Ashenden
The British Agent
by W. Somerset Maugham
Should I read this?
appears in Spy, Mystery & Crime, and Fiction.
Fact is a poor storyteller as Maugham reminds us. Fact starts a story at random, rambles on inconsequently and tails off, leaving loose ends, without a conclusion. It works up to an interesting situation, has no sense of climax and whittles away its dramatic effects in irrelevance. While some novelists believe this is a proper model for fiction, M...
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Why recommended
appears in Spy, Mystery & Crime, and Fiction.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
No verified recommendation proof available yet.
Appears In
Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider Diary of a Dead Man on Leave by David Downing.
“Delivers a quiet, tense portrait of a single man trying to live under an encroaching regime. Detailed period atmosphere and close interior narration are the main value: you'll feel the small domestic choices acquire political weight. The main limitation is pace — scenes lean toward mood and moral wrestling rather than plot propulsion — which will frustrate readers expecting a propulsive spy thriller. Best read when you want atmosphere and ethical gray areas more than chase scenes.”
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How recommendation signals are reviewed
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.
Ashenden
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