Fiction

Silverview

Silverview

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  • Create Date：2022-07-13 06:51:56
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：John le Carré
  • ISBN：0241994535
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Summary

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。

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Reviews

Syeda Amna ，

The only negative for me was how old， white， and British everyone sounded， but it's Le Carre， so I can overlook that。 Loved the story。 The observations on Western intervention in the Middle East and the Bosnian War really clinched it for me。 Not surprising that Le Carre has stamps of approval from actual spies。 The only negative for me was how old， white， and British everyone sounded， but it's Le Carre， so I can overlook that。 Loved the story。 The observations on Western intervention in the Middle East and the Bosnian War really clinched it for me。 Not surprising that Le Carre has stamps of approval from actual spies。 。。。more

Jon Sverre ，

Hans aller siste bok， litt vemod å lese。 207 sider。 Litt langdryg i midtre parti， men lesverdig。 Oppsummerer i få setninger NATO og England anno 2020。

Colleen ，

For a man who was on his last legs this book is pure le Carre at his best。 Not a book to skim or dose through since it has so many insights。 I love the fact that characters are expected and threatened to sign a do-not-disclose agreement。 Wonder what kind of agreement le Carre had to sign in order to live and write about the "service" for so long？ For a man who was on his last legs this book is pure le Carre at his best。 Not a book to skim or dose through since it has so many insights。 I love the fact that characters are expected and threatened to sign a do-not-disclose agreement。 Wonder what kind of agreement le Carre had to sign in order to live and write about the "service" for so long？ 。。。more

Mike Dale ，

Normal Le Carré。 A nice little farewell， post-humously from the great man。Le Carré never sets pages alight but he does stretch the brain cells - inviting conjecture， prediction， assumption and then does a little nutmeg at the end， confirming most of your suspicions but none of your "hows？" The same intellectual pace and depth， the usual unanswered questions。 RIP Mr Le Carré and thank you for all the great rides。 Normal Le Carré。 A nice little farewell， post-humously from the great man。Le Carré never sets pages alight but he does stretch the brain cells - inviting conjecture， prediction， assumption and then does a little nutmeg at the end， confirming most of your suspicions but none of your "hows？" The same intellectual pace and depth， the usual unanswered questions。 RIP Mr Le Carré and thank you for all the great rides。 。。。more

Libby ，

Three and a half stars

Molly ，

I’ve never read anything by this author before and after that ending I’m not sure I will。 Maybe I just like a more round end？ I don’t know。 But I finished it and thought “huh？ Is that it？”

Eswaran Iyer ，

Interesting。。。。sad that The Master has passed away before writing the sequel to complete。。。。。。。。。。。。or is one coming？？？？

Guy Hamilton ，

This is the high bar that all espionage writers should strive to attain， there are elements once again of the best Graham Green， it is a story of people， emotions and the toll ion working for security services。It was the farewell ， posthumously to certainly the greatest espionage author of the past 60 years。His books will always stand the test of time， and rereading， I shall miss Cornwell's masterpieces。His younger son's postscript is incredibly moving in regards to the publishing of this novel This is the high bar that all espionage writers should strive to attain， there are elements once again of the best Graham Green， it is a story of people， emotions and the toll ion working for security services。It was the farewell ， posthumously to certainly the greatest espionage author of the past 60 years。His books will always stand the test of time， and rereading， I shall miss Cornwell's masterpieces。His younger son's postscript is incredibly moving in regards to the publishing of this novel and his observations of his father。 。。。more

