Something to Answer For by P. H. Newby

There are a lot of unreliable narrators in fiction, but Townrow, the central character of Something to Answer For is a pretty remarkable example of the species. At first, one starts to think he's simply a serial liar, but soon it becomes apparent that he himself is not so sure what's true or not--and perhaps he is actually able to change reality based on his illusions.

The novel takes place almost entirely in Port Said, Egypt, immediately before and during the Suez Crisis of 1956: one of the traumatic events that signaled the end of Britain as an imperial power. Townrow, who had served in Egypt during World War II, is asked to return by the widow of a friend, who insists that her husband has been murdered. The novel is not mystery. Mystery novels are about resolving mystery, but this novel revels in it.

He arrives in Egypt, is shanghaied and brutally beaten, and spends most of the remainder of the novel in a haze, mostly of the alcoholic variety. There may have been a murder, an audacious plot to smuggle guns to Cyprus or Israel, death threats, a trip to a mysterious island paradise, and a disappearance, or they may all have simply been imagined or lied about. Or perhaps he's simply a spy with a highly elaborate cover story.

When Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, suddenly Townrow, as an Englishman becomes persona non grata, except that he's conveniently become Irish. At least he thinks he is. He needs to check his passport to be certain of his own nationality.

Townrow is strangely honest, after a fashion. He doesn't lie for the sake of self-preservation or self-enrichment, but simply for lying's sake. Or perhaps it's all just a giant con, which it is, of course. What else is fiction but con artistry with a willing target?

Not a towering masterpiece, but an enjoyable read. The edition I read seemed to have a handful of spelling and punctuation errors, which was odd.

Reading Something to Answer For hasn't lit a fire under me to seek out further works by P. H. Newby--though instead, I am rather interested in reading more about the Suez Canal.

Next up: The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens.