Status
Available
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Henry Holt and Co. (2007), Edition: First Edition, 352 pages
Description
It's not the dead that seem strange to Quirke. It's the living. One night, after a few drinks at an office party, Quirke shuffles down into the morgue where he works and finds his brother-in-law, Malachy, altering a file he has no business even reading. Odd enough in itself to find Malachy there, but the next morning, when the haze has lifted, it looks an awful lot like his brother-in-law, the esteemed doctor, was in fact tampering with a corpse-and concealing the cause ofdeath. It turns out the body belonged to a young woman named Christine Falls. And as Quirke reluctantly presses on toward the true facts behind her death, he comes up against some insidious-and very well-guarded-secrets of Dublin's high Catholic society, among them members of his own family. Set in Dublin and Boston in the 1950s, the first novel in the Quirke series brings all the vividness and psychological insight of Booker Prize winner John Banville's fiction to a thrilling, atmospheric crime story. Quirke is a fascinating and subtly drawn hero, Christine Falls is a classic tale of suspense, and Benjamin Black's debut marks him as a true master of the form.… (more)
Media reviews
In his decision to write a straightforward, no-nonsense thriller about transatlantic baby-smuggling and the Catholic Church, John Banville, a veritable emperor of baroque prose, has not so much taken a vow of poverty as put in a sly bid to extend and reinforce his stylistic dominion. ... Those
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familiar with Banville will have expected nothing less; the neophyte, however, who picks up this racy little number anticipating nothing more than a night of brisk casual thrills may soon be surprised to find himself in the grips of a literary passion he had not gambled on. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Lman
How impressive - a crime novel brimming with imagery so vivid that, at times, the smells evoked assaulted my senses; and with such clarity of words, that, at other times, I found myself, almost unwillingly, witnessing events as if first-hand!
Set in the 1950s, Christine Falls follows the
This is a sordid tale crammed with condemnable incidents – from the abject to the inexcusable – and with no character left unsoiled. The satisfaction is in the mundane but detailed observances and reactions the author deftly applies, to each situation and to all the participants, offering such interesting distinctions and descriptions that they fascinate and repulse simultaneously. There are times when the reader knows more than Quirke; times when Quirke is not at all forthcoming to the reader; and times, it must be said, that happenstances occur a little too neatly.
Amongst all this Benjamin Black masterfully builds the persona of Quirke, whose attributes and true character, so long buried beneath a whiskey bottle, reluctantly surface as Christine ‘falls’ into his domain; Quirke’s life is the real story, perhaps even crime, here. A big man, often uncomfortable in his surroundings, unable to fully reconcile his past, purposely disregarding much of it, his story remains unfinished; his ending to-date untidy, his indifference returning to haunt him in the bleakness of his world, a world very different from today.
Still, there is much to like about Quirke in this book and much more to narrate. As the crimes themselves are revealed so too is Mr Quirke. Who knows, maybe, in time we will even elicit his first name – telling, that omission of one word amongst a veritable feast of others. Perfect, a further mystery to unfold.
Set in the 1950s, Christine Falls follows the
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consequences after pathologist Quirke, retreating quite drunk from a hospital party one night, encounters his brother-in-law, obstetrician Malachy Griffin, out of place, in his office, altering the findings in a report. From some subconscious depth, due to an intrinsic 'quirk' of personality, much like a snow-ball effect, Quirke becomes helplessly, uncharacteristically, ensnared in the circumstances of this particular case; the death of Christine Falls. The more he delves, the more his family becomes entangled in the investigation; and the deeper he delves, the further the convoluted familial relationships between so many impact; until a web of corruption of a society from Dublin to Boston becomes unravelled.This is a sordid tale crammed with condemnable incidents – from the abject to the inexcusable – and with no character left unsoiled. The satisfaction is in the mundane but detailed observances and reactions the author deftly applies, to each situation and to all the participants, offering such interesting distinctions and descriptions that they fascinate and repulse simultaneously. There are times when the reader knows more than Quirke; times when Quirke is not at all forthcoming to the reader; and times, it must be said, that happenstances occur a little too neatly.
Amongst all this Benjamin Black masterfully builds the persona of Quirke, whose attributes and true character, so long buried beneath a whiskey bottle, reluctantly surface as Christine ‘falls’ into his domain; Quirke’s life is the real story, perhaps even crime, here. A big man, often uncomfortable in his surroundings, unable to fully reconcile his past, purposely disregarding much of it, his story remains unfinished; his ending to-date untidy, his indifference returning to haunt him in the bleakness of his world, a world very different from today.
