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The Constant Gardener John Le Carre 9780340821176 Books

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The Constant Gardener John Le Carre 9780340821176 Books

Years ago I saw the movie The Constant Gardener and it has never left me, always floating around in the back of my brain for some reason. Then I decided to read the book (something I've never done after seeing the movie first), and I am now left almost speechless due to the overwhelming emotions the author stirred and deepened in me from beginning to end. The author's writing style and the voices of his many characters are unparalleled. There is much tragedy and intrigue woven from the first page to the last, but at its heart, I view The Constant Gardener as an incredible story of love and loyalty. Actually, one of the best love stories I've ever read.

The story takes place over the short period of only a few weeks, but packs a punch with the telling of a love story in reverse. We come to know Tessa Quayle through not only Justin's memories, but those of others, as well. Justin Quayle is a quiet, reserved man who would rather tend to his garden and play by the rules of his British post than to cause disruptions in Nairobi, or anywhere else. His wife, on the other hand, was quite the opposite with her unrepentant and vocal activism in Africa.

After her untimely and brutal death, Justin takes it upon himself to learn his wife's secrets, by tracing and following the footsteps of her final days, meeting with her betrayers, and reconstructing the fatal information she and a friend, Arnold Bluhm, had gathered prior to their murders. He does this out of love and loyalty to Tessa.

The reader learns that Justin had always stayed out of the activist part of Tessa's life. And she had always protected him and his diplomatic career from it. They respected each other's differences, but in the end I feel that Justin viewed this as a tragic loss, and time lost. Not only did he fail in his promise to always protect her, but he failed to really know her, completely. They were both to blame for this. And he sets out to correct that miscalculation during his final few weeks of globetrotting, as a pseudo-spy.

Justin's journey ultimately ends where Tessa's ended, and the reader understands this to be his intention all along: To be nearer her, to follow her behind the veil...


Tags : The Constant Gardener [John Le Carre] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Tessa Quayle has been horribly murdered on the shores of Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya, the birthplace of mankind. Her putative African lover,John Le Carre,The Constant Gardener,Hodder & Stoughton,0340821175,Adventure thriller,Crime & mystery,Modern fiction,MysterySuspense

