Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

[Poolboy21409]

Went by myself yesterday. Had not read the book. Was totally confused by the movie. Could not follow the plot. Was it just me...or am I getting senile??

[+ Lucky]

No, it was not just you. I had the same reaction.

[+ newatthis]

Went by myself yesterday. Had not read the book. Was totally confused by the movie. Could not follow the plot. Was it just me...or am I getting senile??

I have to admit I found the book pretty confusing, too, at first. It has to be read with careful attention. If you rush through it (as I tend to do with novels), you miss all the subtleties and twists in the plot. IMO, LeCarre did a splendid job in that book of giving a sense of what Smiley was experiencing as the events unfolded -- all his confusion, mistakes, etc.

[+ WilliamM]

I have to admit I found the book pretty confusing' date=' too, at first. It has to be read with careful attention. If you rush through it (as I tend to do with novels), you miss all the subtleties and twists in the plot. IMO, LeCarre did a splendid job in that book of giving a sense of what Smiley was experiencing as the events unfolded -- all his confusion, mistakes, etc.[/quote']

 

It's the first book in a trilogy, entitled "The Quest for the KARLA." Books two and three are "The Honourable Schoolboy" and "Smiley's People." I remember having a wicked cold in the 1980s and reading all three books over about two weeks. I agree with newatthis about having to read very carefully, especially at the beginning. Even at that, I found "The Honourable Schoolboy" very difficult. By the end of the trilogy, I thought it was one of the most rewarding reading experiences of my life.

 

I have fogotten most of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," so never even though about seeing the film, given how much trouble I had with the books.

[justaguy]

Has anyone seen both the new film and the older PBS production? I loved all the books. For me Guinness in the PBS series was exactly what I thought Smiley would be like. I’m wondering how the new version compares. Am I in for a big disappointment or a pleasant surprise?

[Epigonos]

I'm convinced that I stopped reading "CONTEMPORARY" fiction because of LeCarre. The first novel of his that I attempted to read, I don't even remember which one it was, I found so convoluted and unnecessarily complex that I didn’t finish it. I decided, right then and there, that if I was going to spend that much time and effort reading and attempting to understand a book it would, in the future, be nonfiction.

 

Now as far as "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" is concerned I just found it terribly SLOW. I thought the cast was excellent but the story left many ends dangling.

[+ Lucky]

You stopped reading fiction because of one author? You discarded every novel ever written because of one author? Really, I think your post is fiction!

[justaguy]

Epigonos, I had the opposite reaction. I didn't find LeCarre "convoluted and unnecessarily complex" but a game of shadows which I became part of as I read. I enjoyed the misdirection and the seemingly dead ends.

[+ WilliamM]

Epigonos' date=' I had the opposite reaction. I didn't find LeCarre "convoluted and unnecessarily complex" but a game of shadows which I became part of as I read. I enjoyed the misdirection and the seemingly dead ends.[/quote']

 

I agree mostly with justaguy on LeCarre. However, I have some feeling for the characterization of LeCarre's fiction as convoluted and SOMETIMES (my word) unnessarily complex. You do really have to be invested in figuring out what's going on.

 

For me, that's what makes LeCarre so good, but I totally understand someone thinking otherwise.