world literature

Some modern Scottish thriller writers are contrasted (not always favourably) with two perceived greats of Scottish fiction - Robert Louis Stevenson and John Bucahn. I love Stevenson, the fast pace of his stories, and his characterisation. This was the first Buchan I read. While it will not be the last I felt a little disappointed.

The Thirty Nine steps is said to be one of the most important novels in the thriller genre. Featuring Richard Hannay a former South African miner, who is caught in a spy story, the effects of which may lead to war in western Europe.

The story is fast moving. Hannay is placed in predicament after predicament (like the Perils of Pauline) following the discovery of a body in his London flat. He escapes to Galloway, then Dumfriesshire (rural south west Scotland). Pursued by both police and foreign agents Hannay's life is at risk - and we witness his use of a number of disguises, and his experience as a mining engineer, in escaping each predicament.

At times the novel feels like a loosely related series of escapades, but the final chapters (as in Childers' The riddle of the sands) pull the disparate strands together satisfyingly. Fast paced with an appealing central character, the novel is recommended as a quick and easy entertainment. However, there are some flaws readers ought to be aware of.

In the Scottish sections of the novel Buchan writes the dialogue of the locals in dialect, contrasting this with the the "received pronunication" of the other characters. As a technique it appears to belittle the validity of the dialect spoken, and appears to patronise the locals. Although, Buchan's sleight here is countered by his portrayal of the locals. They share a certain cunning and deviousness. Additionally, the use of dialect (and a particular type of lowland Scots dialect) renders parts of the text difficult to follow.

Most concerning about the book is the inherent anti-semitism. Analgoies and metaphors rely on negative imagery of jews; and one of the characters (scudder) is overtly anti-semitic in his comments. While this was a prevalent attitude in a certain strata of British writing pre- World War Two, it jars today - and rendered parts of the novel, for this reader, offensive.

Buchan is certainly readable, but his work has dated. His influence is apparent in the work of Greene, and inherent in his work are the influences of American thriller writers of the early twentieth century, and Conan Doyle's Holmes, Challenger, and Brigadier Gerard stories.

If you enjoyed this novel you might want to try Graham Greene's Gun for sale; The Confidential Agent; Stamboul Train; and The Ministry of fear.

A breezy little read, John Buchan's "The 39 Steps" was quite the success in its' day, and has apparently never been out of print.
The book is an example of an author being not so concerned where the story ends, but in having a lot of fun actually getting there.
Hitchcock's film, liberally quoted in other reviews, is a marvel, and should be required viewing by pretty much everyone. But it's about 50% different than the novel, keeping about half of the stuff found between these pages.
That makes reading the novel after seeing the film an unexpectedly surprising experience. The plot justs gallops along, one adventure and colorful character after another. Buchan's evocative and picturesque Scottish highlands breathe. His cocky hero, Richard Hannay, is a joy to follow. I had no idea there are FOUR subsequent novels featuring Hannay, which I now proudly own, in spectacular Folio editions!
One last thing: the "anti-Semitism" mentioned comes only from the decidedly evil character (and is totally within character), and not seen anywhere else in the novel.
This is not a classic in the "heavy, literal, dense, highbrow" sense. This is a classic that you can imagine thousands of people, early in this century, having just the best time reading.

This is one of those short novels that is just a fun read. The main character is taken on a journey that leads him away from the boredom he was experiencing in London. It is a simple first-person story with a very interesting writing style. John Buchan manages to make the "rookie-happenstance-spy being chased by everyone" story work without a hitch.

I wish I had read this novel sooner. I believe it is a must read for anyone interested in good literature and storytelling. I felt like the main character, Richard Hannay, was telling me the story as he puffed on his tobacco pipe. Hannay is like a man trapped in a giant rolling snowball...cept' he's enjoying the wild ride and ignoring the eventual crash.

Buchan made the suspense, the landscape, and the travel blend together in a very well-rounded adventure. I have never seen the movie adaptation, but will definitely look for it.

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