The spy who Came in From the Cold

Locations
Call Number: Mystery / Le Carre, John, Adult Book / Fiction / Thriller / Espionage / Le Carre, John
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Mystery / Le Carre, John	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Thriller / Espionage / Le Carre, John	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Thriller / Espionage / Le Carre, John	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Thriller / Espionage / Le Carre, John	4-week checkout	Due 05-03-2024

Originally published : London : Victor Gollancz, 1963.
"This edition with a new introduction"--Title page verso.
Secret agent Leamas is on a mission in East Berlin, but he has doubts about the organization he serves.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Summary / Annotation
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Oh Liz. The things we do for love. submitted by shermdock on August 25, 2016, 9:50pm This book is dark, sweet and about the best and worst of humanity within the same persons, in some cases. It goes beyond the cold war, into a timeless place.
Personally, it isn't my favorite LeCarre. Because I love George Smiley.

bleak submitted by camelsamba on August 3, 2017, 8:42pm This is le Carré’s third novel, and the first that really belongs in the spy genre. It’s set in the heart of the cold war, in Berlin and East Germany. It’s bleak. Our main character, Alec Leamas, is ready to retire after spending years running spies in Germany. However, the service wants him to take on one more mission, in an attempt to bring down the East German intelligence operation. A long series of events gives the impression of a broken man and leads him to the enemy, with them thinking he is ready to turn his back on everything he believed in. Once in their clutches, things do not proceed as had been planned and he is placed in more peril than anticipated. Once in East Germany he is called upon to testify against his nemesis - but then he ends up on trail himself. Huh? A woman he had fallen for – a naive younger co-worker who coincidentally belongs to the Communist Party in London – gets dragged in to the story. I was confused about her role for much of the book: was Leamas ever really in love with her? Was it a setup to get the attention of the party? Or were they using her to get to him?

It’s considered one of the best in the espionage genre, very ‘literary.’ It highlights how both sides in the espionage game tend to view the ends as justifying the means. You’re never really sure who to trust, who is telling the truth, who can be believed. It’s bleak, though - very, very bleak. The ending just about ripped me.