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greybeard49's review against another edition
4.0
A great character/anti-hero
Intricate plots centred around the darkest manipulations of religious power
A compliant government and judiciary
Set atmospherically in post war Dublin
Writing of the highest calibre
Great stuff!!
Intricate plots centred around the darkest manipulations of religious power
A compliant government and judiciary
Set atmospherically in post war Dublin
Writing of the highest calibre
Great stuff!!
deborahmaryrose's review against another edition
5.0
I've just finished this series of seven books and I'm so sad that I will never revisit Quirke and Phoebe's world. Maybe the author will find it in him to write another book. You can only hope! I so looked forward to visiting their Dublin world, having fish and white wine and feeling Quirke's ever-present compulsion to drink whiskey, the lighting of various types of cigarettes, the clinking of gin & tonic glasses.... It was a lovely experience to be in these books each time, for a couple of days!
janefc's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
caroparr's review against another edition
4.0
A suitable ending (I assume) to this terrific series set in 1950s Dublin. Both Quirke and his daughter seem to find true love at last, and Quirke himself seems to be only "ordinarily unhappy" by the end, which is a step up from his usual state. I could read Black's prose forever; time to read Banville?
fictionfan's review
3.0
Disappointing...
A young man is killed when his motorbike crashes into a tree. Quirke, a pathologist, is on sick leave, suffering from memory problems and attention lapses due to an injury he received some years earlier. But when his assistant begins to think that the young man's death was not due to either accident or suicide, he asks Quirke to come in to check his conclusions. Quirke agrees – it looks like the death was a murder. The victim is Leon Corless, son of a Communist politician, and the police don't know whether Leon has been killed for something he has done or to get at his father, a man notorious for annoying people.
I recently read and loved [b:The Blue Guitar|25241497|The Blue Guitar|John Banville|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1432679169s/25241497.jpg|44508919], written by the same author under his other name of John Banville, and wondered how his writing style would transfer to the crime novel. The answer, I fear, is not terribly well, at least not as far as this book, the seventh in the Quirke series, is concerned. To be fair, looking at other reviews suggests this is not having universal praise heaped on it by even fans of the series, so I probably picked the wrong one to start on.
The basic writing, as I expected, is excellent. But the balance is totally wrong between the crime and all of Quirke's personal baggage, of which he has more than plenty. His daughter resents him for him having given her away at birth to his adopted brother and his wife to bring up. He has had many broken affairs, including with the aforesaid brother's new wife. His daughter is going out with his assistant. Quirke is a drinker, currently on the wagon, but with a history of going in and out of rehab. And so on and on. His memory problems, which we hear about at excessive length for the first half of the book, are completely forgotten in the second half. (Ha! Forgive the unintentional joke.)
The other thing that irritated me was that I had no real idea of when the book was supposed to be set. For a while I wasn't even sure if it was before or after WW2 – eventually I decided after, but still couldn't pin it down to '40s, '50s or possibly even '60s. Presumably some indication was given in previous books, but in this one it's all very vague. Again, other reviews from people familiar with the series tell me it's the '50s. Dublin also failed to come to life. Street names and locations are mentioned but I got no feel for the life of this vibrant city.
There were points when I actually forgot what the crime actually was, and writing this review two weeks after finishing the book, I'm struggling to recall much about it. The vast bulk of the book is grossly over-padded with filler and the solving of the crime is rushed into the last section. And coincidentally (without spoilers) Quirke, his family and friends all seem to have a personal link to one aspect of it or another, and it appears to relate back to crimes in previous books. And, just to put the icing on the cake, the whole evil Catholic church cliché gets yet another outing.
Add in a ridiculously unlikely love-at-first-sight affair, and all in all, this fairly short book felt very long indeed. In truth, I began to skip long passages of musings about life, the universe and everything, in the hopes that I might finally get to the promised thriller ending. Sadly, I found the ending as flat as a pancake. I'm sure this will work better for people who have been following the series and have an emotional investment in the recurring characters, but as a standalone it left me pretty unimpressed. I'm still looking forward to reading more Banville, but I think I'll leave Benjamin Black on the shelf in the future. 2½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Penguin Books (UK).
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
A young man is killed when his motorbike crashes into a tree. Quirke, a pathologist, is on sick leave, suffering from memory problems and attention lapses due to an injury he received some years earlier. But when his assistant begins to think that the young man's death was not due to either accident or suicide, he asks Quirke to come in to check his conclusions. Quirke agrees – it looks like the death was a murder. The victim is Leon Corless, son of a Communist politician, and the police don't know whether Leon has been killed for something he has done or to get at his father, a man notorious for annoying people.
I recently read and loved [b:The Blue Guitar|25241497|The Blue Guitar|John Banville|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1432679169s/25241497.jpg|44508919], written by the same author under his other name of John Banville, and wondered how his writing style would transfer to the crime novel. The answer, I fear, is not terribly well, at least not as far as this book, the seventh in the Quirke series, is concerned. To be fair, looking at other reviews suggests this is not having universal praise heaped on it by even fans of the series, so I probably picked the wrong one to start on.
The basic writing, as I expected, is excellent. But the balance is totally wrong between the crime and all of Quirke's personal baggage, of which he has more than plenty. His daughter resents him for him having given her away at birth to his adopted brother and his wife to bring up. He has had many broken affairs, including with the aforesaid brother's new wife. His daughter is going out with his assistant. Quirke is a drinker, currently on the wagon, but with a history of going in and out of rehab. And so on and on. His memory problems, which we hear about at excessive length for the first half of the book, are completely forgotten in the second half. (Ha! Forgive the unintentional joke.)
