After the removal of the highly-placed mole (double agent) in London, George Smiley is in charge of rebuilding his intelligence organization. But he's become obsessed (some say) with tracking down his shadowy Soviet counterpart, Karla. The discovery of a "gold seam," a supply of money fed from the far east opium trade to Karla's Moscow Center provides him with the means to do so. He dispatches agent Jerry Westerby, operating under cover as a philandering journalist, to follow the trail. But events on the world stage threaten to overshadow the operation. It's the eve of the American withdrawal from Viet Nam, and the trail leads Westerby through the chaos and collapse while American and British intelligence authorities wrestle each other for control of his operation.

The Honorable Schoolboy is perhaps le Carré's most complex novel, and the longest (if I'm not mistaken), but it should be hard to put down. I say "should be" because although I really wanted to read it daily until finished, life got in the way, and I ended up reading it in bits and pieces over a long period of time. Unfortunately, that made it a bit hard to follow, because I forgot so many things. But curiously, every time I picked it up, I was drawn in by the characters and le Carré's vivid portrayal of the settings in which the actions take place. The author notes in his introduction to this edition that this novel was the first one for which he traveled to research his settings, and clearly that paid off.

So yes, it's a long, complicated book, but it's well worth the reading. ( )

This is the fourth Smiley novel I’ve read, and it was certainly the most tedious. Didn’t find Jerry Westerby a very interesting or likeable character, which made the book kind of a slog. If you’re a completist, obviously you’re going to read it. If you’re not, this is definitely one you can skip. ( )

My sense is that Le Carre did a lot of traveling, presumably in Hong Kong and maybe also in Southeast Asia, and he wanted to cram in as much detail as a possible in this sprawling, convoluted novel. Thinking about his famous Karla creation dealing with the Sino-Soviet split is kind of intriguing, but unfortunately characterization suffers with all of the locales and plot turns. Namely, I could not buy Westerby's infatuation with Lizzie Worthington (who is not well developed either) which is a motive for his inexplicable actions. ( )

Terrific sequel to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The characters are just amazingly drawn--the interview with Lizzie's parents is absolutely hilarious. And so heartbreaking to watch Jerry unravel. Exciting book! Can't wait to read Smiley's People. ( )

A slightly strange Le Carré, this. Actually felt like the most James Bondish of the ones that I've read to date - there are the exotic locations, a damsel in sort-of-voluntary distress involved with the villains, the main character even chooses to carry a small Walther handgun (that must have been a deliberate reference!) Basically it just felt more glamorous, exotic and adventure-filled than earlier books.

There was also a lot of politics, and one or two rogue operators - reminded me a bit more of James Ellroy novels (pleasantly - not always a given with Ellroy).

There's still plenty of the digging away in the vaults by the eccentric characters at the Circus, and lots of political jockeying in London. Smiley is still as engaging as ever, but I didn't have the same through and through enjoyment of earlier LeCarrés. Looking forward to Smiley's People though. ( )

Very little of the inner turmoil of the other Le Carre books I have read, but a lot more outer turmoil. The books starts very slow and steadily the pace increases until it's a total train wreck. Quite a bit of variety in the scenery - Hong Kong, Bangkok, Vientiane, the Thai backwoods... yeah maybe the basic foundation here is given by a quote that I think is repeated - it's not what a person thinks, but what a person does. So what we have here is a lot of action, and we get to figure out their thinking from their actions. Westerby says he's not an owl, not like Smiley. ( )

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I Smileys sjuttiotal tvingas George Smiley tillbaka till underrättelse-tjänsten från sin ofrivilliga pensionering för att fånga en »mullvad«; en dubbelagent läcker till ryssarna och de brittiska spioner som gömmer sig i öst svävar i akut livsfara. Smiley själv befinner sig snart på ett politiskt och byråkratiskt minfält där mullvadens illgärningar hotar hela den brittiska underrättelsetjänsten.

The second volume in le Carre's fabled Karla spy trilogy, [b:The Honourable Schoolboy|18990|The Honourable Schoolboy|John le Carré|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348762526l/18990._SY75_.jpg|79986] is a significant departure from the five Smiley books leading up to it. It's the longest of all the Smiley novels, and the only one where the action takes place outside of Europe.

