A long-awaited return visit to the Circus

When it was announced that a son of the late, great literary spymaster, John le Carre was going to write the ‘missing’ George Smiley novel, it was met with a mixture of excitement and scepticism. Would he be able to follow those enigmatic pen strokes of his father? Would he be able to capture the comradeship and antics of those lovable characters of the Circus - the headquarters of le Carre’s secret department in London? And what of Karla himself? A man who Smiley actually met once, and who since that meeting had held onto George’s personally scribed lighter, a present from his estranged wife, Ann, like a teasing trophy, and from then on, was always lurking in Smiley’s shadow, a Soviet spymaster behind it all since Alec Leamus met his death at the Berlin Wall in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold then the exposure of the Circus’s surprise bad apple in Tinker,Tailor Soldier Spy to Smiley’s triumph in Smiley’s People.
Karla’s Choice has turned out to be the novel that Smiley fans have long awaited for - the void between the aftermath of Leamus then Smiley’s faceless battle with his Soviet nemesis. From the opening chapter featuring the revelations of a defecting assassin and the sudden disappearance of his target, a dissident Hungarian publisher, the scene is set for George to enter stage right and take control to not only track him down but give him the opportunity for a game of oneupmanship with his old Russian sparring partner, bringing in all those familiar names and welcoming new ones, along the way. Harkaway’s approach and style has more than just hints of his late father, and as I read the lengthy descriptive narratives and the mesmeric dialogue, I could easily hear le Carre’s melodious voice in my head as if he was on stage reading out an extract from it. However, let’s not take it all away from the writer of Karla’s Choice. His son, Nick has approached it all by giving it his own personal flair, executing it in a way that I feel will bring a whole new set of Smiley readers to the fold. For the aficionados, the le Carresque elements which made the Smiley novels so believable in spy genre are all there. There’s the intrigue, the tradecraft, the twists and the turns, all eloquently captured and entwined giving the iconic images, thoughts and feelings of the Cold War.
I wouldn’t say that Karla’s Choice is a real page-turner, but this is a good thing, it’s a novel which you can dig deep into, savouring the plot’s complex structure like a decent malt whisky. As you finish reading that final paragraph, fans will know there’s a lot more to the Smiley story that could lead up to Tinker Tailor… spurning the idea that maybe Mr Harkaway could be returning to the Circus again in the not too distant future.

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 for a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever. But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple interview Szusanna, a Hungarian émigré and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead. But, as Smiley well knows, even the softest step in the shadows resounds with terrible danger. Soon, he is back there, in East Berlin, and on the trail of his most devious enemy’s hidden past.
I love The George Smiley novels so was intrigued to read this, especially as who better to write than the son of the books. Afterall another son has carried on his father’s books & they are so good. I thoroughly enjoyed it & was drawn in from the start & found it hard to put down. It fits seamlessly into the Smiley series & found it hard to believe that the original author hadn’t written it. A complex story with lots of twists & turns that had me hooked.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

Eager to read this because I so enjoyed the Smiley novels written by Nick Harkaway’s father, John le Carré, I was bemused by a Smiley who indulged in a frivolous purchase for his wife whilst in a dangerous situation, in anticipation of some conjugal joy. Nor had I expected that Smiley could drive. Having said that, Harkaway has produced a complex thriller in the style of his father, with some excellent asides and rhetoric. The era is finely drawn, as are the international tensions, and the momentum galloped towards the end of the book. I shall be interested to see where the author and his elegant writing takes the sequel(s).

