Book Information
- Publisher
- Faber & Faber
- Published
- 2016-07-07
- Pages
- 256 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 12.5 x 0.5 x 19.6 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780571326846
- ISBN-10
- 9780571326846
- Price
- 3026 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Mystery & Thrillers/Thrillers/Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
The award-winning debut thriller from the bestselling author of Kolymsky Heights 'Quite simply the best thriller writer around.' Spectator Nicolas Whistler is young, bored and in debt. When an opportunity to make some money arises, he can't turn it down. He is sent to Prague to carry out a simple assignment, but he soon finds himself trapped between the secret police and the clutches of the mysterious Vlasta. Whether he likes it or not, Nicolas is now a spy. 'Fast-moving, exciting, often extraordinarily funny.' Sunday Times 'Brilliant. Don't miss it.' Observer
Lionel Davidson was born in 1922 in Hull, Yorkshire. He left school early and worked as a reporter before serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. His first novel, The Night of Wenceslas , was published in 1960 to great critical acclaim and drew comparisons to Graham Greene and John le Carré. It was followed by The Rose of Tibet (1962), A Long Way to Shiloh (1966), The Chelsea Murders (1978) and Kolymsky Heights (1994). He was thrice the recipient of the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award and, in 2001, was awarded the CWA's Cartier Diamond Dagger lifetime achievement award. He died in 2009.
Reviews
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Entretenida, fácil de leer en inglés. Un poco inocente y cinematográfica. No es Le Carré pero pasas un buen rato.
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His first book (1960), and my first Lionel Davidson read - a result of an article seen in the Telegraph recently. I enjoyed it and WILL go on to the next, though as yet I'm not totally won over. The plot - I think because of an array of Czech names used - threw me at times, but I enjoyed the writing style, the gentle humour of the narrative and the story-telling. For a spy novel it was a different kind of read, but not the usual thrill a minute ride that some books provide. I could make a case for it being all the better for that, a throwback to Graham Greene whose writing I've previously enjoyed. Three and half stars would have been a fairer assessment of the novel, I think, but i have been left with a desire to sample more of Davidson's writing so that alone raises the book's profile for me.
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Well written and evocative of post war Europe. For someone who once went behind the iron curtain, I did not find the underlying tension inherent in everyday activity at all exaggerated. The hero was believably human but I never really believed he was ever in any real danger. And he does get the girl at the end. Not Le Carre but worth the read.
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Avevo già letto Kolimska e mi era piaciuto lo stile intrigante e suggestivo di questo magnifico scrittore. Questo libro, seppure molto diverso, mi ha dato un grande piacere di lettura ed mi ha inchiodato dalla prima all'ultima pagina, lasciandomi alla fine con la certezza di aver letto un grande libro.
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Lionel Davidson is a gifted writer. I had read his book that was set in Siberia and enjoyed that one. This story has lots of good surprises and a very interesting main character. It held my interest so I read it very quickly while traveling.
Related Literary Awards
- CWA KAA Gold Dagger Edition 12 (1966) ・Winner