| Title | : | The Boys from Brazil |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0394402677 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780394402673 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 312 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1976 |
Why has Mengele marked a number of harmless aging men for murder? What is the hidden link that binds them? What interest can they possibly hold for their killers: six former SS men dispatched from South America by the most wanted Nazi still alive, the notorious "Angel of Death"? One man alone must answer these questions and stop the killings — Lieberman, himself aging and thought by some to be losing his grip on reality.
The Boys from Brazil Reviews
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A group of men with South American names gather at a Japanese restaurant in Brazil; they appear to be having some kind of long-time in coming reunion, and exchange pleasantries; they flirt with the waitresses, eat their meal and drink; when the meal ends and the restaurant staff leave closing the doors behind them, a more quiet conversation ensues, but now in German! Under one of the half-eaten rice dishes a tape recorder continues to spool. This is about the Boys from Brazil!
Ira Levin's interesting thriller set in the world of the Nazi hunters of the mid and later twentieth century has a lovely feel of long form conspiracy based on historical facts; where it fails in my opinion is how it portrays the remaining living Nazis from the Second World War being so organised, proactive and efficient; what it does well is portray how the passage of time led to so many countries and international bodies no longer taking Nazi hunting so seriously, in addition to the truly amazing work of the Nazi hunters being more about education via justice as opposed to just revenge. Every time I read a book related to the German Nazis it further sickens me that so many (mostly Americans and Eastern Europeans, but may others worldwide) can seriously consider Nazi ideology as anything but inhuman and monstrous. Interesting read, but a bit over the top in the third act. 6 out of 12. I love how the book points out that the three most important ingredients for another Reich is the socio-economic conditions, people to follow and the elevation of a God-like status to a 'leader'.
2021 read -
Who are The Boys From Brazil? And can there really be a Nazi plot to implement the "Fourth Reich"?
"Two factors are necessary for a resurgence of Nazism ... a worsening of social conditions till they approximate those of the early thirties and the emergence of a Hitler-like leader."
- Yakov Liebermann, "The Boys From Brazil."
Ira Levin was a great writer of "What if?" novels and plays, ten of which have been turned into the sort of films which have the audience gripping the sides of their seats. Before his play, "Deathtrap" became a film, it held the award for being the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway, and the horror film of "Rosemary's Baby", based on his novel, was hugely popular, spawning many imitations. Stephen King called Ira Levin,
"The Swiss watchmaker of suspense novels", adding, "he makes what the rest of us do look like cheap watchmakers in drugstores."
Just as with Stephen King's novels, the boundaries of the suspense novel are pushed by Levin's tales. Yes, he writes page-turners, novels of nail-biting suspense, but there is often something speculative or even other-worldly there too. He studied Philosophy as well as English, and perhaps this is responsible for his ability to "think outside the box." He uses favourite themes - human automation, the rebirth of the devil, biological engineering. In this one, his basis is on solid facts. It is about everybody's favourite baddies, the Nazis, and even has one of the most evil real life war criminals as one of the main characters.
In The Boys From Brazil, the central theme is breathtakingly audacious. If you have seen the famous film from 1978, starring Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier, you will know what the plot hinges on, although the main character, Yakov Liebermann, does not fully comprehend it himself until half way through. Familiarity with the story does not spoil the reading of this novel, although if you do not know, then it may well be an even better read. If you don't know it, please do not read the blurb on the book!
In 1976, when The Boys From Brazil was published, the world was still very concerned with tracking down notorious Nazi criminals, many of whom had fled to South America. Adolph Eichmann had been captured in Buenos Aires and brought to trial. He was hanged in 1962. One of the worst, nicknamed "The Angel of Death", was Joseph Mengele, a concentration camp medical doctor. In 1976 he was still at large. During the second World War, Mengele had performed many experiments on twins, people with heterochromia (each eye a different colour), dwarfism and many others with a physical abnormality. The experiments were ostensibly to gain information about genetics and heredity, and intended to "prove" the theory of Aryan supremacy. Mengele had his pick of the prisoners before they were sent to the gas chambers, and treated the whole concentration camp as a potential pool to provide fodder for his experiments. The horrific experiments were mostly on especially selected children younger than six. They were deadly, conducted without anaesthetic, and were deemed inhuman by any standards. In 1976, Mengele was still at large in Paraguay, near the border to Argentina. He died while swimming in 1979, but this was not finally confirmed until forensic examination in 1985.
