The Tailor of Panama: A Novel

This begins with a brilliant, virtuoso first 100 pages as Osnard meets the eponymous tailor to have a suit fitted and they banter back and forth. It's the best part of the book and since it occupies the first quarter or so, everything after fails to quite live up to it. There are still plenty of clever moments and shady, ambiguous characters but this ended up dragging for me towards the end. Loving that sucking on the teeth though!

I went into the book expecting a thrilling spy adventure a la James Bond or Jason Bourne. The Tailor of Panama is none of these things and that is a good thing. Instead of over-the-top action and flashy gadgets you get real people with real problems portrayed in lush detail and with great humanity by Le Carre. The main character Harry Pendal is an average man placed in extraordinary circumstances and he reacts accordingly. The book traces his rise and fall through the world of international espionage. Along the way a host of interesting characters are introduced from playboy British spies to house wives at their wits end. Throughout the novel each is rendered in great detail and help illustrate the range of human emotions. While not a traditional spy novel, The Tailor of Panama deserves a place on your self for its beautiful detail and excellent character studies.

In Constant Gardner, Le Carre showed that he had lost the Cold War & hadn't found a role. In Tailor of Panama he showed that all was not lost. Two of the best characters in a small subset of modern fiction are here, Pendel & Oxnard, and the plot Le Carre has built for them is a beautiful thing. Constant Gardner is dismal. Tailor of Panama is brilliant; it's only defect is that, being very good, it became the source of a very bad movie.

After winning the cold war we - here in the eastern part of Europe can enjoy the brilliant genre of le Carre in our language.That is the victory itself or part of it. The Tailer is genuinly new and powerful. I have not finished it yet but I could not help to put some words in to this file with the voice of recognition and happiness.Congratulations to the Author and to the Readers too! Louis Benda

Le Carre does not write primarily about espionage. He certainly does not write about action. Le Carre wries about people, brilliant menageries of people, in-depths about people. Once again he creates a collection of fascinating plodders and oddballs. I did some months in Panama. That was a few years before Operation Just Cause, but somehow the ambiance rings true. One frustration: no map! In the next edition, please include a map.

I suppose the best word for this book is "challenging." There is no question that the book is masterful: his insights into his characters are almost embarrassingly true and intimate. The plot is compelling enough that you'll be willing to flip back 20 pages every once in a while to keep it straight. What is difficult about the book, however, is it's humor. It has the same dark and sometimes-horrible mood he creates in his other books. His characters are noble but pitiful, usually despairing, and routinely subjected to political torture. But it's a comedy. He uses his powers to put his characters at their most vulnerable, and then poke fun at them. It's perverse. If you're a Le Carre fan, you of course need this book. But if you're laughing, you're tougher than I am.

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.

"Panama" has the momentum of cold maple syrup. The story's location and Le Carre's name drew me to the book. But after reading it, I wept for my lost time. The main spy, Osnard, lacks depth; his background is revealed way too late in the story. Le Carre fails to legitimize Osnard as a cunning, capable spy. And it seems the reader should care about Panama's plight & the Canal's future. Yet the characters who own the passion & grit to fight for their Panama were obscured in the plot. What's left is a wimpy tailor with a past who's desperate for cash. And when I realized all of this, I still begged for something to happen. It just doesn't. For intrigue, momentum, and competent characters, try Ken Follett's work (favorite is "Triple").

Tailor Of Panama is different from other Le Carre novels, but nevertheless masterfully written. If you are a diehard fan of Le Carre, you'll get it from page one. If not, you should enjoy this superb story-telling all the same.