Throughout this post, I will lazily omit the accent on the final "e" in Carre. Please look the other way, or imagine it in place.
I've been very lucky to get a first edition, first printing, hardcover edition of Le Carre's 2019 novel, Agent Running in the Field for a mere $12 from Amazon. Since the original sale price was $30, it's easy to see that the first printing has not sold well. So how can that be? Well, of course I don't have the answer, but it is very interesting that the novel received lots and lots of negative comments on Amazon and other book-selling sites for being, as the readers themselves put it, "so anti-Trump." I mean, really negative reviews for that aspect alone.
This discovery fascinates me. The novel was considered noxious by many readers, not because of the story, or the development of the characters, but because the main character was ardently anti-Trump. And I began to wonder about the dismal sales of the book. Might this fact indicate that devoted fans of Le Carre are Republicans? Supporters of Trump? I'm mystified because the anti-Trump aspect of the book is what made Ken and I decide to buy it.
And this leads me to another topic. Le Carre (David Cornwell) is 88 years old. (He turns 89 in October 2020.) He has written two novels in succession, the latest in 2019. I wonder what the future holds for him and us his readers, but if his memoir Pigeon Tunnel is any indication, he may be thinking of drawing his career to a close. My heart aches to think it, but there it is.
Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink, for the #1937Club
14 hours ago
Interesting information. I haven't been in a rush to get a copy of Agent Running in the Field because I still haven't read his previous novel, A Legacy of Spies. I have about 20 of his books and have only read half of those. So I am very far behind on reading Le Carre. But I am glad to hear that he is addressing Trump and Brexit in this book and look forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteHi Tracy,
DeleteNor have I read A Legacy of Spies. And, I as well have not read many of his novels. Actually, his memoir Pigeon Tunnel, made me become much more interested in him and his work. I'd ideally like to read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy this year, in addition to Agent Running in the Field. But I do wonder. My reading overall has not been robust, to say the least, but I do keep a Reading Hopes List, so we'll see.
That is interesting, and sad to hear. Online reviews have such a strong impact, and often I am influenced by the overall star rating without reading all the individual reviews. So I can see that a lot of politically motivated one-star reviews of this book would really hurt Le Carre's sales.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew,
DeleteThanks for weighing in on this issue. I, too, have been influenced by "starred" reviews. These days, I'm more apt to be alert to starred reviews by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal (only moderately so), Kirkus similarly, and so forth. Commercial outlets I try to weigh much less heavily because publishers and friends of authors do the reviewing, in large part.
So print reviews by knowledgeable reviewers get more of a thumbs up (with discretion) and anonymous reviewers I try to ignore, unless, of course it sounds they really know what they're talking about! How's that for confusion?
Yes, it can be quite the minefield, can't it? But that sounds like a good strategy for picking your way through it.
DeleteYou might be right that devoted fans of Le Carre are conservative. A lot of his early books are Cold War classics and I would say pro-West for sure. But that can't be the only reason for the drop in sales, can it? I mean, there are many other non-fiction books that are best sellers and pointedly anti-Cheeto.
ReplyDeleteI read a lot of Le Carre in the 1990s starting with The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, which was amazing as I remember it.
Ruthiella,
DeleteSurely bad reader reviews are certainly not the whole story behind poor sales. Le Carre wrote two books in quick succession, and that may have had an impact on sales of the second book. Also, the book was considerably anti-Brexit.
But anti-Cheeto!! I've never heard that expression, and it is delightful. Thank you for clueing me in. I will share with all my cohorts in this rather "red" mountainous region of Blue New York.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold wowed me when I read it several years ago. I'd never encountered a spy novel quite like it. Admire Le Carre immensely.