Volume 46, Number 9 · May 20, 1999
Missionary
By Diane Johnson
Single & Single
by John le Carré
Scribner, 345 pp., $26.00
Almost everyone seems to like the novels of John le Carré (whose real name is David Cornwell)—to enjoy and to admire them, two different things. One after another, they arrive at the top of the best-seller lists; they are made into movies, TV dramas, paperbacks by the ton. Such success can often incite critical derision, but derision has never been le Carré's fate. He is considered both readable and intellectually respectable, with a philosophy of life and meaningful things to say about politics. It is interesting to wonder how he leads this writerly double life, as convincing as the double lives his characters lead, all of whom—like writers—are caught up in disguise and charade.
Review, 2487 words
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