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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy John le Carre Books

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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy John le Carre Books

James Jesus Angleton, the legendary (and controversial) chief of CIA counterintelligence, described his work, borrowing a phrase from T. S. Eliot, as a “wilderness of mirrors.” In such a wilderness, it is difficult to discern between reality and reflection. Add the element of danger, and the wilderness induces paranoia in the viewer. The setting of John Le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is this wilderness of mirrors.

The story takes place in 1973. It opens with Jim Prideaux, former British agent, being hired as a substitute teacher at a boys’ prep school. “Control” (head of Britain’s intelligence service, MI6) has died, George Smiley (Control’s chief lieutenant) has been sacked, Operation Testify (Prideaux’s last op in Czechoslovakia) ended in abject failure, and “Circus” (MI6), has been reorganized under a new chief.

Then, a British agent named Ricki Tarr comes across information that the Soviets are running a mole in the Circus, who is code-named “Gerald.” Oliver Lacon, the Civil Service officer responsible for MI6 oversight, approaches Smiley and asks him to investigate. As the novel unfolds, Smiley discovers that there is a mole, he is a double agent feeding the Circus bad Soviet intel, and he is responsible for blowing Prideaux’s op.

It is a testament to John Le Carré’s skill as a writer that Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a page-turner despite the fact that it contains so little action. Instead, the plot moves forward and the truth is revealed by means of conversations, flashbacks, and Smiley’s seemingly inexhaustible memory. Smiley walks us through the wilderness one mirror at a time until we see reality.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the fifth of seven novels in which George Smiley plays a part and the first of Le Carré’s famed “Karla Trilogy,” in which Smiley matches wits with “Karla,” head of “Moscow Center” (the KGB). It is followed by The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People. Of the five novels I have read so far, this and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (in which Smiley plays a small role) are the best.

Interestingly, Le Carré is releasing what is billed as a new George Smiley novel in September. It’s called A Legacy of Spies, and I look forward to reading it after I finish this series.


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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy John le Carre Books Reviews

Having watched the Alec Guinness mini-series twice, and the Gary Oldman film three times, and now reading this for the first time (I thought I had read it before and realized after the first chapter that I hadn't), I have to say I like Le Carre more as theatrical drama than written word.

Le Carre's story is intricately plotted and smoothly paced. The story moves along even as the author emphasizes that true espionage work is painstaking and not particularly flashy. He does a great job of building the world of "the Circus" and "Moscow Central."

But, for whatever reason, Le Carre's characters don't come alive for me on the page. I found myself recalling how Guinness (or, a couple of times, Oldman) played a scene to give me the connection to the Smiley of the novel. I relied on my memory of Ian Richardson and Clive Owen to flesh out Bill Haydon . . . and so forth. I can't put my finger on what it is about Le Carre's writing that distances me from almost all of the characters; perhaps it's because so much of the book is told from the perspective of Peter Guillam, who isn't that interesting a character for me. But there is one character that really worked for me Jim Prideaux, the British spy who is betrayed at the beginning of the book and whose loneliness and isolation is so painful. I felt his suspicion and sympathized with the hurt he must have felt, particularly as he faced the truth of what led to his being shot and captured. Ian Bannen's and Mark Strong's performances in the mini-series and film, respectively, are each quite vivid and effective, but I found that I didn't need them in order to connect with the Jim on the page.
"Tinker, Tailor..." is the fictionalized story of the Cambridge spies--notably Kim Philby. It's a Cold War story that takes you back to the 1970s. This is the first of three novels that were later published as a trilogy. I reread this old classic after many years as part of a John Le Carré book course. We read it along with a biography of Kim Philby, the British mole who spied for the USSR while a member of MI6, the British intelligence service. The writing is on a very high level. George Smiley is the main character, who appears in a number of Le Carré novels. He is quintessentially English, modest, and retiring, but with a sizeable ego when it comes to intelligence work. Imagine Alec Guiness in the role, as he appeared in the BBC series, and you will get an accurate picture. There's a bit of moderate, non-graphic violence, as well as allusions to moderate, non-graphic sex, and nothing in the way of profanity that I recall.

There's much debate about whether Le Carré (né David Cornwell) is a literary writer or just at the top of spy novelists. I believe he's both. This novel, in particular, has a lot of biographical material, thinly disguised. I read a biography of Le Carré at the same time as the course. There are many parallels to Philby's life, and much is taken from David Cornwell's experience as a member of the two British Secret Service organizations, MI5 and MI6. You can easily see where some of the characters were drawn from. Not necessarily so blatant as to be actual profiles, but the similarities are obvious. Reportedly, Le Carré"s friends liked the idea of their names being used in his novels, or their serving as inspiration for a character.

Highly recommended for those who like spy fiction and appreciate good writing.
James Jesus Angleton, the legendary (and controversial) chief of CIA counterintelligence, described his work, borrowing a phrase from T. S. Eliot, as a “wilderness of mirrors.” In such a wilderness, it is difficult to discern between reality and reflection. Add the element of danger, and the wilderness induces paranoia in the viewer. The setting of John Le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is this wilderness of mirrors.

The story takes place in 1973. It opens with Jim Prideaux, former British agent, being hired as a substitute teacher at a boys’ prep school. “Control” (head of Britain’s intelligence service, MI6) has died, George Smiley (Control’s chief lieutenant) has been sacked, Operation Testify (Prideaux’s last op in Czechoslovakia) ended in abject failure, and “Circus” (MI6), has been reorganized under a new chief.

Then, a British agent named Ricki Tarr comes across information that the Soviets are running a mole in the Circus, who is code-named “Gerald.” Oliver Lacon, the Civil Service officer responsible for MI6 oversight, approaches Smiley and asks him to investigate. As the novel unfolds, Smiley discovers that there is a mole, he is a double agent feeding the Circus bad Soviet intel, and he is responsible for blowing Prideaux’s op.

It is a testament to John Le Carré’s skill as a writer that Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a page-turner despite the fact that it contains so little action. Instead, the plot moves forward and the truth is revealed by means of conversations, flashbacks, and Smiley’s seemingly inexhaustible memory. Smiley walks us through the wilderness one mirror at a time until we see reality.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the fifth of seven novels in which George Smiley plays a part and the first of Le Carré’s famed “Karla Trilogy,” in which Smiley matches wits with “Karla,” head of “Moscow Center” (the KGB). It is followed by The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People. Of the five novels I have read so far, this and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (in which Smiley plays a small role) are the best.

Interestingly, Le Carré is releasing what is billed as a new George Smiley novel in September. It’s called A Legacy of Spies, and I look forward to reading it after I finish this series.