The timing of this novel was therefore particularly critical, and feelings worldwide were running high that this man should be brought to justice; he had escaped the War Trials in Nuremberg partly because people had believed he was already dead. It was an inspired idea to make the real life Josef Mengele a main character in Ira Levin's fictitious book. Twins were Mengele's main interest. Because of his obsession with genetics, it was very likely that Mengele would have continued his experiments deep in the South American jungle. Indeed, even as recently as 2009, evidence came to light that he may well have pursued his fanatical experiments undercover.
A small town in Brazil, Candido Godoi, has a record number of twins on record; one in 5 births instead of the average one in 80. Additionally, most of these twins are blond haired and blue eyed. Residents say that Mengele made repeated visits there in the early 1960s, posing at first as a vet, but then offering medical treatment to the women of the town. The first twins were born in 1963, the year in which Mengele arrived in the town. It look very much as if Mengele was putting his theories of Eugenics into practice, and trying to "improve" the genetic quality of the human population.
The viewpoint character in The Boys From Brazil is Yakov Liebermann, who is heavily based on the real life Nazi hunter, Simon Wiesenthal. In the novel, Liebermann runs the "War Crimes Information Office" in Vienna, collecting information on Nazi war criminals, helping to find them and helping with their prosecution. However, Liebermann is elderly, and suffering from lack of funds for his work. Western nations are becoming less inclined to spend more money and effort on tracking down the remaining criminals. He is dispirited and disinclined to listen to any more "rumours".
Liebermann receives a phone call from a young Jewish man, Barry Koehler, from Illinois, who claims to have eavesdropped on a meeting of former Nazi SS officers in São Paulo, Brazil. It had been chaired by the "Angel of Death", Mengele, himself. They were part of the notorious "Comrades Organization in South America". The young man said he had overheard details of a Nazi plot, which planned the deaths of 94 men world-wide, all of whom had similar jobs, and all of about the same age. It sounded bizarre, as one of the committee of Nazis reportedly said, incredulously,
"All of them elderly civil servants, and by killing them we fulfil the destiny of the Aryan race?"
It is a crazy idea. Yet it is up to Liebermann to make sense of it, and painstakingly track down the culprits, without any backing from official bodies, either financial or in terms of manpower.
Liebermann has old friends whom he calls on for various favours. One of these is Sydney Beynon, Reuters's senior Vienna correspondent, who has useful access to newspaper records and current reports. Liebermann also enlists the help of the "Young Jewish Defenders", but they are just as likely to get in trouble with the police themselves.
The puzzling premise makes use of many of Levin's favourite devices, and with skilful writing, the reason stays a secret until roughly halfway through the book. We feel sympathy for the protagonist, an ailing elderly man, no longer with the resources he once had, but with the same dedication and determined commitment to the cause.
"In his Jewish heart of hearts, he didn't trust German authorities as much as Americans where Nazi matters were concerned."
Ira Levin keeps his clues close to his chest, carefully controlling the release of each nugget of information until both Liebermann and the reader gain a sudden insight. From then on the action increases in tempo, and the book itself becomes a compelling thriller. There is even a nice little twist at the end, hinting that perhaps not all the ends are quite so satisfactorily tied up.
"The Fourth Reich is coming - not just a German Reich but a pan-Aryan one."
Or is this mere "meshugganah"? Is it just crazy? -
"Holy sh*tsnacks! Krieger's one of the boys from Brazil!"
Yes, once again I find myself reading a book as a result of an
Archer reference (see also
Bartleby The Scrivener). The premise (of the book, not of Archer) is that down in South America, the fugitive Dr. Mengele is sending out six men to kill 94 civil servants on precise dates in nine countries.
Renowned Nazi-hunter, Yakov Liebermann receives a mysterious phone call from a twenty-something American boy who went down Brazil to investigate and (no big spoiler here) is killed. As Krieger would say, schiesse!
Despite knowing one of the big twists, courtesy of Malory Archer (), it was still a fun read with plenty of twists to keep me interested. I can see why
Ira Levin's books are perfect for film- the writing is incredibly cinematic; shot for shot sequences of driving, blocking for each dramatic death. The last chapter (which I won't spoil), reads like a screenplay (or how I imagine one would read).
