Extra Vocabulary and a Twist at the Ending
Link any Buckley book, every few pages there is a word that even an experienced reader must look up: "grateful ORISONS of history" p.6, "Something eclatant." p.8, "from his eyrie in Bern" p.9, "De mortuis nil nisi bonum" p. 56, "But then there was the fillip" p. 120, "I am a satyr witness" p. 121, "a nice romantic bowdlerization of the world" p. 129, "the dormer window" p. 143, "full Arab aba gowns" p. 149, "as if a tonsure was his purpose" p. 150, "put on his pince-nez" p. 186, "At first there was just the rebab, p. 194, "any hemidemisemiquaver in the Communist line" p. 197, and my favorite "the placid remains of his ardor" p. 211 -- and many more. The story moves quickly, has reasonable coverage of Angleton's early career in Italy, and includes a very surprising ending that I won't spoil for you. Espionage, betrayal, mystery, violence and of course sex -- all the perfect ingredients for an interesting espionage novel, told only as William can.
