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I'm one of many people who think that Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the greatest espionage novel of all time. Let's take the obvious things first. Unlike most examples of this genre, it's extremely well-written. Also, having worked in espionage himself, le Carré is able to get the atmosphere right Leggi tutto

Espionage is a continuation of war carried on with other means… Clandestine battles, psychological combats… Known just to the chosen few… Or the damned few. As far as I know John le Carré was the first who told that the spying isn’t a simple cloak and dagger intrigue but a very complex secret psychol Leggi tutto

"The suspicious black car did not follow me home. How am I supposed to maintain this level of paranoia with this level of incompetence?" Tweet from jkeeten's defunct Twitter account. "I don't smoke but I always travel w/ a Zippo lighter in case I have to light a beautiful woman's cigarette or the wic Leggi tutto

A few months ago a stylish looking British adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was released in theaters and I was intrigued. But I knew better. Movies are for smart people. If I had to constantly nudge my wife during Superbad to ask questions like, “so who is that guy again?” and “wait, is sh Leggi tutto

"After a lifetime of living by his wits and his considerable memory, he had given himself full time to the profession of forgetting." Over the past couple of months, George Smiley has earned the distinction of my favorite spy. Not because he is handsome, sexy, charismatic or daring but rather because Leggi tutto

I freely admit that I am not smart enough to appreciate this book. The whole thing was way too convoluted for me. First I was in one character's head, then another, then back to the first. Then there was a third character who mostly made cameo appearances and was clearly unimportant, but we spend tim Leggi tutto

Spy novels may be best consumed in large gulps by me. There is no question that John Le Carré is a brilliant writer, and his plots are peppered with surprise spirals throughout each novel. The one difficulty I had with this book was in the beginning, and it was my own difficulty. I had to quickly re- Leggi tutto

Whenever I think of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , I inevitably think of love: love that grants fortitude, love that clouds judgment, love that scars the soul and roots the heart. Although it is my experience of the book that guides me, it perhaps also has to do with the 1979 BBC miniseries, with the Leggi tutto