It certainly makes you think- what would a world be like with 94 of these mysterious boys out there...
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The Boys from Brazil book seems dated. I enjoyed the movie and have watched it many times. It has a wonderful cast. Lawrence Olivier plays the Simon Weisenthal character and is magnificent. Gregory Peck played Mengele which didn't quite fit.
I am sure if I had read this before seeing the movie, I would have loved it, but since I did it backwards and already knew the big surprises, it didn't have as much umph. Ira Levin has a deft hand with unusual thrillers and this is an astounding idea, much like his other stories, The Stepford Wives and Rosemary's Baby to name a couple of his powerhouse hits. -
When I was in Hebrew school, the teacher had us listen to the first chapter on audiobook, and promised to let us hear the rest. When he realized that the book had dialog such as "Fucking bitch, I'd like to cut her tits off," he reconsidered his plans.
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Another fine read from Ira Levin...........
After reading and loving A Kiss Before Dying, I've decided to read all of this author's novels, and my second one, The Boys From Brazil did not disappoint. Not having seen the film adaptation, the unusual plot was a complete surprise for me.
The intrigue begins with a top secret meeting in a Japanese restaurant to initiate a killer of a mysterious project by 'the comrade organization'. The important operation assigns six hitmen to dispose of 94 elderly civil servants (along with their secrets) scattered throughout the world, and they must die on the designated dates set forth by the still hunted Angel of Death. (no spoiler here)
The secret turns out to be a pretty darn scary scenario, one that could perhaps really happen in our day and age, but not so back in 1976 (I don't think) when TBFB was first published and Dr. Josef Mengele was still alive.
Despite a couple of confusing character narration switches, another great Levin read for me that I could not put down!
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Despite the age of this novel (40 years), it is still a great thriller. It is a masterful mystery, where bit by bit, Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman unlocks a set of clues. He gradually pieces together the details of a terrible conspiracy to kill 94 men, all about 65 years old, around the world. The conspiracy involves Nazis from World War II, who have escaped to South America. There they are led by the incredibly evil Josef Mengele, who seeks to bring back a fourth Reich.
This novel held me in its grip from the beginning to the very end. Something about Ira Levin's writing style just caught me and didn't let me go until I finished the book. While some people claim that the plot is a bit far-fetched, it did not strike me that way. It does not seem like science fiction at all, simply a slight extrapolation. I never watched the movie that goes by the same title, so I cannot comment on how it follows or does not follow the book.
I did not read this book; I listened to the audiobook, as read by Simon Vance. He does a wonderful job bringing the book to life. I especially appreciated his reading of the dialog where the speakers tried, unsuccessfully, to modify their foreign accents. -
Σχεδόν δέκα χρόνια μετά τον εκδοτικό και κινηματογραφικό θρίαμβο του Μωρού της Ρόζμαρι, ο Ira Levin έγραψε ένα ακόμη συγκλονιστικό θρίλερ, χωρίς μεταφυσικές προεκτάσεις αυτή τη φορά, αλλά το ίδιο τρομα��τικό, όσο και η ιδέα ότι το γενετικό υλικό του Αδόφλου Χίτλερ δεν θάφτηκε μαζί του στο υπόγειο καταφύγιο της Καγκελαρίας του Βερολίνου τον Απρίλιο του 1945, αλλά χρησιμοποιήθηκε αργότερα, μέσα από τη διαδικασία της μονοπυρηνικής αναπαραγωγής, για να δημιουργηθούν μερικές δεκάδες κλώνοι του και να αντικρύσουν το φως της ημέρας περισσότερα Αυγά του Φιδιού.
Γεννήτορας της αποκρουστικής ιδέας της κλωνοποίησης του τέρατος (ποιος άλλος;) ο Γιόζεφ Μένγκελε, ο επικεφαλής ιατρός/δολοφόνος του Άουσβιτς Μπιρκενάου, ο διαβόητος Άγγελος του Θανάτου∙ που, ως γνωστόν, διέφυγε τη σύλληψη και με πλαστά χαρτιά κατέφυγε στη Νότια Αμερική (Αργεντινή, Παραγουάη, Βραζιλία), όπου επί έτη πολλά (μέχρι τον θάνατό του στο Σάο Πάολο, το 1979) συνέχισε να οραματίζεται και να εργάζεται για την επικράτηση της Άριας φυλής και τη δημιουργία του Τέταρτου Ράιχ.
