I’m
in the final quarter of the Gamache book now, and having recently listened to
the NPR Terry Gross interview of Le Carré, I must comment on the similarity of
the situations upon which both authors wanted their central characters to
expound.
The
Sûreté calls back Chief Superintendent Gamache from retirement to solve one
final, world-level problem, just as George Smiley was so many times. Le Carré could not call Smiley back yet again,
so he has resurrected young Peter Guillam, now decades into retirement.
The
consideration for both authors, through both their alter egos, is guilt –
conscience – responsibility to governments versus God, or just the fellowship
of humankind.
Le
Carré is 85 and was a bit doddering and self-engrossed on the Terry Gross interview. He feels the world is going to hell in a
hand-basket. Europe, and Democracy was
the focus of his life, and it’s all falling apart.
Penny
is struggling with her demons as well.
She’s looking at 60 next year; she’s had now two successful
careers. Her Chief man of Justice, like
Smiley, is a learned man, revered by his compatriots, poking around the Sûreté
hallways, studies old manuscripts in ancient languages.
Any
renaissance man, however, can become an anachronism, one that needs a slight
shove. A few decades later, only the
questions remain: “Was it all worth the man’s efforts?” “Did I do right or wrong?” “Was my life worthwhile?” “How will I be remembered?” “Did I make a difference?”
I was living in
England in 1982, when “Smiley’s People” came out as a BBC production: 6 parts,
an hour each, starring Alec Guinness, who had starred in “Tinker, Tailor” in
1979. I have the videos for both of
these productions and watch them at least once a year. They renew my Englishness.
