Eye of the Needle
Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett was a disappointment after my first experience with this author being Pillars of the Earth.
Pillars was memorable in its scope and style; a classic piece of literature. Eye of the Needle was a letdown in comparison.
This was Follett’s first book and it’s fair to say he’s improved considerably as a writer. Eye of the Needle is a spy drama set in the Second World War. It’s about a German spy in Britain who learns the truth of preparations for D-Day.
History tells us the Germans knew there would be a counter-invasion of France, but didn’t know where the assault would begin. If Rommel’s tanks had been waiting on the beaches of Normandy the outcome may have been different.
Follett’s character is thwarted from telling Berlin the truth of his discovery by a Professor turned spycatcher and a beautiful woman he beds and doesn’t have the heart to kill.
It was all rather soapy and a little “boy’s own”. The English military stereotypes were all there. It was more like reading Biggles than the Follett of Pillars.
The ending was the best part, and I don’t mean that to sound sarcastic. The writing was much sharper and the suspense built nicely.
A narrative technique in the early stages irritated me. Follett interrupted the story flow several times to introduce irrelevant third-party characters to give a different perspective on things that were happening in the world around them. For example, the military build-up was a hoax that involved cardboard cut-outs of tanks and aircraft. The spy was interested in this, of course, but I couldn’t see the relevance of introducing a local landowner scratching his head at the strange sight.
I gave this book two stars because it compared poorly with Pillars. It could have scraped in for three stars and I won’t go so far to say you shouldn’t read it. The story is enjoyable without being memorable.
I'm a 41-year-old father of four working as a newspaper editor at Mount Gambier in South Australia.