Τη γέννηση των ενενήντα τεσσάρων (!) παιδιών (από τη Βραζιλία) με την ίδια γενετική κληρονομιά με τον Χίτλερ, ακολούθησε, βάσει του σχεδίου του Μένγκελε, η υιοθεσία τους από ζευγάρια που είχαν την ίδια διαφορά ηλικίας με τους γονείς του Χίτλερ και, κατά το δυνατό, αντίστοιχη κοινωνική θέση. Παρά τις αδιαμφισβήτητες, όμως, γενετικές ομοιότητες των παιδιών αυτών με τον δότη τους, για να εξελιχθούν όπως ο Χίτλερ (και να ηγεμονεύσουν, ενδεχομένως, στον αγώνα για την εγκαθίδρυση και την επικράτηση ενός Τέταρτου Ράιχ) απαραίτητο ήταν να βιώσουν αντίστοιχες επιρροές κι επιδράσεις: κι ο Άγγελος του Θανάτου είναι εκεί για να αναλάβει δράση και να διαφυλάξει τη μοίρα του λαού των Αρίων. Όπως κι ο Γιάκοβ Λίμπερμαν, όμως, ο διάσημος κυνηγός των ναζί (πρόσωπο αποκλειστικά μυθιστορηματικό), που θα πληροφορηθεί το σχέδιο του Μένγκελε, θα τον αναζητήσει και θα αναμετρηθεί μαζί του σε έναν αγώνα θανάτου.
Ο Levin επιφύλαξε για τον Μένγκελε ένα τέλος φρικτό και βασανιστικό. Ένα τέλος που, αν μη τι άλλο, άρμοζε πολύ περισσότερο στον διαβόητο εγκληματία από τον θάνατο που τελικά είχε (τρία χρόνια μετά την έκδοση των Παιδιών από τη Βραζιλία, ο Μένγκελε πέθανε κολυμπώντας, από εγκεφαλικό επεισόδιο, κατά τη διάρκεια των διακοπών του).
Συναρπαστικό, ευφυές, διαβάζεται λαίμαργα. Ενημερωτικά, τον δρ. Γιόζεφ Μένγκελε στην κινηματογραφική διασκευή του βιβλίου του Levin [‘The Boys from Brazil’ (1978), ελληνικός τίτλος: ‘Ανθρωποκυνηγητό σε δύο ηπείρους’] ενσάρκωσε ο Gregory Peck και η ταινία ήταν υποψήφια για τρία όσκαρ. -
This thought-provoking thriller was written in the 70's, and it's interesting to read in the current era where our political discourse has devolved into everyone accusing everyone else of being a Nazi. It's dated in style, slow moving and overly descriptive sometimes - I often suspected Levin was writing more of a screenplay than a novel.
But once this gets going, and the clues start to come together, it is a truly astonishing and imaginative story - at least it was for me, I never guessed what Mengele was really up to! And the moral ambiguity of the final dilemma, and the choice Liebermann makes, will keep turning around in my head. I won't soon forget this one.
Note: the movie version starring Gregory Peck as Mengele and Laurence Olivier as Liebermann (also a very young Steve Guttenberg and a small role for Anne Meara) is available for free on YouTube. Of course I watched it as soon as I finished the book, and they did an excellent job on the adaptation. I thought it was kind of funny that the painfully long intro section that Levin set up - my feeling that he was staging a screenplay - was completely discarded in the film. Also, I thought the slightly different ending scene of the book was MUCH better than the movie. I had been looking forward to how they would bring that scene to life, and in my opinion the movie botched it. -
I read this book many years ago, one of my first mystery/thrillers beyond the classics. I recall being totally enthralled by the story, reading it during my subway commuting in NY. Since I hadn’t read the blurb (bought it because I was exploring new authors and so many other commuters were reading it), it was a fascinating journey with a unique premise. Lots of twists and I think it’s probably timeless.
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Αυτό το βιβλίο ηταν ένα πραγματικό ξεπετοσέλιδο/γρηγοροδιάβαστο/page-turner!
