A happy captive of George Smiley

 

5 stars – In the absence of a Mick Herron thriller this year, Karla's Choice is my absolute favourite (spy or fiction, in general) novel for 2024. It fills a hole in my heart I didn't know existed. Ever since seeing Gary Oldman play George Smiley in the 2011 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, I've had a bit of a crush on the ever restrained George, and vowed to read all his novels. That idea survived contact until I faced down The Honourable School and lost. It takes a person with vast amount of patience to get through that tome so I had no chance. Schoolboy alone ended my quest. So now, with Nick Harkaway's stellar novel, my heart's desire of learning more about George and seeing him deploy trade craft has finally been fulfilled. I am over the moon!

Sorry for that lengthy intro meant to illustrate my keen devotion to George and The Circus. But, does Karla's Choice hold a candle to his father's masterful spy works? Utterly and completely. I am amazed at how immersive this novel is. It took me back to the cold war, the communist threat which kept Berlin split for so long and the brave agents risking it all to gain intel or any advantage over the USSR. The language, the descriptive skill, the essence of the novel are powerful, of that era and, while dovetailing nicely with the original novels, still have a unique quality that makes it fresh.

I loved it entirely and if I didn't have a stack of books awaiting my attention I would dive back in again to pick up the finer points I may have missed. Karla's Choice felt, to me, like attending a 20 year school reunion and being utterly delighted by all the faces and names you recognise and learning what they've been up to. It was like coming home...if I was a spy out in the cold. Genius, original, brilliant. More, please.