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Proyecto Silverview

Proyecto Silverview

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-01-14 02:51:15
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：John le Carré
  • ISBN：8408251813
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Summary

Julian Lawndsley ha renunciado a su exigente empleo en la City de Londres para llevar una vida más sencilla como propietario de una librería en una pequeña ciudad costera。 Sin embargo， un par de meses después de la inauguración， la tranquilidad de Julian se ve interrumpida por una visita: Edward Avon， un inmigrante polaco que vive en Silverview， la gran mansión a las afueras del pueblo， quien parece saber mucho sobre la familia de Julian y muestra un interés exagerado en el funcionamiento interno de su modesto negocio。

Cuando aparece una carta en la puerta de un espía de alto rango en Londres advirtiéndole de una peligrosa filtración， las investigaciones lo llevarán a esta tranquila ciudad junto al mar…

Una extraordinaria novela inédita sobre los deberes de un espía con su país y la moral privada。

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Reviews

Maureen ，

For years， John LeCarre's latest book came out at Christmastime。 I would get a copy of his latest novel and place it， unwrapped， under the Christmas tree。 On the big day， after presents were unwrapped and breakfast was finished， I would retire to the sofa to read my new book， staying in place until I finished it。 This year， I once again had a new LeCarre novel， but reading it was a bittersweet experience。 The last one， it was time to let the man whom I considered a friend go。 It took me three da For years， John LeCarre's latest book came out at Christmastime。 I would get a copy of his latest novel and place it， unwrapped， under the Christmas tree。 On the big day， after presents were unwrapped and breakfast was finished， I would retire to the sofa to read my new book， staying in place until I finished it。 This year， I once again had a new LeCarre novel， but reading it was a bittersweet experience。 The last one， it was time to let the man whom I considered a friend go。 It took me three days to finish the book even though it is the shortest of LeCarre's novels because I did not want it to end。In the afterword， LeCarre's son says that his father worked on this novel for a very long time， re-writing passages and then re-writing until it was letter perfect。 I am happy to say that the end result is an engaging novel that reads like vintage LeCarre， which makes it very good indeed。 The story involves an English village， a large family estate， a spy for a foreign power， several love stories， a criticism of MI-5's internal bureaucracy， and nary a one of the plethora of people we had come to know from his other books。Knowing that both David Cornwell and his wife were being treated for cancer while he was writing makes this book an even more remarkable achievement。 Every writer wants his or her last book to be among their best， and for John LeCarre， he succeeded。 Godspeed， dear sir。 I never knew you except through your books， but nevertheless you will always hold a special place in my heart。 Thank you for sharing your gifts with your devoted readers， including me。 。。。more

Phil Aldis ，

A classic John le Carre but considerably shorter than normal。

Cameron Newton ，

I think I would’ve rated this higher had I not had different expectations for what a Le Carré novel should be。 This felt somehow more grown up， and the subject matter is pretty perfect for his swan song。 But it just wasn’t very thrilling。

Kay Wright ，

Just not the book one would hope for as a last gift from an amazing spy master。 It’s short， pretty superficial。 Maybe it is appropriate as the last of his work。 Apparently his son found it complete but never submitted for publication。 The characters are no where near the complex heroes of his best。 Nor is there a complex， winding plot to be unraveled。 A little sad， quite underwhelming， I think I’ll go back and re-read some of his best。

William Johnson ，

Typical Le Carre novel。 Lots of intrigue， but I found it a bit confusing。 Details of British Intelligence Agencies internal discontent were interesting。 The afterword by Le Carre’s son added to an understanding of the novelist。

John Varol ，

I know Mr。 Le Carre has passed away but this book doesn’t live up to his previous books。

