on
3.5/5
Non-Fiction
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Read because of a copy sent by Uncle Larry.
Rating: 4/5
Pages: 307
Started: 5 September 2022
Finished: 9 September 2022
Summary:
In his witty yet reflective tone, John le Carre shares a collection of vignettes from his life in this beautifully written book. From his life as a spy to meetings with high-up political figures to explorations of war-torn countries as research for his novels, Carre exposes experiences so rare that readers have no choice but to hang on to each word.
Thoughts:
After reading the frighteningly name- and location-heavy first few chapters, I was unsure that I was going to be able to actually understand anything in this book. With my very basic knowledge of World War II, I was unable to follow what must have been some very clever adventures from le Carre's life. But those histories quickly shifted into more person-based vignettes that I found fascinating. I've found that most people have had a few experiences that I never would have expected, but le Carre takes that idea to a whole new level: it's hard to fathom how one person can meet so many famous people and go to so many dangerous places, and then sit down at night to write gorgeous prose. But, though le Carre did confess that his stories are only so factual as his memory--which is to say quite possibly not very factual at all--all of the vignettes were based at least somewhat in truth.
This reminds me of the conversation we've been having in history class: that history itself is the narrative that a person creates out of the facts of the past. Using this definition, despite (or perhaps because of) the faults in le Carre's memory of events that happened up to 60 years ago, his book is a history, which I think is super cool.
Some of my favorite stories were the very last ones, maybe because by that point I was fully used to his story-telling style. The chapter about his father was particularly interesting: there was a lot of room for analysis about the effect of the parent on their child, which would be interesting to take a further look at. If there's an essay in English this year that I can connect this story to, I might try to write about it. I also really liked the final chapter. It was a little random, definitely not any kind of dramatic climax nor a satisfying denouement, but I thought that the randomness of the final scene was fitting. As a collection of short stores, The Pigeon Tunnel demonstrated how events don't need to be profoundly connected in order to create a collage of a whole, and the momentary nature of the final vignette clinched this idea in a very satisfying way.
I deeply enjoyed all the crazy experiences described in this book, and I thought that le Carre's writing was stunning. I hope to read one of his fictional novels soon.
Words:
Remittance (n) a sum of money sent, especially by mail, for goods or services as a gift
Somnolent (adj) sleepy, drowsy
Abjures (v) solemnly renounce
Impetuosity (n) the state of acting or doing something quickly and without thought or care
Suborned (v) bribe or otherwise induce someone to commit an unlawful act such as perjury
Spurious (adj) not being what it purports to be
Vouchsafed (v) give or grant something to someone in a gracious condescending manner
Mendacious (adj) not telling the truth
Tacit (adj) understood or implied without being stated
Convivial (adj) friendly, lively, and enjoyable
Connubial (adj) relating to marriage or the relationship of a married couple
Ecumenical (adj) representing a number of different Christian churches
Fleshpots (pl. n) places providing luxurious or hedonistic living
Probity (n) the quality of having strong moral principles
Cogent (adj) clear, logical and convincing
Anachronism (n) a thing belonging to an era other than that in which it exists
Perdition (n) a (Christian) state of endless punishment and damnation into which a sinful and unpenitent person falls into after death
Perfidy (n) deceitfulness