# The Tailor of Panama **Author:** John Le Carré **Date Read:** 2023/02/05 **Rating:** 4/5 **Bookshelves:** fiction ## My Review I remember watching the movie quite sometime back; the exaggerated erectness of Pierce Brosnan & the vivid, emotional & dramatic portrayal of Harry Pendel, the tailor of Panama by Geoffrey Rush were still easy to remember when I picked up the book to read. Despite knowing the plot, it was still a rather nice read. While le Carre reassures us in the Acknolwedgements that appear on the last page that his portrayal of the British embassy officials (and the spies!) is far from reality, the plausibility of the central story - that wars and 'international incidents' can happen through a mix of vivid narrative-building fuelled by petty interests and narrow jealousy of individuals operating in perverse and often invisible networks, sounds rather plausible; a plot that le Carre attributes as having captivated him ever since he read Graham Greene's "Our man in Havana". Harry Mendel, the eponymous tailor is a colourful character with a layered private life nested deep within a cheerful and "successful" public one as a successful tailor with a store that boasts a legacy and a relationship with London's famous tailoring houses (that possibly never deign to announce links with tailors in Panama ...or such countries). Harry's story weaving and the British "spy"'s relationship with him is the central thread and is a captivating one. Overall a good quick captivating read and a relief from the Cold war spycraft, which are among le Carre's more popular spy thrillers.