Recently read: "The 39 Steps" and "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"

Continuing my attempt to read through some of the Red Classic Penguins I've recently acquired, I moved on to "The 39 Steps" and Robert Louis Stevenson's famous thin thriller about a Doctor who wants... well, it's not exactly clear what he wants, except that it's pretty certain he doesn't want what he's already got.

I have to say that Hitchcock's film adaptation of "The 39 Steps" is so far distant from the book that it shares, let's see, the protagonist's name, a mysterious stranger he bumps into who then gets bumped off in his flat, and the milkman gag that springs him loose and on the run. Other than that, the movie is completely, utterly different, and better, than the book. The book is a pretty standard pot-boilerish thriller and if it had no connection to one of my favourite movies, and it wasn't this time of year (where I am bound to the code of the book drive), then I highly doubt I would have finished this book. I honestly cannot really recommend it. Rent the movie instead (but make sure you get the Criterion edition; it's been wonderfully restored and has some great extras).

As to Stevenson's famous book, it was much better, and about half the size. Rightly, it's a novella and not a novel. But it's a slick piece of Victorian horror. Oddly enough, it's not all that dated; mostly because Stevenson was very, very careful to tap dance around the details of (a) Jekyll's motivation, and (b) the exact manner in which his activities elude his control. Unlike the recent BBC television series that soundly loses momentum as it shines more light on the Doctor's predicament, Stevenson must have known that the shape beneath the cloth would hold much more tension, and so the tale is told in a manner that keeps the reader at arm's length. Highly, highly recommended. A dedicated reader could get through the novella in an evening. It's not going to "chill you to your very soul" or anything, but it's still strong, effective writing and well worth the read.

Recently read: "The 39 Steps" and "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"

Continuing my attempt to read through some of the Red Classic Penguins I've recently acquired, I moved on to "The 39 Steps" and Robert Louis Stevenson's famous thin thriller about a Doctor who wants... well, it's not exactly clear what he wants, except that it's pretty certain he doesn't want what he's already got.

I have to say that Hitchcock's film adaptation of "The 39 Steps" is so far distant from the book that it shares, let's see, the protagonist's name, a mysterious stranger he bumps into who then gets bumped off in his flat, and the milkman gag that springs him loose and on the run. Other than that, the movie is completely, utterly different, and better, than the book. The book is a pretty standard pot-boilerish thriller and if it had no connection to one of my favourite movies, and it wasn't this time of year (where I am bound to the code of the book drive), then I highly doubt I would have finished this book. I honestly cannot really recommend it. Rent the movie instead (but make sure you get the Criterion edition; it's been wonderfully restored and has some great extras).

As to Stevenson's famous book, it was much better, and about half the size. Rightly, it's a novella and not a novel. But it's a slick piece of Victorian horror. Oddly enough, it's not all that dated; mostly because Stevenson was very, very careful to tap dance around the details of (a) Jekyll's motivation, and (b) the exact manner in which his activities elude his control. Unlike the recent BBC television series that soundly loses momentum as it shines more light on the Doctor's predicament, Stevenson must have known that the shape beneath the cloth would hold much more tension, and so the tale is told in a manner that keeps the reader at arm's length. Highly, highly recommended. A dedicated reader could get through the novella in an evening. It's not going to "chill you to your very soul" or anything, but it's still strong, effective writing and well worth the read.