There's very little conventional action in Frederick Forsyth's classic political thriller. Other than 2-3 instances of violence, it's almost completely free of the kind of incident you'd see in similar thrillers. The book, in fact, is made up almost entirely of characters…making plans.
And yet, it's still one of the compelling and exciting books of its kind I've read in a while. It's a classic cat-and-mouse game between the law and the lawless, pared down almost exclusively to process, method and detail. The whole book, in fact, is pretty much just those details, a cold and clinical examination of how the ultimate assassin plans for the ultimate kill. "Clinical" is the perfect way to look at it, as even the main sections of the book are titled as "Anatomy of a…". There are only a couple of scattered moments of violence, and even they're portrayed in a quick, off-hand, clinical manner.
There's something incredibly satisfying in the way Frederick Forsyth captures these seemingly mundane details and turns them into exciting storytelling, whether it's the eponymous Jackal assembling/disassembling his gun over and over to perfect the speed and execution, or spending multiple pages on examining the impact that building angels and wind speed might have on a bullet in a town square, or figuring out a way to take on the identity of a dead child from decades ago. It's just really smart and clever storytelling with minimal exposition and spoon-feeding.
"Competence porn" is something that we all seem to love, and The Day of the Jackal is one of the best examples of it. This extends to the law enforcement officials that are after the Jackal too – there's no genius Sherlock Holmes-type character, just smart, competent professionals following protocol and process to get shit done.
The book is written better than most modern thrillers as well, in a crisp, no-frills style that avoids sounding dull or wooden. There's some commentary here on the impact of nationalism and colonialism and although it's not really the focus, it's still interesting to read about the French occupation of Algeria.
It's not a perfect book by any means, and shows its age in some ways. The female characters exist pretty much only to be sex objects (I don't even know what the point of the Baroness character was other than for the Jackal to bang her lol, because there were numerous other ways that part of the story could've developed). TBF, pretty much all the characters are little more than devices to move the plot along.
But that's not really the main appeal here. If you're looking for a perfectly-crafted political thriller, this is one of the best. A deserved classic.
by keepfighting90
1 Comment
Good review. Perhaps the point of the Baroness was to show how clinically cold and calculating the Jackal could be, anything to further his plan.