Book review: Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
In 1944 during World War II, the Allies mounted a deception to convince the Germans that what would be the D-Day invasion in France would occur at Calais, when in reality the Allies planned on landing in Normandy. Ken Follett speculates in the fictional tale Eye of the Needle of what may have happened had a German spy discovered this deception and attempted to warn the Germans ahead of time.
Written in 1978, Eye of the Needle consists of only a few main characters: Henry Faber, the German spy, David and Lucy Rose, a young couple who cross paths with Faber, and British military intelligence agents who are trying to track down Faber. The story rolls along quite quickly, and I’m not sure if it is because I didn’t want to put it down or if it lacked the depth that I now come to expect from the best works of fiction (probably both).
Most novels that I read I can’t envision being made into a good movie. But Eye of the Needle is written somewhat like a screenplay. Reading the book inspired me to watch the movie adaptation made in 1981 with Donald Sutherland, and while it is not a bad film, the books brings insight and emotion that can’t be conveyed through the medium of film.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10.
Book review: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick « From inside a rock, out comes a monkey replied:
[...] a reader expect those aspects to come together at some point in the book (such as in Black Cross or Eye of the Needle). But while there is some interconnectedness between the characters and story lines, it wasn’t [...]
February 19, 2009 9:16 pm at 9:16 pm. Permalink.