Sam Brigger

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Carla's Choice takes place in 1963, between Le Carre's novels The Spy Who Came In From the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Smiley has retired from the circus, the nickname for the British Overseas Intelligence Agency, after an agent and his lover were killed in East Berlin, their lives sacrificed for the success of a mission, a decision Smiley initially agreed to but has come to regret.

But Smiley is called back into service by his boss, known as Control, to conduct one simple interview.

However, that leads to much more than he bargained for.

The story also serves as the origin story of Smiley's nemesis in the KGB, known only as Carla.

This is Nick Harkaway's first George Smiley novel, but his eighth overall.

They include Tigerman, Noman, and Titanium Noir.

So Nick Harkaway, welcome to Fresh Air.

Hello.

Tell me, how did you decide to write a George Smiley novel and why now?

It must have been a pretty daunting task, though, when you decided to go ahead to actually start writing this book.

What were some of the things in your head that you thought about that sort of overrode the anxiety or fear about writing this that you were really excited to try to do in the novel?

Let's talk a little bit about George Smiley.

He's physically unremarkable.

He's this pudgy, middle-aged guy who you'd likely forget if you saw him in a crowd, and that's in part intentional.

One character, when first meeting him, thinks he has more like the personality of a green grocer rather than a spymaster.

And not how she would imagine what a spy was like.

And you write, he has a wit so dry that many people miss it and mistake it for dullness.