Call for the Dead [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

~ John le Carre (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A finely wrought and compelling admixture of three types of crime writing: the novel of action and excitement that we commonly call a thriller, the spy story, and the detective story."-- P. D. James, from the Foreword
 
"A subtle and acute story of counter-espionage marked by restraint, indirection, and intelligence."-- The New York Times Book Review
 
"Intelligent, thrilling, surprising ... makes most cloak-and-dagger stuff taste of cardboard."-- Sunday Telegraph (London)

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Description

With the incomparable opening chapter of Call for the Dead, titled "A Brief History of George Smiley," John Le Carré introduces his legendary spy and immediately ensnares you in the shadowy world Smiley inhabits.
 
Pulled back from overseas duty during World War II, Smiley was redirected to face the threats of the Cold War. He had been asked to interview Samuel Fennan of the Foreign Office after an anonymous letter accused Fennan of Communist Party membership. Smiley's report cleared him of the allegations, so he was stunned to learn that Fennan had died the day after the interview, leaving a suicide note that claimed his career had been ruined. Investigating circumstances that make no sense to him, Smiley gradually uncovers a spy ring and in so doing is led into a lethal duel of wits with the best of his war-time pupils.
 
Call for the Dead marks the beginning of John Le Carré's brilliant literary career, just as it launches the life of one of the most memorable fictional characters of the twentieth century.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 171 pages
• ISBN-10: 0802714439
• ASIN: B000H305PK
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,225,609 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It doesn't Get Much Better than This, August 28, 2005

By	Penelope Blake - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Call for the Dead (Hardcover)

Recently I decided to buy nice new hardback copies of all of my favorite author, John LeCarre's books. When I did a quick search, I discovered that I not only didn't own his first novel, Call for the Dead, I had never read it. So, I bought it and what a pleasure it was to read when it arrived. Clearly, John LeCarre was a great genious from the very beginning. It introduces the reader to his greatest character, George Smiley, and fills in a lot of unknowns about his beginnings, his marriage to Ann and his odd and quiet character. Its an espionage novel which is almost a who-done-it, and it works beautifully on both levels. This recent publication of the book contains a new forward by P.D. James and a terrific forward by the author himself discussing how he came to be a writer. It is a very satisfying read, and, as always with LeCarre, I was sorry when I was finished reading. I think all of you will be, too.
Penny Blake, Chicago

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well crafted and skillfully told story about an old friend, August 24, 2005

By	David Starr-Glass (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Call for the Dead (Hardcover)

This is John Le Carre's first book, originally published in 1961, and inevitably most of us come to it with a pre-existing sense of the author's importance: Le Carre is one of the finest living writers in the English language. However, if we read it without reference to his later works, "Call for the Dead" is well written and skillfully plotted. The plot is simple, more elegant perhaps than sparse. The characters are also presented in a very clean and careful manner; indeed the hallmark of this short book is its sparse and sharp line. It is an enjoyable read; a well crafted and skillfully told story.

But, of course, it is impossible to disentangle "Call for the Dead" from history and the subsequent literary corpus of this spectacular writer. For those of us acquainted with these later books, "Call for the Dead" is of great interest because right from the beginning we see the ill-at-ease George Smiley absent mindedly polishing his glasses on the lining of his tie. We realize that we are going to know this shy and awkward spymaster, to become intimately involved in his live and his future. It is a strange experience, all the stranger when we realize that our "knowledge" of George Smiley has come only from the creative genius of Le Carre. What a remarkable creation!

It has been suggested that this book might be a suitable first read for someone new to Le Carre. I cannot agree. In itself, this short and well-balanced story will probably NOT make you want to read more Le Carre. However, if you already are acquainted with Le Carre's work, this little book has all of poignancy of a newly discovered and unread journal of a dear friend. You want to read it to see find out more about this person that you have known for so long.

"Call for the Dead" is a pleasant and easy read but, for me at least, it is more significant for casting light on so much that I have subsequently read of Le Carre. I hope that you find this little book as pleasurable as I did, and I suggest that if you are new to Le Carre you try some of his later works ("Smiley's People" of "Honourable Schoolboy") first.

David S-G

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introducing . . . George Smiley, July 10, 2005

By	Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Call for the Dead (Hardcover)

John le Carre's _Call for the Dead_ is the book that introduced the brooding, conflicted British secret agent, George Smiley. Call for the Dead was first published in 1961. It is one of le Carre's shorter books but it is packed with all the elements that have made le Carre's subsequent Smiley novels so special: the ability to portray exquisitely the external and internal life of his characters; the ability to make the reader feel he/she is walking the dark and dangerous streets of London, Paris, Berlin, and points east; all the while writing a suspenseful novel.

The book begins with a chapter entitled "A Brief History of George Smiley". In one brief chapter we are presented with an almost fully-formed Smiley. In short order Smiley's university career, his discreet introduction into British Intelligence and his years in Germany in the 1930s and the early stages of World War II are set out. So too is his tortured marriage to the breathtakingly beautiful yet famously unfaithful Lady Ann. The first chapter ends as Smiley arrives by taxi to his office at 2:00 a.m.

The plot is straightforward. Agent Samuel Fennan has been found dead, the product of a suicide if one is to believe the signed suicide note found by his widow, Elsa Fennan. Fennan had been interviewed by the service after a typed note denouncing him for being a communist at University was sent in. Although he was assured at the end of the interview that his name would soon be cleared, Fennan's suicide note claims that his life and career were ruined by the investigation. Because Smiley was the agent that conducted the interview, and because of the internal politics of the agency (one of le Carre's specialties), Smiley was chosen to conduct the post-suicide investigation and file a report. It quickly becomes apparent to Smiley that the suicide is not quite as clear cut as it appears.

Smiley is embroiled quickly in intrigue, death, and the world of spy and counter-spy. He is presented with a jig-saw puzzle of characters including Ella Fennan, a German named Dieter (who worked for Smiley in the War), and a shifty London petty criminal. The story races to a conclusion. As with most of le Carre's work the resolution of the story is not what one would call a Hollywood ending.

The value of the book lies as much, if not more, in the introduction of Smiley and other recurring characters such as Mundt, the East German intelligence operative, and Peter Guillam. Call for the Dead is a small book in the sense that it comes in at about150 pages. But it sets the stage for virtually all of the rest of le Carre's body of work starting with the Spy Who Came in from the Cold and through the entire Smiley series. Call for the Dead is a great place to start for someone coming to le Carre for the first time or for anyone wishing to dip their toes into le Carre again. He is one of the few writers of this or any other genre worth going back for seconds, or thirds.

This edition contains a brief but valuable introduction by the marvelous P.D. James.