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French Connection II
Strong spine with slight crease. Bright clean cover has light edge wear. Text is perfect. Same day shipping first class.
Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1975
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 1, 2021
DNF
There were a lot of TMI moments (ex. about pooling sweat after a plane ride) that didn't add anything to the narrative.
The major stumbling block was the way the main character was portrayed. I love characters who can be jerks, and there are ways to write largely unlikable characters in a likable way. Here, the protagonist went into every situation insulting the other characters he was interacting with, whether he knew them and had reason to insult them or not. Then, when the other characters eventually lost their patience and began insulting him back, he would act wounded and victimized with no self-awareness that he had instigated the situation - classic can dish it out but can't take it. Even when he was blamed for his own unprofessional mistakes that had hurt other people, the narrative assumed that the reader should feel sorry for him because he was being unfairly persecuted - despite never being given a reason to be on his side. Even jerks don't treat girls checking them into hotels and giving them directions, and colleagues trying to help them when in no way obligated to, with the same level of contempt that they treat their boss who's trying to frame them. The narrative was trying to set up a situation of the protagonist against the world and, after awhile, I wasn't on his side, either.
There were a lot of TMI moments (ex. about pooling sweat after a plane ride) that didn't add anything to the narrative.
The major stumbling block was the way the main character was portrayed. I love characters who can be jerks, and there are ways to write largely unlikable characters in a likable way. Here, the protagonist went into every situation insulting the other characters he was interacting with, whether he knew them and had reason to insult them or not. Then, when the other characters eventually lost their patience and began insulting him back, he would act wounded and victimized with no self-awareness that he had instigated the situation - classic can dish it out but can't take it. Even when he was blamed for his own unprofessional mistakes that had hurt other people, the narrative assumed that the reader should feel sorry for him because he was being unfairly persecuted - despite never being given a reason to be on his side. Even jerks don't treat girls checking them into hotels and giving them directions, and colleagues trying to help them when in no way obligated to, with the same level of contempt that they treat their boss who's trying to frame them. The narrative was trying to set up a situation of the protagonist against the world and, after awhile, I wasn't on his side, either.
November 25, 2020
It’s been a while but I still find this to be an enjoyable read. The story moves along at a brisk pace and the ending is a much better wrap up than the movie, imo. Good old-fashioned take-charge police work.
May 17, 2025
I do love a good novelisation. This one is tense, informative and there's just enough difference to the finished film to keep you thinking. At first, I was unsure about the descriptive passages early in the book about the history of the drug trade and some other subjects, obviously written by Robin Moore (who wrote the non-fiction book that the first film was based on), but these soon disappeared as the story progressed. By the end, I was sorry to finish reading. And that's exactly how I like to leave a book.
There are other reviews on here complaining about the use of racism and suchlike, and obviously that would be unacceptable if the book was written now. But you can't edit the past. And you shouldn't. Otherwise, we would never learn anything, would we?
There are other reviews on here complaining about the use of racism and suchlike, and obviously that would be unacceptable if the book was written now. But you can't edit the past. And you shouldn't. Otherwise, we would never learn anything, would we?
May 30, 2022
The film was good, but the book is better by far. The story is more elaborated and different in areas where the film lacked. French Connection was a masterpiece of a film and it made the sequel hard to follow that legacy, but if the movie had followed this screenplay tie-in it would have come very close in quality. The alternate ending and subplot between Doyle and Francoise were incredible as well. It’s a shame this hasn’t been put on Kindle for more vintage crime fans to enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews