There are several reasons for this reluctance to engage with the lives of people who have not yet featured in the obituary columns.
One is the sheer weight of incidental baggage: the dissentient voices of close friends who imagine themselves traduced or overlooked; the ‘sensitive’ material that may not yet be available for use.
But another is the lurking presence of the biographee, who even if he or she collaborates, has a fatal habit of falling out with the writer, peddling well-nigh mythical versions of the achievements (or failings) on display and calling the whole reliability of the project seriously into question.
While there is no hint in this mammoth endeavour’s lengthy introduction that Sisman fell out with John le Carré, or “David” as he rather breezily calls him, there are a great many hints that not all of this four-year voyage to the heart of the modern espionage novel was plain sailing.
“It would be disingenuous to suggest that there have not been difficulties,” the biographer writes at one point, before going on to lament le Carré’s diffidence in the matter of “his time serving in the intelligence services”.
We hear talk of multiple, variant versions of key events, while in a recent BBC Radio Four interview, Sisman complained that he had been “gazumped” by the news that his subject was now at work on a memoir.
A sly old fox? An arch-manipulator? A top-notch raconteur who sometimes allows style to prevail over substance? Each of these descriptions of the author of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (real name David Cornwell) and the creator of George Smiley, has something to be said for it.
What cannot be denied, on the other hand, is the extraordinary fascination of le Carré’s early life, even if the starring role in it happens to be played by someone else. This is the gargantuan figure of Ronnie Cornwell, le Carré’s father, a swindling confidence trickster and emotional havoc-wreaker of such unalloyed chutzpah that he could have stepped straight out of a novel by Charles Dickens or H.G. Wells, and whose career would probably require a stack of Inland Revenue files to do it justice.
Still, Sisman does his best with this beguiling fantasist, whose courtiers were apparently so fascinated by him that they were prepared to go to prison on his behalf.
He is, for example, attentive to the bankruptcy of 1935, when Ronnie’s outgoings exceeded his incomings by a factor of almost 20-to-one, and offers a forensic analysis of an early 1950s meltdown when a commercial empire that involved directorships of 60 limited companies and declared interests in another 39, collapsed beneath a tax demand of £61,889.
Ronnie’s assets at this point amounted to a princely £129.12s. Thirty years later there is an even more bracing moment when le Carré’s half-sister Charlotte, then appearing in a film about the Krays, is shown the family photo album by Ron and Reggie’s elder brother Charlie.
What favours did Ronnie extend to be pictured with an arm flung round each of the Kray twins? We shall never know.
Quite as unsettling as a lifetime’s chicanery, though, was the mixture of emotional blackmail and constant jockeying for position that Cornwell pere brought to the father-son relationship. A mostly-absent parent, capable of disappearing to far-flung corners of the world for months at a time, Ronnie had an unnerving habit of popping up when David least expected or wanted him to and attempting to collar the limelight for himself.
Appearing unexpectedly at the American launch of one of le Carré’s novels, he could be heard referring to “our book”. Visiting Chicago not long afterwards, le Carré was told by the Foreign Office that his father had been arrested in Indonesia for suspected gun-running. Bailouts rarely did the trick, as the old man rightly suspected that he was paid for his silence.
All this naturally worked its effect. Preternaturally self-reliant, cautious and industrious, le Carré, born 1931, found the hurdles of boarding school – to which he was first sent at the age of five – easier to negotiate than more cossetted contemporaries.
His first real enthusiasm was art, swiftly followed by the German language, which sent him on a pre-university study trip to Bern. Even during his National Service days in Europe there were forays into the world of Cold War-era intelligence. Waved on by his talent-spotting Oxford tutor Vivian Green, who clearly contributed something to Smiley, le Carré’s eventual arrival at MI5, after a period spent teaching, looks almost pre-determined, a human iron filing dutifully obeying the magnet’s call.
Not that the late 1950s “paper world” of the Secret Services was a particularly attractive place. “For a while you wondered whether the fools were really pretending to be fools, as some kind of deception, but alas the reality was the mediocrity,” he later wrote.
