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    The Boys from Brazil
    The Boys from Brazil
    The Boys from Brazil
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Boys from Brazil

    Written by Ira Levin

    Narrated by Simon Prebble

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Alive and hiding in South America, the fiendish Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele gathers a group of former colleagues for a horrifying project—the creation of the Fourth Reich. Barry Kohler, a young investigative journalist, gets wind of the project and informs famed Nazi hunter Yakov Lieberman, but before he can relay the evidence, Kohler is killed.

    Thus Ira Levin opens one of the strangest and most masterful novels of his career. Why has Mengele marked a number of harmless aging men for murder? What is the hidden link that binds them? What interest can they possibly hold for their killers: six former SS men dispatched from South America by the most wanted Nazi still alive, the notorious "Angel of Death"? One man alone must answer these questions and stop the killings—Lieberman, himself aging and thought by some to be losing his grip on reality.

    At the heart of The Boys from Brazil lies a frightening contemporary nightmare, chilling and all too possible.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJun 24, 2014
    ISBN9780062357762
    Author

    Ira Levin

    Novelist and playwright Ira Levin (1929-2007) was a native New Yorker whose books include A Kiss Before Dying, Rosemary's Baby, This Perfect Day, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil, Sliver, and Son of Rosemary. His plays include No Time for Sergeants, Critic's Choice, and the longest-running thriller in Broadway history, Deathtrap. An alumnus of New York University, Levin also wrote the lyrics of the Barbra Streisand classic "He Touched Me," and was the recipient of three Edgar Allan Poe Awards from the Mystery Writers of America (including 2003's 'Grand Master'), as well as the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award for lifetime achievement.

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    Reviews for The Boys from Brazil

