The Pigeon Tunnel

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From the secret world I once knew, I have tried to create a theatre for the larger worlds we inhabit. First comes the imagining, then the search for reality, and back to the imagining. Drawing from his years in British Intelligence during the Cold War and a writing career that spanned war-torn Cambodia, Beirut on the brink of the 1982 Israeli invasion, and Russia before and after the Berlin Wall's collapse, John le Carre writes from the heart of modern times. In this memoir, he combines humor with incisive observations, reflecting on the moral ambiguity present in the events he witnesses, much like his novels. He shares vivid anecdotes, such as a parrot in a Beirut hotel mimicking machine gun fire, visits to Rwanda's genocide museums, New Year's Eve with Yasser Arafat, and interviewing a German terrorist in a Negev desert prison. He also recounts Alec Guinness preparing for his role as George Smiley and the female aid worker who inspired a character in The Constant Gardener. Through these stories, le Carre invites laughter and new perspectives on familiar events and people. Ultimately, he offers a glimpse into a writer's journey over six decades and his quest for the human spark that breathes life into his characters.