Quotes from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“The more identities a man has, the more they express the person they conceal.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“There are moments which are made up of too much stuff for them to be lived at the time they occur.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Survival...is an infinite capacity for suspicion.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“I have a theory which I suspect is rather immoral,' Smiley went on, more lightly. 'Each of us has only a quantum of compassion. That if we lavish our concern on every stray cat, we never get to the centre of things.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“It's the oldest question of all, George. Who can spy on the spies?”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“...in the hands of politicians grand designs achieve nothing but new forms of the old misery...”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“There was nothing dishonourable in not being blown about by every little modern wind. Better to have worth, to entrench, to be an oak of one's own generation.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“I once heard someone say morality was method. Do you hold with that? I suppose you wouldn't. You would say that morality was vested in the aim, I expect. Difficult to know what one's aims are, that's the trouble, specially if you're British.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Look... we're getting to be old men, and we've spent our lives looking for the weaknesses in one another's systems. I can see through Eastern values just as you can see through our Western ones. Both of us, I am sure, have experienced ad nauseam the technical satisfactions of this wretched war. But now your own side is going to shoot you. Don't you think it's time to recognise that there is as little worth on your side as there is on mine?”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Treason is very much a matter of habit, Smiley decided.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Smiley was soaked to the skin and God as a punishment had removed all taxis from the face of London.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“We've had enough." He took back the report and jammed it under his arm. "We've had a bellyful, in fact."
"And like everyone who's had enough," said Control as Alleline noisily left the room, "he wants more.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“An artist is a bloke who can hold two fundamentally opposing views and still function:”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“...also took for granted that secret services were the only real measure of a nations political health, the only real expression of its subconscious.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“God is in his Heaven and the first night was a wow.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“The monstrosity of this, reaching Smiley through a thickening wall of spiritual exhaustion, left him momentarily speechless.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“There are always a dozen reasons for doing nothing," Ann liked to say--it was a favourite apologia, indeed, for many of her misdemeanours. "There is only one reason for doing something. And that's because you want to." Or have to? Ann would furiously deny it: coercion, she would say, is just another word for doing what you want; or for not doing what you are afraid of.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Look, we are getting to be old men, and we've spent our lives looking for the weaknesses in one another's systems... Don't you think it's time to recognise that there is as little worth on your side as there is on mine?”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Few men can resist expressing their appetites when they're making a fantasy about themselves.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“And your wife, she's in the pink and so on?"

His expressions were also boyish.

"Very bonny, thank you," said Smiley, trying gallantly to respond in kind.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Middle children weep longer than their brothers and sisters. Over her mother’s shoulder, stilling her pains and her injured pride, Jackie Lacon watched the party leave. First, two men she had not seen before: one tall, one short and dark. They drove off in a small green van. No one waved to them, she noticed, or even said goodbye. Next, her father left in his own car; lastly a blond, good-looking man and a short fat one in an enormous overcoat like a pony blanket made their way to a sports car parked under the beech trees. For a moment she really thought there must be something wrong with the fat one, he followed so slowly and so painfully. Then, seeing the handsome man hold the car door for him, he seemed to wake, and hurried forward with a lumpy skip. Unaccountably, this gesture upset her afresh. A storm of sorrow seized her and her mother could not console her.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“...what woman has ever stopped by a want of information? She felt. And despised him for not acting in accordance with her feelings.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Each of us has only a quantum of compassion. That if we lavish our concern on every stray cat, we never get to the centre of things. What do you think of i?”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Smiley was the oddest. You thought, to look at him, that he couldn't cross the road alone, but you might as well have offered protection to a hedgehog.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Martindale had no valid claim on Smiley either professionally or socially. He worked on the fleshy side of the Foreign Office and his job consisted of lunching visiting dignitaries whom no one else would have entertained in his woodshed. He was a floating bachelor with a grey mane and that nimbleness which only fat men have.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Lo raccontò in maniera semplice ma precisa, come un buon soldato rievoca una battaglia, non più col sapore della vittoria o della sconfitta ma unicamente con l'emozione del ricordo.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“He would set up as a mild eccentric, discursive, withdrawn, but possessing one or two lovable habits such as muttering to himself as he bumbled along pavements. Out of date, perhaps, but who wasn't these days? Out of date, but loyal to his own time. At a certain moment, after all, every man chooses: will he go forward, will he go back? There was nothing dishonourable in not being blown about by every little modern wind. Better to have worth, to entrench, to be an oak of one's own generation.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“There are moments that are made up of too much stuff for them to be lived at the time they occur.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“…what woman has ever stopped by a want of information? She felt. And despised him for not acting in accordance with her feelings.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“He has a saying: he'll only believe what can be written on a postcard.”
― John le Carré, quote from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

About the author

Popular quotes

“If you're gonna be stupid you gotta be tough.”
― John Grisham, quote from The Testament

“I’m not a superhero,” I say. It’s an awful tag. It’s egotistical, and it doesn’t fit. I don’t parade around in spandex.”
― Kendare Blake, quote from Anna Dressed in Blood

“For once he didn't stop himself. The pressure of song was too strong, the need for distraction too great. Then he found that the music caged behind his closed teeth was the melody Kestrel had played for him months ago. He felt the sensation of it, low and alive on his mouth.
For a moment, he imagine it wasn't the melody that touched his lips, but Kestrel.”
― Marie Rutkoski, quote from The Winner's Curse

“Let the gods into your life and you rapidly lose faith in the natural laws.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, quote from The Thief

“Confessing I didn’t, I scribbled the directions on the notepad I always kept by the phone. I hung up and my feet were already on the floor as adrenaline hit my nerves like espresso. The house was quiet. I grabbed my black medical bag, scuffed and worn from years of use. The”
― Patricia Cornwell, quote from Postmortem

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.