The Spy Who Came In From The Cold / Call For The Dead / A Murder Of Quality / The Looking Glass War / A Small Town In Germany

George Smiley #1-3

by John le Carré

5 complete novels, unabridged, from the master of Spy dramas, John Le Carre.

Genres: Fiction, Espionage, Thriller, Crime, Novels, Canon

816 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

John le Carré, the pseudonym of David John Moore Cornwell (born 19 October 1931 in Poole, Dorset, England), was an English author of espionage novels. Le Carré had resided in St Buryan, Cornwall, Great Britain, for more than 40 years, where he owned a mile of cliff close to Land's End.

Reviews

[Redfox5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (3/5) - Anyone expecting a James Bond type spy story might be disappointed here. There are no explosions or car chases. Oh there's a woman but not the seductive type you would expect.

This is the story Leamas who is a fairly ordinary type of bloke, apart from his profession. As the last of his agents is killed. He agrees to fake betraying the Secret service but then it turns out they screwed him over and then they haven't. I'll be honest I got lost sometimes. I really wasn't sure what was going on with Liz.

It was well written and kept me intrigued which was great. This is another book which suffers from having a very dull cover.

Call for the Dead (3/5) - I'm guessing the events of this story are set before 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold'.

We meet George Smiley in this book, he was only briefly mentioned in the last book. I found myself liking him more than I did Leamas.

I really liked this story but not an awful lot happens but it keeps pulling you in. It all seems very ordinary.

A Murder Of Quality (4/5) - This has been my favorite story so far. I think it's because this was more of a murder mystery rather than a spy thriller.

George Smiley is back in this one. He helps out a friend when one of her readers is murdered. No one ever really questions why he is there and the police seem happy to have him along.

Couple of twists and turns make this a very good read.

The Looking-Glass War (2/5) - Not alot of interest happens in this book. We spend alot of time training Leiser for him to make a pigs ear out if it by the the time he gets into the field, where he's then abandoned by the rest of the team.

There was definitely some sexual tension between Leiser and Avery. Exploring that might have made this book worth reading.

A Small Town in Germany (1/5) - urg this story bored me to tears. I tried to force myself to read it but yesterday admitted that I just couldn't be bothered.

Even though I didn't finish one story, I am counting this book as read. Overall not a bad introduction into Le Carré but if you only have time for one - A Murder Of Quality is the one you want.

[Smiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think reading this compact, famous novel by John le Carre is still exciting with suspense readily anticipated in the intelligence world of the Cold War then. For those unfamiliar with his style, you may need time and patience while reading his Chapters 1-26 with titles. I think each title is fantastic because it's revealed the key character/episode/site/authority, etc. and thus enticed us for reading further, for instance:

Chapter One
Checkpoint
Chapter Two
The Circus
Chapter Three
Decline
...
Chapter Twenty-four
The Commissar
Chapter Twenty-five
The Wall
Chapter Twenty-six
In from the Cold

I prefer this flyweight novel (163 pages, hardcover I have) because I can finish reading it quite conveniently, that is, we don't have to try harder similar to those middleweight (400-600 pages) or heavyweight (1000+ pages). Indeed, reading good books should be our enjpoyment rather than bitterness. As for me, I'm sorry to say I would not read any further if I decide it's a waste of time.

As for this novel, I was thrilled, embittered and my heart shattered while reading its final chapter some 40 years ago in my late teens. I thought it's too sad to see Alec Leamas fall like that, however, it's his pitiful fate and he as well as Liz did their best in trying to escape via the Berlin Wall as planned. I always think this relatively short chapter (2 pages, 15 paragraphs, 6 dialogues) is one of the best of its genre. I'd like to quote the last paragraph for you, there're only 4 sentences, but they're powerfully written since 1963 by one of the best espionage authors.

"They seemed to hesitate before firing again; someone shouted an order, and still no one fired. Finally they shot him, two or three shots. He stood glaring round him like a blinded bull in the arena. As he fell, Leamas saw a small car smashed between great lorries, and the children waving cheerfully through the window." (p. 163)

In a word, this definitely reflected the world that was, the world that be, in other words, any ruthless action/drama could happen since it's dictated by fate in cold blood known to the elite involved.



ENDNOTE: From late February-early March 2012, I'm rereading "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold" because in the meantime I can't find "The Honourable Schoolboy" to read and I didn't have time to visit Kinokuniya Books or Asia Books in Bangkok for a new copy. Another reason is that I want to find what and how I feel/think when I reread this novel for the 5th time, the first one ever.

