tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7543676375857581295.post907358140571294049..comments2024-02-10T11:02:03.896-05:00Comments on Reader in the Wilderness: A Small Town in Germany by John Le CarréJudithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7543676375857581295.post-22252509930063365232019-03-02T20:43:54.447-05:002019-03-02T20:43:54.447-05:00Hi Brian,
I started with Le Carre's first nove...Hi Brian,<br />I started with Le Carre's first novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. I recommend buying the 50th anniversary edition, because of Le Carre's great introduction. It's a fairly brief novel, but very complex, in its way. <br />I don't know which one I'll read next. It won't be until 2020, when I may host a Le Carre readalong. <br />Thanks for visiting.Judithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7543676375857581295.post-71690441214647993832019-03-02T17:59:56.981-05:002019-03-02T17:59:56.981-05:00Thanks for stopping by my blog Judith. I have been...Thanks for stopping by my blog Judith. I have been reading some of your posts. I really like your blog.<br /><br />I have never read Le Carrre but I have been wanting to read him for years. I have seen a couple of films based on his novels and I have found them impressive. I have a feeling that if I start The Smiley books and like them I will want to read them all. Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7543676375857581295.post-39027323627509325052019-02-14T18:31:26.153-05:002019-02-14T18:31:26.153-05:00Katrina,
I intend to read all of them as well. I&#...Katrina,<br />I intend to read all of them as well. I'm excited to know that I enjoyed this one as much as I did. <br />And I gravitate toward any novel with a Cornwall setting, absolutely. It's the sea--the cliffs and the sea that call to me, I think. And yes, that Celtic influence, for sure.Judithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7543676375857581295.post-13335621191795722902019-02-13T18:25:22.913-05:002019-02-13T18:25:22.913-05:00I enjoyed this one in 2017 but I intend to read al...I enjoyed this one in 2017 but I intend to read all of his books eventually. I have them all in our overflow bookcases in the garage at the moment. Jack has read them all. I also love Cornwall and books with that setting. It feel so much like Scotland though, I suppose it's the stone built houses and the Celtic influence.Katrinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18138715309807238198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7543676375857581295.post-26887373890521484142019-02-13T18:08:00.992-05:002019-02-13T18:08:00.992-05:00Cath,
I didn't know you grew up in Penzance! H...Cath,<br />I didn't know you grew up in Penzance! How interesting--Cornwall is one of my favorite regions of England, absolutely. I've been to Cornwall twice, the last time with Ken on our 2-week honeymoon tour of England in 1986. <br />So--it's fascinating to realize he lives in a "remote, windswept" part of Cornwall. Speaking of "Penwith," we've been enjoying all the Poldark series--the more recent one, of course. We have enjoyed it, especially the views of the Cornish coast which we love. Judithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7543676375857581295.post-37777643655199814792019-02-13T06:16:39.268-05:002019-02-13T06:16:39.268-05:00That sounds like an excellent plan to me, Judith. ...That sounds like an excellent plan to me, Judith. <br /><br />I've just Googled John Le Carré and apparently he lives in St. Buryan about 10 miles from my hometown of Penzance. I was quite surprised as I expected the answer to be one of the more exclusive parts of Cornwall, Fowey or Rock, or perhaps Padstow. Delighted it's St. Buryan, so very remote and windswept, very 'West Penwith'. I wonder where his stretch of coastline is exactly. Wiki just says, 'near Land's End'. Hmm...Cathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7543676375857581295.post-47130509119207729572019-02-12T18:35:08.456-05:002019-02-12T18:35:08.456-05:00Thanks, Cath--
We have a number of Le Carre admire...Thanks, Cath--<br />We have a number of Le Carre admirers in our midst. Perhaps in 2020 I should host a March Le Carre Month or something, during which everyone would read a Le Carre novel they've never read and report or discuss. <br />Age 85-86 was the tipping point for P.D. James, and she stopped writing at that point. <br />I do wish him well. I imagine it must be so much harder at 87 to write a book, I can't fathom it really. By the way, he supposedly owns a mile of "cliff edge" on the sea in Cornwall. I wonder what his writing room is like--do you think it overlooks the sea, or would that be too distracting? During my professional writing life, I liked a view--looking out the window helped me to rest my brain and also to think. Judithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7543676375857581295.post-59838609238556962422019-02-11T18:18:45.437-05:002019-02-11T18:18:45.437-05:00Wonderful review, Judith! You've persuaded me ...Wonderful review, Judith! You've persuaded me to try something by Le Carré at some stage, sooner rather than later. Of course, like you I'm old enough not to need annotations but many younger people didn't live through these times like we did and nor did they have parents who fought in the war who would talk about it. I had no idea John Le Carré was still alive and living in Cornwall.Cathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com