Le Carre's characterization is an outstanding feature of almost all of his fiction. His studies of the effect of a world predicated on mistrust, lying, and betrayal on individuals add depth to his fiction, making the stories meaningful in simple human terms. The impact of espionage on the world is almost always destructive. Lying becomes habitual, even preferable to straightforward truth. Betrayal turns into a complex game in which the loss of human lives is merely a way of keeping score. The reaction of many of le Carre's characters to deceit and death is to deny the reality of the darkness inherent in spying. British spy masters refuse to believe that there is a traitor in their midst, even when that traitor sells out the lives of countless agents. They delude themselves into thinking that their "friends" would never betray them. When George Smiley reveals that there is...