Figures in a Landscape

by Barry England

Two soldiers have escaped from a column of prisoners of war, with one gun and a few rounds of ammunition. Their most important resource being their instinct to survive. Safety is 400 miles away, across savage country but all the time they are pursued by a helicopter which hovers overhead. From the author of NO MAN'S LAND.

Genres: Fiction, War, Thriller, Audiobook, Classics, British Literature, Contemporary

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Barry England was an English novelist and playwright. He is chiefly known for his 1969 thriller, Figures in a Landscape, which was nominated for the inaugural Booker Prize.

Reviews

[AC · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book that has fallen quite off the radar, but which deserves some love. For me it was a three-star, but others may like it more. England (who did not published much) is definitely a writer's writer, and the work shows craftsmanship.

Two men have escaped from what appears to be a death march in an unnamed (presumably) Asian country during an unnamed (presumably Second World) war. They spend two hundred pages climbing over rocks, in an arduous trek, pursued by "Goons" and a black helicopter. The film (1970) featured Malcolm MacDowell, as the younger of the two escapees. It is an example of so-called "escape" or "fugitive" literature. For me this gets a bit tedious, since rocks don't much interest me, and tension of this sort (undeniable in the book) works better (in my opinion) in film than in prose. It's a lot harder to spring a surprise in a non-visual, verbal medium. But England is a good writer, and most of my GR friends are better and more patient readers of fiction than I am. So I'll bump it up a star.





The cover art here is by the illustrator, Tom Adams, who did cover art for Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, John Fowles, and others: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Adam....

His Chandler art is interesting. See http://www.catspawdynamics.com/raymon...




He also did a Lou Reed album cover and much else:





I found this book by rooting around on goodreads under Booker shortlists. It was a debut novel (for England), and nominated for the inaugural Booker in 1968, losing to the rather unmemorable (and wholly forgettable, apparently) Something to Answer For by a certain P.H. Newby.



England's book, on the other hand, looked interesting, and so I put it on my kindle and promptly forgot about it.

But then the other day I was reading up on Don Carpenter's Fridays at Enrico's, which has just come out. This book was left unfinished at Carpenter's death (by suicide), and was recently unearthed and "completed" by Jonathan Lethem -- who added, it seems, a few bridge paragraphs (and maybe a little more). When asked at the end of an interview about other neglected and forgotten novels that he'd recommend, Lethem mentioned this one (Barry England), and so I read it. Here's the interview:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/lincolnmichel...

Carpenter's book is definitely one I'll want to check out.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two POWs are on the run from a nameless enemy in a nameless (and very hot) country. A black helicopter pursues them at every turn. Will they get away, and where can they go anyway? As this outline suggests, 'Figures in a Landscape' isn't long on plot. It isn't long on character either - one soldier is experienced and resourceful, the other is younger, initially rather naïve but grows in stature as the novel progresses. There's no back story to speak of; we are carried along by the duo as they battle on across inhospitable terrain. It's all a bit like Andy McNab might be if he modelled his novels on Camus or Kafka, but the overwhelming influence for me was W.H. Auden. His poems and plays of the 1930s, with their cast of mysterious helmeted airmen, symbolic landscapes and frontiers seems here to collide with the trappings of a chase thriller (e.g. Household's 'Rogue Male'). It's a very odd mix, and the result seems like an unresolved allegory - the story implies it has an existential turn too, but far too much of it is about running about in blazing fields or having blisters. It's good to see the corporeal realities of warfare getting stressed in the way they are throughout, but it is reminiscent of being hit over the head again and again with a tin tray (as I was in the orphanage). There are also times when the dialogue is simply too theatrical (again, shades of 'Journey to the Frontier' or 'The Ascent of F6'). The relentless pace was exhausting too, eventually becoming tedious rather than exciting. Just another 100 pages to go, I told myself, having a slurp of cold soup, a gulp of water and plodding onwards. Just another 99 pages...

[Michael Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't been engrossed in a book like this since I was a teenager. Reading is one of life's greatest pleasures.

[Paul Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Panther Books Ltd.] (1975). SB. Reprint. Remaindered. 206 Pages. Purchased from ‘Goldstone Books’.

