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Single & Single (Abridged) Audiobook
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(3.00) - 1,167 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A lawyer from the London finance house of Single & Single is shot dead on a Turkish hillside by people with whom he thought he was in business. A children's magician is asked by his bank to explain the unsolicited arrival of more than five million pounds sterling in his young daughter's modest trust. A freighter bound for Liverpool is boarded by Russian coast guards in the Black Sea. The celebrated London merchant venturer "Tiger" Single disappears into thin air.
In Single & Single the writer who both epitomizes and transcends the novel of espionage opens with a haunting set piece, then establishes a sequence of events whose connections are mysterious, complex, and compelling. This is a story of corrupt liaisons between criminal elements in the new Russian states and the world of legitimate finance in the West. Le Carré's finest novel in years, it is also an intimate portrait of two families: one Russian, the other English; one trading illicit goods, the other laundering the profits; one betrayed by a son-in-law, the other betrayed, and redeemed, by a son.
This is territory le Carré knows better than anyone. Masterful and prescient, he is writing at the top of his creative powers, and Oliver Single, the central protagonist, is one of his most fascinating characters.
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"I enjoyed this spy thriller. I had forgotten how well le Carre writes and haven't read one of his books in many years. The title of the book refers to a money laundering/finance company in England that was founded by Single and whose son (Single) is the main character and is more or less likeable even though he is a spy because of his moral streak. The author throws in just enough love interest to keep the pages turning if the spy part isn't enough."
— Judy (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Le Carré is more than just a great storyteller. in Single and Single, he captures the zeitgeist itself.”
— Tom Wolfe -
“Any reader who feared that the end of the Cold War would deprive Mr. le Carré of his subject can now feel a measure of relief. If anything, his subject of East-West misunderstanding has grown richer, and he now possesses vast new territories to mine.”
— New York Times -
“Le Carré reveals a world at once deeply disquieting and oddly reassuring.”
— People -
“Le Carré reads his new thriller with the voice of a master of the genre, gamely throwing himself into long passages of the dialogue-driven plot.”
— Publishers Weekly, audio review
Single & Single Listener Reviews
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" Really interesting and compelling for the first 75%, but the final chapters take too much of a turn toward coincidence and implausiblity to keep the story going. Overall, a good read, but not top-drawer Le Carre. "
— Karl, 1/11/2014 -
" This is what an action novel should be-entertaining, somewhat informative, and a little campy when appropriate. There are even some insightful passages. "
— Christine, 12/26/2013 -
" Not Le Carre's best work, but certainly worth a read. His shift from Cold War tension to post-arms race economic escalation is not quite seamless, but it's darn close. In many ways, the author's style works better in this kind of environment, where threats of actual violence are rare, and the overwhelming paranoia stems not from physical fear, but a sense of unconscious but irredeemable lapses of ethics. "
— Breck, 12/14/2013 -
" Not up to Le Carre's usual standard. The relationship between two families - one Russian, the other English - and how they do business together. "
— Trudi, 9/22/2013 -
" Fascinating. He has an unusual style which I enjoyed though my husband didn't. I can see how a book like this would polarize readers. It is slow in parts but I enjoyed his writing enough to keep reading. "
— Suzanne, 8/26/2013 -
" Excellent story of collusion between government and industry resulting in ruin for the lives of individual people. "
— John, 4/24/2013 -
" Intriguing writing that develops the narrative in a difficult and different way then most genre- spy/thrillers. But very slow and a seemingly pointless build up that ends without suspense. "
— Jason, 1/7/2013 -
" a gripper, le carre in good form "
— Scott, 4/27/2012 -
" Le Carre's books are always great but I'm having a hard time following this one. I think you have to be smarter about whats actually considered corrupt between nations to get this!! I need to do some research. "
— Erika, 3/3/2012 -
" Le Carre' rarely disappoints me. This one included. :) "
— Amelia, 10/23/2010 -
" Not up to Lecarre's level. Not bad, but not great. "
— Roger, 2/17/2009 -
" Enjoyed it, can't really go that wrong with Le Carre really. "
— Mary, 3/20/2007 -
" I found this book to be kind of boring. The plot was semi-interesting, but the character development was lacking and I found the writing style hard to get into. I read this on vacation because of a lack of anything else to read. "
— Rachael, 1/25/2007 -
" Single and Single was simple and stupid. "
— Joe, 11/30/2005 -
" Meh. Not a really good book at all. No mystery, no suspense. It was just a plodding, rather boring, read. Didn't really feel much of anything towards ANY of the main characters - they were just ... there. I'd pass on this one if I were you. "
— Bob, 1/21/2005 -
" I think that Le Carre writes beautifully and intelligently. I've been twice dissapointed by books written by him, but I am definitely glad I gave his work another try. This book is really glorius reading material written with panache and intelligence. "
— Henry, 8/22/2004 -
" Another one like 'The Tailor of Panama' very witty and shows what gall some people have when telling stories "
— Alan, 4/12/2004 -
" Not great, but good Le Carre! "
— Michael, 12/30/2003 -
" I could not follow the plot and constantly had to go back and search for information. Not my favorite story! I struggled to finish this book. "
— Judy, 10/18/2002 -
" First LeCarre book I've read in years. OK but plot didn't have many twists and book seemed overlong. "
— Dian, 8/24/2002 -
" Only a bit good. "
— Annette, 4/14/2001
About John le Carré
John le Carré, the pseudonym of David John Moore Cornwell (1931–2020), was an English author of espionage novels. Eight of his novels made the #1 spot on the New York Times bestsellers list between 1983 and 2017. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, his third book, secured him a worldwide reputation as one of the greatest spy novelists in history. Numerous major motion pictures have been made from his novels, as well as several television series. After attending the universities at Berne and Oxford, he taught at Eton and spent five years in the British Foreign Service, serving briefly in British Intelligence during the Cold War. Being a member of MI6 when he wrote his first novel, Call for the Dead in 1961 in Hamburg, it necessitated the use of a nom de plume, by which he continued to be known. His writing earned him several honorary doctorate degrees and the Somerset Maugham Award, the Goethe Medal, and the Olof Palme Prize.