nicanical
I expected something like Frederick Forsyth's The Fourth Protocol, but Call for the Dead is more of a detective story with spies. Call leans towards the English school of detective fiction: while some of the characters exhibit hardboiled qualities—gritty, cunning, and blackjacks—they posture and monologue like in Golden Age whodunits, and each chapter is set up like an act in a play.
Stylistically, John le Carré is fond of long, flowing sentences with lots of chintz. They look nice and literary, but are tiring to read and hampered my enjoyment. Call is good enough to finish, but I'm not sure I'll continue with the series now. (I originally planned to read up to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at least, after seeing the 2011 film).
I expected something like Frederick Forsyth's The Fourth Protocol, but Call for the Dead is more of a detective story with spies. Call leans towards the English school of detective fiction: while some of the characters exhibit hardboiled qualities—gritty, cunning, and blackjacks—they posture and monologue like in Golden Age whodunits, and each chapter is set up like an act in a play.
Stylistically, John le Carré is fond of long, flowing sentences with lots of chintz. They look nice and literary, but are tiring to read and hampered my enjoyment. Call is good enough to finish, but I'm not sure I'll continue with the series now. (I originally planned to read up to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at least, after seeing the 2011 film).