Still, there is much to like about Quirke in this book and much more to narrate. As the crimes themselves are revealed so too is Mr Quirke. Who knows, maybe, in time we will even elicit his first name – telling, that omission of one word amongst a veritable feast of others. Perfect, a further mystery to unfold.
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LibraryThing member writestuff
Quirke, a Dublin pathologist who drinks more than he should after the death of his wife two decades earlier, finds his brother-in-law tampering with a file in the morgue. The file belongs to a young woman named Christine Falls who lies dead in the next room. Unable to shake the unsettling feeling
Christine Falls is set first in 1950s Ireland, but ends in Boston. Quirke is a compelling protagonist, although not one who is immediately likable. He drinks excessively, pursues his sister-in-law romantically, and seems to have made more than a few enemies over the years. Despite his faults, however, Quirke is a man who wants to right the wrongs and he continues to investigate the death of Christine even when it becomes apparent his own life may be in danger.
Benjamin Black is the pen name for John Banville whose literary novels have won numerous awards. In this noir thriller, Banville weaves a tight story of intrigue that had me turning the pages long after I should have been in bed asleep. Christine Falls is a mystery which could easily fit in the literary genre with its strong character development and haunting descriptions. This whodunit has another, deeper layer - that of family secrets which span decades and implicate the Catholic Church. As Banville weaves his story, the reader is steadily drawn into the characters’ relationships.
Readers who enjoy literary fiction as well as a gripping mystery, will be drawn to Christine Falls. I expected to like this novel, and I was not disappointed.
Highly Recommended.
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that his brother-in-law and nemesis Mal is hiding something sinister, Quirke begins a search for the answer behind Christine’s death. What unfolds is a novel of dark secrets which is tautly written and full of suspense.Christine Falls is set first in 1950s Ireland, but ends in Boston. Quirke is a compelling protagonist, although not one who is immediately likable. He drinks excessively, pursues his sister-in-law romantically, and seems to have made more than a few enemies over the years. Despite his faults, however, Quirke is a man who wants to right the wrongs and he continues to investigate the death of Christine even when it becomes apparent his own life may be in danger.
Benjamin Black is the pen name for John Banville whose literary novels have won numerous awards. In this noir thriller, Banville weaves a tight story of intrigue that had me turning the pages long after I should have been in bed asleep. Christine Falls is a mystery which could easily fit in the literary genre with its strong character development and haunting descriptions. This whodunit has another, deeper layer - that of family secrets which span decades and implicate the Catholic Church. As Banville weaves his story, the reader is steadily drawn into the characters’ relationships.
Readers who enjoy literary fiction as well as a gripping mystery, will be drawn to Christine Falls. I expected to like this novel, and I was not disappointed.
Highly Recommended.
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LibraryThing member nichole.in.italy
Not having ready anything by John Banville/Benjamin Black before, I picked up "Christine Falls" with few specific expectations other than to be entertained by a mystery novel. However, I'm not sure that "mystery" is the right category for this book because most of the plot was quite obvious early
I think the fundamental flaw of this book is that the author failed to sufficiently convey the motivation behind the characters' actions. For example, there is Quirk, the heavy-drinking, brought-up-in-an-orphanage, pathologist who, we learn late in the book, contributed indirectly to the founding of the nefarious operation [trying not to give away one of the plot twists]. He feels compelled to investigate when he finds his brother-in-law falsifying the file of a recently deceased young woman, Christine Falls. But why?! He had never demonstrated passion or even a general interest in anything other than a stiff drink in his life so why was he suddenly sticking his nose into the business of the very powerful family that had unofficially adopted him out of the orphanage? And yet he doesn't collaborate with the police officer who clearly smells a rat. Issues with the Catholic Church? ...with the family who raised him? Could be but it's my supposition rather than something you can find between the covers of this book.
Another example: the person who received the diary recounting the circumstances under which Christine Falls died [again, trying not to give away too much] spends the entire novel acting as if (s)he knew nothing, which was not at all plausible given how shocking it was supposed to be. And then we find out this character had forgotten a decision that Quirk had made years prior, critical both for the storyline and for the characters, that it undermines everything (s)he did and said throughout the novel.
In summary, "Christine Falls" was a very disappointing first encounter with this author and I don't intend to read any of the sequels.
