The Four Faces

by Han Suyin

murder mystery, a congress of writers, in cambodia. author of murder mystery, location cambodia. author of "a many splendored thing"

Genres: Fiction

254 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Han Suyin (Pinyin: Hán Sùyīn) is the pen name of Elizabeth Comber, born Rosalie Elisabeth Kuanghu Chow (Pinyin: Zhōu Guānghú). She was a Chinese-born Eurasian author of several books on modern China, novels set in East Asia, and autobiographical works, as well as a physician. She wrote in English and French. She died in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2012.

Reviews

[V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story about a murder at a writers conference. Right from the start you get an idea who will be murdered. Very good to read about events written about in Cambodia, knowing what will happen, but written before they have.
Have read other books by Han Suyin which are superior to this one but still a good book.
I would recommend this book to those with an interest in South East Asian history for the content of how the author views the country knowing how it will all turn upside down later.

[Rajat Narula · Rating 2 out of 5]

A writer's conference is held in Cambodia that is attended by people from the two sides of the iron curtain. Murders. Coup. Not very readable.

[Neer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder during a literary meet as the cold war becomes ugly. More here: https://ahotcupofpleasureagain.wordpr...

[Sandrine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une histoire asiatique à l’asiatique. Un peu trop de personnages pour s’y ancrer réellement mais sinon un bel divertissement.

[Juha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 1963 novel is one of the less know works of Han Suyin. I picked it up as I was rummaging through my father’s bookshelf recently. I have to admit that the 5-star rating is rather subjective, but I loved the book. For someone like me who has grown up in Europe during the Cold War, the book is so entirely familiar and utterly clever. The fierce pseudo-intellectual debates about ‘freedom’ (code word for the Right) and ‘peace’ (code word for the Left) ring absolutely true. The book takes place during a ‘neutral’ literary conference, which many outsiders and even participants—as was the case during those days—see as an oxymoron: writers like all artists have to take sides on whether they are ‘progressives’ or ‘reactionary.’ Yet, the author shows how ultimately virtually all of the authors are primarily concerned with themselves, their success, reputations and notably love lives.

An interesting aspect is that the conference takes place in Cambodia, which at that time was a neutral country. As the book points out, for the Cold Warriors this was like a red cloth to a bull. These were the days of the Domino Theory and the American intelligence services considered neutral as being soft on the Communists: You are either with us or against us (sounds familiar?). Cambodia at that time was infiltrated by many destabilizing elements from different sides. At the same time, rogue agents of the former colonial master, France, had moved into drug trade around the Golden Triangle. Sadly, in the real world, all of this did destabilize Cambodia and resulted in decades of violence. The worst period was of course Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge rule and the associated ‘killing fields,’ but still today things in Cambodia are far from stable, democratic and prosperous.

Around this situation Han Suyin has spun a story that is both tragic and farcical. Apart from Cold War tensions and cultural politics, it involves love and sex and intrigue, even murder, all of which Han Suyin describes with a twinkle in her eye. It was a thoroughly delightful read.