Fiction

Silverview

Silverview

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  • Create Date：2022-05-03 00:16:55
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：John le Carré
  • ISBN：0241994535
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Summary

'Le Carré at his finest' Mick Herron， Guardian

Julian Lawndsley has renounced his high-flying job in the City for a simpler life running a bookshop in a small English seaside town。 But after only a couple of months into his new career， Edward， a Polish émigré， shows up at his door with a very keen interest in Julian's new enterprise and a lot of knowledge about his family history。 And when a letter turns up at the door of a spy chief in London warning him of a dangerous leak， the investigations lead him to this quiet town by the sea 。 。 。

Silverview is the mesmerising story of an encounter between innocence and experience and between public duty and private morals。 In this last complete masterwork from the greatest chronicler of our age， John le Carré asks what you owe to your country when you no longer recognise it。

'The finest， wisest storyteller' Richard Osman

'A towering writer' Margaret Atwood

'A literary giant' Stephen King

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Reviews

Mark Ellis ，

Not a classic Le Carré but a pleasant late offering from the master。

Phrodrick ，

Up front Silverview is not John Le Carre’s best。 With that as warning it is a fair place to start but only if you promise to read others。 In his defense， this copy was taken from his drawer after his death and finished （‘Lightly Edited”） by his son。 This by prior promise。 Against those who talk about having figured it out or that it is not that hard to guess， the actual plot is beside the point。 LE Carre espionage books are about spying about the same way that Anthony Trollope’s Parliamentary se Up front Silverview is not John Le Carre’s best。 With that as warning it is a fair place to start but only if you promise to read others。 In his defense， this copy was taken from his drawer after his death and finished （‘Lightly Edited”） by his son。 This by prior promise。 Against those who talk about having figured it out or that it is not that hard to guess， the actual plot is beside the point。 LE Carre espionage books are about spying about the same way that Anthony Trollope’s Parliamentary series， The Pallisers books are about politics。 Espionage， for Le Carre is a back drop。 A particular job that requires dissimulation， secrets and lies， but also fierce loyalty and the placement of country above all。 Over time espionage is played out in a world of shifting values and uncertainty about the country and its real primacy over your most closely held beliefs。For me there are two concurrent aspects in reading Silverview。 The one that should not matter is my long-time love affair with books by Le Carre。 In Silverview I can see the return to themes and personalities he had developed over time。 George Smiley is not here， but the even older role of the in-house dog catcher， seeking out the leak is central。 The aspect that should matter is， is this a good book？ one its own， absent its connection to its nearly dead author？ Had this been my first JlC， this would be a 3 star read and maybe that at a stretch。 It is all here but the parts can fail。 There is a love affair that springs from nothing and a deep friendship that also derives from， I do not know， instinct maybe。Figured it out you say。 An attentive reader， or a well-versed fan， knows very quickly what is the problem。 They know who they want。 The wanted know when they are on to them and they know when the wanted know they are on to them。 In fact， an important part of good writing is that the reader is not surprised。 Surprise if for pot boilers and who-done-its。 Silverview mostly does not care who done it。Always with John Le Carre are the questions are about blind loyalty。 Loyalty to whom？ With what limits？ Is there a time for disloyalty？ When you are going to take secrets to the grave， should those secrets be those you do not want to be caught dead， protecting？ In all this how balances love of country with love of one’s wife？ One’s children？ What are the values above self？ Family？ Country？ Just how starkly has the exception have to be thrust at you to make you blink？If you still think you figured it out， you are very smart。 。。。more

Rose ，

Maybe not the best book to read via audio as I found it very difficult to follow with such a variety of names。 Only finished because it was a relatively quick read。

Michael Bellamy ，

Enjoyable and intriguing read。 Story builds as the net closes in。 Enjoyed the way our Secret service departments work "together" to build their case。 They suspect everyone and always concerned with watching their backs。 Will Lucy and Julian stay together ？ How much des Lucy really know？ Will they be able to really trust each other ？ Enjoyable and intriguing read。 Story builds as the net closes in。 Enjoyed the way our Secret service departments work "together" to build their case。 They suspect everyone and always concerned with watching their backs。 Will Lucy and Julian stay together ？ How much des Lucy really know？ Will they be able to really trust each other ？ 。。。more

Jane ，

Story， characters， language， evocation of place。 le Carre is a master。 （ did I mention story？）

Craig Maxwell ，

I was really excited for this， but about 1/3 of the way through and i’ve gave up。The story is all over the place， zero plot， zero character development。 I really wanted to like this as the copy I have is a hardback with a stunning cover！ But alas on eBay it goes！

