The first of a series of novels by John Le Carré about the British espionage agent George Smiley and his long-ranging battle against Soviet spy-master Karla is splendidly written and methodically, quietly thrilling. It is also somewhat thick going at times, with a large number of characters to track and a patois pertinent to the espionage trade that is often left to the reader to decipher purely by context. The cold, relentless, doggedness of the plot is exhilarating despite being largely people simply asking and answering (or not answering) questions. Something of the anti-James Bond, in that shoot-outs and derring-do are virtually absent, the book nonetheless pulls the reader along forcibly but with gentility. There's a melancholy air about the milieu and around George Smiley, the ousted, cuckolded senior agent. It's a very good book. ( )

This is an absolute masterwork. It's also a spy novel, which means that I can't really discuss it much without introducing subtle little spoilers. Who knows, maybe it's so damn good that spoilers don't matter and it would probably be even better on a second reading, but just in case, stop reading this review and go and pick it up.

The prose is lucid, the plot compelling, the characters brilliant, the ideas engaging and the moral journey richly rewarding. See, I've done it already. I told you to stop reading. What does "moral journey" mean? As you read this book you'll be so desperate for clues that every review you've ever read will rattle around inside your brain and possibly distract you. Best to just take my word for it and go and pick it up. If you're worried that this is not really your genre, don't. I have read two spy novels in my life and although this is undoubtedly genre fiction, it transcends its genre entirely. If you only read one spy novel in your life, make it this one. ( )

Grand fun! A real spy novel! Smiley has to figure it all out and finally sets a trap to catch the mole. Now, with my third Le Carre novel, I have hit a classic. ( )

3 1/2 stars. I read several of le Carre's Smiley books back in the late 70s and my overall memory of them was that they were OK but not that interesting. Spurred on by the selection of this book as a group read for a GoodReads group, I decided it was time to revisit this and see if my opinion had changed.

I remembered very little of the details of the plot but unfortunately discovered that my impression still held true. I can now admire le Carre's writing, and the espionage mole hunt for a Russian agent inside the British "Circus" was probably realisitic, but the pace was too slow for me. I also found Smiley himself a character that I never bonded to - and disliked all the stuff about his wife Ann. I much preferred [b:Agent in Place|550739|Agent in Place|Helen MacInnes|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1282706669s/550739.jpg|2913443] by Helen MacInnes and [b:The Cardinal of the Kremlin|382549|The Cardinal of the Kremlin (Jack Ryan, #4)|Tom Clancy|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1319381380s/382549.jpg|17028815] by Tom Clancy which deal with the same basic premise. ( )

I don't get this one. Bureaucracy and paperwork investigations aren't very thrilling. Disappointing after "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold". ( )