Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief 6 published : 20 Dec 2020 at 04:00 6 In the mid-1970s, while travelling on the slowest train in the world from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi, I recall reading a substantial chunk of John Le Carre's espionage novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Though not a fast-paced book, it still had more momentum than the wretched train. The sad news of Le Carre's death last weekend at the age of 89, had me thinking a bit more about that particular book. I have to admit I did not fully understand all of the complexities of the intricate plot and sometimes had to reread bits to work out who was who.