PENGUIN Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: The Smiley Collection

First published in 1974, this well-known novel captures aspects of that period very well.Le Carré can’t be accused of dumbing down for the readers. It is as if he subjects us in a subliminal way to the world of international espionage through the mentioning of countless names, work-name alternatives, organisational affiliations, obtuse exchanges in dialogue, disjointed timelines, story jumps, and awkward sentences that need rereading to clarify who is the subject and who the object.Meanwhile, while we struggle to decipher the plot, Smiley whispers in our ear. Nothing escapes him, except his marriage.The Circus (from Cambridge Circus) is an appropriate term for the freak show of inflated egos and over-clever mental acrobats that rub against each other on its top floor. Meanwhile, the achievements of the narrative are also its downfall, as is the aloofness of Smiley for him. I was pleased to reach the end and be able to leave him to the job of seemingly protecting us all from those appointed to do that.

This book is a masterpiece, which I'm sure other, more well-read people have said many times before. I love how it throws the reader into the deep end from page one. Immediately I found myself lost in the middle of the situation with dozens of characters and secret services lingo I knew nothing about. I can't say I was too familiar with the historical and political context of that time, except from some general knowledge. It took me a while to get my head around it and understand (kind of) what is going on. Bit by bit, mainly from the context, I started unravelling the thread and gaining some understanding of the maze of agendas, relationships, plans and plots. The writer is not short on words, and in my opinion this is not the easy type of beach book you take on holiday, nor is it the type of book you can leave for a month and then get back to it. It took all my attention to follow it, and if I left it even for a week I had a hard time remembering everyone and getting back on. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and I do recommend it. I will say though that, in order to read this in English as a non-native speaker, you need some solid language knowledge and vocabulary, it's on the challenging side.

Maybe this was good in the 70's. I bought this based on glowing reviews, his 'masterpiece' but this is the first book I couldn't finish. It's style is hard work, a book should not be hard work, it should be enjoyable. Too many characters, too much chopping and changing, too much over writing and complication, and to top it off it's just dull! If this was the authors masterpiece then I dread to think what the other works are like. Still, fires always need lighting...

If looking for action on every page this will not be the book for you. A slow burner, but a well written work, probably one of the best of the spy genre. Not an easy read with it's twists and turns, complicated characters and equally complicated plot line, which requires alertness in order to follow. The Cold War period atmosphere is described wonderfully well. as are the characters, and there are all aspects of human nature both good and bad in this book. If prepared for a challenging read this may be the one for you.

Until recently, I was far from being an avid reader of spy-novels (come to think of it, I can't even remember ever having read a single one). But then, as we were going to spend our summer holidays in Leizpig i.e. behind what once was the Iron Curtain, it seemed appropriate to travel there fictionally as well, so I left with 3 Le Carré-novels in my bags: 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy',  The Honourable Schoolboy , and  Smiley's People , the three novels centering on Smiley's ongoing battle with the Russian spymaster Karla.As it turned out, Leipzig had too much to offer to finish all three but I did read 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', and my what a thrill that was! George Smiley is definitely not the kind of spy or secret agent I expected (which is probably because the only two others I could name would be James Bond and Jason Bourne), but physically unimpressive and unprepossessing as he may be, he rapidly established himself in my mind as the yardstick against which all other spies must measure up. True enough, there is some physical action in 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', but the focus of the book is on the battle of minds between Smiley and the mole hiding at the centre of British Intelligence, and Smiley's formidable challenge there: how do you spy on the spies?Rarely have I been so drawn into a story from page one, with 'old Major Dover dropping dead at the Taunton races'. The language and dialogues are superb, each character is exquisitely drawn, and Le Carré instills much of the book with a sense of impending disaster keeping one reading on and on. Great book, I should have read this years ago! The Honourable SchoolboySmiley's People