I do understand the folks here who don't appreciate this series. It was a product of its time and, what a product. All the things that make it so difficult for a wider audience - sedate pace, lack of action, etc are all intrinsic to its construction.
Le Carre wanted the world to know - guess what? Being a spy is a job and it's largely just as dull as being a bank manager or anything else. It's bureaucracy, internecine feuding and bloated ego's getting in the way. What action does occur tends to be fast, unpleasant, confusing and immediately smoothed over... Smiley is so brilliant because he has no ambition beyond getting the job done and only academic interest in the power plays of others. This is a spy movie for chess players.
How a new film version is going to deal with this I shudder to think. If Smiley starts shooting at people I'm off.
Le Carre wanted the world to know - guess what? Being a spy is a job and it's largely just as dull as being a bank manager or anything else. It's bureaucracy, internecine feuding and bloated ego's getting in the way. What action does occur tends to be fast, unpleasant, confusing and immediately smoothed over... Smiley is so brilliant because he has no ambition beyond getting the job done and only academic interest in the power plays of others. This is a spy movie for chess players.
How a new film version is going to deal with this I shudder to think. If Smiley starts shooting at people I'm off.