Reviews

Dama iz Zagreba by Philip Kerr

jrmarr's review against another edition

3.0

This was longer than it should have been. I do wonder whether I’ve had enough of this series. The earlier ones were exciting and historically interesting and I keep hoping the latter ones will be as good, but I feel they do need a much tighter edit.

belanna2's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.75

amyfent0n's review against another edition

4.0

Excellent story but knocked a star off for the way the main character talks about women - it’s absolutely gross at points

ericfheiman's review against another edition

3.0

After a few tepid Bernie Gunther entries, Philip Kerr gets back on solid ground with his long running Raymond Chandler-crossed-with-Nazi-Germany-history series. If the love story central to The Lady From Zagreb feels a little tepid, the book illuminates historical facets of a well-documented time period unfamiliar to me up until now. As long as Kerr ensures that Bernie stays cynical, waxing melancholy poetic about the dire and horrific situations he finds himself in, bring on more sequels.

jacki_f's review against another edition

3.0

If you haven't read this series, this book is not the best one to start with. It's a decent but in no way remarkable instalment. However Bernie Gunther fans will enjoy the way it fills in previously unexplained gaps in his history, between Prague Fatale, A Man Without Breath and The One From The Other.

joestewart's review against another edition

3.0

The writing was good and the story was complicated, but it didn't really work for me. Oh well.

tomfairfax's review against another edition

4.0

I do like the much put upon Bernie Gunther although in this entry in the series he is more pawn than protagonist. Much of the novel is an exposure of what happened in Yugoslavia during WWII and the author quite firmly builds links with events of recent decades and months: not just the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s but later genocidal and sectarian conflicts. Otherwise, despite Gunther's more clearly acknowledged grounding in literature, at times I still find many of his speeches overly flowery and unconvincing. But a good read anyway.

didactylos's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

tsenteme's review against another edition

5.0

Bernie Gunther από τους πιο συμπαθείς μου λογοτεχνικούς ήρωες.

Η πρώτη εμφάνιση του τρομερού ντετέκτιβ έγινε το 1989 μέχρι το 1991, όπου γράφτηκε η περίφημη τριλογία του Βερολίνου, από τα καλύτερα αστυνομικά. Έκτοτε για 15 χρόνια δεν είχε συνέχεια παρά μόνο το 2006. Το παρόν βιβλίο ήταν το 10ο στη σειρά και για μένα το καλύτερο μετά την τριλογία.

Με κράτησε σε όλη τη διάρκεια σε αγωνία, κομμάτι όχι απαραίτητα δύσκολο. Η πλοκή του όμως ήταν συνεχής σε αντίθεση με κάποια από τα προηγούμενα βιβλία. Όπως πάντα οι περιγραφές του Βερολίνου, σε κάνουν να θέλεις να ζήσεις στην υπέροχη αυτή πόλη. Ενδιαφέρουσα και μεταφορά σκηνικού σε Ζάγκρεμπ και Γενεύη.

Πολύ ενδιαφέρουσες και χρήσιμες οι ιστορικές πληροφορίες, όπως για την δράση των Κροατών ναζί (Ουστάσι), για τους οποίους δεν γνώριζα, καθώς και για τον ρόλο του μουσουλμάνου Μουφτή της περιοχής στην ολοκλήρωση του σχεδίου εξόντωσης των Εβραίων.

Ο Philip Kerr, έχει ακόμα πολλά να δώσει στη σειρά του Bernie Gunther. Είναι μοναδικός ο τρόπος γραφής του και το ότι δεν γράφει καθαρά αστυνομική λογοτεχνία, αλλά χρησιμοποιεί πρόσωπα και γεγονότα ιστορικά, τα οποία με ενδιαφέρουν ιδιαιτέρως.

alifeofherown's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0