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Title: The Butcher's Theater by Ben Kingsley, Jonathan Kellerman ISBN: 0-553-45156-1 Publisher: Random House Audio Pub. Date: 01 January, 1989 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.09 (23 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: complex characters, not a racist book
Comment: This is the best Kellerman book I've read. The characters are complex and interesting. The plot is gripping. The chapters when you get the perspective of the killer are creepy. The killer's refrains are repeated so often that they start echoing in your head (or at least, they did in mine). It's unsettling.
As for comments that the book is racist, I'm pretty attuned to that kind of thing (for example, I hate the way Kellerman refers in his early novels to black characters with "black" as a noun, as in "The big black stood quietly.") Anyway, I pay attention to potentially racist language, and I didn't see that here. He did portray Arabs as being mostly poor and outside of Israeli society, and he seemed to feel compassion for their plight. He certainly didn't think it was fair.
The detective who made anti-Arab statements so often was clearly wrong, a counterpoint to the main character, who was more empathetic. And there is that part when the anti-Arab detective dresses as an Arab to get into a hospital, and Kellerman notes that the character looked exactly like an Arab with no trouble. He seems to be saying something about all people being brothers or something--even if it is rather clumsy.
The only thing I can think of that people might object to is the treatment of Islamic customs--and the point there is that Islam is a system of beliefs, not a race. So if you don't believe he portrayed Islamic families in the right light--the main Islamic family depicted had rigid gender roles and a merciless father figure--then I would call that "culturally biased," not racist. It's an important distinction.
As I'm not Jewish, Arabic, or Muslim, I can't say with certainty that Kellerman's portrayal of the different cultures is accurate, but it did seem balanced to me. One reviewer complained that Kellerman mentioned homosexuality in a Arab camp. I don't remember that passage, but if it exists, I don't think it was intended to be insulting. In his other books, Kellerman has a sympathetic main character, Milo Sturgis, who is gay. It's a habit of his to promote empathy for gays, not to condemn them.
Rating: 5
Summary: A triumph.
Comment: The Butchers Theatre. A magnificent novel from Kellerman.I have not been thrilled to bits by his Alex Delaware series, as that character always strikes me as a smug rich kid with far too much time and money on his hands.However Kellerman has excelled himself here.A psychotic pseudo-Nazi killer,a team of rookie detectives trying to catch him in the holy land...Genuinely chilling stuff,especially the killers background in LA. Everything from 1980s Israel is here-from customs to retellings of legends.The book is almost like an elaborate conversation and is superb and gripping stuff.The only disappointment was the ending.Its rather predictable and a bit of a letdown.However this is an excellent book and to any Kellerman fan a must-read.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent serial killer book
Comment: This is a brilliant serial killer novel, not just for it's plot (which is actually somewhat run of the mill) but mainly for it's engrossing setting, Jerusalem. I've not read a fictional book set here before, and i found this new experience thoroughly engrossing and interesing. The descriptions about the culture were informative, and again very interesting, and gave a sharp edge of realism to the novel.
The characters a great, each one is developed well, and their trypes are many and varied. The writing is fresh and pulls you in, although sometimes Kellerman does go off on a tangent a bit when he puts in a rather long paragraph about Israeli history, which while some of it is interesting, some of it is also unnecesary and dull.
I didn't find the political tone too distracting, as some appear to have done. I admit, he does have slightly biased leanings, but you can't exactly blame him. He is Jewish, after all.
This is a big book, but it speeds along quickly. It's compelling, and grows dull very little, which is surprising considering it's length. The plot is adequate, the psychology is great, the insights into foreign culture marvellous, and the finale is excellent.
the immense scope of this book is as large as the view from the top of Mount Scopus.
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Title: Time Bomb by Jonathan Kellerman ISBN: 0345460693 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Silent Partner by Jonathan Kellerman ISBN: 0345460685 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Private Eyes by Jonathan Kellerman ISBN: 0345460707 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Devil's Waltz by Jonathan Kellerman ISBN: 0553563521 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 October, 1993 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Blood Test by Jonathan Kellerman ISBN: 0553569635 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 January, 1995 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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