I have never before read a "spy novel," so I thought I'd try this classic of the genre, which I believe is also listed in '1001 Novels you must Read before you Die.' Set in the 1960's spying network East vs. West, the Berlin Wall and all that. Alec Leamas is a British spy on his last mission before he comes in from the cold.

I thought it was OK. I admit, I was a bit confused as to what exactly was going on and sometimes I wasn't sure if it was because of my ignorance of the time period and the intricacies of the intelligence community or was I supposed to be confused? In the end, however, I think I had sufficient grasp of what was going on. Although on the whole, the novella kept my interest - it really didn't blow me away.

I thought the writing was pedestrian, and some of the ostensibly emotional conversations between Leamas and Liz, as well as between he and Fiedler just fell flat for me. Perhaps because times have changed so much with the fall of Communism - the impact just wasn't there. Alot of typos in this edition as well.

Overall, entertaining but a bit dated and did not inspire me to read more of Le Carre or of the espionage genre as a whole. ( )

The novel that brought John Le Carre to the international spotlight, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold is one of the best spy novels ever written. With its realistic portrayal of espionage (not always at its finest) and Le Carre's own experience contributing, this is a must read.

The story of veteran spy and Berlin section chief Alec Leamas' last operation starts with his supposed punishment and demotion to a low level clerical job and builds up to alcoholism and 30 days in jail for assault before being "recruited" by an East German team as a double agent.

Leamas' (and his superiors') true motives though are to take down Mundt, the high-ranking official in the Abteilung (East German Intelligence) responsible for the death of every single double agent handled by Leamas.

The novel moves along swiftly, with many twists to keep readers intrigued and make the operation even more mysterious. And with arguably one of the most powerful final scenes in literary history, this gritty and realistic look at the world of Cold War espionage is a definite must read that I would recommend to every one looking for a cerebral thriller or what Graham Greene called, "The best spy novel I have ever read." ( )

This is my first novel by John le Carre, but not my last. I know he has two others on the 1001 list, so I will read at least those. Though spy novels are a far cry from what I normally read, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It might not be my favourite genre, but it was a solid read nonetheless. I will probably reread it one day, as I do not think it would suffer from a reread - and really, that is the danger with any spy/mystery novel.

Alec Leamas is nearing the end of his intelligence career. According to Control, he has one mission to complete, and then he can disappear into the world of retirement (I wonder what retired spies do all day long? Maybe, like le Carre, they write spy novels.). This mission is an important one, and if Leamas succeeds, British intelligence will be all the better for it.

Of course, along the way there are the typical problems - an unexpected love interest, questions of loyalty, and shifting allegiances. Under this typical spy fare is another level - an thought-provoking look at the blurry line between "good" and "evil." Le Carre actually was an MI5 and MI6 agent in his day, a fact that makes his take on the intelligence world all the more interesting.

This isn't James Bond. Leamas is not a womanizer out for a one-nighter, and he definitely is not suave enough to drink martinis. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold contains action, but it much more cerebral than I had expected.

My one main critique is of the ending. Obviously I don't want to give it away, but I found it unsatisfactory on many levels. Since I put a lot of weight on a book's ending, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold lost a lot of points here. Still, a good read, especially for something not within my reading niche. ( )

This book is as good as what its reviews claim it to be. It's suspenseful, well-constructed, gripping like a good novel should be, and has a sad but appropriate ending. I particularly liked the chapter (second last) where it got philosophical about spies doing what they do: how we as a society sees spies because they are often portrayed as heros (although this is not explicitly discussed) versus how spies actually operate because they live in a dangerous world doing dangerous things, both real and non-glorified. The troubling thing is that we often find ourselves interested in agents that come from the "good-guy" side. We root for them. Cheer when they get their way, and applaud when they triumph at the end because, as all stories should, the good guy should win at the end. In reality there's just two sides being at war, doing whatever it takes to crack the other side.

Along the way there are casualties. ( )

Many twists and turns. Depressing ending. ( )