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Title: Goodbye Mickey Mouse by Len Deighton ISBN: 0-586-05448-0 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 1983 Format: Mass Market Paperback List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.86 (7 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: A real bomber!
Comment: I was flattened by Deighton's "Bomber" and was so excited to read one of his about fighter pilots. I was disappointed by this book, maybe my expectaions were too high. More of a historical romance really, read: Harliquin with more research. The detail of the Mustangs was bullet-proof when Deighton gets around to it but there just wasn't enough action in the novel. Slow-paced and torturous to finish in the end, the climax losses it's shock because by that time you just don't care who survives. There is almost too much depth in the characters in that it becomes a real bore. If you like stories about wartime life not involving a lot of combat then this would be a great book, but it wasn't for me.
Rating: 3
Summary: Teenage reading revisited
Comment: I'd enjoyed Len Deighton's books before: I read "Bomber" as a teenager and was deeply impressed. I'd also read his fiendishly involved spy stories ("Only When I Laugh, The Ipcress File"), so I was favourably disposed to this one, a WWII story about a couple of American pilots in 1944 UK, and their lives and loves, and deaths. I enjoyed the story - as others have observed, the technical detail about fighter planes is incredible; it gives authority and power to the writing, without swamping the reader. Not only planes, but other details of American and British lives in 1944 southern England. Just as vital to the plot is the relationship between Colonel Bohnen and his estranged son, Jamie Fairbrother, a pilot. I found the male characters deeper, more carefully drawn and more interesting than the women, but that may be a failing in all Deighton's books. One of the most interesting scenes for me was when the fathers of the 2 lovers meet: Victoria Cooper's father is a psychologist, and makes these observations on parenthood: "After fifteen years or more of caring for a child, parents find it difficult to relinquish their role. There's a temptation to cripple the child and thus keep the child dependent...All parents are tempted to destroy their own children, Bohnen. It's a fact of life."
The dogfight scenes are riveting and highly satisfying, with Deighton wandering into the pilots' feelings and thoughts as they fly and fight. Little political comment, though, or overview of the war, despite Colonel Bohnen's high-up position.
The ending was a shock, but I felt it did little to add to the story - it was a gimmick. And the dialogue is pretty flat. But a satisfying read overall, so 3 stars.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Good Novel about Fighter Pilots-Also a Romance
Comment: Len Deighton is one of the great writers of aviation fiction and nonfiction. He spends a great deal of time researching his stories and it shows in the final product. His novel 'Goodbye Mickey Mouse' is not a great book, but it is a good book. Deighton, in writing the book, seems to have been as interested in portraying the love lives of American aviators in England as he was in depicting the air war over Europe from the point of view of P-51 Mustang pilots. The result is a somewhat trite love story--brash American fighter pilot tamed by straightlaced English lass. The other love story in the book is a bit more interesting because it is more original. The title character, Mickey Morse, falls for an older married English woman, and this threatens his dream of becoming a celebrated fighter ace. There are some good plot twists in the book, and most of the characters are interesting, but the best segments of the book are when Deighton focuses on the flying and the military politics. This is where he shines as an author. The romance element is no better-or worse-than what you find in any book on a newstand rack and read to pass time on a plane or on a trip. The most intriguing character is the main character, Mickey Morse (known as Mickey Mouse), who grew up at a gas station in Arizona and is trying to improve his chances in life by becoming a famous fighter ace. He hopes to get a job working in the air industry after the war. However, he is blinded by love for the older married woman, with serious repurcussions. His friend, Jamie Farebrother, is the privileged son of a business tycoon who has become a general to help run the war effort. His father, who is estranged from the son but trying desperately to develop a relationship, is also an interesting character. The British characters are less well-drawn, which is rather surprising because Deighton is British. They tend towards cardboard cutouts and stereotypes. Even Jamie Farebrother's love interest Victoria is lacking in depth. That having been said, "Goodbye Mickey Mouse" is one of the best books I've read for getting a feeling for what life was like on a fighter base during the war. As a historian researching the American air war over Europe, specifically the 8th Air Force, the book provided me with some valuable insights. To be fair, I am not a big fan of romances and that element of the book didn't appeal to me; however, I think most people might enjoy the way Deighton develops the romances in the novel, and the way he weaves them together. Some of the plot twists are a bit improbable, but hey, this is fiction, where the author, especially if he is established, can get away with that kind of thing. Overall, an entertaining book, well researched, but lacking in depth of characterization as well as probability.
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Title: Bomber by Len Deighton ISBN: 0586045449 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 1978 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: XPD by Len Deighton ISBN: 0586054472 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 1982 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Spy Sinker: A Novel by Len Deighton, Len Dieghton ISBN: 0060391189 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: September, 1990 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Blood, Tears and Folly: An Objective Look at World War II by Len Deighton ISBN: 0785811141 Publisher: Book Sales Pub. Date: July, 1999 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: Spy Hook by Len Deighton ISBN: 0091736420 Publisher: Random House UK Distribution Pub. Date: 15 November, 1988 |
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