Reading 1001 discussion

24. How do you rate this novel by le Carré? Does it deserve to be one of the 1001 books you must read before you die? In what way do you think it contributed to the development of the novel. It was published in 1974.

★★★.5

I read this, or part of it, as a teenager and was bored. This time around I very much appreciated Le Carre's writing and ability to convey a more realistic sense of a spy agency coming apart at the seams.

Here is my review for my 3.5 star ratinging; (from 2011) Published in 1974, this story is about the British intelligence service during the 1960s Cold War. Circus, as the intelligence agency is called, has had a shake up. George Smiley has been placed into retirement, Control has died and business is not done as usual. A mole is about. George Smiley is called from retirement to discover the mole, a soviet agent working in the British intelligence service. He is known as ‘Gerald’. George’s forensic style can be compared to Sherlock Holmes. George sees more that he shares with ‘Gerald’ than what is different. They both are remnants of an earlier era and England is a relatively unimportant country caught between the superpowers of Russia and the United States. I enjoyed this book of espionage but like The Spy Who Came in From the Cold I often had trouble following the details. The author creates a dark, brooding environment where there is little human warmth. The characters can trust no one because the nature of the job is deception.

★★★★
I really liked it. I dislike espionage/spy novels in part because I find them overly dramatic and implausible. The James Bonds of the world annoy me very much - the ordinary man who is in fact superhuman rescuing the damsels in distress who ultimately fall into bed with them is overplayed and not something I enjoy.

This was more my speed. A book that appeared more realistic and focused more in intellectual maneuvering rather than action driven impossibilities. This was my second book by Le Carre. I tried to watch the movie and found it too confusing (I fell asleep a few times).

I took notes on characters and storylines and this helped immensely. I found it well-written and intelligent.

*** 1/2
This classic spy novel came with the usual trappings of the genre, with the addition of revealing more of the human side of the protagonists and how it affected their actions and plans. Through a changing of the guard in the British intelligence agency, the Circus, revelations come forth that a Soviet mole has been active in the highest echelons of the Circus hierarchy, forcing George Smiley out of his progressive path towards retirement. I struggled a little bit at first with all the spy lingo, but after a few chapters, felt comfortable with it and thought some of it quite clever. I am not sure that was as suspenseful as it should have been, but the plots and intrigues leading to the identity of the mole were quite interesting.

★★★★

George Smiley sneaks out of retirement to hunt a mole at the circus, the British secret service. Step by step he uncovers the evidence needed to find out who it is.

I really liked this slow-paced and intense spy drama. It's so often we see either the glamorous or the action-packed side of espionage; it was interesting to see the more sordid and dishonorable work where information is leaked to the competition and it's all too easy to mix up which side each player is on.

Rating: 3.5 Stars
Read: July 2016

This really isn't my genre, but for a spy thriller it is actually pretty good. When reading the typical book from this genre, I am usually rolling my eyes and sighing at the ridiculousness and unrealistic events. This book seemed like it could be realistic, though. I don't know much about espionage, but the story seemed plausible, anyway. It took me a while to get into the story line. It started very slow, perhaps too slow, but picked up the pace on the last half of the book. Overall, I think it seemed much slower paced than the other book of his I read, Smiley's People, but maybe better plot-wise. I was even surprised by the identity of the mole in the end.

I think it belongs on the list since it was one of the earlier examples of books in this genre and probably is used as a "gold standard" in spy novels.