2013 Book 20: Call For The Dead
Book 20: Call For The Dead by John LeCarre, isbn 9780743431675, softcover, 157 pages, Scribner, $7.99
The Premise: George Smiley had liked Samuel Fennan, and now Fennan was dead from an apparent suicide. But why? Fennan, a Foreign Office man, had been under investigation for alleged Communist Party activities, but Smiley had made it clear that the investigation -- little more than a routine security check -- was over and that the file on Fennan could be closed. The very next day, Fennan was found dead with a note by his body saying his career was finished and he couldn't go on. Smiley was puzzled...
My Rating: Four stars out of five
My Thoughts: I really loved the new movie version of LeCarre's TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY and decided to read the book. And then, in a used bookstore somewhere on the road, I found CALL FOR THE DEAD, with the cover proclaiming it "The novel that introduced George Smiley." So I figured, okay, start at the beginning, yeah?
I'm glad I did. CALL FOR THE DEAD is a pretty straight-foward murder mystery with spy trappings, but it serves as a fine introduction to Smiley and what makes him tick. Smiley, who is clearly a low-level desk-jockey at this late stage in his career (even though it's the first novel), suspects that something is not right with Fennan's suicide. Smiley would rather quit the Service and investigate Fennan's death on his own that let it be swept under the rug. He makes connections with a local policeman named Mendel who also thinks something isn't right, along with fellow spy Peter Guillam, a name I recognized from the movie.
LeCarre moves the story along swiftly with no wasted words. So much of the start is from Smiley's point of view that the first shift in such (to Mendel's) felt a little awkward, but it doesn't detract at all from the pace or tone of the book. And LeCarre plays pretty fair -- there are clues dropped along the way that the author intends you to pick up on, and so the big reveal is something you can look back and say "oh, yeah, he dropped that clue earlier." I like mysteries that manage to drop all the hints without handing you the answer outright. It's a fine line to walk and LeCarre walks it well.
I'm also intrigued now to see how Call For the Dead leads eventually into TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY.
The Premise: George Smiley had liked Samuel Fennan, and now Fennan was dead from an apparent suicide. But why? Fennan, a Foreign Office man, had been under investigation for alleged Communist Party activities, but Smiley had made it clear that the investigation -- little more than a routine security check -- was over and that the file on Fennan could be closed. The very next day, Fennan was found dead with a note by his body saying his career was finished and he couldn't go on. Smiley was puzzled...
My Rating: Four stars out of five
My Thoughts: I really loved the new movie version of LeCarre's TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY and decided to read the book. And then, in a used bookstore somewhere on the road, I found CALL FOR THE DEAD, with the cover proclaiming it "The novel that introduced George Smiley." So I figured, okay, start at the beginning, yeah?
I'm glad I did. CALL FOR THE DEAD is a pretty straight-foward murder mystery with spy trappings, but it serves as a fine introduction to Smiley and what makes him tick. Smiley, who is clearly a low-level desk-jockey at this late stage in his career (even though it's the first novel), suspects that something is not right with Fennan's suicide. Smiley would rather quit the Service and investigate Fennan's death on his own that let it be swept under the rug. He makes connections with a local policeman named Mendel who also thinks something isn't right, along with fellow spy Peter Guillam, a name I recognized from the movie.
LeCarre moves the story along swiftly with no wasted words. So much of the start is from Smiley's point of view that the first shift in such (to Mendel's) felt a little awkward, but it doesn't detract at all from the pace or tone of the book. And LeCarre plays pretty fair -- there are clues dropped along the way that the author intends you to pick up on, and so the big reveal is something you can look back and say "oh, yeah, he dropped that clue earlier." I like mysteries that manage to drop all the hints without handing you the answer outright. It's a fine line to walk and LeCarre walks it well.
I'm also intrigued now to see how Call For the Dead leads eventually into TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY.