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Available
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Publication
New York : Knopf, 1977.
Description
George Smiley has become chief of the battered British Secret Service. The betrayals of a Soviet double agent have riddled the spy network. Smiley wants revenge. He chooses his weapon: Jerry Westerby, 'The Honourable Schoolboy', a passionate lover and a seasoned, reckless secret agent. Westerby is pointed east, to Hong Kong. So begins the terrifying game ... 'His command of detail is staggering, his straightforward, unaffected prose is superb. In short, wonderful value' The Sunday Times
Media reviews
A retired missionary and his daughter, a Hong Kong policeman, an Italian orphan, an English schoolmaster, an American narcotics agent, a slovenly Kremlinologist, a mad bodyguard, the quite splendid Craw -- all are burned on the brain of the reader. If they are not marooned in loneliness, their
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cynicism corrodes or they go blank when there are no explanations, only helicopters. Loneliness, in fact, rather than betrayal, is the leitmotif. It is the leper's bell around their necks. They have only themselves to be true to, and they are no longer sure who they are. Not a page of this book is without intelligence and grace. Not a page fails to suggest that we carry around with us our own built-in heart of darkness. Show Less
New York Review of Books
The Honourable Schoolboy brings the second sequence to a heavy apotheosis. A few brave reviewers have expressed doubts about whether some of the elements which supposedly enrich le Carré later manner might not really be a kind of impoverishment, but generally the book has been covered with praise
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- a response not entirely to be despised, since The Honourable Schoolboy is so big that it takes real effort to cover it with anything. At one stage I tried to cover it with a pillow, but there it was, still half visible, insisting, against all the odds posed by its coagulated style, on being read to the last sentence...
Smiley's fitting opponent is Karla, the KGB's chief of operations. Smiley has Karla's photograph hanging in his office, just as Montgomery had Rommel's photograph hanging in his caravan. Karla, who made a fleeting physical appearance in the previous novel, is kept offstage in this one - a sound move, since like Moriarty he is too abstract a figure to survive examination. But the tone of voice in which le Carré talks about the epic mental battle between Smiley and Karla is too sublime to be anything but ridiculous. 'For nobody, not even Martello, quite dared to challenge Smiley's authority.' In just such a way T. E. Lawrence used to write about himself. As he entered the tent, sheiks fell silent, stunned by his charisma. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Widsith
Popular opinion has it that this is the weakest of the three Karla novels. I thought it was a masterpiece, and a more ambitious novel than Tinker, Tailor.
It is very different from the last book: suddenly there is this unexpectedly huge scope of Southeast Asia to go alongside the muted meetings in
‘Lunch,’ Martindale announced without much optimism. They ate it upstairs, glumly, off plastic catering trays delivered by van. The partitions were too low and Guillam's custard flowed into his meat.
The Southeast Asia sections are wonderfully accomplished. We have thumbnail sketches of the Laotian capital, the Cambodian Civil War, rich descriptions of pre-handover Hong Kong. Jerry Westerby, the hack reporter who doubles as an occasional stringer for British Intelligence, is a character who will ring true to anyone who's worked in journalism. As a reporter myself, I've never yet read a better description of why journalists do dangerous things for so little money – why they get out of the car, cross the road, head towards the gunshots:
Sometimes you do it to save face, thought Jerry, other times you just do it because you haven't done your job unless you've scared yourself to death. Other times again, you go in order to remind yourself that survival is a fluke. But mostly you go because the others go; for machismo; and because in order to belong you must share.
This comes in a long, virtuoso section which sees Jerry digging up information on a contact under cover of writing a story on frontline fighting in Cambodia. The book is full of such delights: everything from tiny foreign airline lounges to fashion shows to opium dens have an air of truth to them. I don't know if Le Carré is drawing on personal experiences, or if he just writes so well that I believe anything he says. Either way it makes this book a pleasure.
There are flaws. The final third is less good than what comes before, and the one main female character is too much of a damsel-in-distress, who has really no reason except convention for falling for our antihero. But I'll take that, for the joys of reading a spy novel I can actually believe, with some descriptive set-pieces of ‘The East’ that are unmatched.
