I liked Grigoriev
is there any hint as to what became of him in any Le Carre novels?
shareDon't know if it said in the novel. I'll hazard a guess. With his coach Karla taken out of the game permanently, Grigoriev will continue to be a diplomat. He might not have quite so many perks as before. He and his wife won't enjoy the same level of luxury. And he might be moved to some other assignment. Ulan Bator, maybe?
shareI doubt if Grigoriev would welcome a posting to Ulan Bator in Mongolia, but wait a minute, there is an alternative that might even please the fearsome Grigorieva at Ulan-Bator-Straße, Erfurt, Deutschland. Had you thought of that?
shareWhy wouldn't he take the offer of a "friendly welcome" in the West?
shareWhy wouldn't he take the offer of a "friendly welcome" in the West?
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I think the author had mined the subject of Smiley as far as he wanted to go. I remember reading or hearing that Smiley had become Alec Guinness’s creature and that he didn’t want to go on with the story line. After all, Karla had been captured. Once the interrogators had finished with him, he would have been handed over to the Americans.
Gregoriev, if he had gone over to the West might well have been given the uniform he so much desired, but he would have been a relatively poor man. Witness the circumstances under which General Vladimir lived where he had to borrow £50 to arrange matters in Hamburg. It appears to me that the tale had reached its natural end and Smiley was put to rest.