My goal is to eventually make my way through all of these must-read titles. These books have been around for so long and read by so many that another generic review from your average reader seems unnecessary. Instead, I thought it would be fun to take a look at what some of the experts have to say about the stories that paved the way for their own success… and how their perspective compares to my own reading experience. Today, I’m looking at John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
In the shadow of the newly erected Berlin Wall, Alec Leamas watches as his last agent is shot dead by East German sentries. For Leamas, the head of Berlin Station, the Cold War is over. As he faces the prospect of retirement or worse – a desk job – Control offers him a unique opportunity for revenge. Assuming the guise of an embittered and dissolute ex-agent, Leamas is set up to trap Mundt, the deputy director of the East German Intelligence Service – with himself as the bait. In the background is George Smiley, ready to make the game play out just as Control wants.
Denise Hamilton calls John le Carré “the bard of Cold War literature. He pierced the veil of secrecy and ideology and taught us about spycraft and skepticism while writing about universal human themes like honor, betrayal, and love.”
While all of this is present in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, it wasn’t there in a way that worked for me. The whole time I was reading it, I was trying to appreciate it for what it was. It’s a puzzle, a game, an intellectual exercise… but I just couldn’t get into it.
This is one of those rare ITW Must-Reads that I probably would have DNF’d if I weren’t reading through the whole list. The only other one I’ve felt that way about was Richard Stark’s The Hunter. And maybe someday I’ll come across one I really can’t finish. For now, though, I’m powering through.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold does have a lot going for it, if you’re interested in this particular kind of spy novel. “There were no Bondian pyrotechnics, little glamour or gadgetry, and negligible violence. What there was – in spades – was cool, elegant writing, moral ambiguity, and almost unbearable psychological suspense.”
There certainly is suspense… but I bore it just fine. Still, I can understand why this is considered one of the classic works of the genre. It’s just not for me.
Twenty down, eighty to go…
Next month I’ll be reading Sandra Brown’s The Witness.
I find it hard to get into a John le Carre novel, so I’m not surprised to read your review. I wish I could appreciate it more since he seems to write great novels, but oh well, it’s just not for me either.
This was the first one of his I’ve read. I thought it was interesting, just not particularly compelling.
Since I saw the movie, I’ve been wanting to read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; haven’t got around to it yet, but one of these days.
I did consider starting with The Spy Who…, since it’s the first George Smiley book and would introduce all the characters from scratch, but I’m not the most patient reader, so I’ll probably just read T2S2 (hee…just made up that abbreviation) and decide if I like the story & characters enough to try the previous books.
Well, George Smiley plays only a small role in this one… not an insignificant one, but he doesn’t get a lot of page time. I don’t know which other characters might carry over. Hopefully you’ll like le Carré more than I did.
Initially, I wanted to try the book so I could better understand Peter Guillam’s (*cough*BenedictCumberbatch*cough*) backstory, but it would certainly help with other parts of the story, too :-)
I started one John le Carre book but only got through a few chapters. Not for me.
But well done on getting 20% through the ITW list!
Thank you! I don’t really feel like I’ve made that much of a dent… but I guess the numbers don’t lie. (I’d read a few of them before I started blogging, but still.)