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A review by doobyus
Have Mercy On Us All by Fred Vargas
2.0
Not really sure what to make of this. I was expecting (hoping) for something complex and noir, and this was neither. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t really like it.
Character is important, and all the characters in this were slight. Adamsberg (the main flux) was supposed to be complex and enigmatic, a genius, but he just came across as a bit of a dick who had a couple of extremely lucky breaks. The supporting cast were equally poorly drawn, and the plot was sketchy and obvious. The plot itself could have lent itself to something tighter and more intense, but in Vargas’ hands it was just outlandish, childish, and poorly constructed. Not a thriller, really. Definitely not a noir. Perhaps a humorous drama? But not even that, fully
If her other books are like this (I don’t think I’ll ever find out) I can’t understand why she’s so popular.
The translation was poor too, (searching the flat with a toothconb?)… maybe it was better in French
.
And yet, I did enjoy it. No idea why.
Character is important, and all the characters in this were slight. Adamsberg (the main flux) was supposed to be complex and enigmatic, a genius, but he just came across as a bit of a dick who had a couple of extremely lucky breaks. The supporting cast were equally poorly drawn, and the plot was sketchy and obvious. The plot itself could have lent itself to something tighter and more intense, but in Vargas’ hands it was just outlandish, childish, and poorly constructed. Not a thriller, really. Definitely not a noir. Perhaps a humorous drama? But not even that, fully
If her other books are like this (I don’t think I’ll ever find out) I can’t understand why she’s so popular.
The translation was poor too, (searching the flat with a toothconb?)… maybe it was better in French
.
And yet, I did enjoy it. No idea why.