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Title: Blood Rain : An Aurelio Zen Mystery by Michael Dibdin ISBN: 0-375-70830-8 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 08 May, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (15 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Not My Favorite
Comment: In this installment of the Aurelio Zen series. our police inspector finds himself as part of an anti-Mafia taskforce in Mafia--not an assignment he particularly requested as he has avoided being relocated to Sicily ever since his debacle in Venice three books prior to this one.
Here the mystery in underplayed and Zen's life is looked upon from a melancholy aspect--his life just barely survives two major personal jolts and then is almost fatally threatened again in an 'explosive' cliffhanger.
Zen's usual cynicism does not serve him well in Mafia country;his bleak pessimism regarding the status of his life at this point needs the jolt it receives at the end of the novel. I kept comparing Zen to the Pazzi character in the Thomas Harris novel 'Hannibal'--while his intentions were good, whatever he did virtually amounted to nothing as powers greater than his were at work to sabotage his frail efforts.
This installment is not that difficult to follow, again I recommend reading the books in order so that the full impact of Zen's mental state is appreciated.
Recommended only because it is part of the series.
Rating: 5
Summary: Don't forget the authentic background detail
Comment: Great read.Don't internationalize it too much. For example, Corinna Nunziatella's mother came from some, apparently obscure place called Manchester. Yet, she joked to Carla Arduini that the only time her mother had been abroad was to the Isle of Man. Michael Dibdin sometimes forgets which audience he is addressing -you'd have to be British to appreciate the Isle of Man joke but the reference to Manchester probably appeals to an American audience. I found B. Jones Diary (the film) confused at times. The language, clothes and setting were aimed at the American market at times. Nevertheless,Mr Dibdin's books are wonderful. You can even forgive him for the earth tremor which allows Zen to appear in the May new release. Don't kill him off yet - who knows, Zen could end up in an old people's home eventually and solving mysteries such as who's hogging the Umberto Echo.
Rating: 4
Summary: Zen lives....
Comment: I really enjoyed this latest entry in the Aurelio Zen series. The writing style is wonderful as is the texture; makes me want to go back to Italy. Like some other reviewers, I also thought that Zen died at the end. Fortunately, that is not the case. Following is an excerpt from a recent Q&A with Michael Dibdin, as published by The London Times:
Question: Mr Dibdin, I thought at the end of the last A. Zen book, our hero was killed. Did I misread? The circularity of much of the movement in the book, traced for the reader in a fatalistic manner, combined with the seemingly deepened cynicism about Italian governmental corruption led me to conclude that you had had it with this series. I am very glad that you are continuing, but did I completely misread the previous book? Sam Garren, Greensboro, NC, USA.
Answer: A lot of readers thought the same thing, so the answer is obviously no, I miswrote it. The idea was that Zen had to emerge with some physical damage from his Sicilian posting - lest it appear an insult to all the real policemen and magistrates who have been killed there - and combine this with a tongue-in-cheek homage to the old cliff-hanger ending so dear to the thriller/mystery genre. Nice try but but no cigar, Dibdin. Oh well ...
Fans of Dibdin might like to read the entire article. Just go to ... and do a search on Dibdin's name. Interesting reading.
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Title: A Long Finish by Michael Dibdin, Michael Dibdin ISBN: 0375704019 Publisher: Vintage Books Pub. Date: 29 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Cabal : An Aurelio Zen Mystery by Michael Dibdin ISBN: 0375707700 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: And Then You Die by Michael Dibdin ISBN: 0375719253 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 09 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Cosi Fan Tutti : An Aurelio Zen Mystery by Michael Dibdin ISBN: 0679779116 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 30 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Dead Lagoon : An Aurelio Zen Mystery by Michael Dibdin ISBN: 0679753117 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 03 January, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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