Η δράση ήταν σχεδόν κινηματογραφική σε σημείο που έβλεπα εικόνες να περνάν μπροστά από τα ματια μου...
Ένα μείγμα τρόμου, αγωνίας και ΕΦ από έναν συγγραφέα που ξέρει την συνταγή.
Η υπερβολή ειναι διάχυτη μέσα σε όλο το βιβλίο (και κάπου αναμενόμενη) όμως δεν ενοχλεί, μιας και ο λόγος του Λέβιν είναι στρωτός και καθημερινός χωρις να στερείται την λογοτεχνικότητα που χρειάζεται...
Ο Δρ. Μένγκελε λοιπόν, ετοιμάζει ένα σκοτεινό σχέδιο για την δημιουργία του 4ου Ράιχ μαζί με κάποια μέλη των Ες-Ες που έχουν γλυτώσει από την δίκη της Νυρεμβέργης και την καταδίκη. Ο μοναδικός άνθρωπος που μπορέι να τον σταματήσει, και ο αδιαφιλονίκητος πρωταγωνιστής του βιβλίου είναι ο Γιάκομπ Λίμπερμαν.
Βιβλίο που διαβάζεται μονορούφι...
4/5
ΥΓ1: Υπάρχει και κινηματογραφική μεταφορά του βιβλίου, με τον ευφάνταστο τίτλο "Ανθρωποκυνηγητό σε 2 ηπείρους" με ένα σχεδόν μυθικό καστ πρωταγωνιστών όπως ο Λόρενς Ολιβιέ, ο Γκρέκορι Πεκ και ο Τζέιμς Μέισον... -
So, first a disclosure: I read this book only due its referencing in Archer (a cartoon series, from which my avatar picture was sourced).
In Archer - Krieger, also known as Dr. Krieger, is a main character, and was the head of the ISIS Applied Research Department (up until the end of Season 4.). He goes by the title of Doctor and performs many activities that require a medical degree; however, he is neither a medical doctor nor "the other kind" ("technically"). He is trilingual as he speaks fluent English, German, and Portuguese.Krieger was raised by a former Nazi scientist who fled with him to Brazil, where they lived until Krieger was 15, when his pet Dobermans killed the man he believed to be his father - this in reference to the book "The Boys From Brazil". It is implied that Malory Archer somehow set these events in motion as he remembers her arranging for him to be brought to ISIS afterwards. Krieger studied and became accomplished in a variety of different sciences including bionics, electronics, neuroscience, chemistry, biotechnology, surgery, and robotics, but, despite this, never earned a formal doctorate degree of any kind which is sometimes evident in his conversations where people ask if he is a doctor.
And so, I came across a copy, and figured, why not understand it in context?
I understand this is a fairly well known novel, clearly describing the setting in the blurb: Alive and hiding in South America, the fiendish Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele gathers a group of former colleagues for a horrifying project—the creation of the Fourth Reich. Barry Kohler, a young investigative journalist, gets wind of the project and informs famed Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman, but before he can relay the evidence, Kohler is killed.
There is enough in the novel to keep one reading, and while the main plot points are relatively easy to guess prior to their disclosure, it rolls out fast enough not to matter. The end comes around quickly, with the outcome expected, albeit probably not the actual mechanics.
A quick enjoyable read. 4 stars. -
Nazi doctor Josef Mengele is alive and well and living in South America. He is also starting a project that he hopes will lead to the creation of the fourth Reich. Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman hopes to stop him. Ira Levin has that special ability to set the scene with a puzzle and then slowly let it unfold as you read. A thoroughly enjoyable thriller
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No ha estado del todo mal aunque esperaba algo más de acción, intriga, persecuciones...
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My second reread of an Ira Levin novel this year is this cracking 1976 thriller.
Dr Josef Mengele dreams of creating a Fourth Reich & although Nazi hunter Yakor Lieberman discovers part of the plot is it enough to stop the Nazis from rising again ? Ira Levin piles on the tension & even if , like me, you've read the book & seen the film before it's still a great read.
