tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000915267979691397.post6033030813169849032..comments2023-08-21T18:12:17.758-07:00Comments on Cosmic Antipodes: Two More Hauntings, and a MadhouseRaphael Ordoñezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991011024942623986noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000915267979691397.post-36015981808205748052016-08-30T08:03:05.674-07:002016-08-30T08:03:05.674-07:00I really want to watch the Alec Guiness Tinker Tai...I really want to watch the Alec Guiness Tinker Tailor. I have a couple of the other BBC productions from that time (I Claudius, Emma) and have watched them a bunch of times.<br /><br />I found myself deeply disgusted with the mole at the end. He seemed to shrivel up as a character. I though his anything-but-aesthetic fate fitting.<br /><br />I've watched, but haven't read, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and it made a big impression on me. That was added inducement to try le Carre.Raphael Ordoñezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17991011024942623986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000915267979691397.post-13232908685148072642016-08-29T15:43:00.116-07:002016-08-29T15:43:00.116-07:00RE: the mystery, I was curious how someone with fr...RE: the mystery, I was curious how someone with fresh eyes saw it. Reading it so often, I see thru all the mechanical aspects to its heart, that is all the bits you mentioned - Ann, Jim, Irina, betrayal, willing blindness, etc. <br /><br />I remember feeling almost hurt the first time reading it. The mole, outside Smiley, was the closest to a likeable character. Much older now, I find the mole's "wit" and sarcasm more irritating than charming.<br /><br />The relationship between George and Ann is explained across all the Smiley books, including the two early ones, A Murder of Quality (filmed with Denholm Elliot), and Call for the Dead.<br /><br />Betrayal is one of LeCarre's primary themes that he hits on again and again. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is terrifying in the depths of duplicity and murder of trust it explores. Part of TTSP's gut-wrenching, The Honourable Schoolboy, is about how a man struggles with what he does for a living. <br /><br />My wife is almost obsessed with these, regularly rereading them and rewatching the Alec Guiness movies.The Wasphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08636805818054637966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000915267979691397.post-91786173572655420252016-08-28T21:53:56.621-07:002016-08-28T21:53:56.621-07:00Well, I can't say I was surprised, exactly. I ...Well, I can't say I was <i>surprised</i>, exactly. I mean, it has to be part of the cast of characters. There's only so many to choose from, and only so many to make the discovery momentous enough. And who else could it really have been, practically speaking? In a way, I <i>was</i> surprised it was the person it was, but only because it seemed so obvious a possibility that I assumed it was a red herring. I will say that I was taken aback by the depth of the betrayal, and the nature of its connection to various other strands of the plot.<br /><br />In hindsight, I think the real mystery for me was not who the mole was, but the meaning of Smiley's break-up with Ann. The events surrounding that were too complex and enigmatic for it to have simply been what it seemed on the surface. I recall reflecting as much during Smiley's recollection of a conversation they'd had in Cornwall.<br /><br />So I feel like the novel had two mysteries, one of which was purely emotional; and the effect of the latter on me as a reader was not unlike the effect it was intended to have had on Smiley. And then there's the more understated but equally poignant mystery of Jim Prideaux's betrayal. By the end, you realize that many of the characters have guessed the truth, more or less, but avoided it for various reasons. So maybe you could argue that the book is not really about who the mole is at all, but the way events forced the characters to confront an unpleasant truth.<br /><br />But really, I guess I don't read this kind of book for the unraveling of the mystery. Partly I enjoy watching the protagonist in pursuit. Here the protagonist is a mild-mannered little man who spends most of his time talking to people, reading documents, and remembering. But that's OK. I always wanted to see what he would do next or learn next. And then there's the thrill of reading about spies and secret networks. But more than anything, the author does such a superb job of weaving the tapestry of his world that it's a pleasure simply to explore it, like Tolkien's Middle-Earth, or Chandler's L.A.Raphael Ordoñezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17991011024942623986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000915267979691397.post-12472265467366452072016-08-28T14:39:38.399-07:002016-08-28T14:39:38.399-07:00As someone whose read Tinker Tailor several times,...As someone whose read Tinker Tailor several times, I'm curious about your thoughts on the book. Was the Mole's ID obvious? If yes, what kept you reading? What did you take away from it when done? Can you tell I've thought about this book too much?The Wasphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08636805818054637966noreply@blogger.com