R Davies ，

So here's the final story from one of my favourite authors。 Regrettably， you can tell it is unfinished - the skeleton of the story is there， and it is compelling， his narrative style of late is present and continues to engage me， but there is some substance missing， partly， some basic fleshing out of characters - it feels like random names are introduced， as if a section introducing that person was supposed to have been added later。 It might just be a few paragraphs here and there for some eleme So here's the final story from one of my favourite authors。 Regrettably， you can tell it is unfinished - the skeleton of the story is there， and it is compelling， his narrative style of late is present and continues to engage me， but there is some substance missing， partly， some basic fleshing out of characters - it feels like random names are introduced， as if a section introducing that person was supposed to have been added later。 It might just be a few paragraphs here and there for some elements， but elsewhere it feels parts of the story are too heavily assumed as read， as if he would have come back to flesh out the tangents， the connective backstory of characters like Edward。 Not that a novel needs any particular number of pages to succeed， but this one does feel as if it's missing about 50 or 60 pages or so， of backstory， or a more satisfying ending （ it is startlingly abrupt ）。 Obviously dying rather puts a spanner in the works， and I assume that his intended work would have improved it。 However， those natural issues with an unfinished work aside， it remains compelling and pleasant to spend time in the company of a master storyteller， obviously poignantly so knowing it is the last time we get to do so。 It retreads some familiar ground， the past catching up with the present， the individual agent versus the ruthlessness of the service， the innocent characters caught up in a family affair， and hints of divided loyalties but I didn't mind。 Though it rather prompts one to revisit some of those earlier works I've not read for a long time。 。。。more

thewanderingjew ，

Silverview， John le Carré， Author; Toby Jones， narrator In this， the last novel of John Le Carré， we are gifted with a beautifully written espionage tale that does not truly come together until the very end。 From the beginning， the story twists and turns in many directions， leading the reader on a merry chase after the plot， perhaps requiring a second read to put it all together。 Is this an espionage novel or a romance novel masquerading as one？ When the story opens， a woman pushing a pram in th Silverview， John le Carré， Author; Toby Jones， narrator In this， the last novel of John Le Carré， we are gifted with a beautifully written espionage tale that does not truly come together until the very end。 From the beginning， the story twists and turns in many directions， leading the reader on a merry chase after the plot， perhaps requiring a second read to put it all together。 Is this an espionage novel or a romance novel masquerading as one？ When the story opens， a woman pushing a pram in the rain visits the home of Stewart Proctor。 She delivers a sealed letter to Proctor and awaits his response which she brings back to her ailing and dying mother， Deborah Garton， who is married to Edward Avon， Lily’s father。 They live in a house called Silverview， which gives the book its title and is the English translation of Silberblick， the name of Nietzsche’s home。 Their relationships are complicated。 While this thread of that story unfolds， another begins。 Julian Lawndsley is the owner of a bookstore。 He left a lucrative financial career to begin a quieter life。 One day， he is visited in the store by one Edward Avon， who tells him he had once been a dear friend of his father。 Edward encourages him to open a section of his store， in the basement， devoted to the classics， and they call it “The Republic of Literature”。 Soon Edward asks Julian for a favor。 He wants him to deliver a letter to a woman he covets outside of his marriage。 Shortly afterward， Edward’s wife， Deborah， invites Julian to dinner， although she is quite ill and dying。 The conversation is cryptic， that evening， but pleasant。 Julian meets Lily there and they grow fond of each other。 Julian learns many things about Edward besides his friendship with his father。 Many years ago， Edward rescued a doctor named Salma， from the Serbs， after they murdered her husband， Faisal， and her son。 He then returned to his life with his wife Deborah。 When Edward asks Julian to do him a favor and deliver a letter to a woman he covets outside his marriage， Julian agrees。 He has no idea who she is， but he accepts the responsibility because he is fond of Edward。 He returns with a letter for Edward and a message that she is well。 He tells Edward she is beautiful。 In the next thread， there is a breach of security in England， Stuart Proctor becomes involved。 He and Deborah worked for the British Intelligence Service。 She was extremely well respected。 Proctor begins to suspect Edward of treachery。 Could Edward be the cause of the breach。 He follows Edward’s trail and investigates all of the people he visits to find out if he is up to something or has been for years。 Many questions erupt from the pages。 Who is Stuart Proctor？ Who is the real Julian， What part does Lily play in all of the comings and goings。 Who is the real Edward？ Who was the mystery woman of the letter。 Several of the characters have double lives and double names， but each is an integral part of the story， filling in the blank spaces that arise。 Although the book is narrated really well by Toby Jones， it might be easier to understand the novel if it is read in a print edition。 Often the characters changed without notice and the thread of the story was momentarily lost。 As each new event and character is introduced， the reader is forced to try to figure out what place it occupies in the underlying thread。 In the end， one wonders will the real spy be identified and caught？ 。。。more

