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Daddy
Who has the key to a $350 million fortune the Nazis have sent their most brilliant operative to find? Thomas, an 11-year old boy with the mind of a genius, the cunning of a fox, and the chance of a snowball in Hell to escape...unless he is helped by one man. An American who doesn't even know he exists. A man he calls Daddy.
560 pages
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
January 11, 2012
The story is based during WWII and follows a young boy through trials and adventures as he runs for his life. In his head he holds the key, the numbers, to many lives and the Nazi regime wants it.
I have read this book 3 times over the past 15 years (and plan to read it again). I still gasp, and cry as I turn the pages. I recommend this to anyone who is looking for something different, and exciting.
Amazing, encapsulating... just plain fantastic!
Loup Durand, and his translation team, find ways to attach you to the protagonist, his friends, and his enemies.
You will not be disappointed in this book, though you may have some hardship if you are not well versed in German (I had to work hard on the pronunciations, and stuck it out).
I have read this book 3 times over the past 15 years (and plan to read it again). I still gasp, and cry as I turn the pages. I recommend this to anyone who is looking for something different, and exciting.
Amazing, encapsulating... just plain fantastic!
Loup Durand, and his translation team, find ways to attach you to the protagonist, his friends, and his enemies.
You will not be disappointed in this book, though you may have some hardship if you are not well versed in German (I had to work hard on the pronunciations, and stuck it out).
February 21, 2024
Classic historical fiction/thriller set in WWI Europe for the most part, Daddy features a cast of memorable characters and action scenes, mixed in with high finance. Starting in 1942 Daddy centers on little Thomas, a brilliant 11 year old boy, the great grandson of a financier in France. His grandfather in the 30s helped Jews and others move money out of Nazi Germany until he was picked up by the Gestapo; they really wanted to get their hands on the millions he helped spirit out of the nation. Using a series of secret codes and numbered bank accounts, the transactions were untraceable, unless you had the codes and old Gall took those to the grave. Nonetheless, he did pass them along to his granddaughter, who started laying low in France circa 1935.
The granddaughter, however, gave birth to our boy protagonist and he memorized the secret codes 'just in case'. Well, the Nazis figured out his relatives had the codes, but how to track them down and coerce out the secret? A former philosophy professor (who the boy calls Yellow Eyes) in Germany was tasked by the Nazis to do just that. Durand utilizes the metaphor of chess extensively here, as the 'game' between the predator and prey quickly becomes strategic. The boy Thomas has the help of some Spanish 'friends' of his mother to protect him and this quickly becomes a cat and mouse game...
What makes Daddy stand out revolves around the deep characters developed. The boy, Thomas, loves his mother ('Her'), but she is busy with machinations in Spain (civil war) and he is largely raised by his 'grandparents'. She is playing a very long game, however, and has all sorts of contingency plans if the Nazis start trying to track her or her son down. The Nazi hunter, Yellow Eyes, is, however, quite a foe, and has a small army of helpers to aid his quest. Durand beautifully builds one tense scene after another. Another feature of this involves high finance, and Durand seems to take some glee in illustrating how American financiers helped propel Hitler to power and were making a killing during the war, playing both sides of the fence if you will. Finally, we have the boy's father, a relatively clueless American guy born into a very wealthy financial family; it seems She and him had a fling in the 20s with the boy being one result. When things start heating up, she sends him a letter, telling him about their son and asking for help...
Thrillers tend not to age well, except when set in historical periods like Daddy. Durand deftly depicts the war. Old Yellow Eyes is also a great character, with lots of shades of grey, and really not devoted to much at all. He enjoys the game of hunting the boy and matching wits, but possesses no real allegiance to Nazis. All in all, a fast paced romp, with lots of cloak and dagger. The pacing became a bit erratic at times, and the Spaniard bodyguards of the boy were a bit larger than life, which is the only reason I did not round this to five stars. Well worth a read if you like fiction set in WWII Europe or just a fan of thrillers in general. 4.5 big daddy stars!!
The granddaughter, however, gave birth to our boy protagonist and he memorized the secret codes 'just in case'. Well, the Nazis figured out his relatives had the codes, but how to track them down and coerce out the secret? A former philosophy professor (who the boy calls Yellow Eyes) in Germany was tasked by the Nazis to do just that. Durand utilizes the metaphor of chess extensively here, as the 'game' between the predator and prey quickly becomes strategic. The boy Thomas has the help of some Spanish 'friends' of his mother to protect him and this quickly becomes a cat and mouse game...
What makes Daddy stand out revolves around the deep characters developed. The boy, Thomas, loves his mother ('Her'), but she is busy with machinations in Spain (civil war) and he is largely raised by his 'grandparents'. She is playing a very long game, however, and has all sorts of contingency plans if the Nazis start trying to track her or her son down. The Nazi hunter, Yellow Eyes, is, however, quite a foe, and has a small army of helpers to aid his quest. Durand beautifully builds one tense scene after another. Another feature of this involves high finance, and Durand seems to take some glee in illustrating how American financiers helped propel Hitler to power and were making a killing during the war, playing both sides of the fence if you will. Finally, we have the boy's father, a relatively clueless American guy born into a very wealthy financial family; it seems She and him had a fling in the 20s with the boy being one result. When things start heating up, she sends him a letter, telling him about their son and asking for help...
