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The Secret Pilgrim
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
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The Secret Pilgrim
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Summary
George Smiley is one of the most brilliantly realised characters in British fiction. Bespectacled, tubby, eternally middle-aged, and deceptively ordinary, he has a mind like a steel trap and is said to possess 'the cunning of Satan and the conscience of a virgin'.
The Berlin Wall is down, the Cold War is over, but the world's second-oldest profession is very much alive. Smiley accepts an invitation to dine with the eager young men and women of the Circus' latest intake; and over coffee and brandy, by flickering firelight, he beguilingly offers them his personal thoughts on espionage past, present, and future. In doing so, he prompts one of his former Circus colleagues into a searching examination of his own eventful secret life.
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What listeners say about The Secret Pilgrim
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nicola
- 21-05-22
Loved it
le Carre’s reflective and insightful writing at its best in this look back on a career.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- S
- 15-10-17
Thoroughly enjoyable for le Carre fans
A review of a lifetime of work in the secret service. Maybe a tad slow in the odd place but a thoughtful appraisal and consideration of why people behave as they do and a reflection on the British with all their faults and strengths.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jacqui
- 14-05-22
Very. Enjoyable
Excellent narration. Wasn't sure at first but the narration hooked me and kept me interested.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lisa
- 14-07-22
Clever
short stories within story. Loved interrogation between Ned & Cyril. end to many F's
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S K NOWLER
- 21-10-22
Wonderful
I've read the Secret Pilgrim before. At the time I had read John Le Carre's previous works more recently and it was like meeting an old friend, someone who had been there in the background all along, waiting to tell his story. Now I want to start at the beginning and read all the titles again.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- peter
- 27-05-13
No Secret...
Written in a unique format: George Smiley memoirs via short stories about one of his loyal protégé, Ned and his endeavors to do good in the world. Pact with illuminated thoughts, full of substance, not an easy read. The best ones never are. Its conclusion is sobering: the Cold War after all may have been lost by the right people and won by the wrong. After defeating communism, now we are going to have to set about defeating capitalism that has turned sour; yet the Evil is not in the system, but in the man. Michael Jayston is superb.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jan
- 31-03-18
lovely philosophical short spy stories
great short stories with juice link to hold things together. smiley does make an appearance. well written, beautifully read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jabberhooky
- 19-02-22
A joyful pilgrimage
Prophetic, poetic, magnificent. Le Carré is not only a master at exploring his own time and his own secret world, his insights stride prophetically into our own. And Michael Jayston is the perfect storyteller.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-10-23
Only for Smiley/Le Carre fans
I loved this, because I love George Smiley, Toby Esterhase etc. and love the voices the actor does for them. It was nice to hear them again, and the short tales focused on Ned are good - but it’s not exactly a page turner, and it lacks the complex plot of Le Care’s other works. Enjoyed it, but not a classic.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mr A Treacher
- 29-06-23
After the Twilight Struggle
Unlike the other books of the 'Smiley' series, The Secret Pilgrim is a book of short stories, told in the voice, and through the eyes, of Ned; one of Smiley's protégés. Most of the chapters are episodic, discussions during the 'present' (written in 1989, published 1990) leading into a particular tale from the past. The presence of the elderly, retired Smiley provides the framework through which the short stories, Ned's reminiscences and soul-searching, are woven.
It both is and isn't a Smiley book, but it most certainly is a le Carré 'Circus' book. It's different from the others of the series but no less enjoyable for it.
The narrator, Michael Jayston, is excellent and has been throughout the entire series of Smiley novels. Well-paced and clear, and capable of dealing with a myriad of accents. I can't help but hear subtle hints of Alec Guinness in the tones he uses for Smiley, and I don't think it's merely my imagination!
The penultimate chapter in this book written in 1989 is unexpectedly topical (as I write in June 2023), detailing Smiley's and le Carré's prophetic and seemingly prescient view of post-Glasnost Russia.
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1 person found this helpful