Michael T。 McAlhaney ，

Book #1 of 2022 and the only John Le Carré novel I’ve read to date， despite the many he’s written。 It was brought to my attention when Le Carré died in Dec。 2020 and the book was noted as his final complete work。 Apparently Le Carré was a real life secret service agent for British Intelligence in his younger days and he spent the last decades of his life writing what he knew firsthand。 His final story is a smart， intriguing and layered look into the world of espionage and I found it easy and del Book #1 of 2022 and the only John Le Carré novel I’ve read to date， despite the many he’s written。 It was brought to my attention when Le Carré died in Dec。 2020 and the book was noted as his final complete work。 Apparently Le Carré was a real life secret service agent for British Intelligence in his younger days and he spent the last decades of his life writing what he knew firsthand。 His final story is a smart， intriguing and layered look into the world of espionage and I found it easy and delightful to read。 The afterword， written by Le Carré’s son， mentions another Le Carré book ‘A Delicate Truth’， which his son says is the perfect distillation of his father’s work。 I think it may be my next Le Carré novel！ 。。。more

Jan Petrie ，

Julian Lawnsdley leaves his high paid city job to open a bookshop in a seaside town。 There he meets the enigmatic Edward Avon - the owner of Silverview an imposing house in the town - and learn that his wife is dying。 In another thread， Proctor - a senior spy - becomes aware of a security leak。 Le Carre weaves the various threads of the novel together to create a complex story of loyalty and betrayal。 This posthumously published novel is an enjoyable read but the characters are rather thinly dra Julian Lawnsdley leaves his high paid city job to open a bookshop in a seaside town。 There he meets the enigmatic Edward Avon - the owner of Silverview an imposing house in the town - and learn that his wife is dying。 In another thread， Proctor - a senior spy - becomes aware of a security leak。 Le Carre weaves the various threads of the novel together to create a complex story of loyalty and betrayal。 This posthumously published novel is an enjoyable read but the characters are rather thinly drawn and the ending seems rather rushed and unsatisfactory。 。。。more

Marcia Adams ，

This one was very hard for me to read。 The story did not compel me to keep going and the English dialect didn't help either。I mean no disrespect to the author。 I believe this was my problem and not his。 This was his last book and it will probably be the first and last book that I read by him。 This one was very hard for me to read。 The story did not compel me to keep going and the English dialect didn't help either。I mean no disrespect to the author。 I believe this was my problem and not his。 This was his last book and it will probably be the first and last book that I read by him。 。。。more

Roger ，

The brilliant final completed novel of John le Carré， probing an inside look into the intelligence service。 I have never had a bad experience with the author’s novels， and yet I’ve never had one to make me hate to finish reading it。 What an absolute delight！

Robert Lane ，

Published posthumously， Silverview is the last work we will have from one the great writers from the past sixty years。 David John More Cornwell， known as， John le Carre， died December 12， 2020。 Age 89。 Fifty-nine years after his first book， Call for the Dead， was published in 1961。Similar to Agent Running in the Field （reviewed in a previous letter）， le Carre successfully adopts the tone of a much younger man。 Julian Lawndsley leaves the City to open a bookstore in a quint seaside English town。 Published posthumously， Silverview is the last work we will have from one the great writers from the past sixty years。 David John More Cornwell， known as， John le Carre， died December 12， 2020。 Age 89。 Fifty-nine years after his first book， Call for the Dead， was published in 1961。Similar to Agent Running in the Field （reviewed in a previous letter）， le Carre successfully adopts the tone of a much younger man。 Julian Lawndsley leaves the City to open a bookstore in a quint seaside English town。 Edward， an older man living in Silverview， a grand house on the outskirts of town， takes an interest in Julian， claiming that he and Julian’s father were schoolmates。 He asks certain favors of Julian: May I use your computer？ Do you mind too terribly much delivering a letter to a woman friend of mine in London？ Julian knows something is afoot， but abides with Edwards wishes， the two of them forming a genuine friendship。Edward’s wife， Deborah Avon， is a high-ranking British intelligence spook。 She is also in the last chapter of her fight against cancer。 Their daughter， Lily， has long been disgusted with her parent’s secret lives。 That Edward does not share his wife’s political loyalties is hardly a surprise or spoiler alert。 Fans of le Carre will easily spot the double-life character。 （le Carre comes across this trait authentically， as his father was a slippery man-about-town。 See le Carre’s autobiography， The Pigeon Tunnel， also reviewed in an earlier newsletter。）The final draft of Silverview was edited by le Carre’s youngest son， Nick Cornwell， an author himself who writes as Nick Harkaway。 Apparently le Carre had been laboring over Silverview for years。 In an afterwards， Cornwell hypothesizes why Silverview challenged his father for so long。 He concludes that Silverview showed a British secret service that had not only lost its way， but had become an institution that questioned if it can even “justify itself。” Such an admission， Cornwell concludes， would have been hard for his father to acknowledge。 John le Carre’s will be missed。 His stories—his plots—hinged on characters; their loyalties， their ambitions， their dark secrets， their forbidden loves。 No gutter guards here。 He painted vivid pictures with the stroke of a brush， revealed the totality of a character in two sentences。 On the dusty shelves of literature， George Smiley is sipping a scotch。 One of Her Majesty’s best men with the pen is gone。 It was a good run。 。。。more

