“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” is a wonderful novel if you’re interested in the Great Game as the Brits called it, the West vs. the Soviets, from the end of WWII to the 1970’s. Lots of fascinating detail.
The BBC adaptation with Alec Guinness is available on DVD, and it’s one of the best TV productions EVER. It’s a multi-part mini-series; save it for a weekend for when you’re down with the flu or something and watch it straight through.
>>> Le Carre sucks and is a lib. The Spy Who Came Out of the Cold largely sucked.
Anti-American British lib yes, and it’s true this overshadows his later work as it got stuck in that mindset. But his earlier novels, particularly as they related to George Smiley, were wonderful literature. Not everybody’s cup of tea with their unheroic cynicism, but that’s not inappropriate for the subject matter.
>>> Hey John, How many people even know who George Smiley is?
People who still appreciate interesting characters in well written books ? Fewer each year I admit.
>>> “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” is a wonderful novel if you’re interested in the Great Game as the Brits called it,
Absolutely, the production was very good as was Alec, but Alec Guiness wasn’t a good choice for Smiley if you wanted the character as the author envisioned him.
As written the character is a lot more like a devious version of Mr Granger, the elderly short chubby clerk from “Are You Being Served”. James Mason was wrong for the character as well but was closer to the mark in that earlier film that was the prequel to “Spy Who Came in From the Cold”. The Smiley character was renamed for that film but it was he.