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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Audiobook
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(3.00) - 20,245 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
It's the oldest question of all, George. Who can spy on the spies?
There’s a mole in the Circus.
Pulled out of a forced retirement by his old protégé, Peter Guillam, George Smiley must determine who among the high command at the British Secret Intelligence Service is in fact a Soviet spy—one who has been climbing their way up the ranks for decades. The stakes are high: the mole is behind more than one failed operation and has lain waste to some of their best informant networks.
With scant resources and few allies, Smiley must use every skill at his disposal to identify and destroy a traitor who threatens the very fabric of the Circus.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, following the events of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, introduces Smiley’s Soviet counterpart and nemesis, Karla, the head of Soviet foreign intelligence
Based on this book, one of John le Carré’s most enduring works, the 2011 feature film adaptation, which starred Gary Oldman and Colin Firth, received three Oscar nominations and won two BAFTA awards, including for Outstanding British Film.
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"I thought about it enough that I finished reading my paperback copy even though I was half-way through my audiobook! And I even knew how it ended since I'd seen the movie version first. Can't get Benedict Cumberbatch out of my brain as Peter Guillam though. Not my usual read but just right for the present moment."
— teatotaller (4 out of 5 stars)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Listener Reviews
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" So elegant. So, so beautifully and perfectly structured. Read it when you have time and can truly pay attention - it really does require your full attention as a reader, but it rewards you all the way through. "
— Madeleine, 2/14/2014 -
" Tense read. Informative insight into the world of espionage. "
— Buciuman, 2/10/2014 -
" I recently watched the movie made last year from this book, and it provoked me into recalling how much I enjoyed the Smiley trilogy when it was first published back in the 70s. So I went back to do the rereading. There are still many things I like about the book. I like the gray atmosphere that I suspect is the true feel of the world of espionage (as opposed, say, to the colorful extravagance of the Bond books against which Le Carre was writing) and I liked the omnipresence of ideas of betrayal and duplicity. However much of the writing itself seemed quite mannered and the sexual relations being dealt with, despite the fact that they reinforced the theme of betrayal, came across as deeply conventional--at least conventional from the point of view of male fantasy (plain old man paired with beautiful younger wife, etc.). No sense of real relationships there. I'll probably go ahead and take another look at "The Honorable Schoolboy", which I recall as my favorite of the three, but we'll see about "Smiley's People". "
— Rand, 2/6/2014 -
" A riveting spy novel without the macho violence found in more modern spy novels. Moves along at a steady pace, though readers used to the breakneck speed of modern novels might find it a bit slow. Obviously written by a man in the know. Enjoyed it quite a lot "
— Yvonne, 1/28/2014 -
" Still gripping despite having seen the recent film and the 70s TV adaptation. Knocked a star off for all the tedious detail. "
— Sean, 1/26/2014 -
" This was nearly a 5 star for me. I LOVED this book. The whole story had me hook, line, and sinker. Even when I knew (or thought I knew) who the bad guy was, I wasn't really sure and the reasons why and how it came about, work well. "
— Cheryl, 1/18/2014 -
" Complicated to begin with but I'm glad I stuck with it, excellent spy thriller! "
— Lynsey, 1/17/2014 -
" This is one of the most important political novels of our time. Mitch Rapp, and his political kin, is a pathetic piece of hawkish fiction compared to this. "
— Joemodz, 12/26/2013 -
" Loved it. Great novel about betrayal loyalty and British society. The recent movie left me confused so I got the book and I'm very glad I did. "
— Carolyn.frimpter, 12/9/2013 -
" Read, chewing my nails down to the knuckle, on a series of Japanese Shinkansen and subway trains. So fucking good, you guys. "
— Danica, 11/4/2013 -
" I was surprised by this book. It's a fairly quiet story, but filled with tradecraft and great characters. I'm certain it's an accurate depiction of a spy's life: more sneakiness and suspicion than car chases and silencers in the dark. "
— Thomas, 9/29/2013 -
" thirty pages in, already fantastic. "
— Erica, 6/24/2013 -
" Saw the movie and wanted to re-enter the world, so I started reading the book. Very enjoyable--Le Carre is truly a master. Movie was remarkably faithful to the book. "
— Gail, 4/8/2013 -
" Boring and confusing - couldn't wait for it to finish. Same with the movie. "
— Sharon, 10/23/2012 -
" I've given up on this one. I just can't get through all the spy-speak jargon to understand the plot. "
— Fraser, 6/17/2012 -
" I did enjoy this twist and turned book. Many characters to filter through but a nice little spy book "
— Kevin, 4/23/2012 -
" very good spies novel. Well told story. "
— Hannah, 2/21/2012
About John le Carré
John le Carré, the pseudonym of David John Moore Cornwell (1931–2020), was an English author of espionage novels. Eight of his novels made the #1 spot on the New York Times bestsellers list between 1983 and 2017. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, his third book, secured him a worldwide reputation as one of the greatest spy novelists in history. Numerous major motion pictures have been made from his novels, as well as several television series. After attending the universities at Berne and Oxford, he taught at Eton and spent five years in the British Foreign Service, serving briefly in British Intelligence during the Cold War. Being a member of MI6 when he wrote his first novel, Call for the Dead in 1961 in Hamburg, it necessitated the use of a nom de plume, by which he continued to be known. His writing earned him several honorary doctorate degrees and the Somerset Maugham Award, the Goethe Medal, and the Olof Palme Prize.
About Simon Vance
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.