jean ，

I was disappointed in this book as I usually like Le Carre novels。 I feel like there was a good reason this book sat for years unpublished。 Many critics liked it and praised the fact that the book showed the inner workings of MI5 and MI6。 If you are expecting a more typical Le Carre novel this is not it。 2 stars for the setting。

Elizabeth ，

Edward is a "retired" spy who cannot give up on his training or covert ways。 And when it is time for him to be captured and "brought in" he uses his wit and wily ways to engineer an escape。 I absolutely adored the triumphant ending， in this book， for Edward。 *In the Afterword Nick Cornwell （the author's son） says， "In SILVERVIEW， the spies of Britain have， like many of us， lost their certainty about what the country means， and who we are to ourselves。" Edward is a "retired" spy who cannot give up on his training or covert ways。 And when it is time for him to be captured and "brought in" he uses his wit and wily ways to engineer an escape。 I absolutely adored the triumphant ending， in this book， for Edward。 *In the Afterword Nick Cornwell （the author's son） says， "In SILVERVIEW， the spies of Britain have， like many of us， lost their certainty about what the country means， and who we are to ourselves。" 。。。more

Mavis Thresher ，

This is John le Carre's last novel， published posthumously。 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 only a couple of months into his new career， Julian’s evening is disrupted by a visitor。 Edward， a Polish émigré living in Silverview， the big house on the edge of town， seems to know a lot about Julian’s family and is rather too interested in the inner workings of his modest new enterprise。When a le This is John le Carre's last novel， published posthumously。 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 only a couple of months into his new career， Julian’s evening is disrupted by a visitor。 Edward， a Polish émigré living in Silverview， the big house on the edge of town， seems to know a lot about Julian’s family and is rather too interested in the inner workings of his modest new enterprise。When a letter turns up at the door of a spy chief in London warning him of a dangerous leak， this leads him to this quiet town by the sea 。 。 。The first chapters do not read like a le Carre novel， but this changes and becomes pure le Carre。 He writes rather opaquely and leaves it to the intelligence of the reader to work out exactly what's going on。 。。。more

Dave Allan ，

Goodbye to possibly the greatest author of spy fiction who never told the whole story but kept it in the shadows。 Even at the end there was rarely a "surprise" rabbit out of the hat， more a swing toward this ending or that。 Less was always more as with this novel， when you read the last page you have to think about what happened throughout and make sense of it all。 Storytelling at it's best。It's not 5* that's Tinker Tailor and a couple of others， but it is indomitably Le Carre。 Goodbye to possibly the greatest author of spy fiction who never told the whole story but kept it in the shadows。 Even at the end there was rarely a "surprise" rabbit out of the hat， more a swing toward this ending or that。 Less was always more as with this novel， when you read the last page you have to think about what happened throughout and make sense of it all。 Storytelling at it's best。It's not 5* that's Tinker Tailor and a couple of others， but it is indomitably Le Carre。 。。。more

Peter Langston ，

His last novel and one can't help feeling he was writing himself out of existence。 Traveling again along his well trodden paths of loyalty and honour and whether betrayal of state is justified by love of the individual， this slightly old， slightly imperfect member of the novels of le Carre but never the less， worth the read。 His last novel and one can't help feeling he was writing himself out of existence。 Traveling again along his well trodden paths of loyalty and honour and whether betrayal of state is justified by love of the individual， this slightly old， slightly imperfect member of the novels of le Carre but never the less， worth the read。 。。。more

