The Looking Glass War, by John le Carre

The Looking Glass War , the second le Carre novel I've read, was much different from  The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. It was about a completely other department, in fact, called 'the department.' The department doesn't usually send spies out into action, but they think, hey, why shouldn't we do that too? …

Enduring stories

I just got some tickets to see The Princess Bride in my local theater for its 30th anniversary, and it has me wondering, what makes some stories stick around and stay loved over the years, and others fade away to nothing? It's definitely not the 'graphics' or 'effects'... yet this is what hollywood spends 90% of …

More spies

I liked The Spy Who Came in from the Cold  so much that I got another le Carré novel,   The Looking Glass War. Once again it is very good, I might find myself burning through a lot of these... This one is about a different agent, and he so far seems to be surrounded by …

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John le Carré

I finished The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and it was not what I had expected. What comes to mind when you think of a spy novel? Action? James Bond gadgets and iconic villains with plans for world domination? Explosions and murder in the dark? le Carré writes perhaps the complete opposite of …

Spies

I started The Spy Who Came in from the Cold: A George Smiley Novel (George Smiley Novels) which is my first Lecarre novel. It took me a bit to get into it, but now it is interesting. The character, Leamas, Is pretending to be a drunken failure (at least I'm pretty sure he's pretending) and …