The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré
Dec. 29th, 2010 09:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
The Blurb On The Back:
George Smiley has become chief of the battered British Secret Service at a time when the betrayals of a Soviet double agent have riddled the spy network. Smiley wants revenge. His method is attack, the quarry Karla, the battleground Hong Kong, and the choice of weapon, the Honourable Jerry Westerby, Eastern hand, passionate lover and seasoned, reckless secret agent. So begins the terrifying game ...
The British Secret Service is still reeling after the events of TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY and George Smiley has been put in charge of clearing up the mess. With his marriage to Ann back in the cold, Smiley’s obsessed with striking back at Karla and an opportunity comes with a revelation that Drake Ko, a wealthy Chinese businessman based in Hong Kong, is involved in one of Karla’s webs. Smiley brings Jerry Westerby out of retirement to track down Ko’s secret. Doing so sets off a deadly and dangerous game that pits Smiley not only against his oldest adversary, but also against his own allies ...
The second in Le Carre’s ‘Karla’ trilogy is not quite in the same league as the better known TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY or SMILEY’S PEOPLE (mainly because it is very much a novel of its time that has dated) but nonetheless remains a taut espionage thriller.
With the action predominantly split between Hong Kong and London, Le Carre slowly pulls together the investigation into Drake Ko’s personal history and the dirty secret that Smiley can use to hit back at Karla. For me the best scenes are those involving Smiley. Always a quiet character, his focus and determination in hitting back at Karla blinds him to events happening closer to home. Smiley is a man operating outside his time – unaware of the political game that he is required to play with the Service’s paymasters and with their American ‘Cousins’ who are keen to assert their dominance.
In contrast Jerry Westerby is a less interesting character – coming across as a James Bond type – fond of and irresistible to women – his action scenes are nonetheless muted by the reality of field life – specifically the amount of waiting he has to do for orders to come in. His growing attraction to Lizzie (Ko’s English mistress) never quite rings true – mainly because she seems so out of her depth in the world of men and consistently undermines her own position. This is unfortunate because it’s Jerry’s actions in the final quarter of the book that lead to the conclusion and the lack of conviction in that relationship robs it of credibility.
Much of what Le Carre describes is from a by-gone age, and unfortunately this includes the use of some racist terms. Despite this, the book is still worth a look – if only for Karla completists.
The Verdict:
Although this middle book in Le Carre’s ‘Karla’ trilogy isn’t as good as TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER SPY or SMILEY’S PEOPLE and it has dated, it is still an interesting read – if only for the Smiley sections.
George Smiley has become chief of the battered British Secret Service at a time when the betrayals of a Soviet double agent have riddled the spy network. Smiley wants revenge. His method is attack, the quarry Karla, the battleground Hong Kong, and the choice of weapon, the Honourable Jerry Westerby, Eastern hand, passionate lover and seasoned, reckless secret agent. So begins the terrifying game ...
The British Secret Service is still reeling after the events of TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY and George Smiley has been put in charge of clearing up the mess. With his marriage to Ann back in the cold, Smiley’s obsessed with striking back at Karla and an opportunity comes with a revelation that Drake Ko, a wealthy Chinese businessman based in Hong Kong, is involved in one of Karla’s webs. Smiley brings Jerry Westerby out of retirement to track down Ko’s secret. Doing so sets off a deadly and dangerous game that pits Smiley not only against his oldest adversary, but also against his own allies ...
The second in Le Carre’s ‘Karla’ trilogy is not quite in the same league as the better known TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY or SMILEY’S PEOPLE (mainly because it is very much a novel of its time that has dated) but nonetheless remains a taut espionage thriller.
With the action predominantly split between Hong Kong and London, Le Carre slowly pulls together the investigation into Drake Ko’s personal history and the dirty secret that Smiley can use to hit back at Karla. For me the best scenes are those involving Smiley. Always a quiet character, his focus and determination in hitting back at Karla blinds him to events happening closer to home. Smiley is a man operating outside his time – unaware of the political game that he is required to play with the Service’s paymasters and with their American ‘Cousins’ who are keen to assert their dominance.
In contrast Jerry Westerby is a less interesting character – coming across as a James Bond type – fond of and irresistible to women – his action scenes are nonetheless muted by the reality of field life – specifically the amount of waiting he has to do for orders to come in. His growing attraction to Lizzie (Ko’s English mistress) never quite rings true – mainly because she seems so out of her depth in the world of men and consistently undermines her own position. This is unfortunate because it’s Jerry’s actions in the final quarter of the book that lead to the conclusion and the lack of conviction in that relationship robs it of credibility.
Much of what Le Carre describes is from a by-gone age, and unfortunately this includes the use of some racist terms. Despite this, the book is still worth a look – if only for Karla completists.
The Verdict:
Although this middle book in Le Carre’s ‘Karla’ trilogy isn’t as good as TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER SPY or SMILEY’S PEOPLE and it has dated, it is still an interesting read – if only for the Smiley sections.