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rufferto's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable read. Highly recommended. Whipped through it in a couple days.
jessicabrazeal's review against another edition
4.0
This is my second of William Boyd’s novels after ‘Any Human Heart,’ which I loved and highly recommend. This more recent publication was almost as good for me. A spy novel set during WWI, I love the characters that Boyd develops and they way he can suck me into the world and setting the book takes place in. 4 out of 5 stars.
abetterjulie's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a layered, intriguing read. The end was satisfying, but not in a way I expected at all. The suspense that builds is wonderful. There were a few times when I wanted to smack the main character for his flaws, and then other times when I wanted to hug him in joy and relief. There are some dull spots that took up a few pages.
taetris's review against another edition
3.0
I moved this up on my tbr list because I read and really liked Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd. This one is not quite as good. The first part of the novel is set in Vienna, where Lysander Rief has moved to tackle a personal problem. The second part is in London, during the first World War, in which Rief takes part. In the second part, the book turns into a twisty spy-thriller.
The two parts seemed very much divorced from one another. There was a connection at the end, but it never came together like the timelines did in Brazzaville Beach.
I liked the atmosphere of the first part, while the second dragged a little. Giving it three stars because Boyd really can write.
The two parts seemed very much divorced from one another. There was a connection at the end, but it never came together like the timelines did in Brazzaville Beach.
I liked the atmosphere of the first part, while the second dragged a little. Giving it three stars because Boyd really can write.
kate_in_a_book's review against another edition
4.0
The cover quotes and blurb call this a “spy thriller” but that’s really only the last third of the book (though in retrospect a lot of the earlier sections of the book become part of the spy stuff). Really this is the story of how an ordinary Englishman becomes a spy. Which is in itself fascinating and unusual. The story begins in 1913 in Vienna, where actor Lysander Rief is frittering away his wealthy stepfather’s money on seeing a psychiatrist and living a generally leisurely life. He’s engaged to an actress back home but when he meets the alluring sculptor Hettie Bull, a romantic entanglement is clearly in their future. This is the first step in a complex web of lies, scandal and deceit.
It’s a fun read. Lysander is a frustrating hero but he is also believable despite having many of the necessary skills to be a really good spy. It takes a while of being a very different book first, but it does become a rollicking adventure with satisfying action and twists. I stayed up far too late reading on. And the prose is excellent too.
- See more at: http://www.noseinabook.co.uk/2016/02/11/recent-reads-winter
It’s a fun read. Lysander is a frustrating hero but he is also believable despite having many of the necessary skills to be a really good spy. It takes a while of being a very different book first, but it does become a rollicking adventure with satisfying action and twists. I stayed up far too late reading on. And the prose is excellent too.
- See more at: http://www.noseinabook.co.uk/2016/02/11/recent-reads-winter
zelbel2016's review against another edition
3.0
Where does one start in about this book. Well perhaps we should start with the protagonist Lysander Rief, an incredible young author with an extradinary problem. A problem or a rather sexual nature...
Our Mr. Rief cannot seem to have an orgasm.
Seeking help for his affliction, Lysander journeys to Germany to speak to a specialist. Once there he meets the beautiful young women who completely transforms his life, Hettie. What follows is a whirl wind of a romance that not only cure's Lysander's problem but also causes him to fall head over in heels in love with this strange and dangerous women. Everything is fine and dandy, the affair an incredible experience in till Hettie's Husband finds out. In a leap of fear Hettie accuses Lysander of rape, and names him the father of her to be born child.
Suddenly a criminal Lysander is sent on the run fleeing Germany and returning to the country of the origin. However while Lysandaer was wrapped in his affair, the world was entering war, and Lysander is thrown into role of agent solving ciphers whilst still figuring out his romance life.
This is an excellent book. I really enjoyed reading it. However It was incredibly fast paced in the beginning and slowed down at the end. I don't know if I enjoyed this pacing, it made the ending a bit drab
Anyway best readings and good luck with meeting those end of the year goals.
Our Mr. Rief cannot seem to have an orgasm.
Seeking help for his affliction, Lysander journeys to Germany to speak to a specialist. Once there he meets the beautiful young women who completely transforms his life, Hettie. What follows is a whirl wind of a romance that not only cure's Lysander's problem but also causes him to fall head over in heels in love with this strange and dangerous women. Everything is fine and dandy, the affair an incredible experience in till Hettie's Husband finds out. In a leap of fear Hettie accuses Lysander of rape, and names him the father of her to be born child.
Suddenly a criminal Lysander is sent on the run fleeing Germany and returning to the country of the origin. However while Lysandaer was wrapped in his affair, the world was entering war, and Lysander is thrown into role of agent solving ciphers whilst still figuring out his romance life.
This is an excellent book. I really enjoyed reading it. However It was incredibly fast paced in the beginning and slowed down at the end. I don't know if I enjoyed this pacing, it made the ending a bit drab
Anyway best readings and good luck with meeting those end of the year goals.
a_lovesbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I found the book rather slow-going and sometimes downright boring. It started out with Lysander going to therapy, which was interesting, and meeting Hettie. Yet I feel like you never really know the characters and feel with them. It's like you're never able to get inside the plot or the characters. It did pick up a bit towards the end but that's not enough for me.