Max Tonkin ，

Enjoyable

RC Prentice ，

Multiple hidden identities， a protag slipping the noose of capture as an agent， and an innocent bookseller brought in as a willing but unaware tool give this typical spy story plenty of keyholes for readers to try to unlock。 And then， in typical fashion， Le Carre gives us a few lines at the very end that make us say， “Oh， yes。 Of course。 That’s what it was all about。” An excerpt was presented in Harper’s as being from this， his last book， but it apparently wasn’t。 According to his son’s afterwor Multiple hidden identities， a protag slipping the noose of capture as an agent， and an innocent bookseller brought in as a willing but unaware tool give this typical spy story plenty of keyholes for readers to try to unlock。 And then， in typical fashion， Le Carre gives us a few lines at the very end that make us say， “Oh， yes。 Of course。 That’s what it was all about。” An excerpt was presented in Harper’s as being from this， his last book， but it apparently wasn’t。 According to his son’s afterword， it was written just after A Delicate Truth and sat in a bottom drawer， so to speak， until its discovery after death。 Indeed， it has resonances with A Perfect Spy， a volume that comes a bit later in the series。 Son Nick Cornwell speculates that， unlike the rest of Le Carre’s oeuvre， this one may have revealed too much about “the Service” and thus his father had second thoughts about publishing it。 Maybe， but the Bosnia horror long antedated Le Carre’s exit from the spy trade。 If it references real people as well as real events， it must be a tale told to Cornwell on the sly by a disaffected operative， rather than being based on Le Carre’s own experience。 。。。more

Simon Mwangi ，

Entertaining read。 The writing style was not exactly to my taste but liked the story and the characters。

Mary ，

This is another amazing book， and the final story， by favorite author and writer John le Carre。 Yes， it’s my first book of 2022 but I know it is the best story I will read all year。My recommendation？ Go to 1961 and read all the Cold War spy stories with George Smiley。 Silverview brings that era to completion。 Thank you and rest peacefully David John Moore Cornwell （1931-2020）

Angie Oberhauser ，

Nope。 Maybe it's to high brow for me but I dnfed。 It was difficult to make it as far as I could and I couldn't make myself care or follow why I should。 I think the writing style got in the way 9f my understanding the story Nope。 Maybe it's to high brow for me but I dnfed。 It was difficult to make it as far as I could and I couldn't make myself care or follow why I should。 I think the writing style got in the way 9f my understanding the story 。。。more

Lisa Bleck ，

I really liked the writing and most of the story。 I just hoped for a good plot twist at the end or a big revelation。 But the ending was just。。。 bland。

Barbara Carroll ，

Once again John Le Carre did not disappoint。 Thoroughly enjoyed this book。

Philip ，

It’s a short book that I devoured slowly。 As a life long reader of Le Carre I immediately identified and relished his style。 Yes， it has flaws， but if like me you have read everything he has produced you must read this。 I haven’t always enjoyed his themes since the Cold War ended， but echoes of Smiley， cardiganed subterfuge and middle class public servant malevolence abound。 I enjoyed the book。

Bob Box ，

A fitting swan song for Le Carre concerning a long time spy who may have gone to the other side。 Text and sub text， secrets and lies。

Linda ，

Too confusing。

J Katz ，

enjoyable for Le Carre's excellent writing and perceptions of the secret service。 This book， his last full book， is critical of all involved。 The story is not as complex as some but still really engaging and interesting。 enjoyable for Le Carre's excellent writing and perceptions of the secret service。 This book， his last full book， is critical of all involved。 The story is not as complex as some but still really engaging and interesting。 。。。more

Don Gorman ，

（2 1/2）。 I think I was moved more by Le Carre’s son’s words at the end of this little book than I was by the book itself， but that is probably due to my total unfamiliarity with his style。 It was easy to read， but very circuitous in nature until the last quarter or so of the book。 Several engaging characters， some obvious well hidden backstories， but I really had no idea what the hell was going on for most of the 200 pages。 I am sure some of his earlier， highly acclaimed works are marvelous to t （2 1/2）。 I think I was moved more by Le Carre’s son’s words at the end of this little book than I was by the book itself， but that is probably due to my total unfamiliarity with his style。 It was easy to read， but very circuitous in nature until the last quarter or so of the book。 Several engaging characters， some obvious well hidden backstories， but I really had no idea what the hell was going on for most of the 200 pages。 I am sure some of his earlier， highly acclaimed works are marvelous to those that enjoy this style of secret agent fare。 Unfortunately， not me。 Medium stuff。 。。。more

Reference

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

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

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