Rating: 
Summary: A pure classic
Review: Written with endless wit and some dark humor, Le Carre proves himself again as a master of words as he plots a classic spy story- and the greatness of it is that this is both a spy story and an anti-spy story.
Do no except Tom-Clancy-like-action since this novel is about the humans and not the missiles. Harry Pendel is an anti-hero, a man drowning himself in a sea of lies, lying to the British intelligence- fabricating tales upon tales, lying to his beloved wife, lying to himself. With a multitude of conspiracy fabrications of all sorts, this story almost becomes a wry satire about the spy world.
Panama city and its characters are portrayed in a rich and elegant manner. The dialogues are complicated and brilliant; loaded with so much tidbits of fiction that Le Carre's mind seems to be a bottomless pit of ideas.
I'm sure that many people who expected more action gave it low reviews because of this- explaining the surprisingly low average rating. But the novel is not uneventful, and it contains a cynical plot of intrigue and greed, and some satirical jabs at some imperialistic desires still present in some dark elderly western power holders.
This is literature, subtle, elegant and stylish, humorous and at its best.
And poor pathetic Harry Pendel, with all his weaknesses, is a character as human as can be, and one you can only sympathize with.
Rating:
Summary: A TAILOR FIT FOR THE JOB!
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: 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: 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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