The spy novelist's private life, and more.
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The eyes gazing out from this week's Book Review cover — sternly and a little cannily, one imagines — belong to the great British spy novelist John le Carré, who died in 2020 with a stack of enduring classics to his name as well as a reputation for being a little cagey: A former spy himself, whose real name was David Cornwell, he carefully shaped what he revealed to the public about his life and family. So the posthumous arrival of his collected personal letters, in a book edited by his son Tim Cornwell and titled "A Private Spy," is something of an occasion. Dwight Garner has our review, and Sarah Lyall adds a reported essay about how the book came together. |
If you have time, tell us what you're reading! (We may publish your response, or feature it in an upcoming newsletter.) I recently finished Elizabeth McCracken's sweet, sad, funny "The Hero of This Book," which calls itself a work of fiction on the copyright page but leaves that open to debate on pretty much every page that follows. On TV I'm watching the Pamela Adlon show "Better Things," which like "The Hero of This Book" features the relationship between a grown daughter and her complicated, vexing mother. "I'm telling you, man," as one character says in McCracken's novel. "Families." |
You can email me at books@nytimes.com. I read every letter sent. |
Senior Editor, The New York Times Book Review |
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