The Barnes & Noble Review, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy which first appeared in 1974, is arguably Le Carré's masterpiece and is surel...
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Sep 06, 2010
Patrick
rated it: 
I had read The Spy Who Came In From the Cold on my honeymoon in Paris, and I remember liking it, but not rushing out to get more Le Carre. Well, now I'm going to rush out to get more Le Carre.
I didn't give this five stars because it was a touch slow to get moving. I think if I'd just been able to focus a little more, I would've been into the plot faster. Le Carre has this ability to make every character a mystery. So much is withheld from the reader, and yet the characters are More...
I didn't give this five stars because it was a touch slow to get moving. I think if I'd just been able to focus a little more, I would've been into the plot faster. Le Carre has this ability to make every character a mystery. So much is withheld from the reader, and yet the characters are More...
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(12 people liked it)
Oct 29, 2011
Ryan
rated it:
Veterans of Britain's secret service refer to MI6 as the Circus, and when Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opens, our hero George Smiley has been kicked out of the show. So Smiley has not retired with dignity, but rather has been ousted for backing a jaded horse. The head of Circus, a spy so skilled that people only knew him as "Control," went out in a blaze of tragedy, and Smiley's career was one of the casualties.
Unknown to most, Control was trying to find a mole. He failed and More...
Unknown to most, Control was trying to find a mole. He failed and More...
3 comments
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(10 people liked it)
Jan 31, 2012
Ted
rated it: 
I remember that when I read this (and the other Karla novels) years ago, I ripped through them to the detriment of my understanding of all the twists and turns of the plot. So although I enjoyed them immensely, when I was all finished (and even during the reading) I felt somewhat confused about what story le Carre had actually told.
So a couple years ago I watched (Netflix) the BBC adaptation of the books with Alec Guinness. Again, I enjoyed it no end, but while the 7 hour condensat More...
So a couple years ago I watched (Netflix) the BBC adaptation of the books with Alec Guinness. Again, I enjoyed it no end, but while the 7 hour condensat More...
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(1 person liked it)
Oct 22, 2011
Angie
rated it:
Great read...in the end.
Ok, this one was interesting as it threw up lots of double-edged characters and a system of espionage firmly planted back in the dark ages when technology was unheard of and a rigid secret service, heavily staffed and regimented, took charge of British secret service activities. These inner working alone meant that despite strict protocol, it was entirely possible that a mole existed within the top ranks.
I found the character of George Smiley completel More...
Ok, this one was interesting as it threw up lots of double-edged characters and a system of espionage firmly planted back in the dark ages when technology was unheard of and a rigid secret service, heavily staffed and regimented, took charge of British secret service activities. These inner working alone meant that despite strict protocol, it was entirely possible that a mole existed within the top ranks.
I found the character of George Smiley completel More...
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(5 people liked it)
Dec 20, 2011
A book of 1974.With an enlightening 1991 Introduction on Carré's characters vis-a-vis himself; that is,many similarities perceived between Carré and Philby,Kim...regarding the father ("dictatorial") figure;though Carré never went Philby's way. Also mentioned Carré's sympathy for George Blake: another KGB traitor,but of Jewish and Dutch descent. Revealing: Carré's reflections on the word "mole": his? ...well,no. Maybe coined by Francis Bacon, back in 1641 in "Histoire of
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(1 person liked it)
Sep 25, 2011
It took me more than half of the book to get a rough idea of what is going on (by that I don't mean the overall plot of course, that is pretty straight forward).
Only then did I start to understand how people are connected and why certain things are important enough to be investigated. After that the book got pretty interesting actually and I finished the last half within a day.
The major problem with the first half of the book is probably my inexperience with the genre in ge More...
Only then did I start to understand how people are connected and why certain things are important enough to be investigated. After that the book got pretty interesting actually and I finished the last half within a day.
The major problem with the first half of the book is probably my inexperience with the genre in ge More...
