A Gentle Occupation - Softcover

Bogarde, Dirk

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0586053603 ISBN 13: 9780586053607

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 1981

Synopsis

Set in the Dutch East Indies immediately after World War II, this story of loyalty, honor, and betrayal focuses on an English soldier, the girl of mixed blood he loves, an aging general, and a woman determined to survive

About this title

About the Author:

Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death In Venice. As well as completing six novels, Bogarde wrote several volumes of autobiography. Between 1947 and 1991, Bogarde made more than sixty films. For over two decades he lived in Italy and France, where he began to write seriously. In 1985 he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of St Andrews and in 1990 was promoted to Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. Sir Dirk Bogarde has a legion of fans to this day - an extraordinary commitment to an extraordinary man.

From Library Journal:

After a prestigious film career that in-cludes The Servant (1963) and Death in Venice (1971), British actor Dirk Bogard has forged a successful second career with a four-volume autobiography, several novels, and a book of letters. He is a highly talented wordsmith, and this story of British soldiers trying to pacify civil strife in Southeast Asia after World War II has the makings of a first-rate novel. Bogard's eye for detail is sharp, his vignettes of colonial life are convincing, and he has an unhurried approach that places him in the best line of British storytelling. Unfortunately, despite a large and colorful cast of characters, all superbly rendered by British actor Timothy West, there is not a compelling central figure upon whom to focus the action. As Bogard is addicted to giving biographical background, often in chatty conversations that have the ring of British soaps, most of the characters seem to serve no story but their own. Bogard is working in the tradition of Forster's A Passage to India (1924), Orwell's Burmese Days (1934), and the novels of Graham Greene, but this attempt falls far short of those masters. Not recommended.
Peter Josyph, New York
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Publication date: 1981
• ISBN 10: 0586053603
• ISBN 13: 9780586053607
• Binding: Paperback