Single & Single

After the utter disappointment of The Tailor of Panama, Le Carre's latest novel harks back to his crafty old ways. His writing is superb, particularly in the treatment of the father-son relationship and he knows the way around scenes of physical and psychological tension better than any other author I know. The opening chapters are brilliant and his ability to put together a seemingly complex puzzle is still in top form, albeit with somewhat less shine than in his early masterpieces set during the Cold War. However, this outing is deceptively timid by comparison. The plot, when revealed, is simple and contains no surprises. We know who's the crook from the start, don't we? The approach to the climax is indeed rushed and the big bang one hopes for fails to materialise. Despite these flaws, it's still a very good read and I'm glad to see Le Carre regaining some of the lustre that made him, in my opinion, the best and classiest espionage author of his generation.

Calling this book a "thriller" is a bit like calling English cooking "cuisine" (or that "not a cheap shot"). Countless digressions and flashbacks prevent the story from building up much tension. The opening chapter serves as a good case in point: When threatened with execution, Alfie Winser's life literally passes in front of his eyes. This seems witty at first, until it begins (and continues) to happen to people whose lives are not in similar jeopardy. In the final 75 pages or so the pot finally begins to boil, but we're left with such a waterlogged mess that the climax lacks any real punch.
The story revolves around Oliver Single, one half of the book's title and junior partner of the story's eponymous capital investment firm. After experiencing ethical business qualms he leaves the firm, revealing its secrets to and British Intelligence and allowing them to set him up with a new identity. Of course, that never goes to plan, and coincident with his cover getting blown, Winser is killed and his father disappears. There's nothing left to do but for Oliver to become a junior G-man, find his dad, thwart the villains, and save the day. Sure, that's a pretty simplistic overview; on the way he has to fool around with three or four women, too.
If you enjoy psychoanalyzing things, you'll get a kick out of this book. Everybody has issues. Everybody's in denial. From the obligatory psychopathy and transgenerational child abandonment to exhibitionism and German-engineered phallic symbols, this book has it all. If, on the other hand, you like a tale of espionage, cat and mouse, cross and double-cross ... well, there's always the Smiley books.
In the end, Single & Single is a love story between a son and his father, so perhaps it's only natural that there be an Oedipal angle to the whole thing. If you go into it aware of what you're getting yourself into, perhaps you'll enjoy it more than I did. At any rate, the scene where Yevgeny Orlov asks Oliver to hop on his motorcycle ("Ride it, Post Boy! Ride it!" (p. 179)) takes on a whole new meaning when looked at from a Freudian point of view.

Single and Single portrays the consequences for Oliver Single after his crisis of conscience. Single is a trust lawyer, with his father, for an emerging Russian Mafia family. The novel thrusts Single into a cloak and dagger world where he attempts to rescue his estranged father, and uncover the conspiracy within the conspiracy of the Russia underworld.
The novel maintains tight suspense, and yet addresses issues of personal ethics and family relations. The book is really a great read, the only drawback is the lack of development among woman's characters. This weakness has little impact on the story or the message, and like some others of Le Carre's books the main character propels the story into a thought provoking struggle between ideas, as much as a struggle between people.

Le Carre's best yet. The relationship between Tiger Single and his son Oliver is portrayed with deep insight and literary perfection. I found myself re-reading sentences with delight.
The first 100 pages begin the story in the middle, so, although seemingly confusing at the beginning, I found sticking with it well worth the effort. The author knows and loves his characters, each of which he reveals in sparingly beautiful language.
It's about the strongest love imaginable... between a parent and a child....about integrity, morals, good and evil. I've read all Le Carre's books and hope to live long enough to read them again... but especially Single & Single. It is his masterpiece.

