Tributes multiply to salute the memory of John Le Carré, master of espionage, here in his London home in 2008 -
Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP / SIPA
It wasn't the spy novel on its own, but almost.
Writer John Le Carré died this Saturday at the age of 89, from pneumonia, and leaves behind classics of literature, but also of cinema, with
The Spy who came from the cold, La Panama Tailor,
or
La Taupe,
with Gary Oldman.
The actor also wanted to pay tribute to him in a press release: “For me, John Le Carré was a lot of things.
He was, of course, a very great author, the real owner of the serious, mature and complex spy novel.
All those who followed are indebted to him ”.
"Many of us owe him a lot"
“His characters were deep and skillfully constructed,” continues the actor.
Playing the role of Agent George Smiley in
La Taupe
was one of the peaks of my career.
Many of us owe him a great deal.
Stephen Fry also paid tribute to him on Twitter: “Is there a contemporary writer who gave me more pleasure?
Impossible to say at the moment.
I guess the best one can do to honor his life and his talent is to re-read all of his books.
Quite the opposite of a chore ”.
John le Carre has passed at the age of 89. This terrible year has claimed a literary giant and a humanitarian spirit.
- Stephen King (@StephenKing) December 13, 2020
The king of the horror novel, the American Stephen King, lamented the death of a "literary giant" and "humanitarian spirit".
British writer and historian Simon Sebag Montefiore said he was “overwhelmed” by the death of a “titan of English literature”.
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John Le Carré, the British master of the spy novel, is dead
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