A Perfect Spy

3 Reviews

• 

  He's the best spy novelist.

  Is this helpful?

  jelabino said on Aug 1, 2011 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 

  Barbara [ http://www.anobii.com/anbra6/books ] makes it sound as if this masterpiece of modern spy literature was written with EFL, teaching of English as Foreign Language in mind [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_as_a_foreign_or_se… ].

  Not so – and, as for it being "simple" (=as i ... (continue)

  Barbara [ http://www.anobii.com/anbra6/books ] makes it sound as if this masterpiece of modern spy literature was written with EFL, teaching of English as Foreign Language in mind [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_as_a_foreign_or_se… ].

  Not so – and, as for it being "simple" (=as in simplistic) and "linear" – Barbara doesn't know the meaning of those words. While nominally about the business of spying, the main theme of this book is the process of achieving maturity, the essence, unattainability and price of life-time friendships. Long after all other John Le Carré's works have been forgotten [hope not], this one, and his "Little Drummer Girl"[*] will live on as type-examples of best XXth century biographico-epical-mashup fiction.

  [*] "The best recent novel about terrorism was published in 1983, and its author was John le Carré, better known at the time as a crafter of cautionary tales about the intelligence battles of the cold war."
  http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/aug/12/le…

  Is this helpful?

  ianf said on Mar 2, 2011 | Add your feedback

• 

  Simple and linear... really easy to read in English for learners... not boring but... "ordinary"...

  Is this helpful?

  Barbara ABP said on Aug 25, 2008 | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
  (23)
  • 5 stars
  • 4 stars
  • 3 stars
  • 2 stars
  • 1 star
• English Books
• Paperback 704 Pages
• Edition: New Ed
• ISBN-10: 0340937653
• ISBN-13: 9780340937655
• Publisher: Sceptre
• Pub date: Sep 21, 2006
• Dimensions: 1290 mm x 839 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Mass Market Paperback, Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Others and eBook
• In other languages: other languages 繁體書, Livres Français, Deutsche Bücher, Libros en Español, Libri Italiani, Nederlandse Boeken

Groups with this in collection

• NY Times Notable Book Club (481)

Prices Change currency & sellers