To the delight – and, perhaps, concern – of many Le Carré fans, George Smiley is back. Le Carré’s son, Nick Harkaway, has been encouraged to continue novels in his father’s style. This is his first offering, and it’s impossible not to compare his writing with his father’s. To Harkaway’s credit, any initial concerns soon vanish.
It’s 1963 and Smiley has retired to live a comfortable life with his wife, Lady Ann, but when a seemingly unnewsworthy Hungarian émigré who runs a London bookstore disappears, and his would-be Soviet assassin hands himself in to the bookstore’s female employee, Control orders Smiley back to the Circus. Smiley needs to debrief the woman and discover why the bookstore owner – about whom they know nothing – is so important to the Soviets.
The employee, Susanna Gero, is also Hungarian by birth. Her quick thinking and refusal to panic intrigue Smiley. She’s soon enlisted to help uncover the secret life of her boss. She knows him as Lázló Bánáti, but he’s uncovered as the Soviet agent, Ferencz Róka. His ‘wayward, beautiful son’, Léo, has been arrested and Róka is using his old contacts to try to free him. Róka, though, has antagonised an old foe, codenamed Karla. This small, quiet man holds an important position in Russia’s 13th Directorate. His ruthlessness contrasts with Smiley’s sense of conscience. Smiley tries to locate and extract Róka, Léo and his mother, Iren, but the mission into Soviet-controlled territory is dangerous.
Harkaway writes skilfully. Smiley is instantly recognisable. His father might not have given a female character as much agency as Harkaway gives Susanna, but the narrative feels more contemporary and is better for it.
Reviewed by Bob Moore
ABOUT THE BOOK
Nick Harkaway real name is Nicholas Cornwell. He was born in Cornwall and is the son of Valerie Jane Eustace and author David Cornwell, known under his pen name John le Carré. He is a British novelist and commentator. He was born in Cornwall in 1972 and is the author of the novels The Gone-Away World, Angelmaker and Tigerman. He lives in London with his wife and two children.
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