tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764631039755560338.post3688678867926729973..comments2024-03-08T20:21:22.820+00:00Comments on The Deighton Dossier: Deighton & Le Carré .... spy fiction titans cut from different clothDeighton Dossierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01764108300942425651noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764631039755560338.post-74132397791387154912017-08-29T19:20:31.646+01:002017-08-29T19:20:31.646+01:00Sorry a few repetitions.Should be: "... intim...Sorry a few repetitions.Should be: "... intimate knowledge of East and West Berlin..."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764631039755560338.post-57642892322017442712017-08-29T11:03:43.225+01:002017-08-29T11:03:43.225+01:00Ian Fleming introduced James bond and I relished w...Ian Fleming introduced James bond and I relished what this character did when I first read his Bond novel in 1958 during my university days. 1960s is arguably the golden era of producing 2 superb spy novelists, Le Carre and Len Deighton, the former introduced George Smiley in his first novel: Call for the Dead and the latter, which Harry Saltzman later called: Harry Palmer. Having read these 2 novels, I knew then that these 2 authors would go very far, and they did.<br />It is interesting that Deighton’s third novel: Funeral in Berlin, and Le Carre’s third novel: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, were both set in East Berlin and the appearance there by the respective spies: Harry Palmer and Alec Leamas. I was able, 20 years later, to appreciate both authors’ knowledge of West Berlin and East Berlin and the Wall, when I visited both places in early 1980s. Both novels were made into films with Michael Caine as Harry Palmer and Richard Burton as Alec Leamas. However, the narrative of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, the intimate knowledge of West and West Berlin and particularly the Wall as exemplified in the story won it for me; added to this, the superb acting of Richard Burton won approval of wider audience. I was not surprised that it won BAFTA awards and was then adjudged as the best spy film then. Le Carrie with his first hand knowledge of working of the secret intelligence service (MI6) spun a very good narrative of how the cold war intelligence worked. He particularly developed his own genre, which is reflected in the massive but quality output of his thrillers involving George Smiley. The novel Tinker , Tailor Soldier Spy and the film of the name firmly established as the supreme spy novelist, and the only living titan for me, and he is still generating superb output. The single powerful character he created: George Smiley contributed to this supreme status of Le Carre. We see also today how powerful characters like James Bond in its own way, has lasted for over 50 years, and counting. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com