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Book Description
Smiley and his people are facing a remarkable challenge: a mole—a Soviet double agent—who has burrowed his way in and up to the highest level of British Intelligence. His treachery has already blown some of their vital operations and their best networks. The mole is one of their own kind. But who is it?
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Spy Tale, But Not Brilliant,
This review is from: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Paperback)
All in all I think Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a really great and compelling book. The writing is flawless and witty, and the characters are all extremely interesting. My only problem with the book is it excruciatingly slow pace, especially a quarter through where things got so slow I almost stopped reading all together. But things quickly pick-up near the end and while I saw the ending coming, it still made for a suspenseful story. And the book managed to get me even more excited for the upcoming film.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful characters, thick plot,
By "kellyke" (Roselle, IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Mass Market Paperback)
One of Le Carre's masterpieces, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is much more than a popcorn espionage novel. The characters are vibrant, and the setting is very good. I enjoyed the seemingly bumbling George Smiley, a British ex-spy who's actually sharp as a needle. When the Service thinks it's been pentrated by a Soviet mole, they called in George, whom they fired years ago for a fiasco in Czeckoslovakia. (Smiley's boss had embarked on a small private war there, without authorization or reason, and had caused quite a disruption.) Smiley digs through mounds of files and old briefings by night, searching for the clues that will lead him to the mole. The plot is very well done. My favorite part of Tinker Tailor, however, is the brilliant characterization. I can almost smell the people on the pages. Connie, an eccentric old lady reminscing about her days in British Intelligence (the Circus), an emotional and unfortuate woman who never quite grew up; Peter Guillam, the impatient, embattled and embittered spy who drags Smiley back in to the Circus; Jim Prideaux, the strong-as-an-ox victim of Czeckoslovakia, shot and wounded in the back, the master of the game who hides as a teacher at a boys prep school and charms the students earning himself the honor of a nickname (Rhino); Roach, a fat, athsmatic boy at the prep school who is enchanted with Rhino, loves him and misses him dearly when school lets out, worries about him, and later sees him bury a handgun in the garden, eventually convincing himself that the gun was only a dream. There are scores of others, just as real. The thick plot and wonderful characters of John Le Carre's first Smiley novel make it a delight to read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Smiley's Finest Hour,
This review is from: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Mass Market Paperback)
What happens if you've lost your friends, your motivation, your career is hopelessly stalled and you're coming to realize the entire foundation of said career is hopelessly misguided? As John Le Carre shows us, we'd probably just soldier on, like Tinker, Tailor's immortal anti-hero, George Smiley. Smiley half-suspects that the capture of the M16 "mole" won't really matter in the end; he knows, anyway, that his country is no longer a nation of Empire and that all that awaits him is a drab retirement, but somehow, he finds the strength and the facility to keep batting for England: at the end of the day, he is actually serving his country. Apart from the remarkable revelation that is George Smiley, Le Carre renders another expose: spying is nothing like we think it is - in fact, it is desparately unglamorous, lonely, plodding work in which even the leading lights will end up drowning in bureacracy. There are many, many scenes where our hero must navigate some dimly lit file room or office library, and the occasional, cringlingly embarassing office social gathering. But have no fear: the mole is found. I agree with others that this is Le Carre's best work.
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