Book Review - Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

3.5/5 stars

"I started my new life in an atmosphere of protest against authority. I reminded myself that a week ago I had been finding the world dull."

I had never heard about this book or the author before. Though a book fair, this book managed to get itself a new home - my bookshelf, on which it has been sitting for the past year and a half. This year I've really developed this newfound love for classics. That made me scan through all the classics on my shelf and I came across this one. Then, I did a little googling about the book and the author and came to know that it made its way to the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Of course, I immediately started reading.
Once I started reading I got engrossed in Richard Hannay's story. Richard Hannay, a mining Engineer is bored and fed up with his life. One day he makes himself a vow to give the Old Country a day to make him fit into it else he'll leave the country for good. The next day he meets with an adventure for himself. However, this adventure looks like bringing danger to his life.

"The secret of playing a part was to think yourself into it. You could never keep it up, he said, unless you could manage to convince yourself that you were it."

Yes, you got it right. Thriller. Mystery. If you're on the hunt for a great thriller mystery to read, Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan should not escape your sight. Also, it's a pretty short book to read in a sitting.

What I didn't know was that Thirty-Nine Steps is a part of a series. It has 5 more installments to complete the series and these are not short reads like Thirty-Nine Steps. In the future, if I get my hands on the other copies, I might read and finish the series. Just to see what the other installments have in the package for me because Thirty-Nine Steps, in my belief, can be read as a standalone.

The story reminded me of other thriller stories I'd read so far or the suspense movies I've watched so far. What makes Thirty-Nine Steps different from the rest is that it introduced the world to the Spy genre. This has resulted in many attempted imitations over the years that followed.

The reason why it is getting 3.5 stars is that I read the book this late whereas read and watched its imitations earlier. It didn't feel like I'm reading something new. It's not the author's fault. Had I read the book earlier, I'd have given the book 5 stars. The impact that Thirty-Nine Steps is creating now in my mind is -not new. That's all.