Day of the Jackal | Frederick Forsyth

Day of the Jackal | Frederick Forsyth | Best Thriller Ever?

books:

Day of the Jackal

	Day of the Jackal Frederick Forsyth Viking Adult, 1971 - 380 pages average customer review:based on 126 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

A six stars thriller

When you read a book and you just can't put it down. When everything you read could be real, that's an excellent thriller.
The way FF describe what is doing the killer and how is using and killing people in his path is unique. The plot to kill DeGaulle and its timing will thrill you all the way till the end of the book. But most important of all is that at the end of it you'll have two questions:

1) It was true this conspiracy to kill DeGaulle?

2) Who really was the killer?

Best Thriller Ever?

Today in Britain Frederick Forsyth is best known as a right wing Anti-European Little Englander whose beliefs revolve around how hard done to are the British farmers and military.
That's a pity as The Day of the Jackel is probably the best thriller ever written. Given that the plot is about an attempt to murder General DeGaulle, which we know must fail, this is quite an achievement.

Set in the early sixties a group of OAS terrorists determined to avenge what they see as DeGaulle's betrayal of French Algeria, hire an English hitman to murder the French head of state.

The killer is known only as The Jackel and the plot unfolds as he plans to make the hit and the French police try to catch him before he can murder DeGaulle.

The book has a number of flaws, the main one being that the Jackel is hard to catch because he has no record with any police agency in the world. If that his so, how did the OAS find him. Surely the French police could use the same route.

This book does not rush, the Jackels preparations are painstakely set out, as are the efforts of the French and British police to catch him. Given that it is quite slow Forsyth's achievement is to keep the reader gripped with the wish to know what happens next.

Beware however Forsyth's flics are not Maigret, they kidnap, torture and intimidate anyone who may be of use to them.

Most of Forsyth's later thrillers are OK although some are real stinkers. Only his second book, The Odessa File comes close to matching the Day of the Jackel in the keep the page turning stakes.

It's a pity that Forsyth or Freddie as his admirers call him did not stick to writing thrillers. If he had, we could just admire his work and not have to ignore his politics.

for more information click here

Forsyth's Best

Forsyth wrote this book, supposedly, in about six weeks. It compares favorably to works that have taken months, or years, and is more compelling than most of le Carre's novels. The "Jackal" is on a methodical countdown the day he will assassinate de Gaulle, and the French authorities frantically attempt to find and stop him. The best aspect of the book is that one can see from both the perspectives - Commissaire Lebel's manhunt, and the Jackal's preparation and execution of his plan. Great thriller!

Worthy of Praise - Not overhype

This book was excellent because it was different. It was extremely directed and purposeful, it was written in the cold calculated style of an assassin's mind.

However, portions of the book were too long and sprawling. Some of the details were approaching laborious. The book felt a bit bloated by unwanted information.

This book is clearly excellent and worth recommending to friends. But talks of being 'the best ever' are overreaching

for more information click here

Children's Book

I wanted a good copy of the book of the old film which I enjoyed so much. Unfortunately I didn't read the fine print on the ad. This is a shortened version (100 pages) of the complete book, sold elsewhere on Amazon. A good book, yes, but not the complete book I was hoping for.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

products you might be interested in