Marsha Rafalski ，

This was the last novel of John Le Carre published posthumously in October 2021 ending a 59 year career as one of the best known and loved author of spy thrillers。 Le Carre left a draft manuscript when he died in December 2020 which his youngest son edited for publication。 This is a culmination of his career and an indictment of the Service and the political factions within and influences from outside forces。Julian Lawndsley is a financial expert who has made a fortune before he’s out of his 30s This was the last novel of John Le Carre published posthumously in October 2021 ending a 59 year career as one of the best known and loved author of spy thrillers。 Le Carre left a draft manuscript when he died in December 2020 which his youngest son edited for publication。 This is a culmination of his career and an indictment of the Service and the political factions within and influences from outside forces。Julian Lawndsley is a financial expert who has made a fortune before he’s out of his 30s。 Even though he has a limited knowledge of books， he buys a bookstore in a small village。 He falls under the spell of a charismatic former spy now living with his dying wife in her extravagant mansion known as Silverview。 Soon he has begun to run errands for and agrees to partner with him on creating a section of the shop as an elite “literary specialty book shop。” Stewart Proctor is known as a “trouble shooter” for problems within the Service。 When he receives a letter delivered to a service safe housing alerting him that there is a problem with a retired agent’s husband， he sets out to identify the problem and fix it。 To do this， Proctor has to look into how the Service operates and draw on the best of the retired agent pool to gather this information。 The ending is a fitting twist and has a Le Carre touch。As the last book in his long life， Le Carre created a story featuring a view of spies and spy craft。 It also has a storyline that looks at how a patriot becomes a traitor。 Although not his penultimate work， Silverview still has the elements that made a John Le Carre novel unique。 。。。more

Tim Weed ，

The sad news is that one of the great novelists of our time recently passed away。 The happy news， for me at least， is that 1） so late in his career he was still able to write such a cohesive， smart， page-turning novel。 As a writer who was a little slow in the starting gate myself， this gives me hope for the future。 2） Le Carre wrote many novels， only about 30 % or so of which I’ve read。 Because every novel I’ve read so far by this author is a novel， like Silverview， that not only entertains， but The sad news is that one of the great novelists of our time recently passed away。 The happy news， for me at least， is that 1） so late in his career he was still able to write such a cohesive， smart， page-turning novel。 As a writer who was a little slow in the starting gate myself， this gives me hope for the future。 2） Le Carre wrote many novels， only about 30 % or so of which I’ve read。 Because every novel I’ve read so far by this author is a novel， like Silverview， that not only entertains， but truly enriches one’s life。 Nabokov wrote，“There are three points of view from which a writer can be considered: he may be considered as a storyteller， as a teacher， and as an enchanter。 A major writer combines these three — storyteller， teacher， enchanter — but it is the enchanter in him that predominates and makes him a major writer。” For me， this is true of Le Carré more than of any other novelist in my personal pantheon。 He is greatly missed， but I’m confident （as I would not necessarily be confident regarding many others working today）， that his work will long endure。 。。。more

Senioreuge ，

Perfect as always

Tom Lyon ，

Good ole' John LeCarre。 Brilliant。 Good ole' John LeCarre。 Brilliant。 。。。more

Jeff Kaye ，

I have read all of John Le Carre's novels。 It has been a lifetime experience that I am will remain thankful for。 His writing always made me intricately committed to his stories and the people within them。Silverview， his last book and a shorter one than normal， is a story of under-cover agents reliving their past lives and how lives catch up with them。 Life's passions collide with life's necessities in a way that le Carre manages to make real for those， like Edward， who he conjures into the world I have read all of John Le Carre's novels。 It has been a lifetime experience that I am will remain thankful for。 His writing always made me intricately committed to his stories and the people within them。Silverview， his last book and a shorter one than normal， is a story of under-cover agents reliving their past lives and how lives catch up with them。 Life's passions collide with life's necessities in a way that le Carre manages to make real for those， like Edward， who he conjures into the world。This was less a mystery than a mysterious explanation of entanglements that can never be fully explained yet have to be to satisfy those that run the secret services in the UK。 These entanglements entwine real people and le Carre is at his most adept when showing the pyschological burdens that such individuals face as they make their decisions and as they are confronted by them in later life。John le Carre seems to have wrapped up his own entanglements in a spirited manner in Silverview， written as he aproached his 90th year and published soon after his death。 A suitable resolution。 。。。more

Petra Willemse ，

Sad that this is the last in what was a strong run。 Le Carrel’s son completed the book well and his epigraph is extremely moving。