This, Barry England’s first novel, was nominated for the 1969 Booker Prize. It ultimately, sadly, lost out to P. H. Newby’s “Something to Answer For”.

A tense and violent fugitive tale – breathlessly told – set within a largely unexplained framework. It is an enthralling adventure with Kafkaesque and (isolated) grimly comical elements.

“Wherever they walked in the valley, they walked with death…”

“‘We can try. What’s the point? Come to that, what’s the point of any of it?’”

“‘Why should we worry? …we are already dead…’”

Filmed in 1970, starring Robert Shaw (MacConnachie) and Malcolm McDowell (Ansell). The former wrote the screenplay; transforming England’s novel. I enjoyed watching this one night, in the ‘80s, on British television - well in advance of my first reading of the book. It was titled “The Hunted”. Shot in Spain.

[Kitty Henning · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very apprehensive about reading this book as all of the synopsis I have looked at made me think I would not like it at all. How very wrong I was. What a captivating and emotional read, I want to share this book with everyone I know it's so good.
Although short, this book packs such a punch that I think I will be thinking about it for a very long time. The characters are so well developed but by such slow and slight movement that by the end you are surprised by how well you know them. The action is pretty intense, and even as a person who hates tactical military books I was sitting on the edge of my seat, sweaty palms, engrossed in the fight. This book is more than just the fight though it is a beautiful story of the human spirit.

[Booker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story of two men's fight for survival against impossible odds. Both with different backgrounds, ages, experiences they come to more than respect each other as in turn each of their lives become dependent on the actions of the other.
it explores comradeship, deprivation, fear, hope, hate, survival, and death.
thoroughly engrossing it keeps you mesmerised to the bitter end.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing read about two prison of war escapees on the run, with safety 400 miles away.

A well told gripping tale of individuals trying to survive with the odds against them.

This book was shortlisted for the 1969 Booker Prize.

[Alan McKay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had never heard of this and was great to receive as a gift and get into. Wow. Gritty and doom-laden. I got right into but despite this, no idea what country they were in or who they were fighting.
Good book. I'll read again.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly unknown gem. High level of exciting action.

[Nenad · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

[Old Man JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book. I couldnt put it down until it was finished.

[Thrillers R Us · Rating 5 out of 5]

Predating the birth of both the [US] Army and the United States (1775 & 1783 respectively), the storied franchise of the Rangers goes all the way back to fighting the French and hostile Native American tribes and those maraudin' partisans haven't looked back since. Formally organized in the 1950s and pushed through rigorous training that is said to be almost the same today, the Ranger School annually churns out about 3,000+ graduates that are mostly Army but can be from any branch and a few select, privileged foreign military allies. Making it through the more than sixty days of grueling course work, pain, and sacrifice leaves alumni hollow eyed, steeled, and with a black and yellow Ranger Tab to be worn on the left sleeve of their uniform. Actually receiving an assignment to the 75th Ranger Regiment and serving there earns soldiers the black and red scroll. Only the latter are Rangers; everyone else is Ranger qualified and may show off their glorious schooling to their heart's content. Irrespective of useless feuding about post Ranger Course semantics, tough land navigation, small unit tactics and survival training play a big part. The protagonists of Barry English's 1968 thriller, though never identified by more than their names, do just that, as prophesied by the title; FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE.

FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE is a novel of pursuit, finding MacConnachie and Ansell chased by a nameless army just called 'Goons' after making a break for it. Just out of captivity, on a spur of the moment, they're racing through the terrain with their hands tied behind their backs. To get away from their captors and free their hands; their most immediate priorities. With blind trust, Ansell followed Mac's lead--Ansell's a natural stalker and Mac's a born killer. All they have to do is cover 400 miles to freedom. Written in 1925 by Campbell and Connelly and insanely popular, "Show me the way to go home" was immortalized in 1975's JAWS and is the tie that binds the two men on the run and is the underlying theme of their plight. But first they have to overcome personality differences, heat, thirst, maladies, their captors, hostiles, and the terrain. It almost seems that the real antagonist in the story is the landscape, and you'll learn, if not by experience with Mac and Ansell's travails, then by dictionary, the differences between a gully, a delta, scree, ridge, glade, and a valley. In fact, FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE could play anywhere, from the San Gabriel Valley, to the Korengal, the Appalachians, or the Mountains of Annam, making this novel still relevant today, fifty-five years later.

