::READERS REVIEWS::

Against the Laws of the Universe - I started The Day of the Jackal with high hopes, and I was just making my way through the first chapter, trying to sort out the characters, when I came across this information: On August 22, 1961, dusk had fallen at 8:10 pm, but on August 22, 1962, dusk fell at 8:35 pm. Those 25 minutes were to change the history of France." Maybe some physicist or astronomer out there can correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that impossible? On the same day of the year, in the same location, wouldn't dusk fall within a few seconds of the time it fell the year previously? Since the failure of the assassination plot depended on this fact, and since I'm not normally interested in plots and chases and assassination attempts, I stopped reading the book.

Creepy, breathtaking, nerve wracking...in other words, a superb thriller - "...The day of the Jackal was over."
As you read the last sentence of the novel, you feel like a marathoner finally crossing the finish line; breathless, exhausted, your head spinning, but also euphoric and feeling you have just participated in a meaningful experience.

The Jackal, a professional assassin, is hired by OAS, a now disbanded real life French militant organization, Organisation de l'armee secrete. His mission is to kill the French President de Gaulle (an actual historical figure). French authorities know of the mission and choose Inspector Lebel to identify and find the killer. The Jackal conducts research on his intended victim and then, despite Lebel's best efforts, relentlessly closes the gap between himself and his target. He uses any methods necessary, seducing and murdering men and women in order to gain shelter on his way to Paris. He is unstoppable.

It is hard to believe that The Day of The Jackal was Forsyth's first fictional novel (originally published in 1971). You realize the writer's mastery when, as you read, you find yourself unable to let go of the feeling of dread and suspense, though fully aware de Gaulle was alive and well in real life, and therefore had to be that way in the book as well. Despite over 350 pages, the novel is a quick read. You forgo meals and become a stranger to your family, all in the effort to find relief in that last sentence:

"...The day of the Jackal was over."

A MUST read - This is the most suspenseful book I have ever read bar none. It is a must read. Most of the nearly 400 pages of the book are one continuous race against time to the ending. The only thing I can think to compare it to is the beginning of Hitchcock's Psycho which builds suspense for the first half of the movie continuously, only this may be even more of a feat. It makes me want to ready all of Forsyth's books. I stayed up until 2 am, reading the last 100 or so pages.

Slow Moving and Tedious at Times - I bought this book on hopes that it would be a gripping read about spies, sabotage, and suspense. This novel moved very slowly and was bogged down with French details, too many acronyms, and weak, uninteresting plot development. On one level, the Jackal's character was interesting, mysterious and somewhat dynamic, but this novel dragged and was such a slow read. Look elsewhere for a page-turner. Ken Follett's Eye of the Needle is a far better choice in this genre; now that was a fantastic, gripping spy novel.

Paramount thriller - The best thriller I have ever read in my life and the book that introduced me to learn to love reading fiction

The Day of the Jackal - Charles De Gaulle is the target. It is easy to imagine Fosythe's plot of an assassination attempt on the life of the President of France, Charles De Gaulle. The "Jackal", is basically an unknown hit man, hired to kill this president who, in my estimation, does not rank highly in the esteem of his fellow countrymen. One can almost cheer the efforts of the "Jackal" in his pursuit of the aristocratic, overbearing De Gaulle. One almost hopes that Claude Lebel, the best detective in the service of France, will fail in his chase to forestall the inevitable.

Although it is a forgone conclusion that the "Jackal" will fail in his objective, the climactic finish to this story will keep the reader on the edge of his seat. It seems that despite the best efforts of Lebel, De Gaulle will be shot, particulary when he looms in the sniper scope of the assassin. The movie, based on this writing, is as exciting as the book and actually helps us envision the chase across Europe which ends in Paris. Both the book and the movie are presented in a thrilling manner that will stick with you long after you see or read "The Day of the Jackal".

The Definitive Assassin Thriller - It is 1963 and The Jackal is an assassin hired by the OAS, an organization of French war veterans who feel betrayed because DeGaulle gave up Algeria, to kill the man. However the police get tipped off and so the book turns into a sort of cat and mouse game, especially as the Jackal knows the police are on to him and he proceeds with his plans anyway.

Forsyth puts his readers in the mind of the assassin as he methodically carries out his plans and at times I found myself rooting for the bad guy, even though I knew how the story had to come out. He also lets his readers see the efforts of Commissionaire Claude Lebel as he sets out almost singlehandedly to try and stop the Jackal.

The Jackal is meticulous, resourceful, ruthless and a master of disguise, while Lebel is dogged and determined as he calls in every favor and uses every connection he has with world wide police agencies in a frantic effort to find out who the Jackal is so that he can stop him.

