The Naive And Sentimental Lover (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
This is not, like I have seen claimed in several places, le Carré’s first novel that is not a spy thriller (there is also A Murder of Quality, which although it features George Smiley as its protagonist is not about espionage at all, but is a murder mystery) but his first (and possibly only, I have not read them all yet) non-genre novel. It also seems the least liked of his novels, and while it would be easy to dismiss that as fans complaining that they are not getting their customary fare, I think there might be rather more to it in this case.The basic story of The Naive and Sentimental Lover is a familiar one – it’s about a bourgeois male who is successful in his life but still suffers from its essential emptiness and finds himself seduced by the bohemian lifestyle (represented here by a married couple rather than the more customary single femme fatale) to which he eventually falls victim. And in the beginning, Le Carré’s novel does indeed look like a British retelling of Professor Unrat (by Heinrich Mann, most famous in its movie version, Der Blaue Engel, with Marlene Dietrich and Emil Jannings). Things, and the reader’s assessment of them, start to change, though; and while Aldo Cassidy, the novel’s protagonist, appears to be the most unlikable of Le Carré’s characters so far (and that is saying something), by the end of The Naive and Sentimental Lover we might still not like him much but do feel some sympathy for him, while his Bohemian temptation, the writer Shamus and his wife Helen, has been thoroughly demystified and it is not all clear who in the course of events has fallen victim to who.In fact, very few things are clear by the end of The Naive and Sentimental Lover, and it appears that the world of everyday life, of pram fastening design and business, of married life and extra-marital affairs, of bourgeoisie and bohemia is coloured in just as many shades of grey and possibly even murkier than the world of international espionage. With spy novels, there at least is some basic conflict and some sense that things matter - even if both should get debunked in the course of the narrative, they do give it some shape. And while it is perhaps unfair to compare The Naive and Sentimental Lover to something the novel does not at all aspire to be, to me it seems that shape is precisely what is missing from it. Shape, not structure – that the novel has, Le Carré is too good (and too controlled) a writer to just go rambling, and so we get a novel that is basically divided into three parts, each of them with the emphasis of another of its three protagonists (although Aldo’s remains the central consciousness throughout). But the novel’s events, the descriptions and character portraits hang slack on that framework, like clothes several sizes too big for their wearer.The novel just seems to lack a purpose, a sense of going anywhere – it might have been a better book if Le Carré had gone all the way and let Aldo descent into ruin and madness, but in the end, stodgy English middle-class hypocrisy wins out and Aldo basically gets on with his life much like he did before – which is in all likelihood a point Le Carré wanted to make, probably even a valid point, but not one that makes for a good novel, at least not if one stays mainly with a realistic approach.That is not to say that The Naive and Sentimental Lover does not have its flashes of brilliance, like Aldo’s business dealings which range from the satirical to the absurd, or the half-hallucinatory excesses of Aldo’s and Shamus’ trip to Paris – indeed the novel seems to be best where Le Carré not only leaves the spy thriller genre but goes a step farther and leaves the accustomed ground of realistic fiction altogether. He always returns to the solid ground of realism soon, though, and as a result the novel becomes dreary again; I for one wish it had stayed in the exotic climates of a somewhat more modernist approach for fiction longer, I probably would have enjoyed it more then.
I rarely abandon books, and when I do, it is usually within the first chapter, and generally because I dislike the genre or the author's style irritates me. I persevered with this novel for almost 200 pages because I am trying to read all the Le Carres in order, and felt I needed to finish this in order to 'earn' Tinker, Tailor. However, I hated it so much that I felt I had to give up before it irrevocably coloured my view of Le Carre's work. My primary problem with the novel was that it just seemed so pointless, leading up to nothing (I know I didn't finish, but I flicked onwards and read other reviews). I have never accepted the snobiness against 'genre' fiction and in favour of 'literary' fiction, when this example has no plot! The characters are universally unlikeable, the women especially so, really emphasising Le Carre's weak female characters. The most generous interpretation I can take of this is that our 'hero', Aldo, is having a breakdown and hallucinates Shamus (a cringeworthy semi-pun) and Helen as manifestations of his suppressed wild side. I could not connect with the irresponsible Bohemians or the over privilaged rich guys, and I was just left feeling bored and irritated. Read it for completism, not pleasure.
What do You think about The Naive And Sentimental Lover (2006)?
This isn't a John Le Carre spy novel, far from it. Originally published in 1971 this Carre's version of the great British novel, with a compelling story and characters that slip and slide around the pages in a really elusive way. The naive and sentimental lover is Aldo Cassidy, the owner of an innovative engineering company making top of the linbe prams. All based on design ideas that came to Also out of the blue. Aldo has a wife Sandra, and two boys Mark & Hugo. His life takes a abrupt turn following an encounter with crazy Shamus and his near naked wife Helen, while inspecting a potential country estate. From there his wife, his kids, his company, are all moved into the background as his relationship with the gypsy-ish pair overide his common sense and it seems anything can happen next, and generally does. At times funny, sad, or simply reckless its definitely not predictable. A bit like Caree's renowned spy novels I guess, but Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy it is not.
—Tony Nielsen
Very different from the le Carre spy stories, but probably the book he always wanted to write--or maybe wrote before he became noted for the spy stories. The blurb on the UK edition described it: "In describing the agony of a man caught between the two sides of his paradoxical nature, John le Carre has lost nothing of his skill in narrative and suspense. But in the humour, the pain and the love and striving of Aldo Cassidy, we witness the full flowering of his talents. This is a marvellous and magnificent book."
—Helaine
John le Carré is best known for his disturbing and hunting spy thrillers, for its insights and exciting twist that propelled him in the company of foremost English authors. Although this one can’t be categorize as one of Mr. le Carré’s thrillers, this one still contains his exciting narratives and insightful prose that makes it readable. When I’m on the verge of convincing myself that the novel gets boring and just my respect for the author makes me read this thick novel, then I get interested again on what will happen. The novel describes about the agony of Aldo Cassidy; a man caught between choices, between two sides of his paradoxical nature, his triumph and pain and how he enjoys his life by enjoying others company. How he assesses himself of the choices he makes about his family and its effects and how he becomes the naïve and sentimental lover. Most readers I guess would find this particular title boring. But in the weeks I’ve spend my hours on reading this one, I got to experienced living an extravagant life of a middle-aged man that I am sure I will never lived. The ending is a bit of moving that I suspect the protagonist suffers from being an unreliable narrator. Well, for a novel to make you think like that makes it just more captivating. I’m ready for more of his thrillers.
—Karl Marx S.T.
