Smiley's People (George Smiley, #7; Karla Trilogy, #3) in Espionage Aficionados

Jan 20, 2017 Abubakar Mehdi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Smiley’s People is the last book in the “Karla Trilogy”; a series that describes the world of espionage during the Cold War. The story starts with a revelation by a ‘lost-agent’ recently resurfaced that at the very top of Circus (British secret service) there is a KGB agent, a mole spying for the Russians. And he is there for decades. Dangerous, resourceful and one of their own, this double-agent is capable of wrecking havoc if he isn’t caught immediately and off-guard. Here Smiley is called bac Smiley’s People is the last book in the “Karla Trilogy”; a series that describes the world of espionage during the Cold War. The story starts with a revelation by a ‘lost-agent’ recently resurfaced that at the very top of Circus (British secret service) there is a KGB agent, a mole spying for the Russians. And he is there for decades. Dangerous, resourceful and one of their own, this double-agent is capable of wrecking havoc if he isn’t caught immediately and off-guard. Here Smiley is called back from Retirement to spy on a spy, to draw a web inside the web and then patiently wait for him to walk into the trap.
From the offset the language of the book has marked “British-ness” to it, the slang, the jargon and even the sense of humour. As the story proceeds, the thrill of the game intensifies and one cannot help but admire Le Carré’s mastery. The second book, though not as a charming as the first one, had a very different tone and setting. I found it slightly ‘dragging’ at times, but the writing was so enchanting that one can hardly complain.
The third and the final book, pits Smiley and his arch-rival Karla against each other. The story, unlike the first two books, kicks off from a very thrilling start and keeps the reader on edge. Le Carré has a singular talent for story telling, and a keen eye for the details. He registers every flinch of fingers, every shift in tone of voice or demeanour and then describes it so perfectly that the reader can visualize the whole scene. His insights on the thoughts of a mind under extreme duress, the art of interrogation and reading of small signs in one’s body language are worth an entire book in itself.
There are some recurring themes present throughout the trilogy. Themes like Betrayal, Sexual frustration, promiscuity and love. There is a general mood of futility to the storyline, a sense of unending trepidation and unrequitedness. Maybe its not unique to just this series but is true for most of his fiction (A most wanted man, our kind of Traitor…) where there are no complete victories. The success is always short of triumph, always incomplete or inadequate.
But what really piqued my attention was how painfully all the romantic entanglements concluded, and how pessimistic a view the author takes to such storylines. Ricky Tarr, Smiley, Jerry and Karla, all of these men were hopeless lovers, and love was their downfall. Love, in Le Carré’s fiction proves to be, as Karla called it, “an illusion”.

This series is often remarked as the Magnum Opus of John Le Carré. In the tradition of Greene and Chandler, Le Carré’s fiction is a departure from the glint and glamour of Fleming’s Bond series, which gained immense popularity during the cold war period, but which also lacked the grim and nonchalant realities of espionage. Le Carré is the real deal. The dark chocolate; bitter and unsavoury on the first bite but with an intoxicating after-taste that stays with you for a long time. ...more

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Feb 28, 2014 Doubledf99.99 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: spy-espionage-thriller, classics

The final book of the Karla set piece. George Smiley is summoned out of retirement at the request of his old outfit to investigate an agent's murder, and he and his crack crew are once again on the trail of Karla. The chapter when Smiley has a long talk with Connie has some great dialog.
Should you like reading books with a slow but intriguing pace, old school spy craft with human intel, along with some great writing, then by all means give this a go.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold; Tinker, ...more

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