"Then he sent me on three months' leave without the option. 'I like you to have doubts,' he said. 'It tells me where you stand. But don't make a cult of them or you'll be a bore.' It was a warning. I heeded it. And he told me to stop thinking about the Americans so much; he assured me that he barely gave them a thought."
Guillam gazed at him, waiting for the resolution. "But what do you make of it?" he demanded, in a tone that suggested he had been cheated of the end. "Did Karla ever really think of staying?"
"I'm sure it never crossed his mind," said Smiley with disgust. "I behaved like a soft fool. The very archetype of a flabby Western liberal. But I would rather be my kind of fool than his, for all that."
1 comment:
"Then he sent me on three months' leave without the option. 'I like you to have doubts,' he said. 'It tells me where you stand. But don't make a cult of them or you'll be a bore.' It was a warning. I heeded it. And he told me to stop thinking about the Americans so much; he assured me that he barely gave them a thought."
Guillam gazed at him, waiting for the resolution. "But what do you make of it?" he demanded, in a tone that suggested he had been cheated of the end. "Did Karla ever really think of staying?"
"I'm sure it never crossed his mind," said Smiley with disgust. "I behaved like a soft fool. The very archetype of a flabby Western liberal. But I would rather be my kind of fool than his, for all that."
—John Le CarrĂ©, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974)
Two exceptional adaptations (especially well-cast) of two fine novels.
Post a Comment