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John Le Carre

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Author

The Resume

    (October 19, 1931-December 12, 2020)
    Born in Poole, Dorset, England, United Kingdom
    Birth name was David John Moore Cornwell
    Agent for the MI5/MI6 intelligence services
    Wrote 'Call for the Dead' (1961), 'The Spy Who Came In From the Cold' (1963), 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' (1974), 'The Honourable Schoolboy' (1977), 'Smiley's People' (1979), 'The Little Drummer Girl' (1983), 'A Perfect Spy' (1986), 'The Russia House' (1989), 'The Secret Pilgrim' (1990), 'The Tailor of Panama' (1996), 'The Constant Gardener' (2001), 'Absolute Friends' (2003) and 'The Mission Song' (2006)

Why he might be annoying:

    He described the reaction of British intelligence to his literary career as 'I was a shit, consigned to the ranks of the other shits... whom had betrayed the Service by writing about it.'
    He calls British journalists 'little pigs.'
    He hates telephones and cities.
    He has rejected all honors offered, saying he will never become 'Sir David.'
    He refused to support Salman Rushdie after the Ayatollah Khomeni issued a fatwa, and called for a halt in the publication of the paperback edition of 'The Satanic Verses.'
    Rushdie later called him 'an illiterate, pompous ass.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    His mother abandoned the family when he was five, while his father was a con man who was jailed for insurance fraud.
    His career as a spy ended after his cover was blown by double agent Kim Philby.
    His novels are known for their realistic, unglamorous and morally ambiguous portrayal of espionage.
    'The Spy Who Came In From the Cold' was named the best crime novel of the past 50 years by the Crime Writers' Association (2005).
    He said of the war in Iraq, 'How Bush and his junta succeeded in deflecting America's anger from Bin Laden to Saddam Hussein is one of the great public relations conjuring tricks of history.'
    Despite his disdain for the administration's policies, George W. Bush is a fan of his books.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 170 Votes: 41.76% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 15 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 15 Votes: 73.33% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 61 Votes: 72.13% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 31 Votes: 67.74% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying