VALPARAISO

by Nicolas Freeling ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 19, 1965

Raymond Kapitan is a singular, unicellular type. He is a latter day remittance man barely subsisting and not quite a part of the shabby, shifting dockside world in Porquerolles off the south of France. His greatest luxury and his obsession is the Olivia, his old, patched together boat. His dream is to take it around Cape Horn to Valparaiso. Nathalie Servay, an actress with private wealth, and a persecution complex about her money, is the first person in many years to penetrate Raymond's private world and dream. He cannot quite believe how important she has become to him and she cannot bring herself to believe that it is anything but her money and what it can do for the Olivia and the Valparaiso venture that interest Raymond. These separate conflicts push the story forward. Freeling is a Dutch master of the psychological thriller whose style (Because of the Cats. Love in Amsterdam) has been compared in these pages to that of Simenon. Once again, the comparison holds true. In casting aside the detective form, just as Simenon does, he has produced a short book whose action is compelled by a superbly motivated set of strongly drawn characters and types.

Pub Date: May 19, 1965

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1965

Categories: FICTION