Smiley's People

By: John le Carré

Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Anna Chancellor, Full Cast, Simon Russell Beale

George Smiley is one of the most brilliantly realised characters in British fiction. Bespectacled, tubby, eternally middle-aged and deceptively ordinary, he has a mind like a steel trap and is said to possess ‘the cunning of Satan and the conscience of a virgin’. When a Russian émigré is found murdered on Hampstead Heath, Smiley is called out of retirement to exorcise some Cold War ghosts from his clandestine past. What follows is Smiley the human being at his most vulnerable and Smiley the case officer at his most brilliant; and it takes to a thrilling conclusion his career-long, serpentine battle with the enigmatic and ruthless Russian spymaster Karla... Starring the award-winning Simon Russell Beale as Smiley, and with a distinguished cast including Anna Chancellor, Lindsay Duncan, Maggie Steed, Alex Jennings and Kenneth Cranham, this enthralling dramatisation captures every nuance of le Carré’s complex and compelling novel - the final book in John le Carré’s Karla trilogy. ‘a radio triumph... Simon Russell Beale’s pitch-perfect master spy’ - Financial Times.

Excellent modern dramatisation

I have been a keen fan of John Le Carre for a long time, this dramatisation is excellent. It is at the right pace for the story to unfold the actors fit their roles as though they were made for them and the device of having the character Ann play an active role in the story shows the other side of Smiley. This is a superb piece of work as are the others in this series, and thanks Audible for making the recordings available so quickly after broadcast.

Excellent spy story with George Smiley

Really enjoyed the tradecraft and excellent performances of the whole cast. If you enjoyed Tinker Tailor Solider Spy this is a sure bet!

Muddled and Rushed

What would have made Smiley's People (Dramatised) better?

I love this book, but disliked the dramatization. It rushed through a very involved, intricate puzzle-box of a novel, losing both the tone and rhythm of the book. If I hadn't read the book, and seen the miniseries, I'd have been completely lost. I realize that a dramatization differs (often dramatically) from its source, but this one cut too much, and raced through what remained.

Returning.

A letdown

This was my first Audible book and I must say, it was a disappointment. Perhaps if I had read the description more thoroughly I would not have downloaded it and, so, saved myself the letdown. Smiley's People is the best espionage novel I have ever read, but this was not Smiley's People. It was a radio dramatization, not a book at all. When I read that it was a dramatization, I simply thought they meant that different voices were supplied for different characters. Again, my mistake, but I had hoped for something like the best recording I had ever heard of Smiley's People, the one read brilliantly by the author himself. That version seems to be unavailable. If I could find it, I will buy it in a heartbeat.