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Bezig met laden... April in Spain (2021)door John Banville
Books Read in 2023 (447) Bezig met laden...
Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. More of the same Quirke. ( ) John Banville's “April in Spain” (2021) turns out to be a sequel to Benjamin Black's “Elegy for April” (2010). What does this mean, other than that April Latimer, the troubled young doctor presumed murdered at the end of the earlier novel, remains alive? It means that respected Irish novelist John Banville has finally gotten wise. Banville may have been respected for his many literary novels, but he wasn't making much money. Thus he turned to writing mysteries, which he may have thought beneath him, under the name of Benjamin Black. The mysteries, also beautifully written, feature Quirke, a troubled pathologist who manages to uncover mysteries when he isn't drunk. Now Banville, apparently realizing that his mystery novels aren't really as bad as he thought they were, is putting his own name on them. Good. “April in Spain” opens with Quirke vacationing in northern Spain with Evelyn, the wise and patient woman he has married since the earlier novel. He still drinks, but not nearly as much as he once did. But is he drunk when sees a doctor named Angela Lawless when he goes to a hospital after an injury and the doctor reminds him of his daughter Phoebe's friend, April Latimer? Isn't she supposed to be dead? He calls Phoebe and asks her to join them in Spain. Unfortunately Phoebe first speaks with Bill Latimer, April's uncle and a powerful government official with a sinister reputation. This triggers a series of events that lead to the novel's exciting conclusion. Quirke, once he telephones Phoebe, fades into the background. The spotlight falls mostly on Phoebe, who was an adult before she learned that Quirke is her real father, and on Terry Tice, a killer for hire. The novel is actually more a thriller than a mystery. Banville leaves so much hanging at the end that readers will feel compelled to grab up the next book in the series. That's something that probably never happens with his literary novels. The vast majority of this was a drawn-out character study, rather than a detective drama or mystery or something. So it felt more plodding than I was expecting. We bounce around in multiple POVs and locations, and I wasn’t super captured by any of the characters. But once I got into the story it was interesting enough to hold my interest. I will try something different by this author to see if that grabs me more. April in Spain This is a very good story by John Banville from Ireland. The story takes place in London, Dublin and St. Sebastian in Spain in April. There are three story lines that converge in the final chapters. The first is about Terry Tice, an orphanage boy in Dublin who ends up as a professional hitman because he’s very good at his job. The second story is about Dr. Quirke, a pathologist with a drinking problem and his wife Evelyn, a psychiatrist who are vacationing in St. Sebastian in April. He and his wife are very much enjoying the hotel, beach and food until he stabs himself trying to open an oyster and ends up in the ER at the local hospital. The attending physician Angela Lawless is a young woman Quirke recognizes and is supposed to have died/disappeared 4 years before. Because Angela Lawless/April Latimer was a friend of his daughter Phoebe, he persuades Phoebe to travel from Dublin to check out this woman. The final story line deals with a politician called Latimer who is the uncle of the ER doctor. He is hiding lurid stories about and family secrets about his brother, Angela’s father. When Phoebe informs him of his niece’s possible whereabouts, the plot thickens. Very good characters, good flow, very good story. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
PrijzenErelijsten
Fiction.
Literature.
Mystery.
Thriller.
HTML:*NATIONAL BESTSELLER* Booker Prize winner John Banville returns with a dark and evocative new mystery set on the Spanish coast Don't disturb the dead... On the idyllic coast of San Sebastian, Spain, Dublin pathologist Quirke is struggling to relax, despite the beaches, cafés and the company of his disarmingly lovely wife. When he glimpses a familiar face in the twilight at Las Acadas bar, it's hard at first to tell whether his imagination is just running away with him. Because this young woman can't be April Latimer. She was murdered by her brother, years ago??the conclusion to an unspeakable scandal that shook one of Ireland's foremost political dynasties. Unable to ignore his instincts, Quirke makes a call back home to Ireland and soon Detective St. John Strafford is dispatched to Spain. But he's not the only one en route. A relentless hit man is on the hunt for his latest prey, and the next victim might be Quirke himself. Sumptous, propulsive and utterly transporting, April in Spain is the work of a master writer at the top of his Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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