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 29, 2008
Katie
rated it:
The first in John LeCarre's Karla trilogy, this is considered to be the best espionage novel written. The superbly conceived mystery follows George Smiley, a retired British spy, in his quest to discover a mole within the Circus (British Intelligence Headquarters). "Tinker, Tailor, etc." is wording taken from a nursery rhyme that refers to the four men who have taken over the Circus, all of which are prime suspects in the case. The plot shows more similarities to an Agatha Christie nov
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Jan 10, 2008
Derrick
rated it:
Oft billed as the "anti-Ian Flemming," John Le Carre inverts all the typical trappings of the spy-thriller: in place of the handsome, gadget-happy g-man we're given a sacked, middle-aged cuckold whose attention to detail and intellectual virtuosity quietly derail Moscow Central's invisible vise-grip on the Circus.
Note that "quietly," as the tension here is all cerebral, the violence and spectacle off-stage, and the stakes themselves, though no less dire than the f More...
Note that "quietly," as the tension here is all cerebral, the violence and spectacle off-stage, and the stakes themselves, though no less dire than the f More...
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(11 people liked it)
Jan 03, 2008
Kate
rated it: 
First off, I understand that Tinker Tailor is a spy novel, and that Le Carre obviously wanted to achieve a certain effect appropriate to the genre, and to keep everything "realistic." But it was jargon-y to a fault, and in keeping its audience as in the dark as its protagonist, it succeeded too well.
Furthermore, its characters never spoke the way they were described - it was always "'could you pass the tea please, that's a boy,' he shouted furiously." And about More...
Furthermore, its characters never spoke the way they were described - it was always "'could you pass the tea please, that's a boy,' he shouted furiously." And about More...
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(5 people liked it)
Oct 10, 2007
Dan
rated it:
Smiley is as close to being the perfect fictional character as can be. LeCarre' breathes life into him with painstaking attention to detail. Smiley is a complex individual, brilliant and deeply flawed but honorable and admirable. If George were a real human being, I think I'd like to have him as a friend.
This novel is a tour-de-force in writing and a textbook example of the cold war genre but it is also a study in human nature as well. LeCarre' is what I imagine to be an author's More...
This novel is a tour-de-force in writing and a textbook example of the cold war genre but it is also a study in human nature as well. LeCarre' is what I imagine to be an author's More...
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(7 people liked it)
Sep 06, 2010
danny
rated it:
I've read and re-read this probably half a dozen times. Absolutely the finest most textured espionage novel EVER written (including Le Carre's other espionage masterpiece "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold"). Honestly, you need a scorecard to keep the characters and plot line straight. Loosely based on the British spy scandals of the 50s/60s/70s. Too damned good to put down or read once. FYI the BBC television mini-series (starring Sir Alec Guiness) faithfully follows the plot lin
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Dec 16, 2009
gaby
rated it:
And thus began what would be a year and a half-long obsession with George Smiley and his British Circus. Having now read every last book in which Smiley is even cursorily mentioned, I can say steadfast that this is Le Carre's masterwork. It is a warm, immersive book. It draws you in like a warm sweater, and keeps you suspended weightless and happy in its alternate world. I literally read this book three times in a row before moving on to the next in the trilogy (The Honourable Schoolboy). It i
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(8 people liked it)
Dec 17, 2009
Jeremiah
rated it:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is not only le Carre's masterpiece, not only perhaps the greatest spy novel ever written, but it is also a great work of serious fiction. Few works of fiction examine so many types of betrayal: of country, of friends, of lovers, of ideals. In none of the espionage master's other works are so many layers of meaning revealed, all inseparable from a highly entertaining cat-and-mouse adventure yarn. The story of supposedly retired spy George Smiley's efforts to ferret ou
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(8 people liked it)
Aug 08, 2007
Christian
rated it:
This book was written to be a counter point to the James Bond films. Instead of rocket packs and laser wrist watches, it is a realistic portrayal of espionage, middle aged bureaucrats in dusty ministry offices. The tone is melancholic and philosophical. I first come across Le Carre in discussions in my ethics in government course. The main character, George Smiley, is portrayed as a moral man struggling within an amoral environment, with and against selfish, men. A bit dry, but for me its got to
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(2 people liked it)
Feb 08, 2012
Liana
rated it: 
This book was an enjoyable read, and it's always fun to follow really smart, well-trained people out-maneuvering each other. I saw the movie (starring Gary Oldman) before I read the book, so that affected what I thought of it somewhat. For example, I ended up picturing all the characters as what they looked like in the movie (except for Toby Esterhase, who was described pretty differently), which worked well because they were cool actors in the first place so it was no problem hanging out with t
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Feb 07, 2012
Nader
rated it:
In its basic structure, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy bears a fair bit of resemblance to Le Carre's previous spy novel, 1968's A Small Town in Germany. Like that book, it centers on an ungainly outsider (in this case, George Smiley, now an outsider by virtue of his retirement) who is brought in to investigate a community of British civil service officials who appear to have been compromised (in this case, senior officials of the "Circus," one of whom may be a Soviet mole). That investig
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Feb 05, 2012
Benjamin
rated it:
I found this engrossing, riveting, but sometimes a bit over my head with the intelligence slang. It inspired me to do a little research on British Intelligence moles like the Cambridge 5 and on Le Carre's own background. Fascinating material and all uniquely British. Le Carre's style is so much more suspenseful than say, Fleming, who is more entertaining for his sheer campyness, intentional or not. Le Carre however is entertaining for the very real intrigue he portrays. He explores moral ambigui
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Feb 01, 2012
Rett
rated it:
The one person left to spy on the spy
Suspicion becomes a deadly threat within the “Circus” when a mole is suspected to have burrowed deep into the highest echelon of British Intelligence and George Smiley is asked to come out of retirement and uncover the supposed double agent.
