Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

George Smiley, Book 5

By: John Le Carré

Narrated by: Simon Vance

It's the oldest question of all, George. Who can spy on the spies?

There’s a mole in the Circus.

Pulled out of (forced) retirement by his old protégé, Peter Guillam, George Smiley must determine who among the high command at the British Secret Intelligence Service is in fact a Soviet spy—one who’s been climbing their way up the ranks for decades. The stakes are high: the mole is behind more than one failed operation and has lain waste to some of their best informant networks.

With scant resources and few allies, Smiley must use every skill at his disposal to identify and destroy a traitor who threatens the very fabric of the Circus.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, following the events of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, introduces Smiley’s Soviet counterpart and nemesis, Karla, the head of Soviet foreign intelligence. One of John le Carré’s most enduring works, the 2011 feature film adaptation (starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth) received three Oscar nominations and won two BAFTAs, including Outstanding British Film.

©2011 John Le Carré (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

A 20th Century Masterpiece

A brilliant and beautiful Cold War novel, filled with very different and very human characters drawn into the 'secret world' of British and Soviet-block intelligence work. LeCarre understood sacrifice, loyalty and courage along with ego, seduction and deceit on both sides of the Iron Curtain. And that even when there is a reckoning day for the traitor, exhaustion and grief follows.
Read wonderfully by Simon Vance.

Great descriptions of people and of Britain in decline

a fantastic book. Simon Vance is the best narrator of LeCarre books and this is one of LeCarre’s best

Classic LeCarré

Marvelous storytelling with in-depth character studies. The narration is as good as the writing.

Reads like a mystery, a spy mystery

I loved the whole premise of the story. It is very believable and keeps a grip on the reader. It was hard to get into a the beginning until I figured out what was going on.

Simon Vance is the king of narrators.

The guy could read the god damned phone book for all I give a rip. I WOULD LIKE TO SHAKE HIS HAND SOME DAY.

The best of le Carré

The pieces of the puzzle never quite fit together because they never can. That’s the brilliance of the story, Living with unrelenting ambiguity.

Deserves Its Revered Status

This is indeed one of the best spy novels ever written, one that rises above the expectations of “genre fiction.” The characters are complex and plausible, not the cartoons one encounters from many writers in the game. Smiley—old, overweight, seemingly dull—is an unlikely hero, but he is not what he seems. He has the brain and the moral center that drives these exceptional books. The narration is just right. I forget that he, the narrator, exists, which is as it should be. Vance is so good as to become imperceptible so that I can enter into an experience of pure story.

Well written, good plot

This book frequently shows up on the Top XX spy novels lists and so I finally picked it up. My first John LeCarre book. I spent the first third of the book trying to figure out who the players were. I even wrote them down and their relationship to each other. Also the spy speak is a bit cryptic. Having said all that, I definitely enjoyed the second two thirds. Mr. LeCarre is a very good writer albeit a bit full of himself. The hero, George Smiley, is aging and dumpy but you end up loving his character.
Good plot, good ending.
I have listened to a few books narrated by Simon Vance and he never disappoints.

Mesmerizing story, wonderful performance

Complex story, hard to follow at times but well worth it! Highly recommend. The performance is excellent!

Simon Vance Brings this Classic to Life

I have read this book several times and listened to another narrated version. I purchased this version to listen to during a cross-country auto trip. Simon Vance breathes life into this classic story of espionage and counter espionage. Anyone who watched the butchered cinema version of this story produced in 2011 will be greatly relieved and entertained by this excellent narration of a great story.