This is a novel about greed, avarice, power and ethics. It asks the question, "When money is no object, when you have the power and resources to do anything you can think of, what will you choose to do?" LeCarre` puts us in front of a wonderfully crafted mirror, allows us to see our own motivations and ethical values, and then shoves unimaginably difficult choices at us. This book is a masterpiece of thought-provoking character development. The foils he presents are not driven as much by the characters themselves as by the cultural values they represent. LeCarre` understands that the languages we speak and the cultures they evolve from determine how we think about abstract concepts such as 'profit' and 'power.' In the Russian language there is no idiomatic equivalent for the concept of profit as it is used in the West - acquiring a commodity at a low price, adding value and selling at a higher price, is a concept that is simply not found in the Russian culture. Instead, as LeCarre`s characters show us, wholesale theft and resale of such essential human commodities as blood supplies becomes the operative dynamic for a money-making scheme gone awry. The House of Single is the mirror of every man's opportunity to make critical choices based on moral and ethical values. What happens to this venerable institution is what happens to all of us when we refuse to intervene in affairs that are immoral, unethical, manipulative, exploitive and fundamentally self-serving. I loved this book because it is the product of careful craftsmanship, clear thinking and a deep understanding of what is wrong with the way we treat each other. The language is richly constructed. The dialog is masterful - the reader is never put in the position of having to try to figure out who is speaking. The gestalt of this book is pure LeCarr` - rich, powerful and authentic. I highly recommend to anyone who is grappling with such choices.

I would advise anyone thinking of reading this book, not to buy the paper version, but to get the audio version instead. There is simply noone who can read his own work better than Le Carre. His voice is wonderfully expressive, his accents are flawless, his personas 3-dimensional. He conjures up a movie in the listener's head. My daily commute went by in a blur listening to this, and it was so gripping that towards the end I ended up sitting in the car park morning and night desparate to listen to just a little bit more. It's perhaps not his greatest book -- The Perfect Spy probably gets my vote -- but it is superb nonetheless.

Not only can Le Carre write circles around hacks half his age, but he reads his stuff really really well. Ultimately, the characters that fall in and out (and are sometimes shown stage door left with a resounding gunshot) are pretty much the same. But they all represent what LC's work is about ... complete loneliness. Tattered men with tarnished ideals making one last good for the team. And LC's voice captures that loneliness perfectly. While not as stunning a performance as Tailor Of Panama, S & S shines nonetheless. In no small part because of Le Carre's terrifically lonely voice.

It had been a long time (over fifteen years) since I had last read a John LeCarre novel when I picked up this novel out of a bargain bin. Reading the story, I was reminded why I had gone so long without reading his books. Single and Single is not really a bad novel, but it is not a very exciting one either.
The plot revolves around Oliver Single, son and partner of Tiger Single. Tiger is a wheeler and a dealer with a limited sense of ethics. Oliver's own ethics have caused him to betray his father to the law and go into hiding. When Tiger's life is threatened, however, Oliver re-emerges into society and searches for his father.
For a story that deals with murder, betrayal and theft, there isn't all that much to excite. The characters are well-written but bland and the structure of the story is more complicated than it needs to be. I understand that LeCarre is supposed to be a master of the mundane spy story, but this is one tale that is a little too mundane and not masterful enough. For better works in the same field, I would recommend Len Deighton; once again, LeCarre has failed to impress me and it may be a long time again before I read another of his books.

With the exception of Le Carre's latest book, The Constant Gardener, I read all of his work. It is not the interesting stories Mr. LeCarre can tell you in his books, but also his excellent writing style that I personally find enjoyable. This book, however is a new kind of mystery novel. There are no spys, and it seems that every character in this book is more of a "bad guy/gal" than a good one. They are all looking to redeem themselves one way or another, but with no success. I enjoyed this book completely and recommend it to anyone as a good and interesting read. Go for it!

I loved John le Carré's cold war thrillers, particularly the trilogy 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', 'An Honorable Schoolboy', 'Smiley's People", and I continue to hope for the same feeling of reading pleasure and intellectual satisfaction when I open his new books. Unfortunately I am continuously disappointed - by the 'Tailor of Panama', by 'The Constant Gardener' and also by 'Single & Single'. No doubt, there are remnants of the old master - as others have pointed out, the first chapter is great and the relation between the two Singles is subtly related. But le Carré sets a big story-machine in motion with an outcome that appears unrealistic and unsatisfactory in equal measure. In addition his moralising is becoming quite annoying. To sum up: return to the old stuff!

