Saturday, January 07, 2006

Le Carre doesn't disappoint

Unlike Archer, Le Carre's books are never fluff. The Constant Gardener isn't a short book - 664 pages before the author's note [ in which he denies that any of his characters or companies resemble real people or companies HA] and even though it is "specially designed for easy reading" ( translation- slightly bigger print for all us old folks who are the only demographic that reads!!!!!!) it could have used a little paring of detail. Editors don't seem to want to sit down people like Le Carre and say "hey old chap, this could be shorter, ya know- save a few trees!" BUT with those asides, piddling criticisms really, this is a good read. Thoughtful, moving plot, interesting characters that aren't paper thin and fun to read.

2 comments:

jodi said...

I am halfway through the book. Very good.

canary said...

How did you find the Constant Gardener? Did you see the movie as well? I liked the movie well enough but thought the book did a better job of giving real credibility to the motivations of the characters, not surprisingly. A movie doesn't really have the time to do a good job.Our book circle had a great discussion of the book and about Big Pharma. Some thought that the protaganist did what he did out of conviction (late conversion) to his wife's passionate activism and others thought his motivation was only love of her. I suppose it could be both.

Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea;
And love is a thing that can never go wrong;
And I am Marie of Romania.
Dorothy Parker, Not So Deep as a Well (1937)