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The Russia House cover art

The Russia House

By: John le Carré
Narrated by: Michael Jayston
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Publisher's Summary

It is the third summer of perestroika. Niki Landau, philanderer and travelling rep, attends the first Moscow audio fair and is asked by beautiful young Katya to take a parcel back to England.

It’s addressed to Barley Blair, jazz-player and drinker, and contains information vital to the defence of the West. But times and heroes are changing. And Barley Blair is a man who makes his own rules of engagement.

©2010 David Cornwell (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd.

What listeners say about The Russia House

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    3 out of 5 stars

its a technical struggle

just hard to listen to all the jargon in this book, and way too many characters to keep track of.
I will keep trying though

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

stick with the film

I remember liking the Russia House film and although some parts of the plot are left unclear - nevertheless there was a sense of full circle.. 'hero's journey' about it. But the book has been hard to stick with. Le Carre can write descriptive prose brilliantly but this one rambles. He sounds depressed by the whole long pressure from the usa; as though the details are so close to reality and he is disgusted by it all. There is a lovely description of katya's list of swaps and barters ... and Barley's jazz .. but on the whole i think I'd recommend the film as a more satisfying experience.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable listening

I enjoyed listening to this book the narrator was very pleasant to listen too the story was well written I would recommend it

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Top flight LeCarre

Wonderful weaving of intrigue and mistrust. Well delivered and paced.
Worth your time and investment. Recommend

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting story, yet slow and anticlimactic

Interesting story, characters, personal relationships and social commentary. But there was too much padding to the narrative, which slowed it down. Anticlimactic too.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Hard to get through

Tedious, cynical and depressing. Really hard to get through. Slow moving plot, long, thoughtful dialogue. Could be a realistic depiction of the east-west espionage battle of this period, but, boy, it doesn't make a good story, unless maybe you are a Brit and can interpret the depressing sarcasm as something other than what it is.

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Another fantastic book

Le Carré & Jayston are such a great combination- excellent plot enriched by Le Carré’s deep knowledge of Russia & espionage: and the rich mellow voice of Jayston with his gift for accents and characters. Brilliant.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Pointless

I am a Le Carre' fan but this one is such a waste of time. I think the author must have been in a different place. There is no direction and because the text books are bogus, no relevance

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