It is very different from the last book: suddenly there is this unexpectedly huge scope of Southeast Asia to go alongside the muted meetings in
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grey London office rooms. I can well understand how some readers might have felt it was two books jammed together, but for me the contrast worked perfectly and I was riveted by how brilliantly Le Carré unfurls the story. The writing here is simply incredible. I can't think of another writer who could have me on the edge of my seat with a twenty-page description of an interdepartmental meeting, but somehow that's what we get here. Here's the halfway point of the meeting, after several pages of close, detailed description: just admire how easily he suddenly slips into this spare, witty style:‘Lunch,’ Martindale announced without much optimism. They ate it upstairs, glumly, off plastic catering trays delivered by van. The partitions were too low and Guillam's custard flowed into his meat.
The Southeast Asia sections are wonderfully accomplished. We have thumbnail sketches of the Laotian capital, the Cambodian Civil War, rich descriptions of pre-handover Hong Kong. Jerry Westerby, the hack reporter who doubles as an occasional stringer for British Intelligence, is a character who will ring true to anyone who's worked in journalism. As a reporter myself, I've never yet read a better description of why journalists do dangerous things for so little money – why they get out of the car, cross the road, head towards the gunshots:
Sometimes you do it to save face, thought Jerry, other times you just do it because you haven't done your job unless you've scared yourself to death. Other times again, you go in order to remind yourself that survival is a fluke. But mostly you go because the others go; for machismo; and because in order to belong you must share.
This comes in a long, virtuoso section which sees Jerry digging up information on a contact under cover of writing a story on frontline fighting in Cambodia. The book is full of such delights: everything from tiny foreign airline lounges to fashion shows to opium dens have an air of truth to them. I don't know if Le Carré is drawing on personal experiences, or if he just writes so well that I believe anything he says. Either way it makes this book a pleasure.
There are flaws. The final third is less good than what comes before, and the one main female character is too much of a damsel-in-distress, who has really no reason except convention for falling for our antihero. But I'll take that, for the joys of reading a spy novel I can actually believe, with some descriptive set-pieces of ‘The East’ that are unmatched.
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LibraryThing member kraaivrouw
It used to be that this was my favorite of the George Smiley books. I liked the reporter angle, the exotic Hong Kong setting, the intricacies of running agents, the tragedy waiting to happen throughout. This time I enjoyed it, but less so than the other two books. In some ways I think this is le
There are great moments in this, but they tend to be the smaller quiet ones - the reporters' bar on a rainy day, Craw visiting his little ship, the plane ride into Pnomh Penh. Don't get me wrong, all the big sweeping moments are good, too, but somehow didn't catch me as much.
A good middle book between two excellent ones.
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Carré throwing everything he knows at the wall in hopes that it will stick. It is a testimony to his skill that it all does. In other ways it's almost too tainted with the Vietnam War, although that is not its subject matter it permeates the entire construct and makes things feel a bit dated.There are great moments in this, but they tend to be the smaller quiet ones - the reporters' bar on a rainy day, Craw visiting his little ship, the plane ride into Pnomh Penh. Don't get me wrong, all the big sweeping moments are good, too, but somehow didn't catch me as much.
A good middle book between two excellent ones.
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LibraryThing member BooksForDinner
I'll say my least favorite Le Carre so far (number 5 I believe), but still good. Great talent for description and setting... great at not over-doing written accents... there are points it dragged a bit I thought... It could have been 500 instead of 600 pages and we all would have been fine I
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think... Still, I just read The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, so I'm a little spoiled... think it will be a bit before I finish the trilogy and read Smiley's People. Show Less
LibraryThing member uvula_fr_b4
The second book in the Karla Trilogy (which includes Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy [1974] and Smiley's People [1979]; all three books were collected in omnibus form as The Quest for Karla in 1982) and the sixth novel featuring John Le Carré's "fat spy" George Smiley, The Honourable Schoolboy is a
The Honourable Schoolboy unfolds largely through a series of multiple flashbacks (more accurately, flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks within -- you get the idea), recounting events during the final year or two of the Vietnam War; much of the action, when it finally starts, occurs in the then-British colony of Hong Kong and Vietnam, and is carried forward in a somewhat haphazard fashion by a reserve operative of the Circus, the "honourable schoolboy" (the adjective is deployed here in at least two senses) of the title, Gerald "Jerry" Westerby, the son of a self-made newspaper baron (in both senses of the word) and a disillusioned foreign correspondent attempting to write a book, who is tasked with bringing Karla's banker, the reclusive Hong Kong tycoon Drake Ko, to book, so as to undercut Karla's scope of operations.
