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New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Spy Thriller With an Unlikely Hero: A Disgraced Comedian
PARIAH, by Dan Fesperman 'Tragedy is when I cut my finger,' Mel Brooks once said. 'Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.' A similar comparison could be made about the thriller genre. The domestic thriller is driven by self-contained, cut-finger tragedies full of personal drama, while the international spy thriller raises the stakes, with no less than the fate of the world often dangling over the precipice. Perhaps because of its exaggerated risks and us-versus-them story arcs, the spy thriller can feel like a relic of an age when we had more trust in government security apparatuses. Today, we tend to like our dangers closer to home, and our villains to be neighbors down the street. In truth, the formula for good spy thrillers hasn't evolved much from its Cold War heyday (John le Carré still looms over these novels as obstinately as Sylvia Plath does over confessional poetry). But there are exceptions. Dan Fesperman, wielding a sharp eye for atmospheric detail and a finely tuned ear for comic relief, has proved to be one of the genre's most exciting contemporary writers. His latest novel, the deliciously fun 'Pariah,' revolves around perhaps the least apt candidate for espionage work ever committed to ink: Hal Knight, a movie-star comedian and former Democratic congressman who has been #MeToo-ed for delivering a sexist rant on a film set. Hal is no Mel Brooks. His comedy is of the dumb, chauvinist, Neanderthal variety, and his films are beloved by 'the sorts of young men who spent most of their weekends at underage-drinking parties.' That's exactly the kind of track record that gets you voted into federal office these days, but Hal's political career lasted just six months before his public humiliation and cancellation. As it turns out, one of Hal's biggest fans is Nikolai Horvatz, the authoritarian president of the Eastern European nation of Bolrovia: a clear stand-in for Hungary, complete with far-right, repressive, anti-immigrant policies. When Horvatz invites Hal to his country as an honored guest, the C.I.A. cajoles Hal into working as a covert asset to gather intel on the secretive 'tinpot dictator.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
John le Carré: the constant researcher
I can testify to the accuracy of John le Carré's research, which you note with reference to a new exhibition at Oxford's Bodleian libraries (8 July). When researching British foreign policy, I spent a day in the embassy in Bonn in 1973. It struck me as so much like its portrayal in A Small Town in Germany that I remarked that if someone came pushing the registry trolley I would not be surprised to hear it squeak, as he had described it. 'It's a pity you weren't here two or three years ago,' came the reply, 'you would have recognised several of the characters as well.'William WallaceLiberal Democrat, House of Lords I was never a fan of Norman Tebbit (Obituaries, 8 July) but an ex briefly worked security at Conservative HQ and had nothing but praise for him as the only person who said hello and goodbye to everyone by name every KimberPlymouth Just as John Smith is considered by many to have been the greatest Labour prime minister we never had, perhaps the same could be said of Norman Tebbit for the FullerAmpthill, Bedfordshire I was intrigued by the quoted advice that 'men should think about shortening their penis' as a method to strengthen the pelvic floor (Don't 'power pee' – but do grab a mirror: 13 easy, effective ways to protect your pelvic floor, 8 July). Disappointingly, it was not explained how we might achieve this YoungsDrinkstone, Suffolk Re (Whatever the truth of The Salt Path, I know why people wanted to believe it, 8 July): is it The Pinch of Salt Path?Sarah HannDorridge, West Midlands Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Oxford exhibition to showcase John le Carré archive
An exhibition celebrating bestselling spy novelist John le Carré will feature his annotated manuscripts and personal will go on display at the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford on 1 October, offering a glimpse into the Dorset-born author's writing process and personal Carré, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote acclaimed novels including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, and The Night Manager. He died in 2020 aged son, author Nick Harkaway, said holding the exhibition - titled John le Carré: Tradecraft - at the Bodleian felt "like a homecoming." "Oxford took my father in when he was desperate to escape his own father's malign influence and kept his place when he couldn't afford it," said Mr Harkaway."The Bodleian was his refuge then and his choice for his archive now."The exhibition will include research notes, drafts and corrections from le Carré's novels, alongside original sketches, watercolours and letters to fans and the highlights is a letter from actor Sir Alec Guinness, who questioned his suitability to play George Smiley — le Carré's best-known character — writing that he was "not really rotund and double-chinned". The author persuaded Guinness to take the role in the BBC adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which aired to critical acclaim in the late display spans le Carré's life, from his time as an Oxford student to drafts written in his final weeks, with some material being shown publicly for the first was curated by le Carré's longtime collaborator Prof Federico Varese and Dr Jessica Douthwaite, with support from the author's a joint statement, the pair said the exhibition would uncover the author's "researcher's spirit, commitment to understanding real-world problems, meticulous attention to detail and working relationships". You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Like an academic': private papers reveal John le Carré's attention to detail
