Comments on A Murder of Quality by John le Carre

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06/17/09--20:04: Nancy commented on 'A Murder of Quality by John le Carre' (chan 1265143)

Thanks for this post - I love Smiley - have read only one of the books (a very long time ago) but have seen all the movies - and, also have Alec Guiness fixed in my mind as Smiley. New project: I think I'd like to read the books, starting at the beginning...




06/17/09--23:25: Sarah commented on 'A Murder of Quality by John le Carre' (chan 1265143)

The Spy Who Came in from the cold is wonderful- very tense, with an ending that takes your breath away. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.




06/18/09--01:00: Linda W commented on 'A Murder of Quality by John le Carre' (chan 1265143)

Did you know that Radio 4 have been dramatising them and all 8 of the novels that feature Smiley will on during the year as Saturday Afternoon Plays. The first two have already aired and A Murder of Quality was excellent. Simon Russell Beale plays Smiley and manages to portray Le Carre's description of him by voice alone. He is so good he even manages to dispel any thoughts of Alec Guinness.




06/18/09--07:22: Simon S commented on 'A Murder of Quality by John le Carre' (chan 1265143)

I have received this series very recently and havent started cracking through it yet but having read this I am indeed going to have to put the first in the series much higher in my TBR. The Spy Who Came in from the cold is the only one that I had heard of in the series when it arrived!




06/22/09--07:53: John Verity commented on 'A Murder of Quality by John le Carre' (chan 1265143)

Beware: As great and as thrilling a book as Spy Who Came from the Cold is - and it truly is! - Smiley appears in it only quite briefly. He lurks far in the background. Where he really shines, of course, is in Tinker, Tailor, and Honourable Schoolboy, and Smiley's People, in which he takes on .... well, I won't spoil it.
You may, or may not, wish to dig up the BBC TV productions of the first and last of that trilogy, made in 1979 and 1982. They are wonderful programs, perhaps the best TV has ever shown. Seeing them will not likely ruin the reading experience, but as Smiley, Alec Guinness will indelibly rewrite your own picture of Smiley. So strong was his performance that even le Carré was unable to hold onto the character and use him any longer. On the other hand, the DVD disks include interviews the author in which he describes how he came up with Smiley in the first place.

John, in California