The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
Score Classic
What it's about
Alec Leamas is tired. He's spent years running British agents in Berlin and has watched too many of them die. Control offers to bring him in from the cold, but only after one last assignment: he must appear to fall apart, defect to Communist East Germany and destroy a dangerous enemy from inside. When a young woman he's grown close to is drawn into the operation, Leamas begins to see how far his own side will go.
Why it's worth reading
It won the Edgar Award, spent 34 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and is on TIME's list of the 100 best novels. It changed spy fiction forever, replacing glamour with moral grayness.
You'll love it if you liked
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Day of the Jackal or The Odessa File
Good to know
It's short and tightly plotted, with a famous ending. You don't need to have read any other le Carré, though George Smiley appears.
Quick answers
Is The Spy Who Came in From the Cold worth reading?
Yes. It won the Edgar Award, spent 34 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and is on TIME's list of the 100 best novels. It ranks #242 of the 2,819 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 82.7 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Spy Who Came in From the Cold about?
Alec Leamas is tired. He's spent years running British agents in Berlin and has watched too many of them die. Control offers to bring him in from the cold, but only after one last assignment: he must appear to fall apart, defect to Communist East Germany and destroy a dangerous enemy from inside. When a young woman he's grown close to is drawn into the operation, Leamas begins to see how far his own side will go.
How long does it take to read The Spy Who Came in From the Cold?
About 8 hours (304 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Spy Who Came in From the Cold won?
Edgar Award winner (1965).
What should I read after The Spy Who Came in From the Cold?
If you liked it, try Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré, The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth or The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth.
By the numbers
- Readers61 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics79 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller76 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Edgar Award winner (1965). On the TIME All-TIME 100 Novels list.
Where it ranks
- #17 of the 555 mysteries and thrillers we rank
- #76 of the 763 classics we rank
- #242 of the 2,819 books we rank
Won
- Edgar Award winner (1965)
Bestseller
- #1 New York Times bestseller (34 weeks at #1)
- One of the ten best-selling books of 1964 (Publishers Weekly)
On the lists
- TIME All-TIME 100 Novels
Reads as
Gripping, Adventurous, Moving
More by John le Carré
Smiley's People
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
A Perfect SpyIf you like this, read next
The Pillars of the Earth
The Name of the Rose
The Odessa File
So Long, See You Tomorrow
The Woman in White
The Frozen River