The extent of John le Carré's meticulous research and attention to detail are among insights into his working methods that will be revealed when the master of spy thrillers' private archive goes on display for the first time this autumn. His classic cold war-era espionage novels have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and inspired acclaimed films and television adaptations. The Bodleian libraries at the University of Oxford have announced an exhibition starting in October, titled John le Carré: Tradecraft, drawing on thousands of papers in his vast private archive, which it holds. Le Carré, whose real name was David Cornwell, wanted the archive to be placed with his alma mater, and after his death in 2020 aged 89 it was officially donated to the nation through the acceptance-in-lieu scheme, preventing its loss overseas. Referring to his greatest fictional character, the self-effacing, quintessentially English spymaster George Smiley, le Carré once said: 'Oxford was Smiley's spiritual home, as it is mine.' Exhibits seen for the first time will include his copious notes on his characters, as well as sketches in which, like a film director, he visualised those individuals in the margins of his manuscripts. His annotated manuscripts will show the extent to which he revised his novels repeatedly. In a draft for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, he described Smiley as 'small, podgy and at best middle-aged', scribbling an insertion: 'His legs were short, his gait anything but agile.' Le Carré worked as a diplomat and a secret agent for MI5 and MI6 before his name was passed to the Russians by the traitor Kim Philby, who inspired the Soviet mole who infiltrated the highest ranks of the Secret Intelligence Service in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. While le Carré elevated the spy novel to high art, creating a gritty antithesis to Ian Fleming's glamorous James Bond, the exhibition will primarily portray him as a writer who had worked as a spy – as he saw himself – rather than as a spy who became a writer. It will show how he gathered information, plotted stories and developed iconic characters such as Smiley and his counterpart Karla, the wily KGB spymaster. The archival papers reveal intricate timelines of plots. The exhibition's title plays on the term 'tradecraft' that he used to describe the techniques of espionage, but which the curators said 'might also be applied to his own skilled craft as a writer and social commentator'. Private letters to be shown include a handwritten note that reveals his discomfort with public speculation about his spying career before it was actually confirmed. 'Why do people want me to have views about spying? If I wrote about love, or cowboys, even sex, people would take it that this was my interest and therefore I made up stories about it,' he wrote. There is also a letter in which the actor Alec Guinness doubted his suitability to play Smiley in the first television adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy because he was 'not really rotund and double-chinned'. Le Carré persuaded him to take on one of his most memorable roles. The exhibition is co-curated by le Carré's collaborator and longstanding friend Prof Federico Varese and Dr Jessica Douthwaite, of the Bodleian libraries, with the support of le Carré's family. Further reflecting le Carré's rigorous approach to research, it will explore his close collaboration with intelligence operators, corporate whistleblowers and humanitarians and his dedication to exposing corruption, such as unethical practices in the pharmaceutical industry. Varese, an Oxford professor of criminology whose books include The Russia Mafia, was among friends to whom le Carré would send early drafts of his novels. 'He was very open to suggestions,' Varese said. Having studied the archive's contents, he said he had been surprised by the extent of le Carré's research. 'He was like an academic. He would go to the places he would be writing about and do fieldwork like an anthropologist or a sociologist. He would read extensively, interview people in the field, take notes – and then write it up as fiction. He would do it for all the novels, which is quite extraordinary.' In staging the exhibition, he wants to 'pay homage to a person I admire very much'. John le Carré: Tradecraft opens at the Weston library, Bodleian libraries, on 1 October, running until 6 April 2026. An accompanying book, Tradecraft: Writers on John le Carré, will be released by Bodleian Library Publishing.
