The Spy Who Came in from the Cold John le Carré

Geschreven bij The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

This classic became a worldwide bestseller and was turned into a successful movie starring Richard Burton as the British spy Alec Leamas (AL). It also enabled John Le Carré (JLC) to say farewell to the British Foreign Office and devote himself full time to writing. First published in 1963, this book has not really aged. JLC’s books are about what Americans call HUMINT (human intelligence), characters living under cover, determined to go unnoticed. In contrast to Ian Fleming’s creation James Bond, JLC’s heroes attach little importance to technology. For them no high living, casinos, amazing gadgets or crazy men planning to rule the world or steal the gold from Fort Knox. With one exception (A Murder of Quality), in the novels from the 1960s and 1970s the Cold War is the backdrop and the Russians and their satellites, the enemy.
AL has been the Circus West Berlin man for ten years, when his networks in East Germany are destroyed one by one by Mundt, who has quickly risen inEast Berlin’s intelligence apparatus after killing two of his own agents in London and managing to escape from the UK. Empty-handed, AL returns to London, where he is shelved in the Circus’ Banking section. This is the beginning of his life spiralling downward, or is he being brought back into play? Where people work with people, mistakes are made. AL meets the assistant librarian Liz, who has been a Communist party member since 1954, and decides not to involve her in the legend being created around his person by Control and his staff, amongst whom George Smiley. The Circus is unaware of their affair...
Superlative writing, great characters, mounting tension, unexpected turns in the plot and a dramatic and cynical finale. It is a recipe for compulsive reading. JLC’s oeuvre is eminently re-readable. Masterpiece.

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Le Carre heeft met dit boek, het spionage genre tot literatuur verheven

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Prachtig geschreven, somber -waarschijnlijk zeer realistisch- verhaal over spionage en contra-spionage tijdens de Koude Oorlog.

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Spannende klassieker van een meesterverteller

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ik gaf het aan mijn vader en die vond hem leuk

Geschreven bij Spy Who Came In From The Cold

Positieve punten van dit artikel zijn: spannend en fantasierijk.

Beeld is niet goed- er is een constanten sneeuw wat het beeld totaal belemmerde- heel erg jammer