John le Carre’s son, Nick Harkaway, has written a new instalment in spy George Smiley’s story…
Fiction
1. Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway is published in hardback by Viking. Available October 24th
A Russian agent, a missing man, and George Smiley on a reluctant mission.
Nick Harkaway’s Karla's Choice is an extraordinary new addition to John le Carré's iconic spy saga.
Pre-order now - https://t.co/ZBJ3AGw01d#KarlasChoice #GeorgeSmiley #JohnLeCarre pic.twitter.com/p1khgI0fxA— Viking Books UK (@VikingBooksUK) October 8, 2024
The late John le Carre’s cast of spies are back for a new caper set in the aftermath of the classic Cold War novel, The Spy That Came In From The Cold. It is 1963 and George Smiley and his Circus friends return to the front line where the laughing ghost of Alec Leamas taunts and challenges them to do better. At the heart of the story is a father’s search for his missing son who has disappeared on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Karla’s Choice, penned by le Carre’s son Nick Harkaway, is shot through with shadowy glimpses of loss and a foreboding sense that some things cannot be undone, and not everyone can be saved. Harkaway is pitch-perfect, perhaps in a way that only a close relative could be in capturing the beating heart of le Carre’s world. This is a brave and poignant tribute from a son to his father and ensures that the much-loved le Carre legacy lives on.
9/10
(Review by Emily Pennink)
2. Gliff by Ali Smith is published in hardback by Hamish Hamilton. Available October 31st
Once upon a time not very far from now, two children come home to find a line of red paint encircling their house…
And so begins the story in ALI SMITH’s glorious new novel Gliff. Coming next month from Hamish Hamilton pic.twitter.com/bcsnbHMXlL— Simon Prosser (@HamishH1931) September 19, 2024
Gliff is a Scottish word that can mean a fright, a moment, or a glance. Or in Ali Smith’s latest novel, a grey horse. Following her seasonal quartet which reflected on Brexit, the pandemic and a changing Britain, comes the first of two connected but independent novels – Glyph will follow next year – that look forward into a sinister new age in which language and ideas can be your downfall, and in which people are either verified or unverified. Those trying to resist – like siblings Briar and Rose – must navigate a narrowing path as they decide who to trust. Smith has created a dystopian world, but one which remains totally accessible to the reader. As she takes aim at some of the more worrying aspects of the modern digital information world, Smith’s weapon of choice is sublime wordplay, a tribute to language and its possibilities.
9/10
(Review by Ian Parker)
3. Juice by Tim Winton is published in hardback by Picador. Available now
Juice is out now! From twice Booker-shortlisted author Tim Winton, Juice is a page-turning epic about survival and resilience.
'Juice is a masterful story for the ages’ - The Guardian pic.twitter.com/FByLD3MPceAdvertisement— David Higham Books (@DHAbooks) October 17, 2024
Juice sees Australian author Tim Winton take an entirely new direction, away from the gritty realism of everyday life in books like Cloudstreet. It sees an unnamed narrator recounting the story of his life – growing up with his hardworking mother in farming country, as the weather becomes increasingly unbearable and oppressive, forcing them underground for half a year. He’s recruited by rebel forces and sees the truth – that the climate crisis was manmade by his ancestors. It’s a sweeping epic, one that is gripping and extraordinarily well written. While it’s overly long, and towards the end the climate crisis warnings are perhaps a bit laboured (when they don’t need to be, that’s the whole point of the book), it’s a labour of love for Winton that’s well and truly paid off.
8/10
(Review by Prudence Wade)
Non-fiction
4. The Genetic Book Of The Dead by Richard Dawkins is published in hardback by Apollo. Available now
Renowned evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has been espousing his belief that genetics are the cradle of life ever since his highly influential 1976 work The Selfish Gene. In The Genetic Book Of The Dead, Dawkins explores the idea that in the future, advanced technology might help us ‘read’ details of human and animals’ lives in the distant past from DNA contained in fossils. While much of the heavy science may go over the casual reader’s head, there are so many quirky zoological facts, poetic passages of prose and beautiful illustrations by Jana Lenzova that this is well worth examining.
7/10
(Review by James Cann)
Children’s book of the week
5. The Search for Carmella by Chloe Savage is published in hardback by Walker Books,. Available November 7th
The Search For Carmella is hotly anticipated, considering author-illustrator Chloe Savage’s last offering, The Search For The Giant Arctic Jellyfish, won the best illustrated book gong at the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2024. And Savage doesn’t disappoint, with the entrancing tale of Dr Rose – a little girl obsessed with rock pools, who grows up to be a marine biologist. Dr Rose takes us on a journey to find Carmella – a mysterious sea creature rumoured to live in the depths of the ocean. Diving beneath the depths in a sub, Dr Rose and her team encounter plenty of incredible things along the way – but will she find Carmella? The story has a magical quality that will set any child’s imagination on fire – but it’s extra special that it’s totally grounded in science, and puts a female scientist at its heart.
8/10
(Review by Lily Rose)
BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 19th
HARDBACK (FICTION)
1. Midnight And Blue by Ian Rankin
2. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
3. Friends Of Dorothy by Sandi Toksvig
4. Januaries by Olivie Blake
5. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
6. Odyssey by Stephen Fry
7. Precipice by Robert Harris
8. Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood
9. The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer
10. When The Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
(Compiled by Waterstones)
HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)
1. I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You by Miranda Hart
2. Unleashed by Boris Johnson
3. A History Of Britain In Ten Enemies by Terry Deary
4. Simply Jamie by Jamie Oliver
5. What I Ate In One Year by Stanley Tucci
6. Guinness World Records 2025
7. From Here To The Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley & Riley Keough
8. Sonny Boy by Al Pacino
9. Want: Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous, compiled by Gillian Anderson
10. Women Living Deliciously by Florence Given
(Compiled by Waterstones)
AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)
1. I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You by Miranda Hart
2. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
3. Unleashed by Boris Johnson
4. Odyssey by Stephen Fry
5. The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer
6. Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
7. Atomic Habits by James Clear
8. Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari
9. Sonny Boy by Al Pacino
10. Crypt by Alice Roberts
(Compiled by Audible)
