Weekly Words About New Books in

Independent Bookstores

October 20, 2024

A Spymaster's Iconic Agent is Resurrected, and The Barefoot Contessa Makes Memoir Writing Look Easy

Karla's Choice: A John le Carre Novel by Nick Harkaway. "Nick Harkaway" is a pen name used by Nicholas Cornwell, who has had some success, especially with Titanium Noir and other Harkaway-branded dystopian sci fi thrillers. But stepping up to even try on the shoes of arguably the world's top spy writer, John le Carre, seems a bit, um, reckless. And with Karla's Choice, Harkaway also co-opts two of the master's most interesting characters - quintessential British agent George Smiley and his Soviet counterpart Karla. So who does this guy think he is?

So...it turns out John le Carre is a pen name as well, created by David Cornwell, whose youngest son is Nick Cornwell, aka Nick Harkaway. And several years ago when a largely finished le Carre manuscript for a thriller called Silverview was uncovered by the family, it was agreed that Harkaway would do the final polish and guide it through publication. So in answer to the question posited above, the son would probably say he's the perfect guy to continue his father's legacy.

And from all accounts, he does a fine job of it. Harkaway sets his story in the 1960s, the missing decade between two installments of his dad's George Smiley saga, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Here's a brief description:

It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West’s spy war against the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only for a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumor that George Smiley might almost be happy. But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected in the most unusual of circumstances, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple task: interview Szusanna, a Hungarian émigré and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead. 

In it's starred review, Publishers Weekly wrote, "George Smiley returns in this terrific spy saga from John Le Carré’s son . . . Longtime Smiley fans will delight in the enormous cast of familiar characters, the thoughtful meditations on the morality of espionage, and the lived-in tradecraft. [In Karla’s Choice,] Harkaway brilliantly channels his late father’s voice, and in the process delivers an essential new chapter for Smiley and Karla."

Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten. It's no surprise to see Garten's name on bestseller lists. Over the past 25 years, The Barefoot Contessa has been releasing a new cookbook every couple of years - building and sustaining a respected and inviting brand with loyal followers. This year, however, Garten has shifted gears and produced a memoir that chronicles her pretty remarkable story, and her legions of Food Network, Instagram, and Barefoot Contessa cookbook fans are already gobbling it up (sorry).

One of Garten's gifts is her ability to make things look easy, but Be Ready When the Luck Happens reveals that much of what she has accomplished is the result of determination, long hours, and attention to detail. The book doesn't scrimp on her life story, including her difficult childhood and her marriage to Jeffrey, the love of her life, while still in college. She went from a boring bureaucratic job in Washington, D.C., to answering an ad for a specialty food store in the Hamptons, then leapt from being the owner of one Barefoot Contessa shop to author of bestselling cookbooks and a celebrated television host who has taught millions of people how to cook and entertain.

As Kirkus puts it in its review of the book, "Though a good deal of luck often came through for her along the way, Garten's lively memoir emphasizes how hard work and unrelenting tenacity were what made the magic happen. An entertaining foray into this well-loved cooking host's illustrious life."