That's it, and the proceedings could have, in lesser hands, been a deadly dull affair; however, despite the relative paucity of conventional thriller-type action, I found The Honourable Schoolboy a riveting affair, and was sorry to come to the book's end. Le Carré deftly walks a fine line between presenting a by-the-numbers textbook case of practical espionage and a compelling psychological thriller salted with flavorful instances of local color and action. Smiley himself has arguably even more interest and power here than in Tinker, Tailor due to his being presented solely through the eyes of the other characters (call it the Gatsby effect). Jerry, a big, good-natured, slightly shabby, somewhat apologetic "lad," thinks he more or less knows what drives Smiley -- something close to a religious devotion and faith, but to the Circus itself rather than to the nation as a whole or to Western capitalism or to, well, religion -- but, ultimately, Smiley and, indeed, Jerry himself, are unknowable in the way that we all are, even to ourselves.
If I liked Honourable Schoolboy somewhat less than Tinker, Tailor, the difference in my enjoyment levels was very slight, and probably due to the fact that Le Carré allowed more air into Schoolboy's narrative than he did into Tinker, Tailor's. If the reader is beguiled with the illusion that there are more quiet moments in Schoolboy than in Tinker, Tailor (a subplot about a budding romance between Smiley's aide-de-camp, Peter Guillam, and a young female employee of the Circus, carried over from Tinker, Tailor, is particularly amusing and welcome, if too subtle to be properly termed comic relief), these nominal lulls only serve to make the climax more climactic, more wrenching: the emotions that the reader will likely feel at book's end are a rich melange that preclude simplistic feelings of joy over victory or depression over defeat, and superbly bait the hook for him to proceed to the last book of the trilogy, Smiley's People.
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quietly gripping, intelligent spy thriller that gradually furthers the struggle of Britain's foreign intelligence service (MI6, here styled "the Circus") against Smiley's opposite number in the Soviet Union's KGB, Karla, after Smiley's pyrrhic victory in rooting out Karla's highly-placed Soviet mole within the Circus in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The Honourable Schoolboy unfolds largely through a series of multiple flashbacks (more accurately, flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks within -- you get the idea), recounting events during the final year or two of the Vietnam War; much of the action, when it finally starts, occurs in the then-British colony of Hong Kong and Vietnam, and is carried forward in a somewhat haphazard fashion by a reserve operative of the Circus, the "honourable schoolboy" (the adjective is deployed here in at least two senses) of the title, Gerald "Jerry" Westerby, the son of a self-made newspaper baron (in both senses of the word) and a disillusioned foreign correspondent attempting to write a book, who is tasked with bringing Karla's banker, the reclusive Hong Kong tycoon Drake Ko, to book, so as to undercut Karla's scope of operations.
That's it, and the proceedings could have, in lesser hands, been a deadly dull affair; however, despite the relative paucity of conventional thriller-type action, I found The Honourable Schoolboy a riveting affair, and was sorry to come to the book's end. Le Carré deftly walks a fine line between presenting a by-the-numbers textbook case of practical espionage and a compelling psychological thriller salted with flavorful instances of local color and action. Smiley himself has arguably even more interest and power here than in Tinker, Tailor due to his being presented solely through the eyes of the other characters (call it the Gatsby effect). Jerry, a big, good-natured, slightly shabby, somewhat apologetic "lad," thinks he more or less knows what drives Smiley -- something close to a religious devotion and faith, but to the Circus itself rather than to the nation as a whole or to Western capitalism or to, well, religion -- but, ultimately, Smiley and, indeed, Jerry himself, are unknowable in the way that we all are, even to ourselves.
If I liked Honourable Schoolboy somewhat less than Tinker, Tailor, the difference in my enjoyment levels was very slight, and probably due to the fact that Le Carré allowed more air into Schoolboy's narrative than he did into Tinker, Tailor's. If the reader is beguiled with the illusion that there are more quiet moments in Schoolboy than in Tinker, Tailor (a subplot about a budding romance between Smiley's aide-de-camp, Peter Guillam, and a young female employee of the Circus, carried over from Tinker, Tailor, is particularly amusing and welcome, if too subtle to be properly termed comic relief), these nominal lulls only serve to make the climax more climactic, more wrenching: the emotions that the reader will likely feel at book's end are a rich melange that preclude simplistic feelings of joy over victory or depression over defeat, and superbly bait the hook for him to proceed to the last book of the trilogy, Smiley's People.
