Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

[hushhush]

Jan 23, 2012 21:16:22 GMT -4 @roisin54 said:

So far the only people I know/have spoken to about the movie who liked it and could follow it are those who read the book. And that's great, but I just think if you had to have read the book in order to follow it then the movie failed.

I tend to agree with this. The example I always use is Beloved. That movie was pretty much a play-by-play of Toni Morrison's book. However, a literal adaptation of that book just did not work on the movie screen at all. I had read the book and followed the movie just fine. I went to see the movie with my mother who is just an Oprah fan and hadn't read the book, and she left with a giant WTF?!? (unsurprisingly)

mimmilina, they did tweak a bunch of stuff but I guess it didn't really bother me too much.

[bklynred]

I saw this a second time and it clarified a lot for me. Did le Carre write about being outed as a spy? Or is there a book you guys would recommend for someone new to the author? I'd like to give him another try.

[Deleted]

My favourites of his are "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold", "Tinker Tailor", and "Smiley's People". I'd say "The Spy..." is the "lightest" read, the other two are fairly dense (but I do love them more). I also like his "detective" stories "Call for the dead", and "A murder of quality" (both featuring Smiley). "The little drummer girl" is very good too. I've liked some of his books from after the Cold War, but I have to say those earlier books are my favourites.

[hushhush]

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold would also get my vote.

The Constant Gardener might also be a good choice, though it is not a Cold War spy story. The Constant Gardener movie was well done, but I definitely thought the book was better.

[bklynred]

OK, I've seen Constant Gardener and Spy...Cold. I'm thinking Little Drummer Girl. Thanks guys!