Tryst

Rating:
Summary: From England and France in 1917 to Hippies in LALAland
Review: I cannot understand how this book rates only one star. I am a total Dibdin fan and I think it is by far his best book. From London punks trying to eat frozen pizza, literally, in a wintry squat to the well-to-do and (in truth) well-intentioned London middle class, and much in between, this is a complex and fascinating work. It contains more truth than thrill, yet frightens all the more so. And, in my opinion, it is all too short, hardly 200 pages.
It is hard to imagine anyone not falling into the grip of this realistic yet intensely poetic book. Not quite "horror" (speaking of the genre) yet it is utterly unsettling. It shows WWI with greater strength and insight than Saving Private Ryan (puh...leeze). The scenes from the 60's Brighton "youth culture" would be unfamiliar to any American "ex-hippie", but certainly no less "freaky." And when we are briefly and suddenly transported to college digs near UCLA, even if we are Americans, we can share the culture shock felt by a young English girl. She doesn't stay long. Its hard to pick my favorite moment or moments in this book, but how one young man manages his escape from the closet of a house slated to be torn down bright and early the very next morning....well...that is Dibdin at his very best and shouldn't be missed by any of his fans.
Don't let the deceptively slow first 27 pages fool you. The Tryst hits hard but does it's work with a disarming gentleness throughout. I beleive The Tryst to be a work of genius. One star? Outrageous!!! And WHY is it out of print?

Rating:
Summary: From England and France in 1917 to Hippies in LALAland
Review: I cannot understand how this book rates only one star. I am a total Dibdin fan and I think it is by far his best book. From London punks trying to eat frozen pizza, literally, in a wintry squat to the well-to-do and (in truth) well-intentioned London middle class, and much in between, this is a complex and fascinating work. It contains more truth than thrill, yet frightens all the more so. And, in my opinion, it is all too short, hardly 200 pages.
It is hard to imagine anyone not falling into the grip of this realistic yet intensely poetic book. Not quite "horror" (speaking of the genre) yet it is utterly unsettling. It shows WWI with greater strength and insight than Saving Private Ryan (puh...leeze). The scenes from the 60's Brighton "youth culture" would be unfamiliar to any American "ex-hippie", but certainly no less "freaky." And when we are briefly and suddenly transported to college digs near UCLA, even if we are Americans, we can share the culture shock felt by a young English girl. She doesn't stay long. Its hard to pick my favorite moment or moments in this book, but how one young man manages his escape from the closet of a house slated to be torn down bright and early the very next morning....well...that is Dibdin at his very best and shouldn't be missed by any of his fans.
Don't let the deceptively slow first 27 pages fool you. The Tryst hits hard but does it's work with a disarming gentleness throughout. I beleive The Tryst to be a work of genius. One star? Outrageous!!! And WHY is it out of print?

Rating:
Summary: At Least One Will Be Weak
Review: Michael Dibdin has written nearly a dozen and half books, nearly all of which are very good. The best known of his work is the Aurelio Zen series but as he has done with, "Tryst", he has occasionally written a work that stands alone. An author can hardly be pitch perfect every time they put pen to paper and while Mr. Dibdin has written at a very high level and done so consistently, something has to bring up the rear. My vote would be for this work.

Missing from, "Tryst", is the tightly plotted tale with the author maintaining the level of tension throughout the work. This book has characters that are fairly miserable in their own lives and are equally trying for a reader to engage. The clever misdirection and sleight of hand that are also keystones of Mr. Dibdin's work are also absent this time around.

For fans of his work that must read all his books as I have this work is disappointing but not altogether a waste of your reading time. For while this yarn is not one of the author's best or even better works, the man is always talented with a pen.

Rating:
Summary: Makes your hair stand on end
Review: This psychological thriller matches those of Ruth Rendell. It is the story of a psychiatrist and a patient, though the patient is not really mentally ill, he is just seeking the safety of a psychiatric institution. Aileen Macklin has troubles of her own but she has a soft spot for Gary Dunn and she is gradually unravelling what makes the boy tick. Dibdin in the meantime is letting the reader unravel the stories of his characters themselves.

Rating:
Summary: Makes your hair stand on end
Review: This psychological thriller matches those of Ruth Rendell. It is the story of a psychiatrist and a patient, though the patient is not really mentally ill, he is just seeking the safety of a psychiatric institution. Aileen Macklin has troubles of her own but she has a soft spot for Gary Dunn and she is gradually unravelling what makes the boy tick. Dibdin in the meantime is letting the reader unravel the stories of his characters themselves.