A classic thriller from the literary master of suspense. -
"The Boys from Brazil" was one of those paperbacks that found its way into the ever growing collection of book boxes I moved from residence to my parent's home back to residence back to my parent's and then to my first bachelor apartment. But I didn't read it until I was married and living in my first real adult domicile. I woke up sick on a weekeday and called into work. I went back to bed but after my wife left I felt like I could sit up and read. I opened "The Boys from Brazil" and read it from beginning to end. When my wife came home I'd had this magical daylong escape that was entirely private.
Amazing as it sounds I had not seen the movie and did not know what the book was about when I started with the first page. Levin is a master of high-concept horror. I was gripped as the genetic secret was slowly revealed. I won't add more spoiler than that. But I loved the book and have reread it since. It's a taut thriller that scares intellectually and emotionally.
Carac -
An excellent reasonably quick read by author Ira Levin. I had previously watched the film many years ago and couldn't quite remember in detail but it did not stop my enjoyment at all. Ira Levin has written so many classic novels that have been turned into film blockbusters 'Stepford Wives' 'Rosemary's baby' and this is one more. An interesting plot and great descriptive writing that brings the book to life.
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One of my best assigned reads in high school (together with Patrick Süskind's
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer).
It drives home the futility of the "it can't happen here/again" philosophy.
Economic despair & charismatic leadership offering easy solutions are a timeless strategy for dictatorial disaster. -
The Boys from Brazil is scary, you feel a cold shiver sliding down your back in a delicate way.
There is this hunt for a 'Future Fuehrer', all the suspected 'Boys' have been eliminated by the Nazi Hunter Yakov Liebermann.
But as in every Levin book, can we ever be absolutely sure that there are no 'Fuehrers' lurking in our midst?
What about that little boy....
Scarier than Hell... -
So definitely better than just okay, but not so riveting that it was exceptional. The storyline was really rather engaging and prescient. But at times the plotting just involved two characters talking about unveiling the mystery of the storyline and was therefore kind of stale on the action end of things. Overall a solid read and I'd recommend it.
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One of the books from my childhood. I first saw the movie in 1979 and loved it. I was just a kid and failed to realize that the movie was totally over the top. I realize it now and I still like to watch it now and again.
Excuse the digression. After seeing the movie, I read the book. My parents belonged to The Book of the Month Club and the Mystery Guild book club back then and our library was full of the cheap hardbacks made exclusively for book club members. But, regardless of the low-quality book binding, my parent's memberships gave me access to a vast number of mainstream novels from the seventies. The Boys from Brazil is one of the books that I devoured.
At the time I found it a fascinating and horrifying prospect. Cloning was getting lots of attention in the seventies and a (seemingly) resurgent Nazi movement was causing some real concern. The concept of cloning Hitler just blew my mind as a kid. It was a fascinating concept. Many were convinced that there was a Fourth Reich in South America and it was just a matter of time before the world's nations would find themselves dealing with another Nazi menace. No doubt this fear added kick to Levin's novel. As it did for William Goldman's classic novel
Marathon Man.
It is now known that the so-called Fourth Reich in South America was just a scattered and weak "community" of war criminals hiding in fear (see the story of the real Joseph Mengele) and German ex-patriates singing Horst Wessel & Deutschland Uber Alles over their beer and bratwurst while swapping war stories. Hardly the omnipotent, highly organized, and well-funded Teutonic war machine that was the stuff of thrillers in the sixties and seventies.
With this additional knowledge the book has some of its punch dissipated. But, regardless of the fact that Levin wrote what was a popular/mainstream potboiler approximately thirty-five years ago, it still holds one's attention. Like Marathon Man the novel has held up well. That both books are set in the mid-seventies actually helps. They are period stories now and, if one requires it, can be considered "secret histories" of the attempt to build the Fourth Reich by the fugitive Nazis in South America.
It's a good read. Very easy and can be completed in a day. Classify it as a classic "beach read". -
This book was about this:
Just kidding, not really... But it had swastikas involved, I swear, and their asses got kicked. And it was well written and kind of scary, an improvisation on subject "What if?...". If you want to know what if what - go read it for yourself. Ira Levin is never disappointing when it comes to speculative fiction. -
Actual rating 2.5/5 stars.
"Alive & hiding in South America, the fiendish Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele gathers a group of former colleagues for a horrifying project--the creation of the Fourth Reich."
