Welcome to Litsy!

I‘d forgotten how this one ended. This is the final book in the Karla Trilogy, Karla being George Smiley‘s nemesis and counterpart in Moscow Center. Intricately plotted, Smiley‘s People is another brilliant slow burn spy novel. Michael Jayston‘s audio narration is fantastic. Best of all, there‘s a long scene with Connie and even though she‘s a rather tragic figure, she‘s my favorite character of the trilogy.

Third in the "Karla Trilogy" (though Karla, aka The Sandman is more of a looming non-presence, Smiley's dark opposite than a character in his own right) this has Smiley dragged from retirement to smooth over the assassination of an aged "asset" on Hampstead Heath. Smiley being Smiley, he is not prepared to let matters drop just so as to not make waves, and embarks on an investigation which eventually ties all the loose ends together. Superb.

RIP “How much of our human feeling can we dispense with in the name of freedom, would you say, before we cease to feel either human or free?"

- John Le Carre, Legacy of Spies

In my time, Peter Guillam, I've seen Whitehall skirts go up and come down again. I've listened to all the excellent argument for doing nothing, and reaped the consequent frightful harvest. I've watched people hop up and down and call it progress. I've seen good men go to the wall and the idiots get promoted with a dazzling regularity. All I'm left with is me and thirty-odd years of cold war without the option.

A really old book and an awesome bookmark my coworker got me.

Saw these beautiful editions at the British Library Bookshop and immediately thought of you @DGRachel ! 😻

George Smiley is taken out of retirement to investigate the murder of a former Estonian general. This leads him to his long time adversary Karla, the spy master of the secretive communist spy agency. Considered the end of the Karla trilogy, Smiley sees how much they are both a like. 8/10: not James Bond but a more thoughtful spy novel. I like the idea that spies are actually sad boring people. 😂

This author is a very well spoken and obviously well-written guy. I love to read his work. And they are works. He is addictive. I recommend every book he's written. Take care fellow readers. We are a dying breed...

While I loved the mountains, flowers, gondolas and trains... Visiting Switzerland with spies is not the best way to be a tourist! I am now on my way to Italy! #Reading1001 #1001Books#Switzerland #audiobook #backpackEurope

I am visiting Switzerland with Cold War spies! #Reading1001 #1001books #audiobook #Switzerland #backpackEurope

Grand, white-knuckled finale of The Karla Trilogy. Good show!

#hallowhoareyou @Gyldholm thanks for the tag @batsy
1) 46
2) I‘m the 4th daughter, the one who goes on quests. Plus a little brother #sidekick
3) 2 beautiful ratbags
4) Woman in White
5) I couldn‘t choose!
6) 😍
7) Crisp
8) I‘m the smiliest person in the room but I‘m having the darkest conversations
9) own cats but love other people‘s dogs
10) all of em
11) tagged book. I‘m one of Litsy‘s extroverts (just!)
12) @kspenmoll @CarolynM @Jeg

New year means new challenge. My favorite part of making the board is trying to make the challenges sound like Jeopardy categories. #readharder2018 #bookriot

My third reading was the most successful yet, not least because I read my parents' beat-up mass market paperback. Looking forward to (re)reading more JLC in the new year!

Fassbender 😍😍

The life of a spy is #complicated. This probably wasn't what Avril was talking about when she sang "but you've become/somebody else 'round everyone else/you're watching your back like you can't relax", but it totally works for me. ?

#augustgrrrl

#anditsaugust #augustgrrrl #complicated #addiction
Ive gone with two smiley books- i need to acquire the missing ones and reread in anticipation of the new book. Complicated and smiley and karla are addicted to bringing each other down, if you add in smileys addiction to his errant wife lady ann, and of course the cigarette lighter, i think i can get into both threads.

I've never done anything as official as #joiningafanclub but I consider myself a fan of a lot of different authors, bands, musicals, and films. Here are just a few. #junetunz

New level Carre novel announced! The headlines seem a bit misleading, it appears that it is Peter Guillam, not Smiley, who is back, but I'm still excited. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/39194013

I know I already posted one for today, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to give a shout out to another subtle villain - Karla - Moscow's super spy and George Smiley's nemesis. The best villains are tough to identify or hate, especially when you take the time to try to understand their motivation. Even then, one person's villain is often another person's hero. #favevillain #somethingforsept #septphotochallenge

After a lifetime of inventing cover stories for every occasion, he still found it impossible to talk his way out of a dinner invitation.