Christoforos ，

Unbelievably unbearable， unbelievably boring。 Flat， one dimensional characters and a vague plot。 If you are having trouble sleeping then this is the book for you。 This book will cure your insomnia。

Dryan1066 ，

Excellent book。 One of his better ones

Stanley Turner ，

Interesting Novel…After further reflection I changed my rating from 4 stars to 5 stars。 Still agree with the rest of the review so I left it on the site。 I read this at the recommendation of a friend， I enjoyed 95% of the novel， the last 5% went lacking。 Every bit of the story made sense except the last chapter in which Edward goes missing， WHY？…I recommend this book to all adults…SLT

Em ，

Always enjoy le Carre。

Nancy ，

Silverview / John Le Carré。 Author Ian Rankin has said it for me: “An extraordinary writer who brought literary luster and lived insight to the spy yarn。”

Derek Bridge ，

He ended on a high。 Nothing unsurprising， but expertly done。

Tony Mac ，

Le Carre’s posthumously published final novel is a decent enough coda to a brilliant career， but hardly in his top league。An interesting postscript from his son insists that the novel was largely finished and sat in his fathers’ drawer for some years while he remained undecided what to do with it。 It’s short length hints at more work still to be done， though it is far from a sketchy first draft。 It’s tale is essentially fully told but throughout you get the feeling that some polishing detail had Le Carre’s posthumously published final novel is a decent enough coda to a brilliant career， but hardly in his top league。An interesting postscript from his son insists that the novel was largely finished and sat in his fathers’ drawer for some years while he remained undecided what to do with it。 It’s short length hints at more work still to be done， though it is far from a sketchy first draft。 It’s tale is essentially fully told but throughout you get the feeling that some polishing detail had yet to be added， some characters better fleshed out and the ending made less abrupt。 The correlation between characters’ ages and actual events sometimes seems wrong， which suggests this may have been a work in progress for a long time， and the core romantic relationship seems both implausible and severely undercooked （not unusual in Le Carre stories）。For all that it is perfectly readable; a fairly typical Le Carre tale of melancholy spies， lost loves， betrayals and past deeds unresolved。 The angry polemic of his final years is mostly missing: probably awaiting proof stage inclusion。 As a final farewell this effort will win no prizes but will more than do。 。。。more

Jim ，

Le Carre finishes out his prodigious writing career with a final return to the world of spycraft， which brought him fame and riches， with what felt to my a little like a goodbye as well as a warning of sorts for British intelligence to get its act together。 Not the favorite of his books for me， but still pretty interesting。 It starts off a bit slow but soon picks up its pace and feels like it is over sooner than you wish it to be。 Some parts felt a bit dragged out， but that may be the result of Le Carre finishes out his prodigious writing career with a final return to the world of spycraft， which brought him fame and riches， with what felt to my a little like a goodbye as well as a warning of sorts for British intelligence to get its act together。 Not the favorite of his books for me， but still pretty interesting。 It starts off a bit slow but soon picks up its pace and feels like it is over sooner than you wish it to be。 Some parts felt a bit dragged out， but that may be the result of his not finishing it， but his son （no criticism of the son， however）。 。。。more

Lynne ，

I wanted a bit more spy craft， but this was wonderful， and le Carre doesn’t disappoint。 The writing alone is worth it。 Totally enjoyable。