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LibraryThing member uryjm
Literally just finished this book, after a long period of trying to get into it. “Effing Brilliant” I said to myself as I closed the final chapter, and it was. A real pity that the initial hundred and twenty pages were hard going as Le Carre laid out the foundation for the rest of the story,
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because it put me off. But, when I picked it back up, I found that this novel had everything I could have wanted about my exotic perceptions of the East as the story swung between Hong Kong, Cambodia, Vietnam, London and America. The plot was secondary to the characterisation, and while I might not have been able to relate to the foibles of the Old Etonian brigade, they still formed as fully fledged players in my mind. I was often reminded of Morse novels as I read, because Smiley is quite like Morse and because I often felt I had lost the thread of the plot but felt I wanted to plough on nonetheless. Will I read more of Le Carre now? No. I’ll read all of them. Show Less
LibraryThing member isabelx
The Circus is in disarray after the discovery of the mole, and all its Russian networks have been blown. Smiley, Connie & a few others are methodically searching the Circus' archives and questioning former agents in order to track down any of Karla's operations that the mole had tried to suppress.
An exciting story, but it took me ages to finish and I found John Le Carre's authorial voice annoying in this book. It was written as if a dispassionate observer was compiling a report on the operation after the dust had settled.
An exciting story, but it took me ages to finish and I didn't enjoy it as much as either "TInker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" or "Smiley's People".
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Eventually they piece together one of the suppressed discoveries; the movement of large sums of money from Paris to the Far East, but in payment for what? Karla is well-known to dislike paying large sums to his agents, so what could be worth this much money?An exciting story, but it took me ages to finish and I found John Le Carre's authorial voice annoying in this book. It was written as if a dispassionate observer was compiling a report on the operation after the dust had settled.
An exciting story, but it took me ages to finish and I didn't enjoy it as much as either "TInker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" or "Smiley's People".
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LibraryThing member Richard.J.Schneider
As with any le Carre novel you must work your way patiently through the beginnings because he takes great care to set things up. Then the story takes off like a rocket. Anyone who was in country during the end of the Viet Nam ware should read this. Anyone who wasn't (that includes me) and wants to
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catch a glimpse of what the wars in Southeast Asia were like -- they are the backdrop -- should read this book. And, of course, you will enjoy following the gregarious and flawed Jerry Westerby while he is handled by the master spy, George Smiley, and when Jerry heads "off the ranch" on his own. Show Less
LibraryThing member br77rino
This was a huge book by Le Carre, who up to now has been writing fairly short spy novels, like The Looking Glass War and The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
Hong Kong is the center of the action, and the agent known as the Honourable Schoolboy, who had a cameo in the prior novel Tinker, Tailor, is
Hong Kong is the center of the action, and the agent known as the Honourable Schoolboy, who had a cameo in the prior novel Tinker, Tailor, is
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the main man. Show Less
LibraryThing member nbmars
The honourable (very English) schoolboy of the title is Jerry Westerby, the son of an English peer and the product of English public (i.e., elite private) schools; a gruff, hale-fellow-well-met who works for the British Secret Service while posing as a freelance journalist. Westerby’s boss is
The Circus gets a break when it discovers that Karla, Smiley’s counterpart and nemesis in Moscow Center, has been funding an activity in Hong Kong through bank payments originating in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Smiley assigns Westerby the task of following the money. The story is told through the eyes of a semi-omniscient narrator, who seems to be getting the facts by reading and commenting on the Circus’s files. Le Carré thus creates some ambiguities by leaving gaps in the files.
The cast of characters is very diverse and extremely well drawn. We learn of their motivations by way of thorough background investigations of their earlier lives. There are no one-dimensional portraits or mere caricatures among the principal actors. The plot is byzantine, and the dénouement is satisfying if not quite inevitable.
Discussion: This is the second of le Carré’s "Karla trilogy", the first being Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and the third Smiley’s People. Unlike some less artful trilogies, it is not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy the second. I listened to the audio version of the book, read by Michael Jayston, a very competent British actor. Jayston renders numerous characters in recognizably individuated voices and different realistic accents, ranging from English public school, to American Midwest, to Australian, to Chinese, to Mexican-American. Moreover, his standard narrator’s voice (English upper class) is an audio delight.
Evaluation: This is not just an excellent spy tale, it is an excellent piece of writing, and Penguin's audio edition is superb. (I listened to the unabridged audiobook on 16 CDs by Penguin Audio, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2012)
Note: John le Carre is the pseudonym of David Cornwell, who was a member of the British Foreign Service from 1959 to 1964.