Thrillers tend not to age well, except when set in historical periods like Daddy. Durand deftly depicts the war. Old Yellow Eyes is also a great character, with lots of shades of grey, and really not devoted to much at all. He enjoys the game of hunting the boy and matching wits, but possesses no real allegiance to Nazis. All in all, a fast paced romp, with lots of cloak and dagger. The pacing became a bit erratic at times, and the Spaniard bodyguards of the boy were a bit larger than life, which is the only reason I did not round this to five stars. Well worth a read if you like fiction set in WWII Europe or just a fan of thrillers in general. 4.5 big daddy stars!!
August 29, 2012
One of my all-time favourite book. The story of a yong boy named Thomas who lived in the south of the France during WWII. His grand father was a banker and he protected Jews' money from the nazis. He was killed by the nazis without giving them the codes to unlock the money they desperatly need. His daughter knows the codes as well as her son, Thomas. And now he is tracked down by a very intelligent man, a monster name Laemmle, whose mission is to kidnap Thomas to force his mother to show up and give the nazis the codes. After his mother was killed, Thomas will try to escape Laemmle alone through Europe at war. His only help is his bodyguard, a gifted sniper.
February 24, 2011
I have always stated that this is one of my most favourite books of all time. Set in France during the war, a young boy holding a secret is hunted down by the Nazi's. With his mother killed in front of him, he is vulnerable or so his captors think. A clever story with lots of twists and turns that leave you not reallying knowing how this is going to work out.
August 31, 2013
I first read this book probably about 20 years ago and it instantly became my all time favourite book and remains so. I have read it several times over the years and I'm sure will read it many more times.
Once you pick it up you won't want to put it down.
Highly recommended.
Once you pick it up you won't want to put it down.
Highly recommended.
September 3, 2008
One of the best books I have ever read! Absolutely amazing!
November 4, 2024
What an unrealistic, stupid load of rubbish. Waste of 11 hours.
December 2, 2014
Le 18 septembre 1942, Thomas fête ses onze ans. Caché dans le sud de la France, protégé par des gardes du corps, pourchassé par les nazis, il n'est pas un petit garçon comme les autres. Pour la Gestapo, il vaut 724 millions de marks. Une somme qui justifie qu'on lance à ses trousses une horde de chasseurs. A leur tête, le plus surprenant des policiers, Gregor Laëmmie, un professeur de philosophie revenu de tout. La traque infernale commence. Contre l'étrange Gregor Laëmmie, Thomas, avec son cœur d'enfant et son cerveau de génie, va jouer sa vie comme une extraordinaire partie d'échecs. Un seul témoin à l'affrontement de ces deux formidables intelligences : un Américain bien tranquille qui est peut-être le père de Thomas. Peut-être...
Avertissement : Si vous commencez à lire cette histoire, vous ne pourrez pas l'arrêter avant de l'avoir finie. C'est vraiment excellent!
Avertissement : Si vous commencez à lire cette histoire, vous ne pourrez pas l'arrêter avant de l'avoir finie. C'est vraiment excellent!
September 21, 2012
Pure adrenaline. Unadulterated fun. This book somehow calls out for clichéd opinions usually splashed across the bottom of a movie poster. That aside it is the perfect summer/airplane/lazy Sunday afternoon read. A suspenseful thriller set in Europe during WWII, it pits a genius 11 year old, Thomas, against the sadistic, brilliant manhunter Laemmle and the Nazis. With hundreds of millions of reichmarks at stake, Thomas, supported by Spanish snipers and someone who may or may not be his father, must elude his pursuers across occupied and unoccupied Europe. Like a one hit wonder song that you cannot get out of your head this book will stay with you. You will read it more than once and pass it on to your friends looking for a good read.
January 9, 2009
I loved this book too. It is about an 11-year old boy who is a genius and his mother makes him remember bank account numbers to give to another person.
May 29, 2020
This amazing novel has been on my bookshelf for years, one of Mr B's all-time favourites but unread by me because I had myself down as 'someone who doesn't go for WWII fiction'. But lock down has closed the libraries and sent me casting around for reading material, and boy am I glad that I finally got round to this!
The plot is actually relatively simple: The year is 1942. The location is occupied France. Thomas Van Gall, an eleven-year-old boy, has locked away in his memory the codes to over 350 million dollars, secreted away in multiple bank accounts for Jewish clients by his late grandfather. The only other person who holds this information is his mother, Maria Weber, a brilliant and wealthy former socialite, now being hunted by the Nazis. Leading the search for the missing millions is obsessive, wily, intelligent Gestapo agent Gregor Laemmle. Laemmle, a paedophile, has hitherto been unaware of Thomas' existence, let alone his extraordinary mental capacity and the fact that he shares his mother's secret knowledge – but all that is about to change.
