Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

John le Carré

Sep 2018 · Penguin UK

About this ebook

Discover the new Penguin Crime and Espionage series

A Russian mole has infiltrated the British establishment - and the spymaster Smiley must dig them out...

George Smiley, formerly of the Secret Intelligence Service, is contemplating his new life in retirement when he is called back on an unexpected mission. His task is to hunt down an agent implanted by Moscow Central at the very heart of the Circus - one who has been buried deep there for years. The dogged, troubled Smiley can discount nobody from being the traitor, even if it is one of those closest to him.

Ratings and reviews

Exelent spy story. It starts out slow and almost subdued but grows more and more intense while the plot developes itself and approaches its final climax. The main plot is pheraps not as surprising as The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (one could immagine who the mole is halfway of the book), nonetheless the drafting is highly gripping and full of suspense. The main character, the illusionless, quiet but firm George Smiley is the archetype of le Carré's anty-hero. As opposed to The Spy Who Came In, there are more subplots and Co-stars, turning it almost into a choral novel, which provides more variety to it overall. To sum it up, this is highly recommended to every spy story lover as well as to the casual reader who wants to approach this genre.

I'm sure it's a good book, but it is impossible to alter the font size. The default is tiny, so cannot buy.

I have never had eyes good enough to read size 2 don't which won't change. even with glasses is impossible. shame. love old school. Can I get a refund?

About the author

John le Carré was born in 1931. For six decades, he wrote novels that came to define our age. The son of a confidence trickster, he spent his childhood between boarding school and the London underworld. At sixteen he found refuge at the University of Bern, then later at Oxford. A spell of teaching at Eton led him to a short career in British Intelligence (MI5 & 6). He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while still a secret servant. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. At the end of the Cold War, le Carré widened his scope to explore an international landscape including the arms trade and the War on Terror. His memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, was published in 2016 and the last George Smiley novel, A Legacy of Spies, appeared in 2017. He died on 12 December 2020. His posthumous novel, Silverview, was published in 2021.