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 émigré 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…
It is my pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for Karla's Choice by Nick Harkaway today. Many thanks to Penguin Books and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and for my advance copy of the novel.
I read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in my early teens and so didn't have a clear expectation of George Smiley's voice in my head. I have, however, read a few of Nick Harkaway's previous titles – The Gone-Away World remains one of my favourites and so even without the familial connection, I have been eagerly anticipating Karla's Choice. It is set in the spell between events in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and although a real treat for those familiar with George Smiley's world, it can also be enjoyed by newcomers to the series.
After an ominous prologue, the novel introduces Susanna Gero, a Hungarian refugee who has begun to make a new life for herself in London. Her sense of displacement remains but although she feels the urge to walk away from the offices of Bánáti and Clay, she acknowledges that she is now in London, in 1963, and determines to stay. Her boss, Mr Bánáti is also a Hungarian émigré, now running a small publishing company. He has clearly become somewhat of a paternal figure to her and the brief precis of her life up to this point goes some way to explaining her actions when a man turns up asking for her employer. Bánáti hasn't yet arrived, which appears to be fortunate, as the visitor announces he was there to kill him, on the orders of the Thirteenth Directorate of the Committee for State Security of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. However, in a sudden re-evaluation of his life, the would-be assassin declares God has told him he will not be a murderer any more.
It's a dramatic start to the morning but Susanna doesn't fall apart in abject terror and her practical response to this unexpected situation soon leads her to the cloistered corridors of the Circus. This is, of course, the period after Kennedy and Khruschev's brinkmanship and the Cuban Missile Crisis and we learn that Control, the head of Circus, has a preference for patience intelligence gathering over the interventionist American style and as a result has been enjoying a small heyday. Nevertheless, the death of Alex Leamas still weighs heavily on the service and even though he didn't mention it in his letter, resulted in Smiley's resignation.
It's noted that 'In the early spring of 1963, there was a rumour – unconfirmed and a little scandalous – that George Smiley might almost be happy.' but, of course, he is lured back to the Circus for one last mission. It should be a simple enough task; he merely has to interview Susanna in order to figure out who her missing employer might be and why Moscow wants him dead.
What follows is a meticulously plotted investigation which evokes the slow, cautious nature of spycraft perfectly. The hunt for the missing man eventually becomes a chase across Europe which is told with a crushing sense of menace that doesn't rely on high-octane set pieces but still features plenty of suspenseful moments, including a nerve-racking scene of procedural bureaucracy. This is a sombre, atmospheric reflection of the perils of Cold War espionage which captures a claustrophobic greyness throughout but Nick Harkaway lightens proceedings with some witty descriptions too. Meanwhile, his examination of the consequences of making ruthless moral choices is sharply observed and makes a lasting impression.
The choice made by Karla isn't revealed until the latter part of the book and while not unexpected, opens up the way for Smiley's inevitable return. In his author's notes, Nick Harkaway informs us that his new character, Raghuraman Vishwakarma will make a welcome return which bodes well for more books to come. Nick Harkway has honoured his father's legacy with this brilliant revival of George Smiley but beyond that, Karla's Choice is also a cracking espionage thriller in its own right. Delightfully complex and dripping with immersive tension, this is an unmissable read.
Karla's Choice is published by Viking, purchasing links can be found here.
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About the Author
Harkaway's real name is Nicholas Cornwell and he is the fourth son of the David Cornwell (who wrote as John le Carré) and his second wife Jane Cornwell. In 2021, after the death of John le Carré, Harkaway took the writer's role in bringing the final unpublished le Carré novel, Silverview, to publication. He said then that the point of the exercise was that he be as invisible as possible. In 2022 he was called upon to do the final work on A Private Spy, the collected edition of his father's letters, after his older brother Tim Cornwell, who was editing the work, sadly died. He lives in London with Clare and their two children, and a very needy dog.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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