Unlike many potential readers, I came to Le Carré through his son, rather than the other way around. Harkaway writes a great speculative thriller (though the likes of Edie Investigates have echoes of the post-war espionage world of his father), with quite a different, and distinctive, style. I have, however, also dipped into some of the original Le Carré, prior to watching Gary Oldman etc al in their wonderful rendition of Tinker, tailor.., and so had a reasonable grounding in both style and content. Like most fans, I was not entirely optimistic about Harkaway's ability to expand the series whilst keeping it true to the originals, but overall I think major kudos are due to Le Carré junior.
Especially considering this isn't his era, Harkaway draws a meticulous picture of 60s Britain/Europe, the political situation, and the possible motivations (springing from detailed back stories) of our protagonists.
It is far easier to get period detail correct on film, once the visuals (clothes, buildings, newspaper headlines etc) are right, all is convincing, but it is far harder for someone not born in a particular time to make the inner thoughts and motivations of people several decades previous credible; to do that in the style of someone else, and that someone your famous and esteemed father, is even more difficult, I would imagine, and there are only a couple of negligible clauses very sparsely scattered, that pop out as anachronistic. For the most part, the characters, the plot, the pacing, the larger philosophical issues, the personal angst, all are effortlessly extended in this welcome new addition to the Le Carré cannon.

My thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

Nick Harkaway knows he’s treading on hallowed ground in continuing (or rather interpolating) the work of his father David Cornwell, better known as John Le Carré. I am one of those he refers to as having an ‘attachment to George Smiley and the Circus … so deep that any slight touch of his hand is enough to bring them joy’, thanks to the excellent BBC Radio 4 adaptations with Simon Russell Beale as Smiley. And while I’ve watched and listened to some of the stories, I’m not sure I had actually read any so I decided it would be fun and worthwhile to read The Spy Who Came in from the Cold first, to reacquaint myself with the murky goings on of the Circus and to better compare father’s and son’s styles. So I came fresh from the story of Alec Leamas in Berlin; Karla’s Choice picks up just a few months later.
A Le Carré connoisseur might be able to detect the change in pen but I couldn’t see the joins. Le Carré depicted a grey post-war pre-swinging 60s world, and especially London, that as a 50-year-old I never could have known. That I have a nostalgia for it is an indication of his memorable characters and atmosphere, and I think Harkaway has successfully continued both. I liked the pacing of the plot: from a relatively steady start, to the mention of Hans-Dieter Mundt for the first time at the halfway point, to Karla himself appearing fully two-thirds of the way through. Then once the action starts, it’s a helter-skelter to the finish.
I think you could read this as a standalone novel but there’s an extra frisson of enjoyment if you know the outcome of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. When I say that the reader has to do no little work, and that some references are subtle to the point of elliptical it’s a compliment, so acclimatisation to this espionage world helps to distinguish this lamplighter from that scalphunter. The only problem with that is that close reading and avid page-turning don’t go especially well together; I want to read it again to get the full effect. If you’ve enjoyed any of Le Carré’s stories before, why wouldn’t you want to explore more of his wonderful creation, George Smiley? As far as I’m concerned, this is to be added to the Smiley cannon.

A new entry into the George Smiley canon of books this time written by le Carre's son. This book is far better than we have any real right to expect given that Smiley is uniquely le Carre's character and being written by his son was no guarantee of success. Perhaps more wishful thinking than a real possibly. Any fears prove unfounded however and while Harkaway places his own mark on the characters, story and events, you still know you are in le Carre's world. There is a very welcome return of some beloved characters and by the time you close the book you are left with a profound sense of gratitude for a new story that would never otherwise have been told. The only remaining question is will there be any more and can Harkaway find a way to fill in any more spaces in the world of Smiley, or even, dare I suggest it, a non Smiley spy novel. If anyone can do it, judging by this success, then Harkaway can. Recommended.

This is the first of I hope of many continuations by Harkaway of his father, David Cornwall (John le Carré)'s series of books about the British Secret Intelligence Service (the 'Circus') in the mid-20th century. As Harkaway explains in his prologue, there were always intended to be more of these books, focussing on George Smiley, and indeed le Carré published a couple shortly before his death.
In Karla's Choice, we return to Smiley's heyday, the 1960s, and see George, who has temporarily left the Circus after the events of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, called back in a crisis (as of course would happen several more times and it's nice to see how Harkaway docks his Smiley seamlessly with the one in the previous books). In true le Carré fashion, an apparently minor event has set alarm bells ringing in the corridors of the Circus and someone is needed to attend to business.

So we get to see the Circus again, perhaps not quite in all its pomp but as a more powerful organisation than the burnt out shell it becomes later. And we also meet its denizens, not least the traitor who will be unmasked in earlier books (if you follow the sequence). I won't name them in case you haven't read the other books yet, but the knowledge of that person's later betrayal provides a frisson here when secrets are being discussed...