(JAB)
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George Smiley, le Carré’s most memorable character—middle-aged, somewhat portly, the cuckold of a beautiful wife, brilliantly insightful, and a bit ruthless. The year is 1975 and the Vietnam War is drawing to its awful conclusion. The British Secret Service, known as MI 6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6) or more informally as “The Circus,” has been compromised by a Russian mole, discovered and exposed by Smiley in an earlier book. Not knowing whom he can trust, Smiley must rebuild the Circus’s network of agents. The Circus gets a break when it discovers that Karla, Smiley’s counterpart and nemesis in Moscow Center, has been funding an activity in Hong Kong through bank payments originating in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Smiley assigns Westerby the task of following the money. The story is told through the eyes of a semi-omniscient narrator, who seems to be getting the facts by reading and commenting on the Circus’s files. Le Carré thus creates some ambiguities by leaving gaps in the files.
The cast of characters is very diverse and extremely well drawn. We learn of their motivations by way of thorough background investigations of their earlier lives. There are no one-dimensional portraits or mere caricatures among the principal actors. The plot is byzantine, and the dénouement is satisfying if not quite inevitable.
Discussion: This is the second of le Carré’s "Karla trilogy", the first being Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and the third Smiley’s People. Unlike some less artful trilogies, it is not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy the second. I listened to the audio version of the book, read by Michael Jayston, a very competent British actor. Jayston renders numerous characters in recognizably individuated voices and different realistic accents, ranging from English public school, to American Midwest, to Australian, to Chinese, to Mexican-American. Moreover, his standard narrator’s voice (English upper class) is an audio delight.
Evaluation: This is not just an excellent spy tale, it is an excellent piece of writing, and Penguin's audio edition is superb. (I listened to the unabridged audiobook on 16 CDs by Penguin Audio, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2012)
Note: John le Carre is the pseudonym of David Cornwell, who was a member of the British Foreign Service from 1959 to 1964.
(JAB)
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LibraryThing member castiron
I generally prefer my books upbeat and cheerful, with happy or at least hopeful endings. This book...is not that. But it's still satisfying and gripping. Le Carré builds up suspense until I was waiting for the anvil to drop, and drop it did.
LibraryThing member Tanya-dogearedcopy
The Honourable Schoolboy
by John Le Carré
Book #2 in the Karla Trilogy
Book #4 in the Smiley Series
Book #7 in The Circus novels
Originally published in 1977
Mass Market Paperback edition published in 1978 by Bantam Doubleday Dell
WHO: George Smiley, now the head intelligence officer at the
WHAT: detects a money laundering scheme (a Gold Seam)…
WHERE: runningfrom Moscow to Hong Kong…
WHEN: that has been exposed in the aftermath of the events of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Saigon has fallen and the post-Vietnam War landscape of Asia is rife with military “leftovers.”
WHY: Smiley has professional and personal motives in exposing the purpose and persons involved in the operation.
HOW: Sequestering himself in his office at the Circus and talking walks through London, Smiley attempts to puzzle out case. He runs other intelligence officers and agents that he can trust; but he also requires support from Whitehall and from the CIA (“The Cousins.”)
NOTE: You don’t need to read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy before The Honourable Schoolboy, but doing so will give you a better understanding of what drives Smiley during this story.
+ Everything I wrote about Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is equally true for this sequel. So yes, you should read my review of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (no spoilers.) :-)
+ Le Carré’s second novel in the Karla trilogy is rich fare: Characters are well developed in all their flawed glory, at times flying with delusions of profound truth, at other times bowing to political expediencies, always conflicted and acting accordingly. The physical settings are richly detailed, from the wreckage of the offices in London to the ruins of a Tuscan villa to the scramble of life in China.
- The major plot, basically a story about auditing, is rather cerebral and not terribly sexy though Le Carré does provide color by drawing in the life drama of key characters. Also, the reader has to thread through the socio-political context of Asia after the American pullout, which while not indecipherable, needs the reader’s attention if it is unfamiliar terrain. Overall, The Honourable Schoolboy is not a novel to rush through. Still, we’re spitting hairs of excellence when we’re talking about the difference between Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy. I would rate Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy five stars or an “A+” grade and, The Honourable Schoolboy four-and-a-half stars and an “A-” grade.
