This Cold War thriller channels the essence of le Carré’s world.
Harkaway, the son of John le Carré, crafts a spy tale set in the 10-year gap between The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1963) and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974).
In early 1963 London, a Hungarian assassin named Miki Bortnik arrives at a literary agent’s office with orders from the Thirteenth Directorate (akin to the KGB) to kill Laszlo Bánáti. But a sudden change of heart leads Bortnik to confide in Susanna Gero, Bánáti’s assistant, saying he’s been told by God to abandon the mission. Meanwhile, Bánáti himself has vanished. Susanna alerts MI6, piquing their curiosity about Soviet intentions. At the same time, George Smiley has retired from MI6, or “the Circus,” enjoying a rare peace with his wife, Ann, amid rumors of his uncharacteristic happiness. However, Control, the head of British Intelligence, pulls Smiley back into the fold for what seems a temporary assignment. Although initially reluctant—telling himself, “Let the old dog sit by the cooker”—Smiley ultimately agrees, much to Ann’s quiet frustration. Despite his love for her, he is bound to the Circus, his “grey mistress.” The hunt reveals Bánáti to be a Soviet operative, Róka, now in flight. Smiley’s adversary is the elusive Soviet officer Karla, a menacing presence from previous le Carré novels. As the narrative unfolds, with its slow-burning suspense, readers are drawn into a grim world of “shadows and sorrows.”
A fitting Cold War tale for fans of le Carré’s atmospheric world.
