Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme created at A Daily Rhythm that I discovered today via Heather from Bits & Books. Its simplicity greatly appeals to me since all that you need to do is grab your current read, open to a random page and share two “teaser” sentences, being careful about spoilers.
I’ve recently been talking to a friend about the upcoming adaptation of John le Carré’s The Night Manager which I’m greatly anticipating because of the cast. I had to share a section with her because I could vividly picture Hugh Laurie (who has been cast) as the character, Roper. Roper promises to be despicable and I’m looking forward to that, but the turn of phrase used in the initial description of him and his gaggle of friends made me laugh aloud on a crowded train so… that’s definitely worth sharing as a teaser or two.
“The doors swung open again, disgorging everyone at once, so that suddenly an entire leftover delegation of the English affluent society was ranged under the chandelier, each of its members so sleekly groomed, so sun-rich, that together they seemed to share a corporate morality that outlawed sickness, poverty, pale face, age and manual labour.”
“The stance that arrogant Englishmen do the best, one knee cocked, one hand backed against the colonial arse.”
I don’t know why, but I just love the narrative voice so far in The Night Manager – it’s proving to be a lot more entertaining of a read than I first imagined based on my last attempted foray into John le Carré novels! And, as far as teasers go, this is probably the best one I could possibly find without spoiling other people and myself.
Do you have a Teaser Tuesday? Please do share/comment below!
The Terror of Knowing 
17 responses to “Teaser Tuesday | 2nd February”
Yay for joining Teaser Tuesday! And what a way to start – le Carre is one of my very favourite writers and ‘The Night Manager’ is just outstanding! I’m so excited for the adaptation! Hugh Laurie is the ideal Roper.
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It’s so much fun – I love reading little bits and pieces of books I might never have heard of otherwise :)
Your review of The Night Manager was wonderful and acted as the final push I needed (combined with Hiddleston’s casting) to pick it up. I’ve only read some 70 pages and I can already tell Hugh Laurie will be a wonderful Roper, I’m very excited for the adaptation now.
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Not long to go for the adaptation – I’m beyond excited for it!
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I’ve never read any books by Le Carre! I should try a book. What’s a good one to start with? Love the name of your blog!
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I’m afraid I’m not well-versed in Le Carré at all to comment but I think it’d depend on what kind of era of history/politics you’d be most comfortable with. A lot of his novels deal with the Cold War setting but some, such as The Night Manager, are set in the 90s after the fall of the Iron Curtain so they deal with a different kind of politics and espionage. Also, if you’re the sort of reader who is helped by adaptations to visualise the characters and the moving pieces so to speak (I know I am!) then The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, A Most Wanted Man, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Constant Gardner etc. have been adapted into films. So far, I’d say The Night Manager wasn’t a difficult place to start. In my limited experience with Le Carré I’m finding it easier to follow than when I tried to read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy – mind you I’m only 50 pages or so into the book!
Thank you! Under Pressure is one of my favourite songs of all-time so I couldn’t resist borrowing a section of its lyrics for a blog title, especially since I love the sentiment. :)
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Hi Julie! I’m no le Carre expert, but I’ve read a few of his books and I would say that ‘The Night Manager’ is a good place to start – it’s less tangly than some of his other stuff.
The ‘George Smiley’ series is excellent I and I can highly recommend it, especially the Karla trilogy (that includes ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’).
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I read one book by this author long ago and remember enjoying it. This sounds like a winner.
My Tuesday post features GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE.
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I’m hoping that if I enjoy The Night Manager, I’ll be more inclined to check out his other work – he has written quite a few books after all. :)
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I don’t think I’ve read any books by this author before – hope you continue to enjoy the book
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Thank you, I hope so too!
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I love Hugh Laurie and would watch it because of his casting. My mother is a huge fan of this author.
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I’m a Tom Hiddleston fan so looking forward to him as Pine but my anticipation of Hugh Laurie as Roper is a close second, I love Hugh’s work :)
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Sounds fascinating — book and movie (?). I don’t think I’ve ever read his work; this sounds like a good place to start. Here’s my link to intro and teaser from Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See: http://wp.me/p4DMf0-19D
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I’ve heard from Heather from Books & Bits’ review that this is a relatively simple one of John Le Carré’s novels so it would definitely be a good place to start. I tried to read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy around the time the film came out and I really couldn’t keep up with it, even after watching the film! :P
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You’re spot on, Emma – ‘The Night Manager’ is pretty easy compared to his other stuff. I had the same issue as you when I read ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ for the first time – it’s one of those books that benefits from multiple readings, and the same could be said for the film. Every time I read/watch, I pick up on something new.
I also read ‘Tinker Tailor’ before I’d read some of the earlier George Smiley books, and I found that going back and reading it after those helped as well, as I had some background on many of the characters and I was used to the sometimes tangled plots.
Sorry I’ve waffled for a bit – I’m really enthusiastic about le Carre and want everyone to read him!
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Not at all – I welcome any/all input since I am not at all versed on le Carré and will gladly give way to someone in the know! That’s reassuring to hear Tinker, Tailor might be easier on a re-read – maybe I’ll give it another go after The Night Manager and be a bit more persistent when I undoubtedly become confused again haha.
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Sounds like an interesting story. I haven’t read anything by the author for years. My teaser this week comes from The Fine Art of Murder by Emily Barnes. Happy reading!
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