Contango

by James Hilton

The idea of this book is that of a single thread of chance touching first one life, and thus another and another and another, nine in all--each link in the chain being only incidentally aware of that preceding or following it. The trail begins with sudden death and then murder in the far east; leaps to comedy--real comedy--in Switzerland; crosses the Channel to commercial speculation in England; reappears romantically in Hollywood and then tragically in South America; and after an interlude in New York returns to Europe--Geneva and England's countryside--for the final scenes. What is notable throughout is Mr. Hilton's able handling of every type of subject, character and background. The mentality of a Hollywood film star, a Catholic priest, a Soviet envoy, a British businessman or statesman--he takes them all in his stride, and his knowledge of places, of professions, of arts and industries, are always adequate. It is a volume offering unusual and quality of entertainment.

Genres: Fiction

220 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

James Hilton was an English novelist and screenwriter. He is best remembered for his novels Lost Horizon, Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Random Harvest, as well as co-writing screenplays for the films Camille (1936) and Mrs. Miniver (1942), the latter earning him an Academy Award.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a series of short stories interconnected with each other.

3* Lost Horizon (1933)
3* So Well Remembered (1945)
5* The Passionate Year (1924)
4* Terry (1927)
4* Catherine Herself (1920)
4* Good-Bye, Mr. Chips (1934)
4* The Meadows of the moon (1927)
4* Morning Journey (1951)
5* Random Harvest (1941)
4* Nothing So Strange (1947)
4* Time and Time Again (1953)
2* Knight Without Armor (1935)
3.5* To You Mr. Chips (1938)
4* The Dawn of Reckoning (Rage in Heaven) (1925)
2* Contango (Ill Wind) (1932)
TR We Are Not Alone (1937)
TR Twilight of the Wise
TR Storm passage (1922)

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this little gem, and went straight back to the beginning and am reading it again, mostly for this review. Not many people have rated it and no one has reviewed, so here I go with plans to update this after the second reading. This. Is. An. Excellent. Book! (Are you getting tired of that "emphasis" punctuation? Me, too, but I wanted to make my point.) As I read from one short story to the next, I kept trying to find stand-out sentences that I could quote as examples of great writing. I gave up because there were too many. Here is a textbook on how to write such that each sentence contributes to moving the story along. I don't think there's a way to condense or summarize any of it. (Second reading - no updates, still a great book.)

[Gary Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite author of mine. A favorite book, Lost Horizon was also written by Hilton. And I've been looking for a good copy of this for years, finally settling for a cheap paperback from a US Army library. I have all his other books in hardcover and will still search for this one. A story of nine individuals linked together, their stories woven into a lovely narrative. Hilton is still a well deserved favorite. I wish he had lived longer, written more.

[Mike Barat · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF