Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: This book is a complex exploration of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that manages to look at both sides of the story. While nominally based in an Israeli viewpoint, I think that Le Carre makes the Palestinians (at least those not directly bombing people) the more sympathetic of the two. That said, the story is a little dated, but was probably right on the line when it was written.Israeli agent Kurtz is determined to catch the Palestinian mastermind behind a dedicated bombing campaign that is claiming Jewish targets throughout the world. To do this, he calls in a sometime operative called Becker, who is to recruit an English actress, Charlie (still with me?) Through an intricate web of deception and fabrication Charlie 'becomes' the girlfriend of Michel, the brother of the man they are attempting to catch. Charlie must live in a delicately balanced world of the real and unreal if she is to complete her task alive. Warning - this paragraph has spoilers.
Le Carre starts off with a fantastic premise, and he does manage to keep an amazingly labyrinthine plot together. Some sections, such as the descriptions of the Palestinian refugee camps, are believably and sympathetically written. But there are also some major flaws - the main one being the romance between Charlie and Becker (or Joseph as she calls him). Why did Le Carre throw this in?? It is totally unbelievable and unnecessary. Actually, the whole character of Charlie just doesn't ring true - or perhaps it is just that she is such a brat that you end up spending the book being annoyed with her rather than admiring her. I am going to give Le Carre another chance, but sadly this book was a disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: Can a fallen woman sink?
Review: This is a question Charlie writes to a friend, asking about herself. To find the answer you can't go straight at it, you have to take a roundabout route, look at it from all angles, explore various depths and peel away the layers of complexity. It's a Le Carre novel afterall! At the time of asking the question, Charlie was falling in love with Joseph, so maybe that is what she meant. There's another possibility. Although she didn't know it, she was about to fall into a world far removed from her cavorting, drink laced, sun drenched days with her actor friends on Mykonos. A world of international terror - pitting the Isrealis and Palestinians against each other. A world of intrigue, suspicion, passion and violence and a world where - having sunk into it - her acting skills would save her and her love for another would prevent her from drowning. Le Carre, we all know, knows how to create compelling characters, and here is one of his most complex and well developed characters. Wealthy family, private school education, middle-class English. Rebellious, promiscuous and radical - perhaps in response to her upbringing or just to be fashionable. Not someone we like at first, but as time goes on we see her as caring, funny, and someone who just wants to please others. We start to understand her a liitle. She becomes a convincing, effective and ultimately deadly double agent for the Israelis, yet remains sympathetic and affectionate towards her Palestinian friends. We get to see yet another side to Charlie - a little girl lost, in over her head and having to resort to whatever means she can to save herself from going under, someone in a mess and we feel terribly sorry for her. A 'tour de force' in the exploration of human emotions, and not just Charlies - but our own also.
Rating:
Summary: haunting
Review: This is absolutely one of the best books I have ever read and over the years still stands out as one of my all-time favorites. I became a fan of Le Carre after the Smiley books, but this one - a non-Smiley work- is my favorite. I first read this nearly 20 years ago while in college - one other reviewer here noted that she sympathized more with the Charlie character when she was in her 20s than in her 30s, and I think that may be because when you're young you tend to be more radical and more open to and moved by the fact that atrocities are committed daily in other countries. However I disagree that Charlie is less likeable with time. I read this book again after the tragic bombing of the World Trade Center towers, and now in my late 30s no longer relate to the radical Charlie's political stances- but a shared belief system is not required to enjoy this book or to understand why Charlie became an agent for the Israelis. In fact that is what makes this book so extraordinary- why would a radical young woman who is anti-Zionist do that? At the heart of it is a need for acceptance, a cause, and a love story. Her actions run counter to her pre-espionage political activities, and the void those filled and that the agent runner supplants is at the heart of this book and probably many real life espionage stories.
At any rate, this is a beautifully crafted novel of espionage that shows both sides of the tortuous unresolved Middle East conflict, beautifully illustrating these while introducing you to some unforgettable characters. Charlie while central, is not as strong a character than the characters of Gadi and Kurtz, who are the book's anchors. The characters and setting linger with you long after you have finished this book- in my case, years- I never forgot this book. I have always been disappointed by Le Carre's works since then as his dialogue and ability to flesh out both characters and story seem less evident in more recent works. But this book stands among his best and is well worth reading- again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Le Carre's best book
Review: This is in my opinion John Le Carre's best book. Through a terrific novel, he explain us the issues behind the middle east conflict, in which the hatreds between the two bands go far deeper than in the West-East conflict of the other Le Carre's novels. Though the nominal heroes of the novel are Israelis, Le Carre is clearly sympathetic to the palestinians. All the characters of the novel are believable, and you can see why they are willing to do what they do.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books--suspenseful and multilayered
Review: To me, this was an enthralling book. It is literature masquerading as a thriller novel. Le Carre does a masterful job of portraying a character who is complex, confused, immature and a little neurotic (like most real people). He also makes some intriguing philosophical points about the nature of reality. At the same time, he lets the reader understand the complexities of the Israel-Palestine conflict. I recommend it to everyone
Rating:
Summary: How you get in the middle of dark thoughts of men...
Review: Why was I fascinated by the "Little Drummer Girl" ? Because I read it third times and still wonder about the title... Yet that little girl Charlie is one of the greatest caracters Le Carré ever created. At first you can't like her, at least she is indifferent to you. But Le Carré builds up an oppressive atmosphere that makes you feel what Charlie exactly feels. You become aware that Charlie could be you. Perhaps that's why you didn't like her in the beginning : too close to you, to the people you see everyday. But the complexity of that caracter makes you learn a lot about yourself, because YOU are Charlie. It is no use saying again that Le Carré is a master at describing spheres and worlds and people and their mankindness. But still "The Little Drummer Girl" is one of his most achieved attempt at grasping the sensations and unlogic acts of human beings. Having read that book, I thought Le Carré was at is best, but I was wrong... He was one step before, then he wrote "A Perfect Spy" ! But still try this one first !
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