A Most Wanted Man: A Novel

Once again Mr. le Carre provides an interesting read, well crafted to the times in which we live. But, his appended, moving and insightful tribute to Phillip Seymour Hoffman makes this a very special experience.

Well-written in most places, but...
The characters (especially the Americans) are cardboard cutouts, the plot plods along toward an all-too-predictable ending which you can see coming from miles away, and it has been done before - by le Carre himself in The Honourable Schoolboy. Sad to see a master stylist in decline.

le Carre books transcend genre, literature that happens to usually be about the intelligence community. le Carre heroes are Quixotic for some kind of redemption, be it love or a cause or both, the life better lived. "Single & Single," "The Little Drummer Girl," "The Russia House," "The Constant Gardener," the supporting characters of the Smiley novels come to mind as examples of the classic le Carre heroes. "A Most Wanted Man" falls into classic le Carre canon, turning its lens to the war on terror. In le Carre's world, the enemy isn't just the antagonist but among so-called allies and colleagues, the dogmatic and myopic, the small-minded, smug, and incurious gate keepers with hidden agendas. The heroes, outsiders of some kind, inquisitive, data-driven, doggedly willing to peel back the onion for an elusive truth that is more liable to crush them than set them free. If you have or have not read a le Carre novel, this is a fine example of one. This is a review of the audio book, so specific to the narrator, he's a fine voice actor in tone and accent who helped enormously in bringing the characters to life.

I enjoyed reading this book very much. In a fashion typical of Le
Carre, interesting and multidimensional characters are placed in
situations that become increasingly complex, thus facing choices
which drive the plot forward. It's not my all-time favorite Le
Carre novel. For example, I enjoyed "The Constant
Gardener", "Absolute Friends" and "The Mission Song" even more,
but it's very engaging.

"Astounding, nearly perfect" says the San Francisco Chronicle. "Surely one of his best" quips the Los Angeles Times. I beg to differ on both counts. For starters, the denouement of this thriller is oh so similar to that of Absolute Friends. The only difference is that the two protagonists are gunned down in the latter.
Secondly, words like "astounding" and "perfect" do not belong here. They must be reserved for his greatest novel, A Spy Came In From the Cold. This tale contains so many twists, which are believable, that it takes one's full concentration to follow the plot. And Le Carre comes out in spades. And, of course, any best of list of Le Carre's works must include his spymaster classic, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. These two novels put this his latest effort to shame. Dare I suggest that at 82 the British author is running out of ideas? Give us another classic, Mr Cornwall!

A thrilling story of espionage with characters so intense and interesting they leap off the page. Le Carre wrote a modern thriller that resonates with those who ant to read and discover more about how the jihadists launder money through the banking system in Europe. Not only was it an intelligent read, but "A Most Wanted Man" was also an informative and real observation about the word's most important problem.

Pedantic, lugubrious, old stuffy man, writing. I pushed myself to read it because I paid money for it but could only get half way, so much filler and boring people (its like pulling teeth for him to sketch a person's character, and even then they are still boring and stilted). How this guy ever made millions upon millions writing slop is a miracle of Western Capitalism. I mean there are worse, much worse writers but how this guy has such a high reputation (and they even laud him that he is even one of the best writers around, even baring spy fiction, is incredible and a disgrace to fiction and writing in general) is beyond the reckoning of me.

Great book , a great movie, but you must understand that Le Carre is an "American Hater", in this, as well as all his books.....If you are an American, be prepared for the critisism.Even in The Perfect Spy, when the CIA is correct , he casts them as fools.Still in all, I read everything he writes.

Le Carré, as usual, manages to tell an engaging story while revealing a tangled web of international intrigue and duplicity. As we come to know the various players in this drama, we see how their personal lives and values can influence their world views and, in turn, how these varied perspectives can cloud their judgement. This is a story of racial profiling and misguided self-interest, complicated by dueling concepts of nationalism, and all written in a provocative literary style.

LeCarre shows that you can write a page turner without resorting to multiple explosions and other violence. The war here is within -- within the souls of those who must do the dirty work that keeps the rest of us safe. The movie was great; the book is even better.

An Audio book... The narration of the story was outstanding.This is nothing more then another John leCarre GREAT spy novel. The story is riviting and his way with words is secound to none.The story grabs you from the start and does not let go until the last page...A1+
carlcarln

I began reading this book with anticipation and soon found it a struggle to keep reading. Slow and boring. I put it down. Later revisiting the book it caught my interest and I began to read. It lost me again, slow and boring. Put it aside. Again I revisited it wanting to finish the book on my Kindle. The finale of the book became exciting and funny with a great ending. Well, "great" is a little strong. It was satisfying.

At first the book was rather confusing, but the farther into it, the book began to make sense. Suspense starts about the middle of book to the end. A very nice piece about Richard Seymour Hoffman is included. I cannot wait to see the movie.

Le Carre, though getting up there in years, has not lost any of his imaginative writing skill. This is a stimulating, enjoyable, thought-provoking book.

Of course, not all readers will agree, for various reasons. Another reviewer suggests skipping the first 50 pages in order to avoid the detailed portrayal of the characters!

And several reviewers are disappointed that we (the USA) are not really presented as the good guys in this story. We Confederates are quite accustomed to that, of course.

Actually, it can be quite enlightening to see ourselves as others see us. But, if you'd really rather not, take a cue from that other reviewer's page-skipping suggestion. The Yank cousins don't really get out of hand until the final ten pages or so. Withdraw early. Stay happy.