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on and those few unexpected plot twists that Black offered really fell flat for me. I found the prose too lumbering to create any suspense as I moved from chapter to chapter so the groundwork necessary to draw me in just wasn't there.I think the fundamental flaw of this book is that the author failed to sufficiently convey the motivation behind the characters' actions. For example, there is Quirk, the heavy-drinking, brought-up-in-an-orphanage, pathologist who, we learn late in the book, contributed indirectly to the founding of the nefarious operation [trying not to give away one of the plot twists]. He feels compelled to investigate when he finds his brother-in-law falsifying the file of a recently deceased young woman, Christine Falls. But why?! He had never demonstrated passion or even a general interest in anything other than a stiff drink in his life so why was he suddenly sticking his nose into the business of the very powerful family that had unofficially adopted him out of the orphanage? And yet he doesn't collaborate with the police officer who clearly smells a rat. Issues with the Catholic Church? ...with the family who raised him? Could be but it's my supposition rather than something you can find between the covers of this book.
Another example: the person who received the diary recounting the circumstances under which Christine Falls died [again, trying not to give away too much] spends the entire novel acting as if (s)he knew nothing, which was not at all plausible given how shocking it was supposed to be. And then we find out this character had forgotten a decision that Quirk had made years prior, critical both for the storyline and for the characters, that it undermines everything (s)he did and said throughout the novel.
In summary, "Christine Falls" was a very disappointing first encounter with this author and I don't intend to read any of the sequels.
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LibraryThing member go_devils006
Christine Falls is an utterly disappointing foray into the mystery genre by acclaimed author John Banville (writing under the pen name of Benjamin Black). The story unwinds slowly and the only real mystery revealed along the way is that of why this book is classified as a mystery. There is no
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suspense and the characters, while well developed, are unsympathetic and leave the reader disconnected from the story. The language is beautiful and paints a vivid picture of the dark setting of the novel but somehow does so without giving a good sense of the period, leaving the story orphaned in time. As the subject matter of the book involves themes of which the public opinion has changed dramatically over time, this lack of framework can be very disorienting at times. While I did feel compelled to finish the book, I found it was more in expectation that the book would pick up along the way rather than due to actual enjoyment of the book. If you're looking for a well-written mystery, I'm afraid it's time to look elsewhere. Show Less
LibraryThing member viking2917
It started like CSI Dublin...
There are a wealth of fascinating characters in Christine Falls (more on that momentarily), but the atmosphere of the book is almost more compelling than the characters, or the underlying mystery (more on that as well).
Quirke is a pathologist in 1950s Dublin. It starts
Quirke, still in his gown and green rubber apron, sat on a high stool by the big steel sink, smoking a cigarette and thinking. The evening outside was still light, he knew, but here in this windowless room that always reminded him of a vast, deep, emptied cistern it might have been the middle of the night. The cold tap in one of the sinks had an incurable slow drip, and a fluorescent bulb in the big multiple lamp over the dissecting table flickered and buzzed. In the harsh, grainy light the cadaver that had been Christine Falls lay on its back, the breast and belly opened wide like a carpet bag and its glistening innards on show.
And then there is the smoke. Everything smokes in this book. Quirke smokes. His niece smokes. The chimneys smoke. The fireplaces smoke. Of course the police smoke, but that is described with loving, almost intimate care:
Quirke finished his cigarette and Hackett offered another, and after the briefest of hesitations he took it. Smoke rolled along the top of the desk like a fog at night on the sea.
Even the nuns smoke:
Sister Stephanus sat motionless and stared at the hastily squashed cigarette butt, from which there poured upward a thin and sinuous thread of heaven-blue smoke.
By the time the book was over, I wanted to smoke. About the only thing that's more frequent than smoking is drinking - but they are usually inextricably linked. The book is dark and smoky, and most of the characters seem to have an ashen taste in their mouths, as the phrase goes. There are some wonderfully humorous moments, and the occasional respite from the darkness. But these are exceptions.
Black/Banville has created a protagonist worthy of more than just a genre novel. Quirke is rendered with precision, sympathy, and believability, even when he might not be the most sympathetic of characters at time. To my mind, he most resembles Martin Cruz Smith's redoubtable Arkady Renko. Quirke is incapable of turning off his almost irrational curiosity, even in the face of clear physical danger. And he seems congenitally unable to tell a lie to spare someone's feelings (perhaps even his own), even when it seems there's no chance the lie will be exposed. But one senses that this is not because he has moral qualms about lying - rather it seems to stem from pure obstinacy.
