You might have seen lichens grow on rocks, breaking them down into soil paving for plants to occupy these niches. The lichens do all the dirty work as the pioneer species while everyone goes ga-ga over the flowers that bloom subsequently. Who cares about gnarly, old lichens? Scottish author John Buchan’s The 39 Steps suffers from a similar fate.
It is important for me to mention the book features on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and The Guardian’s Best 100 English Novels. Despite these plaudits, it seems that the success of the numerous cinematic adaptations (Most notably the one with Hitchcock and Cary Grant) and the evolution of the spy thriller genre over time have somewhat diminished the sheen of what is a seminal work. As one of the minor characters in the book exclaims, “My God! It is all pure Rider Haggard and Conan Doyle”. Buchan’s book is a breezy read with a lot happening almost like a bunch of falling dominos. It’s exhilarating, to say the least. The protagonist, Richard Hannay is a mining engineer who struck gold in Rhodesia and returns to London to overly bored by the slow-paced life he’s dealt with. Before he knows it, a murder completely upturns his life and results in an extensive chase of the man across the Scottish glens and moors, goons and the police alike. Political and personal drama aplenty, Buchan describes his book as a “shocker”, improbable events resulting in an exciting finish, and The 39 steps surely delivers on that front.
Yes, there seem to be numerous Deus ex Machina’s employed to get Hannay to escape the most implausible of situations. (In one instance, he finds the requisite material to blow off the wall of a cellar he’s trapped in).Yes, there is not a lot of character development and Hannay seems to be as adept as a swiss knife with no fallacies – a far stretch from the plethora of grey characters today’s readers are accustomed to. But keeping in mind how dated it is, the events of the book and the time of its writing both just prior to the World War, Buchan’s effortless writing has you engrossed in the chase right away. The book will always have polarizing opinions due to its composition and the overly simple plot it revolves around. Pick this up for the historical value it serves as a classic introduction to the espionage thriller genre and roll back the years, with the anticipation of “oh, what’s gonna happen next? How will Hannay get out of this?” *mysterious noise in the background*
Trivia: While on holiday at St Cuby, a private nursing home on Cliff Promenade in Broadstairs, Kent where John Buchan was recuperating from intestinal disease, his daughter would have a field day walking up and down 78 wooden steps, which acted as the beach’s entrance. This was around the time where he was first toying with the idea of wiring a detective novel and this supposedly inspired the title. There are a few theories as to why 39 some of which are: One theory is that a friend suggested he should halve that number to 39, because it would make a better title. Another states that Buchan could stride these steps two at a time, which again gives us 39, although he would have had to be in better health to do this. It is also worth noting that he celebrated his 39th birthday while staying in Broadstairs. All in all, quite the holiday. (Reference: Buchan, Broadstairs and the 39 Steps)
7/365.
Documentation
Book: The 39 Steps
Author: John Buchan
Year of Release: 1915
Publisher: Blackwood and Sons