Anticipating her own demise, Maria has instilled into her son's memory a series of instructions to be followed in the event of just such a discovery, and appointed crack marksmen, survival experts and safe houses to guard and guide her son to safety in Switzerland where he will finally be able to divulge the list he has memorised; she has also written a letter to an old lover, unsuspecting American banker David Quartermain, informing him that he has a son who is in mortal danger.
And so, as Sherlock Holmes would say, the game is afoot. The cat-and-mouse dance is long and complicated, as three minds try to second-guess one another and stay half a step ahead. At one point, Thomas is captured by Laemmle and challenges him to a game of chess – a game he could easily have won in a few moves, but as a test of the older man's capacities he draws it out for as long as possible before announcing the final 'Check'. This game comes to symbolise the whole complex relationship between man and boy. Meanwhile Quartermain, initially dismissed by his estranged son as just another pawn to be sacrificed in the cause of the greater good, gradually moves to centre stage as his journey of self-discovery leads him to cross inner boundaries as well as the borders and checkpoints of occupied Europe.
Actually for me it's Quartermain who makes the most shocking discovery of the story, a series of facts coolly embedded in the fictional narrative: namely, the activities of American banks and businessmen determined to make a profit out of WWII no matter which side won. I had no idea, for instance, that the Yanks were complicit in financing the manufacture of Zyklon B (the gas used in extermination camps such as Auschwitz); that American oil companies supplied the Nazis with aviation fuel; or that Hitler's rise to power was largely financed and maintained during the 1930s by Wall Street bankers. Obviously it wasn't just American financiers who turned a blind eye to the repercussions of their business deals, but considering the retrospective self-congratulation on 'winning the war' still paraded on occasion by the US, and the heavy wartime cost to Britain of persuading the Yanks to join the Allies at all, I found this information every bit as sickening and disillusioning as Quartermain does!
Anyway, I won't spoil the ending, but trust me, it's heartbreaking and well worth waiting for. For me, 'Daddy' merits a rare five-star score.
The plot is actually relatively simple: The year is 1942. The location is occupied France. Thomas Van Gall, an eleven-year-old boy, has locked away in his memory the codes to over 350 million dollars, secreted away in multiple bank accounts for Jewish clients by his late grandfather. The only other person who holds this information is his mother, Maria Weber, a brilliant and wealthy former socialite, now being hunted by the Nazis. Leading the search for the missing millions is obsessive, wily, intelligent Gestapo agent Gregor Laemmle. Laemmle, a paedophile, has hitherto been unaware of Thomas' existence, let alone his extraordinary mental capacity and the fact that he shares his mother's secret knowledge – but all that is about to change.
Anticipating her own demise, Maria has instilled into her son's memory a series of instructions to be followed in the event of just such a discovery, and appointed crack marksmen, survival experts and safe houses to guard and guide her son to safety in Switzerland where he will finally be able to divulge the list he has memorised; she has also written a letter to an old lover, unsuspecting American banker David Quartermain, informing him that he has a son who is in mortal danger.
And so, as Sherlock Holmes would say, the game is afoot. The cat-and-mouse dance is long and complicated, as three minds try to second-guess one another and stay half a step ahead. At one point, Thomas is captured by Laemmle and challenges him to a game of chess – a game he could easily have won in a few moves, but as a test of the older man's capacities he draws it out for as long as possible before announcing the final 'Check'. This game comes to symbolise the whole complex relationship between man and boy. Meanwhile Quartermain, initially dismissed by his estranged son as just another pawn to be sacrificed in the cause of the greater good, gradually moves to centre stage as his journey of self-discovery leads him to cross inner boundaries as well as the borders and checkpoints of occupied Europe.
Actually for me it's Quartermain who makes the most shocking discovery of the story, a series of facts coolly embedded in the fictional narrative: namely, the activities of American banks and businessmen determined to make a profit out of WWII no matter which side won. I had no idea, for instance, that the Yanks were complicit in financing the manufacture of Zyklon B (the gas used in extermination camps such as Auschwitz); that American oil companies supplied the Nazis with aviation fuel; or that Hitler's rise to power was largely financed and maintained during the 1930s by Wall Street bankers. Obviously it wasn't just American financiers who turned a blind eye to the repercussions of their business deals, but considering the retrospective self-congratulation on 'winning the war' still paraded on occasion by the US, and the heavy wartime cost to Britain of persuading the Yanks to join the Allies at all, I found this information every bit as sickening and disillusioning as Quartermain does!
Anyway, I won't spoil the ending, but trust me, it's heartbreaking and well worth waiting for. For me, 'Daddy' merits a rare five-star score.
November 26, 2012
Warning: If you start reading this book, you won't be able to stop until the last page.
