Rating: 
Summary: The Guilty Shall Be Rewarded
Review: John le Carre is an honorable man. In his acknowledgements, he gives due credit to Graham Greene as follows: "Without GrahamGreene this book would never have come about. After Graham Greene's OUR MAN IN HAVANA the notion of ................ " With that out of the way, THE TAILOR OF PANAMA is pure John le Carre and is his alone. Like most of the better spy genre authors, le Carre had to make some adjustments in theme since the end of the Cold War. In my opinion, he again shows that he is up to the task in THE TAILOR OF PANAMA.Andy Osnard, "young Mr. Osnard" to his rather pompous, conspiracy minded, Intelligence chief back in London, is posted to the Panamanian Embassy with the express objective of finding a plot to take over the canal when the Americans leave. He rightly understands that he is to find a plot even if none exists. "Young Mr. Osnard," has larceny in his heart and sees this posting as a golden opportunity to get rich. As his man in Panama, he picks Harry Pendel, gentlemen's tailor to the rich and powerful. Harry is already living a double life. He is actually an ex-convict who learned tailoring in a British prison. He has come to Panama and invented a background for himself that has him being the junior partner of what was once London's finest tailor shop, and who relocated to Panama after the heart-wrenching death of his beloved partner. He has also gotten himself into serious financial difficulties in Panama. Along comes "young Mr. Osnard" with threats to expose Harry if he refuses to spy on his important clientele. Along with the threats are promises of substantial monetary gain if he cooperates. Harry succumbs to the combination of the stick and the carrot. In reality Harry is privy to nothing, but there's really nothing to be privy to anyway. This doesn't present much of a problem to a man with Harry's creative imagination. Before long there is a network of spies made up entirely of Harry and his creativity. There is "the silent opposition" and the "students" and the "fishermen" and the mysterious folk from "the other side of the bridge." There are clandestine meetings between high ranking Pandamanian officials and mysterious foreign delegations, and even a serious plot to build a bigger, better canal. And above all, there is the threat of rebellion and violence. Harry's information leaves no doubt that revolution is brewing. As if this wasn't trouble enough, there is a real meeting of a small powerful group of millionaire power brokers and military opportunists back in Jolly Old England. These movers and shakers can make the unbelievable believable to the public in order to justify a military takeover of the canal. To top this off, a few highly placed British politicians need a boost in their popularity to keep their careers moving. The Panama plot is just what they need. This tale of deviousness, incompetence, lies, ambitions run amok, and con artists conning other con artists keeps us chuckling until we realize its explosive nature. By the time Harry Pendel, the spy tailor, comes to the same realization it is too late. Way too late. There is a moral to this tale: Only the innocent and naive shall be punished, the guilty shall be rewarded.
Rating: 
Summary: An incredible, funny, touching tragedy
Review: I read this book for the first time two months ago, and now I've read it again. My second reading was inspired by the fact that I was part way through the book the first time before I realized what an incredible book it was. So I wanted to read it again from the start with a proper sense of appreciation. "The Tailor of Panama" is purportedly a spy thriller, but the spy story is actually just the framework on which John le Carré weaves his amazing study of human nature. And the human characteristics which are dominant are not ones that the human race should be proud of. We are presented with large amounts of greed, dishonesty, jealousy, cruelty, selfish lust, corruption, apathy, frailty and stupidity. On top of that we are presented with some of the less attractive conditions for human existence: poverty, suffering, guilt and sickness. But the amazing thing is that John le Carré writes about these human characteristics and conditions with a great deal of humor and understanding. And he does provide a few glimpses of love, altruism and generosity. So even though the story ends tragically it is for the most part a funny and touching story, and this makes the book very readable. Another strength of the book is John le Carré's masterful command of the English language. He writes beautiful descriptions, and has a surprising and inventive way with words. I often found myself delighted with one sentence after another, each one saying something in a way I hadn't realized was possible. The way in which the plot is slowly but surely expanded is also very satisfying. We start out with the daily lives of a few seemingly ordinary people. But then the seemingly ordinary people are shown to be less and less ordinary, and at the same time more and more people are added to the story, and the scope of the story expands until high-level international politics of the worst sort get involved. Yet another positive aspect of the book is the large amount of very interesting information about life in Panama and how Panama society works. In this respect the book can be considered to be an insider's tourist guide to Panama. Highly recommended - and to be read slowly and savored. Finally, my opinion as to why there have been a lot of reviewers who have given this book a low rating: I'm guessing that many of these reviewers expected a straight James-Bond-style spy thriller and were disappointed because "The Tailor of Panama" is definitely not a simple spy thriller. Another "problem" may be that most of the main characters are very British, and the book is written in British English. The dialog between the characters contains a lot of British slang and British expressions. To me this adds to the charm of the book, but I'm guessing that some readers find this irritating.
Rating:
Summary: A TAILOR FIT FOR THE JOB!
