From Library Journal
After a prestigious film career that in-cludes The Servant (1963) and Death in Venice (1971), British actor Dirk Bogard has forged a successful second career with a four-volume autobiography, several novels, and a book of letters. He is a highly talented wordsmith, and this story of British soldiers trying to pacify civil strife in Southeast Asia after World War II has the makings of a first-rate novel. Bogard's eye for detail is sharp, his vignettes of colonial life are convincing, and he has an unhurried approach that places him in the best line of British storytelling. Unfortunately, despite a large and colorful cast of characters, all superbly rendered by British actor Timothy West, there is not a compelling central figure upon whom to focus the action. As Bogard is addicted to giving biographical background, often in chatty conversations that have the ring of British soaps, most of the characters seem to serve no story but their own. Bogard is working in the tradition of Forster's A Passage to India (1924), Orwell's Burmese Days (1934), and the novels of Graham Greene, but this attempt falls far short of those masters. Not recommended.
Peter Josyph, New York
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
Peter Josyph, New York
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
