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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
I didn't know what to expect, as I went into not knowing much. I actually enjoyed it and glad that I listened to it. It was a nice easy listen, especially as it was free. It was easy to get into, which I don't know if it would've been if I actually read it.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
If anything, this shows how good Hitchcock was at distilling the essence of a story. The novel is more disjointed and much less fun than the film.
I listened to the librivox.org recording of this book. The reading was excellent, but the material is starting to show some strain from it's age. There was not a single female mentioned in the entire book and there was enough anti-semitisim and other jingoism that it was painfully noticeable. But, books are read in the context of their time, and in 1915, this was already becoming an alternate history to the start of WWI.
adventurous
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
This is one of those works that helped create a genre of much more famous works (in this case, spy thrillers). It's always nice to go back to the beginnings (Castle of Otranto, anyone?) so I'm glad I read it but I wouldn't return to it. The finish was somewhat anticlimactic after the thrill of the chase; the provocation of the plot was obviously dated but still not as engaging as it could have been; and the inclusion of anti-Semitic aspects is rather distasteful and purposeless.
How many books do you know that begin with a crazy anti-semite showing up at your flat with a conspiracy theory and saying that he's pretending to be dead? Not many. Hence the interest and originality of _The 39 Steps_. At only a few points in this exciting thriller can you be sure that the protagonist isn't taking a leisurely jaunt across the countryside. Are these men my enemies, or are we just having a relaxed card game in a cliffside house? The only thing that disappoints is the ending, which has always seemed to me far too brief and strangely anticlimactic.
I haven’t read many adventure novels, but I read Christie’s Secret Adversary recently, and liked it loads better. The adventures and twists in 39 Steps were unnecessary and sometimes ridiculous. The stakes were vague and the lead character was poorly developed.
However, I loved the descriptions of Scotland, and Annie Laurie is forever in my head.
adventurous
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