The Day of the Jackal

I saw the original movie many years ago and thought that it was entertaining during the same period of time that James Bond movies were popular. I'm not sure I ever intended to read the book but I have become interested in Frederick Forsyth lately and decided to read the book. It was very good and I'm glad I finally took the time to read it.

I watched the TV series before I read the book. I enjoyed the book as much as I enjoyed the TV series.It is timeless and a must read.

I got hooked on Peacock's series "The Day of the Jackal" so naturally I wanted to read the book after finishing Season 1 of the series. The book is outstanding. Obviously the TV show is significantly different since it's set in 2024 and the book is about an assassination plot of the French President in 1963. However the Jackal character is the same type assassin. The book details the police procedures employed to track the Jackal and this description of the police activities was fascinating to me. The chase was dramatic as the Jackal always seemed to be just a few hours ahead of the police pursuit. A dramatic and thrilling conclusion sets this book apart.

Re-reading my all-time favorite novel fifty years later was a great experience. Perhaps even better this time as I unwrapped the mostly forgotten gifts of thousands of details. Thanks Frederick Forsyth, again.

I saw the 1973 movie first and it was the quality of the film that led me to read the book. The movie follows the book very closely.Engrossing reading — a great story written by a master storyteller.

THE DAY OF THE JACKAL by Frederick Forsyth.This is a classic - a great experience. I'm frequently smiling at the smart and unexpected actions. Leading the investigation is homicide detective Lebel. He is short, rumpled, quiet, unassuming, and blinks a lot when criticized. There are no scenes with his wife, but we hear that he is henpecked. Don't expect a charismatic hero. This is a humble man doing smart things in a methodical manner. I loved the nuanced characters. I was sympathetic to some of the bad guys and disliked some of the good guys. Jackal is a bad guy but he does not humiliate or do despicable things to people. He just kills anyone who threatens him. I admired his intelligence and competence. The OAS guys are bad guys, but they have idealistic motives, even though warped. They're not out to kill masses of people. They just want to kill one guy.Government officials learn that the OAS hired a foreigner to assassinate the French president. The killer's code name is Jackal. They cannot talk to the OAS because they are hiding in another country. Lebel is brought in to lead the search to find the Jackal. I'm shaking my head thinking where does he start? What can he do? And then I am so impressed with the method of investigating and uncovering clues. On the other side, I was impressed and intrigued with many smart things the Jackal did.CLASSIC WRITING STYLE:I love this method of writing - classic. There is no jumping around in time. Things are told in a logical and linear method. In many cases when a new character is introduced, a short background is given showing his motivations, and then the current day story continues. This works well. And all scenes have natural endings. The author doesn't stop a scene in the middle of a sentence. (Stephen King are you listening?)MAINTAINING SUSPENSE:I am frequently annoyed with other authors who leave scenes before a natural end and jump to another character, place, or time. For example, Mary walks into a room, hears a noise, and is hit. The next sentence is about another character in another place. This is not story suspense. It's manipulation to create artificial suspense. I am angry at the author. My anger takes me out of the story. Forsyth does suspense perfectly in this book. For example, Lebel gets a clue about the Jackal. I feel hopeful. POV switches to Jackal who is doing things according to plan. He hears that Lebel learned something, so Jackal changes his plan and does something different. I'm impressed. POV then switches to Lebel's guys who arrive at Jackal's location but don't find him because Jackal left an hour earlier. I'm thinking oh no what will they do next? Even though the POV is switching, the actions flow in a logical time line. The result is a chess game - watching each player respond and make his next move. This is a perfect way to maintain suspense throughout the book.CAUTION MINOR SPOILER:I had only one complaint. I wanted to see revenge and consequences for Jacqueline and the man she seduced. It probably happened but I didn't get to see it.END SPOILER.NARRATOR:The narrator Simon Prebble did a fine job.DATA:Unabridged audiobook reading time: 13 hrs and 21 mins. Swearing language: moderate, only two or three times. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: about 5, mostly referred to, not much detail. Setting: primarily 1963 France, England, Belgium, and Italy. Book copyright: 1971. Genre: suspense thriller. Ending: Excellent and feel good.

One of the more remarkable aspects to Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal is how events are presented so realistically. The book is based on the true life attempts on French President Charles de Gaulle’s life, and Forsyth uses much of his experience covering news in France during the 1960s as well as thorough research to present a fictionalized account of these events.The novel is structured in a way to first give a picture of the two sides, and then give a timeline for the events to follow. The first part of the novel, Anatomy of a Plot, gives background into OAS organization, their hatred for de Gaulle, and their efforts to find the perfect assassin to do the job. Deciding on a man who is only referred by the codename “The Jackal”, they set in motion the preparations for this attempt. Part two, Anatomy of a Manhunt, goes into the police forces’ attempts to identify and unmask this assassin, and figure out how, where and when he will strike. This builds to the final part, Anatomy of a Kill, which is a final confrontation between the two sides.I was quite impressed with the way the author is able to present the two alternating plot lines to create a building sense of tension. When deputy commissioner Claude Lebel is appointed to take on this massive case, there is a sense of frustration and tension within their own police investigation and manhunt, as they butt heads on how to identify and stop the Jackal. Lebel has to get inside the killer’s head in order to figure out how he thinks and what his next move is and create a mental timeline. As we follow Lebel and his team’s relentless pursuit of this nameless figure, we also follow the Jackal’s. The alternating movements really help to build to one brilliant, tension-filled conclusion, especially as each side tries to outmaneuver the other.I though it interesting in that the two sides are presented in a neutral manner. The narrator does not favor one side over another, but gives insight into both assassin and police perspectives. The Jackal is presented as cold and calculating, yet suave (think James Bond as an assassin). He loves his women, and his loves his gadgets. He loves to life the good life (fine wine, good food, expensive hotels) once he has his priorities have been met. On the other side, Lebel is sort of a bumbling, imperfect, yet quite intellectual figure. He may be the perfect fit for this job because of his imperfections, however; he seems to see into things in a true light because of his detective-like knowledge. In short, he knows what he is up against: “A real gentleman, thought Lebel, is as dangerous as a snake. They are always the worst kind for the policeman, the real gentleman. No one ever suspects them.”The Day of the Jackal is a gripping suspense and thriller, and finishes with quite a face-paced race to the finish in the final pages.