The plot centers on people and events in Southeast Asia, and Hong Kong in particular. In the mid-1970s the area was a cauldron of conflict, pitting East against West, communism (both the Russian and Chinese varieties) against capitalism/democracy, and factions vs factions within individual countries.

Once again the core of the plot is a mole planted, this time in China, decades before by Karla, the Soviet counterpart to Smiley, head of the Circus, the British Secret Service. In the previous volume Smiley had unmasked a Karla mole hidden deep in the Circus, but by then serious damage had been done, and Smiley is now charged with restoring the honor of the organization he has cherished his entire life.

But the effort to identify the mole and leverage his position is only part of the story le Carré wants to tell here. Another is to describe the feel of Southeast Asia at the time, something he does vividly. Although I'd known a fair amount about area, whether from reading current events or history, I found a new appreciation for the day to day existence of the innocent local residents, treated as pawns going back even before French colonization.

The last part is an exploration of the extent to which it is possible for a spy, professional or "semi-pro", to disassociate from normal human connections. This is actually an expansion of an idea le Carré introduced in [b:The Spy Who Came In from the Cold|19494|The Spy Who Came In from the Cold|John le Carré|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327719782l/19494._SY75_.jpg|1177001]. In that case the relationship was more tender, it seems to me, than in this book, where an overwhelming lust seems to be the driving force.

All in all another extremely satisfying offering from the Master of the espionage tale. Three more to go in the Smiley series - I should be able to make my goal of finishing them by year end. ( )

I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return. - W.H. Auden

What if you devoted your entire life to something because you thought it was the right thing, the good thing, the moral thing, and then you ended your life wondering if you had been completely wrong? It happens to a lot of people, particularly because things shift on us as the years go by and change in ways we do not notice or acknowledge, and because with age comes wisdom, or if not wisdom, perhaps just clearer vision.

MacArthur famously said, “Old Soldiers never die, they just fade away.” Perhaps the same can be said of old spies, cold wars, and people who live on the fringe of society, just clambering for survival. And, if they have not died, but are only faded, can they be restored?

These were some of the thoughts I had while reading this novel, because John le Carre is one of those who sees the underbelly of life, and the betrayals it contains, and does not flinch. The time is 1974-75, Vietnam is falling from the hands of the Americans, Southeast Asia is a hotbed of activity, legal and illegal, the British still exercise control of a sort over Hong Kong, and all the major powers are jockeying for power. The Russians are actively working the Asian world for intelligence, and Karla, Smiley’s nemesis is playing cards that the British and Americans don’t even know he is holding.

Enter George Smiley, an aging British spy, who still carries the moral code and convictions of World War II, but must try to fit that image of the world into a more cynical, less forgiving, reality. He releases into this malestrom a seasoned operative by the name of Jerry Westerby, a man who seems so isolated and lonely that he made me ache, another man who has given his life to an occupation that breeds doubt and insecurity in men who are so seemingly strong and fearless. And, another man who is questioning what it has all been about.

Peter Guilliam sums it up rather well, I thought, and in doing so lays out the basic premise of the entire book:

One day, thought Guillam, as he continued listening, one of two things will happen to George. He’ll cease to care or the paradox will kill him. If he ceases to care, he’ll be half the operator he is. If he doesn’t, that little chest will blow up from the struggle of trying to find the explanation for what we do.

This is the sixth book in the Smiley series, and the second in the Karla Trilogy, and what I have observed in reading them is that George Smiley’s struggle to reconcile the job he does--the terrible consequences that often go with it, the deception and the sacrifices--is constant, never-ending, and personally costly. That he survives at all is miraculous, but he does, because he is the heart and conscience of the Circus, and eventually the heart is needed or the body dies.