Review: The mix of a tailor and Panama's most powerful men was a delight. This is a superb espionage and political thriller. The "handlers" of this most unusual spy/hero were no match for Harry Pendel and his hidden agenda. Readers love a story that's brim full of the unexpected. And we all identify with someone who is in over his head. Harry Pendel is a tailor fit for the job...the perfect plant in a city filled with danger and corruption. I would recommend this novel in a Panama heart beat.
Rating:
Summary: The Guilty Shall Be Rewarded
Review: John le Carre is an honorable man. In his acknowledgements, he gives due credit to Graham Greene as follows: "Without GrahamGreene this book would never have come about. After Graham Greene's OUR MAN IN HAVANA the notion of ................ " With that out of the way, THE TAILOR OF PANAMA is pure John le Carre and is his alone. Like most of the better spy genre authors, le Carre had to make some adjustments in theme since the end of the Cold War. In my opinion, he again shows that he is up to the task in THE TAILOR OF PANAMA. Andy Osnard, "young Mr. Osnard" to his rather pompous, conspiracy minded, Intelligence chief back in London, is posted to the Panamanian Embassy with the express objective of finding a plot to take over the canal when the Americans leave. He rightly understands that he is to find a plot even if none exists. "Young Mr. Osnard," has larceny in his heart and sees this posting as a golden opportunity to get rich. As his man in Panama, he picks Harry Pendel, gentlemen's tailor to the rich and powerful. Harry is already living a double life. He is actually an ex-convict who learned tailoring in a British prison. He has come to Panama and invented a background for himself that has him being the junior partner of what was once London's finest tailor shop, and who relocated to Panama after the heart-wrenching death of his beloved partner. He has also gotten himself into serious financial difficulties in Panama. Along comes "young Mr. Osnard" with threats to expose Harry if he refuses to spy on his important clientele. Along with the threats are promises of substantial monetary gain if he cooperates. Harry succumbs to the combination of the stick and the carrot. In reality Harry is privy to nothing, but there's really nothing to be privy to anyway. This doesn't present much of a problem to a man with Harry's creative imagination. Before long there is a network of spies made up entirely of Harry and his creativity. There is "the silent opposition" and the "students" and the "fishermen" and the mysterious folk from "the other side of the bridge." There are clandestine meetings between high ranking Pandamanian officials and mysterious foreign delegations, and even a serious plot to build a bigger, better canal. And above all, there is the threat of rebellion and violence. Harry's information leaves no doubt that revolution is brewing. As if this wasn't trouble enough, there is a real meeting of a small powerful group of millionaire power brokers and military opportunists back in Jolly Old England. These movers and shakers can make the unbelievable believable to the public in order to justify a military takeover of the canal. To top this off, a few highly placed British politicians need a boost in their popularity to keep their careers moving. The Panama plot is just what they need. This tale of deviousness, incompetence, lies, ambitions run amok, and con artists conning other con artists keeps us chuckling until we realize its explosive nature. By the time Harry Pendel, the spy tailor, comes to the same realization it is too late. Way too late. There is a moral to this tale: Only the innocent and naive shall be punished, the guilty shall be rewarded.
Rating: 
Summary: A Spy "Thriller" That's Isn't Very Thrilling
Review: This novel was recently turned into a movie starring Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush. I'm inclined to rent that movie and watch it to see this story from someone else's perspective, because it certainly wasn't worth the trouble from my own. The story centers around two men named Harry Pendel and Andy Osnard. Pendel served two and a half years in a British prison for arson and other juvenile offenses. There he learned how to tailor, and after his release he fled to Panama to start a new life with a new identity as a tailor to the rich and elite. Osnard is a bumbling British spy who is sent to Panama to uncover a plot to take over the canal after the Americans relinquish control of it. Osnard knows of Pendel's past and threatens to "out" him unless Pendel helps Osnard in his endeavour to gather information. Pendel is to receive a monatary reward for his cooperation. The truth is that there is no secret plot to take over the canal, but that simply won't do for Osnard. He HAS to give his bosses in England some sort of juicy information. Not wanting his true identity divulged, Pendel begins to fabricate information and feeds it to Osnard who subsequently tells the British. The premise of this books sounded intriguing, which is why I decided to read it. The reality is that most of the novel consists of the nonsensical banter between these two [people]. The "thrilling" part of the novel was supposed to be the information that Pendel fabricates for Osnard, but it wasn't thrilling at all. The novel seemed to pick up speed in the last three or four chapters, but by then it was too little, too late. Although, the highlight of the novel was Louisa's (Pendel's wife) drunken and profanity-laced tyrade in Chapter 21 when she thinks her husband is having an affair, and she begins to question her own physical and sexual adequacy. I have to admit that I fell asleep several times while trying to get through this book. I still can't believe that it was written just a few years ago. The author's writing style made me think that I was reading a book written two hundred years ago by Charles Dickens. I don't recommend this book for leisurely reading. If for some reason you're required to read it, I recommend that you first put on a strong pot of coffee.
Rating:
Summary: If you saw the movie, Do not read.
