" 

 ======================================================== 
 ABSOLUTELY STUPID. 

 The article begins with: ""The Secret Pilgrim is the 1990 novel, set within the frame narrative of a series of lectures by John le Carré's George Smiley..."" 

 Dumb. The novel describes ONE NIGHT of Smiley's remarks. The remarks prompt a series of recollections by the narrator (a younger colleague of Smiley)."