OTHER: I acquired a used print copy of The Honourable Schoolboy (by John le Carré) from Rogue Book Exchange in Medford, OR. I receive no monies, goods or services in exchange for reviewing the product and/or mentioning any of the persons or companies that are or may be implied in this post.
by John Le Carré
Book #2 in the Karla Trilogy
Book #4 in the Smiley Series
Book #7 in The Circus novels
Originally published in 1977
Mass Market Paperback edition published in 1978 by Bantam Doubleday Dell
WHO: George Smiley, now the head intelligence officer at the
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Circus…WHAT: detects a money laundering scheme (a Gold Seam)…
WHERE: runningfrom Moscow to Hong Kong…
WHEN: that has been exposed in the aftermath of the events of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Saigon has fallen and the post-Vietnam War landscape of Asia is rife with military “leftovers.”
WHY: Smiley has professional and personal motives in exposing the purpose and persons involved in the operation.
HOW: Sequestering himself in his office at the Circus and talking walks through London, Smiley attempts to puzzle out case. He runs other intelligence officers and agents that he can trust; but he also requires support from Whitehall and from the CIA (“The Cousins.”)
NOTE: You don’t need to read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy before The Honourable Schoolboy, but doing so will give you a better understanding of what drives Smiley during this story.
+ Everything I wrote about Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is equally true for this sequel. So yes, you should read my review of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (no spoilers.) :-)
+ Le Carré’s second novel in the Karla trilogy is rich fare: Characters are well developed in all their flawed glory, at times flying with delusions of profound truth, at other times bowing to political expediencies, always conflicted and acting accordingly. The physical settings are richly detailed, from the wreckage of the offices in London to the ruins of a Tuscan villa to the scramble of life in China.
- The major plot, basically a story about auditing, is rather cerebral and not terribly sexy though Le Carré does provide color by drawing in the life drama of key characters. Also, the reader has to thread through the socio-political context of Asia after the American pullout, which while not indecipherable, needs the reader’s attention if it is unfamiliar terrain. Overall, The Honourable Schoolboy is not a novel to rush through. Still, we’re spitting hairs of excellence when we’re talking about the difference between Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy. I would rate Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy five stars or an “A+” grade and, The Honourable Schoolboy four-and-a-half stars and an “A-” grade.
OTHER: I acquired a used print copy of The Honourable Schoolboy (by John le Carré) from Rogue Book Exchange in Medford, OR. I receive no monies, goods or services in exchange for reviewing the product and/or mentioning any of the persons or companies that are or may be implied in this post.
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LibraryThing member thewalkinggirl
Somehow manages to be more action-oriented than Tinker Tailor, yet less engaging. Not enough Smiley, too much Hemingway-inspired Jerry Westerby for me (I am so not a fan of Hemingway, so this might be more appealing to someone who is). Also, given the author's skill with language and with creating
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dialog specific to each character, I assume his repeated use of the word "girl" to describe any female aged 3-40(?) must have been an intentional type of chauvinism rather than laziness; whatever the reason, given the situations the womanizing Westerby found himself in, it was occasionally very confusing/disturbing. Show Less
LibraryThing member jeremyfarnumlane
I like Le Carre's plotting and his characterization, but sometimes I find his writing inscrutable, which is to say, extremely hard to follow. That seems partly intentional, as if an extension of the byzantine machinations of the competing conspirators that the book depicts, and yet, it makes it
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difficult to read. All the same, I intend to finish the trilogy of Karla books, at least, and will likely read others by JLC in the future. Show Less
LibraryThing member BrianHostad
This book was a great disappointment after Tinker, Tailor. Whereas that had a simple but we'll developed plotline with a great central character this has neither. The plot here is vague, it's never really clear what the mission in Hong Kong actually is and the central character of Westerby is just
I only persevered because I have the final book of the trilogy to read. Although how this can be part of a Smiley- Karla trilogy is beyond me as Smiley is peripheral (and dull) and Karla non existent!
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dull. The best part is his trip to Cambodia for its evocative description of a city under siege with the knowing of what will come with the Khymer Rouge.I only persevered because I have the final book of the trilogy to read. Although how this can be part of a Smiley- Karla trilogy is beyond me as Smiley is peripheral (and dull) and Karla non existent!
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LibraryThing member allysonrabbott
another brilliant read by John le Carre
LibraryThing member magentaflake
enjoyable read. Again, like Tinker, Tailor, I found it difficult to get into but soon was gripped by the twists and turns of the plot. Couldn't put it down.
