The Odessa File

” The Odessa File” The book was written by Frederick Forsyth

My style of book review is a little different than the ones i have read so far. The story, plot , etc you can find on wikipedia and other sources so I come straight to my part.

What I liked
The dialog exchange between the hero and villain at the end of story leading to unfolding of the mystery was the best part of the story. Author was successful in gaurding the suspense till the end to ensure the ROI of time invested in reading the book . The emotional scenes wherein the person around whose diary the story revolves has to send his own wife to gas chamber. It just sends shiver down the spines thinking what must have gone through the mind of person. The guilt, fear and desire to survive and tell the story creates an incredibly invigorating cauldron of thoughts which really forces reader to think.

The explanation of mindset of SS people which has not been captured much in usual books and documentaries I have come across. IT gave me a chance to see the view of the people perceived as villains by everyone. In one corner of my heart i felt that maybe some of them were only following the orders since they had no other option. Even though the villain officer was not the one to deserve my sympathy but yes there were some who would have been just people in wrong place and wrong time.

Literary masterpiece
At several locations the authro describes the actions location in a scene without actually giving away who is doing the actions. Only after the actions and the scene has been completed the reader gets to know the actor who was being discussed all along. The use of such a literary technique was unique for me

What I didn’t like
The part where author describes the bomb making procedure to be planted under protagonist’s car was slightly over stretched. I personally was not quite keen on knowing the exact steps stretching over 2-3 pages. the piece must have needed a lot of research by author but to my temperament it didn’t appeal much. Things like these can actually wean away reader interest sometimes.

Recommendation : If you like thrillers and fictions then it is right book for you.