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The seduction agent
Paperback
Published January 1, 1969
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About the author
Bernard Glemser
47 books4 followersBernard Glemser was born in England, worked for the BBC, served in the Royal Air Force during WWII, and served as a Cultural Officer at the British Embassy. He became an American citizen after living in the United States for a decade.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 19, 2022
Originally entitled My Dear Hungarian Friend, Bernard Glemser’s The Seduction Agent is a speculative espionage thriller with exactly zero thrills and that includes the extended seduction and sex scene which occurs midway through the 200-odd pages.
Kate Emory is an acclaimed New York philosophical writer about to embark on a state funded lecture tour of Japan, which in reality is a front for her translator to spy on the neo-Marxist associations gaining political ground in the Far East. This brings her to the attention of the Soviets, and unwittingly she falls in love with Stefan Gerhardi, a Hungarian attaché whose reputation with the ladies sweeps all before him. Initially Kate rebuffs his approaches. He’d be considered a stalker by today’s standards and his manner and persistence lacks subtlety and grace. The heroine’s loneliness is the only excuse Glemser can concoct as to why these two ill-matched individuals should end up bed mates. The speed of the unfolding relationship takes one’s breath away. It wasn’t so much involving as completely detached from any reality I’ve experienced. Perhaps the world of New York in the mid-sixties really was a whirl wind of well-mannered parties, but frankly I doubt it. The longer the story went on and the more atrocious Gerhardi’s selfish behaviour became, the less I believed in anything. The lack of any excitement didn’t help. I finished it at a canter simply to get the thing dealt with, not sure throughout what sort of book I was reading. The worst offence was the dialogue, torturously long winded and lacking any nuances in tone or texture. Gerhardi’s over effusive manner didn’t feel real; most people would consider him a jerk – even in the sixties – and I doubt he’d ever pull a woman by being so obnoxious.
A drab little affair.
Kate Emory is an acclaimed New York philosophical writer about to embark on a state funded lecture tour of Japan, which in reality is a front for her translator to spy on the neo-Marxist associations gaining political ground in the Far East. This brings her to the attention of the Soviets, and unwittingly she falls in love with Stefan Gerhardi, a Hungarian attaché whose reputation with the ladies sweeps all before him. Initially Kate rebuffs his approaches. He’d be considered a stalker by today’s standards and his manner and persistence lacks subtlety and grace. The heroine’s loneliness is the only excuse Glemser can concoct as to why these two ill-matched individuals should end up bed mates. The speed of the unfolding relationship takes one’s breath away. It wasn’t so much involving as completely detached from any reality I’ve experienced. Perhaps the world of New York in the mid-sixties really was a whirl wind of well-mannered parties, but frankly I doubt it. The longer the story went on and the more atrocious Gerhardi’s selfish behaviour became, the less I believed in anything. The lack of any excitement didn’t help. I finished it at a canter simply to get the thing dealt with, not sure throughout what sort of book I was reading. The worst offence was the dialogue, torturously long winded and lacking any nuances in tone or texture. Gerhardi’s over effusive manner didn’t feel real; most people would consider him a jerk – even in the sixties – and I doubt he’d ever pull a woman by being so obnoxious.
A drab little affair.
Displaying 1 of 1 review