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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
This was actually a lot of fun, surprisingly. I quite liked all the different roles Hannay had to play to throw his pursuers off, even if it is a little coincidental that he turns out to be such good actor. But I like that he's not too confident and cocky and that he is quite cynical about life and himself. Fun adventure classic.
A tight, clever, innovative spy tale, still effective 108 years after initial release. I'd recommend this to any fans of espionage or students of the short story. The Thirty-Nine Steps was a solid appetizer, now I'm rifling around Buchan's kitchen to see what other food is in the fridge.
given that I like older British mysteries, this filled the bill for me. I read it because I know Hitchcock made a movie of the same name...I hadn't seen the movie, but figured if H liked it well enough, it was worth a shot. (that qualifies as a recommendation, right?) I liked it well enough to seek out the rest of the "Richard Hannay" series. Hannay is not a smooth, cool-headed sleuth, but a guy who gets caught up in a mysterious situation and does well with his wits (and thankfully had a colleague in his past who had been a spy and shared some stories/lessons.)
I've been surprised by two things - how slim a volume this is, and how vastly different it is from any of the film versions! I was warned that Buchan can be heavy going, but I have found the story gripping and the descriptions vivid.
Easy going adventure, simply told. John Le Carre has updated this genre and added much complexity. It is interesting to see how much Alfred Hitchcock rewrote the story to make a fast-paced and popular movie. There isn’t much left of Buchan’s plot in the film, although Robert Donat was well cast as Hannay. The original story would have made an equally intriguing film.
This book was extremely hard to read. It's almost like you had to read certain pages with an English accent.
A good mystery-thriller for colder weather. Although I did lose some of my focus during the final section, it was still a good story. I can recommend it!
The writing in terms of vigor is good, I suppose once you get over the whole "really, why would you do that" aspect.
However, the whole Jewish plot thing leaves a very, very bad taste in the mouth.
However, the whole Jewish plot thing leaves a very, very bad taste in the mouth.
Très agréable et facile à lire. Palpitant de bout en bout.