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A Perfect Spy

By: John Le Carré
Narrated by: Shaun Evans
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Publisher's summary

a splendid book… [le Carré] is a perfect spy novelist.” — The New York Times

The most autobiographical of John le Carré’s works, A Perfect Spy follows two narratives: the manhunt for the double agent Magnus Pym, and the makings of the man in question—told in his own words.

Referred to as le Carré’s best work and one of the best English novels of the 20th century by the likes of Philip Pullman and Philip Roth, this mesmerizing drama captures a man living more than one life, and the inevitable betrayals that result.

©2011 John Le Carré (P)2024 Dreamscape Media
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What listeners say about A Perfect Spy

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Meh…

I thought that the narration was substandard. So many mispronunciations and the rendering of German names was especially annoying. For example, “her” instead of “Herr” led to confusion.

The story was overly complicated. I know that the book is highly regarded but I’m afraid it was lost on me.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great story, awesome narrator.

I love le Carre, and this is one of his finest works. The narrator is great. He can't do a great American accent, but even that adds to the buffoonish American characters in the book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful narration

A must listen for fans of Shaun Evans. Le Carre weaves an intricate portrait of the heartbreakingly perfect spy and Evans brings him to life.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A masterful cold war story

LeCarre at his finest. A complicated story about the life and times of a British spy. How he landed in the service of 2 countries and reconciled his destiny.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Complex, but brilliant

Best spy novel of all time. Absolutely incredible, but a warning. You have to be fully engaged while listening to this book or you will be lost.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

This is real literature. Not the crap out now. This is the bench standard.
—Jason Blum

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

An engrossing tale well read

LaCarre’s story and language are rich and compelling. The reading was first-rate and added much to the story. Time well spent.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

A total sleeper. Pass!

This was one of the most confusing, disjointed, painfully slow books I’ve ever attempted to read/listen to. I do not understand why this is so highly rated and revered.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Low production value

Not an adequate voice actor for this story. Not just because the pronunciation of non-English words is abysmal. LeCarré might turn in his grave. Don’t they use proof readers and editors in professional audiobook productions?

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

19 hours of meandering dribble

I was excited to listen to this book since it was mentioned in a Jack Carr novel, but was severely disappointed.

The story could have been about a third as long as it is, but the author likes to list 5 things about any little useless detail and really stretches out the book. There is very little actual spy craft and the parts that do talk about espionage are very vague.

The story jumps around back an forth in time and it can be difficult to determine when we are and who is talking.

Lastly, the book is about 90% British slang, so unless you are familiar with the terminology you may get lost.

If you're looking for good spy fiction, look elsewhere

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