This hardcover is a bit bulky for me (I bought it as a second-hand one in October 2008); 5 novels in 816 pages, however, its large typical Heinemann/Octopus fonts are what I prefer since I can read them quite conveniently and happily. Then, I found something interesting while reading:

1) There're some scenes I forgot and it's good to recall such interesting ones again,

2) Our hero in the Trilogy, George Smiley, passively showed up as his name mentioned to notify Alec Leamas by Kiever on the prospective job. (I simply forgot him.)

Reading this novel, I hope, will inspire me to finish reading "The Honourable Schoolboy" as soon as I can have a new copy.

[r0b · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 overall actually.

At first I thought The Looking Glass War seemed to be a little absurd, which was off putting for me. Then I started looking at some reviews to see what others thought and discovered it’s supposed to be a satire! I hadn’t been expecting that, I was just expecting your regular cloak-and-dagger stuff. Once I realized that I started to really enjoy it, even found it hilarious at times, in a rather dark way. I think this is better than The Spy Who...I would say this is the best one, with Le Carré’s first effort, Call for the Dead, a close second.

I didn’t get to A Small Town in Germany, maybe I will down the road sometime.

[Paula Lyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Call for the Dead is John le Carre's first novel. I don't remember reading it before, but it seemed so familiar that maybe I did. Or maybe it is so clearly written by the same man that wrote all those other novels that it just seemed so. This isn't, perhaps, his best novel, I certainly have others that I remember more fondly. It is clearly the work of an extremely talented writer who will hone his talent throughout his life. A fitting beginning.

[Bhuwan Chand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-reading Le Carre' is as satisfying (if not more), as reading the spy thrillers for the first time.

[Lizzie Shaeffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This isn’t something I’d normally read, but I read it for a family book club. I thought it was good and engaging. I’m not sure how I felt about the ending…

[Almustafa Couch · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Overall'

A fine Omnibus, and a worthy Cold War espionage collection, very readable.

1) The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. Rated 4

This is a tale about the oft made conflation of ideology and method. In this story we are also introduced to Smiley. Shown an example of the difference between ideology and method as a prime exemplar of this difference, I would look at the bombing of Dresden as compared with the bombing of London during WWII.

2) Call for the Dead. Rated 4

This story is about the investigation of the death of an agent. It fills in the gaps as far as the Smiley character is concerned, and provides information that is useful in understanding The Spy... It gives more depth to the character of Smiley.

3. A Murder of Quality. Rated 3

This story covers the investigation (conducted by Smiley) of a murder. It also provides a critique of the stratification of the class system (in England). By combining the stratification theme with the murder inquiry, this tale is compelling in nature.

4. The Looking Glass War. Rated 4

This story is about the resources and training necessary to become an agent, the appropriate use of appropriate equipment, and having mission-specific backup. On the surface, though, it is a tale about what goes wrong when a courier (on a mission) is killed under suspicious circumstances.

5. A Small Town in Germany. Rated 4

This is a Smiley-less story, unlike all the other stories contained in this omnibus. It is a tale of the chaos following the breakdown of bureaucratic procedure in the post-war British embassy in Bonn. The twists and turns in this story make in extremely compelling.

[Betta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect omnibus to immerse me in the world of John leCarre. Most of them were Cold War spy fare, but one, A Murder of Quality, was a straight up murder mystery. I was intrigued by the character of George Smiley, appearing in different capacities in the different stories, sometimes only a mention, and other times the subject of the story. This made me want to read more of his stories, along with the particularly human qualities of the principals and the side characters. I really enjoyed the often unpredictable "human element" that profoundly impacts the outcome, kind of like, you know, life. Will definitely read more LeCarre titles when I can get them!

Just a note: the omnibus I read is the British edition, purchased from Amazon and it actually came with a Silver Jubilee bookmark. Sometimes it's the little things...

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read all but Spy Who Came in From the Cold. Call for the Dead was a great murder mystery as was A Murder of Quality--both with Smiley. The Looking-Glass War was annoying but good. A Small Town in Germany held great interest as a history lesson--but no Smiley.

[Dave Peraza · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

Liked it more than i thought i would. Consise, no nonsense writing; a believable main character; twists and turns; and (I believe) a happy ending where love triumphs.

[Kay Faupel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic spy thriller! One of my favorites, "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold". The is an omnibus of Lecarre, so I will be returning!