This horrifying synopsis is what hastened me to pick the book up but what was delivered was something far tamer than what I had anticipated reading. I don't think a book with the themes running throughout it that this did can be 'enjoyed' in the traditional sense, but I did appreciate the storyline and Levin's focus. The pacing, however, was almost stagnant in some central areas and then felt a little chaotic in the final quarter. -
This novel was published in 1976 and centers around a Nazi hunter named Yakov Liebermann. The interest of Western nations in tracking down Nazi's is waning and the bank where Liebermann kept his centers funds has failed and he is now elderly. For these reasons he is skeptical and not eager to listen to rumors or take on help. In September 1974 he receives a phone call from Barry Kohler, a young investigative journalist whom he had previously turned away. Kohler is calling from Brazil and claims he has a tape in which Dr. Josef Mengele, the "Angel of Death", has met with several members of the 'the comrade organization'. Mengele is dispatching them on a mission to kill 94 men in various countries. The men are all elderly and civil servants ... and they must die on specific dates. Before Kohler can play the tape for Liebermann he is killed.
Liebermann is skeptical. He wonders if the phone call is a prank but he has friends, including someone from Reuters's, whom he asks for assistance. Before he was killed Kohler told him the names of the countries where the 94 men lived and the date of the first killing. Liebermann discovers that there were several deaths on that date that match what Kohler told him and begins to investigate further.
What helps makes the story so intriguing is the why. Why 94 elderly civil servants in various countries with no apparent connection to Nazi's? Why specific dates? Liebermann, and the reader, do not learn the answers until almost half way into the story. Mengele, who had degrees in anthropology and medicine from Munich University, performed horrific genetic experiments on camp victims during World War II. He escaped to South America in 1949 eventually settling in Brazil in 1960.
Ira Levin provides the reader a "what if" question that makes for a suspenseful story. Science fact vs science fiction. In his quest Liebermann enlists the aide of the "Young Jewish Defenders", who are just as likely to get in trouble with the police themselves, and I found it hard late in the story not to compare the YDL with the Nazi's.
My biggest complaint was with the format of the book that I read. I read the Kindle version and often found that without a change in chapter, paragraph, line break, etc. the characters and location changed. One minute the story centered around two characters in one location and in the next sentence you were reading about two different characters somewhere else. Made it difficult to follow and understand what was taking place. -
Con uno stile pulito e incisivo, questo autore ha disegnato in questo romanzo, un thriller avvincente, con un ritmo serrato e con il "fascino" delle storie ambientate fra spie e spiati, con personaggi del Terzo Reich realmente esistiti. Nel 1978 ne è stato tratto un film con Gregory Peck e Lawrence Olivier, che ha vinto anche dei premi Oscar. Unica nota negativa: la copertina. Dal titolo infatti non ci viene spoilerato nulla, quanto invece dalla figura in copertina.
La storia è ambientata nel 1974, in Sudamerica, dove un gruppo di fedelissimi del Fuhrer, tra cui l'"Angelo della morte", il tristemente famoso dottor Josef Mengele, stanno lavorando ad un'operazione segretissima per poter riportare in auge il Reich. Il piano prevede che 94 uomini, di età, intorno ai 65 anni, residenti in diversi paesi del mondo, non legati da nulla fra di loro, vengano uccisi in un giorno prestabilito. Dall'altra parte del mondo, Yakov Liebermann (modellato sulla figura del realmente esistito Simon Wiesenthal), leggendario cacciatore di nazisti, viene a conoscenza di questo piano. Pur sembrandogli assurdo, decide di iniziare delle ricerche per verificare. In un crescendo di situazioni piene di suspense si dipana questa storia, con personaggi importanti che raccontano temi altrettanto importanti come la manipolazione genetica, la conoscenza della storia e il nazismo.
