It was a great synchronicity that this popped up on one of my reading
lists when it did, as one of my gaming groups was about to embark on a game
of Cold City, set in post-War Berlin, playing representatives of
different countries in BPRD-like surroundings.
But my spycraft is
sadly lacking, so reading Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was a nice way
to get a tiny bit of the taste, although this book takes place later in
time, and only in England. I enjoyed it both for the story, and for the
atmosphere.
I did have some difficulties with the writing at
times, though. I found it difficult to tell sometimes whether something
was a flashback, a story recounted, or in the present. I often had to
stop and go back a few pages to try to figure it out, and still had
difficulty. If this was le Carre deliberately trying to blend the past
and the present to make the point that they are inextricable, good job.
If it was just a sign of sloppy writing, not so good.
Also, if
you get this in a later edition, don't read the foreword le Carre added.
If you're paying attention, he pretty much gives away who the mole is.
But
this novel does a good job of showing a treacherous world, in which
anyone you speak to could be a double agent, and is fascinating in how
it explores how you would track a mole without letting him know that
you're doing so. (Particularly given that you're not sure who he is.)
The claustrophobia and constant tensions are well elucidated.
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