Friday, October 06, 2006
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
by John LeCarre
rev. by N. Andreadis
I have always been swept away by good spy novels. The intrigue, duplicity, the characters and, in particular, the settings in cities and countries engaged in wars-cold and otherwise- always lock me in my chair for hours on end. That is when the writing is good and with John LeCarre it is invariably great. Recently, I began re-reading the George Smiley series that starts with Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The best spy stories always have a mole that has penetrated deeply and quietly into the “enemy’s” most valuable assets. Assets, I’ve learned by the way, is always a good word to use in spy stories. Sure enough, in Tinker Tailor, a Soviet mole has penetrated the British intelligence service and no one can rest easy until this underground menace is discovered and punished. Well maybe not punished. But, when there is a mole who can be trusted? Though “retired”, Her Majesty’s government calls on George Smiley to identify the villain. Each suspect is given a code name, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, etc, and off we go, I mean George of course, into the complex web of intrigue and double agents that Le Carre spins with a most graceful and precise use of the English language. It’s not just LeCarre’s creativity and imagination that carry the story but his deep understanding of the world of spy versus spy. A former member of British intelligence, Le Carre, the pen name of David Cornwell, generously shares with his readers glimpses of a world we know exists but are only willing to confront in novels. This one is a jewel.
rev. by N. Andreadis
I have always been swept away by good spy novels. The intrigue, duplicity, the characters and, in particular, the settings in cities and countries engaged in wars-cold and otherwise- always lock me in my chair for hours on end. That is when the writing is good and with John LeCarre it is invariably great. Recently, I began re-reading the George Smiley series that starts with Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The best spy stories always have a mole that has penetrated deeply and quietly into the “enemy’s” most valuable assets. Assets, I’ve learned by the way, is always a good word to use in spy stories. Sure enough, in Tinker Tailor, a Soviet mole has penetrated the British intelligence service and no one can rest easy until this underground menace is discovered and punished. Well maybe not punished. But, when there is a mole who can be trusted? Though “retired”, Her Majesty’s government calls on George Smiley to identify the villain. Each suspect is given a code name, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, etc, and off we go, I mean George of course, into the complex web of intrigue and double agents that Le Carre spins with a most graceful and precise use of the English language. It’s not just LeCarre’s creativity and imagination that carry the story but his deep understanding of the world of spy versus spy. A former member of British intelligence, Le Carre, the pen name of David Cornwell, generously shares with his readers glimpses of a world we know exists but are only willing to confront in novels. This one is a jewel.
