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Cockpit (novel)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

First edition (English)
Published by Houghton Mifflin

Cockpit is a novel by Polish-American author Jerzy Kosiński, published in 1975.

Plot

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Cockpit is a debriefing after a long, tortuous mission. An agent known only as Tarden is a former operative of the mysterious security agency “the Service.” He has erased himself from all dossiers and transcripts. Now a fugitive, he moves across the landscape free of identity, in search of adventure and intrigue. But Tarden is a man of many disguises, and he is alternately avenger and savior, judge and trickster, as he enters the lives of others, forcing them into the arena of his judgment.

Reception

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The book was reviewed negatively in Kirkus: "...what's to redeem it beyond Kosinski's curiosity-catching legerdemain and quick changes of invention? Even while Tarden is flashing backwards and forwards, the reader feels as if he's marking time".[1] According to an interview with Kosiński, Cockpit was well received by British audiences.[2]

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References

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  1. ^ "COCKPIT". Kirkus. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  2. ^ George Plimpton and Rocco Landesman. "Jerzy Kosinski, The Art of Fiction No. 46". The Paris Review. Retrieved 2 September 2013.