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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
I’ve been trying to read more classics and thought this would be a good option as it isn’t very long. Interesting story with mystery. I’m happy I read it but won’t likely reread. Listened to the audiobook from Audible’s Plus catalogue.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism
Moderate: Racial slurs, Murder, Colonisation
Minor: Death, Fire/Fire injury, War
The Thirty-Nine Steps is short, fast-paced and readable. That's what it has going for it.
But it also has a few things going against it. Firstly, a huge majority of the book is the main character stumbling around the Scottish moors. That's it. He just wanders about, trying to hide from his pursuers, realises that the Scottish moors were a terrible place to try to hide, gets spotted, escapes ingeniously, wanders around, realises the Scottish moors are a terrible place to hide and gets spotted again. At least four or five chapters of this novel follow this trend, out of ten altogether. A little repetitive for such a short book.
Secondly, the actual stakes and the whole catalyst and MacGuffin etc are extremely vague. Some guy tells Hannay of a plot against some other guy's life that has something to do with the oncoming war. Hannay finds out fairly quickly that this foul plot to which he was only half listening is mostly a lie and he reads some cryptic notes on what the real plot is, but not only does he not fully understand, he never tells the audience properly, so it's hard to really know what the hell is going on. Something about England's defences, I think, but it's hard to see how one piece of information or whatever could tip the balance of the whole war before it has even started.
Thirdly, it's not a very character-driven book. Despite the first person-narration, we don't really get much of a handle on Hannay other than he's easily bored and good at escaping. No one else at all is fleshed out, and the damn narration summarises way too much of what is done or said, so that you get the impression of the narrator simply telling you about a bunch of stuff he did once, rather than feeling as if it is really happening and experiencing it with him, which would have made for a more thrilling ride. There's really no need for this book to be so short.
Fourthly, and this is the main one, the whole story is powered by coincidence. Hannay is from Africa, recently moved to England where he doesn't really know anyone. He's bored and about to move back to Africa when a neighbour he doesn't know decides to randomly trust him with a top secret plot. Random neighbour gets murdered and Hannay goes on the run. He chooses Scotland as a hiding place because he figures it is similar to Africa (?!) so he'll be able to hide there. Then, everyone he meets in Scotland is either after him (how do they keep finding him so easily?) or happens to be a super trustworthy person who he tells his plot to or otherwise wishes to randomly help him. He's extraordinarily lucky all the time. The three worst coincidences happen pretty much in a row, one he meets a guy who just happens to be the godson of the one man in England who knows about the secret spy stuff and will believe Hannay and can help him with the finale, two he meets someone he actually knows - in Scotland, where he's never been, and remember he already said he doesn't know anyone in London, three, by complete chance he walks into the house of the villain - even though he had no idea the villains were in Scotland, he just chose this country at random. It's just stupid. He happens to get locked in a room full of explosives and he happens to be an explosives expert. Etc etc. The whole narrative moves either by complete luck or sheer dumb coincidence to the point where it is ridiculously unbelievable.
Meanwhile, the narrator gets his finale for pretty much no reason at all, and continues to blunder around trusting to luck. It's an entertaining read, but it comes across as if it was written by someone who had no idea how to construct a story and received no feedback. It's all vague nothingness and stupid coincidence and no particular emotion involved. But you know, it's a quick read.
But it also has a few things going against it. Firstly, a huge majority of the book is the main character stumbling around the Scottish moors. That's it. He just wanders about, trying to hide from his pursuers, realises that the Scottish moors were a terrible place to try to hide, gets spotted, escapes ingeniously, wanders around, realises the Scottish moors are a terrible place to hide and gets spotted again. At least four or five chapters of this novel follow this trend, out of ten altogether. A little repetitive for such a short book.
