Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre' (1974)

For the last few years I have been making a conscious effort to expand my reading to include various examples of genre fiction. I had already read and loved science fiction/fantasy, but I had little experience in other classifications. Thus I have recently sampled from the historical, Western, detective/mystery, Gothic, and humor categories. This is the first spy novel I have read since the 1960s when I read the James Bond books. As always when searching for good books, I consulted "best of..." lists, and this one emerged as likely the best of its kind. It is not what I expected.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is not "action packed," does not feature a hero who is a magnet for sexy women, introduces no fancy spy gadgets. Its protagonist, George Smiley, is a dumpy, middle aged, nondescript man whose estranged wife is a serial philanderer. He does not operate through daring escapades but through a painstaking examination of evidence and a keen psychological insight.

Smiley is a former spy for British Intelligence who has been forced into retirement by a regime change. He is approached by a former colleague and the civil service officer charged with overseeing intelligence because they have reason to suspect that one of the top four at the Intelligence agency is a mole, or double agent, for the Russians. Smiley's meticulous investigation is fascinating, although unfamiliar terms and spy jargon sometimes make the happenings hard to understand. The author interestingly includes the human element, since Smiley has a personal history with all of the suspects.

I would actually not have characterized this as a spy novel, but instead as a detective novel about spies. Furthermore, I would also characterize it as a mainstream literary novel, because it is extremely well written and interesting on multiple levels. I plan to read more of John le Carre'.