Karla's Choice

A John le Carré Novel

By: Nick Harkaway

Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale, Nick Harkaway

The instant international bestseller set in the world of John le Carré's most iconic spy, George Smiley, written by acclaimed novelist Nick Harkaway

It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West’s spy war against the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only for a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumor 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 Szusanna, 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 soon finds himself entangled in a perilous mystery that will define the battles to come and set him on a collision course with the greatest enemy he will ever make.

Set in the missing decade between two iconic instalments in John le Carré's George Smiley saga, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Karla’s Choice marks a momentous return to the world of spy fiction's greatest writer.

©2024 Nick Harkaway (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

Most Anticipated Book of Fall 2024 by the Washington Post, the Guardian, LitHub, Crime Reads, Boston Globe, and AARP

"Nick Harkaway's novel delivers fresh Cold War intrigue for John le Carré’s redoubtable spymaster."—Wall Street Journal

"John le Carré’s son does him proud in an excellent spy thriller about a Soviet agent that faithfully bridges two of his father’s classic tales. . . Harkaway reproduces his father’s rhythms at the level of sentence and plot alike, with slow-burn tension giving way to agonizing jeopardy as cat-and-mouse games explode into crunching hand-to-hand combat or street gun battles. . . [Karla’s Choice is] a loving tribute to a complicated father (as Harkaway’s dedication seems to acknowledge) as well as an excellent novel in its own right."—The Guardian

"Karla’s Choice is a Cold War espionage novel taking up the characters that people regard as quintessentially le Carré: the rumpled, melancholy Smiley and his ruthless Soviet counterpart Karla. By writing it, Harkaway hasn’t just crossed into his father’s literary airspace—he’s descending into the heart of the territory and rolling out the landing gear. . . It’s an homage to John le Carré, from the characters to the cadences of his prose. It’s also, undeniably, a document of grief for David Cornwell."—Sophia Nguyen, Washington Post

It’s 1963 again

Captures the dark mood of 1963 middle Europe. As good as any of the original Smiley novels, if not better. Outstanding performance.

As good as any LeCarre!

Harkaway is a brilliant, hugely talented writer and his father’s characters are in expert hands. Let’s hope he writes more smiley books, or spy books anyway.

I highly recommend reading The Spy Who Came in from the Cold before this one. And all the others too, but especially that one.

Le Carre Would Be Proud

John Le Carre would appreciate this book and most Le Carre fans would assume he wrote if they didn’t know otherwise. It’s classic Le Carre - the plot, the characters, the writing - all of it. For those Le Carre fans who mourned not just Le Carre’s passing, but Smiley’s with him, there’s good news - George Smiley is alive and well, and hopefully this won’t be the last we hear of him.

Simply perfect

Like stepping back into a world you thought had gone forever. It hasn’t left, it’s better than ever

Riveting!

Excellent plot development —everything you would hope for. I hope there will be a sequel. The narrator was also spot on. Bravo!

Great Read

Enjoyed the story well written and beautifully narrated. I would recommend any Le carre fans to give it a listen

it's a prequel, sort of

This book is set in 1963, a year or so after The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. it's well written by his son and might have been called, The Refugee Who Went Back Out into the Cold.

LeCarre should be a proud father

Felt like another smiley novel. Harkaway has clearly been paying attention as this felt so much like a LeCarre original

The Mantle has been passed from Father to Son

Extraordinary. Superb. Well done! The mantle has been passed from Father to Son...le Carre' lives!

Commendable

The book was interesting in many ways. We got to see Smiley being operational as opposed to exclusively managing an op. We got much more about Control than any other book. More background about Karla. Why no one really knows his name.

Beale hits Smiley as good as Guinness. Possibly better. Couldn’t ask for more.

The dialog was not the usual LeCarre. No “poison dwarfs” or “your little cabaret” idioms. Sometimes the LeCarre dialogue could come off staccato in the banter. This was not present in this novel.

More characters were flushed out. Connie and the Dark Aunts. They came off more like the Weird Sisters. Which was good. Toby was seen more in action and with strength as opposed to “running between parties like a poodle” in other novels.

I listened to the book twice to pick up on more nuances.

The first time it was “ok”. After I had listened to it the second time understanding it was Smiley by a different hand than I had always been accustomed, I appreciated it much more.

It was a good contribution to the body of Smiley works.