Lo scrittore ci confeziona una storia perfetta, fatta di protagonisti carismatici e ripugnanti. Liebermann è un cacciatore di nazisti, un ebreo anziano, un eroe, stanco, burbero e malato. Mengele è uno scienziato geniale, ma votato anima e corpo al nazismo, che ha precorso i tempi della ricerca genetica, apparentemente pacato e gentile, ma è in realtà, il Male più puro personificato. La loro diventa così una lotta fra Bene e Male, in una storia avvincente, che sconvolgerà il lettore, fino alla fine
Lo consiglio a tutti: recuperate questo autore non ve ne pentirete! -
I read the book, saw the movie, and then re-read the book again lately. In my mind's eye I kept seeing Olivier as the Nazi hunter and Peck as Mengele and they hammed it up pretty badly in the film. That aside, the story although pretty far-fetched (well, maybe not so far fetched in the modern world of cloning) still intrigues. At the time it was written, many of the Nazis responsible for the atrocities were still living......hiding out or hiding in plain sight. It made the story a part of living history at that time. In the 21st century, the younger reader may not appreciate the intensity of the search for these criminals and will see the book as just a good thriller. Regardless as to how you approach it, "The Boys From Brazil" is a good read.
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I found this book to be... ridiculously hilarious, but for all the wrong reasons. Fairly sure it wasn't meant to be a comedy--Ira Levin didn't write comedies and the plot is about hunting down the guy attempting to "recreate" Hilter. But still, despite all of that, this was the funniest thing I've read all year long, and I don't know... it must be the stress taking me over.
Nashville International Airport, TN -
041115 from ??? childhood: much later later addition. i have now read this twice- over a gap of decades, so who knows how many books. i seem to recall something about usual american bestsellers having the average vocabulary of an 8th grade reader, and this is certainly the case here (i might have been in 7th grade). for poetics i might give this lower marks, but language is not important only to be simple, ordinary, accessible, to lead the reader into the plot with minimal distraction...
the other reason i would give it lower is not the fault of the text: somehow i remember too clearly the movie, the scenes, the actors chosen. so i am comparing the written to the visuals. this is another mid 70s paranoid conspiracy thriller
The Day of the Jackal,
Marathon Man,
Six Days of the Condor... read when too young to know much, reread now to reassess, which is my momentary project, to immerse, experience, remember the era much as crime pulps recreate the thirties, forties and fifties, as fantastic pulps like e r burroughs recreates tens to twenties. and this is very much of its time. in language, cliche, stereotypes, attitudes, technology, and of course paranoia. i have only ever read two by levin,
Rosemary's Baby, but this is better for me than that if maybe less than
The Stepford Wives ... you cannot get better villains than nazis or more horrific plot than nazis again... so i reaffirm my young rating with only some reservations...
this is a much later addition: so i am reading it again- decades later...
first review, by memory: i was not yet 17 (usual cutoff date) for years, so i do not know if i should count it on here... but then i remember reading this at night under the covers, so it was effective, to me as a kid anyway... thought i had already put this on here. cool idea, favourite conspiracy book up there with day of the jackal, another i was too young for... wait a sec: i think i will read it again just to check... -
Heerlijk retro leesvoer dit, deze thrillerklassieker uit 1976.
De eerste keer las ik het ergens zo'n 30 jaar geleden en nu opnieuw enorm van genoten, zeker ook door al die kleine typische seventies details. Ira Levin weet perfect dat creepy gevoel op te roepen van wat als... en het zou toch eens zo...'en ieder jaar is de verschrikking aller verschrikkingen, de algemene slachting, verder weg, is ze een beetje minder afgrijselijk. Maar filosofen hebben ons gewaarschuwd: als wij het verleden vergeten, zijn wij gedoemd het te herhalen.'
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Умопомрачаваща спекулация и надпревара с времето и историята! Айра Левин, и то през 70-те, така се заиграва с природата на възраждането на злото, че разстоянието от първия до последния ред е като черна дупка, без усет за пространство и време.
Единствено съжалявам, че все пак съм гледала филма, както осъзнах почти веднага, а той също беше много въздействащ, но ми оспойлери действието… Но това е бял кахър. Та читателят получава ловеца на нацисти Визентал, пардон - Либерман, в двубой срещу самия д-р Менгеле, с европейска дълбочина и с размаха на американски комикс, но от незабравимите!
Доверете се на стария американски евреин от филмовия и сценичния бизнес, и се впуснете в гонката! Все пак светът и историята са заложени на карта, битката е безжалостна и интелигентна, а Левин никога не дава гаранции.
Все пак именно Левин е автор и на “Бебето на Розмари” (и това съм го гледала на филм…и то целият филм… оправданието ми е, че бях още в доста младенческа възраст и не подозирах какво ще се стовари), което никога, ама никога няма да прочета - то вече е за екстремисти.
