[Review] Nick Harkaway: 'Karla's Choice'

The real name of Nick Harkaway is Nicolas Cornwell, the son of David John Moore Cornwell (1931-2020), better known as John Le Carré. Harkaway tries to step into the shoes of his father by writing about 'the Circus' and George Smiley. 'Karla's Choice' follows the disastrous events described in 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' that resulted in the death of Alec Leamas, a British spy.

Harkaway’s story opens in the early spring of 1963. Having forced into early retirement from the Circus over the failures and betrayals that featured in 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold', Smiley is just learning to adapt to the easy life, immersing himself in his passion for German literature while enjoying an uncharacteristic entente with his wife, Lady Ann Sercomb.

Then, a Hungarian émigré (or refuge) named László Bánáti, a London literary agent whose existence was unknown to the Circus, disappeared. The Soviet agent sent to assassinate him has, owing to an (unconvincing) attack of religion, decided to defect. Bánáti’s secretary, Susanna Gero, who herself fled Budapest seven years earlier, finds her way to a Circus safe house, and, so decides Control, no one but Smiley will do as her interrogator, confidante and protector.

Which is strange. Why would Control haul Smiley back to investigate a simple disappearance. Not only that, his entire entourage, consisting of Toby Esterhase, Connie Sachs, and Peter Guillam is called in.

In the end, László Bánáti is not who he seemed he was. He is suspected to be a sleeper, a spy who is placed in England to act as a potential asset on short notice if activated in the future. The hunt is on, and Control orders Smiley to accept Susanna as a team member.

What do I make of 'Karla's Choice'?

Nick Harkaway never was immersed in the world of spies and it showed. You never get the feeling that he understands the fear of discovery that eats away at your intestines. The constant looking over your shoulder to see if danger lurks there is also missing.

I detested the long, meandering sentences. Also, the endless explanations rattled me, and distracted from the story. Furthermore, the idea to second Susanna to a team of professional spies is simply ridiculous. If László Bánáti was a sleeper, then it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility that Susanna Gero was one too. And no professional spy would ever send an amateur on a potentially dangerous mission. And, sure enough, it all went horribly wrong.

I understand that Nick Harkaway can write a story, but he surely cannot write a spy story. All in all 'Karla's Choice' is about the world his father created, but the book actually bears very little resemblance to it.