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A review by heidi_meredith
The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life by John le Carré
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
Three confessions:
1. I picked this book at the library based on its cover.
2. I haven't read any other John Le Carré books but have seen the film of 'The Constant Gardener'.
3. I am woefully ignorant about history and politics.
Consequently, for me this was hard work, as there were so many people, book plots, countries and political situations alluded to of which I had little to no prior knowledge. However I decided to persevere as I liked the style of the writing, his dry humour and the idea that I was learning something, although in reality it will leave me with vague anecdotes about some alarming or humorous situations in which I can't remember the people, location or decade.
This would likely be more enjoyable for fans of his fiction or for those with some prior knowledge of 20th century politics! To me the book as a whole seemed disjointed. I wished that the stories had been given in chronological order, although there possibly was an order that I was not equipped to fathom.
If I take one lesson away from this collection of stories, it's a reinforcement of the saying, 'It's who you know, not what you know.' Perhaps that's the relevance of the title, which seems to hint at the futility of life?
1. I picked this book at the library based on its cover.
2. I haven't read any other John Le Carré books but have seen the film of 'The Constant Gardener'.
3. I am woefully ignorant about history and politics.
Consequently, for me this was hard work, as there were so many people, book plots, countries and political situations alluded to of which I had little to no prior knowledge. However I decided to persevere as I liked the style of the writing, his dry humour and the idea that I was learning something, although in reality it will leave me with vague anecdotes about some alarming or humorous situations in which I can't remember the people, location or decade.
This would likely be more enjoyable for fans of his fiction or for those with some prior knowledge of 20th century politics! To me the book as a whole seemed disjointed. I wished that the stories had been given in chronological order, although there possibly was an order that I was not equipped to fathom.
If I take one lesson away from this collection of stories, it's a reinforcement of the saying, 'It's who you know, not what you know.' Perhaps that's the relevance of the title, which seems to hint at the futility of life?