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Rating: 
- Not a great example.
I'm having a good run on Mediterranean crime fiction - having read everything by the excellent Massimo Carlotto, and hearing that Carofiglio is one of Carlotto's favourites I came to this.
Guido Guierri is a lawyer who finds himself representing a Senegalese beach trader accused of killing a 9-year old boy. And that's about it. To describe this as a thriller is a misnomer, as there are no thrills, no surprises, no switchbacks etc. It's also incorrect to describe it as a courtroom drama, as there is no drama! It's a simple linear description of a court case, with two sides, prosecution and defence. End of story.
I actually enjoyed the sub-plots much more than the main thrust. Guierri is recovering from a broken heart, and his meditations and slowly coming-back-to-life is very well presented. However, the main courtroom plot is very very poor.
For a start, simply because the accused is a poor black man in a traditionally quite racist country doesn't make this a study of racism, as the Times reviewer on the back suggests. Without wishing to spoil the plot, one side in this case has no case. A good courtroom thriller is one where the lawyer and defendant are really up against it, and keep getting deeper until they manage to extricate themselves. Here we have none of that. Anyone with simple common sense can see that there really is no case here, and as such, any attempt to generate tension is doomed to failure. The dénouement is very simple yet dressed up in a jumble of jargon, which in entirely unnecessary.
I also have a problem with the pacing - we don't even get to a courtroom until a third of the way in. We're too busy mooching round with Guerri and his marital problems.
Aside from that, it's well written. Bari is described well and the character does interact with his setting well, which really brings the place to life. Character-wise, the main protagonist is ok enough, I suppose, although I can take or leave everyone else. The defendant doesn't figure much, which he needs to be in my opinion to make us care whether or not he is found innocent. Quite frankly, I didn't care if he was locked up or not.
On the strength of this, I wouldn't rush to read another Carofiglio. It passed the time and it was reasonable, but well below the standard of say, the conventional legal thrillers (The Lincoln Lawyer (Connolly), or any Grisham, for example). It's not particularly dark or gritty, like Carlotto, it's just half-decent yet very forgettable.
Rating:
- An enjoyable read
Bought this on the strenght of the excellent "Past is a different country" and I am not disappointed. He has an unusual approach with short snappy chapters that always kleep you interested and looking forward to truning the page.
Rating:
- A change from the norm....
Having recently discovered Italian 'Crime Fiction' through the outstanding Florentine Murder, I bought this on chance hoping that it would be as good. I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed it. Whilst much of the style lends itself to America there is something here that sets it apart and is a change from the norm. This is as good as anything that Grisham has written (and better than most)and has a much stronger (or weaker!) main character. I have still to read Carofiglio's other novels and hope that he continues to develop the main character to maintain the 'levels' in the novels. If I had one gripe it is that there is a lack of the full Italian feel that Guittarri's novel has and could have done with some more of the 'Italian' words and phrases left in after translation to help keep the authenticity. What is the extent of the translators power in keeping a novel authentic. That is one I will have to come back to when I am able to read both languages versions of novels.
Rating: - Somewhat disappointing
Not exactly the legal thriller it says on the back, with very little suspense. Rather too much legal jargon, though probably a good example if you are after courtroom drama without much drama.
Rating: - Simple, but immensely entertaining
This is now the third of three Carofiglio books I have read, despite it being the first published. Guido Guerrieri, the lead character, defends a Senegalese immigrant charged with the murder of a 9 year old boy.
As always, Carofiglio's books are immensely readable - I started reading on a Sunday morning and before I knew it, it was lunch-time and I had finished the book. Unfortunately, I still can't figure out what makes his books so appealing so I suspect it's a combination of things : the setting in Bari; Guido himself, as a troubled and flawed character, who you still have a great deal of empathy for; or the wit and thoughts which Carofiglio expresses through Guido.
The book is not at all technical and will not test readers looking for a complex legal thriller. This is despite some brilliant deliveries from Guido as he appeals to the jury members and the court. The book is also not a `whodunit' in the traditional English or American sense. Strikingly, the accused plays a very small part in the whole book, as does his wife who disappears very early on for no apparent good reason.
But there is just something about the way Carofiglio writes which has you craving for more!