---expert storyteller and expert in painting scenes with the British language, that is. Reading le Carre is most always a pleasure, and this book is not one of the exceptions. He is a master at devising and presenting a stimulating sequence of chapters, gradually encouraging the reader to piece together a bit more of just what the story might be. And within each of those chapters, one discovers many a sentence with well-chosen words likewise arranged in an appealing and creative order. This plot turns out to be an appealing one, but le Carre probably would make the IRS instruction booklets appealing for this reader.

Le Carre has created an exceptional body of fiction within the trappings of espionage and the Cold War. As the world has changed, though, the author's focus has shifted to peripheral criminals and hangers-on in shadowy but less recognizable conflicts. But his writing has always been about the human dimensions of people involved in these situations. A reciprocal betrayal - father and son of each other - cuts through this story like a fault line and defines the moral landscape which Le Carre explores with characteristic skill. The particulars of his characters never seem like backstory manufactured for a Holywood film. There is an undeniable Oedipal dimension to this fine book: Tiger Single is a survivor, whatever his morals, and Oliver, however high-minded, remains altogether untested. Wife and mother appears briefly as a lurid incarnation compared to Tiger's solid mistress. And the utter failure of three capers planned early in the book paves the way for Tiger's capitulation to a sordid course which his son cannot stomach. First rate.

Despite other readers' comments to the contrary, this newest LeCarre novel was a big hit with me. His best effort since A Perfect Spy (wherein we also examine the complexities of the father-son relationship), LeCarre weaves a magical story with twists and turns that leave the reader breathless. This is not a fast read--the character development and international intrigue are rich with detail and need savoring. LeCarre loves to jump back and forth in time; this device can be confusing at times. Nonetheless, if you loved A Perfect Spy you will enjoy this one too.

The opening is quintessential Le Carre. Who but Le Carre would chart the internal dialogue (or does that constitute a monologue?) that goes through the mind of senior corporate lawyer Alfred Winser, of the firm Single & Single, just as he is about to be summarily executed? Granted it isn't as incisive as Le Carre's previous interrogation scenes but it is still deftly done.
If that whets the appetite, then the introduction and eventual discovery of the lead character, Oliver Single aka Oliver Hawthorne, is somewhat of a letdown. Like the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel, Oliver is first shown eluding a bank official who wants to find out why he has a sudden influx of funds in his bank account. Not giving away too much of his background, Oliver is next shown performing magic tricks at various children's parties. But all hopes that Oliver is as multi-faceted as Jim Prideaux (of Tinker, Tailor fame) are soon dashed. Oliver may be driven but he is not stoic though he shares a certain recklessness that seems common among many of Le Carre's leading men.
Le Carre still has a knack for concocting a convoluted plot but he seems to be treading on very familiar ground when he paints his portraits of individuals leading double lives and under stress. In fact, one might even say that Single & Single seems to have been sampled freely (in this case, scavenged seems to be too harsh a word) from Le Carre's back catalogue - shades of Jim Prideaux; Brock - the George Smiley stand-in; the Russian locales (from Our Game); the bumbling hero (anything from The Honourable Schoolboy to The Tailor Of Panama, only this time with a happy ending); the duplicitous father (A Perfect Spy) - and, hopefully to rope in and satisfy a new set of younger readers, throw in an all-out assault at the end to justify the pyrotechnics.
Single & Single is entertaining but what about those insights on the human predicament that made Le Carre an important writer? There isn't a sense of exasperation in Le Carre's tone (probably not yet anyway) but one certainly expects so much more out of a John Le Carre book that that in itself can be exasperating. - Stephen Tan (Note: This is an excerpt of a longer review that will appear in the February 1999 issue of BigO magazine.)

A great espionage/international crime tale wrapped around the compelling story of a man trying to escape the huge shadow of his small father, find himself, and make things right. (This is not a book for those who don't want to pay close attention and keep track of characters.)

I read this while on vacation recently and thoroughly enjoyed it. This book is a good, light read that's great for vacations or other times when you want something that isn't going to consume all of your waking thoughts. Took me about five days to read.
Single and Single isn't the super-intense spy thriller that I remember LeCarre's other books to be. Don't get me wrong, it's a good book -- just not as intense as some of his others.
Recommend: Yes
Re-read: I probably won't bother re-reading this one.