That’s a straightforward account of LeCarre’s amazingly constructed story that I hope you’d easily agree has earned spot at the very top of the espionage genre.
Smiley, the former spy is asked More...
Suspicion becomes a deadly threat within the “Circus” when a mole is suspected to have burrowed deep into the highest echelon of British Intelligence and George Smiley is asked to come out of retirement and uncover the supposed double agent.
That’s a straightforward account of LeCarre’s amazingly constructed story that I hope you’d easily agree has earned spot at the very top of the espionage genre.
Smiley, the former spy is asked More...
Jan 25, 2012
Katja
rated it:
A clever tale of old spies, old loyalties and old times…George Smiley, an ex-spy, is pulled out of retirement to investigate his own friends and colleagues in the British Secret Service, and uncover the Russian mole in their midst.
This was a momentous book for me – my first Le Carre! The book contains a lot of spy-jargon (a good deal of it apparently made up by Le Carre) – “The Party”, “The Circus”, “The Centre”…most of it I could work out from context and as for the rest, I had to con More...
This was a momentous book for me – my first Le Carre! The book contains a lot of spy-jargon (a good deal of it apparently made up by Le Carre) – “The Party”, “The Circus”, “The Centre”…most of it I could work out from context and as for the rest, I had to con More...
Jan 24, 2012
Jackie
rated it:
It took me a few days after reading this book to review it, mainly because I was trying to figure out what to compare it to. I think the best way for me is this. It's like most of the films that win the Oscar or Academy Award for best picture if the year. Everyone raves about the movie, how full of good old dark humor and innuendos, and how maaauuuvelous the acting is, so much so that you are present in person. And so I watch the movie with a huge bowl of popcorn and my GIANT diet coke, all reve
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Jan 17, 2012
Jonnie
rated it:
After having viewed the (2011) film I had to pick up the book. Back round the time it was written (1974) I had picked this up and struggled to get through it. LeCarre writes in a very full (perhaps dated) style; and whilst this sort of writing has been an influence on my own writing manner I certainly don't find it amenable to a spy thriller. 'TTSS' is a very intense book (like the new film); and a reader really has to stay with it to get anything out of it. But it probably depicts the reali
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Jan 17, 2012
Jake
rated it:
I'll admit right off the bat: this book is not for those who view Fleming's vision of the intelligence community as the ideal form of a spy novel. Tinker, Tailor is slow, labyrinth, and brooding in its examination of the realistic and, sadly, everyday moral ambiguities that were faced by the men and women at MI6. Set in the 70's, with a generous smattering of generational disillusionment, British cultural mores, and enough office slang to keep you wondering what exactly a "lamplighter"
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Jan 13, 2012
Carmen
rated it:
El topo es una de esas historias que parecen haber existido desde siempre con independencia de su creador, una historia tan completa, precisa y apasionante que solamente hacía falta que alguien se tomara el trabajo de descubrirla y contarla al mundo. Pero tener una buena historia es solo la mitad de la tarea, aún más importante es saber contarla. Y aquí es donde Le Carré nos muestra su genio sin igual : a diferencia de Ludlum y compañía, que centran sus creaciones en un héroe único que lucha
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Jan 11, 2012
Jonathan
rated it:
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy isn’t as critically acclaimed as John le Carré’s earlier novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, but it’s still an unquestioned classic of the spy novel. It’s the first in le Carré’s informal “Karla Trilogy,” which also includes The Honorable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People. The book begins scant months after the leadership of the Circus (the colloquial term used for MI6, the foreign secret service branch of British intelligence) has been usurped due to a botched opera
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Jan 08, 2012
El
rated it:
Apparently I'm turning into a really shitty reader.
