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adrianjd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Second time around and as good as the first. Clipped, terse prose. Enough fog in the story to wrong foot you. All building up to a climax that will likely catch you off kilter.
Genuinely brilliant writing. I wish we could have more
Genuinely brilliant writing. I wish we could have more
antifuchs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mschat12's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cephon's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
dellaposta's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn’t put this down and basically read it in one sitting. Perfect for people who like their spy stories to be more like The Americans than James Bond.
stefan_wenc's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised to find that this novel contained very little of Smiley himself, but was rather set in his world. I found it a little hard to get going with initially because of it, but once I made it to around the halfway mark and settled in with the style of unraveling an entire world based purely on interrogations and the interior thoughts of Leamas as the protagonist, I gained a great deal of appreciation for what le Carré was doing here. A very twisty and turny story, definitely of a certain era, but a good read!
willdunks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
cdhotwing's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
jimbowen0306's review against another edition
3.0
This is a depressing book. It focuses on Alec Leamas, who runs the British spy network in Berlin till Hans Dieter Mundt effectively wipes it out.
Heading back to London, he's convinced he's going to be sacked till he discovers that Control has one last job before he's "brought in from the cold," but will this last "Hail Mary" play work, or will Leamas die in the process?
Like the 2 other Le Carre books I've read, I found this book depressing. It focuses on what I imagine real "in the field" spy work is like. There's no James Bond here. Instead there are incomplete people with screwed up emotions who have real difficulty finding themselves when they leave "the service." If you can enjoy that sort of thing, you'll like this book. Otherwise, look elsewhere!
Heading back to London, he's convinced he's going to be sacked till he discovers that Control has one last job before he's "brought in from the cold," but will this last "Hail Mary" play work, or will Leamas die in the process?
Like the 2 other Le Carre books I've read, I found this book depressing. It focuses on what I imagine real "in the field" spy work is like. There's no James Bond here. Instead there are incomplete people with screwed up emotions who have real difficulty finding themselves when they leave "the service." If you can enjoy that sort of thing, you'll like this book. Otherwise, look elsewhere!