Jess ，

Dude kinda wrote the same novel over and over， but always cleverly; a respectable coda with all the standard trimmings: secrets within secrets， feline snark， pedestrianly anti-American rhetoric。

Tjeerd ，

laat ik het kort samenvatten: ik ga alle boeken van le Carré herlezen :D

Mike Giammaria ，

Battenby， Teresa and ProctorIn the meeting between these three， Proctor is wondering how he is about to be retired from his position in Domestic Security， while his friend and classmate Battenby is on the verge of becoming Chief。 For just a second， in the tense and accusatory meeting， Proctor recalls that he is the one who has actually done the work。 A fact that Battenby and Teresa are incapable of seeing。le Carre， as always， reveals the humanity of his characters。 Some of them are spies， but al Battenby， Teresa and ProctorIn the meeting between these three， Proctor is wondering how he is about to be retired from his position in Domestic Security， while his friend and classmate Battenby is on the verge of becoming Chief。 For just a second， in the tense and accusatory meeting， Proctor recalls that he is the one who has actually done the work。 A fact that Battenby and Teresa are incapable of seeing。le Carre， as always， reveals the humanity of his characters。 Some of them are spies， but all of them are people。 。。。more

Roy Jackson ，

A fairly enjoyable read， though seemed dated。 The characters etc。， were from another era - 1950s maybe - yet it was set in the modern…and who uses fax machines these days！

Bill Ibelle ，

Very interesting read with engaging characters and a strong plot。 I have loved some Le Carre books （spy who came in from the cold， a most wanted man） but found others dense and overly long。 This one suffered from neither of those problems。 It is tight and moves forward at a lively pace while providing constant insights into the culture of the British spy world。

Ryan Joswiak ，

Not sure this was a completed novel as advertised。 Beginning felt a bit rough， not up to his usual standard。 Also throughout the novel characters seemed to have introductory scenes where they were over-familiar and there were also references to events that had never happened in the book even though it was quite clear they were supposed to be callbacks。A fun read and a good book nonetheless from an author who will sadly write no more。

Corey Morris ，

The last from one of the best spy thrillers of our time。 This book presents the ultimate question — what would one last run for the loyalty to your country look like？ In a modern day twist， perhaps one of the more fragmented views of le Carre。 You may be surprised。

Will Vitale ，

It was like， pretty fine。 I guess John LeCarre hadn't actually wanted to publish it before he died because he didn't think it was finished。 Gotta say it felt like it was missing。。。。something。 I guess I'll just say I was disappointed。 There's a character who has a lot of promising mystery in the beginning but as the story goes deeper the reveals are just sort of boring and I just felt as a reader I was not being asked to do ANY work - not as in figure out the plot， but the book evoked no emotions It was like， pretty fine。 I guess John LeCarre hadn't actually wanted to publish it before he died because he didn't think it was finished。 Gotta say it felt like it was missing。。。。something。 I guess I'll just say I was disappointed。 There's a character who has a lot of promising mystery in the beginning but as the story goes deeper the reveals are just sort of boring and I just felt as a reader I was not being asked to do ANY work - not as in figure out the plot， but the book evoked no emotions that took any energy to contend with。 Who knows。 whatever。 。。。more

Dan Lalande ，

The last le Carré。 A London spy chief is looking for a leak， taking him to a bookshop in a small seaside town （the eponymous Silverview） where a shadowy Polish emigre courts a humble arriviste。 It's minor work， very much a last gasp， with much ado about very little。 Nevertheless， it's crisp， readable， and at times， dryly charming - so， the ol' boy mostly still had it。 The last le Carré。 A London spy chief is looking for a leak， taking him to a bookshop in a small seaside town （the eponymous Silverview） where a shadowy Polish emigre courts a humble arriviste。 It's minor work， very much a last gasp， with much ado about very little。 Nevertheless， it's crisp， readable， and at times， dryly charming - so， the ol' boy mostly still had it。 。。。more

Sarah ，

This was le Carre's last book。 There were times when the plot was difficult to follow。 The characters at times seems stilted。 Otherwise a good ending to a huge career。 This was le Carre's last book。 There were times when the plot was difficult to follow。 The characters at times seems stilted。 Otherwise a good ending to a huge career。 。。。more

