So this book was originally published in the 1960’s I believe. You can tell only a little bit in my opinion. Obviously the technology is very dated, and the way of doing things is a little bit too. It didn’t really bother me though. I got caught up in the action and the stories. George Smiley has a lot of stories.
This is the first book where Smiley appears. There’s apparently seven books with him as the main character. I like him. It’s really hard not to. He’s a former spy, and a current security agent of some sort? I’m not entirely clear on what his job is, because he quits it nearly immediately.
Smiley learns that a colleague who he interviewed as a potential security threat has allegedly committed suicide. Although he’s not really supposed to be, he starts looking into the man’s death. He interviews the man’s wife, and meets up with some other duded. One is a cop I think? Again, I’m a little fuzzy on everyone’s job roles in this book. So someone may be a spy, there may be a murder, and there may be a murderer on the loose. Or maybe not?
Smiley gets attacked twice during the investigation, so he knows he’s onto something important. He’s offered another job, and his ex wife wants him back at one point. Oh, he’s also a chubby middle aged man. This is the first spy / mystery book I’ve read where the main character is an older not skinny person. I guess maybe the Hanne Wilhelmsen series counts, but she wasn’t fat (just older). They make a great deal out of his non-traditional (for a spy) body type. It’s nearly refreshing! I’ll continue with Smiley on this journey.