- Not a great example.I'm having a good run on Mediterranean crime fiction - having read everything by the excellent Massimo Carlotto, and hearing that Carofiglio is one of Carlotto's favourites I came to this.
Guido Guierri is a lawyer who finds himself representing a Senegalese beach trader accused of killing a 9-year old boy. And that's about it. To describe this as a thriller is a misnomer, as there are no thrills, no surprises, no switchbacks etc. It's also incorrect to describe it as a courtroom drama, as there is no drama! It's a simple linear description of a court case, with two sides, prosecution and defence. End of story.
I actually enjoyed the sub-plots much more than the main thrust. Guierri is recovering from a broken heart, and his meditations and slowly coming-back-to-life is very well presented. However, the main courtroom plot is very very poor.
For a start, simply because the accused is a poor black man in a traditionally quite racist country doesn't make this a study of racism, as the Times reviewer on the back suggests. Without wishing to spoil the plot, one side in this case has no case. A good courtroom thriller is one where the lawyer and defendant are really up against it, and keep getting deeper until they manage to extricate themselves. Here we have none of that. Anyone with simple common sense can see that there really is no case here, and as such, any attempt to generate tension is doomed to failure. The dénouement is very simple yet dressed up in a jumble of jargon, which in entirely unnecessary.
I also have a problem with the pacing - we don't even get to a courtroom until a third of the way in. We're too busy mooching round with Guerri and his marital problems.
Aside from that, it's well written. Bari is described well and the character does interact with his setting well, which really brings the place to life. Character-wise, the main protagonist is ok enough, I suppose, although I can take or leave everyone else. The defendant doesn't figure much, which he needs to be in my opinion to make us care whether or not he is found innocent. Quite frankly, I didn't care if he was locked up or not.
On the strength of this, I wouldn't rush to read another Carofiglio. It passed the time and it was reasonable, but well below the standard of say, the conventional legal thrillers (The Lincoln Lawyer (Connolly), or any Grisham, for example). It's not particularly dark or gritty, like Carlotto, it's just half-decent yet very forgettable.
Rating:
- An enjoyable readBought this on the strenght of the excellent "Past is a different country" and I am not disappointed. He has an unusual approach with short snappy chapters that always kleep you interested and looking forward to truning the page.
Rating:
- A change from the norm....Having recently discovered Italian 'Crime Fiction' through the outstanding Florentine Murder, I bought this on chance hoping that it would be as good. I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed it. Whilst much of the style lends itself to America there is something here that sets it apart and is a change from the norm. This is as good as anything that Grisham has written (and better than most)and has a much stronger (or weaker!) main character. I have still to read Carofiglio's other novels and hope that he continues to develop the main character to maintain the 'levels' in the novels. If I had one gripe it is that there is a lack of the full Italian feel that Guittarri's novel has and could have done with some more of the 'Italian' words and phrases left in after translation to help keep the authenticity. What is the extent of the translators power in keeping a novel authentic. That is one I will have to come back to when I am able to read both languages versions of novels.
Rating:
- Somewhat disappointingNot exactly the legal thriller it says on the back, with very little suspense. Rather too much legal jargon, though probably a good example if you are after courtroom drama without much drama.
Rating:
- Simple, but immensely entertainingThis is now the third of three Carofiglio books I have read, despite it being the first published. Guido Guerrieri, the lead character, defends a Senegalese immigrant charged with the murder of a 9 year old boy.
As always, Carofiglio's books are immensely readable - I started reading on a Sunday morning and before I knew it, it was lunch-time and I had finished the book. Unfortunately, I still can't figure out what makes his books so appealing so I suspect it's a combination of things : the setting in Bari; Guido himself, as a troubled and flawed character, who you still have a great deal of empathy for; or the wit and thoughts which Carofiglio expresses through Guido.
The book is not at all technical and will not test readers looking for a complex legal thriller. This is despite some brilliant deliveries from Guido as he appeals to the jury members and the court. The book is also not a `whodunit' in the traditional English or American sense. Strikingly, the accused plays a very small part in the whole book, as does his wife who disappears very early on for no apparent good reason.
But there is just something about the way Carofiglio writes which has you craving for more!