I had heard very good things about John Le Carrè and his spy novels, my first real taste was watching the ‘Tinker, Tailor, Solider Spy’ film in 2011, but it wasn’t until I watched the recent BBC drama of ‘The Night Watchman’ that I was finally convicted I needed to read him.

I did a bit of research and found that despite ‘The Spy Who Came in from the Cold’ (1963) not being his first novel, that was Call for the Dead (1961), I was told that it was the best place to start with Le Carrè. I couldn’t agree more, was an excellent way for me to dip my toe into the spy world of Le Carrè and whet my appetite. I loved the book, excellent plot and an easy read. It did an excellent job of removing the James Book style connotations I still held onto around the Cold War spy world and give a taste of what might actually have happened during the Cold War and what the real life of a spy could entail.

Le Carrè manages to build a love/hate relationship with the protagonist, Alec Leamas, and in the end you feel sorry for both Alec & Liz when you realise they’ve been played by the British Secret Service. Le Carrè also focuses on the racist & fascist elements of the post-WW2 German Secret Service, especially in the relationship between Mundt (former Nazi) and Fiedler (a Jew).

Overall, an excellent spy novel and one I’d highly recommend to everyone. I’m glad I started my Le Carrè journey with ‘The Spy Who Came in from the Cold’ and excited to read my next. Thinking of moving on the Karla Trilogy next (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People) but keen to hear others views.