One of the best thriller I read, if not the best. And written by a French author. You can buy it just for $ 0.01 on Amazon. :)
From Publishers Weekly
With superb plotting, mesmerizing characters and brilliant chase scenes, Daddy will enthrall connossieurs of suspense and intrigue from its opening sentences to the emotionally charged denouement. At the heart of this taut, psychological, action-packed thriller set in the early 1940s is Thomas, an exceptional 11-year-old boy whose mind, a well-oiled, precise "machine," contains the complicated codes to 724 secret Swiss bank accounts, a fortune the Nazis have been trying to get at for many years. Their operative is a 46-year-old professor of philosophy, reputed to be the most intelligent man in the Third Reich. Like two chess grand masters, the hunter and his quarry ingeniously outmaneuver each other, each understanding the superior intelligence of his opponent and able to anticipate the other's moves several steps in advance. The drama is heightened by the boy's intense relationships with his beautiful and elusive mother, who trained him for his mission, and with his almost-invisible Spanish bodyguards and a network of supporters from France, Switzerland and Spain set up by her in advance. Particularly poignant is Thomas's relationship with a well-connected American banker who did not know of the boy's existence until asked by the woman he once loved to endanger his own life to save his son's. As sensitive as he is intelligent, Thomas guards against attachment to the man who is his father: too many people he has loved have been savagely murdered by the Nazis. Durand has written several French bestsellers under a pseudonym; Daddy, the first work published in the U.S. under his real name, was a leading bestseller in France. Considering the mastery he displays in this popular genre, readers will anxiously await more.
One of the best thriller I read, if not the best. And written by a French author. You can buy it just for $ 0.01 on Amazon. :)
From Publishers Weekly
With superb plotting, mesmerizing characters and brilliant chase scenes, Daddy will enthrall connossieurs of suspense and intrigue from its opening sentences to the emotionally charged denouement. At the heart of this taut, psychological, action-packed thriller set in the early 1940s is Thomas, an exceptional 11-year-old boy whose mind, a well-oiled, precise "machine," contains the complicated codes to 724 secret Swiss bank accounts, a fortune the Nazis have been trying to get at for many years. Their operative is a 46-year-old professor of philosophy, reputed to be the most intelligent man in the Third Reich. Like two chess grand masters, the hunter and his quarry ingeniously outmaneuver each other, each understanding the superior intelligence of his opponent and able to anticipate the other's moves several steps in advance. The drama is heightened by the boy's intense relationships with his beautiful and elusive mother, who trained him for his mission, and with his almost-invisible Spanish bodyguards and a network of supporters from France, Switzerland and Spain set up by her in advance. Particularly poignant is Thomas's relationship with a well-connected American banker who did not know of the boy's existence until asked by the woman he once loved to endanger his own life to save his son's. As sensitive as he is intelligent, Thomas guards against attachment to the man who is his father: too many people he has loved have been savagely murdered by the Nazis. Durand has written several French bestsellers under a pseudonym; Daddy, the first work published in the U.S. under his real name, was a leading bestseller in France. Considering the mastery he displays in this popular genre, readers will anxiously await more.
April 22, 2011
Oh feh! Nothing's worse than somebody with an excellent idea who fucks it up six ways to Sunday.
Loup Durand, first of all, is a pseudonym and a damned silly one. Second, he simply doesn't like most of his characters, so why does he write about them? Third, he takes the story of a secret code to untold millions of reichmarks laid away in banks around the world--money that could goose Hitler's war effort mightily if the Nazi's could lay hands on them -- and loses his own interest in it. Fourth through tenth, he drags the reader along thinking something wonderful will eventually happen, but it's just the usual pileup of blood, explosions, absurd coincidence and a battle of masterminds who always -- always -- know exactly what the other is thinking and planning.
The nice trick is that one of the masterminds is 11 years old, but Loup Garou wears out the changes on this about a quarter of the way through. The gay Nazi counterpart is effete, nasty, but of course tortured. Well, who the hell cares -- torture him some more!
The Daddy character is a Rockefeller nephew with suddenly gains smarts and abilities he never knew he had, making him able to outsmart all the stupid Nazis. Then, for a never clearly explained reason, he is given the lowdown on the lowdown dealings between the financial worlds of Germany and the US, and you know what happens? He decides he doesn't like the rest of his relatives! Damn!
Loup Durand, first of all, is a pseudonym and a damned silly one. Second, he simply doesn't like most of his characters, so why does he write about them? Third, he takes the story of a secret code to untold millions of reichmarks laid away in banks around the world--money that could goose Hitler's war effort mightily if the Nazi's could lay hands on them -- and loses his own interest in it. Fourth through tenth, he drags the reader along thinking something wonderful will eventually happen, but it's just the usual pileup of blood, explosions, absurd coincidence and a battle of masterminds who always -- always -- know exactly what the other is thinking and planning.
The nice trick is that one of the masterminds is 11 years old, but Loup Garou wears out the changes on this about a quarter of the way through. The gay Nazi counterpart is effete, nasty, but of course tortured. Well, who the hell cares -- torture him some more!