LibraryThing member conformer
John le Carré writes in stealth mode; his novels, especially the George Smiley books, take forever to ramp up, but by the time you reach the meat and potatoes of the story, you don't even realize that you've blown through 500 pages. However, in contrast to the slick and sublime Tinker, Tailor,
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Soldier, Spy; this sort-of sequel seems bloated and purple in comparison. Le Carré himself has bemoaned how Alec Guinness' television portrayal of Smiley unduly influenced his future characterizations, as well as the disparity in real-world research that differentiates the books. Le Carré actually toured South Asia in the 70s and got caught in the crossfire, a fact that is reflected in the deep and rich descriptors of the region.The Honourable Schoolboy is more cinematic than its predecessor, less intellectual and insightful, and with slightly more intrigue. With the focus of the protagonist shifted from Smiley to field agent Jerry Westerby also comes a feeling of detachment, as if you're watching the story play out through second-hand eyes. It's also fairly long, and just about killed me in the middle where there's a lot of back and forth but not a whole lot going forward.Good, though. A rock-solid story from a postmodern master. Show Less
LibraryThing member megthered
I read this book after my brother gave me Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy to read on the plane home. I was hooked and had to read the whole Smiley Trilogy. Since then I have read this at least 6 times. Always in the summer while I'm travelling. The depth of the characters and the complexity of the
One of my desert island books. A great read!
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plot takes me away every time.One of my desert island books. A great read!
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LibraryThing member name99
A very impressive John Le Carre.
Like the best Alan Furth, what's interesting is not so much the story but the evocation of mood, in this case the mood of South East Asia in the wake of the American defeat in Vietnam.
Highly recommended.
Like the best Alan Furth, what's interesting is not so much the story but the evocation of mood, in this case the mood of South East Asia in the wake of the American defeat in Vietnam.
Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member joeld
At first I hated it, then loved it, then by the time I was done I was somewhat disgusted with it again.
For starters, whereas Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy treats you like a grown-up, The Honourable Schoolboy (THS) starts off sounding very much like a Nancy Drew sequel -- patiently laying out plain
Things really get underway in the middle, but the plot has a much lower "thread count" than does Tinker Tailor, and there really aren't many surprises in it. The narrative is good but whenever it gets close to Smiley and the Circus, it suddenly gets much more hurried and caricatured. I later read that Le Carre was afterwards in doubt about whether he should have included Smiley at all since he felt people were getting needlessly distracted from the "real story" around Jerry Westerby -- which explains his seeming impatience and lack of attention when writing those scenes.
The summary of this book would give you to understand that this is the book where Smiley "gets revenge" on Karla.In fact, Karla barely figures at all except as a name, and Smiley ends the book having achieved precisely nothing. After all is said and done, all the good people are out on their ear again and the world moves on indifferently. The people who "won" succeed by stealing successes worked for by others, and the only other lingering feeling about the success of the main operation was how tragic it truly was for its targets, and for the main character, Jerry. This pretty much destroys the book's enjoyability for me; it ultimately doesn't develop the story or the characters of the previous book: it spins their wheels before leaving them in the ditch.
The scenes set in the Orient and in the warfare in Cambodia were interesting and vivid. I can bring myself to enjoy this book if I'm looking for a sequel to Joseph Conrad's dank and unquiet "Heart of Darkness", but not if I'm looking for more of what I loved in Tinker, Tailor.
For starters, whereas Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy treats you like a grown-up, The Honourable Schoolboy (THS) starts off sounding very much like a Nancy Drew sequel -- patiently laying out plain
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explanations for every term of likeable Circus jargon (and making it seem rather flat and lifeless in the process), as well as offering facile re-introductions for all the characters. Things really get underway in the middle, but the plot has a much lower "thread count" than does Tinker Tailor, and there really aren't many surprises in it. The narrative is good but whenever it gets close to Smiley and the Circus, it suddenly gets much more hurried and caricatured. I later read that Le Carre was afterwards in doubt about whether he should have included Smiley at all since he felt people were getting needlessly distracted from the "real story" around Jerry Westerby -- which explains his seeming impatience and lack of attention when writing those scenes.
The summary of this book would give you to understand that this is the book where Smiley "gets revenge" on Karla.
The scenes set in the Orient and in the warfare in Cambodia were interesting and vivid. I can bring myself to enjoy this book if I'm looking for a sequel to Joseph Conrad's dank and unquiet "Heart of Darkness", but not if I'm looking for more of what I loved in Tinker, Tailor.