Rob Hamer ，

Le Carre has been one of my favorite authors for a long time 。 Perhaps one of the reasons is his subject matter has evolved with the world around him。 In this ， his last novel， he conveys his disillusionment with the direction the contemporary US/Europe/UK is taking which resonates with ascerbic accuracy - p188 “America’s determination to manage the Middle East at all costs， it’s habit of launching a new war to deal with the effects of the last one it launched 。 NATO as a left over Cold War reli Le Carre has been one of my favorite authors for a long time 。 Perhaps one of the reasons is his subject matter has evolved with the world around him。 In this ， his last novel， he conveys his disillusionment with the direction the contemporary US/Europe/UK is taking which resonates with ascerbic accuracy - p188 “America’s determination to manage the Middle East at all costs， it’s habit of launching a new war to deal with the effects of the last one it launched 。 NATO as a left over Cold War relic doing more harm than good 。 And poor ，toothless ， leaderless Britain tagging along behind because it still dreams of greatness and doesn’t know what else to dream about。”p188 “the entire Iraq mess is the brainchild of the gallant British Secret Service。 Why ？ Because it’s two most celebrated spies of all time - TE Lawrence and Gertrude Bell - drew up its borders with a ruler and a pencil in a single afternoon。 … it was this Service at its most persuasive that talked a power mad CIA into turfing out the best leader Iran ever had， and thereby precipitated the whole godawful revolution。”A worthwhile read from a master storyteller ， if more in the genre of a short story than his more magisterial works 。 。。。more

Allison Malter ，

Silverview was published posthumously by Le Carré’s son。 It is a story about a naïve bookshop owner， the rogue agent who befriends him and the spies who search him out。 I preferred the book rather than the audio version。 For one thing， it is told in a very mannered way and the tangled threads of the story are better pieced together in the written version; at least this was true for me。

Mcvicar ，

Really hard to follow and piece together， not an enjoyable read for me I’m afraid。 Very disjointed。

Annette ，

Or my usual genre， however ， so surprised at the skill of this author， sadly gone now， I look forward to reading more。

Julia Lemos ，

Amazing， sensational， reminds us of what Le Carré had to offer in terms of his work。 Pity he is gone。

Roberto Dragone ，

Un romanzo confusionario che ho faticato non poco a leggere。 Ritengo che la storia sia minata da moltissimi paragrafi che non offrono al lettore la chiarezza necessaria per coinvolgerlo。 Parlo di forma， non dell’ambiguità contenutistica che alimenta il mistero。 Alla fine della lettura forse ho scoperto l’arcano: è un romanzo postumo， il cui completamento è stato curato dal figlio （anch’esso scrittore）。 Non ho mai letto nulla di le Carré e non conosco il suo stile， la mia impressione quindi è bas Un romanzo confusionario che ho faticato non poco a leggere。 Ritengo che la storia sia minata da moltissimi paragrafi che non offrono al lettore la chiarezza necessaria per coinvolgerlo。 Parlo di forma， non dell’ambiguità contenutistica che alimenta il mistero。 Alla fine della lettura forse ho scoperto l’arcano: è un romanzo postumo， il cui completamento è stato curato dal figlio （anch’esso scrittore）。 Non ho mai letto nulla di le Carré e non conosco il suo stile， la mia impressione quindi è basata soltanto sulla lettura di questo romanzo。 。。。more

Fede Santi ，

Primer libro que leo del autor y me llevé un fiasco。 La forma de escribir es medio incoherente， con una historia que se sucede muy velozmente sin introducir a los participantes y dejando muchas cosas inconclusas o dando por sentada otras。Se que Le Carré es un autor de fama mundial con muchos seguidores， pero lamentablemente en mi no ha encontrado uno。 Igualmente no descarto darle una oportunidad más adelante con alguno de sus otros libros。

Dan ，

Probably one of those books I should’ve given permission to cut my losses at page 30。 Yet for love of espionage and author’s reputation， read doggedly to the end。 The ending was underwhelming and incomplete。 Sort of like a song that ends a measure or two too soon and you keep wanting to finish it。 The characters are interesting but disconnected。 Frankly I think this was a draft storyline that， if not for the author’s passing， and otherwise stellar reputation， might never have been published。

