Listen free for 30 days
-
A Small Town in Germany
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £31.49
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Little Drummer Girl
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this enthralling and thought-provoking novel of Middle Eastern intrigue, Charlie, a brilliant and beautiful young actress, is lured into ‘the theatre of the real’ by an Israeli intelligence officer. Forced to play her ultimate role, she is plunged into a deceptive and delicate trap set to ensnare an elusive Palestinian terrorist.
-
-
Superb. lé Carre at his best
- By Janine on 02-06-14
-
The Tailor of Panama
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harry Pendel is the charismatic proprietor of Pendel and Braithwaite Limitada of Panama, through whose doors everyone who is anyone in Central America passes. Andrew Osnard, mysterious and fleshy, is a spy. His secret mission is two-pronged: to keep a watchful eye on the political manoeuvrings leading up to the American handover of the Panama Canal on 31st December 1999; and to secure for himself the immense private fortune that has until now churlishly eluded him.
-
-
Another great story, another great narration!
- By Mr. Henry Gray on 19-03-18
-
The Russia House
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the third summer of perestroika. Niki Landau, philanderer and travelling rep, attends the first Moscow audio fair and is asked by beautiful young Katya to take a parcel back to England. It’s addressed to Barley Blair, jazz-player and drinker, and contains information vital to the defence of the West. But times and heroes are changing. And Barley Blair is a man who makes his own rules of engagement.
-
-
Well read in a strong believable voice.
- By MR DAVID I SUTTON on 18-01-18
-
The Looking Glass War
- By: John Le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once, the distinctions were clear: the Circus handled all things political while the Department dealt with matters military. But over the years the power and influence had passed to the Circus. Now suddenly the department had a job on its hands. Uncertain evidence suggested Soviet missiles being put in place near the German border, while vital film had gone missing and a courier was dead.
-
-
Great presentation
- By Steve Hocking on 03-01-18
-
A Perfect Spy
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 20 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Magnus Pym, counsellor at the British Embassy in Vienna, has suddenly vanished, believed defected. The chase is on for a missing husband, a devoted father, and a life-time secret agent. Pym's life, it is revealed, is entirely made up of secrets. The race is on to find the perfect spy.
-
-
Fascinating insight into the mind of a spy
- By S J Dolding on 13-04-13
-
Single & Single
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A corporate lawyer from the House of Single & Single is shot dead on a Turkish hillside for crimes that he does not understand. A children’s entertainer in Devon is hauled to his local bank late at night to explain a monumental influx of cash. A Russian freighter is arrested in the Black Sea.... The logical connection of these events and more is one of the many pleasures of this story of love, deceit, family and the triumph of humanity.
-
-
single but not alone
- By peter on 01-11-12
-
The Little Drummer Girl
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this enthralling and thought-provoking novel of Middle Eastern intrigue, Charlie, a brilliant and beautiful young actress, is lured into ‘the theatre of the real’ by an Israeli intelligence officer. Forced to play her ultimate role, she is plunged into a deceptive and delicate trap set to ensnare an elusive Palestinian terrorist.
-
-
Superb. lé Carre at his best
- By Janine on 02-06-14
-
The Tailor of Panama
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harry Pendel is the charismatic proprietor of Pendel and Braithwaite Limitada of Panama, through whose doors everyone who is anyone in Central America passes. Andrew Osnard, mysterious and fleshy, is a spy. His secret mission is two-pronged: to keep a watchful eye on the political manoeuvrings leading up to the American handover of the Panama Canal on 31st December 1999; and to secure for himself the immense private fortune that has until now churlishly eluded him.
-
-
Another great story, another great narration!
- By Mr. Henry Gray on 19-03-18
-
The Russia House
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the third summer of perestroika. Niki Landau, philanderer and travelling rep, attends the first Moscow audio fair and is asked by beautiful young Katya to take a parcel back to England. It’s addressed to Barley Blair, jazz-player and drinker, and contains information vital to the defence of the West. But times and heroes are changing. And Barley Blair is a man who makes his own rules of engagement.
-
-
Well read in a strong believable voice.
- By MR DAVID I SUTTON on 18-01-18
-
The Looking Glass War
- By: John Le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once, the distinctions were clear: the Circus handled all things political while the Department dealt with matters military. But over the years the power and influence had passed to the Circus. Now suddenly the department had a job on its hands. Uncertain evidence suggested Soviet missiles being put in place near the German border, while vital film had gone missing and a courier was dead.
-
-
Great presentation
- By Steve Hocking on 03-01-18
-
A Perfect Spy
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 20 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Magnus Pym, counsellor at the British Embassy in Vienna, has suddenly vanished, believed defected. The chase is on for a missing husband, a devoted father, and a life-time secret agent. Pym's life, it is revealed, is entirely made up of secrets. The race is on to find the perfect spy.
