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Otway93 (580 KP) rated Call for the Dead in Books

Oct 21, 2019

Call for the Dead

John Le Carre | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry

9.0

(2 Ratings)

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One of the finest debuts of all time...

One of the finest debuts of all time, and thanks to John le Carré, a fine writer and real life secret service employee, one of the most realistic spy novels written.

Not only is this an excellent debut from le Carré, but an introduction to one of the greatest fictional spies, George Smiley, best known from "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy".

This may seem a strange one, but the book is quite short, which is a good thing. I enjoy books short and long, but this is excellent for some light reading, and the best place to start with le Carré's books is definitely at the start!

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Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated The Busconductor Hines in Books

Jul 2, 2019

The Busconductor Hines

James Kelman | 1992 | Fiction & Poetry

7.0

(1 Ratings)

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I like the normality of this book. (0 more)

Slow (0 more)

Fairly good read

As realism goes, this book is spot on. Kelman's portrayal of Glasgow in the 1980's is accurate. The book is written in 5 chapters, each detailing the unsatisfactory life of Hines who is caught up in a job he feels desperately unhappy in, a struggling marriage and early signs of depression. Whilst Kelman's use of realism sucks the reader into 'place' the novel itself is frustrating in the sense that their is no real plot and nothing really exciting happens. I struggled to finish the book and was disappointed at the end. I can however, commend the author on his realist technique.