believe in any of it, it inspired no action in my mind. I couldn't finish it and shall not bother struggling with any more John Le Carre.

Boring Boring Boring....... Yawn Yawn Yawn......... I just do not know what to say, The worst book I ever bought, what a waste of a credit.... deleted it do not want it in my library its a dreary book, slow uneventful as it is all very predictable, but a lot of people seem to love and like it, a real mystery to me.................

I write this knowing that many people use the 'unhelpful' vote as an 'I disagree' button, instead of realising that some people like to hear both positive and negative reviews before making up their mind to a purchase.



I really wanted to enjoy this book, as I know that John Le Carre's knowledge of MI6 and intelligence work was vast, and that he was the first to use terms that became common, such as 'mole' for a penetrative spy, or 'housekeepers' for people who audit and oversee finances of MI6.



I don't give up on books easily, but I managed only two thirds of this one. Having spoken to others I think this is a book that you either love or loathe, and I found it extremely tedious.



In my opinion there is far too much narrative summary.

I don't need a lot of action and things blowing up, as one reviewer said, but I do need things to be happening for the most part in immediate scene, in front of my minds' eye. There were a few places that Carre did this, such as the parts with the ex-spy working at a boy's school, but for the rest the only visual element was someone sitting down to read something, and think about past situations. The information itself came across in a very turgid style with nothing to visualise at all.



I found his portrayal of women to be unbelievable, which may simply be a symptom of the time he was writing, but they all seem to be either lunatics or gushing drunks who say 'lover' and 'darling' all the time.



Nothing much happens, I found myself wishing I had the paper copy so I could skim, and I'm sorry to fans of his work, but this is definitely not a book I would recommend.



On a positive note, the narrator was excellent and did his best with some dull material.

John le Carre is a skilful writer who weaves a twisted tale of the bitter past and the ways that our history sometimes ambushes our present. His characters are real and fill the imagination. For me I was glad that I never saw the TV series and was able to conjure the look of people from the narration. Michael Jayston reads so that each voice builds the character and holds the suspense. The Cold War environment is recreated from the inside of the dark rooms and corridors of the powerful and secretive. I wonder how younger listeners react to Le Carre?

I never did get Le Carre, and certainly from this one I still won't Nicely narrated, and the narrator had a good voice, but the impenetrable and convoluted tale left me flat.

One of the best spy stories! Very engaging, well narrated, have listened to this a number of times already and I suspect I will listen to it again!

Well read by Michael Jayston.The story is excellent.

You can listen to it over and over again,even when you know the outcome.

It also conveys a world of seediness,and in some ways irrelevant to the world outside the secret service.

The characters all have an identity of their own.

Highly recommended.

Whether or not you have seen the film or the TV Series this is a fantastic story read by a brilliant actor who breathes so much life into the characters. (He was in the TV series.)

A slow burn this book has wonderful, fully-rounded people and a plot which, even if you do already know who the villain from seeing film or TV, is so brilliantly crafted around the seamier side of espionage that you will find yourself eager to carry on. The back-biting and interplay between colleagues is written so well, and the feeling of rising insecurity and almost complete lack of trust is all there as the story unfolds with a relentless crescendo towards its conclusion. The emotions and action throughout is so frequently down-beat and understated that when there does come any violence, physical or mental, it is all the more shocking.



This is not a fast-moving, shoot-'em up story so if it is that sort of action you crave it may seem boring, but it is a gripping novel with a screw thread of tension which will tighten to the very point of breaking if you allow yourself to be gently led into the maze of intrigue which John le Carre creates, and is a wonderful introduction to his work. Best thing is that when you have read/heard this one there are several more which use the same reader and the same characters.



A brilliant interpretation of a very fine book, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.