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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I wan't sure I was going to like this book, since I thought it was all going to be in Argentina, but there were flashbacks to before the war in Germany to give us the back story on what Bernie gets tied up in in the "present day", so that was good. Once again, Bernie gets asked to investigate a few things that will of course get him into trouble, but that doesn't stop him. I did not realize that the Peron's had been such Nazi sympathizers and it makes me look at them in a totally different light (and it's not a good light). It looks like, if not in the next book, then the one following we will end up back in at least Europe (not sure if we get back to Germany), so I'm looking forward to getting the next book in this series.
Palpable in this Bernie Gunther book is the despair that permeates Bernie and his situation. 1950 Argentina is really only a warmer Germany. Food is available but who wants to eat. Warm air is available but Bernie can't feel it.
Certainly Bernie is weary, and certainly finding it hard to move on. Not sure if I want to read any more of these. Except that he is such a compelling writer.
No wonder George Pelecanos likes this writer.
Dark dark dark
Certainly Bernie is weary, and certainly finding it hard to move on. Not sure if I want to read any more of these. Except that he is such a compelling writer.
No wonder George Pelecanos likes this writer.
Dark dark dark
Fifth in the Bernie Gunther series: Gunther is put to work by Argentina’s secret police, but discovers ugly secrets about the Person regime and its very different treatment of two groups of European refugees: Jews fleeing Nazi persecution before WWII and their Nazi persecutors who fled after the war ended.
Opening a book in the company of one of the most notoriously evil war criminals of all time, returning to him and his colleagues throughout and detailing profoundly evil acts of theirs is a bold, difficult move for an author. That throughout this is mixed with noirish, genuinely funny, black humour, and the reader sometimes experiences startling tonal whiplash and an uncomfortable sense that this may not be appropriate. That dissonance is never fully resolved, and it’s only the brilliance of the writing and vivid central characters that leavens what threatens to be an overwhelmingly bitter taste in the mouth. I still don’t know if I think this book is appropriate, and thus any star rating is absurdly redundant. But Philip Kerr’s creation remains vivid, gripping and hard to shake.
The Fifth Bernie Gunther novel moves from Germany to Argentina, just after World War II. While never a Nazi, Bernie has to leave Germany and is granted asylum by the Peron regime. Very soon he is tangled up in another missing persons case, putting him in close contact with Eichmann, Mengele, and of course, the Perons.
As always, Kerr writes a quick moving narrative with historical accuracy.
As always, Kerr writes a quick moving narrative with historical accuracy.
Bernie Gunther may be the perfect noir detective. WWI veteran, honest Weimar cop, forced into PI work by the Nazi seizure of power, conscripted into WWII, mistakenly pursued as a war criminal after unmasking some real ones, and currently on the lam in Argentina, where he's been blackmailed into looking into something distasteful by the Perons. This is an excellent entry in a series at the top of my "honest men in corrupt regimes" collection of mystery novels.
I knew next to nothing about Argentina under Peron and this was quite an eye opener. Toggling between an early case for Bernie in 1932 Berlin and his escape to Buenos Aires in 1950 this links all the threads of his old and new life as Bernie is co-opted into the Argentinian secret police to dish the dirt on his fellow Nazis in hiding. Everything you want from a Philip Kerr novel, beautifully researched, a great story and lots of twists and turns to the plotting.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My first Bernie Gunther. I do not recommend it.
Convoluted, nonsense story with lots of characters that don't make any sense. Maybe I chose the wrong book in the series. I was pretty disappointed.
Convoluted, nonsense story with lots of characters that don't make any sense. Maybe I chose the wrong book in the series. I was pretty disappointed.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No