Gloria ，

Novella （while two hundred pages， the type size is quite large。。。） Complex; poignant in many ways。 Could not stop reading。 More later。Spies are just like everyone else。 I don't know why I keep thinking they are other-human。 Le Carré has always shown that they are people with all the foibles， failing and faults… For me this story， perhaps because I am the age I am， perhaps because this is one that Le Carré wrote later in life， provides some hope， at least with Lily's trajectory…Memorable quotatio Novella （while two hundred pages， the type size is quite large。。。） Complex; poignant in many ways。 Could not stop reading。 More later。Spies are just like everyone else。 I don't know why I keep thinking they are other-human。 Le Carré has always shown that they are people with all the foibles， failing and faults… For me this story， perhaps because I am the age I am， perhaps because this is one that Le Carré wrote later in life， provides some hope， at least with Lily's trajectory…Memorable quotations:"A radical's a radical。 Doesn't matter whether he's an ex-Communist or an ex anything else。 He's the same chap。 You don't change your reasoning just because your conclusion's changed。 You change the conclusion。 Human nature。 You might sound a warning word to that effect to your trainees too， Stewart， come to think of it， if they're into recruiting ex-fanatics。 Always remember what they were， because it's still in 'em somewhere。" [103]"The thing is， old boy-- between ourselves， don't tell the trainees or you'll lose your pension -- we didn't do much o alter the course of human history， did we？。。。As one old spy to another， I reckon I'd have been more use running a boys' club。 Don't know what you feel。' [from the marvelous section with Phillip and Joan， Proctor's visit]"You have an aversion to organized religion， no doubt， just as I do。 Nevertheless， I have spent my life adhering to the superstitions of my tribe， and I intend to be buried according to its rituals。。。 Christianity for me is not so much about religion as about values we hold dear。 And the sacrifices we make to preserve them。" [Dinner with Deborah]"With hindsight， Julian remembered best the quit that came over them， the peace after a battle they'd fought side by side， the misplaced concerns he'd had about who he'd let into his life。 He remembered how their small talk did duty for all the talk that was too big to handle。 And how， when Lily spoke about her parents， she managed to skirt round the edge of them as if their real centre were out of bounds。 And how， like her father， she tested him out as someone she might one day confide in; just not yet。" 。。。more

Kem White ，

I found Le Carré's final novel to be much like his earlier works that I've read: cerebral and full of dialog。 There's not much spy novel action in this book。 But the writing in "Silverview" is first rate， I encountered some interesting characters in the British IC of Le Carré's imagination， and the novel kept me interested throughout。 The novel is short; it can be read in much less than a day。 Recommended。 I found Le Carré's final novel to be much like his earlier works that I've read: cerebral and full of dialog。 There's not much spy novel action in this book。 But the writing in "Silverview" is first rate， I encountered some interesting characters in the British IC of Le Carré's imagination， and the novel kept me interested throughout。 The novel is short; it can be read in much less than a day。 Recommended。 。。。more

Robin ，

As a long-time fan of John le Carre's work there was no way I would miss this， his last book。 It is a smaller story than some of the greatest books of his oeuvre （e。g。， Tinker， Tailor， Soldier， Spy） but it has the same virtues - complex characters， a plot that reveals itself in layers and it thus admirably suited to a story about the secret world of intelligence work， and most of all the textured but spare writing of his signature style。 What was interesting was the kicker: the Afterword by his As a long-time fan of John le Carre's work there was no way I would miss this， his last book。 It is a smaller story than some of the greatest books of his oeuvre （e。g。， Tinker， Tailor， Soldier， Spy） but it has the same virtues - complex characters， a plot that reveals itself in layers and it thus admirably suited to a story about the secret world of intelligence work， and most of all the textured but spare writing of his signature style。 What was interesting was the kicker: the Afterword by his son （and literary executor） explaining that this book was written， and largely polished and finished， before le Carre died。 Thus the son found it in a drawer， requiring very little work to be published。 He speculates on why David Cornwell - the man behind the pseudonym - held the book to be published only after his death， and the son's belief is that the answer lies in the father's complicated feelings about the world he portrayed so eloquently for so long。 I won't say more because I believe it is probably best to experience the novel first， and if possible to see it within the context of le Carre's entire body of work to come to one's own conclusion about this question。I'm glad I read it， and now， even more than in the immediate wake of his death， I'm wanting to reread some of these books。 Interesting how this writer， who was so famous as the OG of the subgenre of spy stories， so completely transcended the category。 。。。more

Gaby ，

this is his last novel， found and put into publication by his son after he died。 it is much shorter; his style in both writing and about his subject of the governments' （both uk and us） secret services are as clear as always。 as are the portrayal of his characters。 i very much enjoyed reading this book as i have his previous espionage novels， which always tell the reader about our foibles， yet needs to connect as people。 this is his last novel， found and put into publication by his son after he died。 it is much shorter; his style in both writing and about his subject of the governments' （both uk and us） secret services are as clear as always。 as are the portrayal of his characters。 i very much enjoyed reading this book as i have his previous espionage novels， which always tell the reader about our foibles， yet needs to connect as people。 。。。more

Leonore ，

Always wonderful to read a well written book by John Le Carre。 His last book published after his death is something to be proud of。 Its nice when spy stories or detective stories have not just a good story line but the prose and construction are well done。 He was great to the last。

Eileen Lynx ，

Interesting tale。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Silverview

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Silverview&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Silverview&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0