The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
Lecarre, John
The novel is in the process of setting itself up completely for the end. I am not really sure what is going on in the beginning but more and more information builds up and it is clear that he leaves it up to the reader to organize it all. I cannot understand which side anybody is on because of conflicting and difficult to understand false identities and intentions. It seems that there is always a hidden motive that the higher ups do not inform field men even as important to the cause as Leamas and therefore the reader does not find out until Leamas does. So when Leamas is sent to do something or when someone thinks they are doing one thing when they are really doing something for the opposite side and the reader is caught up in all of the confusion. It is incredibly interesting to watch the workings and the lying of the business of espionage. The bosses keep even their own men in the dark in order to effectively carry out a plan. The fight between socialism and capitalism is ongoing and everyone is against one another. Most spies die very young as described by Leamas but he is now in his fifties because of "luck." Leamas knows the tricks of the trade and it carries him through the book and through endless confusion and tricks.
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1 comment:
Sorry about the loss of your book--have you checked the library to see if you can get going again with it sooner than later?
Your enjoyment of this spy novel leads me to ask if you've read Ken Follett. He's on my list now--though I haven't read him yet--because several of my friends so enjoyed an atypical novel from him Pillars of the Earth--apparently a 1000-page riveting book. Follett is typically a spy novelist.
Try writing your entries on separate days so that you can expand the scope of your entries. Happy reading.
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