Season in the West

This is an excellently written novel about an ex-patriot Czechoslovakian writer who goes to Great Britain to embrace capitalism. He finds out that politics everywhere are the same. He is an innocent, a naive idealist who is victimized by those who purport to care. This happens to him in love, art, government, etc. The author excellently portrays the facades, hypocrisy and pain of each social and economic class, occupation, and political bent. The book is both tragic and satirical. Birek, the protagonist, is taken in by a wealthy family. He has an affair with a wealthy woman, is taken under the wing of a non-profit organization for ex-patriots, and is introduced to literary society. All turn on him and discard him when they have no more personal use or gain to attribute from him. His innocence and political incorrectness lead to many faux pas on his part. The shallowness and hypocrisy of those he comes into contact with, along with their self-serving attitudes, prevent them from ever getting to know Birek, except on the surface. Read shows how politics and society will chew up the innocents every time