Ephemeris of the Mind (Book Review) The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
Time to read: 2 min read
Book Cover
He nodded to Control and slipped out into the night air. Into the cold.
Review
I actually first heard of le Carré through a podcast on investing in Russia, when the investment manager describes his first experience travelling to Russia in the '90s as something out of a le Carré novel. I have since then bought a copy of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold which has been on my extremely large backlog of to-read books.
After hearing of the tragic passing of le Carré in December 2020, I've decided to finally read this book. I was absolutely blown away. Unlike conventional spy stories such as Fleming's James Bond, where the adventures of the spy are romanticized and glorified, le Carré's world of spies is dark and gritty, filled with cynicism and realism. The story follows Alec Leamas, a veteran British agent who is sent on a complex double-agent operation in the USSR. The plot is intricate and filled with twists and turns; le Carré (real name David John Moore Cornwell) draws on his experiences working for MI5 and MI6 to fill the world of the novel with plenty of supplementary details such as lingo used by agents and field protocols.
The book isn't particularly deep or philosophical, but it is extremely well-written and tells a thrilling story.
Conclusion
One of the best spy novels I've read.