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The Constant Gardener
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Slow to get in to
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Great start but got bored in the middle
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Much ado about nothing really
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Absolute Friends
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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.
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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.
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Perfect voice for the master's stories
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The Mission Song
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The Mission Song
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A Most Wanted Man
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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.
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Slow to get in to
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The Tailor of Panama
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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.
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Great start but got bored in the middle
- By Alex on 31-07-18
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Our Kind of Traitor
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Much ado about nothing really
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Revolution in order to establish the dictatorship
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Single & Single
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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.
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Perfect voice for the master's stories
- By Peter on 21-06-11
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The Mission Song
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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.
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The Mission Song
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Our Game
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I could listen to Michael Jayston all day.
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Superb. lé Carre at his best
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A refreshing change
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The Night Manager
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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.
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Demands your attention, then rewards
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The Russia House
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- Unabridged
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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.
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Perfect voice for the master's stories
- By Peter on 21-06-11
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A Delicate Truth
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- Narrated by: John le Carré
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- Unabridged
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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.
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Outstanding writing and narration
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A Perfect Spy
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- Unabridged
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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.
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Fascinating insight into the mind of a spy
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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
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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.
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Absolutely fantastic - loved it!
- By ella on 11-05-15
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A Small Town in Germany
- By: John le Carré
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- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
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.
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Slow to start but worth sticking with
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John le Carré
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- By: Adam Sisman
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- Unabridged
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In this definitive biography - blessed by John le Carré himself - Adam Sisman reveals the man behind the best-selling persona. In John le Carré, Sisman shines a spotlight on David Cornwell, an expert at hiding in plain sight - "born to lying," he wrote in 2002, "bred to it, trained to it by an industry that lies for a living, practiced in it as a novelist."
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Riveting
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The Pigeon Tunnel
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- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: John le Carré
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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'Out of the secret world I once knew, I have tried to make a theatre for the larger worlds we inhabit. First comes the imagining, then the search for reality. Then back to the imagining, and to the desk where I'm sitting now.' The Pigeon Tunnel, John le Carré's memoir and his first work of nonfiction, is a thrilling journey into the worlds of his 'secret sharers' - the men and women who inspired some of his most enthralling novels - and a testament to the author's extraordinary engagement with the last half century.
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As enjoyable and thought provoking as ever
- By Caroline brown on 14-11-16
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The Ipcress File
- By: Len Deighton
- Narrated by: James Lailey
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Len Deighton's classic first novel, whose protagonist is a nameless spy - later christened Harry Palmer and made famous worldwide in the iconic 1960s film starring Michael Caine. The Ipcress File was not only Len Deighton's first novel, it was his first best seller and the story that broke the mould of thriller writing. For the working class narrator, an apparently straightforward mission to find a missing biochemist becomes a journey to the heart of a dark and deadly conspiracy.
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A great classic
- By H. Tollyfield on 05-04-14
Summary
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.
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- joanna green
- 30-11-14
Emotional, addictive and typical Le Carre
What made the experience of listening to The Constant Gardener the most enjoyable?
The story is so leading. Having listened to a number of Le Carre's more traditional spy thrillers, this is a bit of a side step into international relations and politics, but it is just as tense, and more emotional because of the crime being investigated. You stay with the protagonist all the way through to the inevitable ending.
What other book might you compare The Constant Gardener to, and why?
If you imagine the storyline of a John Grisham set in the tense world of Le Carre's spys, this marries the two together. I really love it, although I found it very emotional to listen to. The protagonist is almost a younger less disillusioned Smiley
What about Michael Jayston’s performance did you like?
I love Michael Jayston's performance on this- there is a hint of a cautious observer, combined with passion that moves with the flow. I have listened to a number of his narration a of Le Carre's books and it always convinces me to get it.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It is a very emotional story, and a side step for Le Carre in this sense. Your heart does bleed for the protagonist, and having watched the film before listening to this, I knew the ending and was dreading it. Don't let this put you off- it's not overdrawn, but a necessary, inevitable resolution.
Any additional comments?
I really love this story! The narration is beautiful and the story moves in the way you expect a Le Carre to move.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
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- Walter Millar
- 31-07-15
One of Le Caras best
Slow start but great story Le Carrae captures the middle class mess of the foreign service perfectly
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
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- Nicholas
- poulton le fylde, Lancashire, United Kingdom
- 13-04-13
A long way from Smiley, but just as excellent
I knew a little of the shadowy side of the giant Pharma corporations, and I new a little of the problems facing Africa in the form of TB and other serious diseases. Putting the two together and we in the west have yet more to be deeply ashamed of.
This is a beautiful and sad book with characters to love, pity and loathe. And all wrapped up in the typical Le Carre way. Perfect.
Michael Jayston narrates perfectly.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful
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- Jules Blunt
- Somerset, UK
- 06-04-15
Long dry and unexciting
Persevered to the end but was so dry and hard going if it wasn't in my nature to keep going I would Hv quit after the first half hour. Interesting story concept. About 11 hours too long
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
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- Vicuña
- UK
- 26-02-16
Gripping story and thought provoking issues
Would you listen to The Constant Gardener again? Why?
Probably not. I rarely listen to stories again. Too many books, too little time! It's a brilliant listen though.
What did you like best about this story?
Plot, characters, ethical issues, quality narration, humour, dialogue, pompous Brits abroad exposed for their specious values...I could go on!
Which scene did you most enjoy?
Many very different and enjoyable scenes. A desperate escape in a car with no tyres was breathtaking, FO wives abroad are a well portrayed along with their husbands with double standards.
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Think twice before you swallow that pill.
Any additional comments?
Great novelist, gripping plot, characters and dialogue. Outstanding narration with clearly discernible voices for each character.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Cerebum
- 01-10-15
Very british
It wasn't exciting or edgy it just quietly worked it's way into my subconscious. A very moving story
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- rodney
- 28-09-15
Jayston is at his best when narrating Le carré.
Jayston's narrative is wonderful. I think his style and pace are spot on, for me
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 14-02-19
What a journey
One if the best stories I've ever read, heard. I love John le Carre's writing and picked this is up knowing nothing other than it was set in Africa. What a pleasure it was going into this novel blind, the author is very clever in the way he leads you to think the story is going one way before veering off to another. This is all aided by a fantastic narrative performance from Michael Jayston, who perfectly captures the mood and personality of all the characters in the novel.
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- A P Barclay
- 27-01-19
Great book.
I absolutely loved this book. The narration was spot on. I listened whenever I could and found it hard to put down.
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- Catherine
- 03-11-18
angry but beautiful
The beautiful literary style is displayed to perfection by the superb narration. The story itself is as complex and thoroughly thought out as one expects from Le Carré. There are some thin parts of the plot, where is possible that political subject, or psychological prurience has taken over story, but on the whole still vintage Le Carré.
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- Rosalind
- 09-02-12
Entertaining
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, I found it interesting, particularly because it took part in a country which is dear to my heart.
I find le Carre books quite difficult to follow at times. Even though they don't adopt the now popular editing method of jumping ahead in time then back again, which adds pace and anticipation to a novel, but can also be confusing.
If you’ve listened to books by John le Carré before, how does this one compare?
This is only the second book of his that I have listened to, and I did enjoy it.
Have you listened to any of Michael Jayston’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No, but I thought he did a splendid job of the narration,
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Not at all. I paced it over about 4 days, which was just fine.
Any additional comments?
I found it a little drawn out and it probably took a little too long to reach the vital moment of exposing the full plot and motivation. I feel that clever editing could have improved it, but that was fundamentally the old school of writing. Or perhaps thats just the way le Carre wanted it.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful