Chitwood, Adam (11 December 2012). "Producer Eric Fellner Talks; Says Tomas Alfredson and Screenwriter Peter Straughan are Working on it "As We Speak" ". Collider . Retrieved 11 December 2012. Of course the book is about many other things besides love: it is about the mysterious nature of allegiances and the way they change over time; about social class as an inescapable system of markers and man’s bathetic attempts to emphasize or erase them; about how the look of a system subtly changes when it begins to betray itself; about how the illusions which make a man vulnerable also help him survive. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy employs spy jargon that is presented as the authentic insider-speak of British Intelligence. Le Carré noted that, with the exception of a few terms like mole and legend, this jargon was his own invention. [19] In some cases, terms used in the novel have subsequently entered espionage parlance. [7] For example, the terms mole, [20] implying a long-term spy, and honey trap, [21] implying a ploy in which an attractive person lures another into revealing information, were first introduced in this novel, and have only subsequently entered general usage. After a lifetime of living by his wits and his considerable memory, he had given himself full time to the profession of forgetting."

Bill Haydon — Commander of London Station, he has worked with the Circus since the war. A polymath, he was recruited at Oxford where he was a close companion of Prideaux. A distant cousin of Ann Smiley, he has an affair with her, and this knowledge subsequently becomes widely known. One of the four who ran the double agent codenamed Merlin. Oliver Lacon — The permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office. Civilian overseer of the Circus. A former Cambridge rowing blue; his father "a dignitary of the Scottish church" and his mother "something noble". [18] Le Carré betrayed by 'bad lot' spy Kim Philby". Channel 4. 13 September 2010 . Retrieved 13 May 2018.Hoskin, Peter; Mason, Simon (23 October 2010). "Interview – Tomas Alfredson: outside the frame". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 1 June 2011 . Retrieved 23 March 2011. He was of that pre-war set that seemed to have vanished for good, which managed to be disreputable and high-minded at the same time." Smiley is the kind of guy who could quiz you – in a bar, say – and afterwards, you'd not remember much distinct about his interest or even appearance, but rather, mostly you'd remember your own – perfectly innocuous! – impressions of _____.

When my friend asked me to go with him to see Tinker Tailor, I told him it was not possible. I explained my reasoning while he nodded agreeably, accepting my oddities without judgment. But then he said, “I think you’ll find this to be an exception to your rule. In this particular case, you’re going to want to have seen this movie before reading the book. Trust me.” What. A Freaking. Liar. I see I've missed the novel/film/TV series comparison blog, but for what it's worth I thought all three were equally enjoyable … The TV series exploited that medium's strength for characterisation and dramatic exposition, compressed the plot without losing the essentials and had a stellar cast … The film I found equally well cast, with stunning design and a very effective use of recurring motifs, particularly as the "document lift" at the Circus being echoed by various other chambers throughout … A highly effective shorthand in communicating the claustrophobia of the lives of all concerned.He imagined that, like himself, Jim had had a great attachment that had failed him and that he longed to replace. But here Bill Roach's speculation met a dead end: he had no idea how adults loved each other." A chill went through my bones as I hoped the dreaded Karla had disappeared for good, remembering the hoops and barrels he had put me through at work! Tinker delved deeply into England's fading role on the global stage, moral ambiguities, and ultimately betrayal. But as I've come to expect of le Carré, this was also a gripping intellectual puzzle that had been eloquently written. I read Tinker slowly because I had to take care to follow le Carré's understatedly-written crumb trail. This was my fifth installment in the Smiley series, so I've already been battered emotionally and I was sufficiently braced to face whatever disillusionment le Carré would unleash with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. My only quibble was that the bait used in the final trap hadn't been detailed and that omission seemed to weaken the chain of evidence.