Review: The plot though rather good, could not keep my attention. Some of the characters are well written, but others, seem to drag the book down. The book does not flow and you will find yourself putting it down to do something. The story is a satire on the time when America has just handed over the Panama canal. Though I cannot believe that any agency would fall for the information that was passed on by Harry, the tailor and would be spy. Of course I read the whole book, becasue my rule is once you start ....finish it. Other wise , I would have put it down. Just watch the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A SENSE OF PLACE
Review: The Tailor of Panama has such a sense of place and time, and if it were not for a bit of a flaw in the plot, I would have given it a five star rating. The characters are rich, surrounded me as I was transported into Le Carre's cosmos of misfits and traitors, fools and seekers. The concept of recruiting a tailor is intriguing. It works well, could have been extraordinary, if the plot had not have been such a stretch. Still, I would recommend it. I have heard that Le Carre is interested in writing historical novels now. Can it be? Will he leave the world of the spy out in the cold. I hope not.
Rating:
Summary: Lies, Spies, and Damn Lies
Review: In this book, John Le Carre reminds me of an aging heavyweight boxing champion: fat around the middle but with enough experience and punching power to knock you out. Which is eventually what he does, but not until you've labored through some slow middle rounds where the story line seems stalled.
On the other hand, the first chapters are vivid and masterful. Tailor Harry Pendel, one part Jewish and one part ex-con man, makes smart suits for the hoi-polloi of the Canal Zone, and for some of his friends, too. We're in the fitting rooms with him, with his tape measures and markers, his pins and his pungent conversation. Harry's very well connected, you see, and he's a trusted confidante who knows more about bedrooms and boardrooms of the powerful than the famous concierges of French literature. Being a confidante to those in power has certain disadvantages, however, especially when a British intelligence operative Andrew Osnard sniffs out the intimate and fragile nature of Harry's relationships.
The song and dance between Osnard and Pendel is terrific point and counterpoint and the reader learns things about respectable Harry Pendel which would not make him the favorite of polite society. His hoity-toity tailoring venture, christened Pendel and Braithwaite, is missing a certain Mr. Braithwaite. Don't worry, Braithwaite hasn't been murdered. To have been murdered, he would have had to exist. To put it simply, Braithwaite's a fiction, Harry Pendel's invented benefactor and cover story, helping to make Harry respectable. Harry Pendel, in fact, did a little stretch in prison for arson. He has questionable antecedents. Instead of being the protégé of dignity, Harry's the unwitting protégé of disaster. Few people in Harry's society know about Harry's checkered past for it would mean the death of Harry's industry and livelihood. Not even Harry's wife knows. Harry's wife, lovely woman that she is, knows very little of the other Harry, the one who jeopardized his wife's inheritance and piled up a mountain of debt. Nor does she know the political sympathizer Harry, the one who has a disfigured mistress who works for him. So it's only natural that a man so full of secrets should bargain his soul to the devil in the form of Andrew Osnard, a spy ambitious for advancement.
The fact is Harry comes up as short in the intelligence department as he does in the credibility department. No matter, he's got a certain "fluence". He's a natural spinner of tales. If there are no state secrets to uncover, Harry Pendel's as capable of inventing them as Osnard is anxious to believe the stories and pass them on to his superiors. Harry Pendel needs the money, you see. Osnard needs to gain the confidence and attention of his superiors. Greed encourages one man; ambition encourages the other and both men are on a train without brakes. Eventually, everyone connected with these two ephemeral and dissembling characters goes caterwauling down into ruin and betrayal.
I haven't read but one of John LeCarre's books, I'm embarrassed to admit. I'm going to read more eventually. The man has a gift, an ability to spin and to mesmerize, to conjure and prestidigitate, an ability that shines even in its weaker moments. If this book is too fat in the middle, the reader can still learn things in lines and paragraphs that crackle with wit and satire
Rating:
Summary: Makes the cut
Review: Just when it seemed that England had faded into a sort of hyperthalamic Luxembourg, neutered, overmoneyed and only vaguely historied, along comes le Carre (or Cornwell, to be a real stickler) with a witty and uniquely English evocation of that nation's literary and political glories. And while he recognizes that the latter is unequivocally faded, his work shows that the former is very much alive. The Tailor of Panama most readily calls to mind the breezier farces of Evelyn Waugh, in both its cheerful amorality and its staunch Englishness, but demonstrates more sympathy for, and recognition of, the inevitability and pathos of frailty, both personal and national. The writing sparkles, the plot brilliantly balances political indictment, surprising level of suspense, and unfailing character development. This satire shows a surprising amount of heart, and its storyline--of a spy's self-invention, not the least aspect of which is his self-invention as a spy--resonates well beyond its (geographically) narrow subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Not My Cup of Tea
Review: I have to admit that I had a negative view of this author before I started reading the book, but because of his reputation and the good reviews I thought I would give him another chance. I don't know what it is but I just cannot get into one of his books. I think they move very slow and are just not peppy. Maybe I just have a short attention span, but I need more pep in a book then this author delivers. I did enjoy the movie (I keep giving him chances), but the books put me to sleep. I actually thought the overall story line was an interesting new twist to the cold war era spy story but I just could not keep turning the pages on this one.
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