Besides the Smiley novels, The Perfect Spy is one of the most beautifully crafted of John le Carre's novels. Beautifully written with layers upon layers of meaning - each time you reread a Carre you see another facet.

If there was a theme across his books - he was always concerned with the nature of betrayal. "Love is whatever you can still betray". Betrayal of country, of a spouse, and even of a parent.