Reviews

The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré

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robferg95's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

hadeanstars's review against another edition

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3.0

A very well written book, intricate, accomplished, slick, but for me, the central character, Jerry Westerby was a real turn-off. It did not make any sense to me, how he became so fixated on Lizzie/Liese, unless it was just because she was "hot", since there was little to no indication that his interest was reciprocated. Unless that was actually the point? Was Westerby just a misogynist, who thought he could seduce anyone (he certainly worked his way through quite a few women during the course of the novel.) In any case, this just became tedious after a time and the impression was just a bit sad. This seemed to me to clash with his rather heroic denouement. My suspicion therefore is that Westerby was an 'old-fashioned' character, kind of like Bond, but without the irony, and the end result is not very likeable. In my view a central character has to be likeable, even if he's a shit. Think of Tom Ripley! I felt sorry for Lizzie, fending off this sleazebag. Anyway, it was very well done, but not a read I shall remember with any fondness.

dogearbone's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

kielbasa_posse_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

ruminating_blayne's review against another edition

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3.5

A well worked plot that simmers with Le Carré's anti-americanism, but it is over-long, characters pop in and out making it hard to track secondary characters until the final third of the novel, and by limiting the information we get makes it hard to follow.