One last thought, if anyone can write a more complex, intricate, entangled plot without failing to leave even the slightest element dangling, I have never encountered them. This is a spy novel, of course, but it is oh so much more. When you close the book, you will not leave the characters or the story behind, and you will see parallels all around you in our own society, in the duplicitousness of government, in the way some people play chess with other people’s lives, in the way sometimes everyone loses.
( )

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Oof. That was a slog. This book has some lovely passages, but is the slowest read for me. ( )

took a while to get going, but it was good after that. jlc had A LOT to say about SE Asia around the time of the end of the vietnam war. two chapters towards the end were very reminiscent of the rome chapter towards the end of catch-22. ( )

The usual Le Carre dense and intricate plot. Quite a lot of technical tradecraft here - rather like a case study but that's no bad thing imo,
It seemed a bit too long - more far east locations than was needed for the plot.

The eponymous Jerry Westerby is quite different from the Joss Ackland portrayal in the BBC Tinker, Tailor series.
Much less the upper class dubious hack and more the Sarratt trained man of action I found his motives hard to reconcile though and the ending even harder to think reasonable rather than contrived. ( )

Close to 5 stars, and would have merited 5 stars when written, when matters in Cambodia and Laos had been much more in the western mind following the Vietnam conflict and aftermath.

le Carre's strong point is showing the human element of espionage, that spies are just brave and resourceful people much like the best of us, with their own limitations and character flaws yet trying their loyal best under difficult and dangerous circumstances.

le Carre's extensive research for the book included several trips to the region. His depictions are surely quite accurate, but the unnecessary raft of detail made the book about a third longer than optimal, though foreign intelligence and southeast Asia experts and historians will admire the attention to scene.

In my view "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" is le Carre's best. ( )

Smiley nets Chinese defector but loses to CIA and fieldman dies trying to save woman involved

Part spy thriller, part political potboiler, part romantic tragedy, the second part of the Karla trilogy does not fail to deliver. Smiley is just as clever and unassumingly devious as before and his pawn, Westerby, is a classic le Carre creation who is sent into the heart of Hong Kong to further the Circus' war against the spectre of Karla. Despite some slight dips in the story where it seems Westerby's narrative threatens to overshadow the whole show, it's a solid engaging read that effectively sets the stage for a monumental showdown between long-term enemies, like pieces on a chessboard. ( )

A really satisfying continuation to Tinker Tailor, with Smiley picking up the pieces after the chaos of the first book and trying to start over. I think there are some parts where it drags (Westerby's endless wandering around Southeast Asia feels like it could have been condensed) but otherwise this is a very solid sequel. ( )

A bit of a curate's egg. The Honourable Schoolboy is an unfocused romp through British Hong Kong, Communist China, the conflict in Vietnam and the life of the foreign correspondent (as well as the usual bureaucratic intricacies of the Circus). Le Carré is always at his weakest when he paints with the broad brush, and this tendency is evident in some of the caricatures he presents in supporting roles. Despite this, there is much in the novel that is good, and there are some finely-worked passages among the rambling. ( )

I started of a bit slow and I felt as there was a lack of direction in what is actually going on. But after this initial slow part it really picked up and got really interesting and good.

Fully enjoyed reading this one, fantastic spy thriller. ( )

John asks for a review.

You know what, John? Right now I'm reading Through a Scanner Darkly. Should you happen to know it, it may explain why I'm not giving one.

Or maybe just this: it was too long ago and I honestly can't tell one of the early le Carres from another. I know I shouldn't say that, but.

Sorry!!! ( )

This is the second book in the Karla trilogy featuring George Smiley. I got into it much more easily than I did Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - I think I was just more ready for the amount of detail that I was going to have to remember. This one involves an effort to get into Karla's ring through a Chinese businessman, Drake Ko. Smiley sends in Jerry Westerby, a spy with a cover as a journalist, to discover out what sort of trail he can find.

This book is complex - both in plot and morals - and nobody seems to comes out a pure "good guy". Le Carre's writing is really good. He has great character development and I like how he balances the action on the ground with the meetings at higher levels. I'll read Smiley's People, the last in this trilogy, soon. ( )

Very well-written, and sad. ( )

https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2019/04/201935-honourable-schoolboy-john-le.html ( )

Quite a dense story, this one. Can't say I particularly enjoyed it, most of the time, but I'm glad I finished it, anyway. ( )