Espionage has long attracted some of our greatest writers because of the complexity of human interaction that it allows them to explore. Betrayal, fear, divided allegiance, even love - all are opportunities available for the novelist to plumb in the context of the spy story, which is why authors such as Greene and Le Carré again and again return to the genre. All those human conditions are made vivid in this, one of Greene's most stunning works, which centers on Maurice Castle, a bureaucrat in the British intelligence service, who pays a debt with the ultimate betrayal of his country. Greene's keen insight and subtlety put the greatest burdens on a reader, and in Tim Pigott-Smith he is well served. In a narration brimming with intelligence and deep feeling, Pigott-Smith perfectly captures Greene in all of his strengths, from his acidic humor to his portrayal of sundering despair. M.O. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

格雷厄姆·格林，英国作家。 格林于1904年生于伯克汉斯泰德，1929年即他改信天主教后3年， 发表了他的第一部小说《内心人》，但直到1932年《斯坦布尔列车》一书问世，评论界才开始承认他的作品。格林在小说中十分注重探讨信仰危机和犯罪问题，其受欢迎程度历久不衰。包括《布赖顿硬糖》和《第三者》在内的许多小说已被拍成影片，十分成功。他的小说最为精致，其内容简洁、有趣，不乏嘲讽而又令人震撼，是对当代生活的准确观照。

本书是他诸多著作之一，它不是一部传统的间谍小说，他着重刻画每个人物更重要的内心世界。