Smiley's People

After being given the arse at the end of The Honourable Schoolboy, yet again they decide they have need of Smiley's talents after an old agent, a Russian, is killed. They realise Smiley is the man for the job if they are to finally get to the Russian spymaster guru Karla by an operation designed to leave the man between a rock and a hard place.

In this John le Carre novel we have the final confrontation between George Smiley and Karla, his long time nemesis. This is my first book by the author and I did not feel like I was starting in the middle. So you do not need to read the two that precede it. This is not just a spy novel, but also a well-written book. And the author is able to allow us to have a strong sense of picturing the characters. They are well thought out and three-dimensional. Our hero George Smiley is brought out of retirement by some antics and death of an old retired contact. And we follow Mr. Smiley as he works to solve the case or close it any way he can. Of course George Smiley does his utmost to solve it. And it is this journey he takes that leads us to his old time foe from the Soviet Union, Karla. Smiley does not seem like a spy, but his methods, instincts and powers of observations are exceptional. But what any person attuned to his surroundings would have. It is nice to have a normal human hero. One who shoes us his range of emotions and thought process. And the realistic ending. Yes it may seem anticlimactic. But I prefer the realism of it all.

This is the last volume in a trilogy which, without any doubt, the best spy story ever written in English. _Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy_ began it with the story of George Smiley?s uncovering of the mole in British Intelligence HQ, known as "the Circus." _The Honourable Schoolboy_ -- which largely stands alone from the first and third books, and is a superior piece of work by itself -- tells of Smiley?s first steps toward revenge against Karla, head of Moscow Centre and his personal enemy for nearly thirty years . . . only to be denied the fruits of his own success by political machinations at home. _Smiley?s People_ brings everything to a very satisfying conclusion, via the discovery that Karla has an unsuspected human side, which makes him vulnerable. As always, Le Carre?s development of his characters is masterful and his dialogue and descriptive passages make it clear why, at his best, he is considered an exceptional stylist. The pace of the action in the early part of the book is purposely rather slow, drawing you in, making you pay attention to what?s happening and thinking about what secrets might be behind it all -- just as one imagines George is doing. But as the story develops, the pace picks up, until the last quarter is nearly a headlong gallop toward a triumphant final chapter. Unreservedly recommended.

I have recently become a fan of Le Carre, and this is my favorite book of his that I have read thus far. The immediacy of the personalities, amdist the larger world of geopolitics, shines through in an unforgettable way.I have read and enjoyed most Robert Ludlum novels with their fantastic, yet unrealistic story lines. Le Carre's protagonists, particularly George Smiley, do not possess the near superhuman powers, the "eyes in the back of the head", that are necessary for a Ludlum protagonist to survive from chapter to chapter. But Le Carre's stories have more of a poignance, an immediacy, and an appeal to the human element that connects his readers to his protagonists. His writing is exceptional, as well as his style of portraying British speech and outlook. He reveals the minds of the persons whose lives have been continuously shaped and buffeted by the vagaries of the cold war.Foremost, is Le Carre's hero George Smiley, whose personal life history has been irretrievably shaped by his immersion in cold war espionage, and for whom, no victory or defeat will ever come without mixed emotions.

George Smiley's final appearance stands as one of Le Carre's very best acomplishments. This extraordinary writer draws his many diverse themes and moral quandries together in a story that is both winningly complex and, in the end, shockingly simple.LeCarre has always used the spy story form as an exploration of lonelienss,loss of indivuudailty and the etheral nature of honesty. But in this book -- perhaps a touch heavy handed if you don't the authors other work -- these themes are closer to to the surface than ever. Its profoundly moving, and the fact that it remains a stunningly entertaining read with all Le Carre packs into it is a worthy testament to this fine writers "trade craft."