Rating: 
Summary: Tremendous
Review: Thankfully there are writers like Frederick Forsyth, all of whose books are captivating. His novels are placed realistically in a developed historical context, so there is a real possibility of actually learning something from reading them. He has a knack for melding his fiction into this context, so that it is often hard to tell one from the other. The edition I read (not the one pictured here) had a note from the publisher saying that they intentionally would not clarify the distinction, with the one exception of affirming that the person of Eduard Roschmann did in fact exist. Presumably we would not have believed that the disgusting horrors attributed to this officer of the SS could in fact have been committed.
Because, obliquely, The Odessa File is a novel about the German SS (and to a lesser extent, the Arab-Israeli conflict) as seen through the eyes of a young German reporter of the post-WWII generation. It is so refreshing that Forsyth does not permit himself the usual gross characterizations, instead indicating distinctions in the acts of the SS, the German Wehrmacht, and Latvian collaborators. At the same time, it is not an historical novel per se. There is a palpitating story that takes place in the early sixties, that unfolds surely, without dwelling or stalling, before coming to a dramatic close. But again, the story, surreptitously, brings one that much closer to beginning to understand how the horrors of the Second World War might have happened.
It is hard to appreciate just how much research must have gone into the writing, as Mr Forsyth calls seemingly effortlessly on details of geography, history, language, the German political system, culture, automobiles, and weaponry. It is in some way similar to Tom Clancy's style, except that Forsyth's knowledge extends beyond weaponry alone and it is not what the novel is about. The detail is all beautifully woven into the story and contributes to it.
This truly is one of those books that will be very hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: COOL!
Review: I GENERALY DON'T READ UNKNOWN AUTHORS UNLESS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. TO ME FREDRICK FORSYTHE WAS UNHEARD OF.I WAS BORED ONE DAY AND GOING THROUGH MY FATHERS READERS DIGEST CONDENSED BOOKS COLLECTION. WHEN THE NAME "ODESSA" SOMEHOW STUCK IN MY MIND."WOW" IS ALL I CAN SAY. I'M HOOKED..IT WAS SUPERB, FANTASTIC WORDS FAIL ME.I COUD'NT STOP THINKING ABOUT THE BOOK. WHAT HAPPENED TO EDOUARD? DID'NT THEY EVER CATCH HIM.AND PETER MILLER IS HE STILL ALIVE? THESE ARE THE 1ST QUESTIONS I'D ASK FORSYTH IF I EVER MET HIM.
EVER SINCE MY SELF-INTRODUCTION TO FORSYTH I'M HOOKED.AT THE MOMENT I'M READING DEVIL'S ALTERNATIVE.I THINK ODESSA IS A GOOD INTRO TO FORSYTH. HE IS FABULOUS.YOU GOTTA TO READ THIS BOOK.
Rating:
Summary: Super Thriller
Review: One of first and best offerings in the Fourth Reich genre. If you like that kind of stuff you'll like this. This is at the same level as "Boys from Brazil". Plus there's a really cool movie of it starring Jon Voight.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: A very good old book that is still as interesting today as it probably was when it came out. This author always seams to deliver a well thought out plot with a good amount of detail and short side stories that entertain and keep the story going. The book is much better then the movie and I would suggest you read the book weather you have or have not watched it. This book can really be called a suspense thriller and keeps your attention all the way to the end i.e. plot twist. I actually think this is one of his better books. I also read a good amount of World War 2 nonfiction and the facts presented in the book are dead on. My only complaint would be that I wanted more.
Rating:
Summary: Thriller!
Review: A great read... the 300+ pages went by in no time flat. I don't read too many novels, but this one was a great read. My only problem with the book is the blending of fact/fiction and past/present which has the effect of casting the Middle East situation in terms of the Nazi treatment of the Jews, which I think is a bit dishonest.
