Don't be fooled: although Le Carré's books are ostensibly about espionage, they are actually an extended meditation on what it is to be English once the empire has crumbled and Albion is no more than a grey and damp island. The Karla trilogy (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, followed by An Honorable Schoolboy, and then this one) provide not just the benchmark for what a spy novel should be, but a primer for Le Carré's extended meditation on what deception does to the soul. ( )

As if walking at Smiley’s side through Tinker Tailor and then the Honorable Schoolboy; to do so again in this last book in the trilogy becomes a riveting experience. From its start in Paris to its final bone chilling scene, this book is a must read. Still as vibrant today as when the Cold War raged. ( )

Spy

Here, in his series of spy novels featuring George Smiley, author Le Carre is at his best. The novels that followed somehow never came up to the standard set with the characterizations of George Smiley, the Foreign Office bureaucrats and all the players connected with the Circus. George Smiley, who cut his teeth in the spy business as a Brithish spy on the run in WWII Germany, has been retired from his job in the Circus, the chief intelligence unit in England. He is brought back because of his history with a Circus informer who has been shot. Through the winding passages of his past associations in the Circus, George is brought into a contest with his old rival, Karla of KGB fame. Wonderfully developed characters in a fast moving, well-written book. ( )

Far better than the first, better than the second. ( )