Silverview

In a sort of postscript, Nick Cornwell, le Carre's (David Cornwell's) son writes that his father had made him promise to finish any novel le Carre may have left unfinished. On le Carre's recent death, the son was puzzled that his father had left unpublished a manuscript that was essentially finished, barring minor editing, and which had been written several years prior.

Darwin8u calls this a novella, and at roughly 44-45K words, maybe that's the best description for it. I finished it in a few days while traveling, and as much as I liked it, I wished several of the characters and events of the back story had been much more fleshed out.

The language was fluid and fleet, but the lyricism and depth of his earlier books, like Smiley's People, was lacking. It was beautifully polished but I can't help but think that had he lived, le Carre would have added several layers of complexity, and made this a fuller treat. It is a good and drinkable wine, but not as complex as we have become accustomed to.

I am grateful for this last gift from this magical author whom I frankly adore. He set such a high bar for himself that I grieve that there will no longer be new le Carre books. Luckily, rereading his books is providing as intense a pleasure as reading them the first time around, and so his work will continue to keep me company.

You shall be sorely missed, Mr. Cornwell.