Het is zeker niet zijn beste boek, maar je kan niet echt fout gaan met Ken Follett. Verder is het bijzonder dat je aan het begin een hekel hebt aan de Engelsen en eigenlijk zou willen dat de nazi's zouden winnen. Op 2/3 draait dit opeens 180 graden om

I am not sure which year I read this one but it was excellent.

Bello, ogni volta Follet mi stupisce, c'è sempre la parte di romance. Questo libro è ambientato tutto in Egitto, dove il maresciallo inglese Vandam dai suoi spospetti cerca di tracciare e trovare la spia Alex Wolff. Storia d'intrecci..mi è piaciuto.

The Key to Rebecca is a novel by the British author Ken Follett. Published in 1980, it was a best-seller that achieved popularity in the United Kingdom and worldwide. The code mentioned in the title is an intended throwback from Follett to Daphne du Maurier's famed suspense novel Rebecca.

Rebecca Vai à Guerra


Esta história que nos leva até à exótica e misteriosa Cairo, tem uma pontinha de verdade:
Andava Ken Follet a cuscar por aí, em busca de enredo para o célebre "Buraco da Agulha", quando foi brindado com uma história paralela que envolvia um espião nazi, uma sensual dançarina do ventre, e Rebecca — a famosa obra literária de Daphne du Maurier.
E foi a partir desta estranha tríade que germinou uma nova Rebecca — mais guerreira e menos romântica!
Se a guerra vai à literatura, a literatura também vai à guerra...

"A Chave para Rebecca" não é Ken Follet no seu melhor (leia-se excelente), mas é Ken Follet no seu quasi-melhor (leia-se ótimo).
Uma leitura onde conhecimento e entretenimento, encaixam na perfeição!
Que mais se pode exigir?!...
Recomenda-se, claro!

Karl Ove Knausgård clearly has a high opinion of this book:

Jeg gick opp på rommet mitt, la meg i senga og leste vidare i Follett-boka. Da jeg kom til scenen hvor hovedpersonen barberer fitta til en dame i en badekar på et hotell i Kairo, fikk jeg stå, kneppet opp buksa og begynte å runka, som jeg hadde gjort så mange ganger før til den scenen, som var det eneste jeg husket fra boka.

(Ulvene fra evighetens skog, p. 99)

Román je špionážní, z druhé světové války, jeden německý špion, britský důstojník a židovská dívka v Egyptě, který se snaží dobýt nacisté od Britů.

I přes katastroficky nevkusnou obálku v českém vydání, je kniha opravdu dobrá a napínavá. Stejně příšerný jako obálka byl ovšem překlad. Jako příklad: "Můj, můj, asi ti opravdu věřím." V originále to úvodní zvolání bylo určitě: "My, my..." A překladatel neporozuměl jeho významu...

Follett je úžasný vypravěč, který svého čtenáře opravdu nepustí. Jeho knihy se čtou skoro samy, rychle. Jen mám občas dojem, že vedle výborně napsaného příběhu spisovatel hraje ještě na pudovější notu - opravdu se vyžívá v popisu sexuálních scén (v téhle konkrétní knize trošku méně, ale přece, když už dojde "jen" k jednomu znásilnění, tak aspoň doplní popis trojky, v níž jedna z postav znovu prožívá incestní zážitky ze své rodiny...). Mám z toho takový pocit jako z titulků bulvárních časopisů, po kterých klouže pohled u pokladny v obchodě.

Ken Follett's first best-seller, EYE OF THE NEEDLE, was about a German spy in the UK during World War Two. Similarly, this one is about a German spy, Wolff, who haunts wartime Cairo for military secrets to pass on to Irwin Rommel. Out to bust him are a British officer, a Jewish femme fatale, and a Cairene belly-dancer. The plot clips along nicely, but some of the chase elements are too by-the-numbers.

Not quite sure what I was doing in 1981, which was when this book came out and everyone in the world (at that time) seems to have read it. But I just read it for the first time and what an experience. Talk about fast-paced. Plus, I'm fascinated by Egypt during World War II and this brought it all alive.

Alla fine non mi ha convinto più di tanto, il ritmo è buono ma non incalzante e il finale estremamente telefonato. Poi vabbè solita vecchia propaganda anglosassone che esalta Rommel e sminuisce fino al ridicolo tutti gli altri, Italiani in particolare. Interessante la partecipazione di Sadat e degli altri rivoluzionari egiziani.

Everyone has always told me that after “Pillars if the Earth” I would probably be disappointed by other Ken Follett’s novels. But I certainly wasn’t. I was enchanted by all the other books I read as well. And I really liked this book taking place in Egypt!

This 1980 spy novel boasts one of Follett’s best-ever characterizations: that of Alex Wolff, an Egyptian of German parentage who moved easily within the thoroughly distinct cultures of German Nazis, Egyptian elites of Cairo and desert Bedouins. Based on an actual Axis spy, Johannes Eppier, Follett interweaves his story with the actual north African campaigns of Rommel and the nascent desire for independence from Britain of Egyptians, of whom a young Anwar Sadat serves as an exemplar.

Wolff’s romantic entanglement with a belly dancer, his living on a houseboat, his use of du Maurier’s Rebecca as a key to encoded messages and his pursuit by the British agent William Vandam all make for a highly engaging read, especially considering that Follett’s extensive research allowed him to base a lot of his incidents based on actual events.

In particular, I found the multinational and varied motivations of the cross section of cultures in Cairo during World War II particularly appealing, and as with Follett’s later historical novels of the late middle ages and the early twentieth century, it is the richness of his background more than the action of his plots or the complexities of his characters which provided the majority of the novel’s attractiveness.

Highly recommended.