The Daddy character is a Rockefeller nephew with suddenly gains smarts and abilities he never knew he had, making him able to outsmart all the stupid Nazis. Then, for a never clearly explained reason, he is given the lowdown on the lowdown dealings between the financial worlds of Germany and the US, and you know what happens? He decides he doesn't like the rest of his relatives! Damn!
April 19, 2021
''Daddy'' is a ''would reread'' for me as it is an amazing story of one very intelligent and quite in danger little boy. Overall ''Daddy'' gives you a walk round the Nazi park and brings you safe home if you're smart enough. If you're into any book with ''Nazis and Jews'' - this one's for you.
I fell in love with little Thomas because he's portrayed as one of those extraordinary children whose life has become hard at an early age. It makes you question every step of his mind, ask yourself what would you do in every situation... it's almost like playing chess, the way that Thomas plays it at the beginning of the book. I like how the kid isn't given some kind of supernatural powers in terms of getting out safe ALONE in every situation - of course he gets some guardians (cool friends i'd say) along the path, which gives the storyline more of a real feeling.
If you like vague characters (as I do) - his mother remains a ''ghost'' a whole book long. She is mainly present trough the kids memories in a very natural, intimate way, which shows an infinite love for her.
This all makes you question the thought ''What if I had such a mother? Would I love her the same way?''. A mother who's almost never to be seen around but has given you a special and dangerous mission, how'd you feel?
The ending was an explosion of facts and feelings and I'd never suspect it, 5 stars for me.
I fell in love with little Thomas because he's portrayed as one of those extraordinary children whose life has become hard at an early age. It makes you question every step of his mind, ask yourself what would you do in every situation... it's almost like playing chess, the way that Thomas plays it at the beginning of the book. I like how the kid isn't given some kind of supernatural powers in terms of getting out safe ALONE in every situation - of course he gets some guardians (cool friends i'd say) along the path, which gives the storyline more of a real feeling.
If you like vague characters (as I do) - his mother remains a ''ghost'' a whole book long. She is mainly present trough the kids memories in a very natural, intimate way, which shows an infinite love for her.
This all makes you question the thought ''What if I had such a mother? Would I love her the same way?''. A mother who's almost never to be seen around but has given you a special and dangerous mission, how'd you feel?
The ending was an explosion of facts and feelings and I'd never suspect it, 5 stars for me.
April 24, 2012
An absolute delight from start to finish.
I started the book thinking that it would be an espionage novel set during WWII, yet the book proved to be more of a well-written character study. A brilliant eleven year old boy, and a sadistic and highly intelligent Gestapo chief fight a 'war of logic', and it was set in WWII. Although there is plenty of action in the novel, it really is more of a carefully plotted game of psychological chess between this depraved military man, and the super talented boy, and the stakes are Life and Death.
Never a dull moment.
I started the book thinking that it would be an espionage novel set during WWII, yet the book proved to be more of a well-written character study. A brilliant eleven year old boy, and a sadistic and highly intelligent Gestapo chief fight a 'war of logic', and it was set in WWII. Although there is plenty of action in the novel, it really is more of a carefully plotted game of psychological chess between this depraved military man, and the super talented boy, and the stakes are Life and Death.
Never a dull moment.
September 5, 2008
One of my favorite books of all times. Originally written in french and translated. It is a fictional story about WWII and how jewish money was hidden in Swiss bank accounts.
October 13, 2020
An AMAZING book! The story is very well imagined and I couldn't put the book down!
August 1, 2024
Thomas Le Jeune a seulement 11 ans, et semble porter le poids du monde sur ses épaules. Traqué par les Allemands, et plus particulièrement par Gregor Laemmle, un ancien professeur de philosophie aux idées particulièrement sombres, il va tout faire pour réussir la mission que sa mère lui a confiée : transmettre des données d'une valeur de 724 millions de marks à des banquiers en Suisse. Protégé par des gardes du corps Espagnols, il va parcourir la France, tenter d'échapper aux pièges tendus par Laemmle, perdre des gens qu'il aime, jouer sa vie encore et encore.
C'est une traque à grande échelle que nous propose ici Loup Durand, dans les années 1940. Au beau milieu de la guerre, se déroule un autre conflit, plus discret mais non moins palpitant, qui oppose deux intelligences hors pair, celle d'un petit garçon et celle d'un homme à la pensée philosophique. Leur conflit va se dérouler telle une véritable partie d'échecs, ces derniers étant souvent utilisés pour décrire les actions des personnages.
L'histoire a été écrite en 1987 et cela se ressent dans la narration. Elle semble froide, assez indifférente par moment, et les points de vue des personnages s'enchaînent en se mélangeant parfois, ce qui a le don de couper l'immersion. De plus, la narration passe de la troisième personne du singulier à la deuxième personne du singulier en une phrase, parfois, et encore une fois le rythme en est dérangé.
