Rating: 
Summary: An incredible journey
Review: A Perfect Spy shocks, provokes, weaves a story of Magnus as he plots the ultimate betrayal. When I say the story is woven, I mean it. The structure is similar to The English Patient, where the story skips back an forth in time and amoung characters. I rate this book highly, much as I had done with other Le Carre books. A perfect Spy, however is not another Spy novel, indeed the suspence is not as central to the plot but the character development is truly epic. Magnus Pym becomes a close relation throughout the narrative, all the good, bad, ugly, and even sometimes boring. A Perfect Spy is a gripping portrait of a twisted life, and the injury of the life a spy. A Perfect Spy is an unreal, yet believable journey in the life of a Spy. I highly recommend this book, if like me, you enjoy a non-linear story.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible journey
Review: A Perfect Spy shocks, provokes, weaves a story of Magnus as he plots the ultimate betrayal. When I say the story is woven, I mean it. The structure is similar to The English Patient, where the story skips back an forth in time and amoung characters. I rate this book highly, much as I had done with other Le Carre books. A perfect Spy, however is not another Spy novel, indeed the suspence is not as central to the plot but the character development is truly epic. Magnus Pym becomes a close relation throughout the narrative, all the good, bad, ugly, and even sometimes boring. A Perfect Spy is a gripping portrait of a twisted life, and the injury of the life a spy. A Perfect Spy is an unreal, yet believable journey in the life of a Spy. I highly recommend this book, if like me, you enjoy a non-linear story.
Rating:
Summary: The MASTERPIECE of Spy Novels
Review: After LeCarre, all others fall short. The un-tangling of a very tangled web!
Rating:
Summary: THE PERFECT SPY BOOK
Review: As a suspense writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I am a great admirer of the works of John Le Carre. He transformed fiction with a focus on the shadowy world of espionage from the James Bond fantasies into a much fuller and realistic form of literature. I believe THE PERFECT SPY is his best book. Magnus Pym, a British agent, has vanished, and the search for the man ranges throughout America and Europe. The most fascinating element of this novel concerns the exploration of Pym's personal past. This book is excellent. It is John Le Carre at his best.
Rating:
Summary: THE PERFECT SPY BOOK
Review: As a suspense writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I am a great admirer of the works of John Le Carre. He transformed fiction with a focus on the shadowy world of espionage from the James Bond fantasies into a much fuller and realistic form of literature. I believe THE PERFECT SPY is his best book. Magnus Pym, a British agent, has vanished, and the search for the man ranges throughout America and Europe. The most fascinating element of this novel concerns the exploration of Pym's personal past. This book is excellent. It is John Le Carre at his best.
Rating: 
Summary: A Boring Challenge To Read
Review: Disappointing effort of master. Character narratives require close attention from reader to follow the obtuse tale. Arcane textbooks require less study. Reading this pseudo history is more of a chore than a pleasure. Continunity of story line so convoluted a dedicated reader must prepare a written outline to even attempt to follow the premise. Le Carre should know readers of the genre do not wish to engage in hard labor, we just want a good read. This was the least engaging LeCarre this reader has experienced.
Rating:
Summary: Le Carre's worst
Review: Dull plodding through a petty rotten childhood.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite perfection but so close to it...
Review: For those who still wonder about Le Carré's past and secret life, "A Perfect Spy" unveils lots of small mysteries. But besides the fact this book tells us a lot about the author's childhood, it remains a fascinating trip in the depths of the diplomatic society, the beautiful people, misery in the darkest places of England and dozens of small unreachable worlds. Once again but better than ever Le Carré takes you to a mystery tour that change your looking at your own world. Pym becomes your closest friend, his wife the one you'd like to tell everything, the other caracters become your foes... This time you learn everything , bit by bit, but you still remain helpless, you can't do anything but keeping going deeper and deeper through the complexity of one's life and feelings. Turning the last page is like being knocked out, but guess what ? You want more of it ! Satisfaction guaranteed...
Rating:
Summary: Not quite perfection but so close to it...
Review: For those who still wonder about Le Carré's past and secret life, "A Perfect Spy" unveils lots of small mysteries. But besides the fact this book tells us a lot about the author's childhood, it remains a fascinating trip in the depths of the diplomatic society, the beautiful people, misery in the darkest places of England and dozens of small unreachable worlds. Once again but better than ever Le Carré takes you to a mystery tour that change your looking at your own world. Pym becomes your closest friend, his wife the one you'd like to tell everything, the other caracters become your foes... This time you learn everything , bit by bit, but you still remain helpless, you can't do anything but keeping going deeper and deeper through the complexity of one's life and feelings. Turning the last page is like being knocked out, but guess what ? You want more of it ! Satisfaction guaranteed...
Rating:
Summary: Even more facsinating in today's political climate
Review: I first read this book in the late 80's and found it to be one of my two or three favorite spy novels. Then last year I was browsing our bookshelves in search of escape, when I ran on to it again. I was astonished at how much the book had changed in the ten years it had been sitting on the shelf. The character known as "Ricky" was a ringer for Bill Clinton. A man who could repeat a lie so often that he would even believe it himself. Bluster and bravado are Ricky's only keys to success. While ten years ago I considered this character highly improbable, I now read with fascination the pathetic result of living a lie. "Ricky" aside, the book is exceptional. True to LeCarre's style it has virtually no plot, but the character studies are first rate. The author stands alone in his ability to describe the psyche of a person who spends his entire life pretending to be someone he's not.
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