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Silverview

The Sunday Times Bestseller

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Silverview

By: John le Carré
Narrated by: Toby Jones
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Julian Lawndsley has renounced his high-flying job in the City for a simpler life running a bookshop in a small English seaside town. But only a couple of months into his new career, Julian's evening is disrupted by a visitor. Edward, a Polish émigré living in Silverview, the big house on the edge of town, seems to know a lot about Julian's family and is rather too interested in the inner workings of his modest new enterprise.

When a letter turns up at the door of a spy chief in London warning him of a dangerous leak, the investigations lead him to this quiet town by the sea . . .

Silverview is the mesmerising story of an encounter between innocence and experience and between public duty and private morals. In this last complete masterwork from the greatest chronicler of our age, John le Carré asks what you owe to your country when you no longer recognise it.

© The Literary Estate of David 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 Espionage Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Thriller Law Crime
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Critic reviews

Valedictory, with a final turn of events that ends surprisingly but pleasingly in a cock-up, this is a satisfying coda to the career of the finest thriller writer of the 20th century
A compelling character study of a supposedly retired spy . . . Such was his rare command of language and unique understanding of how the world really works that I finished the book with a sense that the only real grown-up in the room had left (Jake Kerridge)
As graceful an exit as we could hope for, the old master remaining at the top of his game to the last (Mick Herron)
Nothing will ever match the Cold War spy novels written in his prime, but his later work illuminates themes of loyalty, betrayal and conflicting values in a modern context (Vince Cable)
A superb example of le Carré's enduring and exquisite genius
Gripping and involving, an elegant farewell by a much missed writer (Siân Phillips)
Silverview has many of le Carré's characteristic virtues . . . engaging characters and three or four splendid set scenes in which veteran spooks stir the embers of old fires
Silverview is a cat-and-mouse chase from an East Anglian seaside town to the Eastern Bloc. Published ten months after he passed away, it marks a fitting final work by the master of spy fiction
A taut, thrilling spy novel. Read it as a tribute to a master
Silverview has all the old magic . . . it offers a rewarding post-script to the long-distance spell-binders The Little Drummer Girl and Absolute Friends (David Bromwich)
All stars
Most relevant
As with any of his books - a gripping story with well developed characters. Although, I felt the actual actions of Edward weren’t explained well enough (i.e. what info did he give away and to whom) and Julian’s character felt somewhat unfinished. Always enjoyable though.

A fitting farewell

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Being a lifelong fan of JLC, I was expecting him to go out on a high with this posthumous work.

The plot slithered along and the characters were unappealing and uninteresting.

Thank goodness that JLC’s literary legacy will rest on firmer foundations.

The narrator did a professional job but failed to embody any of the characters.

Not the grand finale that I’d hoped for

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Too many characters to find a core that led any where. I thought story was very un leCarre’. Had to listen several times to grasp the story’s point.

Disappointed

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short but no less a great story for it. Up with the best of JleC

superb

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Having read some lukewarm reviews of le Carré's posthumously published final book I was prepared to be disappointed and it was more out of a sense of duty to a man whose work has entertained me over the years that I downloaded the audio version. I was delighted therefore to find that I was hooked from the start. It is exquisitely written and superbly narrated. The story is engaging and the conclusion is wholly satisfying. Highly recommended to le Carré fans.

A Fitting Finale

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