The Day of the Jackal - by Frederick Forsyth

The Day of the Jackal (written in 1971) is a very remarkable and exceptionally stunning political thriller novel by English writer Frederick Forsyth about a professional assassin nicknamed as 'The Jackal'.

The job of this hitman is to assassinate Charles de Gaulle-President of France and he has been contracted by a group opposed to president's policies on Algeria.

Not only does the reasonably well-informed reader know that, historically, Charles de Gaulle was not assassinated, but Forsyth actually makes a point of telling us this early in the book. So, in a most important sense, we know from the outset how the book ends. And yet, it is one of the best examples I've read of page-turning, heart-stopping, breath-holding suspense writing.

With a meticulous personality and obsession with planning to the last-minute detail, 'The Jackal' is one of the most intriguing and enigmatic characters ever created in the thriller genre.

His precision, work ethic, fastidious planning—it almost forces you into admiration and at some level you may even want him to succeed even though he is a cold-blooded killer who eliminates anyone hindering his progress without hesitation or remorse.

The other lead character is - ofcourse a police detective - Claude Lebel. Its extremely thrilling to read Lebel narrow-in on Jackal through tireless and methodical police work.

If you’re looking for a thriller that keeps you riveted from start to finish, The Day of the Jackal is the book for you.

A TV adaptation was released in 2024, in which 'Eddie Redmayne' plays the role of the Jackal. The director has taken some cinematic liberties to alter the plot a bit, but it still stays quite close to the original plot of the book.

Japan Travelog

Due to global pandemic, the travel outside India was almost stopped in past 4 years. I joined a new organization in last quarter of 2024 and my first business visit was to Japan.

Japan had always intrigued me. In my humble opinion, there are only 2 countries which are uniquely unique on earth and they are India and Japan. In terms of culture, history, lifestyle, nature, there is no other country in the world matching India and Japan.

Here are few things I noticed during my short stay in Tokyo as an outsider and first-time visitor - 

- High tech Toilets - toilets in Japan are completely different from any other place. Compared to normal toilet, which only has one function -flush-, the Japanese ones is equipped with warmed-up seats, bidet, jets, music and array of other functions.

- Vending machines - there are vending machines everywhere  and apparently you can buy food items, drinks, batteries etc   

- Long working hours - Till I visited Japan, I always thought Indians are the most long-hrs working people. Japan beats India truly here. I have seen associates started working very early morning than expected and staying back till very late evenings. As a result, folks doze off in metros, trains. Almost all eateries incl small kiosks and fancy restaurants were running full every evening. Most of the workers grab food on the way back home rather than buying groceries.

- Food - Wherever I went in Tokyo, I could find ample options for lunch/dinner.  Though I noticed that there were very few options for an Indian vegetarian. Seafood is part of almost every japanese dish. At the same time, I also realized that there is not much popularity for fastfood. But the 3 main chain-stores 7-Eleven, Lawsons and FamilyMart have stores literally at every corner and provide wonderful on-the-go options of quick food/drinks. 

- Dense population - Just like most of major metro cities around the world, Tokyo is also densely populated city. The trains run jam-packed at rush hours but everyone is super-disciplined in travels, walking, crossing the roads, driving

- limited english - on my arrival and on first day, I really struggled to find ways around the city, to ask for necessary information. People do understand and speak English at airports/hotels but in local stores, restaurants, it was a struggle to ask for directions, getting train details, asking for food details or even to ask counter person how much I need to pay. Google-lens and translator were saviors for me then onwards.  Even in a global city like Tokyo, there are hardly any boards or signs in English.

- Restaurants - we went for lunch to a restaurant close to office and I was surprised to see robots delivering food. we placed order through tab placed on our table and food was ordered by robot like moving cart. Seems this is pretty common in many restaurants. Another unique thing especially in small eateries, they display their menu in the form of plastic food in show-case outside.

- extremely punctual trains - like global metro cities, there are multiple train companies in Japan/Tokyo too. But the trains are extremely punctual, I read that average delay of Japanese trains in 18 seconds. really? 

- Plethora of Kitkat flavors - every store I went, I found a atleast 3-4 new flavors of Kitkat chocolate. I brough home flavors like strawberry, orange, double dark, matcha, cheesecake which are most common. seems there are 300+ flavors available incl cherry-blossom, sake, red-beans, soy and many many more

- Onsen - there was a pamphlet lying on my hotel desk, mentioning onsen timing and instructions. At first, I thought it must be equivalent of spa. Later I understood 'Onsen' means common bathing facility offered to guests. Of course there are etiquette rules to be followed if you want to use the facility.

- Longevity - life expectancy is really high in Japan. I could see ageing people everywhere. One of my co-worker from Tokyo office was in 80's. Inspite of age, most of the old folks are pretty independent, working and mostly on their own.

Well, as they say, Japan is a land of ancient wisdom, futuristic dreams where every corner  holds a new discovery. So if you ever get a chance to visit, don’t miss it- you can’t un-visit Japan once been there.