Call for the dead
Description
George Smiley is no one's idea of a spy—which is perhaps why he's such a natural. But Smiley apparently made a mistake. After a routine security interview, he concluded that the affable Samuel Fennan had nothing to hide. Why, then, did the man from the Foreign Office shoot himself in the head only hours later? Or did he?
The heart-stopping tale of intrigue that launched both novelist and spy, Call for the Dead is an essential introduction to le Carré's chillingly amoral universe.
More Details
9781101603758
9781470330569
Published Reviews
Library Journal Reviews
The first le Carré novel is often dismissed as a minor work of interest only for introducing spymaster George Smiley, but it also serves as a template for later masterpieces such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Investigating whether the death of a Foreign Office official was the suicide it appeared to be, Smiley unravels a series of betrayals, both political and personal, that are all equally painful to those involved. As with his readings elsewhere in the Smiley series, Michael Jayston provides a nuanced narration that is as subtle as the unfolding events. VERDICT Because this tight, spellbinding thriller eschews the labyrinthine duplicities of later novels, while tackling the same themes, it serves as an excellent entrée to le Carré's world.—Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr.
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