renato_rocha_oficial's review against another edition
John le Carré seria "um dos grandes escritores ingleses" na prateleira de toda a gente se não tivesse o azar de trabalhar quase exclusivamente num género específico: thriller de espionagem. Thriller já soa mal: evoca paisagens dinamarquesas e serial killers americanos. Espionagem, é o que é: talvez só Graham Green seja respeitado como escritor, prosador, constructor de enredos e personagens; e o eterno Ian Fleming é mais famoso por simplificar o género do que propriamente por ultrapassá-lo. Le Carré não só ultrapassa o género, como o reinventa: a sua maior qualidade é a maneira como conta “histórias de espiões” sem que se reconheça, nos seus livros, aquilo a que muita gente associa com “histórias de espiões”. Há pouca pancadaria, poucas perseguições; “The Little Drummer Girl”, literalmente sobre um bombista, contém duas explosões em 640 páginas, e nenhuma delas no clímax. Há salas cinzentas com cheiro a tabaco e esperas à chuva e conversas que duram, e duram, e duram, até que a sua verdadeira função é revelada, muito subtilmente. Há passagens longas, mesmo longas, de gente a consultar documentos, ou planear operações. Há bifes de dezenas de páginas ao fim dos quais, finalmente, o leitor exclama "Eia pá! Já percebi!". Em vez disso, Le Carré interessa-se pelos bastidores, pelos detalhes operacionais, pelas negociatas nas sombras. O espião forte, de acção, que papa meninas de bikini ou salta de Berlim para a Tailândia em cinco minutos, é substituído por um outro tipo de herói. George Smiley, o seu Poirot ou James Bond, a sua maior criação, é um burocrata mal vestido e aborrecido, perpetuamente preso aos arquivos e às noitadas de interrogatórios, mastermind extraordinário de operações que dão muito, muito, muito trabalho, e que são descritas com um detalhe absurdo. Este tipo de espião, mais semelhante aos “espiões reais”, é paradoxalmente um “anti-espião” na cabeça do leitor comum, que não identifica nele as categorias habituais do herói de espionagem. Em “The Little Drummer Girl” não há Smiley mas, como em todos os outros romances de le Carré, o arquétipo está lá: neste caso Kurtz, um israelita de bigode, líder de uma equipa destinada a perseguir e apanhar um bombista Palestiniano que anda pela Europa a largar malas armadilhadas e a rebentar com os pobres judeus. O romance divide-se, por isso, entre duas linhas narrativas: Kurtz e as suas estratégias e operações no terreno, e a história de Charlie, uma jovem revolucionária de esquerda, actriz, recrutada pelos israelitas para fingir ser namorada do irmão do bombista e infiltrar-se no campo Palestiniano. Entretanto, a moça apaixona-se por Joseph, um tipo misterioso, que a treina e prepara para a sua missão (há que prepará-la para desempenhar, com convicção e substância, o papel de amante de um homem que nunca conheceu); e é através dos seus olhos que assistimos ao confronto entre os dois lados de várias dicotomias: europa e médio oriente, Israel e Palestina, espião e civil, ficção e verdade, será que os fins justificam os meios ou, pelo contrário, bla bla bla, etc. E ao contrário do típico thriller, que funciona só ao nível da acção e do conflicto, “The Little Drummer Girl” funciona a vários níveis, uns mais bem conseguidos que outros. É fantástica a descrição dos dois lados dicotómicos do conflicto (um ódio compensa o outro, e venha o diabo e escolha: quem merece mais aqueles hectares de deserto? A única conclusão é a impossibilidade de conclusão). É mais fraquita a vida interior de Charlie (até hoje primeira e única protagonista feminina de le Carré, conhecido aliás por figuras masculinas brilhantes e figuras femininas de papel vegetal), apesar de tudo uma personagem interessante não por si só mas pela maneira como é consumida pelas dicotomias que a envolvem, e pela dificuldade em perceber, afinal, para que lado trabalha, e porquê. Mas quem conhece a obra de le Carré reconhece estes arquétipos: Kurtz é o Líder Operacional, figura paternal e quase teocrática no seu universo escondido; Joseph é o Braço-Direito, o Músculo; Charlie é a Vítima Inocente, a pessoa arrastada para dentro do turbilhão e que se perde nas mentiras e verdades até, a certa altura, perder-se a si mesma. Há disto em quase todos os seus livros, e é sempre bom; aqui é porreirinho, uns pontinhos abaixo de algumas histórias de Smiley ou do grande, grande romance que é “The Perfect Spy". O que é sempre, sempre excelente em le Carré, e aqui se mantém, é a sua tendência para escrever não ao nível do indivíduo mas do grupo, não ao nível da acção mas do cerebral: aquelas descrições maravilhosas dos bastidores das operações, dos homens solitários e mal dormidos que as colocam em prática e de todo o pesadelo logístico e humano por detrás daquilo que, noutros thrillers preguiçosos, surge como óbvio, rápido e superficial. “The Little Drummer Girl” tem, por exemplo, uma sequência de 30 páginas durante as quais Charlie é interrogada pelos israelitas, uma madrugada gigantesca e longa que é excelente aqui e seria excelente na obra de qualquer outro escritor, digamos, “de literatura a sério”. Mas talvez pelo seu tamanho e pelo protagonista às vezes coxo “The Little Drummer Girl” seja um melhor livro para quem já gosta de le Carré do que, propriamente, para quem não aprendeu ainda a gostar. É a trufa, a fava ou o cozido à portuguesa do thriller de espionagem.
softstarrynights's review against another edition
4.0
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I didn't think this would be able to match my love for the BBC adaptation, and I'm happy to say, that I was very mistaken. The Little Dummer Girl welcomes you into the theatre of the real, as Charlie, a young actress, is recruited to go undercover for the Israeli Secret Services. This was my first le Carré book, and it will not be my last, because the 650 pages absolutely flew by. The perspectives are split, about 85% Charlie, and 15% everybody else, and I did find Kurtz chapter in particular a bit of a struggle. The final scene differs slightly from the TV show, and I did prefer this version, just for the final line of dialogue.
