TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY


By: Le Carre, John

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 out a mole within British intelligence has almost mythic dimensions. Michael Jayston, who plays Peter Gwillam, Smiley's legman, in the television adaptation of the novel, delivers a perfect reading, creating distinctive voices for the dozens of characters, and offering a marvelous rendition of Alec Guinness's distinctive drone as Smiley. Highly recommended. TitlePeek