tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825564497920015595.post491349952060642967..comments2024-03-28T07:56:38.659+00:00Comments on The View from the Blue House: Review of Have Mercy on Us All by Fred Vargas (Vintage, 2004)Rob Kitchinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05567424969308636082noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825564497920015595.post-70471303570803844742010-04-27T23:30:12.087+01:002010-04-27T23:30:12.087+01:00Perhaps the translation is a factor.
But I think ...Perhaps the translation is a factor.<br /><br />But I think Vargas' imagination is a major factor.<br /><br />I always think it takes 80 pages for Vargas to set up the murder, and at the end 80 pages of red herrings.<br /><br />But one can pick up a standard police procedural anywhere. A Vargas book is special.<br /><br />To me it's like eating a wonderful meal at a French restaurant versus having coffee and a bagel (substitute doughnut, toast) at the corner coffee shop.<br /><br />It's special and takes more out of a reader to deal with.kathy d.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825564497920015595.post-78898294933608144412010-04-27T18:52:08.396+01:002010-04-27T18:52:08.396+01:00A good summary and I do wonder how much of our per...A good summary and I do wonder how much of our perplexity is due to the translation.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825564497920015595.post-84774403388988597962010-04-27T03:58:24.844+01:002010-04-27T03:58:24.844+01:00I think Fred Vargas is a genius, one of the most i...I think Fred Vargas is a genius, one of the most imaginative and creative mystery writers today.<br /><br />Where else in a mystery would I learn about the bubonic plague and how poor people thought having jewels could protect them?<br /><br />So it goes off on a few tangents--it doesn't bother me. I was glad to go with Adamsberg to those places, made the book more interesting and pleasurable.<br /><br />It's an experience to read a book by Fred Vargas. There is creativity unhinged, a reading experience unlike any other.<br /><br />But enjoyable--yes, in my book!kathy d.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825564497920015595.post-49703588142102775922010-04-26T23:33:17.911+01:002010-04-26T23:33:17.911+01:00Yep, I agree with all of your comments. Some trans...Yep, I agree with all of your comments. Some translation very questionable, plots wacky, but I've loved the two I've read. I think it's because there is some deeper psychological truth that makes you forgive all the rest. Well, made me forgive all the rest.seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825564497920015595.post-36428887999686520402010-04-26T20:02:24.291+01:002010-04-26T20:02:24.291+01:00That was my reaction - I liked it without quite kn...That was my reaction - I liked it without quite knowing why, and yet there was so much about it that would normally drive me nuts! Very difficult to put my finger on why, overall, it worked okay. Strange.Rob Kitchinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05567424969308636082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825564497920015595.post-33265095163311539912010-04-26T19:44:01.858+01:002010-04-26T19:44:01.858+01:00I just read Wash the Blood From These Hands and ha...I just read Wash the Blood From These Hands and had a similar reaction. It had some wonderful things in it, but so much of it was idiosyncratic for the behavior of a police officer. I liked it but I'm not sure why.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.com