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Like an academic': private papers reveal John le Carré's attention to detail
The extent of John le Carré's meticulous research and attention to detail are among insights into his working methods that will be revealed when the master of spy thrillers' private archive goes on display for the first time this autumn. His classic cold war-era espionage novels have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and inspired acclaimed films and television adaptations. The Bodleian libraries at the University of Oxford have announced an exhibition starting in October, titled John le Carré: Tradecraft, drawing on thousands of papers in his vast private archive, which it holds. Le Carré, whose real name was David Cornwell, wanted the archive to be placed with his alma mater, and after his death in 2020 aged 89 it was officially donated to the nation through the acceptance-in-lieu scheme, preventing its loss overseas. Referring to his greatest fictional character, the self-effacing, quintessentially English spymaster George Smiley, le Carré once said: 'Oxford was Smiley's spiritual home, as it is mine.' Exhibits seen for the first time will include his copious notes on his characters, as well as sketches in which, like a film director, he visualised those individuals in the margins of his manuscripts. His annotated manuscripts will show the extent to which he revised his novels repeatedly. In a draft for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, he described Smiley as 'small, podgy and at best middle-aged', scribbling an insertion: 'His legs were short, his gait anything but agile.' Le Carré worked as a diplomat and a secret agent for MI5 and MI6 before his name was passed to the Russians by the traitor Kim Philby, who inspired the Soviet mole who infiltrated the highest ranks of the Secret Intelligence Service in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. While le Carré elevated the spy novel to high art, creating a gritty antithesis to Ian Fleming's glamorous James Bond, the exhibition will primarily portray him as a writer who had worked as a spy – as he saw himself – rather than as a spy who became a writer. It will show how he gathered information, plotted stories and developed iconic characters such as Smiley and his counterpart Karla, the wily KGB spymaster. The archival papers reveal intricate timelines of plots. The exhibition's title plays on the term 'tradecraft' that he used to describe the techniques of espionage, but which the curators said 'might also be applied to his own skilled craft as a writer and social commentator'. Private letters to be shown include a handwritten note that reveals his discomfort with public speculation about his spying career before it was actually confirmed. 'Why do people want me to have views about spying? If I wrote about love, or cowboys, even sex, people would take it that this was my interest and therefore I made up stories about it,' he wrote. There is also a letter in which the actor Alec Guinness doubted his suitability to play Smiley in the first television adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy because he was 'not really rotund and double-chinned'. Le Carré persuaded him to take on one of his most memorable roles. The exhibition is co-curated by le Carré's collaborator and longstanding friend Prof Federico Varese and Dr Jessica Douthwaite, of the Bodleian libraries, with the support of le Carré's family. Further reflecting le Carré's rigorous approach to research, it will explore his close collaboration with intelligence operators, corporate whistleblowers and humanitarians and his dedication to exposing corruption, such as unethical practices in the pharmaceutical industry. Varese, an Oxford professor of criminology whose books include The Russia Mafia, was among friends to whom le Carré would send early drafts of his novels. 'He was very open to suggestions,' Varese said. Having studied the archive's contents, he said he had been surprised by the extent of le Carré's research. 'He was like an academic. He would go to the places he would be writing about and do fieldwork like an anthropologist or a sociologist. He would read extensively, interview people in the field, take notes – and then write it up as fiction. He would do it for all the novels, which is quite extraordinary.' In staging the exhibition, he wants to 'pay homage to a person I admire very much'. John le Carré: Tradecraft opens at the Weston library, Bodleian libraries, on 1 October, running until 6 April 2026. An accompanying book, Tradecraft: Writers on John le Carré, will be released by Bodleian Library Publishing.