    4/5

    53 ratings23 reviews

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    • 3/5

      Darren picked this one off his bookshelves for me; and he picked pretty well. I asked for something light and rather thought that it was going to get all too heavy when I got tangled up with Nazis hiding out in South America and planning the deaths of ninety four civil servants for no apparent reason. It's a really good read though and I'd recommend it myself now. Also, without giving the plot away, it's interesting to read it now as some of the things that are speculated about in the book have actually happened or become a lot more real in the thirtyish years since it was written.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      My first book by the author, and I don’t think it will be my last….Dr Josef Mengele is alive and kicking in Brazil, he is at the centre of a plot to begin the reintroduction of the 3rd Reich. 94 middle aged men must die on specific dates in order for the plan to come into fruition, but standing in his way are an aging Nazi hunter and his newly appointed apprentice.Can they stop Mengele in time?An interesting concept and well written, at time the plot was given away a little earlier that would have liked but all in all a very good read. Probably not one that I will revisit but one that I will remember.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Nazi hunter Yakov Liebermann must solve the case where the organization - a group of 6 former SS men sent from South America by the Angel of Death himself-are sent to kill 94 men on or near certain dates in the next 21/2 years. All the men are 65 yeas old, all family men, all civil servants. Read the twists to find out why.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This story holds a special place of 'awe' in my memory. I saw the movie when I was a kid, and its' scientific mystery blended with action and history burned into my memory. Ira Levin writes a short, tightly focused drama. His writing is spare and crisp, and he successfully builds the drama surrounding a 1970's plot of surviving Nazis using science to rebuild an Aryan dream by bringing to life a Fourth Reich.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      A good page turning thriller that reflects the era in which it was written, when the War ended only three decades earlier and some prominent ex-Nazis were still around to be be hunted and caught. The science of Mengele's plan is very implausible in its far-reaching implications, but the tension overcame this for me. I saw the film some years ago - Gregory Peck was ridiculously miscast, but managed to make a reasonable job of the role of Mengele.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I seem to be on a Levin kick this past week or so, having rea-read ROSEMARY'S BABY and then caught up with his first novel, A KISS BEFORE DYING. Now I'm catching up with his 1976 thriller about some Nazis who just can't let go of that dream of a perfect Aryan race. . .4/03: Another excellent novel of suspense by Levin, and not far off the mark about cloning, either - and THAT'S the scary thing!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Ira Levin always crafts an excellent tale of suspense and horror; The Boys from Brazil does not disappoint. This is a gripping novel of a disposed Nazi doctor's plan for world domination. This one will keep you guessing and turning the pages. I don't want to say to much because that would spoil the joy of reading this one. This book was also made into an excellent movie - but read the book first.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Griping story, excellent narration as always from Prebble. However my place is lost whenever I pause. I've had this trouble before with other Scribd audiobooks. Never with audible; it's not my device. This is just one of the reasons I'm so very disappointed with Scribd's price changes.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I found a copy of this book at my local Stop & Shop for $1 and picked it up. I had never heard about it before, but after hearing a quick plot from my boyfriend, I decided I had to read it, even if it wasn't the sort of book I usually read. I thought it was going to be depressing, but even though Levin writes about a heavy topic, he handles it in a way that is entertaining, intriguing, and enjoyable. The science side of it is very interesting, the mystery side of it is engaging, the heroes and villains are very clear, but the characters are well written and not one dimensional. Overall it's a quick, entertaining read - not heavy handed, depressing or preachy - but still giving the reader a lot to think about. It feels more like a thriller or suspense novel than anything else, but not loaded with cheese and fluff. I would definitely recommend it to anyone considering reading it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Good book, worth the read. I liked the twist at the end.
    • 5/5
      By now, the plot is known to most people as part of our collective cultural Zeitgeist, but Levin does a fantastic job of unfolding this mystery. My biggest complaint with characters such as Sherlock Holmes is their near omniscience. That is not the case here. The story has a great pace and payoff.
    • 4/5
      I like to think that the real Josef Mengele read this novel and contemplated his fictional fate.
    • 4/5
      Nazis! Genetic engineering! Mystery! Peril! Death! Did I mention Nazis? The premise is great, a nice little science-fictiony take on the old nature-vs-nurture debate. Perhaps not so timely today as it once was (given that the real people in the book are all dead of old age if nothing else), but still a good story.
    • 3/5
      I picked this up for its ingenious premise, but now regret that I didn't read it before the title entered the pop culture consciousness. The uncertainty over the true nature of Mengele's plan bubbles over brilliantly, but the rest is standard disposable thriller fare.
    • 3/5
      An intriguing premise that still has the ability move and thrillNow. Strangely it seems to have got more plausible with age. Good and a reasonable thriller from that time and place.
    • 3/5
      The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin; {acquired prior to L/T}; (3*)Ira Levin's mid-70's thriller about a Nazi plan to repopulate the world through cloning and assassination certainly keeps the reader's interest. The story is well-paced and the thought of such a plan is chilling. It begins with Josef Mengele and 'the boys from brazil' planning the 4th Reich. At the time the book was written the concept seemed to be science fiction but yet terrifying in the 'what if' category.But by today's standards the concept is almost a cliche. At the time it was a thoroughly provocative concept. And Levin does a good job backing it up with the genetics vs. the environment debate which probably was not as self-evident then as it seems today. I will also say that Levin's choice of a protagonist is refreshing compared to the heroes that end up in our chillers & thrillers today. I found the ending to be interesting and humorous in political terms.The book held my interest. It was not boring in the least. I found it easy to read and quite suspenseful.
    • 5/5
      Not so farfetched a possibility as it seemed when I first read this twelve years ago. Left me with a much more ominous feeling now.
    • 5/5
      I read this years ago after I watched the movie, and this story was WAY ahead of its time. Fantastic read.
    • 5/5
      The prose hums like a well-tuned machine. Perfectly paced, excellently executed. He doesn't even shy away from the "should we kill boys who only might become Hitler or not?" conversation (as I suspect contemporary authors might). HIGHLY recommended.
    • 2/5
      That's it?I always expected so much more from this book. 'Thrilling'? not really. 'Vaguely interesting' would be a more appropriate description.
    • 3/5
      Nazi hunter Yakov Liebermann must solve the case where the organization - a group of 6 former SS men sent from South America by the Angel of Death himself-are sent to kill 94 men on or near certain dates in the next 21/2 years. All the men are 65 yeas old, all family men, all civil servants. Read the twists to find out why.
    • 4/5
      Brasilien, 1975.Dr Josef Mengele lever i sydamerika og har en plan for at få nazisterne tilbage til magten. Drengene fra Brasilien er 94 klonede kopier af Hitler, men arv er jo kun en del af baggrunden, så miljøet skal også passe.Hitlers far døde, mens Hitler var dreng, så klonernes fædre må også dø. Mengele sætter sine håndgangne mænd: Hessen, Schwimmer, Kleist, Farnbach, Mundt og Traunsteiner til at ordne dette på en måde, der ikke skal vække mistanke. De skal hver begå mellem 13 og 19 mord uden at det bliver opdaget.En nazijæger, Yakov Liebermann, kommer på sporet, da en Barry Koehler får skaffet en båndoptagelse fra det møde, hvor Mengele instruerer de seks. Det bliver opdaget og det koster Barry livet, men Liebermann når at få essensen at vide.Mengele fortier at Barry nåede at røbe plottet og han sender de seks mordere afsted efter planen.Efter at have holdt foredrag på et universitet, spørger Liebermann salen om de kan hjælpe med at forklare hvorfor Mengele vil dræbe 94. Der er ikke nogen, der har den rigtige ide, men en af tilhørerne melder tilbage til Mengele's bagland, der bliver meget irriterede over at planen er røbet og at Mengele ikke har slået alarm.De første 7 på listen bliver dræbt uden videre vrøvl, men Liebermann følger med i aviserne, så han har også kig på de 7 dødsfald: Döring, Guthrie, Horve, Runsten, Rausenberger, Goodwood, Oste. Det forhindrer ikke morderne i at føje endnu 10 ofre til listen.Liebermann snuser videre og i USA bliver han overbevist om at de 94 har drengene til fælles. Lidt senere går det op for ham at det er kloner af Hitler og at ideen er at genskabe miljøet omkring Hitler så godt det nu kan lade sig gøre.Kameradenshaft-folkene får kolde fødder, fordi de mener at Mengele's plan er ved at blive afsløret og at det kan true hele organisationen. De trækker de seks mordere tilbage og det får Mengele til at se rødt.Han drager ud på et enmands-hævntogt mod Liebermann og ved rent held kan han få det til at passe med at dræbe endnu en fra listen og faktisk håber han at nå hele listen igennem, når han har dræbt Liebermann.Det går galt og ironisk nok er det en af Hitler-drengene, der dræber Mengele. Inden har denne såret Liebermann alvorligt.Efter udskrivelse fra hospital mødes Liebermann med lederen af en rabiat jødisk organisation, der vil dræbe alle 94 Hitler-drenge. Som svar destruerer Liebermann listen.Bogen slutter hjemme hos en af drengene, der måske viser tegn på at være en lille Adolf Hitler in spe.Udmærket spændingsroman, der dog stærkt undervurderer vanskelighederne ved at lave sunde og raske kloner.
    • 5/5
      Levin wrote really gripping stories. Such fun to read, even if they are implausible.