I have to admit, I really do have a soft spot for old school spy thrillers. I've heard the name John le Carre before, most notably, for my generation at least, as the man who wrote The Constant Gardener. But it was upon seeing the trailer for the new film adaptation for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy that I immediately thought I'd give it a go.
As it stands, it's one of the finest novels ever written. It encapsulates everything I love about Cold War espionage but it's Carre's inner knowledge of how the spy game works (he used to work for MI6) that makes the narrative enthralling. The intricacies of the plot are riveting to follow and rather than go all out on the action front, the tension stems from the sneaking around as our heroes investigate the possibility of a Russian mole within their ranks. It also help that le Carre is a terrific writer. He writes like the old school, where prose is an even mix between classic and modern and the characters are upstanding well spoken gentlemen. The fact that there are no gung ho heroics or buff action men makes the story all the more compelling and chillingly realistic.
I really hope they nail the tone for the film. If so, it'll be tense as hell.
5/5
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