Comments on: Old Friends

By: Ira

Ira — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:20:13 +0000

I recently listened to Dune on audiobook format. What grabs me is first the characters, but intricately tied to them is the world. Did Frank Herbert visit deserts before writing Dune? His desert world is so real down to the minutia like the various kinds of sands. I don’t write but I know good writing when I read it and Herbert was a genius. One reason I read Dune again and again is I want to be in the presence of such genius.

By: Taiko

Taiko — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:16:09 +0000

For over a decade, before I started my Phd, I would take an annual pilgrimage to Clive Barker’s world of ‘Imajica’ and Eiji Yoshikawa’s world of ‘Taiko’. I never grew tired of re-reading them and each read brought fourth different emotions and memories with each successive reading. In many ways for me both books are very much like that old coat you can never bear to throw out. I started reading both of them in my late teens, so in a way I guess they were my point of reference in a world that was constantly changing. I still have them, alas not the time to read them.

I think when I have finished my Phd I will dust them off and read both of them again. It will be like you say, catching up with old friends. What will be interesting to see is if I have changed so much in the course of my studies that either book will not hold my attention as they use to. Fond memories and reality sometimes are not the best of bedfellows.

By: gr33nf4c3

gr33nf4c3 — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:27:50 +0000

Actually, Smiley appears in quite a few of LeCarré's books. The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People are the direct successors to Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy, both in order of appearance and regarding their plots, forming a trilogy of some sorts. He also appears in Call for the Dead and A Murder of Quality. I guess a character that gets carried on through as many books as smiley does can't help but be very well developed.

By: Octo

Octo — Sat, 23 May 2009 18:04:09 +0000

Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy is the only LeCarré I’ve read and it was great. Smiley seemed such an usual protagonist, such a refreshing change from the all-action-hero we see all the time. He’s a character I wouldn’t mind seeing again at some point for sure.

By: gr33nf4c3

gr33nf4c3 — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:23:26 +0000

This thing about re-reading things struck a nerve in me, I must say. Not only that I experience exactly the same thing with old and well-known books of mine from time to time- I also find myself reading books with plots that I don’t hold the slightest interest in.

For instance, I like to read old John LeCarré books. I like it a lot. Makes it even weirder that I find myself forgetting nearly all major plot twists, well before I’m done reading the book. Obviously, there’s not a big investment between me and those plots, but I still enjoy reading those books for the sake of the incredible characters.

A few weeks ago I read one of his newer novels. It took me thirty or so pages to find out I didn’t like the main character which in turn made me recognize how boring some of LeCarrés books must be if you don’t enjoy finding out more about the people in them.

It must be true, I guess. It’s really more about the ‘who’ than the ‘what’.