The Honorable Schoolboy

Picking up where Tinker Tailor (1974) left off, The Honorable Schoolboy features one of John le Carre’s strongest plots, as George Smiley oversees the post-scandal rebuilding of the beleaguered British intelligence service. Once again, it is le Carre’s dialogue that especially dazzles; he has a way of not only communicating more than is said literally, but of using variances in cadence and syntax to give each of his characters a distinct and recognizable voice. And if perhaps the book is too long and less focused than his masterpieces, it is nonetheless consistently thrilling and one of his best pure crime/spy stories.