Killing my TBR Classics pile: #5 The 39 Steps by John Buchan

Still fuming after reading Dracula, I decided to venture into something short. Basically, I was on the verge of abandoning the project while I was so near the end. Only one book really to go! ( I was doing this over my holiday, and there was not much time left. While I definitely have more than one classic left on my TBR pile, there was only one more I really wanted to get to this holiday.) So I decided to pick up a copy of The 39 Steps by John Buchan. It only came in at 109 pages.

There was something about The 39 Steps that rang a bell to my youth. I have a vague memory of it being connected to my dad, but I have no way on knowing whether it was the movie we might have watched together, or whether he mentioned the book (my dad read when he was young, but never in my lifetime) and encouraged me to read it. Anyway, I knew that if there was a connection with my dad, it was not likely to be a long winding piece of prose filled to the brim with description. It would be plot driven. And it was, mostly!

The 39 Steps was enjoyable. I think it can be described as a typical spy thrilled, even if it was  not as thrilling as other spy novels I have read. (If you want to read exciting spy thrillers, I would suggest Robert Ludlum. But I suppose technology has really made a huge difference with regards to the thrilling aspect of spy novels.) We have an unsuspecting protagonist who is thrown into a situation of life and death - of a nation; there is a code that needs breaking; there are people on the hunt. Yip! A rather pleasant premise.

There were elements of this that I found unrealistic. There was no way that I could agree with the premise put forward regarding disguise. At least, not to the extent in this novella. And there were a few too many coincidences. What are the odds of actually walking into the backyard of the guy you are running from? But that aside, my only other complaint was that there was a lot of traipsing around in the beginning, which had little bearing on the story on the whole - if we ignore all the coincidences. But I can't say I was bored. I was keen enough for Richard Hannay to avoid capture and save the day - which means that I was emotionally invested at least to some degree in the novel. (I would say the length - or the lack of length - made it a bit difficult to get completely immersed, as there is not enough time to really build that connection with a character.)

I also have to add that I enjoyed all the references to South Africa and Zimbabwe. The fact that Hannay kept referring to my own countries history made him seem that little more real.

I gave this 3 stars. It was enjoyable for the length, but nothing spectacular.