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LibraryThing member allysonrabbott
another brilliant read by John le Carre
LibraryThing member JoePhelan
I am very fond of The Honourable Schoolboy, and I admire Le Carré's literary ambitions. It's a great middle book in the Quest for Karla story. But for some reason (perhaps those literary ambitions?) it's a slow-moving (and long!) book that requires some work to get through. It's rewarding and
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worth it, but it's work. Show Less
LibraryThing member brakketh
The second in the Karla trilogy, continues the le Carré themes of how hard this life is on agents and the behind the scenes machinations.
LibraryThing member questbird
The sequel to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. It has many of the same characters. Some of the minor characters in 'Tinker' are elevated in narrative importance in this tale, and some majors are demoted.
The Honourable Schoolboy has several narrative viewpoints: George Smiley's right hand man Peter
Smiley himself is the driving force of the book, but here he is viewed from outside. His thinking process is opaque to the reader. He is tracking Karla, his personal and professional nemesis, his 'black grail'. Although he is now head of the Circus he has virtually no safe resources to use (all the London networks having been blown by the traitor in 'Tinker') and very little political clout. He uses his few trusted lieutenants to find out what Karla suppressed during his time in control of London Central. The trail leads to Hong Kong.
Jerry Westerby is the main focus of the latter half of the book. He is an outsider loyal to Smiley, relatively untarnished by the events of 'Tinker'. He roves Southeast Asia in search of the truth.
The Honourable Schoolboy has several narrative viewpoints: George Smiley's right hand man Peter
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Guillam, Journalist-turned-spy Jerry Westerby and to a small extent grizzled Hong Kong expat journalist and Smiley apprentice Craw. There is also a disembodied narrative voice which I found the least convincing and the weakest part of the book. This voice evaluates the operation as if it has already happened, and imparts a certain fatalistic (or at least pre-destined) mood.Smiley himself is the driving force of the book, but here he is viewed from outside. His thinking process is opaque to the reader. He is tracking Karla, his personal and professional nemesis, his 'black grail'. Although he is now head of the Circus he has virtually no safe resources to use (all the London networks having been blown by the traitor in 'Tinker') and very little political clout. He uses his few trusted lieutenants to find out what Karla suppressed during his time in control of London Central. The trail leads to Hong Kong.
Jerry Westerby is the main focus of the latter half of the book. He is an outsider loyal to Smiley, relatively untarnished by the events of 'Tinker'. He roves Southeast Asia in search of the truth.
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LibraryThing member soniaandree
It might be the second book in the Karla trilogy, but frankly, it could just as well not have been written at all: I am THAT disappointed. George Smiley finds himself in the background while the 'hero' tries to play The Game to the Circus' advantage and his own's. Guillam 's character is portrayed
- to please his proxy dad (Smiley) and his organisation
- to end his adventure with the beautiful girl (cliché).
Furthermore, the whole plot, apart from taking the action from the UK to China/Hong Kong/Asia, serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever in the fight against Karla: it is never really explained or suggested how the characters and their motives fit in Karla's network. There are suggestions of trafficking, blackmail, seduction, business deals, promises between brothers, but no real indication about how it all fit in the Russian organisation.
All this is obviously my opinion and should not detract people from reading it. But this book felt like it was quickly written, with characters that are caricatures of themselves and the plot being just an excuse to see again the characters from 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldiers, Spy', regardless of how they're being used. And, without giving any spoilers, the ending I could have done without, it's pointless. Anyway, I'm happy to just move along to the final and third book in the trilogy.
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like the caricature of an infatuated schoolboy (his protectiveness of Smiley is dodgy at best, gay otherwise) whereas the hero's motives are:- to please his proxy dad (Smiley) and his organisation
- to end his adventure with the beautiful girl (cliché).
Furthermore, the whole plot, apart from taking the action from the UK to China/Hong Kong/Asia, serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever in the fight against Karla: it is never really explained or suggested how the characters and their motives fit in Karla's network. There are suggestions of trafficking, blackmail, seduction, business deals, promises between brothers, but no real indication about how it all fit in the Russian organisation.
All this is obviously my opinion and should not detract people from reading it. But this book felt like it was quickly written, with characters that are caricatures of themselves and the plot being just an excuse to see again the characters from 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldiers, Spy', regardless of how they're being used. And, without giving any spoilers, the ending I could have done without, it's pointless. Anyway, I'm happy to just move along to the final and third book in the trilogy.
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Awards
Crime Writers' Association Awards (Winner — 1977)
James Tait Black Memorial Prize (Winner — Fiction — 1977)
Language
Original publication date
1977-09-01
Physical description
viii, 533 p.; 22 cm
ISBN
0394416457 / 9780394416458