John le Carré does such a good job at keeping things light, concrete, and distinctly unromantic. His realism stands in stark contrast to the more famous spies such as Bond and Bourne, and it's something I appreciate. I much prefer the more subtle mind-gamey style of spy fiction over the frenetic, action-packed Bourne or the suave-overload style Bond.
The plot twists and turns and feels natural considering the writer's own prior career in counterintelligence. His workmanlike prose gets the job done and stays out of the way, and I plowed through the book very quickly due to its readability. This was an airplane-read for me and I read it so quickly that I had to pick up something else from the airport bookshop in Budapest. So it's a pageturner for sure. I don't read much spy fiction (yet), but I'd recommend this to those looking to get into the subgenre—the same manner in which it was recommended to me.
The only real criticism I'd level at Spy was that I found the relationship at the heart of the novel to feel a bit contrived and unearned, but perhaps that's a reflection of the protagonist's desperation. In general, the book focuses more on the plot than its characters, which is probably something necessary for the subgenre of spy fiction, though not something that is totally to my personal taste. I did quite enjoy reading Leamas, though. There's something very appealing about the slovenly-yet-competent protagonist. I suppose that's why mad scientists are so entertaining to read, too.
The climactic scenes of the novel are easily its best, and what makes everything worthwhile. Fantastic ending, too.
I look forward to reading more of le Carré's work in the future.
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