1. In chapter 1, a description is given of Jim Prideaux: "I was being debriefed, not by Jack any more but by a rugged fellow called Jim, of Czech extraction and around my age" [emphasis mine]. As JP went up to Oxford before the Second World War, he would have been at least 18 years old in 1939. Peter Guillam was about 8 in the same year. Hardly the same age. I suspect that the Jack mentioned was in fact Jack Brotherhood (if that is his name) who appears in "A perfect spy". TTSS gives the impression that Jim grew up in France, not Czechoslovakia, but that's a minor error.
2. In chapter 11, a description of Connie Sachs is given: "Connie Sachs, in
her early twenties [emphasis mine] already the unchallenged wunderkind
of research into Soviet and Satellite intelligence agencies, had recently
flounced out of Joint Steering in a huff, straight into George’s waiting
arms." In "Karla's choice", Connie is described as being
two years older than Smiley, and a similar age is implied in TTSS.
3. In chapter 13, some background of Jim Prideaux is given: "As a boy, he had run messages and cut German throats for Czech Resistance. Cambridge [emphasis mine] may have educated him, but it never tamed him.". TTSS states that Prideaux went to Oxford which is where he met Haydon, not to Cambridge, and he was "up" in 1938, so he wouldn't have been "a boy" in WW2.
Following is an explanation of the end of "Karla's choice" from the Le Carré Reddit forum: The great secret that Roka/Banati and Iren learnt, from their one-time friend Bogdan, is that Karla is Bogdan's surrogate son, having once worked with him on a train during the Russo-Japan war of 1905. As such, Bogdan is one of the few people alive aware of Karla's true identity. When Banati set out to find Bogdan in the hopes of learning Karla's identity in order to get to Karla and demand that he release his son Leo from custody, Karla arranges for Banati to be eliminated (and when that fails, eventually does the deed himself), and in the end, eliminates his father-figure Bogdan himself. Thus, Smiley, who'd been hoping to learn Karla's identity from Bogdan and use it as leverage, hits a dead end. That's really what the 'Karla's Choice' of the title is - Karla is so committed to his goals, and to the Soviet state, that he chooses to eliminate every trace of his past, including Bogdan, to keep his identity and history secret while he consolidates his power in Moscow Centre.
It's been six weeks since I first read "Karla's choice", so I've been able to forget my initial problems with the book and read it as new. I initially thought that including many names known to us - Mundt, Haydon, Esterhase, Collins and Prideaux, amongst others - was simply name dropping. As it happens, all have a part to play in the book, so including their names is actually foreshadowing. I found the book to be better this time around and enjoyed the typical JlC slow burn of the middle section.
Whilst reading the book, I had the title in mind, and its significance only became clear right at the end. All the time I was wondering when Karla was going to appear and when he was going to make his choice. Whilst I understand titling the book so from a marketing point of view, it's a bit misleading - or misdirecting - from the story's point of view.
Is it a book to which I will return in the future? There are several JlC novels that I have read repeatedly, especially TTSS, The little drummer girl, A perfect spy, and The night manager. There are many novels, especially from the 1990s, that I have read once and probably not even twice: Single and Single, Absolute friends, A delicate truth, The mission song, Our kind of traitor - the names don't roll off my tongue; instead I'm reading those names from a directory listing. I suspect that this novel will sit more in the second camp than in the first.
There was one metaphor that fully captured my attention:
Mundt felt possible worlds opening and closing in front of him like
teeth
(chapter 9). That's a comparison to conjure with.
Internal links
[1] 1857
[2] 1069
| Title | Tags | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 223 | A new Word automation technique | Programming, Delphi, Office automation | |
| 224 | What is the connection between King Crimson and Organisational Behaviour? | Organisation behaviour, King Crimson, MBA | |
| 997 | Biscotti again | Cooking | |
| 1191 | Amos Oz (1939-2018) | Israel, Obituary, RIP | |
| 1454 | Memory upgrade | Computer | |
| 1697 | My army service, part two and a half | Israel, Personal |
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