Author: Alistair MacLean
Genre: Thriller
Recommended to: MacLean fans, thriller lovers
Recommended Age Group: 14 or above
Rating: 5/10
Publisher's write-up:
“From all over Europe, even from behind the Iron
Curtain, gypsies make an annual pilgrimage to the holy shrine of their patron
saint in Provence. But something is different about this year's gathering; this
year people are dying.
Cecile Dubois and Neil Bowman are also in
Provence, and discover that someone is financing the gypsies. What is the
secret they are so determined to hide? As they follow the caravan, Bowman and
Cecile come too close to it for safety, and before long they are running for
their lives.”
Unlike most Alistair MacLean novels, Caravan to
Vaccares is not a novel based on the World War II. The book first came to print
in 1970 and presumably, this story is also set around that time, during the
Cold War era.
Review
The story is set at the south eastern province of
Provence, in France. It begins with the murder of a gypsy and it was committed
by his fellow gypsies. Why? Nobody knows, but it was clear that the gypsies had
something to secret which they didn't want to be divulged and presumably, the
deceased has come close to the secret. Cecile Dubois and Neil Bowman, British
citizens, are also in Provence. Then there is also the Le Grand Duc, at Provence,
who supposedly is a gypsy folklorist. Bowman gets curious about what these
gypsies are trying to hide. He starts following the gypsy caravans, but little
does he realise that he is inviting trouble for himself by doing so and that
too, not only for himself, but also for Cecile.
Alistair MacLean hardly reveals the identity of
his characters and Caravan to Vaccares is no exception to that. Nobody has any
idea on who Le Grand Duc or what he is up to and the case is no different when
it comes to Bowman. He describes himself as a “professional idler” and some
readers might just try to finish reading the book as soon as possible just to
know “who” Bowman is. It is not easy to describe any kind of a fight in words
and even if one manages to do so, it might not be effective as the reader might
find it difficult to imagine the scenes or comprehend what is happening. So,
the author has to be appreciated for describing each duel so extensively, and
personally, I had no problem in imagining the fight. That is something which I
really liked about the book. A reasonable pace was maintained throughout the
novel, which is an important feature of a thriller novel, I believe.
However, on the flip side, I’d say that the plot
was dull, and in many cases, the antagonists were being extremely foolish,
which isn’t exactly the sign of an “equal contest” between the protagonist and
the antagonist. Besides, in some cases, Bowman’s survival was totally
unbelievable, a combination of all sorts of luck and coincidences. Some readers
may not accept the way in which the author portrayed the gypsies and their
culture. Thrillers are mostly seen as a battle between “goodies and baddies”
but considering “goodies”, considering Bowman’s character, he certainly isn’t
the first person which would come to one’s mind. I was also not satisfied with
the character descriptions as there was a high degree of imbalance. Some, like
Le Grand Duc and Cecile Dubois were described so well whereas I felt most of
the others were ignored, including Bowman. Any kind of digression ruins a
thriller novel and the major deviation in this book is the romantic sub-plot
featuring Bowman and Cecile. The Times praised Caravan to Vaccares saying “Even more action-packed than its
predecessors” but to be honest, it wasn’t all that action packed, in fact,
far less action-packed than one of its predecessors which I’ve read, South by Java Head, that is.
Summary of
the review
The plot was average and there was nothing great
about it. In most cases, the protagonist either gets extremely lucky or the
antagonists were being very stupid. It did maintain a reasonable level of pace
though, which made it readable.
There wasn’t anything special about the language
used by the author but the fights were described well and dialogues were well
constructed.
I wouldn’t exactly say that it is a good read and
I shall recommend it only to MacLean fans or those who are willing to read any
kind of thrillers.
Have a nice day,
Andy
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