Eye of the Needle: Book Review

Today, we will be reviewing Eye of the Needle by Ken Follet, a classic thriller novel. Keep reading to find out what we thought of this novel. And if you should add it to your reading list or skip it!

Eye of the Needle: Summary

Henry Faber is a German spy working out of London during World War II. Faber is known to the U.K. intelligence as ‘die Nadel’ or The Needle. He is considered one of the best German spies and his latest mission may change the outcome of the war.

Faber has been assigned to gather intelligence on the Allies next attack. Unfortunately for the Allies, Faber discovers that a military base is a dummy to mislead Germany. This information can change the outcome of the war if it gets back to Germany.

It is up to the M15, a British military intelligence group, to stop Faber before he can escape the U.K and return home. What ensues is a wild chase across the U.K. and a lot of dead bodies. Faber is smart and cunning and will do anything to escape.

Can the M15 stop Faber before he escapes back to Germany? Because if he does, then Germany might win the war.

The Eye of the Needle Information

Eye of the Needle was released in 1978 and originally had the title Storm Island. The novel was Follett’s first successful novel and went on to win the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America.

The novel takes inspiration from a real operation called Operation Fortitude during World War II. Just as in the novel, the goal of the operation was to deceive the German military of the planned D-Day landing in Normandy. This deception was important and if the Germans discovered the ruse, the Germans would be prepared and it would have been a lot more difficult for the allies.

In 1981, the novel was made into a movie which is very fast and should tell you just how successful this book was. There have been a couple of Bollywood adaptations of this novel surprisingly.

Commentary

I really enjoyed this novel and found it hard to put down. Ken Follett creates a spy novel that is well written and does not slow down. The World War II setting is one that has been used a lot but Follett is able to pull from history and an event that many people don’t know much about.

Faber is a great antagonist and while there are scenes that do feel like impossible, you go along because it is a thriller novel after all. In one scene, Faber is confronted by five soldiers and I don’t think this is a scene that most authors would have written.

Besides Faber, there are a couple other characters that are interesting. Follett does a good job fleshing them out throughout the novel. I will say, the novel does feel a little dragged out near the end. And I think that’s more because as readers, we know what is going to happen.

Conclusion

I decided to read this novel after seeing it on a bunch of list of the best spy novels of all time. And it lives up to the expectations that I had going in. This was a fantastic read and I was hooked on the first page.

The Eye of the Needle is not going to make my list of the best spy novels ever. But it is one that will be just outside my list. You can’t go wrong with this novel and I can see why it became Follett’s first successful novel. I recommend this novel and will be reading more spy novels in the coming weeks. Until next time, happy reading!

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