Publisher's Weekly Review
The late author of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold and other seminal espionage thrillers probes life, deception, and writing in these sparkling letters. The missives span le Carré's student days, his early career in Britain's MI6 intelligence service (which shaped his famous character George Smiley and other morally conflicted Cold War spies), and nearly six decades as a bestselling novelist. Included are gushing notes to playwright Tom Stoppard ("I loved 'Shakespeare in Love', & loved you for writing it"); defensive apologies to an Oxford pal who he spied upon; ripostes to readers who caught mistakes in his works; thoughts on political events ("I hate Brexit, hate Trump, fear the rise of white fascism everywhere"); complaints about his father; and a withering dismissal of Salman Rushdie ("Nobody has a God-given right to insult a great religion and be published with impunity"). Le Carré's letters are witty, affable, unctuous toward celebrities, tartly venomous toward unfair critics, and full of a subtle, penetrating literary sensibility. (He praised actor Alec Guinness's portrayal of Smiley, with his "mildness of manner, stretched taut... by an unearthly stillness and an electrifying watchfulness.") Le Carré's fans shouldn't miss this stimulating compendium. (Dec.)
Kirkus Review
A portrait of the famed spy novelist via a lifetime of correspondence. Meticulously edited and expansively annotated by le Carré's son, Cornwell, this collection lands like a biography. In the introduction, Cornwell provides an outline, covering significant benchmarks in his father's life, the brooding tenor of his final days in Cornwall in 2020, and the breadth of his correspondence. The text proceeds chronologically, but often a quote from an older le Carré adds context and piquancy. Additionally, Cornwell regularly adds biographical context. The first letter, dated 1945, is a polite correspondence with his headmaster-to-be, written when the author was 13. Adolescent love letters follow, addressed to le Carré's "darling" Ann, Cornwell's mother. Subsequent chapters unpack the author's decades with the Foreign Office and transition from espionage work to his career as a journalist and, ultimately, successful novelist. The editor organizes these latter chapters around specific novels. Although Cornwell writes about his father with affection, he does not shy away from disreputable episodes--e.g., le Carré's affair with Susan Kennaway, which led to divorce from Ann. As the letters show, literary fame brought the special challenges of being a public figure but also more stature to address political issues, which le Carré did up to the very end of his life. Brexit and the Trump presidency were key concerns. The use of correspondence to maintain lifelong relationships emerges as a major theme. The author's many celebrity pen pals included Sir Alec Guinness, Tom Stoppard, and Stephen Fry. An added bonus are le Carré's illustrations, peppered throughout the book. Supplemental material includes a comprehensive chronology and an appendix called Manuscript Sources, which lists chronologically all the letters and their recipients. Le Carré's wry modesty and cleareyed insight into human nature consistently shine through. A collection of small insights about a complex literary titan--invaluable for fans. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
During his life, Le Carré corresponded with various spies, politicians, artists, actors, and public figures, not to mention other writers, and the evidence is displayed in this volume, edited by one of his sons. The author expressly asked his children to find ways to extend his literary legacy, and here's one good way.