-
-
Fascinating insight into the mind of a spy
- By S J Dolding on 13-04-13
-
Single & Single
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A corporate lawyer from the House of Single & Single is shot dead on a Turkish hillside for crimes that he does not understand. A children’s entertainer in Devon is hauled to his local bank late at night to explain a monumental influx of cash. A Russian freighter is arrested in the Black Sea.... The logical connection of these events and more is one of the many pleasures of this story of love, deceit, family and the triumph of humanity.
-
-
single but not alone
- By peter on 01-11-12
-
Our Game
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 48, Tim Cranmer is a secret servant in retirement, free to devote himself to his manor house, his vineyard and his young mistress, Emma. But a rival in love disappears with Emma, and Tim sets off in pursuit.
-
-
I could listen to Michael Jayston all day.
- By Kirsty Lloyd on 20-07-15
-
The Constant Gardener
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 17 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The beautiful Tessa Quayle is murdered near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, the birthplace of mankind. And her putative African lover and travelling companion has vanished from the scene of the crime. Tessa’s husband, a career diplomat and amateur gardener at the British High Commission in Nairobi, sets out on a personal odyssey in pursuit of the killers and their motive. On his way he meets terror, violence, and conspiracy, but his greatest discovery is the woman he barely had time to love.
-
-
Emotional, addictive and typical Le Carre
- By JG on 30-11-14
-
The Night Manager
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 19 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The night manager is Jonathan, a veteran of clandestine operations. In flight from a failed marriage and his own past, he has taken refuge in the luxury hotel trade. Yet he finds no escape from his demons. Driven by a desire for atonement and by an inherited patriotism, Jonathan allows himself to be recruited as a British secret agent with a mission to expose the murderer of the woman he himself betrayed. His odyssey takes him across Britain and Canada to the Caribbean and the jungles of Panama.
-
-
Demands your attention, then rewards
- By Nils on 07-04-15
-
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mr George Smiley is small, podgy, and at best, middle-aged. He is disillusioned, wrestles with idleness, and has been deserted by his beautiful wife. He is also compassionate, ruthless, and a senior British intelligence officer in short-lived retirement from the Circus, the British Secret Service organisation situated in London. But Moscow centre has infiltrated a mole into the Circus, and it's more than likely the perpetrator is Karla, Smiley's old adversary and his opposite number in Moscow.
-
-
Absolutely fantastic - loved it!
- By ella on 11-05-15
-
Absolute Friends
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The friends of the title are Ted Mundy, British soldier’s son born 1947 in a new independent Pakistan, and Sasha, refugee son of an East German Lutheran pastor and his wife who have sought sanctuary in the West.
The two men meet first as students in riot-torn West Berlin of the late 60s, again in the grimy looking-glass of Cold War espionage and, most terribly, in today’s world of terror. Spanning 56 years, Absolute Friends is a savage fable of our times.
-
-
Absolute
- By bignewshound on 18-11-15
-
A Delicate Truth
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: John le Carré
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A counter-terror operation, codenamed Wildlife, is being mounted in Britain's most precious colony, Gibraltar. Its purpose: to capture and abduct a high-value jihadist arms-buyer. Its authors: an ambitious Foreign Office Minister, and a private defence contractor who is also his close friend. So delicate is the operation that even the Minister's Private Secretary, Toby Bell, is not cleared for it.
-
-
Outstanding writing and narration
- By Al on 14-05-13
-
A Most Wanted Man
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A half-starved young Russian man is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night. He has an improbable amount of cash secreted in a purse around his neck. He is a devout Muslim. Or is he? He says his name is Issa.... Annabel, an idealistic young German civil-rights lawyer, determines to save Issa from deportation. In pursuit of his mysterious past, she confronts the incongruous Tommy Brue, the 60-year-old scion of Brue Frères, a failing British bank based in Hamburg.
-
-
Another classic from John Le Carre.
- By I. Finlayson on 06-10-17
-
Agent Running in the Field
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: John le Carré
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nat, a 47-year-old veteran of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, believes his years as an agent runner are over. He is back in London with his wife, the long-suffering Prue. But with the growing threat from Moscow Centre, the office has one more job for him. Nat is to take over The Haven, a defunct substation of London General with a rag-tag band of spies. The only bright light on the team is young Florence, who has her eye on Russia Department and a Ukrainian oligarch with a finger in the Russia pie.
-
-
Dire
- By P. Savage on 25-01-20
-
Silverview
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Toby Jones
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
A fitting finale
- By Amazon Customer on 24-10-21
-
The Mission Song
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: David Oyelowo
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bruno Salvador has worked on clandestine missions before. A highly skilled interpreter, he is not a stranger to the Official Secrets Act. But this is the first time he has been asked to change his identity – and, worse still, his clothes – in service of his country.