J'ai mis un bon moment avant de m'attacher aux personnages, cela à cause de ce choix d'écriture complexe, je pense. Mais passé un certain moment, j'ai commencé à beaucoup les apprécier, et même Laemmle n'est pas dénué d'intérêt. Les liens entre les divers personnages se creusent, s'intensifient tout au long de la lecture, et malgré tout on ne peut qu'être prit de frénésie au milieu de cette chasse haletante, cette envie de voir Thomas réussir, ce gamin incroyable à la mémoire hallucinante.
C'est un roman dans lequel il n'est pas aisé d'entrer, mais si l'on y parvient, on est récompensé par une histoire fascinante, des personnages attachants, une intrigue maîtrisée.
C'est une traque à grande échelle que nous propose ici Loup Durand, dans les années 1940. Au beau milieu de la guerre, se déroule un autre conflit, plus discret mais non moins palpitant, qui oppose deux intelligences hors pair, celle d'un petit garçon et celle d'un homme à la pensée philosophique. Leur conflit va se dérouler telle une véritable partie d'échecs, ces derniers étant souvent utilisés pour décrire les actions des personnages.
L'histoire a été écrite en 1987 et cela se ressent dans la narration. Elle semble froide, assez indifférente par moment, et les points de vue des personnages s'enchaînent en se mélangeant parfois, ce qui a le don de couper l'immersion. De plus, la narration passe de la troisième personne du singulier à la deuxième personne du singulier en une phrase, parfois, et encore une fois le rythme en est dérangé.
J'ai mis un bon moment avant de m'attacher aux personnages, cela à cause de ce choix d'écriture complexe, je pense. Mais passé un certain moment, j'ai commencé à beaucoup les apprécier, et même Laemmle n'est pas dénué d'intérêt. Les liens entre les divers personnages se creusent, s'intensifient tout au long de la lecture, et malgré tout on ne peut qu'être prit de frénésie au milieu de cette chasse haletante, cette envie de voir Thomas réussir, ce gamin incroyable à la mémoire hallucinante.
C'est un roman dans lequel il n'est pas aisé d'entrer, mais si l'on y parvient, on est récompensé par une histoire fascinante, des personnages attachants, une intrigue maîtrisée.
September 1, 2021
Este es uno de los libros de cabecera que leo periódicamente (he perdido la cuenta de las veces que lo he leído ya).
Imposible no empatizar con Thomas y su travesía huyendo del III Reich.
No sólo Thomas es brillante y siempre asombra ver sus razonamientos y ver como va tomando sus decisiones si no que, su contraparte, también es un hombre brillante.
Adicionalmente, el "equipo de soporte" que la madre de Thomas dejó para cuidar de su hijo, también está formado por hombres excepcionales que lo dan todo por cumplir con este objetivo.
Es un libro que se lee muy fácilmente y que se termina sin darte cuenta.
Altamente recomendable
Imposible no empatizar con Thomas y su travesía huyendo del III Reich.
No sólo Thomas es brillante y siempre asombra ver sus razonamientos y ver como va tomando sus decisiones si no que, su contraparte, también es un hombre brillante.
Adicionalmente, el "equipo de soporte" que la madre de Thomas dejó para cuidar de su hijo, también está formado por hombres excepcionales que lo dan todo por cumplir con este objetivo.
Es un libro que se lee muy fácilmente y que se termina sin darte cuenta.
Altamente recomendable
September 12, 2017
One of my favorite WW2 fiction books.
May 9, 2025
Génialissime. Page turner!
February 25, 2020
This is a riveting, war-time thriller in a similar mould to The Day of The Jackal, though not quite as clever because it tries a bit too hard to be that clever.
Once I got into it I was drawn in but some things did bug me a bit. There were times that very specific details were given about someone who was so peripheral to the plot that they didn't even physically appear in the story. While I appreciate that the little details help to create the bigger world for the story to flourish, those details should still feel like they have relevance at the time you're reading them.
While the characters were well written they all felt a bit too contrived. The American was the perfect male hero you might find in a 1920s or 30s pulp novel, his one flaw was physical, a limp he'd gained from some heroic and manly deed in the past. The Nazi villain was suitably sadistic and cunning but his obsession in the boy became a little too convenient for the progression of the story. I think I actually liked the boy's character because I found the idea of developing his intellect so he thought like a 'machine' in order to survive interesting. The narrator overdid this though by constantly repeating how clever his yellow eyes were, when it could have been subtler. The way everyone fell in love with the boy and the woman was a little annoying too, I would have thought that some people might find that little boy rather annoying and others might resent the massive responsibilities the woman left on so many different people's shoulders.
A character I did like was Miquel, who was so good at hiding that no one could ever see him unless he wanted them too. This idea was played quite comic book in its extremity but I quite enjoyed that. His methods were never divulged, he just appeared when necessary, which added to his mystique.
The thing that annoyed me most though was the concept that the entire novel hung on. The boy had to learn all these codes relating to hundreds of millions of dollars but why? At the end he goes to a bank in Switzerland and tells a group of people the information and it's all over. But why couldn't he do that sooner?
So in summary, quite an enjoyable and gripping read (in parts) but some of the fundamentals bothered me which slightly inhibited my enjoyment of it.
Once I got into it I was drawn in but some things did bug me a bit. There were times that very specific details were given about someone who was so peripheral to the plot that they didn't even physically appear in the story. While I appreciate that the little details help to create the bigger world for the story to flourish, those details should still feel like they have relevance at the time you're reading them.
While the characters were well written they all felt a bit too contrived. The American was the perfect male hero you might find in a 1920s or 30s pulp novel, his one flaw was physical, a limp he'd gained from some heroic and manly deed in the past. The Nazi villain was suitably sadistic and cunning but his obsession in the boy became a little too convenient for the progression of the story. I think I actually liked the boy's character because I found the idea of developing his intellect so he thought like a 'machine' in order to survive interesting. The narrator overdid this though by constantly repeating how clever his yellow eyes were, when it could have been subtler. The way everyone fell in love with the boy and the woman was a little annoying too, I would have thought that some people might find that little boy rather annoying and others might resent the massive responsibilities the woman left on so many different people's shoulders.
A character I did like was Miquel, who was so good at hiding that no one could ever see him unless he wanted them too. This idea was played quite comic book in its extremity but I quite enjoyed that. His methods were never divulged, he just appeared when necessary, which added to his mystique.
The thing that annoyed me most though was the concept that the entire novel hung on. The boy had to learn all these codes relating to hundreds of millions of dollars but why? At the end he goes to a bank in Switzerland and tells a group of people the information and it's all over. But why couldn't he do that sooner?
So in summary, quite an enjoyable and gripping read (in parts) but some of the fundamentals bothered me which slightly inhibited my enjoyment of it.
December 2, 2014
Le 18 septembre 1942, Thomas fête ses onze ans. Caché dans le sud de la France, protégé par des gardes du corps, pourchassé par les nazis, il n'est pas un petit garçon comme les autres. Pour la Gestapo, il vaut 724 millions de marks. Une somme qui justifie qu'on lance à ses trousses une horde de chasseurs. A leur tête, le plus surprenant des policiers, Gregor Laëmmie, un professeur de philosophie revenu de tout. La traque infernale commence. Contre l'étrange Gregor Laëmmie, Thomas, avec son cœur d'enfant et son cerveau de génie, va jouer sa vie comme une extraordinaire partie d'échecs. Un seul témoin à l'affrontement de ces deux formidables intelligences : un Américain bien tranquille qui est peut-être le père de Thomas. Peut-être...
Avertissement : Si vous commencez à lire cette histoire, vous ne pourrez pas l'arrêter avant de l'avoir finie. C'est vraiment excellent!
Avertissement : Si vous commencez à lire cette histoire, vous ne pourrez pas l'arrêter avant de l'avoir finie. C'est vraiment excellent!
October 28, 2015
Call it sentimental bias or prejudice, but I gave this such a high rating because it was the first full-length novel I read as a teenager (I stopped considering Christopher Pike's books as a full-length ever since). This book opened up my interest in reading, which helped me graduate from Hardy Boys, Perry Mason and other serials.
It's been quite a while, but I believe what hooked me to the story was the amazing conflict and contrast in the characters— a vulnerable child genius determined to complete his mission, and an incredibly resourceful ordinary father determined to do his own duty in protecting the kid, even as he struggled with doubts about his own parenthood.
I hope I can read it again someday.
It's been quite a while, but I believe what hooked me to the story was the amazing conflict and contrast in the characters— a vulnerable child genius determined to complete his mission, and an incredibly resourceful ordinary father determined to do his own duty in protecting the kid, even as he struggled with doubts about his own parenthood.
I hope I can read it again someday.
December 7, 2007
Okay, I haven't read this book in about 10 years, but I LOVED it! It was one of the best suspense stories that I have ever read!
I can't remember many details, except that it is the story of young man who supposedly has stored in his mind complicated codes to Swiss bank accounts. The nazis want this information, and if I remember right, the boy is unaware that he may have the key to this information.
This book is difficult to find. If you do get your hands on a copy, though, it is so well worth the read.
I can't remember many details, except that it is the story of young man who supposedly has stored in his mind complicated codes to Swiss bank accounts. The nazis want this information, and if I remember right, the boy is unaware that he may have the key to this information.
This book is difficult to find. If you do get your hands on a copy, though, it is so well worth the read.
May 4, 2015
A perfectly crafted masterpiece by Loup Durand. This is one of the very few books I will give 5 stars. A Book I have not forgotten even after 15 years since I first read it. All the characters are so vividly and masterfully crafted that you would root even for the antagonist. The chemistry between the boy and his mother as well as father is amazing and spell binding. I will recommend it to everyone and anyone.
October 25, 2015
I love this book. I first read it in the early nineties and just retread it. A great thriller the first time and second. Delicious story of an indomitable and brilliant 11 year old boy who thwarts a Nazi trying to get to $350 million that the boy and his mother hold the key to. Great characters from the boy to his protectors, to the nasty Nazis, to his Daddy. Better than Lee Childs.
October 30, 2018
Un libro muy poco conocido pero que tiene una historia muy interesante, aunque el final se puede hacer un poco largo. Por lo bien que escribe el escritor y por lo corto que es yo lo recomiendo.
November 9, 2022
Amazing book! So smartly written and such a great story. I felt connected to each character and felt their emotion. I love this book!
July 12, 2021
Ondanks de titel is "Daddy" van Loup Durand een oorspronkelijke Franse roman, waarvan ik deze Nederlandse vertaling las dankzij een anonieme schenker uit Stokkem die me een paar dozen vol boeken gaf voor in de boekenruilkast van Literaliefde. Een paar van die boeken wou ik eerst zelf lezen, waaronder dus deze "Daddy". Het was de ondertitel die me verleidde: "Hoe een elfjarige jongen de Gestapo te slim af is."
Thomas is dus elf jaar, en hij kent een geheim. Zijn grootvader stal miljoenen van de nazi's, sluisde het over naar de bankrekeningen van Amerikaanse bedrijven, en de Duitsers kunnen er niet aan zonder de juist namen, nummers en codes. Jonge Thomas is de enige die ze kent, en ze gaan achter hem aan in de vorm van Gregor Laemmle. Met de hulp van enkele Spanjaarden, in dienst van zijn moeder, blijft Thomas hen altijd een stapje voor, ondanks dat ze hem wel heel dicht op de hielen zitten.
Het is een atypisch oorlogsverhaal dat wel zijn charmes heeft maar een moderne lezer misschien niet helemaal zal bekoren. Wie fan is van "The Queen's Gambit" zal wel de verwijzingen naar het schaakspel appreciëren. Thomas is een schaakgenie en bekijkt zijn belevenissen als een gigantisch schaakspel. Zelfs zijn gesprekken met mensen beschouwt hij als juiste of foute zetten. Het spel dat Thomas en Gregor spelen, is veel grootser en blijft je verbazen. Ze voeren oorlog en winnen allebei soms een veldslag.
Het boek werkt niet met hoofdstukken maar met witregels tussen de verschillende standpunten. Het vertelperspectief wisselt tussen Thomas, Gregor, en de Amerikaan David Quattermain, de mogelijke 'daddy' in het verhaal. De vertelstem is derdepersoons, maar de innerlijke dialogen in de ik-vorm komen er bij iedereen regelmatig tussen, voorafgegaan door een gedachtestreepje. Ik was niet bekend met deze manier, dus het was even wennen, maar het werkt wel en ik vind het passen bij de tijdsgeest.
Een derde in het boek gevorderd, besloot ik het een extra ster te geven omwille van een verrassende wending. Naarmate het verhaal naar het einde toe liep, begon ik het meer en meer te appreciëren. Het verhaal hoeft zeker niet onder te doen voor recentere literatuur.
Thomas is dus elf jaar, en hij kent een geheim. Zijn grootvader stal miljoenen van de nazi's, sluisde het over naar de bankrekeningen van Amerikaanse bedrijven, en de Duitsers kunnen er niet aan zonder de juist namen, nummers en codes. Jonge Thomas is de enige die ze kent, en ze gaan achter hem aan in de vorm van Gregor Laemmle. Met de hulp van enkele Spanjaarden, in dienst van zijn moeder, blijft Thomas hen altijd een stapje voor, ondanks dat ze hem wel heel dicht op de hielen zitten.
Het is een atypisch oorlogsverhaal dat wel zijn charmes heeft maar een moderne lezer misschien niet helemaal zal bekoren. Wie fan is van "The Queen's Gambit" zal wel de verwijzingen naar het schaakspel appreciëren. Thomas is een schaakgenie en bekijkt zijn belevenissen als een gigantisch schaakspel. Zelfs zijn gesprekken met mensen beschouwt hij als juiste of foute zetten. Het spel dat Thomas en Gregor spelen, is veel grootser en blijft je verbazen. Ze voeren oorlog en winnen allebei soms een veldslag.
Het boek werkt niet met hoofdstukken maar met witregels tussen de verschillende standpunten. Het vertelperspectief wisselt tussen Thomas, Gregor, en de Amerikaan David Quattermain, de mogelijke 'daddy' in het verhaal. De vertelstem is derdepersoons, maar de innerlijke dialogen in de ik-vorm komen er bij iedereen regelmatig tussen, voorafgegaan door een gedachtestreepje. Ik was niet bekend met deze manier, dus het was even wennen, maar het werkt wel en ik vind het passen bij de tijdsgeest.
Een derde in het boek gevorderd, besloot ik het een extra ster te geven omwille van een verrassende wending. Naarmate het verhaal naar het einde toe liep, begon ik het meer en meer te appreciëren. Het verhaal hoeft zeker niet onder te doen voor recentere literatuur.
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