Hope

A Bernard Samson Novel

By: Len Deighton

Narrated by: James Lailey

In Len Deighton's second novel of the classic spy trilogy, Faith, Hope, Charity, Bernard Samson is trying to readjust his life after his wife, Fiona, defected to the East. As the Berlin Wall begins to crumble, loyalties seem to change along with the freezing wind. Caught between his job and his ethics, his past and his future, and the two women he loves, Samson embarks on his most sensational mission yet—from rural Poland to London Central. In this intricately plotted novel of changing loyalties, deception, and danger, Bernard Samson is in top form. And he has only himself to depend on.

©1995 Pluriform Publishing Company BV; Afterword copyright 2011 by Pluriform Publishing Company BV (P)2024 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

No one like Bernard Sampson

This is a character who becomes a friend. There are few like him. It’s not just a spy series: it’s a true arc.

terrific story line

The Narrator of the Samson series is the best of the many very good ones. Len Deighton, is the most skillful dialogue writer of any novel of intrigue which I have experienced. There are many memory worthy pearls which appear in all of his novels and this is no exception. He skillfullly looks deep into the personalities of his characters, the wheat and the chaff. I am amazed that he does not appear at the top of the list of the best writers of this genre. The only negative is that the reader becomes invariably drawn to the next in the series to the exclusion of other writers. I disagree with his post script contention that it is acceptible to read out of order. Though they can be enjoyed in this manner, they cannot be as appreciated and understood nearly so well as when read in order.

Expert narration

The narrator is excellent, and actually sounds a lot like Ian Holm, who played Bernard Sampson in the TV adaptation of ‘Game, Set, Match.’ Deighton reportedly hated this adaptation because he didn’t think Holm was believable as a tall, masculine Sampson, but nevertheless it was my first exposure to the series so I always think of Holm and the other actors in their parts when I listen to these books. I’ve been listening to the two trilogies out of out of order and quite enjoying it because these characters are great (I recommend listening in order though.) Unlike Le Carre (who I love), Deighton actually knows how to write female characters.