I am sleepy. At least two or three nights this week I have stayed awake hours later than normal due to my inability to stop reading "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold." This is an effect I find regularly caused by the reading of Le Carre books.

As I have stated before in reviews of Le Carre's stories, it isn't explosion and action-packed excitement that makes his stories move. It is his exceptional and notable mastery of language.

Of the several Le Carre books I have read, The Spy Who... is the most poetic and colorful. I took a class in college covering the operation of U.S. intelligence agencies. The professor of that class assigned me a Le Carre novel to help me understand the technical aspects of covert operations. This story could not have served the same purpose as "Tinker, Sailor, Soldier, Spy."

"The Spy Who..." is much more focused on the internal stress and conflict of the covert operator. Is it alright to kill if your action will save others from dying? Is it alright to kill if your action will save killers from dying? How many innocent people are expendable in the protection of the whole of society? These questions and others are suggested by the winding and intricate story woven by Mr. Le Carre.

The main character is very well developed, which is fitting because most of the story is spent with him and within his work. The reading of previous Le Carre novels (this story was first published in 1969) might help understand some of the less developed but recurring characters in this story.

The story generally revolves around the British/German conflict in early years of the Cold War. Spy networks are betrayed, agents are killed, retribution is sought. But whittling the story to the simple previous statement is almost a joke. This story has depth and is not as predictable as many similar stories by other authors.

The story will keep you thinking - more than once I stopped reading for several minutes just to ponder the ramifications of a new event and the new possibilities it allowed.

"The Spy Who..." takes much of the glamour out of popular spy stories and Le Carre's writing can be considered the thinking person's 007 - which is not to say that I dislike much of the fun that Bond stories provide.

"The Spy Who..." is not my favorite Le Carre novel, but it is great. It won several awards and is considered by some critics to be one of his best. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in intellectual adventure.



Recommended: Yes