Arsene Lupin in The Hollow Needle

As a youth, I loved Arsene Lupin. I recall stories depicting him as brilliant and mischievous, with a light-hearted, genteel approach to fleecing his victims, who usually deserved their fates.That is not the character I encountered in The Hollow Needle. Here, he is much more brutish and menacing, commanding a network of henchmen who don’t just help him steal. They make violent threats, and kidnap innocent people to force their loved ones to comply with Lupin’s demands. Far from a gentleman thief, Lupin comes across as more of a master criminal in the mode of Moriarty or a Bond villain.The real hero of this tale turns out to be the young man who tries to track Lupin down. That is how LeBlanc presents him—an underdog but Lupin’s near equal. It was a little surprising, as I expected Lupin to hold my sympathies, not this new character.Other problems with the novel: Too many disguises. How many times can you fool the same person by wearing a fake beard or different clothes? LeBlanc falls back on this so many times it’s almost self-parodying. And then there is LeBlanc’s unbecoming obsession with making fun of Sherlock Holmes, whom he calls “Holmlock Shears.” The satire misses the mark and actually makes the novel seem petty and foolish. Other problems I can't mention here, lest they spoil the ending for people who decide to read it.In contrast to this disappointing novel, I really enjoyed  Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-thief (Penguin Classics) . It's a selection of "greatest hits," packed with delightful stories that feature Arsene Lupin as most people think of him. I should have just read those and quit while I was ahead.

This book is an Arsene Lupin mystery classc in the "Sherlock Holmes" tradition. I first read it over forty years ago and now I have just read it again. Even though the writing style is somewhat dated the story is still intriguing - a page turner. Because the book was inspired by the actual Hollow Needle in Etretat, France, a llittle internet reasearch will reveal that many people believe the Hollow Needle to be really hollow as the book suggests. This is denied by everybody that counts, including French authorities. However, conspiracy theory lovers will prefer to believe that the Hollow Needle IS hollow, only the French government has taken all measures to hide the facts revealed by this book. Hollow the needle or not, the book is still a great read, a timeless masterpiece. Hope you will love it as much as I did.

I gave Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes a perfect five stars but I’m not going to be as generous this time. Herlock Sholmes was an excellent adversary for Lupin and the two spent the entire book in a back and forth battle. I felt the ending was respectful towards fans of Sherlock Holmes and essentially ended the story in a draw. Herlock Sholmes reappears in The Hollow Needle (this time named Holmlock Shears) but Maurice LeBlanc throws the character in the garbage making him a total inferior to Lupin. Even Inspector Ganimard is made to look like a chump and the true adversary of Lupin is a young student named Isidore Beautrelet who is able to deduce the particulars of a Lupin crime early in the book. Will Beautrelet be the man to finally bring Lupin to justice?Here is the issue with The Hollow Needle. LeBlanc tends to skirt the edge between making Lupin a super criminal and basically make him omnipotent. If Lupin is omnipotent he’s not a compelling character. Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes was engaging because Holmes was able to win several victories over Lupin and although it appears at first that Isidore Beautrelet might give Lupin a challenge later on it becomes clear that Beautrelet is wholly overmatched. By the end of the book Lupin appears to be omniscient, able to control all events, rob at will and disguise himself as anyone. The magnitude of his criminal activity in The Hollow Needle is such that I have to wonder what he could possibly follow it up with. LeBlanc basically removes any tension by making his main character invincible.I’m hoping that LeBlanc scales things back in 813 because as far as I’m concerned he takes Lupin way too far in this book. That’s not to say that the book doesn’t have some great moments and early on when it seems like Beautrelet might be a challenge it’s fun and there is some very clever writing. I’ll give the book four stars but if LeBlanc doesn’t tone down his super criminal the next book may lose another star.

I am a huge fan of the Arsene Lupin character. I was so glad to find one I had not come across before. This is a great book, with the great Lupin at his best.

If you have never read Arsene Lupin, then you have a real treat ahead of you, for he is the forerunner of our many,modern, burglar mystery tales like those of Grandmaster Lawrence Block. And these are free! Fast moving, very coolcharacter - and free! What more could you ask?

I loved Arsene Lupin as a kid, so I took the opportunity to download and reread them. They weren't bad, they just didn't hold up to being as good as an adult reader as I remembered them.

Should be on a must read school list! A classic! The character is charming, though without over-imposing on the reader. Love Lupin!

Free

It was all right. A bit silly and the plot twist was obvious from about 10 pages in but it passed the time of day. I'm glad I read it as I'd heard so much about this character and I'd seen the movie, but never read any.The characters were a bit cardboard cut out and the language a bit strained (that may have been the translation, though) and the ending dragged on to its obvious conclusion. But it WAS free so I was reasonably happy to have read this book. Maybe, no more though.

A plot that keeps racing along and leaves you wondering who will win the day, Lupin at his best and worst.

I liked this book. Lupin is a good character and although a convoluted narrative it was quite exciting. Best one I have read yet.

This is an excellent read.

very poor translation