The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Penguin Modern Classics)
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Product Description
Review
Superbly constructed, with an atmosphere of chilly hell (J.B. Priestley )
The best spy story I have ever read (Graham Greene )
The master storyteller ... has lost none of his cunning (A. N. Wilson )
I have re-read The Spy Who Came In From The Cold over and over again since I first encountered it in my teens, just to remind myself how extraordinary a work of fiction can be. (Malcolm Gladwell )
One of those very rare novels that changes the way you look at the world. Unflinching, highly sophisticated, superb. (William Boyd )
The best spy story I have ever read (Graham Greene )
The master storyteller ... has lost none of his cunning (A. N. Wilson )
I have re-read The Spy Who Came In From The Cold over and over again since I first encountered it in my teens, just to remind myself how extraordinary a work of fiction can be. (Malcolm Gladwell )
One of those very rare novels that changes the way you look at the world. Unflinching, highly sophisticated, superb. (William Boyd )
Review
'A topical and terrible story ... he can communicate emotion, from sweating fear to despairing love, with terse and compassionate conviction. Above all, he can tell a tale. Formidable equipment for a rare and disturbing writer' -- Sunday Times 'Superbly constructed, with an atmosphere of chilly hell' -- Daphne du Maurier 'The best spy story I have ever read' -- Graham Greene
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First Sentence
The American handed Leamas another cup of coffee and said, "Why don't you go back and sleep? Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
The American handed Leamas another cup of coffee and said, "Why don't you go back and sleep? Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" is, without doubt, the classic Cold War thriller. It is the novel by which others of the genre have to be judged. Almost all will be found wanting.
For this work Le Carre's prose is lean with not a word wasted. Indeed, some readers may find the style too austere. However, to my mind, it captures the mood of the time. There is not an ounce of fat and every word counts.
The problem which the young reader may encounter (i.e. anybody born after, say, 1985) is that the story is set in a world far removed from today. The knowledge that Le Carre would have assumed even the casual reader had is now lacking. A little bit of background research may be required so that the concepts of "Democratic Germany" and "The Party" can be appreciated.
Nevertheless, this is an excellent introduction to both Le Carre and also the fascinating Cold War era.
For this work Le Carre's prose is lean with not a word wasted. Indeed, some readers may find the style too austere. However, to my mind, it captures the mood of the time. There is not an ounce of fat and every word counts.
The problem which the young reader may encounter (i.e. anybody born after, say, 1985) is that the story is set in a world far removed from today. The knowledge that Le Carre would have assumed even the casual reader had is now lacking. A little bit of background research may be required so that the concepts of "Democratic Germany" and "The Party" can be appreciated.
Nevertheless, this is an excellent introduction to both Le Carre and also the fascinating Cold War era.
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Spy who Came in from the Cold is the story of Alec Leamas, a fictional British spy, set towards the end of his career. The setting is the early 1960s, largely in London, Berlin and East Germany (the GDR).
The writing is of high standard, almost Homeric in nature. It has a sparse, exact quality that seems far from the style of creative writing courses. The evocation of the 1960s Cold War world is well done. Le Carre's focus has always been on the human aspects of the spy game, so fans of James Bond and Jason Bourne may be disappointed. The emotions and travails that spies must suffer are represented here: the difficulties of forming and maintaining relationships and of having to live multiple realities are described in this work.
Those who like moral certainties and absolute good and bad guys in their spy stories may also be disappointed. This was the nature of the Cold War and thus of the spy games that NATO and the Warsaw Pact played. Elizabeth is something of an idealistic member of the Communist party in Britain, who then confronts the reality of Communism in East Germany, and then to great tragedy. The main protagonist, Leamas, will eventually realise the horrific, amoral nature of the game he is in.
This is not a book about heroic spies with a happy, world-saving end, but it is a brilliant read, and signalled the beginning of Le Carre's very successful career. I greatly recommend it.
The writing is of high standard, almost Homeric in nature. It has a sparse, exact quality that seems far from the style of creative writing courses. The evocation of the 1960s Cold War world is well done. Le Carre's focus has always been on the human aspects of the spy game, so fans of James Bond and Jason Bourne may be disappointed. The emotions and travails that spies must suffer are represented here: the difficulties of forming and maintaining relationships and of having to live multiple realities are described in this work.
Those who like moral certainties and absolute good and bad guys in their spy stories may also be disappointed. This was the nature of the Cold War and thus of the spy games that NATO and the Warsaw Pact played. Elizabeth is something of an idealistic member of the Communist party in Britain, who then confronts the reality of Communism in East Germany, and then to great tragedy. The main protagonist, Leamas, will eventually realise the horrific, amoral nature of the game he is in.
This is not a book about heroic spies with a happy, world-saving end, but it is a brilliant read, and signalled the beginning of Le Carre's very successful career. I greatly recommend it.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book has a ring of authenticity about it. The seedier side of London and Berlin is beautifully described. There are no Bond-like gadgets, car chases or roof-top pursuits, yet I found this to be one of the best novels of the genre I have ever read; more gripping, and in some places faster-paced, than a lot of action-based thrillers. The plot is revealed rather like an onion - sections of skin peeled back to reveal another and yet another. The character of Alec Leamas remains elusive throughout and at the end I felt I still didn't know him; he is secretive, like the Service he works for. Despite this I never felt cheated or disappointed. This is a great read, indeed nothing less than a modern classic.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A modern classic....
What an extraordinary piece of writing this is! The reader is drawn in right from the start into the shady world of intelligence and secrets. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Wynne Kelly
Not as good as I had hoped
I have to admit that this wasn`t as good as I had hoped but it was still an enjoyable read. Maybe I just wasn`t in the right mood to read it but I will certainly read it again... Read more
Published 26 days ago by Louis Lalande
Great Read
Really enjoyed this book having just read the Smiley Trilogy by the same author. As always a well crafted book which keeps you in suspense from start to finish .
Published 1 month ago by DHC1
Deserves its classic status
This novel about espionage during the height of the cold war, in 1961 Berlin, has become recognized as one of the greatest spy novels ever written, but at the time of its... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Phil O'Sofa
Very good read
This was my first dable into Le Carre and i wasn't disappointed. Really enjoyed this book and i'm now going to start working my way through his work. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. Simon Hollingdale
Careful with the Introduction
I can't be the first to have started by reading the introduction. If you are not familiar with the story, avoid it - it is littered with spoilers. Read more
Published 2 months ago by fishpike
Wonderful, haunting.
Chillingly evocative of the dehumanising nature of cold-war espionage, The Spy Who Came In is bitter, resentful, and absolutely gripping. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Oliver Blundell
Clever stuff
Having read this book for the first time and in one sitting I can clearly see why it is a classic. It is a brilliant piece of writing and nothing that I could say here could do it... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Stewart
Classic espionage thriller
Some people may regard this book as a modern classic. It is certainly the book which brought John le Carre to the fore. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Lance Mitchell
Superb thriller - you won't find a better plot in a hurry
I watched the film prior to reading the book and I was not disappointed. The book adds even more to a twisting plot centred around believably fallible characters where there is no... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Tom Hobbs
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