The little drummer girl
by John le Carré · first published 1983
69% recommend31% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Character-driven spy novel that reads as a deep, anguishing look at how geopolitics shapes personal identity; praised for intellectual depth and dialogue, and suits readers wanting more than action.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Charlie is a promiscuous, unsuccessful, left-wing English actress in her twenties, searching for commitment. We meet her first with a group of acting kids, taking a holiday on the Greek island of Mykonos. Kurtz is an officer of Israeli intelligence, whose job is to stop the bombing of Jews in Europe. The Little Drummer Girl is a thrilling, deeply moving and courageous novel of our times.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2019–2025The Night Manager
John le Carré
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 62 recommend · 6 mention2 recommend · 62 recommend
2016–2024The Honourable Schoolboy
John le Carré
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 74 recommend · 7 mention4 recommend · 74 recommend
2016–2022The Secret Pilgrim
John le Carré
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 21 recommend · 2 mention1 recommend · 21 recommend
2016–2025The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
John le Carré
Recommended by 14 · mentioned by 2614 recommend · 26 mention14 recommend · 2614 recommend
2010–2025Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John le Carré
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 134 recommend · 13 mention4 recommend · 134 recommend
2016–2026A Perfect Spy
John le Carré
Recommended by 15 · mentioned by 1915 recommend · 19 mention15 recommend · 1915 recommend
As a teenager, I picked out a copy of The Little Drummer Girl from a used book store quite by chance. I expected a simple spy action story, but what I read was a deep and anguishing examination of the personal impact of geopolitics on a someone’s identity. If…
on “John le Carré has died” ↗In addition to the Night Manager (2016) with Hugh Laurie's skillful (and very scary) portrayal of a weapon's dealer, there was also BBC's version of the Little Drummer Girl (2018) based on John le Carré's novel with the same name. If you like John le Carré adaptions, both are highly recommended! It's sad that he's gone, his novels are masterpieces, especially the later…
on “John le Carré has died” ↗I really enjoyed The Little Drummer Girl - that is my favourite Le Carre book of the ones I've read. I didn't know it had been made into a film - I'll have to look out for that, thanks!
on “What is the best John le Carré novel?” ↗If you liked it, I strongly recommend checking out the little drummer girl, a similar BBC miniseries based on Le Carre
on “John Le Carré Missed Nothing” ↗I can only speak for myself, but I’ve always felt he’s far more intellectually challenging than other espionage authors. I remember reading one of his books (can’t remember exactly which, possibly The Little Drummer Girl or The Honorable Schoolboy) and realizing that every single line of dialogue in the book has multiple layers of subterfuge, double meaning, pretense, irony… Even the simplest exchange requires focus on…
on “John le Carré’s Search for a Vocation” ↗…point overall. But the problem with undercover agents infiltrating terrorists are not really racial slurs. To be accepted among real terrorists, one has to do real terrorism. (book recommendation: The Little Drummer Girl by John le Carré)
on “Show HN: The largest collection of ChatGPT jailbreaks on the internet” ↗…the same again. I can attribute my Cold War 'philia' just to him, I reckon. I am yet to read his autobiography. Other than some well-made new TV works based on his work like The Night Manager and The Little Drummer Girl, you might want to check out the excellent works on TV in the 80s and 90s; usually done by the BBC. He was the master of unhurried, ruminating, and unostentatious spy craft writing. Tasteful.
on “John le Carré has died” ↗I've read almost all of them. They're all excellent and some are great. To me, he writes tragedies disguised as spy novels. My nod goes to "The Little Drummer Girl".
on “Which Is the Best John Le Carré Novel? (2014)” ↗I may not have read that one. I completely forgot about the main character of The Little Drummer Girl, Charlie. What a book! I cannot judge the realism of the main character because I myself don't understand women well enough to do that, haha. Presumably that's a book where the contribution of Le Carré's…
on “John le Carré's crucial, covert collaborator” ↗…of implausibilities roughly starting in the middle (more series have that than not, sigh). But, for the most part, flawless acting. The Night Manager is cool, too, with a very satisfying ending. The Little Drummer Girl is also good, though there is some... uncommon? psychological stuff going on in the book that creaks even more in the series.
on “Ian Fleming Explains How to Write a Thriller” ↗…reading a book on iPad you can open Google Maps, find the location a character is in now - and see pictures of the place people took, sometimes up to the exact building the author describes. E.g. in The Little Drummer Girl by le Carre you can follow the exact route characters taken. And there is a 360 deg view of some remote place in Lebanon near Israeli border that some tourists uploaded. Magical feeling, indeed.
on “Find books set in your hometown” ↗This is super cool! I have also collected quotes for some years, I think one of my favorite recent ones is, "The greatest crime is to do nothing because we fear we can only do a little." - John Le Carré (Little Drummer Girl)
on “Ask HN: What is something you built but never marketed?” ↗I remember a review for the Little Drummer Girl that said (paraphrasing): "This book has achieved the rare miracle of making you feel sympathetic to both the Israelis and the Palestinians."
on “John le Carré has died” ↗The main protagonist in the Little Drummer 'girl'? Although I found her a bit irritating. Then there is the rather 'forgettable' main woman char in the Constant Gardener. I liked most of Carre's works (although there are some stinkers in his canon…
on “John le Carré's crucial, covert collaborator” ↗