Honey for the Bears - Norton Paperback Fiction Novel | Satirical Cold War Literature | Perfect for Book Clubs & Historical Fiction Lovers

Were I more of an academic, I would consider that at this point I am starting to get a picture of who Anthony Burgess was and the over-arching themes of his work were (Russia, linguistics, homosexuality, James Joyce, etc). Any casual reader who is only familiar with his work through the rightly famous A Clockwork Orange (Norton Critical Editions) would be aware of Burgess's Russo-phile ways. This book is able to use the Russia of the sixties to show the absurdities that arise in both the communist east and the capitalist west. This book is a wonderful social commentary that is strongly rooted in its time and social reality, which must be why it has lingered on the back-list though still in print because of the author's other, more popular work.That it has lingered is surprising, since it is more than just a political and historical document. It is a first-rate farce. It stars Paul Hussey, a member of the bourgeois, shop-owning striving English middle class. His friend [and sometimes lover] has passed, leaving a widow. The friend had a history of selling western clothes on the Soviet black market, and Paul is trying to follow through one last time to bring home some profit for his friend's widow and have a little holiday himself. Needless to say, the trip does not turn out as planned, bit to run through all the fun twists and turns would ruin the fun and be a third-rate narrative compared to what Burgess is able spin.What surprised me was researching the book and finding out that it was not made into a movie that I was able to find. This would have been the perfect vehicle for a middle-age Michael Cain. Sadly, its moment has passed, as the socio-political surroundings that made this novel possible are now alien to most.