Reading the 20th Century discussion

Welcome to our February 2025 group read of...



Our Game (1995)

by

John Le Carré




There's sure to be plenty to discuss and debate


More about Our Game (1995)....

Le Carré's post-Cold War masterpiece, filled with suspense, betrayal, desire and drama

The Cold War is over and retired secret servant Tim Cranmer has been put out to pasture, spending his days making wine on his Somerset estate. But then he discovers that his former double agent Larry ­- dreamer, dissolute, philanderer and disloyal friend - has vanished, along with Tim's mistress. As their trail takes him to the lawless wilds of Russia and the North Caucasus, he is forced to question everything he stood for.

See you in Feb

Everyone's welcome

I've started this a few days early


I have bought the audiobook which is narrated by Michael Jayston who I have heard narrate quite a few other books by John Le Carré and he's always done a splendid job

I'm really looking forward to getting back to some John Le Carré

Also looking forward to comparing notes

I should have my library audio tomorrow. I sometimes find JlC a bit hard on audio if I'm not concentrating so have the book as well. I'm also looking forward to this as haven't read him for a while.

Incidentally, while I was looking for this, I found A Private Spy: The Letters of John Le Carré available on audio from my library so have bookmarked it.

Yes, the plots do often need attention to work out what’s going on, and the nuances

Rats. This is not available to me in audio. Unlike Nigey & RCI find Le Carré difficult to read in print form. Nonetheless, I’m going to try. I just requested it from the library. Heck. I have 110 items out, what’s one more?
(If I’m not heard from again, it’ll be because the stack crushed me.)

I think it's me, not the audio, but I'm usually listening on the commute and so am easily distracted. But I also like that the audio reading can bring out things I've not noticed in print.

Haha, love that image of teetering piles of books!

Well done G - I admire your commitment


I find audio very accessible and love how I can be listening on the go

I made a start last night - contemplative rather than plotty so far but I like that.

Indeed


I’m poised to start chapter three and I am enjoying the shifting dynamic of the Tim/Emma/Larry triangle. Also the non linear storytelling is working well and keeping me focused

I've been sent home from work with a snivelly cold so am making veg soup while listening to this. Completely agree with what you've said - sometimes this kind of non linear story can be clumsy but not here.

It's quite rare, I think, for JlC to write in the first person? Have you noticed the way Cranmer sometimes talks of himself in the third person, as if he's distancing himself from himself? He feels like a typical troubled le Carre man. I've said before that JlC is not good with female characters but Emma seems an exception so far.

Yes, agree with all of that. Great point about Tim and the use of the third person


I hope the soup was restorative. Get well soon.

I have reached the (or at least a) pivotal moment in the plot. The bit where all the early events fall into place. My interest and excitement have increased. Looking forward to discovering what happens next and really enjoying another JLC masterclass (so far at least)

Looking forward to joining you when M. Proust gives me leave.

Ben wrote: "Looking forward to joining you when M. Proust gives me leave."

I like the contrast with Proust in reading this!

Nigeyb wrote: "I have reached the (or at least a) pivotal moment in the plot. The bit where all the early events fall into place. My interest and excitement have increased."

Me too, I'm finding this tense and highly-wound even though there's little ostensible action - a master class indeed.

Btw, have you read The Little Drummer Girl? I ask because it's re-showing on iplayer and it's a complex JlC that I loved.

I have read TLDG, and also watched the TV version. I agree. Both very enjoyable


Looking forward to your arrival Ben

Tim is such a credible character: buttoned up, frustrated, regretful, dutiful and, despite his astuteness, with clear blind spots

If the glimpses of life at Winchester College are accurate then it explains a lot about Rishi Sunak

Nigeyb wrote: "Tim is such a credible character: buttoned up, frustrated, regretful, dutiful and, despite his astuteness, with clear blind spots"

Yes, good description of him - and JlC captures his voice beautifully.

I think JlC went to public school which he hated so I'm always ready to believe him about these things. It's an early experience that so many of his male characters share.

He's so clear-sighted: he called Trump a neo-fascist and Boris Johnson and Farage demagogues when other people were still laughing at them.

The relationship between Tim and Emma is so odd, and sad that he thinks he's giving her what she wants - the two sides of the house.

Larry reminds me a bit of the character in The Honourable Schoolboy whose name I can't recall.

Edit: Jerry Westerby

It's interesting how Tim feels like he's 'created' Larry, as he puts it, and so feels responsible for him. Is this also the only book where he uses the term 'joe' for spy? I don't recall it from the other books and it feels like Mick Herron territory. Maybe it reflects that this is a 1980s book?

Could be RC. I’m not aware of other uses.


I’m romping through this. I feel we’re going deep into Tim’s psyche. I continue to be amazed by JLC’s skill and originality when it comes to storytelling. He’s so adroit at blending espionage, personal betrayal, and political intrigue.

Good comparison between Larry and Jerry RC. Both are such maverick and unpredictable operators

I've romped through (helped by being at home with a cold) and couldn't stop listening to this - I switched to the book for the last quarter or so. Yes, absolutely agree that this is all about Tim's psyche. That scene at the lake continues to haunt him . And some really tense stuff on his search.

The other thing that tied Larry and Jerry together for me is their naive innocence and the way they believe they can make a moral difference in the world. Part of JlC's bleak vision is how impotent individuals are against a harsh world of inhumane systems and realpolitik.