Though this book was written a generation ago, it still holds up today and for my money, it'll still be held up as the definitive assassin story a generation from now. That Mr. Forsyth is a genius is beyond question. He is a master of his craft as he was back then, all those years ago, when he wrote this book. If ever there was a nonstop thriller, this is it.

A gripping and exciting thriller - "The Day of the Jackal" is one of the most famous political thrillers. The plot centers on an assassination attempt on the French president Charles De Gaul in the early 1960s by a group of right-wing extremists who were disillusioned by his "abdication" of Algeria. Their own plots invariably fail, so they decide to hire an outsider, a professional assassin for this enormously difficult task. The assassin, a British citizen, happens to be extremely good at what he does as well as extremely expensive. In order to ensure the highest level of secrecy even his contractors only know him by the codename "The Jackal." The Jackal is very professional and methodical in his approach, and seems to leave almost nothing to chance. The methods that he uses are described with an incredible attention to details, and according to some reports many of them had been used in various criminal endeavors. This provides the novel with a very high level of credibility that has rarely been matched before or since.

The novel overall has aged remarkably well. Aside from a few quaint details that can bring a slight smile (hardly anyone today thinks of international phone calls or travel as very glamorous or sophisticated), most of the technical and organizational details would not be out of place even now. The narrative style can at first seem a bit scholarly and somewhat detached, but as the novel progresses it starts to feel more and more natural and appropriate for the era at which the action takes place as well as for the plot line itself. The novel takes you on a very exciting and gripping ride, and after not too long becomes impossible to put down. It is certainly one of the best crafted thrillers that I had ever read.

One of the best thrillers ever written - Frederick Forsythe's classic work is a gripping page-turner from beginning to end. The story is about an assassin hired to kill French President Charles de Gaulle, and his planning and painstaking attention detail that makes this thriller tower over others of this type. Forsythe's book takes the reader on a tour of several European capitals as the jackal prepares to cash in on the piggest payday of his career. Although the top security services in the world are on the alert hor him, the jackal eludes the net and positions himself for the big hit in Paris as the target day approaches. The unabridged audiobook is read by Richard Brown, who gives a superb narrative of the events and characters in this exciting novel.

Amazing thriller - This review shall be short and sweet, as most everything that needed to be said probably was.

I loved this book, it is definitely one of my top 3 books ever.
The Day of the Jackal basically pits an ingenious assassin, the Jackal, against an ingenious detective, Claude Lebel, in a race against time. The details within this plot (which is intriguing in itself) really make this novel shine, and I love how everything will finally connect at different parts of the story. You may find yourself scratching your head with the sudden introduction of some new characters (like I did), but reading on a few chapters, it will all reveal itself naturally like a good thriller should.

I'll conclude by quoting the inside jacket of my version of this book, which sums up my review:
"That everyone knows President de Gaulle ultimately died a natural death does not for an instant detract from the die-cut reality of this driving and remarkable novel of terror, suspense, human malevolence, and triumph. Let any skeptic begin and he will soon be hooked and then enthralled".

I read it every year... - I'm not an international spy/assassination-plot "blockbuster" reader. I love quirky books by quirky, literary authors. However, "Jackal" has drawn me back again and again, and I figure I must read it at least once a year year, and then find myself following up with the excellent film, to see if it depicts new things (I always find) in the re-reading. I'm almost finished with it again this year and I can't believe that I it feels like an entirely different, yet still fabulous, book! That tells it's a possible masterpiece, a work of art that never ceases to be fresh and thought-provoking. One learns so much about history, geography, guns, European automobiles, the art of disguise, how French security works at the top; Charles DeGaulle's personality; French and British rivalry/loyalty, the OAS, the Corsican underground, etc. etc. What separates it from other thrillers of its kind are 1.) the brilliant plot and 2.) the intricate, astute character studies. Best of all are those of the fabulous Jackal himself, and the unprepossessing, dogged detective who never crumples under the exhausting pressure to catch a complete unknown. However, even the slightest characters are well-crafted, which is what sets this novel apart from others in its genre, which I find rather cliche'd and clumsy when it comes to assigning physical features, motives and psychological texture/depth. If you are reading it for the first time, don't expect to do much work for the next few days, and if you are a slow reader, rejoice! This book is best stretched over time, because once you've finished it, there's really no other quite as delicious. On the other hand, you can always read it again...and again.

Killer Book! - Just so you know, my review will not ruin it for you. The Day of the Jackal is a very fun book to read. The craftiest operations I couldn't ever imagine went into the Jackal's assassination mission. It's possible to even admire the Jackal so much tempting one to wish him success in his mission. The detective work was just as clever. Some things that were not adding up get resolved in the conclusion, saving the story from not making sense and keeping it realistic.