Secondly, the actual stakes and the whole catalyst and MacGuffin etc are extremely vague. Some guy tells Hannay of a plot against some other guy's life that has something to do with the oncoming war. Hannay finds out fairly quickly that this foul plot to which he was only half listening is mostly a lie and he reads some cryptic notes on what the real plot is, but not only does he not fully understand, he never tells the audience properly, so it's hard to really know what the hell is going on. Something about England's defences, I think, but it's hard to see how one piece of information or whatever could tip the balance of the whole war before it has even started.
Thirdly, it's not a very character-driven book. Despite the first person-narration, we don't really get much of a handle on Hannay other than he's easily bored and good at escaping. No one else at all is fleshed out, and the damn narration summarises way too much of what is done or said, so that you get the impression of the narrator simply telling you about a bunch of stuff he did once, rather than feeling as if it is really happening and experiencing it with him, which would have made for a more thrilling ride. There's really no need for this book to be so short.
Fourthly, and this is the main one, the whole story is powered by coincidence. Hannay is from Africa, recently moved to England where he doesn't really know anyone. He's bored and about to move back to Africa when a neighbour he doesn't know decides to randomly trust him with a top secret plot. Random neighbour gets murdered and Hannay goes on the run. He chooses Scotland as a hiding place because he figures it is similar to Africa (?!) so he'll be able to hide there. Then, everyone he meets in Scotland is either after him (how do they keep finding him so easily?) or happens to be a super trustworthy person who he tells his plot to or otherwise wishes to randomly help him. He's extraordinarily lucky all the time. The three worst coincidences happen pretty much in a row, one he meets a guy who just happens to be the godson of the one man in England who knows about the secret spy stuff and will believe Hannay and can help him with the finale, two he meets someone he actually knows - in Scotland, where he's never been, and remember he already said he doesn't know anyone in London, three, by complete chance he walks into the house of the villain - even though he had no idea the villains were in Scotland, he just chose this country at random. It's just stupid. He happens to get locked in a room full of explosives and he happens to be an explosives expert. Etc etc. The whole narrative moves either by complete luck or sheer dumb coincidence to the point where it is ridiculously unbelievable.
Meanwhile, the narrator gets his finale for pretty much no reason at all, and continues to blunder around trusting to luck. It's an entertaining read, but it comes across as if it was written by someone who had no idea how to construct a story and received no feedback. It's all vague nothingness and stupid coincidence and no particular emotion involved. But you know, it's a quick read.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Read to ~50% and DNFed. Four deus ex machinas are my limit. Couldn't care about the MC either. Everything always works out to his benefit so there's no stakes or thrills in this 'spy-thriller'. Even the MC himself has no emotional connection to the plot. 1 'more conveniently introduced side-character and Imma snap!' out of 5.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Started and finished date - 18.02.25 to 19.02.25.
My rating - Two Stars.
I really don't like this book, I found it to boring and dull also I hate the cover of book. The atmosphere was okay and the paced of plot was rush. The ending of book was fine and the characters was okay but I would have like them to be flash out bit more
My rating - Two Stars.
I really don't like this book, I found it to boring and dull also I hate the cover of book. The atmosphere was okay and the paced of plot was rush. The ending of book was fine and the characters was okay but I would have like them to be flash out bit more
hate to say it, but i struggled with this book. It's a classic that many know of from stage and screen. But the actual book seems to lack something, it didn't keep me interested. The plot is well known and been repeated many times now, maybe that's half the problem. i knew what was going to happen and felt it took to long to actually happen. For a short story it seemed to drag on in detail and that's the real shame.
so 3 stars for a decent story and a good main character, but loses me while he's going around scotland. picks up again when he returns to london though
so 3 stars for a decent story and a good main character, but loses me while he's going around scotland. picks up again when he returns to london though
Nice, quick read
Short, sweet but compelling read. Loved the old fashioned ways and views!
A good thriller and a great film too.
Short, sweet but compelling read. Loved the old fashioned ways and views!
A good thriller and a great film too.
adventurous
hopeful
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
Two stars - meaning it was OK. Alfred Hitchcock (I'm a big fan) liked it enough to make it into a movie. I think the story could be improved upon so I'll have to track down the movie which is (gasp) over 80 years old!