WORLD WITHOUT VISA

Marseilles, just before the German occupation, but under Vichy control, as the amphitheatre for a long, widely-sealed novel of human dislocation and degradation. Here, in a maelstrom of pursuit and evasion, all are marked with the stigmata of fear; from the old Italian Colonel with a Durer to sell, to his granddaughter, Gervaise, who under the name of Karen has herself to sell to the Vichy official Pontillac; from the revolutionary fugitive from the OGPU to the various employees of a candy factory; from Smith, the American, who assists intellectuals to escape and forfeits all to that end, to Marc, whose love for Anne-Marie does not restrict his activities in the resistance; etc. etc. The canvas here is a considerable one, with some fifty odd characters, necessitating close attention from the reader, dissipating too the cumulative effect. Notwithstanding, this carries both significance and stature.