Books by John le Carré
John le Carré (1931-2020) was David Cornwell in real life. A former spy, he became one of the world’s best-known writers of spy fiction. He is a frequently recommended author on Five Books, with his books turning up again and again in interviews on not only espionage thrillers, but also spy books more generally. His most recommended books are The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, the 1963 novel that catapulted him to international fame, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which according to British writer Patrick Worrall is “unquestionably one of the greatest ever espionage novels, perhaps simply one of the greatest novels of the 20th century.”
Le Carré’s most recent books were: Agent Running in the Field (2019) and Silverview, which was published posthumously in 2021. These are not his masterpieces, but enjoyable to read if you’re already a le Carré fan.
“George Smiley comes out of retirement and does a bit of detective work. It’s a redemption story: a chance for Smiley to tie up the loose ends of his life and career. He gets a shot at his nemesis, the head of Russian intelligence—code name Karla, who is this fiendishly cunning Soviet spymaster…It’s brilliant. I think it’s better than Tinker, Tailor. I won’t give away the ending, but it has a very satisfying sense of closure to it. It’s wonderfully written.” Read more...
Five Classic European Spy Novels
Patrick Worrall, Thriller and Crime Writer
“I find it really interesting that such a big book by a bestselling author is so strange and slippery and evasive in the way it tells itself. I think it’s fascinating, although I haven’t read enough le Carré to say it’s definitively his best. There’s an outrageous quote on my edition from Philip Roth, who says “it’s the best English novel since the war.” I can’t go that far, but I do absolutely love it.” Read more...
Chris Power, Novelist
Silverview: A Novel
by John le Carré
Yep, it's true. Even though he died in December 2020, John le Carré (aka David Cornwell) has a new book. It was completed before he died and he gave his blessing to his sons to publish it. Silverview is a house on the edge of the seaside town where the main protagonist, Julian Lawndsley, has retreated to set up a bookshop. Silverview is very le Carré in its slow pace, and reads almost like a languid farewell from the greatest spy novelist of the 20th century.
Agent Running in the Field: A Novel
by John le Carré
Agent Running in the Field is the last book John le Carré wrote that was published while he was still alive. It came out in 2019 (he died in 2020) and is perhaps best described as his anti-Brexit novel. He narrates the audiobook himself.
“Everyone has read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which I would say is unquestionably one of the greatest ever espionage novels, perhaps simply one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. Tinker, Tailor is a whodunit, essentially. It’s not literally a country house murder mystery, with a lineup of characters including Colonel Mustard. But there are four of them and it’s about finding out which one is the mole (a word which, I think, le Carré invented)—the Soviet traitor in the ranks of British intelligence. It’s such a great plot and it mirrors life very closely. It’s essentially about the Cambridge spy ring and the real-life traitors who worked for Stalin after the war.” Read more...
Five Classic European Spy Novels
Patrick Worrall, Thriller and Crime Writer
“A terrific story, it goes without saying. For one thing, it comes from the golden age when le Carré still cared about plot. But it’s his gift for dialogue that electrifies all his books.” Read more...
Robert Cottrell, Journalist
“I think it sets the standard for all spy literature. It’s very hard to improve on The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. It’s the classic le Carré recipe of compromised individuals trying to find their way through a labyrinth of deception and self-deception” Read more...
Ben Macintyre, Journalist
“There is actually only one spy in The Constant Gardener, an MI6 officer in Kenya, who I think at one point is involved with Quayle, the lead character, because he needs a piece of information about his dead wife.” Read more...
Charles Cumming, Novelist
Interviews where books by John le Carré were recommended
The best books on Espionage, recommended by Charles Cumming
Leading British spy writer Charles Cumming found his vocation at 25 after he was approached by MI6. He says that experience, brief but interesting, was crying out to be dramatised
The best books on Spies, recommended by Ben Macintyre
The British public-school system, with its hidden homosexuality and feelings of loneliness, encouraged subterfuge and led to a generation of great spy writers and spies, suggests author and journalist Ben Macintyre. He picks the best books on spies.
The best books on The Secret Service, recommended by Keith Jeffery
The author of the only authorized history of MI6, Keith Jeffery, tells us about the evolution of the secret intelligence services, their representation in fiction, and the man Fleming may have had in mind when he created James Bond
The best books on Journalism, recommended by Robert Cottrell
Newspaper journalism is on its way out, regrets the former foreign correspondent and Browser co-founder Robert Cottrell. He chooses four novels that reflect the golden days and a style guide that is an equally fine work of imagination.
Five Classic European Spy Novels, recommended by Patrick Worrall
From a noir novel by Eric Ambler set in 1930s Europe to some of the great spy thrillers of the post-World War II era, British novelist Patrick Worrall, author of The Exile, talks us through five of his favourite espionage novels.
The best books on The 1970s, recommended by Andy Beckett
Andy Beckett’s choices point to a welcome reassessment of the 1970s, that much-maligned ‘gothic’ decade, and sweep from London to Los Angeles by way of Malcolm Bradbury and John le Carré
The best books on Espionage, recommended by Robert Baer
Spying is ultimately very dull and you run into the same kind of mediocrity that you encounter anywhere else in life, says former CIA operative Robert Baer. Nor do governments always listen. He recommends books on espionage—both fiction and nonfiction—that give a sense of what it’s all about.
The Best Classic Thrillers, recommended by Sam Bourne
The bestselling author tells us how his other job as a political journalist helps with thriller writing, and what makes le Carré, Forsyth and Buchan such masters of their trade
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1
Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me
by Javier Marías, translated by Margaret Jull Costa -
2
2666
by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer -
3
Honeymoon
by Patrick Modiano, translated by Barbara Wright -
4
Hurricane Season
by Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes -
5
A Perfect Spy
by John le Carré
The Best Literary Thrillers, recommended by Chris Power
The Best Literary Thrillers, recommended by Chris Power
For those with a taste for fine literature, but who also enjoy their fiction with a bit of suspense and momentum, the acclaimed novelist Chris Power—author of A Lonely Man—has put together a recommended reading list of five ‘literary thrillers’, including work by Fernanda Melchor, Roberto Bolaño and the Nobel laureate Patrick Modiano.
