Word: ambler
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Eric Ambler...
...generation raised on the novels of John le Carre, the name of Eric Ambler has assumed a legendary quality. Graham Greene generously called him "our greatest thriller writer," and in fact he and Greene invented the modern novel of intrigue, with its moral ambiguities and flawed, bone-weary protagonists. But the prolific Greene stayed in view. Ambler spent years between books and, like one of his characters, eventually slipped into...
...emerged at the age of 77 in a reflective mood prompted by a nearfatal automobile accident in Switzerland, where he now lives. "Only an idiot believes that he can write the truth about himself," he begins, and then demonstrates that idiocy becomes him. Unlike Greene's God-haunted memoirs, Ambler's have few ominous moments and only one bitter note. The ironic revelation is his specialty: "Uncle Frank . . . had confidence in himself and had acquired important skills. We knew that because just a week ago he had been giving evidence . . . as a witness for the Prosecution. His expert field...
...mysterious process of creativity remains offstage in this short look back, but the sources of Ambler's work are discernible in his genealogy. His paternal grandfather was a printer's proofreader; his maternal grandfather was a cabinetmaker. This heritage, suggests the writer, must account for his tongue-and-groove plots and for a lifelong addiction to the printed word. The child's first polysyllabic effort was "Me-di-ter-ra-ne-an," a favorite locale for later fictions...
...shadow that falls in Here Lies has little to do with Ambler's private life or his two marriages--he might have been a lifelong bachelor for all the discussion of his domestic affairs. It concerns his screen credits. In the front of this truncated autobiography, 18 novels are listed, along with 16 screenplays. From The Mask of Dimitrios and Journey into Fear to Dirty Story and The Levanter, the books form a distinguished line. Most of the films are extremely forgettable, and so are the adaptations of his work. But Ambler remembers them: "The Mask of Dimitrios had been...