Ratings17
Average rating3.3
In The Night Manager, John le Carré's first post-Cold War novel, an ex-soldier helps British Intelligence penetrate the secret world of ruthless arms dealers. 'Le Carré is the equal of any novelist now writing in English' Guardian 'A marvellously observed relentless tale' Observer At the start of it all, Jonathan Pine is merely the night manager at a luxury hotel. But when a single attempt to pass on information to the British authorities - about an international businessman at the hotel with suspicious dealings - backfires terribly, and people close to Pine begin to die, he commits himself to a battle against powerful forces he cannot begin to imagine. In a chilling tale of corrupt intelligence agencies, billion-dollar price tags and the truth of the brutal arms trade, John le Carré creates a claustrophobic world in which no one can be trusted. 'Complex and intense ... page-turning tension' San Francisco Chronicle 'When I was under house arrest I was helped by the books of John le Carré ... they were a journey into the wider world ... These were the journeys that made me feel that I was not really cut off from the rest of humankind' Aung San Suu Kyi 'One of those writers who will be read a century from now' Robert Harris 'He can communicate emotion, from sweating fear to despairing love, with terse and compassionate conviction' Sunday Times (on The Spy Who Came in from the Cold) 'Return of the master . . . Having plumbed the devious depths of the Cold War, le Carré has done it again for our nasty new age' The Times (on Our Kind of Traitor)
Reviews with the most likes.
Just to be upfront about it, I did not finish this book. This review is based on the first chapter.
I saw the Amazon series, and was intrigued.
I found the book to be sexist. Specifically, the main character – who I would imagine is meant to be the sympathetic hero – had sexist thoughts in an inner monologue. As a result, I had a difficult time engaging when I found the hero not redeeming in this way. Life is too short for such books, full of too many thrillers that don't have such issues, so I set it aside permanently.
More of a 3.5. Found chunks of it slow but got really absorbed in the majority of it. Was slightly hard to keep all the various British government officials straight.
Probably no more than a 2.5.
I have absolutely loved some of le Carre's books, but this felt unnecessarily drawn out for the simplicity of the actual plot.
Currently my least favorite le Carré novel. I like the realism of le Carré's other works–this one required a little too much suspension of disbelief, especially when it comes to the all-powerful Mr. Roper.
This is one of the rare cases where I found the characters in the miniseries (slightly) more sympathetic than those in the book. Why the hell did the BBC have to butcher a perfectly good ending?