The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life

The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life

First edition
Author	John le Carré
Language	English
Publisher	Viking Books
Publication date	6 September 2016
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	310
ISBN	9780735220775
Dewey Decimal	823/.912 $a B $2 23
LC Class	PR6062.E33 $b Z46 2016

The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life is a memoir by British spy novelist John le Carré released on September 6, 2016. It is the only feature length work of non-fiction in his bibliography. In the memoir, le Carré recounts stories reflecting on his time in British intelligence during the Cold War, research on his novels that took him around the globe (including an encounter with Yasser Arafat in Beirut in 1982 while researching The Little Drummer Girl), and his strained relationship with his father who influenced his semi-autobiographical novel A Perfect Spy.[1]

Reception

The book received positive reviews from critics. The Guardian wrote that le Carré "remains a magician of plot and counter-plot, a master storyteller".[2] Writing for The New York Times, Walter Isaacson praised the book as "a delightful collection of charming and occasionally insightful tales".[3] Isaacson also expressed hope that the book's climactic chapter, which focuses on his relationship with his father, be turned into a "profound John le Carré book."

References

1. "The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from my Life by John LeCarre". Penguin Books. Retrieved 4 Feb 2022.
2. McCrum, Robert (11 Sep 2016). "The Pigeon Tunnel review: John le Carré comes in from the cold". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
3. Isaacson, Walter (13 Sep 2016). "John le Carré's Memoir About His Journey From Spy to Novelist". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 Feb 2022.