Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

by John Le Carré

And now it was pouring with rain, Smiley was soaked to the skin and God as a punishment had removed all taxis from the face of London.

And what the devil, he demanded of this document, are they doing in Immingham? Who ever had a love affair in Immingham, for goodness’ sake? Where was Immingham?

‘He was cleared absolutely, you understand. Not a shadow. However,’ – an odd inflexion of his voice caused Smiley to glance at him – ‘I think it might interest you all the same. Some tiny murmur about his time at Oxford. We’re all entitled to be a bit pink at that age.’

And young Guillam needs a holiday, thought Mendel. He’d seen that happen before, too: the tough ones who crack at forty. They lock it away, pretend it isn’t there, lean on grown-ups who turn out not to be so grown up after all, then one day it’s all over them, and their heroes come tumbling down and they’re sitting at their desks with the tears pouring on to the blotter.

There are moments which are made up of too much stuff for them to be lived at the time they occur.

Treason is very much a matter of habit, Smiley decided,

The gun, Bill Roach had finally convinced himself, was after all a dream.