THE HONOURABLE SCHOOLBOY

Le Carré is the master, if not inventor, of the bureaucratic espionage novel wherein government can be more powerful and dangerous than any sophisticated weaponry. In THE HONOURABLE SCHOOLBOY, the spy tradecraft scenes in exotic Hong Kong are fascinating to hear, but they act as a background to the real action in the bland rooms and corridors of nondescript British office buildings. Narrator Michael Jayston deftly handles the cast of Secret Service administrators, and in his characterization of their boss, George Smiley, we hear their powerful, yet benevolent, all-knowing father figure. The novel may take place in the ‘70s, but the interoffice power plays that propel the plot are timeless, and Jayston captures the psychological wrangling exquisitely. F.T. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2012]