A class act

The prestigious Man Booker International Prize is awarded every two years to an author for "extraordinary work in fiction body of work." On top of the accolades, the winner is awarded $96,000. John le Carré, the longtime spy novelist, is one of 13 finalists. Le Carré said he is flattered, then promptly added: Thanks, but no thanks. In book circles, that's tantamount to "throwing down the gauntlet" and demanding pistols at dawn "for satisfaction." Literary tongues are atwitter. With apologies to Ian Fleming, a controversy has been both shaken and stirred. The famed espionage writer wants his name withdrawn, at once. At once, you hear! Le Carré, a millionaire many times over, wants to "give less established authors the opportunity to win.” Rather than contemplating "A Murder of Quality," the Booker folks, though pained, still consider Le Carré "Our Kind of Traitor." Even if their spy novelist won't, um, come in from the cold, they plan to shove their prize down his throat anyway (if he wins). "John le Carré's name will, of course, remain on the list," the Booker committee chair sniffed in a statement. "We are ... great admirers of his work." Well, as le Carré himself once observed, "A committee is an animal with four back legs." Quite right, old boy. Still, in an age of abject narcissism, Mr. le Carré's gentlemanly gesture is a classy act. Well played, sir.