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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I did stay up till near midnight reading this, but I have to say this murderer's psychology made NO sense. Also, Fred Vargas's pacing is somewhat suspect in that you're a third of the way in and you still have no idea what's going on. Perhaps I am simply too inured to the locked-room problem solver of classic English detective stories and this is better described as a thriller than a mystery.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
C'è poco da fare: Yasmina Melaouah è la Dea della traduzione francese/quebecchese-italiano. Certe frasi che si è dovuta inventare per i personaggi canadesi di questo libro mi hanno espanso il vocabolario; adoro.
La storia è un caposaldo del thriller, con perno sul serial killer che incastra il detective che lo sta braccando; ma il suo movente, il suo modus operandi, il suo background sono straordinari, e compensano tutti i momenti deboli di questo libro -che in realtà sono "difetti di saga", visto che si tratta del rapporto del protagonista con il suo collaboratore e la donna che ama. I passaggi su questo argomento non mi garbano, ma tutto il resto (vogliamo parlare dell'acheressa sessantacinquenne? lei regna sovrana su tutto) è superbo.
(prestato dalla dottoressa Busetto)
La storia è un caposaldo del thriller, con perno sul serial killer che incastra il detective che lo sta braccando; ma il suo movente, il suo modus operandi, il suo background sono straordinari, e compensano tutti i momenti deboli di questo libro -che in realtà sono "difetti di saga", visto che si tratta del rapporto del protagonista con il suo collaboratore e la donna che ama. I passaggi su questo argomento non mi garbano, ma tutto il resto (vogliamo parlare dell'acheressa sessantacinquenne? lei regna sovrana su tutto) è superbo.
(prestato dalla dottoressa Busetto)
Adamsberg and colleagues leave their home turf for Canadian winter trails, where old grievances are unearthed and new challenges put before our commissaire. Will he win in the race against his old enemy, faced with ruin himself?
The good: The style and characters continue to amuse me - the dreamlike setting, the blunt interactions.
The bad: It's too long and the plot verges on fantastical. It's the first book focused mainly on Adamsberg's POV and I didn't care much for that. Why people like that man continues to baffle me - I can understand his subordinates, but not all of the others.
The bad: This is the weakest book so far - I didn't buy the suddean appearance of childhood obsession, never mentioned or hinted at in previous books.
The good: The style and characters continue to amuse me - the dreamlike setting, the blunt interactions.
The bad: It's too long and the plot verges on fantastical. It's the first book focused mainly on Adamsberg's POV and I didn't care much for that. Why people like that man continues to baffle me - I can understand his subordinates, but not all of the others.
The bad: This is the weakest book so far - I didn't buy the suddean appearance of childhood obsession, never mentioned or hinted at in previous books.
This is Vargas "Québec" novel where she supposedly makes characters speaks in authentic "joual". Which might be funny for people who don't have any idea of what language people in Québec speak. One thing for sure it's not the language Vargas is using in her novel. That's the very very annoying part. All the French Canadian characters are caricatures or grotesque people. This is the weakest of the Adamsberg's novels I've read so far. The obsessed serial killer chase that began in Adamsberg's childhood is interesting but looses coherence and becomes a pastiche of itself mid way through. Not a bad book but something I finished because I'm a completist.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
<spoilers >
Storyline somewhat unbelievable.
Adamsberg escape from Canada is far fetched. He is a senior officer and it seems out of character. He would have been afforded the respect due a senior officer from his opposite number in the RCMP. The investigation carried out on his behalf by his colleague (Danglard) and a friendly RCMP officer while he was in Paris could have come up with the same results had he stayed there. The RCMP officer did most of his investigations while pretending to be on sick leave. I can’t imagine Adamsberg on the run forever if the real killer had not been found. Also Adamsberg brother was supposed to be similar to him. Couldn’t they have swapped places when they were in Detroit.
Storyline somewhat unbelievable.
Adamsberg escape from Canada is far fetched. He is a senior officer and it seems out of character. He would have been afforded the respect due a senior officer from his opposite number in the RCMP. The investigation carried out on his behalf by his colleague (Danglard) and a friendly RCMP officer while he was in Paris could have come up with the same results had he stayed there. The RCMP officer did most of his investigations while pretending to be on sick leave. I can’t imagine Adamsberg on the run forever if the real killer had not been found. Also Adamsberg brother was supposed to be similar to him. Couldn’t they have swapped places when they were in Detroit.
Every time I read a new Fred Vargas book I think it can't be better than the last, and every time it is. I love Adamsberg's vagueness and Danglard's logic, the combination of their different detecting styles and the unusualness of the cases that they encounter. Plus, being a rather large Francophile myself, I love the settings and minor characters in the books.
Poésie et policier. I had to read very carefully because it's been a long while since I read a book with so much metaphor and slang in French. The book supported and rewarded such careful reading.