-
-
Not particularly enjoyable
- By Tomcat on 02-07-15
-
The Confidential Agent
- By: Graham Greene
- Narrated by: Tim Pigott-Smith
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a small continental country civil war is raging. Once a lecturer in medieval French, now a confidential agent, D is a scarred stranger in a seemingly casual England, sent on a mission to buy coal at any price. Initially, this seems to be a matter of straightforward negotiation, but soon, implicated in murder, accused of possessing false documents and theft, held responsible for the death of a young woman, D becomes a hunted man, tormented by allegiances, doubts and the love of others.
-
-
Am unusual Graham Greene well performed by TPS
- By John Saddler on 30-03-15
-
House of Cards
- House of Cards Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Michael Dobbs
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Dobbs’ entertaining tale of skulduggery and intrigue within the Palace of Westminster has been a huge hit with the public. Its scheming hero, Chief Whip Francis Urquhart, who uses fair means and foul to become Prime Minister, is one of the best-known characters of the last decade - the politician we all love to hate. Acclaimed for its authenticity and insights into a secret world - the result of many years working behind the scenes for the Conservative Party - it became a highly popular, award-winning BBC TV series, with Francis Urquhart memorably portrayed by Ian Richardson.
-
-
Time to lay the cards on the table
- By Nephrite on 10-08-18
Summary
The British Embassy in Bonn is up in arms. Her Majesty's financially troubled government is seeking admission to Europe's Common Market just as anti-British factions are rising to power in Germany. Rioters are demanding reunification, and the last thing the Crown can afford is a scandal. Then Leo Harting - an embassy nobody - goes missing with a case full of confidential files. London sends Alan Turner to control the damage, but he soon realises that neither side really wants Leo found - alive.
Critic reviews
More from the same
What listeners say about A Small Town in Germany
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Roy
- 19-04-18
A small town in Germany
Never read the book before so story was unknown. One of Carres early books. Brilliant story crammed with historical facts. Plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing. Prose is brilliant. Adult and laced with the occasional bit of humour.
Michael Jayson's narration was excellent. His use of so many voices and accents was masterful. Alan Turner gruff Yorkshire tones were so real. Plus Bradfields diplomatic duplicity was teaesd out towards the end. Must say that I really enjoyed it and will have to search hard to find one as good as this I think.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steve Hocking
- 18-07-17
Slow to start but worth sticking with
It's not the easiest of reads to start with. Multiple characters that do little but set the scene. Where the book works brilliantly is the sense of place that is evoked. It's not necessarily an exciting place at the start but it's a brilliantly drawn picture of a post war embassy for a failing nation, struggling to find its place in the world. The characters are masterfully revealed but not in a self indulged way.
This is why I stuck with it and ultimately enjoyed the book. You want to know how they get on and for their failings they are likeable. This book is never going to be his most famous work. I do thoughtbghink it would make a great It's not the easiest of reads to start with. Multiple characters that do little but set the scene. Where the book works brilliantly is the sense of place that is evoked. It's not necessarily an exciting place at the start but it's a brilliantly drawn picture of a post war embassy for a failing nation, struggling to find its place in the world. The characters are masterfully revealed but not in a self indulged way.
This is why I stuck with it and ultimately enjoyed the book. You want to know how they get on and for their failings they are likeable. This book is never going to be his most famous work. I do thought think it would make a great film
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stuart Bailey
- 31-10-16
The master at has best
I new the story as i have listened to the BBC play, but this full adaptation and reading was just magic. Le Carre at his best, the portrayal of embassy staff was superb and the lead characters portrayal was perfect
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr David Newton
- 20-03-16
okay
john Le Carre tells a good tale, but this is not his best. The end is, as often with Le Carre, disappointing as it Peters out.
Michael Jayson reads brilliantly as ever.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Matthew C.
- 02-10-17
The master
Another great book from the master storyteller and emotion twister. Perfect narration with 1st. class narration.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Allan
- 18-01-18
Hard to listen to
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Not really
If you’ve listened to books by John le Carré before, how does this one compare?
Badly. Others are better!
What aspect of Michael Jayston’s performance might you have changed?
He needs to help the listener hear the jumps between topics. I think it was a difficult book to narrate.
Any additional comments?
I don't think this one works well as an audio book
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 11-03-21
interesting
an interesting view of Britain's struggle to join the EEC, just as a bunch of snake oil salesman force us out.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tarek
- 21-12-19
Incoherent
The actual story was fine. What was all the prose about? It's a novel about incoherent thought with a spy novel interspersed
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Daniel W. Wright
- 29-07-18
A break from Smiley
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Michael Jayson gets the tone just right as always with his Le Carré narrations.
Turner is not an easy main character but I think that’s the point. I loved his stream of consciousness chapter in the middle, reminded me of Joyce.
Great stuff.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- S. Simpson
- 11-06-18
Not Le Carre's best.
Brilliantly narrated by Michael Jayston but storyline confusing. Will need reading again to understand all.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- david
- 19-08-20
A brilliant novel
This book has everything. Espionage, normal everyday life, war issues, diplomatic issues, violence, clash of social classes.