I didn't think this would be able to match my love for the BBC adaptation, and I'm happy to say, that I was very mistaken. The Little Dummer Girl welcomes you into the theatre of the real, as Charlie, a young actress, is recruited to go undercover for the Israeli Secret Services. This was my first le Carré book, and it will not be my last, because the 650 pages absolutely flew by. The perspectives are split, about 85% Charlie, and 15% everybody else, and I did find Kurtz chapter in particular a bit of a struggle. The final scene differs slightly from the TV show, and I did prefer this version, just for the final line of dialogue.
austinburns's review against another edition
4.0
a good nuanced view of israel/palestine in the 80s, and the spies on both sides each convinced of their cause
ryno23's review against another edition
5.0
“The theatre of the real”.
Charlie was an actress in a countryside-touring troupe in England. She was recruited by an Israeli to go on an adventure to the Greek Isles, an adventure that would take advantage of her acting, as well as her remarkable memory, skills.
That adventure was with an Israeli intelligence agent, who after he took her heart, took her mind by turning her into a double-agent to help Israel remove a dangerous Palestinian fighter.
She went through with her duties, with her mind working flawlessly in the greatest of stress. But she felt abandoned by all she knew, and it tore her apart.
It’s been too long since I read a le Carre’ book, so I was prompted by his recent death to pick up the next book on my list. Loved the Smiley books, but this is my favorite thus far. It’s quite a haul of a read, but easily compelling to stick with.
Charlie was an actress in a countryside-touring troupe in England. She was recruited by an Israeli to go on an adventure to the Greek Isles, an adventure that would take advantage of her acting, as well as her remarkable memory, skills.
That adventure was with an Israeli intelligence agent, who after he took her heart, took her mind by turning her into a double-agent to help Israel remove a dangerous Palestinian fighter.
She went through with her duties, with her mind working flawlessly in the greatest of stress. But she felt abandoned by all she knew, and it tore her apart.
It’s been too long since I read a le Carre’ book, so I was prompted by his recent death to pick up the next book on my list. Loved the Smiley books, but this is my favorite thus far. It’s quite a haul of a read, but easily compelling to stick with.
suzegee's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
jackiebranz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
oedipa_maas's review against another edition
2.0
A more literary thriller. It took time to read and although some parts grew tedious, I appreciated the descriptions le Carre gave of the subtle actions, gestures, and facial expressions of the characters that reveal so much of their motivations.
As plots go, it was a bit muddled; I followed along hoping for some clue as to what Charlie was actually going to be doing with the Palestinians, and it kind of made sense towards the end.
But character-wise, blech. Charlie got pretty clingy and weak at the end, which went against her character, especially for someone who's been in a war-torn camp and a terrorist training facility. At the near-end, after performing quite kick-assly, she basically says, "Ohhhh please don't make me go back to him he wants to fuck meeeee and I just wanna stay with yoooou even though I don't even know whyyyy." Ugh. Why cop out at the last minute, le Carre? Couldn't follow through with a strong female character? And then you had to have her call herself a whore? Multiple times? And beg to stay with the guy who tricked her into the whole thing to begin with?
Come to think of it, I didn't really enjoy this as much as I thought I did. I guess I wanted to like Charlie since there are few female leads in spy/thriller novels, but she wasn't written consistently enough. We don't get to see her thoughts enough to explain why her actions and desires fluctuate so wildly.
Meh. I'm leaving this book in the lobby of the hotel I'm at.
As plots go, it was a bit muddled; I followed along hoping for some clue as to what Charlie was actually going to be doing with the Palestinians, and it kind of made sense towards the end.
But character-wise, blech. Charlie got pretty clingy and weak at the end, which went against her character, especially for someone who's been in a war-torn camp and a terrorist training facility. At the near-end, after performing quite kick-assly, she basically says, "Ohhhh please don't make me go back to him he wants to fuck meeeee and I just wanna stay with yoooou even though I don't even know whyyyy." Ugh. Why cop out at the last minute, le Carre? Couldn't follow through with a strong female character? And then you had to have her call herself a whore? Multiple times? And beg to stay with the guy who tricked her into the whole thing to begin with?
Come to think of it, I didn't really enjoy this as much as I thought I did. I guess I wanted to like Charlie since there are few female leads in spy/thriller novels, but she wasn't written consistently enough. We don't get to see her thoughts enough to explain why her actions and desires fluctuate so wildly.
Meh. I'm leaving this book in the lobby of the hotel I'm at.
brvmama's review against another edition
3.0
The protagonist is a girl without roots and a drifter. Exploited by the Israel secret service and inserted into Palestinian terrorists net work to ferret out the elusive one. When I read the novel I could not make out the motivation of the girl to agree for the mission. The novel takes a contorted route to develop the characters, which sometimes borDers on the boredom. The details are not convincing at least by le carre standards.
Being a fan of the author I trudged on and on to finish the novel.
Being a fan of the author I trudged on and on to finish the novel.
nachtvlucht's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Death, Gun violence, and Blood