Rating:
Summary: Chasing War Criminals Along the Autobahn
Review: One of Forsyth's great first three bestsellers, this is the account of a German investigative journalist who gets caught in the cross-fire between the Nazi-hunters and the sinister underworld network of former SS officers. Forsyth adroitly mixes a lot of very serious subject matter - the interlude where we learn of the Holocaust survivor's personal history is handled with particular sensitivity - with the more familiar themes of the boy's-own adventure (e.g. no desciption of an action-book heroine is complete without a thorough description of her breast size). Reassuring for English readers is the fact that our hero drives a Jaguar, right-hand drive too.
Rating:
Summary: A Nostalgic Read in this Age of True Terror
Review: As a mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I fished out my ancient copy of Frederick Forsyth's THE ODESSA FILE because I wanted to read about a time when evil was simpler and villians were much easier to comprehend. THE ODESSA FILE is one of the most clever books I read as a young person, and it holds up well. The bad guys are Nazi sympathizers, and the hero seems to be a crusader for world justice. Forsyth spins quite a tale here. His characters seem real. He captures the essence of his setting perfectly. I still love his final plot twist. As I crime fiction author, I especially admire the hidden plot that exists just beneath the surface story that reader thinks she is absorbed within. THE ODESSA FILE is a terrific book, even today.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: Set in the early 1960's in West Germany with some scenes from Israel and Nasserite Egypt , this electrifying book has all the elements of a good historical spy novel - suspense,danger,action,human drama as well as a lot of food for thought.We come across a lot of interesting real figures from the time such as Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal and the head head of MOSSAD Meir Amit as well the evil psycopathic SS Officer Eduard Roschmann who in the novel is hunted by a young German journalist , Peter Miller We also read about statesmen and nation builders at the time such as West German Chancellors Konrad Adenauer and Ludwig Erhardt , Israeli leaders David Ben-Gurion , Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir as well the warlike Egyptian dictator Gamel Abdel Nasser.The novel itself begins with the news of the assasination of John F Kennedy But the ordinary grassroots characters too are equally believable from Millers simple but good hearted and beautiful girlfriend Sigrid Rahn to the Israeli agent Uri Ben Shaul alias Josef to doctors and nurses,civil servants ,secretaries and housemaids. The novel is largely based on a true story and includes several important lessons from history.It lays bare the satanic evil of the Nazi SS while also oulining that ordinary Germans are good people ,as described in the novel by excerpts from the diary of holocaust survivor Salomon Tauber which is a very instructive and insightful piece in itself.It also shows the high level of cooperation between Nazi exiles and Arab states in their evil plans to destroy the tiny state of Israel The attempt to do so still continues today and should be exposed for what it is -naked anti-semitism and hatred
Rating:
Summary: The Odessa File
Review: I have just completed Frederick Forsyth's 'The Odessa File' and I never thought that I would say this but in my opinion it eclipses 'The Day of the jackal'. Forsyth takes you back to pivital times in World history from the death camps of Riga to the shooting of Kennedy and touches the background to the 6 day Israeli/Arabic war. He even manages to include the Beatles legandry stint in Hamburg. Forsyth manages to weave a magical thread through all these pieces of history to keep the reader totally engrossed. I have never felt compelled to write a review but I really wish to share my feelings on reading this most brilliant of Forsyth's novels. Mr Forsyth, I cannot wait for your next published work.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Thriller From Forsyth
Review: In the 1960's German Journalist Peter Miller stumbles upon the diary of a German Jew who had been shipped to a concentration camp in Riga, Latvia during World War Two. Reading the diary Miller is enraged at the abuses of the sadistic camp commandant and vows to find him and bring him to justice. What Miller finds instead is the organisation known as Odessa, a super-secret society made up of former members of the SS to protect their own. As Miller gets closer and closer to the truth, his life is put in jeoperady. Finally, with the aide of Jewish Nazi-hunters, he begins a plan that will end either with the Riga commandant at the end of a rope, or his own grisly death. Thrilling from the first page, 'The Odessa File' contains the same heart-pounding suspense that filled Forsyth's earlier work, 'The Day of the Jackel,' and has one of the greatest twist endings in modern fiction. For anyone who enjoys thrilling fiction mixed with historical fact, 'The Odessa File' will not disappoint.
|
