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| Plot Summary of Harlot's Ghost |
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"This sprawling narrative (1200 pages in paper, 1400 in cloth) is only the first part of Mailer's projected masterwork on mid-20th century America through the prism of the CIA. Narrator Harry Hubbard grew up in the shadow of the agency, marries the cool patrician ex-wife of his powerful, scary mentor in the Company, Hugh Tremont Montague ("Harlot"), and she in turn cheats on Harry with brash operative Dix Butler. Most of the story concerns Harry's early work for the CIA during 1956-63, in Berlin after the war and in Florida trying to arrange Castro's assassination. There is much talk of love (Harry has a mistress or two, as does almost everyone else, nearly all apparently bisexuals from Eastern establishment families), betrayal, and sex. Apparently much of Harry's prehistory and probably later experiences will be taken up in a future book or two. The writing is often rich and beautiful, but it's also hard to find anyone in the cast much to like."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Harlot's Ghost |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- playing footsy while inconveniently married
Life of a profession:
- spy
Kind of sex:
- two guys doing it
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story
Yes
Taboo sex story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- spy
Age:
- 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 2 (a little)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Southeast
- Northeast
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Germany
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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