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paul_cornelius's review
5.0
Set in a fictional Southeast Asian country undergoing a coup, State of Siege is a pure action adventure novel. But it's one with clear political overtones. If we are to take the discussions between Steve Fraser, a British engineer who is the protagonist of this story, and his interlocutor, Major Suparto, as the voice of the author, then it's clear that Ambler is pessimistic about the short term outlook for newly independent countries emerging from colonial rule. The choice, here, is between a corrupt and incompetent government and a corrupt and fanatical one. Neither one has the answers for the people of the country. But at least the incumbent government might allow for the eventual development of a mature somewhat peaceful and semi-liberal state. Why? Because its incompetence will give a chance for new and reasonable elements of society to emerge.
Clearly, Ambler had his finger on the pulse of what was happening in Southeast Asia during the 1950s. This novel, which mirrors much of what had and was going to happen in Indonesia, sees the danger of falling into the competing ideological camps of major political powers. And it also echoes the concerns Ambler explored in another later novel set in Southeast Asia, Passage of Arms, which was published just two years later, in 1959. There, a Communist rebellion made possible gun running and the pursuit of an anti-Communist Islamic revolution. The humor, irony, and wit of Passage of Arms, however, doesn't exist in State of Siege, which is charged with melancholy, especially towards the end. Yet it's a story you don't want to end. Why? Because of the love story Ambler puts in place to foreground his tale. The bitterness of Fraser's ultimate departure from the Sundan Eurasian woman he meets, Rosalie, is sharp and sudden. The reader wants more. But of more there is none to be had.
Clearly, Ambler had his finger on the pulse of what was happening in Southeast Asia during the 1950s. This novel, which mirrors much of what had and was going to happen in Indonesia, sees the danger of falling into the competing ideological camps of major political powers. And it also echoes the concerns Ambler explored in another later novel set in Southeast Asia, Passage of Arms, which was published just two years later, in 1959. There, a Communist rebellion made possible gun running and the pursuit of an anti-Communist Islamic revolution. The humor, irony, and wit of Passage of Arms, however, doesn't exist in State of Siege, which is charged with melancholy, especially towards the end. Yet it's a story you don't want to end. Why? Because of the love story Ambler puts in place to foreground his tale. The bitterness of Fraser's ultimate departure from the Sundan Eurasian woman he meets, Rosalie, is sharp and sudden. The reader wants more. But of more there is none to be had.
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