I don’t remember how I came to buy a copy of “Rogue Male,” but there it was: a slim paperback, half hidden among a series of books in a box I call my one-day box. Only 224 pages, I thought it would be a quick beach read and threw it in my backpack with several others. When I finally got it out and started reading, I literally couldn’t put it down. Every key on the back cover is real.
The unnamed protagonist is a British gentleman who hunts big game. Bored, he tries to penetrate the complex of a dictator, also without a name. His rifle is pointed at the man, who we are left to assume is Adolf Hitler. Still, he tells himself that he doesn’t really intend to pull the trigger; he just wants to see if it can be done. His motives don’t matter when the guards catch him, torture him and leave him for dead. He somehow makes a harrowing escape and stows away on a ship bound for England. But his pursuers will not give up. Now he is the prey, and only his strong self-preservation instincts will keep him alive.
This is the story of a man who is hunted like an animal and what he has to do to survive. The plot is simple and yet incredibly suspenseful. There are few characters and few dialogues. Some readers may find the writing style old-fashioned. And yet, the understated narrative is very effective in portraying the thrilling chase. The tension builds to the conclusion. An extraordinary adventure on one level, it is also interesting on a moral level as the protagonist explores his true motives and decisions.
Geoffrey Household, the author, was born in Bristol in 1900, died in 1988. “Rogue Male” was published in 1939 and is justifiably a classic, as exciting today as it was then. A sequel, “Rogue Justice”, was published in 1982.
Publisher: NYRB Classics (November 6, 2007)
ISBN: 978-1590172438
Pages: 224
Price: $14.00