By fire purged and through torrential downpour rinsed clean, Mac and Ansell are an abomination of the human condition, a couple of Seth Brundles half-way through transformation. Enduring the brutality of mother nature and the strain of the hunt, the two errant prisoners become living proof of what you get away with in war was good, and what you don't was bad. Moreover, in rumination, the FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE bestow that it's not easy to kill a man without a weapon, that you get used to killing from farther away, that you pays your money and you takes your choice, and most of all, that action is the key to survival. What makes FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE shine is that there is virtually no backstory, no military braggadochio or branch measuring contest, no politics, and almost no technological mentions save for the great hornet in the sky, a harassing helicopter. In it's vagueness and non specificity of everything, the terrain and the strife shine, presenting such a well done narrative that it's nigh on PTSD inducing, stress and anxiety provoking reading. No food, no water, no space, no time--an almost distant cousin to Stallone's endurance flick DAYLIGHT, they were surrounded by the enemy and forced to do what has to be done to survive. They became FIGURES IN A LANDSCAPE.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm… Somehow, years ago, I managed to love this book, claiming it as a kind of literary adventure, a book that was classily written yet purely about two men on the run, shrugging off any pretence of being 'about' anything except the drama within. This was a time when I rarely kept paperbacks for any potential re-consumption, yet put that one aside. I mentioned it in reviews of utterly different books, as a reference point nobody would actually get. Cut to 2020, and I turned again to it, as Vintage presented a digital copy of a reprint. And something had certainly changed in the intervening decades.

I actually thought this quite cumbersome and lumpen, however much it wants to be highly dramatic. We're, well, we're somewhere with "Goons", and two soldiers flee the march of captive prisoners they're a victim of, knowing all too well they'll have weeks of marching of their own, over the mountains, if they're to escape. They could be British, in some theatre of war in Asia, or perhaps Americans in Vietnam or Korea. One is certainly older and more instinctive than the other, and can speak the "Goon" language. But the book doesn't just put them against the travails of their flight across the titular landscape; no – there is a masterful helicopter gunship pilot pitting his wits against their best at every turn.

So, yes, this is a book that never tries to fudge the issue, and gives us what Graham Greene would have called an "entertainment" as opposed to something more serious. But this time at least I failed to engage. Scenes, struggling as they might to be set-pieces, now seemed overlong, and almost too skippable. The lack of context for the characters didn't help, either. Yes, the final third contains what is definitively a masterclass in nihilism, but this time it wasn't a keeper.

[Ensiform · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an unnamed, rugged, and remote landscape in the middle of a war, two men — the older, more experienced MacConnachie, a tracker, and the younger, terrified Ansell — break away from a line of POWs and roll down a cliff. From there they head to the mountains, hounded relentlessly by the local "goons" on foot and a untiring, implacable helicopter. They try to steal food and supplies from villages, but these are dangerous, and few in number. As they flee across mountains, forests, and barren terrain, their physical and psychological endurance is tested, and their relationship shifts between comradeship and conflict, as the intensity of the chase wears down their resolve and humanity.

This is a terse, linear novel, its atmosphere one of claustrophobia and doom. There is minimal dialogue and no exposition whatsoever; the enemies are faceless and anonymous. And indeed, even the main characters seem to have names only for expediency's sake; they are, essentially, rendered only figures in a vast, uncaring landscape. The prose focuses solely on the primal instinct to survive in an unforgiving environment. The natural landscape becomes both their adversary and their refuge as they push themselves to the limits of human endurance. The helicopter, representing perhaps the faceless dehumanizing power of modern warfare, seems somewhat incongruous in the otherwise primitive setting of villages, jungle, and mountains, and thus adds to the sense of confusion and overwhelming odds. England does not shy away from visceral, raw details of what exposure, stress, hunger, and the scrabble for survival do to the human body. Although some readers might find the endless pursuit simple and monotonous, the stripped-down atmosphere and the unrelenting pace make this one of the most tense, suspenseful, and thrilling novels I've read.

