Fascinating insight into the mind of a spy

Magnus Pym, the resident spy of the Vienna embassy has gone missing after attending his father's funeral. He has gone to ground, secluded in a B&B in a Devon seaside town, he has decided is now time for him to write the great novel of his life and reveal the true Magnus.



Let's get one thing clear here this is not an 'easy read'; Le Carré is the consumate espionage writer, the writing of a man with first had experience as a serving officer in MI6. You are not going to get your Bond explosions and your Bourne fights here, rather an indepth, semi-autobiographical treatise on what makes a Perfect Spy. The narrative is split between the present day search for Magnus by the security services of Britain, USA and Czechoslovakia and Magnus's memoirs and his confessional correspondence to the key people in his life.



The sweep of the novel takes us from a small village in Wales in the early twentieth century where we meet Pym's father Rick who has a dominant role in Pym's life, we see Rick develop into a confidence trickster par excellence and the effect of this transcient lifestyle on the young Pym it's highs and the inevitable lows. We learn about Pym's school life where commits the first of his many betrayals and then his introduction into the secret world at Uinversity of Berne. We see Pym develop into a young officer all the while leading a double life and his progression through the ranks of the secret service to the utopia that is the Washington posting in the present day, i.e. the 1980s.



The depth of the novel and that of the characters inviolved are all immersing and are brought to life by the excellent Michael Jayston who has made the naration of the Le Carré back catalogue his own

29 people found this helpful

His best

i think this is le Carre's best book. Michael Jayston is perfect for this read. A little diffident and thoughtful. I read this book years ago and listening to it was a lovely way to revisit it. I wan't disappointed, it was as brilliant as I remembered

19 people found this helpful

A perfect tale

Would you listen to A Perfect Spy again? Why?

I have now listened to it three times. As is the case with all Le Carre's novels, it is so much more than a 'spy' story. With each listen there is something more to be found in this complex and poignant story of an utterly damaged man, who wanted desperately to be all things to all people.

What did you like best about this story?

The way in which the complex motives that underpin the vagaries of human behaviour are explored by this master storyteller.

Which character – as performed by Michael Jayston – was your favourite?

Mary Pym. Michael Jayston is so skilled a narrator that he makes her character entirely believable. I forgot that this was a man reading the part of a woman. He is simply the best. In some books, male narrators can make the women sound like characters out of pantomime- this never happens in a Michael Jayston narrated audiobook, his female characters are always authentic.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes- and the first time I did, it accompanied me throughout the day and evening.

Any additional comments?

A Perfect Spy is simply one of the best audio books I have ever heard and Michael Jayston has fast become my favourite narrator.

14 people found this helpful

Le Carre at his very best and based on his dad's story

I've just read John Le Carre biography, this is a fictionalised account of his and his dad's real life mixed with a spy story. His dad was a cone artiest in real life and I read his biography then read this. Wonderful book

10 people found this helpful

Extremely hard work

What disappointed you about A Perfect Spy?

The story is very slow and basically about the main protagonists childhood and his fractured relationship with his father. Yes, it showed how he became good at hiding things (including himself), but is one of the few books I just so bored with I could not finish it.

What will your next listen be?

A much faster paced Le Carre with some depth, and a main character that interests me.

What does Michael Jayston bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He is an excellent narrator who enlivens anything he reads.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from A Perfect Spy?

I'm not sure, as the whole book was slow. I kept waiting for something to happen.

9 people found this helpful

One of le Carré's best books, brilliantly read

Anthony Burgess, in his role as literary critic, admired John le Carré as a stylist but suggested that he could not be regarded as a great writer because he wrote "genre" novels about spies and espionage. Arrant nonsense of course. What subject could be more relevant to the second half of the 20th Century than espionage and the Cold War? Jane Austin is generally acknowledged as a great writer but what was her subject matter? Mainly the doings of silly women yet, of course, she, like le Carré, was able to portray the fundamentals of human character and behaviour in a highly revealing way.



A Perfect Spy is not, to my mind, quite the best of le Carré’s books but it is certainly high on my list. Some listeners may find the non-linear narrative confusing until they get used to it and the prose is occasionally perhaps a little too dense and mannered. I would have been inclined to give the book only four stars were it not for the fact that, because it is an audio book one must take account of the narration and this is so good that I unswervingly award it five: Michael Jayston's performance - as with all his readings of le Carré - is superb and vividly brings to life the author's cast of picaresque characters.

Highly recommended.

18 people found this helpful

Review of The Perfect Spy by John le Carre

I have just finished listening to The Perfect Spy by John le Carre for the third time, and I am more thrilled than ever by this masterpiece. Michael Jayston`s brilliant narration emphasizes the richness and credibility of le Carre`s characters, and also his ability to visualize every scene and every gesture.
The Perfect Spy is my favorite book by my favorite author.

Reidun Kornelie Mork-Sagen
Norway

23 people found this helpful

I don't think i will ever get to the end

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Every ten days or more i try to carry on listening...Gosh is it hard work, makes me feel stupid that i just cannot get into it. All jumbled up for me. I wanted a story and got...not sure what. Excellent narrator. I got this audio awhile back and was holding on before reviewing. But i think i will just give up trying to read it, gracefully.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

When something actually does happen, which i forget what, because the rest is memories which i find depressing and a bit boring..sorry.

What aspect of Michael Jayston’s performance might you have changed?

He was perfect.

Did A Perfect Spy inspire you to do anything?

not listen to anymore of John le carre novels. But i did read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy a long time ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. So i will be trying A Smiley spy series further down the line

20 people found this helpful

Bit of an endurance challenge

Well. I've enjoyed some of his other books a lot. I found this one quite a marathon really, not helped by the narration style that took several hours of listening to get used to. It's not so much a spy novel as a novel about the personality and relationships of a spy throughout his life. His book is probably a bit like marmite.

9 people found this helpful

Good narration

Not the best Le Carre, but excellent narration. Rather long winded way of getting to where it was going.

4 people found this helpful