The more I read of JlC, the more I think he should have been a runner for a Nobel prize - his depictions of men in the world are so much deeper than espionage stories.

I’ve been distracted by Trump’s attempted administrative coup, which in addition to being an attempt to destroy our democratic structures, directly imperils my ability to have food to eat. Hope to get to this later in the week. 2025 is shaping up to be even worse than 2024.

G wrote: "I’ve been distracted by Trump’s attempted administrative coup,"

I was actually thinking while reading this book how much I miss JlC's clear-sighted view of Trumpian politics - just as I appreciated his response to Brexit.

I miss JLC’s cool perceptiveness too


Well done RC. I won’t be far behind you. Still enthralled

Looking forward to your reaction G

I've been looking at the reviews on here for this book and it's amazing to see how many 1-2 star 'it's boring' reviews there are.

I guess for many people JlC is 'just' a plotty spy thriller writer (which is kind of my issue with his son's Karla's Choice - but no need to re-open that discussion).

Looking forward to G and Ben's reactions when you get to this.

That also surprises me too RC


It's already a four star read for me and that may increase

I really can't fault this so far. His writing is superb and he brings so much complexity and nuance whilst remaining very accessible

A wonderful writer

I’m into the final section now when the location shifts dramatically. I’m loving it. I’ve just got to the hospital scene which is handled brilliantly

That is quite a shift, almost like a different book. Looking forward to discussing the ending when everyone is done.

Yes indeed, and it has a really hallucinatory, nightmarish quality. I continue to be very impressed by this novel as I close in on the ending

Finished


Everything I hoped it would be

It’s got the lot

Spoiler free review.....



https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Nigeyb wrote: "Finished


Everything I hoped it would be

It’s got the lot"

Yes, it feels Iike 'late school' JlC - interesting to see the Office in action in a post-Smiley era, just as their field of operations has changed post-Cold War and with the coming implosion of the USSR.

At first that last third almost felt like a different book, but the ending brought it back to the tension between Cranmer and Larry (view spoiler)[where Tim sort of becomes Larry (hide spoiler)].

Yes, the ending was very effective


The classic redemptive arc

Nigeyb wrote: "Yes, the ending was very effective


The classic redemptive arc"

Was it though? Dun... dun... dun! Let's see what Ben and G think.

Yes. It’ll be interesting to discover what others make of it



(view spoiler)[I thought Tim ultimately felt he had to atone (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[Yes, to some extent, but there's also been a thread all the way through where the two men are doubles of each other and ways in which Tim wants to be Larry - in some ways, he becomes him with that ending. It's a complicated but very JlC vibe. There are doubles throughout his work from the literal double agents to pairings like Smiley and Karla who are enemies yet also understand each other in a kind of preternatural way - and the gold lighter between them sort of figures that. In this book there's that hallucinogenic scene where Tim thinks he's killing Larry and also sees it as killing himself. I'm not sure there's anything as neat and comfortable as atonement in JlC's world, is there? (hide spoiler)]

Ooh good points RC


I’m off to ponder 🤔

I have the book, and read the opening pages. Very JLC opening, I thought. My plans to read more tonight were derailed by the plane crash in Philadelphia (making this the worst aviation week in the US since November 2001). I've been watching the live coverage. It's really awful. That is such a busy section of the city, and a major commuter route. The fires are under control, the mayor and governor have given their update, so I switched the livestream off, but now it's late and I'm too wound up to sleep or read.

G wrote: "I have the book, and read the opening pages. Very JLC opening, I thought."

Very distracting and distressing. Which might actually be the perfect background for reading JlC.

I agree, that feels like a typical and slightly oblique JlC opening - the police interview is genius!

You know what other book this reminds me of? The Two Faces of January by Patricia Highsmith.

Especially in the relationship of the two men, mediated by a woman. PH uses mythology and Freudian psychology as her sub-text and organizing principle while JlC frames his version via politics and espionage - but they're both fascinated by the relationship and its ramifications that sits at the heart of the books.

Great comparison RC. I hadn't made the connection however now I mull it over there are many parallels, and those different subtexts.

You're good!

Haha, who'd have thought Highsmith and le Carré would have so much in common! But, the more you think about it, her obsession with doubles and switched identities shares much with espionage and all those deep plots and double agents.

O matter how many JLC novels I read, his ability to capture and dispatch self-serving bureaucrats in one line never fails to take my breath away: ”There is a saying in the Office that you have to be careful with Merriman lest you resign by mistake, rather than waiting for him to sack you”

Great isn't it G?

I’m about 100 pages into this one. So far it is really enjoyable. I’ve only read one Le Carre so far. It reminds me a lot of Len Deighton. A thriller for people who like to read things other than thrillers is how I would describe it. Looking forward to the remaining ~300 pages!

Good to have you aboard Samuel


I love Len Deighton

Those Bernie Samson books are extraordinary

Yes, many parallels

G wrote: "O matter how many JLC novels I read, his ability to capture and dispatch self-serving bureaucrats in one line never fails to take my breath away"

Exactly, he's such a good writer at the sentence level quite apart from his profound ability to understand the world.

Samuel wrote: "I’m about 100 pages into this one. So far it is really enjoyable. I’ve only read one Le Carre so far. It reminds me a lot of Len Deighton."

Oh that's interesting - I've always pigeon-holed Deighton in the 'pure entertainment' category. Nothing wrong with that, obviously, just not how I've thought of these two writers. I haven't read Deighton and have read a pile of Le Carrés.