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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
Started off exciting but I found this rather boring, especially because I found the main character, who is also the only significant character of the book, kind of annoying. Check out my full review at www.inkdropsreviews.wordpress.com
One of the most fascinating things about the ‘Thirty-Nine Steps’ is its many incarnations and I can well understand that it may not, in its original format as a ‘dime thriller’, appeal to a twenty-first century readership. Rather, it has now been re-invented as a comedy and achieved enormous success on the London and New York stage. We are no longer an age where melodrama and high jinks goes down well. We perceive those of the highest social status who seem inept as buffoons rather than with respect and this change in our perception has resulted in the novel metamorphosing from a sensational thriller to comedy. Whilst its original form suited Hitchcock’s lurid style (it was perfectly in keeping with ‘The Birds’ or ‘Marnie’) and thus was another hit for the famous film director, today it is no longer to our taste. It does not have the action or explosive moments that a modern audience demands of a thriller – the protagonist trails across the highlands of Scotland encountering the odd laird and several seemingly bungling criminals, but this is no Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne.
What ‘The Thirty-Nine Steps’ is, however, is a splendid time piece. It captures an era (the moments just before the WWI) and conveys some of the anxiety that hung over that period that wobbled between modernism with all its motorcars, telephones and planes and an older era where good British righteousness and a stiff upper lip saw you through. Moreover, it is worth noting that the novel was published in 1915 – the very beginning of the war where fears concerning German spies concealing themselves amongst the common British people and anxiety about the Great British Isles being invaded by an unknown presence lurking beyond her splendid coastline were very real.
I would not proclaim that this is a great piece of literature and nor, in truth, do I think Buchan intended it to be. Rather, by his own admission he wrote it as a ‘shocker’ to amuse himself while he convalesced with a duodenal ulcer that would trouble him for the rest of his life. Nonetheless, there is much to recommend this narrative. This is one of the original thrillers in an era when such a genre was utterly new to the reading public. Buchan infuses his novel with a real sense of pace and excitement so the entire plot line flies past. In fact, Buchan grips us brilliantly from the moment the novel opens and the mysterious Scudder enters Hannay’s modest abode just when he is feeling most bored to reveal that he is already dead. There are some wonderful characters here as well. Yes they are stereotypes – the bumbling English politician; the wily antagonist of a myriad disguises; the resourceful hero, Hannay, but yet they do not merely drive the narrative on, but become stock figures in a really exciting drama. Yes it does all end rather abruptly, but that only adds to the thrill. This was written in 1914 and the audience would have been all too aware that worse than a mere threat was to come from across the channel. What is more, there is a sequel – in fact, this is the first of a series of six novels (two are set just before/ during WWI and the others after) so I am interested to see where our ‘chap’ Hannay will go and what further criminal and political mendacity he will be able to scotch.
Do I think that this really belongs in the 1001 Books to Read Before you Die…probably not, but at only 100 pages or so, it is a very quick read and thoroughly enjoyable not merely in its pacey narrative, but in what it reveals about a world before war broke out and changed the country forever.
What ‘The Thirty-Nine Steps’ is, however, is a splendid time piece. It captures an era (the moments just before the WWI) and conveys some of the anxiety that hung over that period that wobbled between modernism with all its motorcars, telephones and planes and an older era where good British righteousness and a stiff upper lip saw you through. Moreover, it is worth noting that the novel was published in 1915 – the very beginning of the war where fears concerning German spies concealing themselves amongst the common British people and anxiety about the Great British Isles being invaded by an unknown presence lurking beyond her splendid coastline were very real.
I would not proclaim that this is a great piece of literature and nor, in truth, do I think Buchan intended it to be. Rather, by his own admission he wrote it as a ‘shocker’ to amuse himself while he convalesced with a duodenal ulcer that would trouble him for the rest of his life. Nonetheless, there is much to recommend this narrative. This is one of the original thrillers in an era when such a genre was utterly new to the reading public. Buchan infuses his novel with a real sense of pace and excitement so the entire plot line flies past. In fact, Buchan grips us brilliantly from the moment the novel opens and the mysterious Scudder enters Hannay’s modest abode just when he is feeling most bored to reveal that he is already dead. There are some wonderful characters here as well. Yes they are stereotypes – the bumbling English politician; the wily antagonist of a myriad disguises; the resourceful hero, Hannay, but yet they do not merely drive the narrative on, but become stock figures in a really exciting drama. Yes it does all end rather abruptly, but that only adds to the thrill. This was written in 1914 and the audience would have been all too aware that worse than a mere threat was to come from across the channel. What is more, there is a sequel – in fact, this is the first of a series of six novels (two are set just before/ during WWI and the others after) so I am interested to see where our ‘chap’ Hannay will go and what further criminal and political mendacity he will be able to scotch.
Do I think that this really belongs in the 1001 Books to Read Before you Die…probably not, but at only 100 pages or so, it is a very quick read and thoroughly enjoyable not merely in its pacey narrative, but in what it reveals about a world before war broke out and changed the country forever.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
I really don't see why this is considered a classic. Full of anti-Semitism, racism, sexism and classism. it's also pretty dull.
