- Unknown Binding: 192 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz (1961)
- Language English
- ASIN: B0007JDTSO
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 14.2 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the book which started it all; the gripping series of intrigue, betrayal and an examination of human nature which has become the ultimate espionage collection.
This is the first of Le Carre's books and it contains the secret origin of George Smiley AND a rippingly good little espionage mystery. It introduces Mundt, too, who becomes rather more important in later novels. Le Carre set out to provide an antidote to Ian Fleming's James Bond, and Smiley truly is the thinking person's hero; a man who considers everything, fluffs sudden decisions, can be nakedly human when it comes to the woman he loves -- and chillingly calculating in achieving his other goals.
It's also a really taut thriller, not like modern gargantuan monsters of 900-odd pages. Back in 1960-something, Le Carre could cram an encyclopedia of insight into a single sentence. It's also fascinating to find that although written nearly half a century ago, 'Call For The Dead' is just as compelling as modern fiction can be. As a fan of 'period spy stories', the books of Alan Furst being high on that list, I'm delighted to discover that the originals are every bit as good.
Two hours of reading bliss.
9/10
This is the first of Le Carre's books and it contains the secret origin of George Smiley AND a rippingly good little espionage mystery. It introduces Mundt, too, who becomes rather more important in later novels. Le Carre set out to provide an antidote to Ian Fleming's James Bond, and Smiley truly is the thinking person's hero; a man who considers everything, fluffs sudden decisions, can be nakedly human when it comes to the woman he loves -- and chillingly calculating in achieving his other goals.
It's also a really taut thriller, not like modern gargantuan monsters of 900-odd pages. Back in 1960-something, Le Carre could cram an encyclopedia of insight into a single sentence. It's also fascinating to find that although written nearly half a century ago, 'Call For The Dead' is just as compelling as modern fiction can be. As a fan of 'period spy stories', the books of Alan Furst being high on that list, I'm delighted to discover that the originals are every bit as good.
Two hours of reading bliss.
9/10
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As always, meticulous plotted with some strong observations in terms of character. I wrote this review in disgust at one of the reviewers on here who thought that it was too far fetched that a spy would join an amateur dramatic society to meet with a contact. They should stick to James Bond, which is far removed from the real world of esponiage. Le Carre's spy writing generally does not embellish on the technical wizardry of the CIA, instead relying on character and human nature to sell itself to the reader. It is far more realistic than other novels, showing that spying is more mundane than the stereotypical Hollywood or James Bond image. This is what makes Le Carre's work more humane, and that is true of Call for the Dead, which delves deeply into the pysche of the dead man and his wife. One of the most memorable bits of the book for me is the way that Smiley deals with someone in his house who has been sent to murder him; almost the anti-Bond you might say! Well worth the purchase price.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The first of Le Carre's novels, this marks the fictional debut of George Smiley. This is a downbeat and perhaps slightly parochial tale played out in an early-sixties London really still recovering from World War 2. Smiley is at the nadir of his career; moved sideways into security clearing civil servants. Why does one of the men he interviews commit suicide? The investigation leads Smiley back through his own past as an agent and through the early Cold War.
A novel which has much to say about post-war Britain, about the frailty of human relationships in the Great Game of espionage, but its main interest is in the way it establishes the character of George Smiley.
A few inconsistencies with the later novels - in particular, Peter Guillam is presented as a near-contemporary of Smiley's, whereas he is later reinvented as a younger man.
On the whole, an excellent debut, setting the tone for the later novels.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Super Spy Guy
Excellent, intelligent and concise thriller that moves along at a resounding pace and introduces you to the intricacies of the spy world at the same time. Read more
Published 6 months ago by matt
Vintage Le Carre
This story is typical early Le Carre and features George Smiley in what was probably his debut. It features Inspector Mendel of Special Branch who also appears in later stories,... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Golightly
John Le Carre - Call for the Dead
The original - and sets the standard which other spy thrillers should be judged by. Le Carre's use of the English language is superlative.
Published 10 months ago by Mrs. Philippa Hogan
A good place to start with George Smiley
I bought this on impulse a few years ago to give le Carre's spy stories another try, having only previously read The Honourable Schoolboy (HS) when it was first published. Read more
Published 13 months ago by catsatcastle
Call for the dead
The first of the George Smiley books and le Carre's. I wanted to see where it all began and wasn't disappointed.
Published 15 months ago by J. G. Spry
Call for the Dead
Excellent thriller and a great inroduction to Le Carre's spymaster
Have ordered 2 more Smiley's since
Have ordered 2 more Smiley's since
Published 22 months ago
Debut Novel Shows Flashes of Gold to Come
"Call for the Dead," was John LeCarre's first novel, and first George Smiley novel: it was an astonishing debut. In her Foreword to the 1961 reissue, P.D. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Stephanie DePue
Introducing George Smiley
Today, John Le Carré is very much a living writer: at the age of 79, all his twenty or more books are still in print and he is still producing more. Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2010 by P. A. Doornbos
Smiley happy reader
Here we meet George Smiley for the very first time. We get George's background and early career and we begin to understand how Smiley was and is successful as an agent as Le Carre... Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2010 by lovemurakami
Call for the dead
First rate John Le Carre novel - first of the George Smiley series. Keeps you thinking. If you like detective novels then you'll like this.
Published on 13 Aug 2009 by P. Hawker
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