In the best tradition of these stories, Karla's Choice offers us an apparently dry narration enlivened by a lot of erudition and plenty of secrets - tradecraft, ruminations on the Cold War, both practical and moral, deeply rooted in history and, of course, humour. There is also the tension between the grizzled inmates of the Circus and a young woman - a Hungarian refugee, Susanna Gero - who is about to be immersed in their life when the secret world, the world of Smiley and Karla, reaches out for her. How and why it does that - and why her boss has disappeared - unfolds unhurriedly, but in detail, throughout the book.

The relationship that develops in this book between George and Susannah is complex. One is reluctant to keep playing these games, disillusioned even in his own mind, but still accepting of the twisted logic of the looking-glass war, if always on the verge of shaking its dust form his feet. The other is new to the whole scene but also, seems to have a more ruthless streak than him (as someone who crossed Europe for refuge - people were still allowed to do that in the 60s - as almost still a challenge, you think, surely she must know more than she's letting on?)

We also see various stranded and beached figures who will become the famous faces of the chronologically later stories - incipient alcoholic Connie, for example; Control, before the catastrophe that is a few years down the line. And of course George's wife, with Karla's Choice perhaps equally deserving of the title Ann's Choice...

All in all, a fascinating and thrilling addition to the Smiley canon, Harkaway showing that, yes, the menu is excellent and the chef really can cook.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free pre-publication copy in return for an unbiased review.

I wasn't sure what I was going to make of this. I am a big fan of John Le Carre, and have enjoyed all the Smiley books. (Though a non-Smiley book of his is actually my favourite - The Constant Gardener, check it out if you haven't read it). I was intrigued at the chance to read more from Smiley and the Circus team but was unsure whether or not it would work having someone else write it. Harkaway is Le Carre's son, so if anyone were to do it it would make sense for it to be him. At times, the style is so well done you do forget that you aren't reading a Le Carre. Is this a good thing, or should the author be attempting to add his own style to the book? There are arguments both ways I think. On a few occasions in the book though I felt there were some attempts to make the characters feel less dated, in their attitudes and behaviours, presumably to make them chime better for a modern audience. I didn't think this really worked - they are of their time, the attitudes were of their time and that can't really be changed.

As an aside, I still don't think I understand the Smiley/Ann relationship all that well, and this book adds another dimension to that which merely adds to my confusion! Still, I think this is a good addition to the set of Smiley stories and I think if you are a fan of a spy novel then you will enjoy it.

4/5: A worthy addition to the Smiley-verse, which balances authenticity to the world it is written in with modern sensibilities and thoughtful reflections on life and choices.

Karla's Choice is a new addition to John le Carre's world of espionage and intrigue, authored by Le Carre's son, Nick Harkaway. This filled me with excitement and trepidation before I started: I enjoyed the original Smiley novels, and I'd been meaning to read Harkaway for a while, but the prospect of a poor pastiche would be quite the disappointment.

Fortunately, Karla's Choice is nicely executed. The novel has the same moody feel, dense prose and slightly unbelievable logic leaps as the original novels. Like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, it's at its best when there are spy or bureaucratic set pieces: there's a particularly well-done scene about an overheard conversation, and the climax is note-perfect. Like The Spy Who Came in From The Cold, this novel also subtly grapples with bigger questions: Are the ends worth the means? What is family and when should it come first?

Compared to the original novels, there are a few modernisations - the cast feels more diverse, and Harkaway spent more time than his father unpacking the steps taken, the reasons for them and the implications of those choices. This makes Karla's Choice slightly more approachable without feeling alien to the original books.

As for the limitations... the pace was quite slow, which coupled with the prose meant this was a book that took a little work to get through. Also - and I say this while being aware that it's best not to compare the book to some theoretical *other* book the author could have written - this was tied much more closely to one of the original books (The Spy who Came in From the Cold) than I could imagine Le Carre tying a book together. I found this choice rather distracting - like a shout for legitimacy, or a marketer's pitch - that drew me out of the world and drew unnecessary attention to the fact that Karla's Choice was written decades after the original novels.

