The Mysteries of Algiers [Hardcover]

Robert Irwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 1988

Autobiography of growing up in Bombay and Oxbridge in the 1950s.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (October 3, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670818224
• ISBN-13: 978-0670818228
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,533,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Thriller, September 3, 1999

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mysteries of Algiers (Contemporary English Language) (Paperback)

This vastly interesting thriller takes place over several months in 1959-60 in Algeria, at the height of the struggle for liberation from France (1954-62). It would certainly be useful to familiarize oneself with the history of Algeria's colonization by France, and especially the fight for independence (at the very least, rent "The Battle of Algiers" which will get you in the right mood). The story centers on a French army officer who turns out to be an agent for the FLN, his exposure by his neo-fascist lover, and his attempt to go underground. The book is highly effective at showing both the underbelly of the fight for liberation and its flip side on the French side. It's also a believable portrait of a committed Marxist and his adversaries.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not your usual political thriller, May 10, 2003

By 

David Group (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mysteries of Algiers (Contemporary English Language) (Paperback)

Anyone looking for a James Bond thrill-ride should look elsewhere. True, there are bursts of intense violence and daring, but this is novel is closer in spirit to Albert Camus or Graham Green in that it is an intense psychological study of a fanatical Marxist out to do real damage in French Algiers circa 1959-1960. Some of the situations stretch credulity, but the atmosphere is vivid and convincing and the characters realistically disturbing. There are even some debates about Marxism that are quite interesting and thought-provoking. The ending, however, is a bit puzzling.