Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

The Cold War, perhaps dead in reality, lives on vibrantly in Michael Jayston's reading of a literary spy classic. This installment of the le Carré canon has George Smiley trying to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Service. Jayston's rich, full-bodied voice recreates the paranoia, urgency, and dread implicit in any Soviet threat. He reads with a steady pace and allows the story to unfold naturally, with all the twists and turns subtly revealed. Jayston, a British actor, gives each character a distinct voice, and his inflections uncover their motivations and foibles. He even pauses well. The result is an intelligent book read with respect for the reader's intelligence. R.I.G. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine