The opening pages are hilariously improbable: a top-secret government department where the six employees are paid to ... read spy novels for signs of what other spying agencies are doing? But the delicious preface by Grady to the 2008 edition (Six Days was written in the 1970s) insists that it's true, since the Soviets were doing it, but they employed 2000 people.The story is fast-paced and there are some very funny lines, engaging plot devices, and gives a good sense of gritty Washington politics of the decades past. The characters are surprisingly sympathetic, quickly drawn, with good qualities and foibles... very human. I laughed aloud several times (in a good way) at some of the dialogue and authorial commentary. Along the way, the author sets up scenes that other writers have since appropriated to their own use. And Grady wrote this when he was 23 years old. Now, I have to admit that the movie that came from this, Three Days of the Condor, is one of my favorite spy movies. So when this book popped up in my Kindle recommendations, I snatched it up. Like many books I like, it went waaay too fast. The Kindle has allowed me to increase my reading speed and the amount of time I spend reading. I seldom go to sleep at night without at least an hour of Kindle-time. So this book was done in two nights. If you're a fan of the movie, the book will surprise you. Much of what makes the movie what I liked isn't present in the book. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book - I did. I'm just pointing out that, outside the basic idea of the plot, most the rest is changed. The main character is still a book-reading employee of the CIA, but the similarity ends there. I don't typically do plot reviews, except where it's exceptional or terrible and Six Days is neither, so I'll not introduce spoilers here. The writing - which is where I normally focus my attentions, is also neither terrible nor particularly special. It's a good story for a couple night getaway. I enjoyed it. If you like spy stories...though not your typical spy story...you'll like this too.
What do You think about I Sei Giorni Del Condor (1974)?
Read it when it was published as a movie tie-in. Liked it, liked the movie.
—Ria
One of the books that influenced me to read even more.
—Saskia
