Between the Pages

This book is the first one to feature one of le Carre’s recurring characters, British Intelligence Agent George Smiley (a subsequent Smiley book was Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which was made into a very popular tv series in 1979, and more recently a film starring Gary Oldman – as Smiley – and Colin Firth).

After a brief introduction to Smiley – a small, morose, and probably rather uncharismatic man – the story gets underway.  Smiley is sent to interview Samuel Fennan, a Foreign Office civil servant, who is suspected of being a spy.  The interview is informal, and Smiley is confident that Fennan is innocent.  He reassures Fennan, but later that night, Fennan is found dead, having apparently committed suicide.

Smiley suspects that Fennan was murdered, and investigates with the help of Inspector Mendel, about to retire from the Metropolitan Police, and Peter Guillam, one of Smiley’s own colleagues.

The investigation uncovers deception and espionage – and Smiley soon realises that his own life is in danger.

I liked this book a lot.  It’s short (less than 200 pages), but packs a lot of story in.  The storyline itself is not over-complicated, but there are enough twists and turns to keep it interesting and exciting.  The writing itself flows beautifully, and made me want to keep reading.

The book is also the perfect introduction to George Smiley, and I definitely want to read further books in the series.  Despite Smiley being in some ways an unremarkable character, rather than a typical handsome hero, he was a very interesting character, and entirely believable.  He is a decent but flawed man, and his emotions during the investigation were well portrayed.  I ended up liking him very much.

Overall, this was an exciting and hugely enjoyable read, and I will definitely be reading more by le Carre.  Spy fiction has never been a favourite genre of mine, but I picked this book up on a whim – and it might just have converted me!

(Author’s website can be found here.)