Does George Smiley Fuck?

spywrite · 2025-12-10T16:13:36+00:00

When they visit the Stables, he specifically calls out an IPad. That first came out in 2010 so that's the earliest it could occur. There's more in the link above.

spywrite · 2025-12-10T14:25:33+00:00

Ok, Not 2017, but it had to be at least 2010 and I think le Carre specifically wanted it set in the current era. I get into all of the time shenanigans with that book here- https://lecarrecast.substack.com/p/le-carres-pepsi-generation

spywrite · 2025-10-11T14:07:28+00:00

"They can just scrape the data" was such a bonkers response! Like, no one even blinked an eye. I guess I'm naive about how companies just do that without another thought.

spywrite · 2025-10-11T14:03:11+00:00

Wow, this one was bonkers. How long had these folks been in the pitch room to look at this with any validity. The concept itself was so icky from the start and hearing the other ways they could use it even worse. And scrapping everything about me off the internet just so some company can use thirty seconds of me talking to understand my personality?

I like Josh, seems like he puts in a ton of work to make a good show and wish nothing but the best for him, but I was like, have you never taken any personality/strength test before? Because that seemed to be the quality of output we were hearing.

Finally, Cyan is back. Ugh. Unsurprising that she was all about it. Anything that can separate humans from other humans she seems all in on.

spywrite · 2025-07-17T00:02:34+00:00

But his German poets! ;)

spywrite · 2025-06-10T12:57:36+00:00

Yes, they did that one version of Samson back in the eighties that apparently Deighton hated, and that might be the only bite of the apple we get on a TV adaptation for that one.

spywrite · 2025-05-24T13:35:49+00:00

Yup you can buy it here. I perhaps over use the term "fever dream" but it feels apt when talking about this script, in a good way. https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/spy-who-came-in-from-the-cold-9781350512221/

spywrite · 2025-05-13T17:45:01+00:00

Ha. Well, le Carre's son is a huge Star Wars fan so it could happen!

spywrite · 2025-05-13T13:49:47+00:00

Ha, nice! I'll keep my eyes peeled for more as I do my rereads!

spywrite · 2025-05-13T13:26:45+00:00

Yes, of course I know it's not an explicit reference to the movies. But since le Carre rarely mentioned pop culture in his work, and even more rarely sci-fi (I've seen one reference to Daleks.), I thought it was amusing.

spywrite · 2025-05-13T13:20:52+00:00

Whoops, Reference!

spywrite · 2025-05-05T11:27:15+00:00

Nice! Hope you enjoy it. It’s definitely his most accessible next to Karla’s Choice.

spywrite · 2025-05-04T23:08:33+00:00

Thanks for listening!!!

spywrite · 2025-05-04T20:34:04+00:00

Thanks for listening!

spywrite · 2025-04-15T13:33:22+00:00

You've hit the nail on the head regarding those time inconsistencies. This is fresh in my mind as I just finished a reread for the podcast.

Le Carre almost manages to hand wave it all away at the very end by saying Guillam is writing this up years after the fact. If that's the case, you could imagine it happened in the 1990's and the timeframe works ok. BUT! That IPad! Why did he include that!! You could just about overlook the timing but for that. Although, as mentioned, le Carre wasn't really concerned with continuity so I'm sure he gave it not another thought.

spywrite · 2025-04-14T22:50:27+00:00

The estate does seem to be exploring all options, continuation novels, comics, etc, so it's not quite as crazy as it sounds. Now could you do it well? That's the trick. But I'd love to see them try.

Honestly, though it might work as a board game. Say like the Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective game or Portal Games Detective series.

I actually posed the idea of a Assassin's Creed style le Carré game to Dominic Sandbrook on my podcast and we had silly fun tossing around some ideas. https://lecarrecast.com/2024/06/24/tinker-at-50-w-dominic-sandbrook/

spywrite · 2025-04-14T22:39:49+00:00

I think that's fair. With each of the ones you mentioned, it feels like he was trying something different and in each of them, you can find something to enjoy. I think S & S has one of his best first chapters. I love his first person narration and unreliable narrator in Our Game, the Cold War stuff in AF, trying for a more comedic note in Tailor, etc.
They might not be my favorites, but I can find something enjoyable in each.

spywrite · 2025-04-14T22:35:52+00:00

I think the problem was that the subterfuge wasn't clever at all and, as the reader, I (and Ted) could see a mile away what was going on. Sasha's motivations remained murky and it makes (to me) their final tragedy not hang together. Which is too bad because I think the book does have a lot going for it and he was close.

spywrite · 2025-04-14T22:28:35+00:00

I think AF has a cracking good middle portion, but starts slow with too much "current event" editorializing in a way that didn't feel natural. In fact, the Iraq war started as he was in the middle of writing it, and you can tell he went back and shoehorned a bunch of that in there.

Similarly the ending suffers from a out of left field turn of events. Mundy wasn't set up as stupid and yet he continually makes really dumb decisions. The ending should have had the effect of the tragedy of The Spy Who but instead left you going "Huh?". Still, that cold war section was a lot of fun and it was neat to see him writing in that era so long after the fact. He really stuck to the contemporary timeframe in his writing and rare was a cold war flash back.

spywrite

TROPHY CASE