The Constant Gardener John Le Carre 9780340821176 Books Reviews

Lovers of quality fiction will find much to admire in this new, thoughtful thriller by John LeCarre. Set initially in Kenya, it quickly turns from a gruesome murder mystery into a quirky yet fascinating personal odyssey to discover the truth about both the protagonist's murdered wife and about the state of the post-modern capitalist world in general. Indeed, like most of the best-selling works that came before this one from the unchallenged master of the intelligent spy thriller John LeCarre, this is a penetrating treatise on the hidden and conflicted corners of the human heart. For LeCarre, who made his reputation chronicling the particulars of the internecine aspects of the cold war and the spy trade, the ending of the post-war period and the coming of the new world order provides a whole new set of circumstances with which to peer meaningfully at the human beings inhabiting the so-called civilized areas of the planet as well as the darker side of humanity itself. In so doing, he mines new tunnels of cunning, deceit, and betrayal, all the while weaving a quite memorable story in the spaces parsed brilliantly into the plotline.
British career diplomat Justin `s beautiful and much younger wife Tessa is brutally and mysteriously murdered, and her rumored black lover, a doctor with an aid organization, is nowhere to be found. Unsatisfied with the quick and dirty investigation conducted by both local authorities and an unsettling discomfort exuding from his fellow diplomats, Justin decides to take things into his own hands, beginning a fateful journey of discovery and at the same time setting many other wheels into motion with this action. Of course, all of this is merely the opening salvo of in the tirade of events, characters, and places that whirl into centrifugal force in this wonderful examination of the underside of human nature and the complexities of the human heart. LeCarre is a master at detailing the deceptions, betrayals, and complexities people bring to bear in their conduct, and the layers of complexity peel like skins from an onion as he delves deeper and deeper into what is going on.
With his usual style, suspenseful prose, and intellectual gamesmanship, LeCarre stirs the reader's interest and dismay as we see quite dreadful games set into motion with deadly earnest by everyone involved; his fellow Brits, the local profiteers, and even darker forces that come to bear as the plot spins into overdrive later in the book. This is a stunning, suspenseful, and somewhat rueful tale of what unfolds when the protagonist begins to discover the motives lurking behind what seemed to be a simple homicide, and he gets sucked deeper into the geopolitical politics swirling around the affair like a evil whirlwind, predictable, evil, and quite possibly totally out of control. As one can expect from such a well-described albeit shadowy and complex geopolitical world of espionage and power that LeCarre writes so brilliantly and unforgettably about, there are no simple answers or easy foregone conclusions. Instead, the reader is spun along the twist and turns of both the plot and the wonderful characterizations; fascinated by the power of observation and description LeCarre brings to bear. This is a wonderful read and a marvelous book, and has the ring of more real-life veracity and worldly wisdom than one can easily find on the non-fiction side of the bookstore aisle. Enjoy!
I'm not a fan of mysteries but had to read this for book club, and am glad. Le Carre's writing is beautiful and has a purpose. In the case of The Constant Gardener, the issue is Big Pharma's effect on the Third World, vis a vis the British High Commission in Nairobi. I liked how good the good guys are, as much as I was revolted by the super bad bad guys.
First, I want to say that I read a lot (usually 2 books a week) and I belong to 2 book clubs. I am not an expert, but I know what I like.
This book is a commitment, but a good one. It was a bit slow getting started, but I got swept up in the story. What I liked most was what I learned about the socioeconomic factors, the corrupt government, the countries that took advantage and all the good people who cared. This is the first book that I am thankful I have a because I had to look up a lot of the words. Because it is British and my mother is English, I was at least able to pick up most of the English jargon. If you want a fast easy book, this is not the book for you. If, however, you want to read a well written read, I highly recommend it.
Don't listen to anyone who says this is not worth reading. I love John Le Carre, but some of his books, "Spy Who Came in from the Cold", "The Russia House", "The Little Drummer Girl, "A Perfect Spy", didn't do much for me. However I loved the "Honorable Schoolboy" trilogy, and George Smiley remains my favorite character. This book is deeply intriguing and absorbing. You feel for Justin and Tessa. Tessa's zeal for reforming a corrupt system, and feel Justin's pain as he's drawn further and further into solving her murder. I hate the way Le Carre's characters often come to a said end. I could not put this book down and re-read as soon as I finished. Take it from me, the picky reader, this book is more than good.
Years ago I saw the movie The Constant Gardener and it has never left me, always floating around in the back of my brain for some reason. Then I decided to read the book (something I've never done after seeing the movie first), and I am now left almost speechless due to the overwhelming emotions the author stirred and deepened in me from beginning to end. The author's writing style and the voices of his many characters are unparalleled. There is much tragedy and intrigue woven from the first page to the last, but at its heart, I view The Constant Gardener as an incredible story of love and loyalty. Actually, one of the best love stories I've ever read.

The story takes place over the short period of only a few weeks, but packs a punch with the telling of a love story in reverse. We come to know Tessa Quayle through not only Justin's memories, but those of others, as well. Justin Quayle is a quiet, reserved man who would rather tend to his garden and play by the rules of his British post than to cause disruptions in Nairobi, or anywhere else. His wife, on the other hand, was quite the opposite with her unrepentant and vocal activism in Africa.

After her untimely and brutal death, Justin takes it upon himself to learn his wife's secrets, by tracing and following the footsteps of her final days, meeting with her betrayers, and reconstructing the fatal information she and a friend, Arnold Bluhm, had gathered prior to their murders. He does this out of love and loyalty to Tessa.

The reader learns that Justin had always stayed out of the activist part of Tessa's life. And she had always protected him and his diplomatic career from it. They respected each other's differences, but in the end I feel that Justin viewed this as a tragic loss, and time lost. Not only did he fail in his promise to always protect her, but he failed to really know her, completely. They were both to blame for this. And he sets out to correct that miscalculation during his final few weeks of globetrotting, as a pseudo-spy.

Justin's journey ultimately ends where Tessa's ended, and the reader understands this to be his intention all along To be nearer her, to follow her behind the veil...