David Gee ，

Despite it’s James Bond-ish title， this is very much not John Le Carré’s send-up of Goldfinger。 Unless he left some notes or incomplete manuscripts for somebody else to knock into shape （hopefully not）， Silverview is the final novel from Mr Le Carré。 Initially I found it a bit tiresome and undeserving of the glowing reviews with which it’s prefaced。 But after going back and starting again I can see what an appropriate ‘swansong’ it is。A Polish émigré called Edward Avon is at the heart of the sto Despite it’s James Bond-ish title， this is very much not John Le Carré’s send-up of Goldfinger。 Unless he left some notes or incomplete manuscripts for somebody else to knock into shape （hopefully not）， Silverview is the final novel from Mr Le Carré。 Initially I found it a bit tiresome and undeserving of the glowing reviews with which it’s prefaced。 But after going back and starting again I can see what an appropriate ‘swansong’ it is。A Polish émigré called Edward Avon is at the heart of the story。 City high-flier Julian Lawndsley， who has retreated to an unnamed seaside village to open a bookshop， finds that Edward is a neighbour with knowledge of Julian’s father’s secrets。 And Stewart Proctor， a middle-ranking figure in MI6， is investigating an intelligence leak that seems to point to Edward。Proctor is a blatant clone of George Smiley， our favourite spy chief （Proctor even has a faithless wife）， and there’s more than one female with strong echoes of Connie Sachs， which makes Silverview read a bit like a pastiche of the author’s most famous works。 Some of the scenes of marital life recall The Naive and Sentimental Lover （my least favourite of his books）; and they come with an acerbic tone reminiscent of Muriel Spark and Fay Weldon。 Le Carré switches erratically between past and present tense， sometimes in the same paragraph， which many readers will surely find annoying。 The book has a surprising but entirely appropriate ending。Silverview lacks the magisterial tone of the Smiley books and some of the later polemical novels， but it does serve to remind us that this was one of the finest writers of his time， producing – like Graham Greene， with whom Le Carré was always compared – novel after novel that illuminated the bitter betrayals of the spy-world and of the human heart。 All Le Carré’s books seem to convey， vividly， that sense that – against great odds – ‘Look， we have come through。’ RIP。 。。。more

Viola Folador ，

Il libro: Un intreccio tra la vita di Julian， un giovane che ha abbandonato la sua carriera alla city per aprire una piccola libreria con bar annesso e vecchi intrighi di spie， politica e tradimenti。 L'equilibrio tra dovere pubblico e morale privata che si rompe quando Julian incontra Edward， vecchio amico di suo padre e immigrato polacco con una moglie morente che vive nell'imponente Silverview。 Edward infatti sembra nascondere， dietro le sue apparenze innocue e cortesi， una storia molto più st Il libro: Un intreccio tra la vita di Julian， un giovane che ha abbandonato la sua carriera alla city per aprire una piccola libreria con bar annesso e vecchi intrighi di spie， politica e tradimenti。 L'equilibrio tra dovere pubblico e morale privata che si rompe quando Julian incontra Edward， vecchio amico di suo padre e immigrato polacco con una moglie morente che vive nell'imponente Silverview。 Edward infatti sembra nascondere， dietro le sue apparenze innocue e cortesi， una storia molto più stratificata e profonda。Vi's Pov: Nonostante la brevità del romanzo ho un po' arrancato tra le sue pagine。 Si tratta di un'edizione postuma di un libro solo abbozzato da Le Carré （a cui quindi darò senz'altro un'altra possibilità）。 Il problema reale di questo libro， in realtà， avendolo letto in italiano， credo che sia proprio la traduzione in sé， talvolta poco chiara e raffazzonata。 La storia è però affascinante， alcuni personaggi concreti， ma molto appare non caratterizzato e piuttosto confuso e gli intrecci vengono spiegati a ritmo lento e spesso poco chiaro。 Sono confuse anche le relazioni tra i singoli personaggi， il tempo che scorre e cosa davvero conta per loro。 In tutto questo marasma lento è però sicuramente il personaggio di Edward/Edvard/Teddy/Florian a uscirne in maniera più completa， ma avrei voluto sapere decisamente di più riguardo il suo rapporto con Debbie e Lily。 Così come mi chiedo come mai Julian sia diventato suo malgrado così coinvolto e centrale in tutta questa storia， non avendo per altro particolare simpatia per lui， ma apprezzandone l'integrità e soprattutto lo spirito （Vorrei anche io mollare tutto per aprire una piccola libreria indipendente come lui）。 Un romanzo quindi con una discreta dose di fascino ed elementi apprezzabili， ma che ho percepito un po' troppo frammentato e non completo。 Sono comunque molto curiosa di leggere altro dell'autore。 。。。more

