Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: A George Smiley Novel Paperback – June 7, 2011

Like most of the best-selling works emanating from the unchallenged master of the intelligent spy thriller John LeCarre, this is in reality a fictional but absorbing treatise on the hidden and conflicted corners of the human heart, the many ways in which our own natures feed into and extend the darker impulse of a society bent on pursuing the secrets and treachery that ever lurks for the unsuspecting victim. Here, in the first of three best-selling novels tracing the pilgrim's progress of George Smiley, the intrepid and unlikely hero of the post-industrial Western world, LeCarre initiates his marvelously convoluted narrative tracing the continuing history of the Smiley chronicles, a spell-binding and endlessly intricate treatise detailing the perfidy, moral compromises, and treachery of the world of British intelligence.In "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", once-cashiered intelligence expert George Smiley is called unofficially out of retirement to vet the suspects of passing British intelligence to the Russians by way of a deep-rooted mole with the Circus, the trade-name for British Intelligence. Once engaged, Smiley's ministrations are thrust toward unraveling the morass of conflicting evidence and false leads into a tapestry of meaningful clues. Much of the upper hierarchy within the Circus constitute the list of most likely suspects, so George has to proceed carefully, cautiously, and yet deliberately toward the truth, whatever it may be.Given Smiley's past association and personal relationships with each of the protagonists, including one who cuckolded him by having a fling with George's now estranged wife, keeping the investigation on its deadly track is a delicate trick with many wild yet plausible and ingenious twists and turns. It is also the first of the several steps he must take to exact his revenge against the legendary Karla, the Chief of the Soviet Covert Espionage Bureau. So, as the he and his chosen covert investigation team begins to unravel the many points of light this careful sifting of signs through tradecraft, there is a number of levels of intelligence, motives, and intents all operating at once, and these LeCarre mines superbly in exploring the impulses rational and otherwise, that propel such urges.The plot, as usual, is ingenious, intricate, and horrific in its human toll, played out against a landscape of the far-flung persons and places across the European landscape, from London to Berne to Deep inside the former Soviet Union. Once again LeCarre takes us on a cautious yet beautifully choreographed adventure into the heart of darkness of ourselves, and we shouldn't be surprised to find some scar tissue and broken bones as we descend deeper into the tortuous caverns we keep hidden in our subconscious realms. LeCarre is nothing if not a superb chronicler of the ways in which our own natures become a battle ground for the struggle between good and evil, the good we can be for others, and the evil we do to them and ourselves by subscribing to ideologies, almost any ideology, that finally forces us to choose between our values and our duty. This is a marvelous book, an entertaining read, and a stunning example of the sophistication, complexity, and sheer intelligence of the author in detailing the subterranean world of international espionage. Enjoy!

I recently watched the new Tinker Tailor movie. It inspired me to read the book again. John LeCarre crafts a compelling story and the book can be enjoyed just from that point of view. Fiction is a great way to portray the paranoia of the cold war and the shifting relationship between the British and American secret services. However, I found myself reading paragraphs over and over - amazed at how well they were written. Just enough description to make you feel "there." Just enough cleverness and humor but with little modern snark. Clear, concise language. I went back to the first George Smiley book- "Call for the Dead" written in 1961 and found the same quality. I followed with "The Spy who came in from the Cold" and "The Looking Glass War." It's amazing these books were written in his spare time in small apartments with his family underfoot, while working long hours overseas for the British foreign service.Tinker Tailor is my favorite of all his books. It shows maturity in both the writing and the story structure. It is interesting to read after seeing both films. The book reinforces how much better the BBC version is- truer to the book yet standing on its own choices of powerful visual imagery. I've read that LaCarre preferred the BBC Tinker Tailor to any other filmed version of his books, including Richard Burton in "The Spy." I suspect the film has the most power because it started from the strongest book. The tension of Peter Guillam's visit to The Circus to steal files is just as paralyzing in the book as in the movie- even when you know how it works out. In a way the earlier books seem to culminate in "Tinker, Tailor." And speaking of Peter, his back story in the book makes him a more understandable and sympathetic character.If you have only seen the new film, please do yourself a favor and read the book. Then go back and read "Call" and meet a younger George, chasing spies in the fog and still believing he can get Anne back.

It's a bit of a tough read, and a long one. That doesn't put me off. I like to work for my entertainment. No, really, I do. I like to be made to think and puzzle out things. But I can usually read a novel in a few days to a week, depending on how long it is. This took me nearly three. I loved it, though. I did. I loved every minute of it. And it's not, as some have said before, a Clancy-esque, fly by the seat of your pants, techno thriller. It is so, and brooding, and thoughtful. It's a knot that is slowly untied. And to me it's written in that classic British style, with subtlety and complex plotting and a story arch that is broad and sweeping. I loved it. I've read leCarre before and loved him and this was one of his more famous novels, but I turned to it because of the new movie, which I wanted to see. I meant to read this first, but got impatient. I watched the new movie, loved it for the casting and acting, but couldn't follow the story at all. so read the book. Now I'm going to watch the mini-series with Alec Guinness. I expect to love it. I really did enjoy the book, but I can see how it may not be for everyone, and especially for today's impatient readers.