All in all, this is an enjoyable read - but make sure you read The Spy who Came in From the Cold first. Finally, a big thank you to Nick Harkaway, Penguin and Netgalley for this advance review copy, provided in exchange for an honest review.

1963, George Smiley is now retired. However, when a Russian assassin seeks to defect, refusing to carry out his deadly mission, Control calls Smiley back for one final operation.

I feel that this one will be enjoyed by those who enjoy classic spy novels and that readers of the earlier books will appreciate the faithful portrayal of the characters by John le Carré’s son.

Karla’s Choice is a brave move by Nick Harkaway as he takes John le Carre’s most famous character George Smiley and writes a novel that fits in between two of the more famous books of the series.

I approached this book with some trepidation as I enjoyed le Carre’s novels but Karla’s Choice is a worthy addition to the canon with a typical spy novel evolving over its pages.

One to recommend.

A brilliant continuation of a story from the past.
This book is homage to John le Carre, written in his style by his son, and featuringing characters from the George Smiley novels. The first of these, "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold," was set in the early 1960s, and the followups date from the 1970s onward. This book is set in 1963 and attempts to fill the gap, and it succeeds admirably.
Nick Hathawy has captured his father's style of writing. Smiley5 works in a slow manner, gathering information, sorting it, and then acting on it when and where necessary. Whilst this is a very good story indeed, the use of this style, though accurate, I found a bit cumbersome in places, to the extent I had to take long breaks in it to read something more in keeping with the sharper, crispy style of today.
Giving a star rating to this book had me in a quandary, and to balance up what I have written, I ended up at 4 stars.

I chose to read 'Karla's Choice' mainly because I know Nick Harkaway to be a very good author from his own books, and wasn't too worried whether he stuck to the same style as Le Carre. I didn't realise until reading the introduction that Harkaway is in fact Le Carre's son - both men write under pen names. So if anyone were to carry on the great spy author's legacy, it rightly should be him. It's many years since I read Le Carre's original novels about the spy George Smiley, and I couldn't remember the details of the plot or the writing style. I'd recommend to readers in the same position, or those who have never read the originals, to read a plot synopsis online of 'The Spy Who Came in From the Cold', which precedes this book chronologically and is relevant to events (and this story also contains multiple spoilers for it).

The novel is set in the ten year gap between Le Carre's 'Spy Who Came In...' and 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'. A young Hungarian woman living in London is accidentally drawn into the defection of a Russian assassin, at which point the modest but talented spy George Smiley is emotionally blackmailed out of retirement to help get her out again. In doing so, he comes up against a mysterious new Russian spymaster known only as Karla, whom he'd previously unsuccessfully attempted to turn into a double agent. Karla goes on to become the main antagonist in Le Carre's 'Karla trilogy' which is set chronologically after this new novel.

I really can't remember enough about how Le Carre writes to compare the writing style, but on its own merits alone, the writing here is good. Harkaway is a reliable author who can spin a good yarn and create/sustain interesting characters. Harkaway's own novels tend to be long and highly complex, with clever but difficult original concepts to get your head around. So it was rather nice to see his talents applied to a more straighforwards (if you can call the bluff, double bluff, triple bluff of a Le Carre style spy novel that) format. Smiley is a likeable character who is sympathetic but with a necessary hard edge. There's all the intrigue and excitement you'd expect, and it's proper old fashioned spy stuff, with coded phone messages, chases, double agents etc.

If you enjoy spy novels, or just thrillers in general, I'd recommend reading this as it's well written. Whether it passes muster when compared to the works of Le Carre himself, I'll have to leave others to comment. For me, it's a fine book that stands on its own merits and for it's worth I think the deceased author would be very pleased with his son's effort.

Oh dear - this really was not for me. I love a spy thriller but I could not get into it. There were too many characters who made disjointed appearances, I could not find a thread to grasp hold off and hence felt that every time I picked up the book I was starting afresh. Perhaps if I had a better understanding of Le Carre ouerve I would have been in a better position to enjoy this book

George Smiley is one of m favourite characters in literature and I was deeply saddened by the death of Le Carre.

