Ranging from Hungary and Italy to France and England, but placed mostly in London between 1911 and 1934, this novel tells the story of a variety of Dickensian characters, from the idealistic and kind Hungarian Steve Zobrany who owns a cafe (the title refers to its name) in a grimier part of the city, to Tom Henceforth the bright but not entirely honest English youth who's very much on the make, and the shadowy figure known as Perp -- who's somewhere between Moriarty and Bill Sykes. A large cast of thieves, honest prostitutes, con men, and a journalist fill out the cast of this rolling, often wry novel published by Kersh in 1966.
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The review of this Book prepared by David Loftus