A transfer to MI6 saw him attached to the British embassy in Bonn (the setting for A Small Town in Germany, 1968), where pre-war standards of snobbishness were vigorously maintained. Congratulating the housekeeper once on her cooking, le Carré collected the rebuke "Can't you act like a gentleman and not talk to the servants?".
Senior officers who later took issue with his novels (“John le Carré hasn’t done us any good. He makes all intelligence figures look like philanderers and drunks”, one of these remarked) noted the presence of an anti-Establishment rebel tilting at “the old school tie”.
On the other hand, here, unquestionably, was the by-now aspiring novelist's subject matter. A first novel, Call for the Dead, had appeared as early as 1961, but it was The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, two years later, that propelled him into the big time.
As Sisman notes, the money shower then descended on his head and the company of the famous seriously upset his personal equilibrium. An affair with Susan Kennaway, the wife of his fellow novelist James, led to the collapse of his first marriage and the advent of what Sisman calls “a compulsive search for love”. His second wife, Jane Eustace, who previously worked for his British publisher Hodder & Stoughton, is apparently more tolerant of his infidelities.
The mention of money showers, searches for love and marrying the woman who used to sell your foreign rights, hints at another of Sisman’s procedural difficulties. If writing a biography of a living subject has its problems, then these drawbacks are infinitely worse if he or she happens to be a successful writer.
For what do successful writers do, it might be wondered, except write their books and enjoy, or cope with, their success? It is almost inevitable, consequently, that the second half of John le Carré: The Biography should turn out to be a bit less entertaining than the first.
Not only is Ronnie dead (“He’s taken everything I’ve got,” his third wife remarked) by now, but a pattern has set in.
A novel gets written, sold, reviewed and filmed. A quiet period of reflection and foreign travel ensues, followed by the repeat of the process a year or so later.
Le Carré, meanwhile, emerges as a rather single-minded character, commercially astute, never averse to sacking hirelings who have let him down and horribly sensitive when it comes to criticism of his work.
Sisman is possibly a shade too polite to probe the vexed question of his subject’s literary reputation with the rigour it deserves. He does, however, quote the opinion of Clive James who, noting that le Carré’s work can be divided into “entertainments” and serious stuff, claimed to detect “strong evidence that le Carré is out to publish a more respectable breed of novel than those that fell into the first category”.
Did these succeed? James thinks that “it was the merely entertaining books which had the more intense life”. In the end, you suspect we shall come to regard le Carré’s deglamorisation of espionage as his real achievement.
The distinguishing mark of novels such as The Russia House (1989) and A Most Wanted Man (2008), after all, is their matter-of-factness, the sense that all those involved are merely getting on with their work.
However much we might not want to admit it, spying – like authorship - turns out to be just as much a job as any other activity.
DJ Taylor is a novelist and critic whose journalism also appears in The Independent on Sunday and The Guardian.
RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
Series information
Pakistan v Dubai
First Test, Dubai International Stadium
Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11
Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20
Play starts at 10am each day
Teams
Pakistan
1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza
Australia
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 1.4-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 180hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm at 3,00rpm
Transmission: 5-speed sequential auto
Price: From Dh139,995
On sale: now
Match info
Manchester United 1
Fred (18')
Wolves 1
Moutinho (53')
The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
STAY%2C%20DAUGHTER
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYasmin%20Azad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESwift%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
RESULTS
Dubai Kahayla Classic – Group 1 (PA) $750,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Deryan, Ioritz Mendizabal (jockey), Didier Guillemin (trainer).
Godolphin Mile – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
Dubai Gold Cup – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (Turf) 3,200m
Winner: Subjectivist, Joe Fanning, Mark Johnston
Al Quoz Sprint – Group 1 (TB) $1million (T) 1,200m
Winner: Extravagant Kid, Ryan Moore, Brendan Walsh
UAE Derby – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Dubai Golden Shaheen – Group 1 (TB) $1.5million (D) 1,200m
Winner: Zenden, Antonio Fresu, Carlos David
Dubai Turf – Group 1 (TB) $4million (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord North, Frankie Dettori, John Gosden
Dubai Sheema Classic – Group 1 (TB) $5million (T) 2,410m
Winner: Mishriff, John Egan, John Gosden
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
