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A review by romankurys
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John le Carré
4.0
This was a fantastic, emotion evoking read.
I was going in, expecting a spy novel and while it certainly was that, it was much more as well.
Some disclaimers:
-If you're looking for Bond like fast paced action, move on. None of that here.
-If you don't know the history of East/West Germany and their relationship with the Soviet Union, move on. You will be confused.
- If you're looking for an easy read of a thriller you can read while watching TV or doing some random stuff in the background, move on.
If you're still here, you will love this book. It will suck you in and keep you there.
It will get emotional.
It will get tense.
It will get awesome.
I absolutely love LeCarre's writing style. What could have easily been pulp, under his pen turned into good literature.
Character: 3
Characters were ok in this book, although I felt they were not the strength of this story. However, what they were, was very accurate representation of mundane. Every day people, in every day situations, except someone who looks like an everyday person going through everyday situations. None of us would ever tell him apart from the crowd, and that is the point.
But what's inside his head...is what makes this book.
Story: 5
Leamus might not be a very exciting character but the story he's involved in is nothing short of stellar. I found it exhilarating as I flipped he pages and dazzled at the same time. I read a lot of fantasy/ sci-fi, so to get completely immersed into mundane is very hard for me. Clancy makes me do it, and now I know leCarre can as well.
Story managed to be nothing short of great despite the lack of any real action I expected from a spy novel going in.
Setting: 5
Dark. Grim. Hopeless. Mundane.
All of that sounds like a recipe for a disaster. Except it is not. The setting drew me in and never let go. I remembered all the history lessons and all the stories my grandparents told me about those times. I remembered that I live in a very spoiled world and should not take it for granted. It was a moral lesson I got from the setting. Mundane evoked thought and emotion long after I finished reading the book.
Grab a glass of scotch. (Glenfidditch preferably)
Sit in your lazy boy.
Put on a small light by your side.
#sleepisfortheweak.
Roman "Ragnar"
I was going in, expecting a spy novel and while it certainly was that, it was much more as well.
Some disclaimers:
-If you're looking for Bond like fast paced action, move on. None of that here.
-If you don't know the history of East/West Germany and their relationship with the Soviet Union, move on. You will be confused.
- If you're looking for an easy read of a thriller you can read while watching TV or doing some random stuff in the background, move on.
If you're still here, you will love this book. It will suck you in and keep you there.
It will get emotional.
It will get tense.
It will get awesome.
I absolutely love LeCarre's writing style. What could have easily been pulp, under his pen turned into good literature.
Character: 3
Characters were ok in this book, although I felt they were not the strength of this story. However, what they were, was very accurate representation of mundane. Every day people, in every day situations, except someone who looks like an everyday person going through everyday situations. None of us would ever tell him apart from the crowd, and that is the point.
But what's inside his head...is what makes this book.
Story: 5
Leamus might not be a very exciting character but the story he's involved in is nothing short of stellar. I found it exhilarating as I flipped he pages and dazzled at the same time. I read a lot of fantasy/ sci-fi, so to get completely immersed into mundane is very hard for me. Clancy makes me do it, and now I know leCarre can as well.
Story managed to be nothing short of great despite the lack of any real action I expected from a spy novel going in.
Setting: 5
Dark. Grim. Hopeless. Mundane.
All of that sounds like a recipe for a disaster. Except it is not. The setting drew me in and never let go. I remembered all the history lessons and all the stories my grandparents told me about those times. I remembered that I live in a very spoiled world and should not take it for granted. It was a moral lesson I got from the setting. Mundane evoked thought and emotion long after I finished reading the book.
Grab a glass of scotch. (Glenfidditch preferably)
Sit in your lazy boy.
Put on a small light by your side.
#sleepisfortheweak.
Roman "Ragnar"