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The Angel and the Cuckoo
Gerald Kersh Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Angel and the Cuckoo
"Ranging from Hungary and Italy to France and England, but placed mostly in London between 1911 and 1934, this novel tells the story of a variety of Dickensian characters, from the idealistic and kind Hungarian Steve Zobrany who owns a cafe (the title refers to its name) in a grimier part of the city, to Tom Henceforth the bright but not entirely honest English youth who's very much on the make, and the shadowy figure known as Perp -- who's somewhere between Moriarty and Bill Sykes. A large cast of thieves, honest prostitutes, con men, and a journalist fill out the cast of this rolling, often wry novel published by Kersh in 1966."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Angel and the Cuckoo
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - humorous
Time/era of story - 1900-1920's
Training/promotions story Yes
Life of a profession: - businessman, small
Inside culture (main char) - British
Crime & Police story Yes
Story of - conman stealing/fraud
Outside culture (society) - British
Job/Profession/Status story Yes
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - small businessman
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Nationality - Eastern European
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - bulging muscles

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 (some)
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK - France - Eastern Europe
City? Yes
City: - London
Misc setting - resort/hotel

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards - No single main character?
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to The Angel and the Cuckoo
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Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd


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