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tyelperinquar's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I read this book over a bit of an extended period of time, so I’ll admit, I had some trouble keeping track of some events and their relevance. I’m not sure if it was because things weren’t super clear, because I wasn’t paying close enough attention, or because I took too long between chapters. All three, maybe? I’ve noticed le Carré has a tendency to under-explain events. I might try to read a summary of the book’s plot to make sure I have all the events ironed out in my mind.
This novel starts out a lot faster-paced than le Carré’s previous works, and I almost wanted to mark it as fast-paced until I considered it’s likely slow compared to other works by other authors. Guillam is retconned to be younger than he was in Call for the Dead, which was a bit confusing at first, but easy enough to get used to. I really enjoyed Jim Prideaux, Bill Haydon, and George Smiley throughout the book. Learning aboutBill and Jim’s likely love affair made me kind of insane. (In a positive way.) There’s definitely an undercurrent of love and devotion and connection that runs through le Carré’s novels. And I adore it.
This is definitely one of the best le Carré books I’ve read so far (alongside The Spy Who Came In From the Cold), and if you’re a fan of tradecraft-focused spy novels, I’d absolutely give it a read. I’m excited to see how the novels compares to the movies.
This novel starts out a lot faster-paced than le Carré’s previous works, and I almost wanted to mark it as fast-paced until I considered it’s likely slow compared to other works by other authors. Guillam is retconned to be younger than he was in Call for the Dead, which was a bit confusing at first, but easy enough to get used to. I really enjoyed Jim Prideaux, Bill Haydon, and George Smiley throughout the book. Learning about
This is definitely one of the best le Carré books I’ve read so far (alongside The Spy Who Came In From the Cold), and if you’re a fan of tradecraft-focused spy novels, I’d absolutely give it a read. I’m excited to see how the novels compares to the movies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Infidelity, Death, Torture, Cursing, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Vomit, and Death of parent
klebere's review against another edition
3.0
A ride for sure—since there are a lot of players (and some things are deliberately left unexplained/vague), this book warrants a re-read at some point.
toellis's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ldoherty669's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
2.75
unnecessarily complex at the start, because it just repeats a dumbed down version of the same information later. fails as a mystery because none of the suspects are well developed.
skycrane's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not a huge fan of spy novels, but this book is excellent. I was first introduced to the story from the 2011 film. I've watched it 4 times, and on each viewing I noticed details I hadn't seen before. So, after my latest viewing, I decided I should jump into the series.
This is the second John le Carre book I've read. The first, Call for the Dead, was interesting but not great. Tinker Tailor is a massive improvement on every level. The characters are far more developed, we see much more of the world of spies, and the plot is vast and intricate. What I love about this book, what separates it from the vast majority of mystery or spy or political novels, is how grounded it is. George Smiley is not a globe-trotting super spy and the Circus isn't some high-tech secret lair. It turns out that intelligence is mainly a very dull affair. Information might come from a secret rendezvous between a deep penetration agent and a code-named handler, but at the end of the day, that's really just a conversation between two people. And collecting information is just the most basic element of intelligence. The real difficulty, the reason hundreds or thousands of people toil away in decrepit office buildings at all hours, is in collating the information. Separating the signal from the noise, sifting fact out of rumor, and cross-referencing various different sources is the real work. So even though most of the characters are former field agents who spent years in various countries running networks of spies, their day-to-day lives aren't much different from those of accountants or regular bureaucrats. Smiley spends the entire book reading old documents or going around asking people questions.
The excitement in this book comes from the gradual unveiling of a complex web of deceit. Everyone lies. Smiley lies to his friends, his friends lie to him. The documents he reviews are full of evasions and half-truths. Over the course of the book, he puts together a puzzle where half the pieces are missing and most of the rest are hidden, with corners torn off and the surface painted black. The climax of the book occurs not when he finally confronts the mole and captures him at gunpoint; the real climax is when he sits down across from one of the conspirators and lays out the theory he's painstakingly assembled. That's where Smiley reveals the fruits of his labors. The rest is just cleanup.
