Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
A George Smiley Novel
By John le Carre
(Penguin (Non-Classics), Paperback, 9780143120933, 400pp.)
Publication Date: October 5, 2011
Other Editions of This Title: Paperback
Categories: Espionage/Intrigue
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The inspiration for the major motion picture, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth
The first novel in John le Carré's celebrated Karla trilogy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a heart-stopping tale of international intrigue.
The man he knew as "Control" is dead, and the young Turks who forced him out now run the Circus. But George Smiley isn't quite ready for retirement-especially when a pretty, would-be defector surfaces with a shocking accusation: a Soviet mole has penetrated the highest level of British Intelligence. Relying only on his wits and a small, loyal cadre, Smiley recognizes the hand of Karla-his Moscow Centre nemesis-and sets a trap to catch the traitor.
The feature film adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is directed by Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In) and features a cast that includes Gary Oldman as Smiley, Academy Award(r) winner Colin Firth (The King's Speech), and Tom Hardy (Inception).
At its core, John le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy isn't really about espionage, says critic John Powers. The 1974 novel, adapted for the screen in 1979 by the BBC, is actually about secrets and lies and shifting identities รข?? which is to say, a metaphor for our own daily lives. More at NPR.org
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"The premier spy novelist of his time. Perhaps of all time."
--Time
"A rattling good novel."
--San Francisco Chronicle
"John le Carré is the great master of the spy story . . . the constant flow of emotion lifts him not only above all modern suspense novelists, but above most novelists now practicing."
--Financial Times
"Stunning."
--The Wall Street Journal
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