[Ian Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first started reading this book I was skeptical-- there was a distinct lack of contextualisation, just sheer kinaesthetic, moment-to-moment experience, and while that can be good in and of itself that is usually only off the back of the writing itself. In the beginning, I wasn't sure if the writing was good enough to pull it off, but the more I read the more I was drawn in. The rich, emotive, raw, and inherently somatic writing has a pull and a draw that is hard to ignore, and before I knew it was invested in Ansell and MacConnaghie's journey across the tropics in a desperate bid to escape.

There's something deeply existential about this book-- beyond its premise and eventual conclusion, its commitment to catalouging the deeply arduous journey of the two men across the unnamed tropics in such vivid and again, raw detail embeds the reader as close to the moment as much as possible, and England does a fantastic job of doing it.

I didn't even think, going into this, that I would enjoy it-- some heroic, valorific tale of two escaped prisoners of war, replete with bravado and daring-do-- but it's anything but. It's a deeply emotive, challenging (in the best way) read that had me coming away feeling hallowed and empty, in the way that only good books can.

[Claire Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Figures in a Landscape was on the inaugural Booker Prize shortlist in 1969, and it is an incredibly tense, visceral novel that I could not put down. Sometimes when I'm teaching creative writing I talk about quiet stories and how they work, but I've never really thought or talked about novels that are at fever-pitch from the very beginning and how that works - probably because they are pretty unusual, especially ones which are well written.
Two POWs, MacConnachie and the younger Ansell break away from their marching column and tumble down a hilside, their hands tied behind their backs. They are in an unnamed Asian country and Mac knows that to reach safety they will have to walk 400 miles across the mountains, but before that they need to untie themselves, find water and food and something to carry it in, and navigate a series of hills, a river valley full of locals and 'Goons' and a menacing black helicopter with a pilot as determined to catch them as they are to get away. The danger and the tenseness is near constant, and England puts the two in increasing peril, never shying away from describing their physical decline. I really had no idea whether they would get away or not. You'll just have to find a copy and read it to find out. Highly recommended.

[Edward Champion · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel has an exciting momentum as two war prisoners -- one, the thuggish MacConnachie; the other, the naive Ansell -- are chased by The Goons across a landscape. We don't know what country this is. We don't really know how they were captured. In fact, we know pretty much nothing about these two dudes at all. Hence, the title. And hence, my frustration. The book's gripping pace reminded me of Richard Stark's Parker novels or David Goodis But with Stark and Goodis, you get fascinating insights into their characters while they are on the lam or engaging in criminal activity. There's one section late in the book in which Ansell reveals that he's never been with a woman. And the dialogue is preposterously general. We've been following the action for this long and that's the best you've got, England? So it's an expositional tour de force, but a disappointment if you want to know why these two men tick. Even so, I would recommend that young writers read this book (or, better yet, Stark and Goodis) to learn how to pace action scenes.

[Heidi Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Randomly selecting this novel from the Booker Prize shortlist books, I was quite surprised with the nail biting pace of the book. The urgency and desperation you feel with the characters are a constant from start to finish and I found I had to limit myself (with difficulty) or I would have read the book in one sitting through the night.

The Sartrean themes I found particularly interesting given my background in Philosophy. The characters become the ‘gifted’ and ‘smart’ one through the decisions they make in their escape rather than through the past you are told about them. The quest for freedom and of course living their life on their terms rather than being forced into going along with being imprisoned yet again. There are more themes to be explored but I won’t since I hate spoilers so I shall not elaborate via spoilers.

Is it an easy read? No. Will it stay with me? For sure.
This is a novel that will leave you feeling raw and if you wish to go there…questioning what freedom means to you. Throw yourself head first downhill into this existentialist journey.

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found an old paperback of this from 1968. A strange story really, two men on the run from a prison camp fighting the enemy, nature and their own lassitude. A marmite story that I liked but I can imagine others may not. The two protagonists are prisoners of war, one an experienced veteran and the other a young soldier. Well written with tension on every page as the two try to evade capture.
Two strangers escape from the camp but over the course they get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses and that of the enemy.
With a grudging respect for the helicopter pilot that pursues them the escapees play a deadly game of cat and mouse as they try to survive on hope, luck, skill and minimal rations.
A vey good story.

