John Le Carré, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”, 1974, Alfred A. Knopf, 355 pp
There is a just released movie of this same title which I will now have to see as I read and enjoyed this book.
This is my first Le Carré book and will not be my last. In the current instance, this book is a British spy novel featuring George Smiley, a middle-aged intelligence man recently forced into retirement (much like myself…heh, heh, heh). He is recalled to find a suspected Soviet mole that has allegedly penetrated the highest levels of the “Circus” (British Secret Intelligence); there is a list of suspects, Smiley is on that list. Le Carré brings authenticity to his writing through his actual experience as a British Intelligent agent.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the first novel of the Karla Trilogy, the second and third novels being The Honourable Schoolboy (1977) and Smiley's People (1979). These are the fifth, sixth, and seventh Le Carré spy novels featuring George Smiley. It appears I will have some reading to do; I recommend others join in.
Le Carré (his nom de guerre) listed which of his books he thought were his best:
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
The Tailor of Panama
The Constant Gardener
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