"There's a mole, right at the top of the circus". The book is revolving around this line. Stating straight, the book is overall a good piece of literature, worthy of a reading. But be careful, either you will understand everything, or nothing. This book is considered one of the best written by Le Carre, the other being The Constant Gardner. The book is the first novel of the Karla trilogy, the second and third being The Honorable Schoolboy and Smiley's People.
While on this book, you have to ...

Though it is a game of chess between the author (who brews such a convoluted plot) and the reader (who makes his way through it), it is a journey through seemingly indecipherable metaphors, ploys and unspoken statements, which, at the end, falls so beautifully in place that you will suddenly see the thread connecting all the parts chronologically. It is then that you realise that you have witnessed a literary masterpiece!

Deeply written, it is like a smooth ripple-less surface of the lake be...

I wanted to read this before seeing the movie, and now i'm all pumped up to see Gary Oldman shape Smiley for me!
The novel is brilliant.
Small heads up - if you are reading the john's novel for first time, the characters use a great deal of jargon for matters specific to their trade - for example, 'the circus' means MI6, the intelligence head quarters in Cambridge, London. I suggest using wiki as reference!

The quality of the book is pretty bad. The cover makes it look so old. Few pages are chipped. And i have been constantly disappointed by the quality of product I brought from here. It makes me want to rethink about using flipkart for future purchases.

this is what i felt after reading this book.....it was so hard to read through it..litreally i couldnt enjoy the book.....i think i am not of that high in literature that i could understand and enjoy the book...i wont say the book was bad because i didnt even bothered it completing .....

My first experiment with John le carre and it turned out to be simply fantastic. From a rather mild start to building upto a superb suspense the journey is breathtaking. For all those who haven't watched the movie...READ THE NOVEL FIRST.OR YOU CAN'T MAKE THE HEADS OR TAILS OF IT.

a bit complicated with all that british talk, but still its an interesting and engaging read. George Smiley is a real world spy unlike the James Bond type, one who uses his brain n deductive reasoning to figure out the case

Best part of this book is that it lets you look into the secret world of spies, which you can't in a James Bond flick.

The story starts off describing two seemingly unrelated situations, brings them together in a way which will leave you wanting more. There are many such unrelated pieces which come together at the end.

As a word of caution, this is a complex story, with complex characters and will require attention while reading.

When we read books we expect the presentation to be in the following order :

1. Foundation
2. Action
3. Action Cause
4. Action Effect
5. Response
6. Climax

However, true classics of the espionage genre like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy take you on a spiral course with lot happening not parallely but in almost in concentric circles. Then you suddenly realize you are caught in whirlpool of events and action none of which are physical. Everything happening in the close compartments of the brain ...