[David Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's an unusual review. I read this book 52 years ago. I was fifteen. I haven't read it since. Yet I still recall it vividly. There aren't many books I can say that about. Maybe I should read it again, but then again maybe once was enough. A second reading might drain its importance for me. Some books are meant to be read again and again, but others concentrate their impact in one hit.

The story has a classical simplicity. Like McCarthy's 'The Road' you are presented with a situation, no past, no future, just now, the essence of existence. There are two individuals who only have each other. There is a rugged terrain that can be comprehended only in detail; in its context and farther features it is a mystery. There is a grueling journey to an unknown destination, all suffering and harshness with moments of beauty. There is a machine with an eye-of-God overview. There is a faceless pursuit forever gaining ground.

I can see why some readers didn't like the book for it lacks many of the features we expect of stories. This is narrative stripped bare. No warm fuzzies here. But sometimes you need a story like this. It returns you to core.

[Olivier Bosman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Booker Nominee 1969. 3.5 stars
Two prisoners of war escape their captors and the book focuses on every step of their epic flight through mountains and valleys and rivers. So much so, in fact, that it doesn’t even mention where or when the story is set (I’m thinking S.E. Asia during WW2). Nor does it give us any background information about the main characters. It’s a very immediate, action packed story; you get to read only what happens the moment the escape begins, and all that happened before is of no consequence. I quite liked this gimmick. Unfortunately, I’m not into action stories, which is why it didn’t engage me much. Otherwise it would’ve been 5 stars.

[James Harries · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this must have been read by Spielberg, the theme of being relentlessly chased by an unstoppable force... the song they sing in Jaws appears in the book and Robert Shaw is in the film version of this in a very similar role.
The detail of the landscape and soldiers lingo gets a little boring after a while, theres only two characters that speak and they are quite simply drawn, but there are some excellent lines. The film is kind of ridiculous but a real curiosity too. I'm glad I read it, it seems historically significant in terms of it igniting a genre.

[Carolyn Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A taut, stripped back, simple tale of two escaped POWs on the run in inhospitable terrain. The country, the war, and the enemy remain unnamed (apart from the fleeing soldiers' references to them as 'Goons'). We don't know much about the pair - one is a grizzled killer, the other an inexperienced younger soldier, but that's about it. Their efforts to escape the merciless attentions of a pursuing black helicopter and patrols of pursuers are monumental and you feel every painful crawl, step, shuffle, and sprint. Breathless.

[Darin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute stunner. Crisp prose and emotional truth combined with a viciously sad sense of existential anguish. Two escaped prisoners of war flee a relentless tracking helicopter across an unforgiving landscape. A beautiful meditation on masculinity, love, violence, humanity. The conclusion quite literally made me gasp.

[Colin Davison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Combat/survival exploits of 2 SAS-types on run from ‘Goons’ in Asia. It's and all-action film in prose, riveting for military buffs, perhaps, but with celluloid-thin characterisation. The flight from pursuers through burning crop fields is gripping, but I'm afraid the one-directional plot became tedious.

[Brian Gowthorpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine piece of work, that has not really dated. Powerfully imagined and described with the benefit of his army experience, Barry England’s novel deals honestly with the realities of war and the excitement, comradeship and agonies of pursuit in a hostile climate.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. No complicated backstory or character analyses, just relentless action / plot. I don't normally read this kind of "action" book, but actually found the simplicity very refreshing. Couldn't put the book down and will definitely try more from this author.

[Andi Chorley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! That was one grim and gripping read. Will watch the Joseph Losey film based on it in the near future. Apparently, there was a small furor about a "genre" book being included in the shortlist for the first Booker prize.

[Larry Amstutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing story which I first read as a teenager in grade 12 in 1975. A brutal first hand look at war and the struggle for survival from they perspective of two escaped POW's.

I have re-read this book a number of times since and it remains on my bookshelf today.

Definitely worth a read.

[Donal O Suilleabhain · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something grim and bitter in this book but the characters are very well fleshed out and their struggles realistic. Enjoyed it a lot.