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A review by billymac1962
The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin
3.0
Ever since reading Rosemary's Baby I was set on reading everything by Ira Levin. What made him so enticing was that he didn't have a whole lot of books published, and they are all quite varied.
I remember seeing the movie The Boys from Brazil back in the 70s. So I knew the gist of it but after so many years, enough of it had left my memory that I felt I could enjoy a lot of this book anew. And, I was coming off a significant reading slump so I was looking forward to a story I knew would be good.
From the onset, it was. If you follow my reviews at all, I'm beginning to come off as a grumpy old man, fed up with the proliferation of present tense narratives. I miss the old school past tense narrative, and am more inclined to look back rather than forward for my next reads. So I settled into a comfortable 3rd person, past tense story from the 70s and I was very happy with it.
Unfortunately I became a bit disappointed halfway through the novel. Levin's prose very much took on a procedural-type narrative (it felt to me), and the this-happened, then that-happened, left characterization in the back seat. At this point, getting a full grasp on the plot and where it was going, I admit that I just wanted to cut to the chase. So I skimmed a lot of the next 60 pages or so.
Once things came to a pivotal point, I slowed down again and enjoyed the last 30 pages of the novel.
I will likely continue with Levin's books. The Stepford Wives will be next when I do.
Three stars for this one.
I remember seeing the movie The Boys from Brazil back in the 70s. So I knew the gist of it but after so many years, enough of it had left my memory that I felt I could enjoy a lot of this book anew. And, I was coming off a significant reading slump so I was looking forward to a story I knew would be good.
From the onset, it was. If you follow my reviews at all, I'm beginning to come off as a grumpy old man, fed up with the proliferation of present tense narratives. I miss the old school past tense narrative, and am more inclined to look back rather than forward for my next reads. So I settled into a comfortable 3rd person, past tense story from the 70s and I was very happy with it.
Unfortunately I became a bit disappointed halfway through the novel. Levin's prose very much took on a procedural-type narrative (it felt to me), and the this-happened, then that-happened, left characterization in the back seat. At this point, getting a full grasp on the plot and where it was going, I admit that I just wanted to cut to the chase. So I skimmed a lot of the next 60 pages or so.
Once things came to a pivotal point, I slowed down again and enjoyed the last 30 pages of the novel.
I will likely continue with Levin's books. The Stepford Wives will be next when I do.
Three stars for this one.