The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

Name: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
ISBN: 9787208129825

John le CarréShanghai People's Publishing House2015

4.3

Word count: 147K words
Chapters: 30
Series: The Le Carré Series
ISBN: 9787208129825

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Summary

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is the third novel by John le Carré (real name David Cornwell). Published in 1963, it immediately shook the literary worlds of Europe and America, was called "the best spy novel I have ever read" by Graham Greene, won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger and the Edgar Award, and in 2005 was named the best of the Gold Dagger's first fifty years. The story is set in the thick of the Cold War: Alec Leamas, head of the British Secret Intelligence Service ("the Circus") station in West Berlin, sees his long-cultivated East German network destroyed at a stroke by the East German intelligence chief Mundt, and his last agent shot dead at the Berlin Wall while crossing the border. Unwilling to retire and become a superfluous cog in an office, Leamas is assigned by his superior "Control" to carry out a secret operation: he is to pose as a bitter, down-and-out defector resentful of the service, letting the East Germans "recruit" him. Meanwhile he falls in love with Liz, a simple, devout British Communist librarian, yet cannot tell her the truth. Once in East Germany, Leamas is drawn into the infighting and trials within the East German intelligence service and gradually realizes that he is not a player but a calculated pawn—the operation's real purpose is to protect a more important double agent on the British side. With a cold, almost unlyrical style, the novel lays bare the fragility of loyalty, love, and faith before institutional calculation, and its ending is cruel and unforgettable. This edition is the fiftieth-anniversary hardcover, including le Carré's own long preface and an introduction by Tang Nuo.

Editor's review

这不是007式的香车美人，而是一杯冰冷发苦的黑咖啡。勒卡雷本人曾在军情五处、军情六处任职，以外交官身份驻波恩，他知道情报工作的真实样子：磨损的鞋跟、廉价的威士忌、反复核对的谎言，以及“任何东西都可被利用——忠诚、爱情、生命”。全书篇幅不长，节奏却像一步步走进审讯室，越读越冷。它的价值不止在悬念。小说把间谍小说从冒险故事提升为严肃文学：当间谍不只是与敌人周旋，还要在自己的立场、情感与信仰之间反复切割。利玛斯与丽兹的关系，是全书最带痛感的部分——一个是熟练的职业骗子，一个是真心相信某种理想的普通女性，他们的相遇注定无法善终。 2015年世纪文景版为出版五十周年纪念精装本，收入勒卡雷亲笔长序与唐诺导读，读正文前后都可互参；对想理解冷战氛围、也想看一部真正好小说的读者，这是最稳妥的入门之选。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢严肃向、心理向间谍与谍战故事的读者
对冷战史、柏林墙与情报机关运作有兴趣的人
已经读过《锅匠，裁缝，士兵，间谍》、想回看勒卡雷成名作的读者
阅读偏好冷峻文风、篇幅适中、结局有力的经典小说爱好者

Not a good fit for

期待高能动作场面、追车爆炸与轻松解谜的读者
不习惯冷静克制叙述、希望主角命运圆满的读者

Reading tips

先读正文再看书末或书前的导读与序言，避免被提前透露核心诡计
留意利玛斯每一处“演出来”的细节——走路、抽烟、抱怨，它们正是本书的伏笔
把丽兹的视角当作全书道德天平的支点，读完结局后回想她的每一次提问
可接着读《锅匠，裁缝，士兵，间谍》，对照勒卡雷由一线特工转向官僚机构的书写重心

About the publisher

Shanghai People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Shanghai People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher whose list focuses on academic monographs and general-interest titles in philosophy, social sciences, politics and law, economics and management, and history. Among its books are Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties History in the Chinese Dynastic History series; The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy in foreign literature; the Wenjing Classical Translation Illustrated Edition of The Complete Greek Tragedies of Euripides; and works of social theory such as Max Weber's Economy and Society and Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments. Its authors include Wang Zhongluo, J.R.R. Tolkien, Luo Niansheng, and Zhou Zuoren.

Introduction: Le Carré, More Than the Greatest Spy Novelist (Tang Nuo)
Preface to the Fiftieth Anniversary Edition
Preface to the Sceptre Edition
Foreword
The Checkpoint
The Circus
Autumn
Liz
On Credit
Contact
Kievo
Mirage
The Second Day
The Third Day
Leamas's Friends
The East
Following the Trail
A Letter to the Client
The Invitation
The Arrest
Monte
Fiedler
The Branch Meeting
The Special Tribunal
The Witness
Presiding Over the Trial
The Confession
The Commissar
The Berlin Wall
Return Through Storm and Rain

FAQ

这本书是《锅匠，裁缝，士兵，间谍》的续篇吗？

不是。两书同属“圆场”与乔治·史迈利的世界，但《柏林谍影》出版更早（1963年），主角是一线特工利玛斯，属于同一背景下的独立故事，可单独阅读。

没读过勒卡雷，可以直接从这本开始吗？

可以。这是勒卡雷的成名作，篇幅短、结构紧凑、背景就在冷战前后的柏林，被视为进入他作品世界最合适的入口之一。

小说有改编影视吗？

有。1965年由马丁·里特执导、理查德·伯顿主演的同名电影相当著名；2018年另有同名电视迷你剧集。

2015年版与2008年版有何不同？

两个版本同为刘险峰译本、上海人民出版社出版；2015年版为出版五十周年精装纪念版，收入勒卡雷亲笔长篇序言与唐诺导读，正文篇幅略有调整，装帧与定价也不同。

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About the author

John le Carré Author · British · 1931–2020

John le Carré (1931–2020) was a renowned British spy novelist, born David John Moore Cornwell. He served in MI5 and MI6, and this experience gave his writing a distinctive foundation. He rose to fame in 1963 with The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and later published works including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. This library holds 11 of his works, spanning novels, a collection of letters, and essays. His fiction is mostly set in the shadowy world of Cold War espionage, written in a cool, restrained style that focuses on his characters' inner hesitation and struggle, exploring moral questions, loyalty, and betrayal within the framework of suspense and mystery. He is regarded as a major figure in spy literature, with a lasting influence on later writing in the genre.