Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré

I had never read a spy book before this one, unless you count Harriet the Spy, which you shouldn't. Detective books like Sherlock Holmes or mystery books like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo are definite a separate endeavour from this one.

Quick synopsis for those of you/me that haven't seen seen the film starring Gary Oldman. George Smiley is called up by old workmates in british intelligence to find out which of his circle of old workmates are working for communist Russia. Set in the Cold War era, it swaps narrarators endlessly until I am half-certain I'm a double-agent myself because I have too many facts to keep straight and no less than 3 justifications for every event in the book. Even during the final climactic exposition I wasn't completely sure I had a handle on who had done what or why.

I suppose that's what makes le Carré the supposed master of the genre. The disjointed narration and everyone's distrust of everyone gives the novel and the reader a mood of suspended belief. At the same
time I realize I place perfect, blind faith in the character of Smiley. No matter everyone else's motives, no matter his actions, he is the good guy, the side I want to be on. I know now it is because he is is cuckold, almost a King Arthur archetype. His discovery of betrayal by his wife is set in parrallel to the betrayal by the country he serves and the brothers he serves with. Maybe it's the complete lack of bitterness in his submission to the deception by his wife and ultimately his close friends in intelligence service. I think this is where the literary genius begins to dawn on me. The author seems to be showing the reader how blind all trust is, be it between friends, enemy operatives, or lovers. He seems to say that our guts decide who to trust, not our brains, even if they are very good brains. Who we trust determines so much of not only our lives but our characters  and it's basically an alchemy of affection who we fall in trust with.

I guess the trust thing strikes me viciously because I am a classic trustophobe. It has certainly made me evaluate certain areas of my life in a brighter light.

I don't know if I recommend the novel. It's cerebral, certainly, and there is some excellent suspense. The writing style itself is somewhat tedious though overall I would say that the construction and orchestration of the trust theme makes up for it. So what's that, a 7.5 out of 10? Somewhere in there anyway.

Up next: it will depend on the ol' Elmira Library but I will try to get Candide by Voltaire. In the interim I may make some notes on other things I've read recently or revisit some of my treasuredest works.

P.S. If there are bizarre errors of orthography or syntax, it's because I composed this on my phone and the interface for creating posts is LOUSY!