Le Carre has created an exceptional body of fiction within the trappings of espionage and the Cold War. As the world has changed, though, the author's focus has shifted to peripheral criminals and hangers-on in shadowy but less recognizable conflicts. But his writing has always been about the human dimensions of people involved in these situations. A reciprocal betrayal - father and son of each other - cuts through this story like a fault line and defines the moral landscape which Le Carre explores with characteristic skill. The particulars of his characters never seem like backstory manufactured for a Holywood film. There is an undeniable Oedipal dimension to this fine book: Tiger Single is a survivor, whatever his morals, and Oliver, however high-minded, remains altogether untested. Wife and mother appears briefly as a lurid incarnation compared to Tiger's solid mistress. And the utter failure of three capers planned early in the book paves the way for Tiger's capitulation to a sordid course which his son cannot stomach. First rate.

Based on the other reviews, this book appears to be a "love it of leave it" type. I enjoyed how the author peeled off layer after layer revealing secrets along the way.
The writing style was, at times, a little confusing. But that only required the reader to think and read carefully. This was welcomed in comparison to some of the bland and formulistic writing today.
Not quite five stars but close.

After finishing Lender's excellent Trojan Horse, I decided to go back and re-read this older LeCarre offering. The drawing of characters and their complex interrelationships of Trojan Horse are reminiscent of LeCarre's mastery in Single & Single. The complex psychology of Tiger and Oliver Single's father-son personal relationship is woven into the plot of this chilling, methodical story. This is not LeCarre's best story by far, but how he portrays the Tiger/Oliver relationship is as good as LeCarre can be, and worth the read.

Unlike the brilliant "Our Game," "Single and Single" creates no meaningful connection between the its reader's life and the world of its characters; Oliver's big adventure (and Oedipal gratification) is good fun, but leaves the reader unchanged. The world is not a better place, the British Intelligence community is still run by uncaring accountants, but at least Oliver's loved ones are safe, he's gotten himself a girl, and Dad promises to be a better person. Shucks, I suppose he wasn't going to join the Chechen army, but I'd hoped for something more than a ride into the sunset.

Having read only one other Le Carre (Night Manager), I thoroughly enjoyed this and even bought a second copy as a gift. As a thriller it's a solid page turner (and yes, late into the night), with a gravity and insight into the human condition reserved for "serious" literature. Maybe more seasoned Le Carre readers are hip to the bag of tricks, but I found it top notch.

This book should be recommended reading for anyone suffering from insomnia. I could hardly stay awake after reading two or three pages. The characters have little depth. There isn't a likeable or sympathetic character in the book. While some critics might call this Le Carre's best novel in years, this might be because it is only slightly more interesting than anything he may have done in years. This book is next to impossible to read. I would characterize Le Carre's writing style as both tedious and boring. Much of the dialog is crytic and virtually incomprehensible. I found the plot only slightly more interesting than a Martha Stewart cookbook. I really felt cheated after reading this book in light of the hype that came with its publication. Reading this book is a waste of time.

A teacher at school recommended this book to me. I started on my flight home from Istanbul. I began the book over Europe and was ready to flush it down the toilet after the first chapter. The first chapter was full of useless flashbacks and empty words. I, however, continued with the book. The second chapter started better, but by the end of it, I was still confused. I, however, continued with the book. Are you seeing a trend? I read a lot of books and do not consider myself to usually be a tough critic. I also think I am a polished reader. I just didn't see where this book was going. I have stopped reading at page 130 and have started a different book. I will try to finish this one for my teacher's sake, but for no other reason. Mario Puzo is a much better author.

Yes, there are people with guns, and yes, Le Carre's themes of moral ambiguity and betrayal are present in this novel. But, not satisfied to stay with a particular formula, this novel is about financial fraud. I admit to being disappointed with the ending, but that seems a quibble after spending a few days following the SIngles and their business associates.

As intense and suspenseful as "The Triumph and the Glory", and as well-crafted as any of LeCarre's fine novels, Single and Single suffered only from some faltering pacing and pedantic narration at times.

Like an airliner taxiing around a foggy airport, Single and Single nears but never quite reaches the takeoff end of the runway. It revs its engines but fails to achieve the power required for takeoff. After several attempts to lift off it just shuts everything down and gets towed back to the terminal and deplanes its passengers. Maybe we'll go tomorrow