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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
I think the only detective/mystery books I really like are Nancy Drew ones
What a delicious read! It is quite easy at times to forget a murder occurred while reading this book, and one almost is not needed to move the story along as Auntie Poldi is fun to hang out with even doing mundane things. At sixty she moves to Sicily to retire and waste away in peace (Poldi suffers from depression and touch of alcoholism). A colorful cast of family and friends have other plans for Poldi, however, and a murder complicates that relaxation even further. A fun romp through the Italian countryside feels almost like a trip to Italy with a lot of new foreign vocabulary thrown in as well. It is possible, at times, to realize this book has been translated from another language, but instead of detracting from the story, it helps it feel like a charming story you're being told from someone from far away. There is even a volcanic eruption! I highly recommend this one to anyone who wants to escape life for a little or who is nervous about retirement being boring. Can't wait to read the next one!
Page 117 of 346: "Sicilians can be as punctual as Prussians in the professional sphere, but personal arrangements are subject to an elastic expansion of the concept of time. It is as if those hours must be sacrificed to a demanding god who measures his subjects' lifetime by the extent to which they waste the lifetimes of others." (I may actually be Sicilian...:) )
Page 117 of 346: "Sicilians can be as punctual as Prussians in the professional sphere, but personal arrangements are subject to an elastic expansion of the concept of time. It is as if those hours must be sacrificed to a demanding god who measures his subjects' lifetime by the extent to which they waste the lifetimes of others." (I may actually be Sicilian...:) )
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Auntie Poldi tells the tale of a 60-year-old woman who moves from Bavaria to Sicily to retire (read: drink herself to death). But when her handyman turns up dead, she throws herself into the investigation of his murder and ends up learning to love life, herself and others again.
I thought this book excelled at a number of things: character development, dialogue and setting being the biggest. I struggled the most with the plot (the actual mystery part). I loved the characters of Poldi, Vito, the narrator (Poldi's nephew), and Poldi's sisters in law. I felt they were all very real and round; Poldi especially was fun and quirky, but had flaws enough (and acknowledged them) to make her a very relatable character. The dialogue was smart and quick--Giordano really pulls you into the scene with some witty dialogue among all the characters. And the character development is so good, you can imagine exactly how they're delivering these lines too. I also felt like I got a real sense of modern Sicily and Sicilian culture from this book, which I attribute to great setting writing. Everything seemed very precisely placed, like you couldn't just transplant the characters into another space or time.
The reason why this book took me so long to read and was--at times--difficult to get through was the plot. The mystery itself was not very interesting, and when it was "solved" about 100 pages from the end, I just knew that there was going to be some big twist, that didn't end up seeming like that much of a reveal. I don't read a lot of mysteries, so I'm not a good judge of how this would fit into the genre, but it was difficult at times to follow along with the actual mystery part because it didn't interest me as much.
However, anyone looking for a mystery set in a charming place with quirky and funny characters would enjoy this book very much, and I would recommend it to them.
I thought this book excelled at a number of things: character development, dialogue and setting being the biggest. I struggled the most with the plot (the actual mystery part). I loved the characters of Poldi, Vito, the narrator (Poldi's nephew), and Poldi's sisters in law. I felt they were all very real and round; Poldi especially was fun and quirky, but had flaws enough (and acknowledged them) to make her a very relatable character. The dialogue was smart and quick--Giordano really pulls you into the scene with some witty dialogue among all the characters. And the character development is so good, you can imagine exactly how they're delivering these lines too. I also felt like I got a real sense of modern Sicily and Sicilian culture from this book, which I attribute to great setting writing. Everything seemed very precisely placed, like you couldn't just transplant the characters into another space or time.
The reason why this book took me so long to read and was--at times--difficult to get through was the plot. The mystery itself was not very interesting, and when it was "solved" about 100 pages from the end, I just knew that there was going to be some big twist, that didn't end up seeming like that much of a reveal. I don't read a lot of mysteries, so I'm not a good judge of how this would fit into the genre, but it was difficult at times to follow along with the actual mystery part because it didn't interest me as much.
However, anyone looking for a mystery set in a charming place with quirky and funny characters would enjoy this book very much, and I would recommend it to them.
This is another fun beach or airplane read. The unnamed narrator's Auntie Poldi, age 60, has recently moved from Germany to Sicily to be near extended family and to purportedly drink herself to death after a lifetime of loss. But alas, life, in the form of a murder to be solved, intervenes. Amateur sleuth Poldi's investigations tend to get in the way of police inspector Vito's work, so sometimes sparks fly. Author Giordano's love for Sicily and it's people shines through this sweet, funny story.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Auntie Poldi lives in Sicily and tells the story to the narrator of how she managed to solve a crime that involved, among other things, lion statues. The narrator is his nephew, that goes to live with her to work on a book. I really enjoyed the adventures that Auntie Poldi went through - it is fun and entertaining. It is not a book that will make you laugh all the time, but it will certainly make you smile - and look forward to the second book on the series. I felt the middle of the book was a bit slow, but then things really started to happen more towards the end, and the story gets more exciting.
