The story of heroine..

I just finished reading “Jackdaws” by Ken Follett. Thought of posting some of my comments about the author and the book. I like this author very much. It’s almost like an addiction for me. I find his writing very attractive and catchy. You will never feel to put his books down.
Mostly he writes spy thrillers and it is always like a Bollywood storyline. I know most of the films in Bollywood are “inspired” by English novels. Hence when you read this author you feel like watching a Bollywood movie. The only exception is that, there are no songs. J There is a hero, a heroine, a villain and other supporting characters. I know in all novels there will be characters like this. But I don’t know why, whenever I read his novels, I feel like I am there with all the characters as a witness to all the events in the story. The story will be very past paced and you will not get bored any time.

Most of his stories are framed in historical settings. He does a good research on the subject of his novels. That’s one of the reasons I like him.There will be lot of technical details which sometimes puts you off the track but not for long. Like in one of his novels he explains about piloting the aircrafts and its technicalities and elsewhere he does research on earthquakes and that story is based on causing earthquakes by using a vibrator machine. Though seems very unbelievable, still you will like it for the entertaining storyline. Most of his stories will contain some or the other technical details on various subjects. It’s not simply a story with all ordinary characters and ordinary events. His characters are so strong that when you read, you actually visualize that person. That’s where I like Follett. He says his novels are based on actual stories and he also gives us a glimpse of the true story.

“Jackdaws” is a story timed at World War II and it’s the story of the resistance of occupied France. It’s the story of Hitler and his invasions though he is not a character in this novel. It’s a story of 6 women of French resistance movement and how they carry on their war against the occupying forces.

Felicity Clariet, known as Flick is the leader of Jackdaws, a group of 6 women and she is also the heroine of the story and the story is almost circled around this character. Though it contains heroes, they don’t play much role here, as the heroine takes charge of the story as well as the events in the book.

To summarize the story, it’s about the plot, preparations and the actions of a mission carried by Jackdaws headed by Flick who is a British agent. The mission is to blow up the chateau that now houses the crucial telephone exchange connecting the French telephone system to that of Germany. And it’s also about the counter actions by the Gestapo. As always, there is a villain in this story too. But unlike his other novels, Follett’s villain in this story is a likeable character. Franck, who is a German army officer and in charge of the counter action is almost like a hero. You like him for his brilliance and his style of working but at the same time hate him for his brutal interrogations.

The story unfolds in a typical Bollywood style. It starts with a failed attempt to blow up the Telephone exchange and both the heroine and the villain come face to face and it’s also the introduction tactic.

It is 1944 and the Allies are preparing for the invasion of Europe , but the Allies need to make sure that communications is down for longer so that there will be as little warning of the invasion as possible. This is the reason behind the mission to bomb the Telephone Exchange.
When the first operation doesn’t succeed, they escape with their lives and Flick returns to her home in London. And then starts the plot for the next attack. This time with an all-female team that will infiltrate the exchange posing as French cleaning staff.

The story moves very fast. There are some incidents where the group gets into trouble but unbelievably escapes them. And there are graphic descriptions of the brutal interrogations of men and women. But if we look at the story as a whole it’s very likable. I really enjoyed reading it.