The other thing that irritated me was that I had no real idea of when the book was supposed to be set. For a while I wasn't even sure if it was before or after WW2 – eventually I decided after, but still couldn't pin it down to '40s, '50s or possibly even '60s. Presumably some indication was given in previous books, but in this one it's all very vague. Again, other reviews from people familiar with the series tell me it's the '50s. Dublin also failed to come to life. Street names and locations are mentioned but I got no feel for the life of this vibrant city.
There were points when I actually forgot what the crime actually was, and writing this review two weeks after finishing the book, I'm struggling to recall much about it. The vast bulk of the book is grossly over-padded with filler and the solving of the crime is rushed into the last section. And coincidentally (without spoilers) Quirke, his family and friends all seem to have a personal link to one aspect of it or another, and it appears to relate back to crimes in previous books. And, just to put the icing on the cake, the whole evil Catholic church cliché gets yet another outing.
Add in a ridiculously unlikely love-at-first-sight affair, and all in all, this fairly short book felt very long indeed. In truth, I began to skip long passages of musings about life, the universe and everything, in the hopes that I might finally get to the promised thriller ending. Sadly, I found the ending as flat as a pancake. I'm sure this will work better for people who have been following the series and have an emotional investment in the recurring characters, but as a standalone it left me pretty unimpressed. I'm still looking forward to reading more Banville, but I think I'll leave Benjamin Black on the shelf in the future. 2½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Penguin Books (UK).
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
greenblack's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
4.0
Visit the locations here : Even the Dead Booktrail
Set in fifties Dublin, the streets and the atmosphere are bleak and damp. The city wears the shadows like a cloak and its murky fragile state – something which is embodied in the character of Quirke himself who suffers blackouts and other health related issues.
1950s Dublin and its dead men…even the dead have tales to tell
Dublin’s dead come to him for answers, salvation of a sort and the last chance to have their voices heard. But his melancholy, his determination to reduce his alcohol intake and the nature of his work mix into a dark and mysterious setting.
Dublin’s Phoenix Park is the scene of the crime and brings Quirke back to the office. The path from here leads to some dark social and political sides to the city. In the 1950s, politics, church and state were in a different relationship to that which they are today and the details of the time and era stand out to place you firmly into the action. Added to this is the investigation thwarted by procedure and legal restraints of the day. A difficult working environment, a difficult case and dark deeds in Dublin. Sometimes it’s the dead who have the loudest voices of all.
These Quirke novels are very good for the unique character and setting. There's a lot more to this book and the others that you might not think, but look past the forward and you'll be rewarded. Quirke by name and quirky by nature. His job, his habits and his way of doing this is refreshing in a novel of this kind. Although I've read some of the earlier ones, you don't need to in order to appreciate this one. Dublin and its dead are more than capable of speaking for themselves.
Set in fifties Dublin, the streets and the atmosphere are bleak and damp. The city wears the shadows like a cloak and its murky fragile state – something which is embodied in the character of Quirke himself who suffers blackouts and other health related issues.
1950s Dublin and its dead men…even the dead have tales to tell
Dublin’s dead come to him for answers, salvation of a sort and the last chance to have their voices heard. But his melancholy, his determination to reduce his alcohol intake and the nature of his work mix into a dark and mysterious setting.
Dublin’s Phoenix Park is the scene of the crime and brings Quirke back to the office. The path from here leads to some dark social and political sides to the city. In the 1950s, politics, church and state were in a different relationship to that which they are today and the details of the time and era stand out to place you firmly into the action. Added to this is the investigation thwarted by procedure and legal restraints of the day. A difficult working environment, a difficult case and dark deeds in Dublin. Sometimes it’s the dead who have the loudest voices of all.
These Quirke novels are very good for the unique character and setting. There's a lot more to this book and the others that you might not think, but look past the forward and you'll be rewarded. Quirke by name and quirky by nature. His job, his habits and his way of doing this is refreshing in a novel of this kind. Although I've read some of the earlier ones, you don't need to in order to appreciate this one. Dublin and its dead are more than capable of speaking for themselves.
nonna7's review against another edition
5.0
A lot of people would say this is a slow read, and they would be right. Don't read anything by Benjamin Black aka John Banville, Booker Prize winner of some incomprehensible (to me) writing. For this series, he dumbs it down a little, but it's still a slow, thoughtful read. One review said that Quirke, his quirky (I don't think it's a coincidence!) pathologist was becoming even more existential. The book opens with Quirke in a self imposed drying out period. He hasn't worked in a while, leaving is able assistant, Dr. Sinclair, to do all of the work without the title. He's been living with his brother and his wife with whom he once had an affair. Then Sinclair asks him to look at a body of a young man killed in what, at first, seems like a horrific auto accident. Sinclair sees a wound on the skull that is inconsistent with the accident and agrees that a murder was involved. Of course, he contacts his friend, Inspector Hackett, and the two begin an investigation. We learn that the young man is the son of a well known Communist Party member who had fought in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Loyalists. At the same time, a young woman who took a secretarial course with Phoebe, Quirke's daughter, contacts her and says she is in fear of her life. Then she disappears. Of course the two are connected. The murder is, of course, far more complicated. The end was far more satisfactory than a lot of the others though. In his first book, the well known Magdalen Laundries made their appearance. There is one here also. Everyone knows what they do, but this is 1950's Ireland where Holy Mother Church is in everyone's business both public and private as the author explains. Black/Banville is decidedly anticlerical. So if you are offended by this kind of thing, this is not the book for you. As for me, I look forward to his next one and plan to dip into his more literary stuff as well.
happy_hiker's review against another edition
3.0
I am somewhat torn about this book. I have overall really enjoyed this series, but I didn't like this book as much as I did most of the others. I don't know if its just the mood I have been in, or if this story was just not as engaging to me as the previous books. The writing, the mood, and the characterizations were as expected, but the mystery was little underwhelming to me.