Comments (20)

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Jan 16, 2024Martha_98 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I read this book when I was in high school, and thought it was great. I grew up during the cold war, so it was quite relevant for me. It was very interesting, I could hardly put it down.
Jul 23, 2023
I know this is a famous book but I just couldn't get into it.
Mar 27, 2023N13m4nd rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
An espionage agent runs an operation which ends badly, but his agency turns this to their advantage as they pretend to fire him in disgrace when in fact they’re hoping the other side will try to recruit him while he’s down and out. And so…
Aug 29, 2022Hellter rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed the plots within plots, but was expecting more since this is highly regarded as the best spy novel of all times.
Aug 02, 2022inspector6635 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a great read and one of The author’s best. Twists and turns and a good conclusion given the title (can’t spoil too much)
Jan 15, 2022
read 2021
Jul 28, 2021Rockermama rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Kind of a jumble of a story. Ending was lack luster. IMHO
May 21, 2021aplbrandon rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Pretty wild reading this in 2021. For someone who grew up during the Cold War, it clicks. It's a little retro. Super curious how a younger audience would react to this. The hero of the book, Alec Leamas is cool. He's clipped, brief…
May 23, 2020dgiard rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
It is the early 1960s at the height of the Cold War. Alec Leamas is the Berlin Station Head for the British Intelligence agency known as the "The Circus". Operations in Berlin have not gone well and Leamas is taking the blame. When…
Jul 28, 2019beetlebaily rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Le Carre at his best.
Nov 03, 2018
Did not finish-too many characters!
Aug 11, 2018diaparalectdoxical rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Leamas’ network of spies is destroyed. He is called back from Berlin to London where his boss, Control, wonders if Leamas is “burned out.” Leamas spirals into poverty, alcoholism and anger, ending in imprisonment for an assault.…
Oct 15, 2017Cheryl65 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Needing help with the vocabulary of the period, I Googled the phrase  "Pudeur Anglaise", and landed on a glossary for the novel. The website is called Book Drum, a great resource, with many useful features.
Dec 19, 2016
another excellent one from John Le Carre. Feeling sad for the ending, that's what the cold war done to human, use humanity to kill and hurt.
Sep 30, 2016LPL_IanS rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
First time spy novel reader here. I loved it. I thought Le Carre's prose was excellent. The plot was superbly constructed. And the book was highly entertaining. It has a somewhat slow start, and I agree with another reader that at times…
Jun 29, 2014Stephanie_Sibbald rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
My first John Le Carré book, and definitely not my last. It's one of the best spy books I've read, although it seemed as if the main character didn't have a plan until about halfway through the book. Great plot twist at the end, and…
Indigo_Cobra_8
Mar 23, 2013Indigo_Cobra_8 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I had read many glowing reviews about this book and had been excited to read it. Maybe I'm just not suited to the whole spy genre, but I didn't enjoy this as much I thought I would. The first chapter drew me in, but the rest of the book…
May 08, 2012e_long rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
le Carre's best? Possibly. It's hard to say. I'd watched the movie prior to reading the book (I know, it's a sin), so the ending wasn't as powerful as it should have been. An interesting in-between point for le Carre. His later novels…
Aug 23, 2011lgseguin rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
one of the best spy novels ever
Jan 28, 2011JM9 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Starts off pretty slow but then it hits you with a twist and carries you away.