However, Nick Harkaway does a brilliant job here telling the story of Smiley. A fitting tribute to a great author.

3.5 stars
Overall a good novel in the tradition of John Le Carre. Covering the years between The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and Smiley’s people it shows Smiley as a more dynamic agent in the field. The plotting is very good and moves along at a good pace. Some of the ruminations and philosophising becomes a bit tedious but overall in very interesting novel that draws the reader along.

Karla's Choice by Nick Harkaway

Firstly my thanks to Net Gal!ey, Penguin Random House and the author Nick Harkaway for the Advanced Reading Copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This book is expected to be published on 24 October 2024.

Karla's Choice is written within the world of John le Carré espionage series of books and set in 1963, following The Man Who Came in from the Cold, by his son Nick Harkaway.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters from George Smiley, and existing to new, were in keeping with what I hoped for! The expanded view of the circus and it's associates were lovingly wrought.

No spoilers from me but if you want to read a John le Carré, or an espionage genre book or to read a great novel, you too will enjoy this book!

Thoroughly recommend! Five stars.

This book will be reviewed in Goodreads, Facebook, Linkedin and Amazon UK!

I greatly enjoyed Angelmaker and Gnomon, so was keen to read this take on of the Smiley storey. Set in the missing years between the Spy who cam in from the cold and Tinker Tailor, we find Smiley in retirement following the death of a close friend on a mission in Berlin. He is summoned back by Control after a Russian hit-man defects, and the Hungarian emigre he was sent to assassinate has disappeared. The hunt to find him takes us to Berlin, Vienna, Budapest and finally Lisbon. Its an excellent story, told well and reads uncannily like Le Carre..Its a great achievement and I hope there's more to come.

I don't really fit neatly into either of the two groups Nick Harkaway enumerates in his prologue - people who are so attached to George Smiley that they will love this book "whatever it is", and people who refuse to read it for the same reason - my love for John le Carré's oeuvre extends far beyond Smiley.

I wanted to read this because I've already consumed everything le Carré ever wrote, and since Graham Greene is dead there aren't many authors out there that can do what he did, i.e., write books that are notionally genre fiction but that are in fact simply good books that handily break out of the narrow confines of the espionage genre. Evidently the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree (author Nick Harkaway is John le Carré's son), because that's what Karla's Choice is.

The existing cast of characters Nick inherited, literally and metaphorically, are wonderfully evoked - the music of Toby Esterhase's Hungaro-English was a particular highlight for me - and his new creations are easily their peers. He does something good by rebalancing the gender inequality inherent to a cast of characters first dreamt up in the 1960s by filling out Connie Sachs' research team, the 'Bad Aunts'; I suspect we haven't seen the last of S(z)usanna Gero, either. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with, e.g., the Bletchley Park codebreakers knows that women have always had a huge part to play in the secret world.

This is a more than worthy entry in the Smiley canon - and, tantalisingly, perhaps the first of many. In my opinion, not just a great novel about spies and spying, but a great book in its own right - as well as one that makes the other Smiley novels better for existing. For example, although Karla must be opaque and unknowable, we now have the reason why he thought that going after someone that was family to Smiley was not 'out of bounds' - Smiley had made the first move. That's quite the trick to have pulled off.

I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Penguin Random House via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Nick Harkaway has bravely attempted to follow in his father’s footsteps, his father being John Le Carré! The book is basically a sequel to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Harkaway explains in an introduction that there’s a ten year gap between that book and the next Smiley book, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and it looks like his intention might be to continue the series and bridge the gap. In any case, he has done a very decent job at imitating his father’s work here. Smiley is convincing as a central character tasked with finding a missing Hungarian in London and there’s a complex plot involving a young Hungarian woman Susanna who had worked for the missing man.
Harkaway brings in familiar characters like Control. Jim Prideaux, Connie Sachs, Toby Esterhase and Peter Guillam.
It’s unfair to compare the book to those his father wrote as Le Carré was such an accomplished and brilliant writer but Nick has written a thrilling book which succeeds in recreating the spy world of his father. I enjoyed it and look forward to further books by the author.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Viking for an advance review copy in return for an honest review.