John le Carré, 1961
Edition read: Penguin Modern Classics, 2012, 150 pages
Read: October–November 2025
Spy fiction
*Spoilers*
Here in le Carré’s first novel, we meet George Smiley, who, not for the last time, is set up as a cuckold who is about to be fired for someone else’s mistake,* but subsequently proceeds to kick clerical ass and take down possibly important names, dates and locations via diligent observation.
The premise is that a civil servant has committed suicide after a routine security check – only for said civil servant to receive a phone call during the subsequent investigation. With an atmosphere of betrayal set up from the outset, the characteristic cut-and-thrust dialogue of the Circus (the secret service) is present, as is the jargon of the trade.
This is a slightly more forgiving read than something like The Russia House or Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, with a bit more exposition provided (one character even gives another one a written summary in the form of a case report at the end). It’s also a relatively light read compared to le Carré’s subsequent works, with a lower body count and fewer characters reduced to disaffected cynics.
While clever, complicated and characteristically morally ambiguous, this isn’t le Carré’s best novel – Dieter, although an interesting character, it is a little bit hard to appreciate as the great opponent he is set up to be. Partially this is because this is quite a short novel, partially it’s because it’s hard to square away some of his characterisation: ‘[…] to Guillam he was a living component of all out romantic dreams, he stood at the mast with Conrad, sought the lost Greece with Byron, and with Goethe visited the shades of classical and medieval hells. As he walked, thrusting his good leg forward, there was a defiance, a command, that could not go unheeded.’ Eh? Although Dieter embodies the human side of the enemy, for a spy runner, that sounds a bit conspicuous. It is interesting, however, to read him as a prototype of Karla – the fanatic, faceless antagonist who comes to be Smiley’s nemesis and counterpoint. Nonetheless, it’s an engaging read, and I enjoyed working the case out along with the protagonists.
Worth reading? Yes. A good starting point for reading le Carré.
Worth re-reading? Yes…although I think there are better le Carré novels to re-read.
*To my knowledge, his forever cheating wife, Anne, never appears directly in any of the nine George Smiley novels. Having not read all of them, I ask you, dear reader, does she ever? Or is she always framed via Smiley?
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