By Jake Weatherill from Lewisham Branch
Hello again! Tis I Jake, returned for another blog post.
Now you might notice that so far my book choices have all been a bit fantastical. Sure the genres have varied but it's very hard to argue that there hasn't really been an otherworldly element to them. I have written about Wizards, Hobbits, Elves, Vampires, Super Powered Armoured Warriors and, well, the Devil himself. One might be forgiven for thinking I tend to be incredibly escapist in my tastes. Yet today I come to you with a book that's dark, gritty and actually fairly realistic. It's not even got a fantasy or mystical beings in sight!
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| Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy DVD: This was the film that inspired me to start reading the eponymous book, leading me to discover an appreciation for the works of John Le Carre |
Spy fiction, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Ian Flemming? Aston Martins? Foul henchmen and dashing Scottish spies? Crazy gadgets? Volcano lairs? This has always kind of bugged me about the Bond films/books. I mean let's be honest, as covert agents go, well there's not particularly anything covert about him. Nine times out of ten 007 goes and blows his own cover so others don't have to. The fact that he still has gainful employment with MI6 is actually kind of impressive when you think about it.
To be honest with you this was generally my image of spy fiction. Not that it was an issue, it just kind of felt a bit, I don't know, showy? That was until I was at university. When I was a long haired, fresh faced student I went to Greenwich. Best thing about Greenwich was the Picture House cinema. Myself and my uni mates would often head down there regularly, on one of my many visits I remember seeing a trailer for a film.
Now I have to say I hadn't even heard of the source material for this film, but the cast was amazing. Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds, Colin Firth, a selection of the creme de la creme of the British acting world. That's what made me see it. The film had a cool but odd name. 'Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy'. When I watched it I realised this was like no spy film I had ever seen. Much like with 'Lord of The Rings' I now needed to read the book this was based on.
When I read the book my mind was blown. I had always kind of avoided spy books. Mainly due to the reasons I have previously mentioned, but here I was devouring page after page of this masterfully written book. The author, John Le Carre, turned my perceptions and preconceptions of the spy novel on it's head.
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| The Times profile; John le Carre, 1982. From the Times Digital Archive |
We follow an ex-member of The Circus, an intelligence agency that's a thinly veiled analogy of MI6, George Smiley. Smiley is the former number two of the ex-man in charge, rather appropriately codenamed Control.
The Cold War is in full swing, and we are being introduced to its dirty underbelly. Driven out alongside his former boss after an agent is lost in the field during a mission gone awry, Smiley contents himself in retirement reading literature and trying to carry on a normal life.
That is, until he is approached by a Civil Servant responsible for overseeing The Circus. There's a mole. A Soviet mole right at the top of The Circus, possibly even part of the cabal who currently find themselves taking over the show post Control.
What Le Carre does is true spy fiction at its best. It's not flash. It's not exploding cars and gun fights. Crazy gadgets and sleazy secret agents (well not entirely....).
As a man who actually worked in the intelligence field Le Carre pours his experience into the book.
What we see is not the glitz and glamour, but the shadow war that plays out beneath the surface of everyday life. On one hand he focuses on actual Spycraft.
Intelligence work, deduction, acquiring information that Smiley shouldn't be privy to.
This builds a level of suspense, a dark foreboding tension that makes you wonder how close Smiley can get to uncovering the mole.
This in turn gives a constant, intimate sense of danger.
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| Entry from The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing in Oxford Reference |
Smiley himself is maybe Le Carre's most significant contribution to British literature though. This is partly because of his own clear affinity for the character. Since appearing in Le Carre's first book 'Call For The Dead', Smiley is the character who has appeared more than any other in his books, nine times in fact. It's probably fair to say he is second only to James Bond on a list of fictional spies.
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| Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy Book: Not only is this the first Le Carre
book I read, but the first time I had bought a Spy Fiction novel |
When Le Carre describes Smiley he doesn't seem particularly impressive.
In fact you're almost surprised he is a spy.
He doesn't exactly fit the
stereotype. He seems to let everyone walk over him, constantly
overlooked.
He almost seems like a reluctant player in this great game.
Yet by his own senior's description he has 'The cunning of Satan and the conscience of a virgin'.
As the story unfolds we realise it is us who have underestimated this man who 'dresses like a bookie'.
Our mental image of what a spy is that makes us instinctively doubt if Smiley is cut out for this line of duty, yet as the investigation unfolds we kick ourselves for doubting him.
By Le Carre's own admission Smiley is created as a foil to James Bond.
Arguably Smiley's understated character is what makes him the perfect spy.
He's
unassuming, the perfect observer as you would never give him a second
glance, isn't that after all what you should want from a spy?
'Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy' completely changed the way I perceived Spy novels, introduced me to one of the defining writers of their generation, and one of my favourite literary characters of all time.
If you fancy checking it out you can find it on our E-Library here
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| Le Carre 1: A Small Town In Germany is the first of Le Carre's books not to feature George Smiley, while The Honourable Schoolboy follows on from the events of Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy. Most of these were bought in Waterstones |
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