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ianl1963's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent and only improved upon by Michael Jayston narrating. Le Carre read by Michael Jayston is a delight.
rschmidt7's review against another edition
4.0
A great adventure/fugitive story set in the 1930s that follows an English hunter who takes it in his head to attempt an assassination on an unnamed dictator (Hitler? Stalin? You decide). He's caught in the act before page 1, and the book follows his flight from his pursuers. A little slow and convoluted in places, but a quick read at only about 180 pages. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys British espionage/adventure novels.
rocketiza's review against another edition
3.0
The style of writing from this time period isn't my favorite.
sloatsj's review against another edition
4.0
I love books where the hunted digs a hole in the ground or hillside and hides there with his supplies. I also have the urge to burrow, so I’m enthralled by the measurements from floor to ceiling, what the walls are made of, the tools, food, as well as the methods of going to the bathroom and enjoying a cozy fire without suffocating oneself. Such a going to ground is a particular fantasy of mine (and also one of the reasons I also liked JM Coetzee’s “Life and Times of Michael K.") and surely one of the reasons I enjoyed "Rogue Male."
I don’t usually like “suspense novels.” When I’ve taken a shot at reading such masculine action/chase novels, I’ve rarely had any luck, always throwing them aside as mere testosterone-charging entertainment. So why was this one successful? Certainly not because the protagonist is more genteel than the usual suspects, since there are plenty of genteel spies, hunters and murderers in UK fiction. Was he more introspective? No, not particularly, although he does have an interrogation-induced epiphany close to the end. To be honest, I didn’t even sympathize with the main character that much. Still I enjoyed the hunt, the resolution, the outdoorsiness and of course the architectural feat.
I don’t usually like “suspense novels.” When I’ve taken a shot at reading such masculine action/chase novels, I’ve rarely had any luck, always throwing them aside as mere testosterone-charging entertainment. So why was this one successful? Certainly not because the protagonist is more genteel than the usual suspects, since there are plenty of genteel spies, hunters and murderers in UK fiction. Was he more introspective? No, not particularly, although he does have an interrogation-induced epiphany close to the end. To be honest, I didn’t even sympathize with the main character that much. Still I enjoyed the hunt, the resolution, the outdoorsiness and of course the architectural feat.
johnnyforeign's review against another edition
5.0
"Rogue Male" is a superb story superbly written. I can't think of another book like it, at least not one that I've read. It can't be called a spy novel or a crime novel, but I guess it comes closest to those two genres. We never learn the name of the first person narrator, but what a wonderful narrator he is. Witty, clever, insightful, urbane, complicated, and unsparingly honest. The novel also features first-rate plotting and a graceful style; and, unlike most thrillers--if you want to call it that--it has an artful literary quality, which makes it all the more enjoyable.
bhaines's review against another edition
I think this was really fun. Silly premis, the guy gets up to some real dramatic hijinks, classic spy stuff. But also tense psychological thriller stuff, character development, coherent philosophy, an important cat. Better written than something like this might need to be.
> Asmodeus' affection had been of so much harder price than that of a creature which one has fed and brought up from birth. Our companionship had a stern quality, as of the deep love between two people who have met in middle age, each looking back to an utterly unshared and independent life.
Main character was a real stereotypical gentleman in a funny way.
> I have asked myself once or twice since why I didn't leave the rifle behind. I think the answer is that it wouldn't have been cricket.
> Asmodeus' affection had been of so much harder price than that of a creature which one has fed and brought up from birth. Our companionship had a stern quality, as of the deep love between two people who have met in middle age, each looking back to an utterly unshared and independent life.
Main character was a real stereotypical gentleman in a funny way.
> I have asked myself once or twice since why I didn't leave the rifle behind. I think the answer is that it wouldn't have been cricket.
jessetrex's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jimmypat's review against another edition
1.0
Dull and tedious- I just didn’t care about this at all.