Heather Boundy ，

Clearly the work of an older writing， this final novel of le Carre still has some of the mystique of earlier books， but for me lacks some of the sparkle。 too much cross-over of characters and red herrings。。。but I am reading through a Cover fog so that may not be fair。 Glad I read it， but not his best for me。

Col ，

Synopsis/blurb。。。In Silverview， John le Carré turns his focus to the world that occupied his writing for the past 60 years - the secret world itself。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 a Synopsis/blurb。。。In Silverview， John le Carré turns his focus to the world that occupied his writing for the past 60 years - the secret world itself。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， 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 his inimitable voice， John le Carré， the greatest chronicler of our age， seeks to answer the question of what we truly owe to the people we love。-----My take。。。My second time reading John Le Carre's work having read the first Smiley book over a decade ago。 Le Carre is one of those authors whose work I hoovered up determined to read it all。 Not going very well really， is it？ Silverview is his last published work and appeared posthumously after the author's death in 2020。It's quite a short book and I'm probably going to listen to it again at some point in the hope of understanding it all a bit better。Spies， retired spies， dying spies， the daughter of spies， a banker turned bookseller， secrets， cultivated friendships， relationships， duplicity， errands， connections， leaks， intelligence concerns， death， grief， love， betrayal， duty， service， disenchantment and a lot more besides。 I enjoyed it， even if I didn't fully comprehend what it was trying to tell me。 Some folks， better acquainted with Le Carre's work than me have opined that there's maybe an unfinished/work-in-progress feel to the book， that perhaps Le Carre wasn't quite done with it。 I don't know。 I was entertained。 I liked the writing， the characters， and the story。 I enjoy relationship dynamics and how people connect with each other， with what they reveal and what they hide and the subtle ways they manipulate and direct others。 Maybe when I've read more of his work， I can properly judge whether it's one of his better books or not。 For now， I liked it。 4 from 5Read - （listened to） February， 2022Published - 2021Page count - 216 （6 hrs 29 mins）Source - Audible purchaseFormat - Audiblehttps://col2910。blogspot。com/2022/06/。。。 。。。more

David Evans ，

Beautifully written with great style and panache。 A suitable ending to a legendary career。

Andrew Keen ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Silverview ought to be read in one long sitting （over a week or so）， this is not a pick-up-and-put-down novel。 Two separate storylines develop until they converge， leaving you wondering on what each of the characters intends， and how they will collide with each other， one halting what the other wants。This is John Le Carré's last novel， with an afterword by his son， Nick Cornwell。 The following is especially insightful as to the novels' message: "Silverview does something that no other Le Carré n Silverview ought to be read in one long sitting （over a week or so）， this is not a pick-up-and-put-down novel。 Two separate storylines develop until they converge， leaving you wondering on what each of the characters intends， and how they will collide with each other， one halting what the other wants。This is John Le Carré's last novel， with an afterword by his son， Nick Cornwell。 The following is especially insightful as to the novels' message: "Silverview does something that no other Le Carré novel ever has。 It shows a service fragmented: filled with its own political factions， not always kind to those it should cherish， not always very effective or alert， and ultimately not sure， any more， that it can justify itself。"Recommend two readings to fully appreciate Silverview， with a forgiving eye to the characters declining from their secret service， and what their past service means to their home country。 。。。more

Silvio111 ，

I confess that I never really understood the nature of the main character's betrayal of his country。 It was obvious that there were sides， and secrets， and a lot of cagey intra-family subterfuge， but what exactly was the betrayal about？I did realize right from the beginning that Julian was being sucked into something by Edward， but what was it exactly？ And how did a collection of blue and white antique china play into it？Where is Miss Marple when I need her？ I confess that I never really understood the nature of the main character's betrayal of his country。 It was obvious that there were sides， and secrets， and a lot of cagey intra-family subterfuge， but what exactly was the betrayal about？I did realize right from the beginning that Julian was being sucked into something by Edward， but what was it exactly？ And how did a collection of blue and white antique china play into it？Where is Miss Marple when I need her？ 。。。more

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