First, a bit of background. I have been a fan of Ian Fleming’s novels for many years, and a fan of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler for even more. Over that time, I have had friends and acquaintances express surprise that I was totally unfamiliar with John le Carré‘s work, particular his George Smiley novels. When we were waiting to see Coraline this weekend, we hung out at the nearby bookstore. I found a book containing le Carré’s first three novels for $10, so I picked it up on a lark.
By Sunday afternoon, I had already finished the first one, Call for the Dead, and I’m kicking myself for missing this author earlier.
What’s interesting is that even though it’s about a British spy in the Cold War of the 1960s, the people who recommended it to me because I like Fleming were actually not nearly as accurate as the people who recommended it because I like Hammett. The protagonist, George Smiley, is about as far from James Bond as you can get — fat, timid and middle-aged, he has a realistic view of the world that is at odds with Bond’s rather monochrome view of the world. His ex-wife sleeps around far more than he does, and even his expensive clothes look worn and sloppy. But he has a razor-sharp mind and a moral code that is complex but unwavering, and in that he resembles Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe more than Bond.
The book is short — barely 160 pages. The writing isn’t as florid as Chandler or Fleming, but rather has the simple effectiveness of Hammett. The plot’s a bit muddled in places, but le Carré uses Smiley’s propensity to think through his writing to help reiterate key points for the reader while showing interesting peeks into his protagonist’s thought process. As a mystery it plays by the rules and is fair, but like Hammett it’s less about a particular clue unlocking the puzzle Holmes-like, but rather learning the nature of the characters involved and realizing which lies are which.
If you’re a super-spy fan, you might not like Call for the Dead. However, if you’re a fan of noir and a cast of characters that all have a little bit wrong and a little bit right with them, then check this book out.