This is one of those "I read it once but didn't keep it on my goodreads shelf so I don't remember what I didn't like about it and now I'm reading it again" situations.

This is a well-written adventure with realistic characters and fascinating action. The plot gets jiggered about for the movie (starring Bogart and Hepburn) but not too badly. My biggest issue with it is the sneering at Christianity.

This book was written in the 1920s, and I think it is a typical example of how the post-war philosophy swung the pendulum in favor of pursuing the sensual and mocking the spiritual. The horrors of the trenches left many young men adrift, and the lack of a strong church left those who tried it bitter and hungry.

In the movie, the Sayers are Methodists, and though the book never specifies any denomination, I think it is a plausible fit. Rose's uncertainty of her prayers being answered, or of her forgiveness (not to mention the earlier passages on heaven) certainly point to a shaky understanding of salvation.

What I really could not handle though, was the comparison of selfish, cold, infantile men who must be humored and placated to what the author imagined God must be like. We were made in God's image and corrupted, not the other way around. God is not like us. His ways are not our ways. I could really go on a rant here but suffice to say this is a fantastic example of postmodern literature, on a par with Satre's "No Exit". The themes may be different, but the influences and philosophy are the same.

So, I don't think I'd read this again, but I'm keeping a review on here because I've read it twice now and I feel like I need to remember my beef with it at this point.