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zare_i's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book that did not lose anything with the passage of time - everything described in it, from activities of organized crime to the way business sometimes works hand in hand with gangsters in order to raise profits is applicable to our times as it was in late 1930's.
Highly recommended to anyone enjoying a great thriller.
Highly recommended to anyone enjoying a great thriller.
webjoram's review against another edition
4.0
Más allá de la propia historia de esta novela o de sus personajes lo que más me ha gustado de la trama es que a pesar de haber sido escrita hace casi 80 años sigue plenamente vigente hoy día. No es que el autor fuera clarividente sino que el mundo, por desgracia, se mueve por los mismos mecanismos que hace 80 años.
Hablando del libro de en si, la trama no es excesivamente compleja pero esta muy bien resuelta. Con pocos trazos el autor es capaz de describirnos a todos los personajes y además consigue crear un villano creíble, Dimitrios, sin que este aparezca en escena. Me ha resultado una novela muy cinematográfica, ritmo muy alto y sin concesiones a la galería, no existen capítulos de relleno o situaciones de los personajes que no lleven a ninguna parte. Como consecuencia nos encontramos con una novela relativamente corta y que se lee prácticamente sola, ideal para sumergirnos en su lectura en época de vacaciones.
Hablando del libro de en si, la trama no es excesivamente compleja pero esta muy bien resuelta. Con pocos trazos el autor es capaz de describirnos a todos los personajes y además consigue crear un villano creíble, Dimitrios, sin que este aparezca en escena. Me ha resultado una novela muy cinematográfica, ritmo muy alto y sin concesiones a la galería, no existen capítulos de relleno o situaciones de los personajes que no lleven a ninguna parte. Como consecuencia nos encontramos con una novela relativamente corta y que se lee prácticamente sola, ideal para sumergirnos en su lectura en época de vacaciones.
heyimaghost's review against another edition
4.0
When I first sat down to read The Mask of Dimitrios, I though a crime thriller would be just the type of easy reading I needed after the heavier philosophical notions going through my head after reading [b:Siddhartha|52036|Siddhartha|Hermann Hesse|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1428715580s/52036.jpg|4840290] and [b:Barabbas|12890|Barabbas|Pär Lagerkvist|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1416861318s/12890.jpg|1179249] last month. Taking a little over a week to finish though, the novel was more of a slow burn rather than a quick paced thriller. It is, in essence, a detective novel, though not in the "whodunit" sense. It is more the piecing together a puzzle of the man Dimitrios. Those pieces are given to us, and our hero Charles Latimer, through police records and personal accounts by those unlucky enough to have crossed paths with the master criminal.
The story begins with Latimer, an English scholar turned detective novelist, making the acquaintance of Colonel Haki in Istanbul. It is through Haki that Latimer first hears about Dimitrios, as his body has just been found on the shores of the Bosphorous. Haki relates the sparsely known history of the man, and sets Latimer's curiosity running away with him. From Turkey, Latimer follows the trail of Dimitrios into the Balkans, then west to Switzerland and Paris.
The novel is one of ambiguity. Latimer is your typical morally upright Englishman, and as a detective novelist, he views crime as having a beginning, a middle, and a firm conclusion. One of Ambler's goals in the novel is to show the reader, through Latimer, that real-life crime is never that simple. There is an ambiguity to morals, crime, and life in general. I get the distinct feeling that Ambler was using his novel as a critique of the detective novels that came before it, and his sense of realism would be highly influential on the crime literature to follow.
Right before Dimitrios began his criminal career, Europe had been torn apart by the first World War, and just as the novel ends, Europe is primed for another one. It is an amoral world defined by murders, spies, drug peddlers, revolutionaries, and corrupt corporations. Even Colonel Haki has vague rumors of torture in his past, and one of the most enjoyable narrators Latimer meets is a former spy master.
Seeing all this, Latimer is shaken by the end; however, we leave him on a train piecing together the plot to his next detective novel.
The story begins with Latimer, an English scholar turned detective novelist, making the acquaintance of Colonel Haki in Istanbul. It is through Haki that Latimer first hears about Dimitrios, as his body has just been found on the shores of the Bosphorous. Haki relates the sparsely known history of the man, and sets Latimer's curiosity running away with him. From Turkey, Latimer follows the trail of Dimitrios into the Balkans, then west to Switzerland and Paris.
The novel is one of ambiguity. Latimer is your typical morally upright Englishman, and as a detective novelist, he views crime as having a beginning, a middle, and a firm conclusion. One of Ambler's goals in the novel is to show the reader, through Latimer, that real-life crime is never that simple. There is an ambiguity to morals, crime, and life in general. I get the distinct feeling that Ambler was using his novel as a critique of the detective novels that came before it, and his sense of realism would be highly influential on the crime literature to follow.
Right before Dimitrios began his criminal career, Europe had been torn apart by the first World War, and just as the novel ends, Europe is primed for another one. It is an amoral world defined by murders, spies, drug peddlers, revolutionaries, and corrupt corporations. Even Colonel Haki has vague rumors of torture in his past, and one of the most enjoyable narrators Latimer meets is a former spy master.
Seeing all this, Latimer is shaken by the end; however, we leave him on a train piecing together the plot to his next detective novel.
sandin954's review against another edition
3.0
While this is considered a classic of the spy genre and I have enjoyed the author's work before (especially [b:Epitaph for a Spy|46432|Epitaph for a Spy|Eric Ambler|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320388431s/46432.jpg|45555]) I had a hard time finishing this book. The writing style, which was pretty much flashbacks and info dumping, just did not engage me. I did think the overall plot was interesting and found the details of criminal activity in Europe between the wars fascinating though so the book was not a total loss.
barts_books's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent pre-WW2 spy thriller infusing elements of crime, espionage and noir fiction.
A first class read that hasnt dated in the slightest.
A first class read that hasnt dated in the slightest.
qkjgrubb's review
2.0
I'm not sure of a book whose villain doesn't show up to do anything until the last 50 pages of so. I found the plot complicated and our point of view character's motivation a bit unbelievable. I read this book because it was considered by Flavorwire to be one of the 50 best mysteries. I don't see its appeal.
mimika9's review
4.0
What a classic! For anyone who likes mystery/spy stories, thus is one of the best. If you've read any Alan Furst, you'll see Ambler's influence.
alundeberg's review
3.0
Sometimes it's best to let sleeping dogs lie. Charles Latitmer, the mystery writer at the heart of Eric Ambler's "A Coffin for Dimitrios", learns this lesson when on a trip to Istanbul he is shown the dead body of Dimitrios, a notorious drug-dealer, human-trafficker, thief, murderer, and all-around swell guy, and decides to fill in the gaps of the dead man's criminal history. This leads him on a journey to Sofia, Athens, Geneva, and Paris as he finds himself caught in Dimitrios' web of lies. Latimer quickly realizes that writing about crime does not necessarily prepare one for the reality of it as he scrambles to keep one step ahead, or at least keep his head down, and stay alive.
This book is billed as being one of Ambler's best, but I found Latimer to be rather uninteresting and flat and all of the other characters to be unlikable (funnily enough for criminals). The magic of Ambler's stories is the everyman thrust into dangerous situations beyond their control, and while Latimer didn't intend to be swept up into the dead man's affairs, he did walk into them. What kept me reading was the setting: 1920's and 30's Europe in the lull between the wars. Life was much slower, and Latimer has to wait days for letters of introductions or for someone to get back to him with research. There are no TVs or cell phones, so it's just days of sitting in cafes, drinking coffee and reading books, or walking around beautiful cities. The Michelin Guide is the only influencer. It's a nice life.
If you like classic spy novels, then I recommend this. If you are new to Eric Ambler, then I recommend my favorite, "Epitaph for a Spy".
This book is billed as being one of Ambler's best, but I found Latimer to be rather uninteresting and flat and all of the other characters to be unlikable (funnily enough for criminals). The magic of Ambler's stories is the everyman thrust into dangerous situations beyond their control, and while Latimer didn't intend to be swept up into the dead man's affairs, he did walk into them. What kept me reading was the setting: 1920's and 30's Europe in the lull between the wars. Life was much slower, and Latimer has to wait days for letters of introductions or for someone to get back to him with research. There are no TVs or cell phones, so it's just days of sitting in cafes, drinking coffee and reading books, or walking around beautiful cities. The Michelin Guide is the only influencer. It's a nice life.
If you like classic spy novels, then I recommend this. If you are new to Eric Ambler, then I recommend my favorite, "Epitaph for a Spy".