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Loading... Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974)by John le Carré
 castiron | May 10, 2013 |  Having some time ago seen a BBC serial adaptation I did have a general idea of the plot (although I did not remember the identity of Gerald) but nonetheless still enjoyed a compelling read. This is not an "action" thriller and the story starts quietly with the arrival of Jim Prideaux at Thursgood's school near Taunton where he immediately attracts the attention of another new boy Bill Roach. The action (such as it is) then moves to London where a recently retired George Smiley finds his services are again required to unearth a high-level Russian mole at the Circus. The appeal to me of this book is the way that the author gets inside the mind of George Smiley as we follow his painstaking way through a labyrinth of deception to uncover initially what went dreadfully wrong in Czechoslovakia and from there to eliminate the five suspects (himself included). There is no sex (only one woman plays a minor role) and no graphic violence yet this is a page turner which will appeal to those who enjoy a cerebal "whodunit". (  ) supersnake | Apr 26, 2013 | This book has such pace and yet a lot of the action isn't right before our eyes. The characters are vivid and most of the time I thought I was right there next to Smiley walking through London. Really brilliant. Will definitely be reading the other Smiley books. ( ) teaswirls | Apr 3, 2013 | Really fun, intricate stuff. I found it hard to follow at times--lots of names, and psuedonyms, and spies being spy-ish--but the plot took me, regardless. Still relevant in its politics, too, even if it was written during/at the end of the Cold War. Gary Oldman will make a wonderful George Smiley, but now I want to see the BBC TV miniseries with Sir Alec Guinness, too. (  ) jeremyfarnumlane | Apr 3, 2013 | In the Netherlands there's a television program 'Who is the mole' and this could be the paper version of it. For the die hard fans of both, this could be felt as an affront, but it is just my humble opinion. I had great problems finishing this book. On the one hand the story was told in a way that it caught my attention, in wanting to know the final outcome. On the other hand it was SOOOO boring, that on numerous occasions I nearly fell asleep reading it. Smiley did a thorough job, searching for evidence, making deductions, questioning finding out the truth behind the many layers of lies that come with the job of a spy, but the way the whole was told made it very boring to me. It took me 2 weeks to finish! A rarity for me for a book in a genre I usually like, in my mother tongue. Apart from the contents of the book there were also lots of mistakes made: grammar, choice of words. It made me wonder if the text was ever thoroughly edited. I joked even, that nobody who aspires a career in this line of work (and who likes a bit of action) should read this book first. Then no one would ever consider ;-) Edited to correct mistypings and add a comma or two for readability. (  ) BoekenTrol71 | Mar 31, 2013 |
 10 of the Greatest Cold War Spy Novels “Like Fleming, Le Carré (real name: David John Moore Cornwall) worked for British intelligence. But where Fleming used his WW 2 experiences as a springboard for fantasy, Le Carre turned his Cold War service into grimly realistic novels. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1963) trumped Deighton as a response to James Bond’s glamourous world of espionage, and he continues to turn out fine work to this day. Tinker charts the search for a Soviet mole in the upper echelons of British intelligence, providing Le Carré’s signature character – the low-key professional George Smiley – with a late-in-the-game chance to reclaim his standing in the Circus (MI6), made bittersweet by betrayal. A fine BBC serialization in 1974 was followed by an equally well-received feature-film version in 2011.” Karla is finally lured across a Berlin bridge and into the West. But, again, what figure is cut by the evil mastermind when he appears? “He wore a grimy shirt and a black tie: he looked like a poor man going to the funeral of a friend.” Le Carré has never written a better sentence, one so impatient of ideology and so attentive to what he, following W. H. Auden, describes plainly as “the human situation.” The television series of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” has lost none of its grip, and the new film will recruit new friends to the cause; but if we seek George Smiley and his people, with their full complement of terrors, illusions, and shames, we should follow the example of the ever-retiring Smiley, and go back to our books. That’s the truth The power of the novel is that le Carré transfigured espionage – its techniques, failures and deceptions – into a rich metaphor combining national decay, the disintegration of certainties with advancing age, the impossibility of knowing another human being's mind, the fragility of all trust and loyalty. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" is fluently written; it is full of vivid character sketches of secret agents and bureaucrats from all levels of British society , and the dialogue catches their voices well. The social and physical details of English life and the day to day activities of the intelligence service at home and abroad are convincing. Unlike many writers Le Carré is at his best showing men hard at work; he is fascinated by the office politics of the agency since the war. Is contained inThe Quest for Karla: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy / The Honourable Schoolboy / Smiley's People by John le Carré Has the adaptation
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ETA after second read: Yes indeed, I liked it even better on the second read, when I was able to catch the hints that I missed the first time through. (