Nick Harkaway, son of John Le Carre, writing a George Smiley novel. Jonathan Coe, with his latest political satire, and Alan Moore, who wrote V for Vendetta and Watchmen, with his new time travel yarn. What more can one ask for when deciding on which new novel to read?
Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway
This novel sees the reincarnation of George Smiley, with the events here happening on the Smiley timeline between The Spy Who Came In From the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. And what’s the coolest thing about reviving Smiley this way is that it’s written by accomplished author Nick Harkaway, who just happens to be a real life son of David Cornwell - whose pen name was John Le Carrè. Yes, it’s the son finally adding a chapter to the iconic character created by the late father. Harkaway is an accomplished writer in his own right, with Fantasy and Technology playing major elements in his Fiction; so it is interesting watching him fit himself within the framework of his father’s fictional world of 1960’s espionage. One of the hallmarks of Le Carrè’s work was the complex moral ambiguity, how there wasn’t all that much differentiating between the "good" guys, and the "bad."
It’s Spring of 1963, and a ‘retired’ Smiley, happy with Anne, is called back by Control to babysit a developing situation. Hungarian emigre Susannah works for a countryman publisher who has gone missing, just as a hired assassin has appeared in London. And the handiwork of Karla, Moscow spymaster, is very much in evidence. If you’ve not read Le Carre in the past, do be forewarned that it’s a very cerebral approach to espionage, with pages devoted to thought process, and the how and why of decision-making. Smiley was always a far cry from the romanticized James Bond, who was created in the same era, and seen as the pulp fiction version of this spying game. Some would say that Le Carre’s novels are key to understanding Europe during the 1950’s to 1970’s, the Cold War, the mistrust, the constant suspicion and looking over one’s shoulders and playing the endless ‘possible scenario’ game. Harkaway deftly recreates this world.
The Proof of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe
You have to hand it to Coe, no one else is writing about the current political situation in Great Britain while infusing the subject matter with such gentle humor and pithy commentary. In this latest, he takes on the ascendancy of the Far Right, while writing on the short-lived Liz Truss seven-week stint as Prime Minister and the death of the Queen in 2022. And he accomplishes all this while gifting us with an engaging narrative that first centers on fresh university English Lit graduate, Phyl, and her dreams of becoming a novelist. Choosing what genre to embark on, she’s undecided between cozy crime, dark academia, or autofiction. And so we get all three as sections of this novel! Family friend Christopher Swann has a vlog and writes about the history of Britain’s Conservative movement, and their swing to a more militant, entitled Right.
At their TrueCon (True Conservative) conference, held at a stately home in the Cotswolds, a visit by Christopher to ‘spy’, turns into something more sinister, resulting in a murder inquiry. Darting between decades and the genres mentioned of cozy crime, dark academia, and autofiction; the story unfolds, and we’re treated to a narrative of murky secrets of the past impacting on the today and now. This unique structure of switching genres allows Coe to ‘play’, and I have to admit that it was an entertaining way to show off one’s talent for writing. Having read a number of his novels for over thirty years now, I can appreciate that Coe’s heart is in the telling of this story, and feel his fear of the extreme Right taking such strides in both the USA and Great Britain. That Donald Trump is the incoming US President would seem to support Coe’s observations and commentary, as couched here in fiction form.
The Great When by Alan Moore
V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are just some of the works of fiction attributed to Alan Moore so you know he has a gift for fantasy, for plotting, and creating memorable characters. This new novel is a heady mix of time travel, history, and myth, and it’s a story centered on a murder. Set in a 1949 London that seems slightly off from the one we know, it involves one Dennis Knucklehead, an 18-year old who works in a second hand bookshop that’s owned by Coffin Ada. While constantly coughing when she speaks, Dennis makes the mistake of thinking the "Coffin" refers to her lungs, and not to the fact that those who have crossed her have ended up buried alive in a cheap coffin. Things get really started when Dennis acquires a book that simply shouldn’t exist, as it’s only referred to in novels.
As a novel that exists purely in fiction, it’s explained to Dennis that the book belongs in Long London, an alternative version of the City where myth and reality exist side by side. It’s an occult underbelly of London where Dennis is spirited to, a magical iteration that’s signified by how we transfer to another font when in Long London. There are sorcerers, gangsters, murderers, and the like inhabiting this London where Dennis is on a quest to rid himself of the book and preserve these two Londons. Written as a novel, there are very dense, stream-of-consciousness passages, and this will not qualify as an easy read. In fact, it makes us wonder if it would have been more accessible as a graphic novel. But it would seem that after the likes of his Jerusalem, Moore prefers writing in the traditional novel form, even if his output is as wild and wooly as it has ever been, full of strong, outlandish Fantasy elements.