by John le Carré, Michael Jayston
I'm going to blame this one on Sherlock. Benedict Cumberbatch was in the recent remake of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which piqued my interest in le Carre. I should note, however, that in general I have absolutely no interest in spy novels. Which should have been a warning to me. There are whole ...
A far more difficult book, both to write and to read, than either of the first two. 90% of it is set-up. But it is a masterpiece of composition. The trilogy is indeed a whole.
I read these books a bit out of order. The first book is "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", and the second Smiley book is "The Honorable Schoolboy" which I am reading now. TTSS has been made into a BBC series, as has "Smiley's People". This book was new for me because I'd only seen the BBC series. T...
irst of all I have to say that this book is one of the best spy thrillers I’ve ever read.The plot is slow, but in a good way. There are several characters involved, some more important than others, but everybody fits in the story. Sometimes it may seem that things don’t make sense and you may wonder...
While more satisfying than The Honourable Schoolboy, it just didn't quite hold the same engagement that the first of the Karla trilogy garnered from me. The ethical questions are fascinating and the ending is heartbreakingly ambiguous - but the book as a whole felt somewhat underwritten, less-than-...
The conclusion of the trilogy that starts with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; but, while that book is about betrayal, this one is about manipulation. The heartbreaking message is that, when you want to manipulate someone, the most effective approach is not to try and exploit their weaknesses. Needless t...
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