Miss MacInnes's narrative [in While Still We Live] does not carry much conviction or real interest, for she is working out an elaborate exposition and a rather unconvincing background of war-torn Poland. But then suddenly she doffs pretentiousness and gets down to the hunter and the hunted, a type of tale which she tells with consummate skill….

Like a well-dressed bride, Miss MacInnes's story wears something old and something new—with just enough of the new to keep the reader moving on through a great deal that has become old hat to followers of spy romances. The characters are well known and well worn, the action unashamedly melodramatic. It is a personal story of an individual's adventures, and it is at its best when it is not making pretenses at representing the indomitable spirit of the Poles. The tragedy of Poland and her people has been so expertly and vividly presented to the world by factual accounts that Miss MacInnes's somewhat generalized panorama suffers by comparison. But if you accept the novel for what it really is, a romping, melodramatic tale, there can be no quibble about its effectiveness.