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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le…
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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974)

by John le Carré

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: The Karla Trilogy (1), George Smiley novels (5)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3,9211011,200 (4.03)274
1001 (28) 1001 books (24) 20th century (51) British (60) British literature (29) Cold War (154) crime (28) ebook (20) England (63) English (28) espionage (341) fiction (643) Folio Society (26) George Smiley (55) literature (21) mystery (140) novel (90) own (20) read (64) read in 2011 (20) series (21) smiley (34) spy (265) spy fiction (38) spy novel (27) spy thriller (26) suspense (51) thriller (205) to-read (38) UK (21)
  1. 10
    The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré (longway)
  2. 00
    The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (tandah)
    tandah: A different era, but similar pacing and sense of foreboding.
  3. 11
    The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth (John_Vaughan)
    John_Vaughan: More perfect atmosphere.
  4. 11
    Game, Set & Match by Len Deighton (John_Vaughan)
    John_Vaughan: Another great trilogy.
  5. 11
    The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carré (John_Vaughan)
    John_Vaughan: Setting the oeuvre.
  6. 12
    The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross (wvlibrarydude)
  7. 16
    Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy (Hedgepeth)
    Hedgepeth: Red Rabbit is any early case in Jack Ryans career that is not as action driven as some of the other novels. It moves a little faster than Tinker, Tailor but should still appeal to those who appreciate a more methodical pace.
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English (93)  French (2)  Swedish (2)  German (1)  Dutch (1)  Spanish (1)  Danish (1)  All languages (101)
Showing 1-5 of 93 (next | show all)
A very interesting book. The plot is complex and twisty, as befits the topic, and the characters are as complicated as the plot; I need to read this book again sometime when I have more uninterrupted time to focus (or when I've had more sleep). I suspect my rating will go up when I reread it; it's definitely good writing and grabbed my attention enough to keep me from giving up when I got confused.

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. ( )
  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 |
Showing 1-5 of 93 (next | show all)
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
added by John_Vaughan | editNew Yorker, Anthony Lane (Dec 14, 2011)
 
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.
added by thorold | editThe Observer, Neal Ascherson (Sep 11, 2011)
 
"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.
added by John_Vaughan | editNY Times, Richard Locke (Jul 20, 1974)
 

» Add other authors (16 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
John le Carréprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Davidson, FrederickNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Jayston, MichaelNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Soellner, HeddaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Soellner, RolfTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Woolfitt, AdamCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Tinker,
Tailor,
Soldier,
Sailor,
Rich Man,
Poor Man,
Beggarman,
Thief.

Small children's fortune-telling rhyme used when counting cherry stones, waistcoat buttons, daisy petals, or the seeds of the Timothy grass.
- from the Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
Dedication
For James Bennett and Dusty Rhodes in memory.
First words
The truth is, if old Major Dover hadn't dropped dead at Taunton races Jim would never have come to Thursgood's at all.
Quotations
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0743457900, Paperback)

John le Carre's classic novels deftly navigate readers through the intricate shadow worlds of international espionage with unsurpassed skill and knowledge and have earned him -- and his hero, British Secret Service agent George Smiley -- unprecedented worldwide acclaim.

A modern masterpiece in which le Carre expertly creates a total vision of a secret world, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" begins George Smiley's chess match of wills and wits with Karla, his Soviet counterpart.

It is now beyond doubt that a mole, implanted decades ago by Moscow Centre, has burrowed his way into the highest echelons of British Intelligence. His treachery has already blown some of its most vital operations and its best networks. It is clear that the double agent is one of its own kind. But which one? George Smiley is assigned to identify him. And once identified, the traitor must be destroyed.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:56:42 -0500)

(see all 8 descriptions)

British agent George Smiley hunts for a mole in the Secret Service and begins his epic game of international chess with his Soviet counterpart, an agent named Karla.

» see all 8 descriptions

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