Book Review – Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway

About the Book

It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus.

With the wreckage of the West’s spy war with the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only on a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumour in Whitehall – unconfirmed and a little scandalous – that George Smiley might almost be happy.

But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected in the most unusual of circumstances, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple task: interview Susanna, a Hungarian émigrée and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead.

But in his absence the shadows of Moscow have lengthened. Smiley will soon find himself entangled in a perilous mystery that will define the battles to come, and strike at the heart of his greatest enemy…

Format: Hardcover (320 pages) Publisher: Viking
Publication date: 24th October 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction, Thriller

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My Review

As Nick Harkaway explains in his Author’s Note, there were always supposed to be more George Smiley books but by then the ‘external Smiley’ – particularly as embodied by Sir Alec Guinness in the 1979 TV adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – had supplanted his father’s own image of Smiley in his head. Karla’s Choice is Harkaway’s attempt to give us that more Smiley, taking advantage of the ten year gap in Smiley’s fictional life between the events of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. (In fact, there was another novel between The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – The Looking-Glass War – although Smiley plays a less substantial role in it.)

It’s probably not essential to have read The Spy Who Came in from the Cold but it would certainly help (plus it’s a great book) because the events of that novel, which culminates in the death of British agent Alec Leamas, loom large over Karla’s Choice. They definitely loom large in George Smiley’s mind being the person who was sent in to ‘clear up’ after Leamas’ death. Movingly, Smiley recalls the task of choosing the clothes in which Leamas would be buried. I felt one of the strengths of the book was the way it explored the moral dilemmas faced by those working in intelligence. ‘They were spies. Deception and betrayal were their legitimate tactics.’ Also the burden of living with the consequences of your actions, actions which may prove fatal for others.

Officially Smiley has retired from the Circus and is attempting to repair his marriage to Ann. The author gives us a tender portrait of their relationship. Although very different in character, their mutual affection is believable. However, he is lured back by that wily figure, Control, head of the Circus, to investigate the sudden disappearance of publisher, Laszlo Banati, shortly before the arrival of a Russian agent sent to kill him. With the assistance of Banati’s assistant Susanna, a Hungarian émigrée, Smiley attempts to discover more about the man who called himself Banati, why he disappeared and why someone should want to kill him.

What follows is an intricately plotted manhunt that takes us across Europe. What gradually emerges is the story of a boy whose identity now, decades later, must remain a closely guarded secret. It reunites Smiley with an individual he met long ago who has now reached the pinnacle of power within the Russian security service – Karla. It takes quite a long time for Karla to appear on the scene given the book’s title but then this is only the beginning of the duel between Smiley and Karla that plays out in later books including Smiley’s People.

The author skilfully evokes the atmosphere of the Circus, with its rather public school like quality and specialist departments who jealously guard the nature of their activities and are often presided over by idiosyncratic individuals such as the redoubtable Connie Sachs with her remarkable memory and facility for marshalling information. If you’re familiar with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy I think you’ll agree the author gets it spot on when it comes to the depiction of characters such as Toby Esterhase, keen to adopt the persona of an Englishman but unable to hide his Hungarian roots, or Bill Haydon, all lascivious charm and miffed if he’s not at the centre of what’s going on. (Personally, I can never see the names of the characters without picturing the actors who played them in the 1979 TV adaptation.)

Nick Harkaway admits there will be people who love Karla’s Choice because, as he says, ‘their attachment to George Smiley and the Circus is so deep that any slight touch of his hand is enough to bring them joy’. On the other hand, he knows there may be others whose hackles rise at his ‘absurd hubris’. I’m definitely in the first category. I thought the book was a brilliant addition to the George Smiley oeuvre and I was completely drawn into the world the author has created. I think his father would be proud.

My thanks to Christian at Christian Lewis PR for my proof copy.

In three words: Intricate, suspenseful, immersive

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About the Author

Nick Harkaway is the acclaimed author of books including Gnomon, The Gone-Away World, Angelmaker, Tigerman and Titanium Noir, and writing under the name of Aidan Truhen, of the Jack Price novels, beginning with The Price You Pay. He is the son of John le Carré and has an unique insight into his father’s work. He lives in London with his wife and two children. (Photo: Amazon author page)

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