This is the first Le Carré I've read, and whatever, I think I expected a little more James Bond than, well, George Smiley - a name which every single time was mentioned (which was quite a lot) always made me think of his muppet-brother, Guy Smiley. Picturing George as a human and not a muppet made the reading more difficult than I had intended. (See first note about becoming a really shitty reader.)
And in my current moo More...
This is the first Le Carré I've read, and whatever, I think I expected a little more James Bond than, well, George Smiley - a name which every single time was mentioned (which was quite a lot) always made me think of his muppet-brother, Guy Smiley. Picturing George as a human and not a muppet made the reading more difficult than I had intended. (See first note about becoming a really shitty reader.)
And in my current moo More...
Dec 31, 2011
Jeremy
rated it:
Don't know how to classify this brilliant book, my first reading of Le Carre.
Anthony Lane, in a recent New Yorker, wrote a review of the new film version of 'Tinker, Tailor,' that provided a sketch of Le Carre's career and the other George Smiley novels. I was surprised to hear Lane praise Le Carre's writing and decided to read 'Tinker, Tailor' before the movie comes out (which looks fantastic - directed by the guy that made 'Let the Right One In,' one of my favorite movies in the p More...
Anthony Lane, in a recent New Yorker, wrote a review of the new film version of 'Tinker, Tailor,' that provided a sketch of Le Carre's career and the other George Smiley novels. I was surprised to hear Lane praise Le Carre's writing and decided to read 'Tinker, Tailor' before the movie comes out (which looks fantastic - directed by the guy that made 'Let the Right One In,' one of my favorite movies in the p More...
Dec 30, 2011
Timothy
rated it:
I think that there was little but clarity I could have asked for further from this book, and yet, I think that where I went with it was a feeling (unintended by the author, I think) that the whirl of names, of inside jokes and deep-background-necessary references just added to the layer upon layer of spydom, and with that, just had me more interested in cracking the case and being careful who I trust. It made me feel like a spy.
Although, there were things that I simply just didn't get, More...
Although, there were things that I simply just didn't get, More...
Oct 29, 2011
Brett
rated it:
This is a spy novel for people who hate spy novels. The conspiracy and the mole all take a backseat to the subtle psychology of the characters. The most fascinating (and slightly annoying) aspect of John le Carre's storytelling is that his flaws are intentional. You pretty much can guess who the spy is half-way, but later on Smiley admits it was obvious all along. Characters are introduced by name only and it's easy to lose track of them without more descriptions. Welcome to the spy world where
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Sep 23, 2011
Dan
rated it:
John le Carre has never come up on my radar as someone I desperately needed to read, but as my fiancee wants us to go and see the film next week, I decided I should read the book first, borrowing a copy from a friend via an arranged drop in my letterbox one evening.
But what a novel it is... the intricacy of the plot is greater than anything I think I've read, so much so that I found my head starting to spin; and combined with highly emotive writing and deep, vivid characterisation, t More...
But what a novel it is... the intricacy of the plot is greater than anything I think I've read, so much so that I found my head starting to spin; and combined with highly emotive writing and deep, vivid characterisation, t More...
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Aug 27, 2011
Stamatios
rated it:
Often described as the ultimate spy thriller, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" may disappoint, and even frustrate, new readers with its almost complete lack of action and its labyrinthine plot which unfolds non-linearly with a plethora of characters. This is a very difficult book to read indeed, but there's a sense of mystery and suspense that pushes the reader forward. Once you start it, you must absolutely finish it. I think it's because le Carré's characters are so complex and masterf
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