This is my third LeCarre novel featuring George Smiley but it’s the first where Smiley plays a significant role in the story. There is a Russian mole in the British intelligence service known by those who live in that world as The Circus. Smiley has agreed to come out of retirement from The Circus to help identify the traitor, who is believed to occupy a position at the highest levels. As usual the book is beautifully written. The more I read LeCarre the more impressed I am with his talent. The storyline was a bit challenging, but in the end Smiley gets his man. And I’m glad I got the chance to know Smiley better. He’s an interesting character. But the person I’m really curious about is the mysterious Ann, Smiley’s estranged wife who is apparently a serial adulteress. This lady must have one whiz-bang of a backstory and I want to know what it is. A fair number of Smiley’s associates at The Circus seem to be infatuated with her. She had the audacity to shag one of them who plays a key role in this particular drama, although Ann herself is only spoken of. I don’t know if it’s her looks (she’s no spring chicken) or her hutzpah that wins people over, and even Smiley seems willing to overlook her transgressions up to a point. He pines for her constantly in his loneliness. It’s kind of sad really. Well anyway, perhaps there is a book in the series that answers my questions. Probably one of the earlier ones. So the search will go on. As for this book it is very good overall but not quite up to the excellence of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Apparently it’s not easy to follow one masterpiece with another. Who knew?
Baseball, Books, Gardening and Beer. 