John Le Carré, Our Kind of Traitor

LynnDianne Beene (University of New Mexico)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication Sep 2010

Places

United Kingdom (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel
Spy and Espionage

Resources

John le Carré (penname of former MI5 and MI6 analyst, David Cornwell) once told an interviewer that “as a rough principle I always begin with one character and then perhaps two, and they seem to be in conflict with each other” (Barber). Le Carré expands this prescription in Our Kind of Traitor (2010) where he presents five main characters—each at pivotal moments in their lives—whose motives conflict with those of the other characters and create a complex narrative. The novel has no single traitor, nor a lone faithless instigator. Rather, the main characters’ altruistic acts betray patriotism and brotherhood, endanger family and lovers, and lead to the novel’s moral predicaments. …

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4299 words

Citation: Beene, LynnDianne. "Our Kind of Traitor". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 June 2022 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=30842, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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