I have to admit, there were a lot of things in this book I didn't understand. However, the intelligence jargon is for the most part pretty easy to get. Even if you don't know what a "scalp-hunter" is, you quickly get the picture from the way the characters treat Rikki Tarr. Likewise with most of the rest of the terminology. No, what confused me was basic elements of the setting. This book was written by a British author in 1973. When characters use cricket metaphors or British slang, or when relationships are complicated by the byzantine labyrinth of social standing, it often goes over my head. Still, for the most part I was able to follow the path Smiley took in uncovering the mole. Each step he took made sense based on the information he'd already acquired. Le Carre doesn't try to trick the reader. If Smiley realizes someone is lying to him, then the narration will explain why that is. When Smiley puts together something he'd seen once, clues from a document, and testimony from an interrogation, it's explained clearly. The difficulty in understanding this book is not because the clues are obscured from the reader, but rather because the path from Rikki Tarr's story at the beginning to the final piece in the puzzle is just so long and complicated. It's hard to keep every part of it in memory.
Tinker Tailor mainly follows Smiley's investigation, launched after an emergency meeting with a high-level bureaucrat who oversees the intelligence service. Smiley had been forced to retire a year before, so he's mostly on his own, relying on his personal connections. I found myself wanting more information about the regular operations of the intelligence bureaucracy. Fortunately, the next book delivers. The Honourable Schoolboy still focuses largely on a single character's quest for information, but there's a lot more detail about the intelligence service, and the characters are actually active agents rather than loners working from the outside.
This is the second John le Carre book I've read. The first, Call for the Dead, was interesting but not great. Tinker Tailor is a massive improvement on every level. The characters are far more developed, we see much more of the world of spies, and the plot is vast and intricate. What I love about this book, what separates it from the vast majority of mystery or spy or political novels, is how grounded it is. George Smiley is not a globe-trotting super spy and the Circus isn't some high-tech secret lair. It turns out that intelligence is mainly a very dull affair. Information might come from a secret rendezvous between a deep penetration agent and a code-named handler, but at the end of the day, that's really just a conversation between two people. And collecting information is just the most basic element of intelligence. The real difficulty, the reason hundreds or thousands of people toil away in decrepit office buildings at all hours, is in collating the information. Separating the signal from the noise, sifting fact out of rumor, and cross-referencing various different sources is the real work. So even though most of the characters are former field agents who spent years in various countries running networks of spies, their day-to-day lives aren't much different from those of accountants or regular bureaucrats. Smiley spends the entire book reading old documents or going around asking people questions.
The excitement in this book comes from the gradual unveiling of a complex web of deceit. Everyone lies. Smiley lies to his friends, his friends lie to him. The documents he reviews are full of evasions and half-truths. Over the course of the book, he puts together a puzzle where half the pieces are missing and most of the rest are hidden, with corners torn off and the surface painted black. The climax of the book occurs not when he finally confronts the mole and captures him at gunpoint; the real climax is when he sits down across from one of the conspirators and lays out the theory he's painstakingly assembled. That's where Smiley reveals the fruits of his labors. The rest is just cleanup.
I have to admit, there were a lot of things in this book I didn't understand. However, the intelligence jargon is for the most part pretty easy to get. Even if you don't know what a "scalp-hunter" is, you quickly get the picture from the way the characters treat Rikki Tarr. Likewise with most of the rest of the terminology. No, what confused me was basic elements of the setting. This book was written by a British author in 1973. When characters use cricket metaphors or British slang, or when relationships are complicated by the byzantine labyrinth of social standing, it often goes over my head. Still, for the most part I was able to follow the path Smiley took in uncovering the mole. Each step he took made sense based on the information he'd already acquired. Le Carre doesn't try to trick the reader. If Smiley realizes someone is lying to him, then the narration will explain why that is. When Smiley puts together something he'd seen once, clues from a document, and testimony from an interrogation, it's explained clearly. The difficulty in understanding this book is not because the clues are obscured from the reader, but rather because the path from Rikki Tarr's story at the beginning to the final piece in the puzzle is just so long and complicated. It's hard to keep every part of it in memory.
Tinker Tailor mainly follows Smiley's investigation, launched after an emergency meeting with a high-level bureaucrat who oversees the intelligence service. Smiley had been forced to retire a year before, so he's mostly on his own, relying on his personal connections. I found myself wanting more information about the regular operations of the intelligence bureaucracy. Fortunately, the next book delivers. The Honourable Schoolboy still focuses largely on a single character's quest for information, but there's a lot more detail about the intelligence service, and the characters are actually active agents rather than loners working from the outside.
ckkobebryant's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
apcraig's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
4.0
joshtenet's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes