The Naïve and Sentimental Lover

“Splendid, original... le Carré shows how endowed he is with the gift of storytelling.”—The Times (UK)

Aldo Cassidy is the naive and sentimental lover. A successful, judicious man, he is wrenched away from the ordered certainties of his life by a sudden encounter with Shamus, a wild, beguiling artist and Helen, his alluring and dazzling wife.

Cassidy, plunged into a whirlpool of spontaneity and hedonism, becomes a man both bewildered and agonized as he’s torn between two poles of a nature more complex than he had ever imagined. As he becomes ever more entangled with Shamus and Helen, Cassidy finds himself questioning his most deeply held beliefs and his understanding of his own life.

In A Naïve and Sentimental Lover, New York Times bestselling author John le Carré departs from the world of espionage he’s best known for (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, A Perfect Spy) to deliver a vivid exploration of love and self-discovery, sharpened by le Carré’s keen observations of middle-class hypocrisies.