La spia che venne dal freddo

I am of two minds now that I have finished The Spy Who Came in From the Cold for the first time: I am irritated at myself for having postponed the pleasure of reading this magnificent book for so many years, and yet I am exhilarated and excited too, marked by this unqualified encounter with greatnes Leggi tutto

”What do you think spies are: priests, saints, and martyrs? They’re a squalid procession of vain fools, traitors too, yes; pansies, sadists, and drunkards, people who play cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten lives. Do you think they sit like monks in London balancing the rights and wrongs?” Leggi tutto

A secret world within the apparent one… An invisible war… And in this clandestine warfare John le Carré is on its psychological and moral side… “I know how these things go – all offensive operations. They have by-products, take sudden turns in unexpected directions. You think you’ve caught one fish an Leggi tutto

I'd like to start by saying "woah" and various other exclamations of surprise and wonder. This was a book that completely changed the way I view spy novels. My previous prejudice stems from quite an obvious source - Ian Fleming - who never gave me anything much of what I would want to read about or

"Intelligence work has one moral law—it is justified by results." After having just met George Smiley for the first time last month, I admit I was a bit disappointed to hear that he would not be featured prominently in this novel. I should not have worried in the least, however, because Alec Leamas a Leggi tutto

“It is said that men condemned to death are subject to sudden moments of elation; as if, like moths in the fire, their destruction were coincidental with attainment.” Wow, that was boring. And I did not even have any expectations towards it. But calling it "the best spy novel ever", as so many review Leggi tutto