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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It never gets old listening to or reading a Frederick Forsyth book. Although written in 1972, The Odessa File is just as new and thrilling as the day it was released. This book examines post WWII Germany and Israel. Have you ever wondered what really happened to the ex-Nazi's after Hitler killed himself and the war ended? We all know that a lot escaped to Venezuela, and some have been found and put on trial at The Hague since then, but not nearly enough. Many are still alive or their descendants are, and, just maybe, hatching more Nazi plots. This book examines the post-Reich era in Germany itself. The SS and other Nazi men made a life for themselves with new identities and legitimate jobs, but were still plotting, plotting, plotting. The book moves along at a furious pace as we we track a young German journalist who has assigned himself the task of tracing down the man known as The Butcher of Riga. This man's numerous crimes and mass killings has been brought to the attention of a young journalist called Peter Miller after he was handed a book written by a Jewish prisoner who had been held in Riga for most of the war. With Forsyth's unburnished prose, and based on his actual knowledge of this time (early 60's Germany) which he had experienced first as a journalist covering the area, this story of mass destruction comes alive in his hands. He uses real-life characters mixed with his fictional ones, and it seems that we're reading this story from a newspaper expose. My journey with re-visiting Forsyth's backlist has been just as thrilling s my original readings of his works was.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An exciting read from start to finish. I was immediately drawn to the protagonist, journalist Peter Miller, and the snappy and succinct writing style that made it unputdownable.
Ive read 3 of Forsyth's novels and this is my favourite of the 3. There is a little bit of a twist towards the end, I called it before I got there but it definitely kept things interesting.
I'm pretty sure we had this paperback at home because one of my parents had read it. I picked it up probably because I was bored and had read all my library books but ended up enjoying it.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I do not understand the high ratings for this book. Yowza, I did not enjoy it (if it had been longer than 330 pages I wouldn't have finished it).
Written in 1972 the treatment of women in this book did not age well. Typical of the time and genre but still...
Also, the main character is supposed to be a very smart investigative reporter and yet he does incredibly (!!) stupid moves. No spoiler...but the role of the Jaguar car...I mean, c'mon dude!
Lastly, the pages and pages of minutiae were rather mind-numbing. The shopping list and then the description of the assembly of the bomb that continued into the intimate detailing of the car's engine and body...sigh...
The actual storyline was just o.k. definitely not good enough to make up for the shortcomings here.
Written in 1972 the treatment of women in this book did not age well. Typical of the time and genre but still...
Also, the main character is supposed to be a very smart investigative reporter and yet he does incredibly (!!) stupid moves. No spoiler...but the role of the Jaguar car...I mean, c'mon dude!
Lastly, the pages and pages of minutiae were rather mind-numbing. The shopping list and then the description of the assembly of the bomb that continued into the intimate detailing of the car's engine and body...sigh...
The actual storyline was just o.k. definitely not good enough to make up for the shortcomings here.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No