Excellent Sam Adler-Bell piece in the NY Times about how to approach John Le Carré's books. Here are his recommendations:
Where to start: The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, 1963
Best book: A Perfect Spy, 1986
Best spying: Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy, 1974
Most Underated: The Looking Glass War, 1964
Best female character: The Little Drummer Girl, 1983
Best post-Cold War book: The Constant Gardener, 2003
Personally I like the George Smiley books, because I love Smiley, and I never liked any of the others as much. (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Honorable Schoolboy; Smiley's People) If you want a film, I liked the movie version of The Little Drummer Girl better than the book, and it includes one of my favorite action scenes.
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May I recommend the recent The Little Drummer Girl miniseries, with Florence Pugh and directed by Park Chan-wook? I remember almost nothing of the Diane Keaton movie (and haven't read the book) but was impressed by this production. I think Le Carré has generally been better served by TV than by film.
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