June 2020 Group Read (spoiler thread) - The Odessa File by Frederick Forsythe

[Bill]

This thread is for spoiler comments when discussing The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth.

[Jupiter]

I finished this book last week for the group discussion. Looking forward to everyone's opinion!

[Kristin]

My library only has the audio version and I’m struggling to get into it. Anyone have thoughts about whether it’s worth pressing on?

[Carolien]

I am about two thirds through and enjoying it. I haven't read a Cold War thriller in a while. One of the aspects that I am finding particularly interesting is the description of the escape route used by the SS via Italy to South America. I am listening to The Ratline: Love, Lies, and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive by Philippe Sands which describes the death of Otto von Wachter who used this route.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I first read this in high school. It was one of my first stabs at reading "adult" fiction (although with some Peter Benchley and Alistair MacLean) instead of the borderline young-adult stuff I was growing tired of. This book appealed to me probably because I was aware there was a movie version (which I had not seen) so I assumed it must be good if someone bought the movie rights.

At the time, I really didn't understand fully the topics that are covered in the book - the idea of how the average German was coping with the aftermath of the war and the holocaust. But I did enjoy the idea of a Nazi war criminal being hunted. Nazis make the best bad guys.

The part of the book that stuck with the most was the idea of the car bomb that is planted on Miller's car, and how it fails to immediately detonate because of the car's tight suspension, which adds to the building of suspense throughout the story.

I re-read the book a couple years ago and found that I liked it even more this time through because I had a greater awareness of the historical time periods of WWII and the decades immediately following. Miller's stripper girlfriend, who seemed titillating when I was a teenager, is now merely a sad anachronism. But the story is patient and well-crafted.

Even though I knew it was coming, the twist at the end was fun because this time I got to see how Forsyth carefully set it up.

[Lew]

RJ from the LBC wrote: "I first read this in high school. It was one of my first stabs at reading "adult" fiction (although with some Peter Benchley and Alistair MacLean) instead of the borde..."

I had a similar experience with this book. I read it in the mid seventies as a young middle-schooler but don't think I much got what it was about. Reading it now, especially during a period of "unrest" and watching the paralells in our world today is surreal.

[Lew]

I found that I had a hard time getting into the book because I kept waiting for Miller to find himself in danger, which doesn't happen till close to the end.

One of the things that struck me is that the book could almost be split into two, with the first 60% or so read as "Historic Fiction" and the last third transitions to the "Thriller" part. Once I settled in and enjoyed the excellent writing, I had a great time with the book.

[Kathryn in FL]

I just got an opportunity to read this book (I nominated it), anyone going to discuss specifics or have y'all moved on?