The Day of the Jackal

By: Frederick Forsyth

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the most celebrated thrillers ever written, The Day of the Jackal is the electrifying story of an anonymous Englishman who in, the spring of 1963, was hired by Colonel Marc Rodin, operations chief of the O.A.S., to assassinate General de Gaulle.

France was infuriated by Charles de Gaulle's withdrawal from Algeria, and there were six known attempts to assassinate the general that failed. This novel dramatizes the seventh, mostly deadly attempt, involving a professional killer for hire who would be unknown to the French Police. His code name was Jackal, his price half a million dollars, and his demand total secrecy, even from his employers.

Step by painstaking step, we follow the Jackal in his meticulous planning, from the fashioning of a specially made rifle to the devising of his approach to the time and the place where the general is to meet the Jackal's bullet. The only obstacle in his path is a small, diffident, rumpled policeman, who happens to be considered by his boss the best detective in France: Deputy Commissaire Claude Lebel.

©1971 Frederick Forsyth (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A masterpiece tour de force of crisp, sharp, suspenseful writing." ( Wall Street Journal)
"Compelling, utterly enthralling....Some of the tensest thriller writing I can remember reading." ( Sunday Express, London)

Awesome

Very similar to a Daniel Silva novel. Very sad it ended. Can’t believe I hadn’t heard of Frederick forsythi.

Outstanding Production!

Very meticulous and well nuanced despite the slow and tedious opening to the novel. In the beginning there was a lot of detail that seemed very tedious about the history of French assassinations. However, for the patient, this provided a good background for the story. Once the action commenced, the story became a real nailbiter and guessing game trying to figure out what the jackal was up to and going to do next. This was Masterfull storytelling at his best and the suspense kept building bit by bit until the very end climax. The narrator was excellent and seemed to get better as the story moved on and unfolded especially after the first few chapters. For those who enjoy spy stories, mysteries or thrillers this is a “cat’s meow - albeit a killer cat!

Jackal

This was quite good, especially in the first 2/3rds, after that it loses steam and originality. Some of the turns were not surprising or that interesting as it builds up for the predictable finale. It is very well written and narrated, but short of five stars for me.

Highly recommended

Well done. Enjoyed listening. The narrative was clear and precise and done without hesitation. Thank you for several hours of pleasant listening.

Great!

Loved it from start to finish. I found myself variously rooting for and against The Jackal!

ANOTHER GOOD FORSYTH READ...

Well, more proof that a good, old story is still a good story--period! This great book made for a really good 70's-something movie. I read this and "The Odessa Files" back-to-back. Well worth the time.

BEST NARRATION OF THIS CLASSIC THRILLER

Simon Prebble's narration is superior by far over previous version, revealing new facets of understanding, making this worthy of a re-listening and fuller understanding of the story.

We are told the ending, and it's still awesome

Seriously, early in the narrative, the reader is told how the story will end. Then, despite knowing better, we grind our teeth right to the end.

Complex, but accessible. Detailed, while economical. Righteous fun, though ultimately dark and morose. It's no wonder this is heralded as one of the best apt-fiction novels available. Intelligence collection, counterintelligence, investigation, espionage, assassination plots... what more do you want?

A great detective novel

I had read this book 40 years ago when it first came out and loved it then. Except for the basic story, I had forgotten most of the detail of the book. Listening to this book was a great experience and, as always with a great reader, better than the written text. It's hard to imagine that the author wrote this book in 35 days. In these days, it seems that author's do years of research so that they can accurately document the detail in the novel. When I think about it, who cares whether the gun used is a P-24 semi-automatic rifle with a 10mm short stroked bored and blah, blah blah. I guess this is to satisfy readers of "Rifle Today" magazine. This story was so realistic and so engaging that the specifics of the gunnery were show to be irrelevant. There were several plot holes that I found annoying. For example, having the mistress of the Minister of Air Force in position to relay information seemed contrived. Forsyth needed this desperately to keep the Jackal one step ahead so I understand this need. The second gripe is the negative attitude of the Council when Lebel couldn't find this unknown assassin in three days. This was really hard to accept. This book reminded me of Martin Booth’s 1990 novel A Very Private Gentleman. I could easily see the Jackal as the protagonist in this book. I made me wish that George Clooney had played the Jackal instead of Bruce Willis in the movie remake. Of course, Clooney would not have gone along with the ridiculous plot rewrite. Why mess with a great story? The ending of this book was so fantastic that it deserves to be remade. Was George Smiley of John LeCarre fame the basis for Lebel?

Several Days of Audible Pleasure

Any additional comments?

This is a great listen. I like the perspectives from both sides of the story. The author takes a complex story and weaves it together brilliantly. Nice touches of humor along the way. Simon Prebble is a perfect choice and keeps the story moving. The bits of history are an added bonus.