With apologies to Ian Fleming, I like George Smiley much better than James Bond. I was a little worried that the book would be too dull or dry or technical for me when my husband first read it, but I'm glad i gave it a try. It's true that there are no grand car chases, shoot outs or clever gadgets, no death defying stunts or torrid love scenes, but i was gripped by the story and character right off the bat. The characters are well developed and mostly multi dimensional, i found myself riveted whenever Smiley interrogated someone, the depth of thought and strategy in general were fascinating and the twists and turns kept me thinking about the story whenever i had to put it down. I felt really invested in the characters and what was going on, and actually cried at the inevitable end. I especially like how le Carré told the story, slowly revealing the past as Smiley relived it during his investigation, i had to keep reading because i really needed to know what happened! I kinda wish there had been more and better female representation, but given one of the final reveals/twists being shown with barely a disparaging remark, i can't complain too much