John Le Carre
is still a good read, all things said. I just did the three Smiley books, and they’re everthing they always were. I’m tickled to have reread them.
There’s a good deal of subtlety in what those clever Circus folks did. I know there’s a lot more electronic shit going on now, and it has probably replaced the subtlety of that earlier time. But those skills, if you can develop them yourself, still work.
I always dug it when he would be interviewed in the German press. He spent a lot of time in Germany, and his German was diplomat perfect. I need to read the books, it seems.
George Smiley is a terrific character; complex, human, and oh,so observant.
Try to find “A Murder of Quality”, which has Smiley outside of the spy world. Instead, he walks into a murder investigation at his old school.
It might be the first book that has Smiley as a main character. “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” has him as a backup, secondary.
Hunter
Alaska
Excellent reccomendations that I will be taking the moment I get back to the library, Hunter.
I always loved the films / tv series with Alec Guiness as Smiley.
I watched them again recently and they still have the magic.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tinker-Tailor-Soldier-Spy-Complete/dp/B000092WCG