Le Carre Recommendations

[Blair]

In a rather strange sequencing I've started reading John Le Carre.

I've finished a small town in Germany & am working through Agent Running in the Field (the only two I could get from the shop in 2019) but am curious where to go next.

I've seen Tinker-Tailor several times so am happy to avoid the Smiley trilogy & gave up on the Little Drummer Girl (I know people will say I'm depriving myself)

Any recommendations welcome

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Even if you've seen the TV serial and/or the film of Tinker Tailor a lot, I would still recommend reading the novels: you don't actually lose anything from knowing how things resolve, as it is always very clear that Bill is the mole, in fact this ends up being an important part of the story in itself.

But if you want to start with something new, then The Spy Who Came In from the Cold is a structurally perfect little novel, and the semi-autobiographical A Perfect Spy is quite a thing. The Night Manager is excellent and, of course, a very good adaptation of it was made a few years ago. I've not yet read it, but I'm told that The Russia House is very good. The final novel in the Smiley universe, A Legacy of Spies, is excellent but really only to be read if you know all the previous Smiley stories.

[Brother Jonathan]

I know it was not his best-received work, but I have a soft spot for The Looking Glass War, which follows 'the Department' (a sister service to 'the Circus') as it tries to run its first major field operation in years.

[Mr. Smith]

Our Kind of Traitor was a fun read

The Tailor Panama too [also has a movie with Daniel Radcliffe...before he grew up].