The Secret Pilgrim

A George Smiley Novel

By: John le Carré

Narrated by: Michael Jayston

Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

After the Berlin Wall comes down and opens up new changes in Eastern Europe, John le Carre's stunning novel, The Secret Pilgrim, takes us behind the scenes into the former Cold War world.

Nothing is as it was. Old enemies embrace. The dark staging grounds of the Cold War, whose shadows barely obscured the endless games of espionage, are flooded with light; the rules are rewritten, the stakes changed, the future unfathomable. John le Carre seized this momentous turning point in history to give us the most disturbing experience we have yet had of the frail and brutal world of spydom.

The man called Ned speaks to us. All his adult life he has been in British Intelligence - the Circus - a loyal, shrewd, wily officer of the Cold War. Now, approaching the end of his career, he revisits his own past. He invites us on a tour of his three decades in the Circus, burrowing deep into the twilight world where he ran spies - 'joes' - from Poland, Estonia, Hungary.

©1990 David Cornwell (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Superb. In every regard.

Breathtaking writing, masterful narration, just doesn't get any better than this. Strangely relevant in 2018.

The best le Carre book

Probably the best le Carre book out there. Better than the night manager in my opinion. Couldn’t stop listening.
Will not disappoint. That’s a fact

Insightful and Poignant

Excellent book. As usual Le Carre paints a vivid picture of the prices paid for the Cold War in human terms, as well as offering a glimpse into the mindset of the proverbial movers and shakers of the world. A must listen for fans of the Karla series and the secret admirers of George Smiley.

A Goodbye to a Loved Character

This was a wonderful telling of an agent’s experiences as a spy. He told most of the stories while he was listening to a talk give by one of his colleagues. It was interesting to hear the highs and lows of his experiences and how each lead to his next assignment.

Fun book to listen to.

I have to leave 5 stars

If you have not consumed at least the Karla Trilogy, don’t do this one yet. I don’t think it’s really fair to this particular Smiley book and author to do so.

Is this the best Smiley? I can’t say that because not enough Smiley for that. I’m half way through and I love this one. As in all of these, I can re-listen to passages multiple times if I lose focus or just to go back to make sure I got it all, and if I go back “too far” I’m just as happy re-listening to what I have already heard. It will be years before I re-listen or pick up used hard copies as they are so indelible and the way these unfold and the depth of character and humanity stays with me. That said, doubling or tripling back in the moment is great for me. There is very little that isn’t worth a second listen to grasp the density and nuance to almost every passage throughout these books (and all the non-Smiley LeCarre’s I’ve consumed). I simply want these to go on for ever. They are good entertainment, history, diversion, escapism and humanity displayed in triumph and flaw and duplicity and honor and courage and duty and introspection.

And they are also cool as hell.

George Smiley Regales The Nursury With his Past

You must read the entire set of books about George Smiley before reading this one. This is a collection of stories about George Smiley told by George Smiley when he agrees to give a lecture at Ned’s class of potential future spies, known as The Nursury. George shows up and is introduced by Ned to the class of boys and girls (girls only recently allowed to join the ‘elite’ group of spies to be). You must know the characters and the stories about Smiley to understand this book. I must admit that after finishing the book I had to go back and listen to the first chapter to remind myself of how the book had begun. le Carre is a master of espionage. He is the watcher of the entire British network and add nuances that make it very complicated and shed light on the entire British system and how the spies see themselves as the top echelon of British pecking orders. This is a great novel and one every fan of espionage must read BUT only in the order of publication. These are so nuanced that the avid reader will enjoy them over and over again. I’m sure that I will be listening to Michael Jayston narrate these stories several more times. There is that much new to hear because you can’t possible remember it all. The accents of the different spies and their mistresses and mistakes. So, buy the complete set of 9 Smiley books and put your feet up in front of the fire and enjoy the British espionage and Russian counter intelligence at its best.

exceptional

Gripping and widely varied short stories masterfully interwoven into the "Smiley" universe.
Eccentric (and often poignantly tragic) characters are sensitively and subtley portrayed against the backdrop of the intelligence community and it's surreal mode of life.

Best listen in the past ten years !

This Cold Warrior was mesmerized by the tales of moral ambiguity ; especially the stand alone short stories in Parts 8 and Ten.

Fantastic!

If you’re a fan of the George Smiley novels this is a must read. It is a nice wrap up to the career of a master sleuth as seen through the life of Ned, this story’s narrator. John le Carré is bringing deep thought to the motivations, and the consequences of the Cold War, and the players action who are involved. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Finish Line & NOT Starting Point for George Smiley

A final wrap-up to le Carré's George Smiley series is a chronological narrative of short-stories framed around the memories of spy Ned, and the stories of George Smiley, given to a group of trainees selected for the Secret Service. The stories span the 40+ years of the Cold War, and capture the gradual disillusionment of Ned and the ambiguity of the sagacious/perceptive George Smiley.

While this is not the best in the George Smiley oeuvre, it is a nice victory lap. It allowed le Carré the opportunity to publish a few pieces he had worked on, but not yet turned into novels...while also revisiting the themes of morality/love/individual vs amorality/duty/institutions he constantly addressed and returned to in his Circus/Smiley novels.