Where to start with John le Carré

British and Irish novelist, 1931–2020.

Best John le Carré book to start with: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974), on 5 of the 19 lists it could have made.

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold is the best first le Carré. The lists put Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy first, but the earlier book is shorter and faster, and it will tell you at once whether his world suits you. A burnt-out agent is sent on one last mission in the middle of the Cold War, and the plot is built on small, cold decisions.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the book most people mean when they say le Carré. A retired spy, George Smiley, is brought back to find a traitor at the top of British intelligence. It moves slowly and carefully, and the pleasure is in how people talk around what they know. The cast is large at first, so take the opening chapters steadily.

The Constant Gardener comes later and is a different kind of book. A diplomat in Kenya investigates his wife’s death and runs into the drugs industry. It is angrier and more of a thriller than the other two.