Scottish novelist [a:John Buchan|3073|John Buchan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1551287596p2/3073.jpg]'s 1915 classic, set just before the outbreak of World War One, and where the protagonist Richard Hannay finds himself involved in - and suspected of - a murder of a spy.
Whilst I was aware of this, and that it had been made into films, it's also a novel I'd actually never read before. I didn't even know that Buchan was Scottish - I've only recently found that out - but it is clear to see his love of the country in this, and in how he describes Hannay's game of Cat and Mouse over the Highlands,
Whilst I was aware of this, and that it had been made into films, it's also a novel I'd actually never read before. I didn't even know that Buchan was Scottish - I've only recently found that out - but it is clear to see his love of the country in this, and in how he describes Hannay's game of Cat and Mouse over the Highlands,
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I am currently working my way through the list of [b:1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die|452208|1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die|Peter Boxall|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320483996s/452208.jpg|814053] and decided to read Buchan's short mystery/spy novel because it seemed like a quick and easy option to take me a step closer to maybe one day completing the list. I never imagined it would be such a painfully boring slog.
Some books made the big list because they are actually good, some because they are (or were) scandalous, some because they are so far away from pretty much everything else that's been written, and some because they kick-started something or opened up a new type of genre and/or storytelling. I believe [b:The Thirty-Nine Steps|147114|The Thirty-Nine Steps|John Buchan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328011493s/147114.jpg|2422487] falls into this last category. It arguably introduced the world to the "spy" genre and has resulted in many attempted imitations over the years since its publication in 1915. But in terms of plot, writing and characters it just seems to me to have very little to offer. It may be one of the first of its kind, but many other authors have bettered the genre, in my opinion. I would use [a:John le Carré|1411964|John le Carré|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1234571122p2/1411964.jpg] as a prime example.
The novel begins with the bored Richard Hannay who is determined to give London just one more day to hold his interest before he leaves for a more exciting alternative abroad. Richard, however, gets way more than he bargained for when a new American acquaintance is murdered in Hannay's flat just a few days after the pair meet. Realising he is now likely the main target of the group who assassinated his new friend, and realising he will be the police force's main suspect for the murder, Richard takes off on the run around Scotland.
Richard is given very little characterization or development, he has no personality and the novel focuses on what happens to him, instead of who he is, why he acts in a particular way, or what he cares about - apart from the desire to avoid capture by the police or the assassins. Though he is being chased by two groups who either want to kill him or lock him up, I got no sense of his fear, desperation or urgency. The novel lacked emotion and I felt like I could be reading a cold, uncaring police report of events, rather than a first-hand account of them. This whole mess seemed like a little inconvenience in Richard Hannay's life, not something that was a real danger to him.
Most of all, it was boring. The conclusion wasn't satisfying enough to be worth putting up with the sequence of boring events for. I think this review says a lot about the novel's plot: "He runs around in the fields. A lot. He hides in this field. He hides in that field. Some shadowy figures close in, and off he goes, running again." An excellent and accurate summary, in my opinion.
Some books made the big list because they are actually good, some because they are (or were) scandalous, some because they are so far away from pretty much everything else that's been written, and some because they kick-started something or opened up a new type of genre and/or storytelling. I believe [b:The Thirty-Nine Steps|147114|The Thirty-Nine Steps|John Buchan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328011493s/147114.jpg|2422487] falls into this last category. It arguably introduced the world to the "spy" genre and has resulted in many attempted imitations over the years since its publication in 1915. But in terms of plot, writing and characters it just seems to me to have very little to offer. It may be one of the first of its kind, but many other authors have bettered the genre, in my opinion. I would use [a:John le Carré|1411964|John le Carré|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1234571122p2/1411964.jpg] as a prime example.
The novel begins with the bored Richard Hannay who is determined to give London just one more day to hold his interest before he leaves for a more exciting alternative abroad. Richard, however, gets way more than he bargained for when a new American acquaintance is murdered in Hannay's flat just a few days after the pair meet. Realising he is now likely the main target of the group who assassinated his new friend, and realising he will be the police force's main suspect for the murder, Richard takes off on the run around Scotland.
Richard is given very little characterization or development, he has no personality and the novel focuses on what happens to him, instead of who he is, why he acts in a particular way, or what he cares about - apart from the desire to avoid capture by the police or the assassins. Though he is being chased by two groups who either want to kill him or lock him up, I got no sense of his fear, desperation or urgency. The novel lacked emotion and I felt like I could be reading a cold, uncaring police report of events, rather than a first-hand account of them. This whole mess seemed like a little inconvenience in Richard Hannay's life, not something that was a real danger to him.
Most of all, it was boring. The conclusion wasn't satisfying enough to be worth putting up with the sequence of boring events for. I think this review says a lot about the novel's plot: "He runs around in the fields. A lot. He hides in this field. He hides in that field. Some shadowy figures close in, and off he goes, running again." An excellent and accurate summary, in my opinion.