THE IMPOSTOR

by Edmund Keeley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 1969

It might be hard to classify this as more than a sinuous entertainment but Mr. Keeley's novel (cf. his last, The Gold-Hatted Lover) moves with circular and diversionary elements of surprise and it is also covert in its entrapment. The impostor, a ""vicarious man of the world, liver of other men's choices"" is Sam Kean, unable to commit himself and therefore guilty by default. He joins the C.I.A., ostensibly to write a book about and against it; he appropriates another man's wife in England, lives with her in the south of France, escapes to Italy where he loses her to another man, and retreats alone to Greece where he hopes to effect his moral catharsis. Alone. But soon he's encroached on by a young Greek, Jim, who caters everything including the evasive Stella; suspects that he's being pursued by a priest; never solves the particulars of his situation but finds the murdered Jim and Stella in his apartment; and after running further, reaches the terminal cut-off point. . . . You'll like the scenic effects; you'll like Sam Kean, however self-deceiving and self-justifying; and you'll like the novel which offers a kind of elegant suspense with sophisticated accessories and occasional afterthoughts.

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1969

Categories: FICTION