Class makes its presence felt in the novel - the Catholic / Protestant split is clear both in Dublin and Boston, and the economy class distinctions are on display as well. Dublin is wonderfully painted, compellingly so. Boston I found to be done reasonably well, but the scenes there did not hold my interest until well past midway of the book. As an evocation of time & place, the Boston scenes were good, but not in a class with some of the best books set in the area (by, say, Dennis Lehane or Robert B. Parker). But Dublin....now that was well done.
But the book does not feel like it's ultimately about class, or location, or even religion - rather, it seems a meditation on secrets, mistakes, and the past - the gripping tentacles that reach forward in time to drag us down. The mystery itself (this is after all at least in the form of noir mystery) - well, the surface mystery is not so hard to figure out - I won't spoil it, but I guessed the answer fairly early on in the book. The deeper mystery is harder to sniff out, and (at least for me) comes like a sucker punch in the gut.
Christine Falls was compelling reading. Superficially, it was genre - but like the best literature, it's about what makes people tick.
(A minor complaint - I received this book as part of the LibraryThing "Early Reviewers Program". The implication is that this program is for reviewing not-yet-released books. As it happens, this book has been out for some time - after writing this review I found that there is a NY Times book review written on this book from over a year ago, and the original copyright is from 2006. Abby confirmed that this is in fact a new edition of a book previously released in the UK. And in the end, who can complain about receiving a book of this quality for free?)
There are a wealth of fascinating characters in Christine Falls (more on that momentarily), but the atmosphere of the book is almost more compelling than the characters, or the underlying mystery (more on that as well).
Quirke is a pathologist in 1950s Dublin. It starts
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off feeling very much like an episode of CSI:Dublin. A mysterious death, a persistent pathologist. But not the clean, crisp, morally certain world of CSI:Miami, but rather the lonely, smoky atmosphere of forensics in what seems like a disintegrating, dilapidated world: Quirke, still in his gown and green rubber apron, sat on a high stool by the big steel sink, smoking a cigarette and thinking. The evening outside was still light, he knew, but here in this windowless room that always reminded him of a vast, deep, emptied cistern it might have been the middle of the night. The cold tap in one of the sinks had an incurable slow drip, and a fluorescent bulb in the big multiple lamp over the dissecting table flickered and buzzed. In the harsh, grainy light the cadaver that had been Christine Falls lay on its back, the breast and belly opened wide like a carpet bag and its glistening innards on show.
And then there is the smoke. Everything smokes in this book. Quirke smokes. His niece smokes. The chimneys smoke. The fireplaces smoke. Of course the police smoke, but that is described with loving, almost intimate care:
Quirke finished his cigarette and Hackett offered another, and after the briefest of hesitations he took it. Smoke rolled along the top of the desk like a fog at night on the sea.
Even the nuns smoke:
Sister Stephanus sat motionless and stared at the hastily squashed cigarette butt, from which there poured upward a thin and sinuous thread of heaven-blue smoke.
By the time the book was over, I wanted to smoke. About the only thing that's more frequent than smoking is drinking - but they are usually inextricably linked. The book is dark and smoky, and most of the characters seem to have an ashen taste in their mouths, as the phrase goes. There are some wonderfully humorous moments, and the occasional respite from the darkness. But these are exceptions.
Black/Banville has created a protagonist worthy of more than just a genre novel. Quirke is rendered with precision, sympathy, and believability, even when he might not be the most sympathetic of characters at time. To my mind, he most resembles Martin Cruz Smith's redoubtable Arkady Renko. Quirke is incapable of turning off his almost irrational curiosity, even in the face of clear physical danger. And he seems congenitally unable to tell a lie to spare someone's feelings (perhaps even his own), even when it seems there's no chance the lie will be exposed. But one senses that this is not because he has moral qualms about lying - rather it seems to stem from pure obstinacy.
Class makes its presence felt in the novel - the Catholic / Protestant split is clear both in Dublin and Boston, and the economy class distinctions are on display as well. Dublin is wonderfully painted, compellingly so. Boston I found to be done reasonably well, but the scenes there did not hold my interest until well past midway of the book. As an evocation of time & place, the Boston scenes were good, but not in a class with some of the best books set in the area (by, say, Dennis Lehane or Robert B. Parker). But Dublin....now that was well done.
But the book does not feel like it's ultimately about class, or location, or even religion - rather, it seems a meditation on secrets, mistakes, and the past - the gripping tentacles that reach forward in time to drag us down. The mystery itself (this is after all at least in the form of noir mystery) - well, the surface mystery is not so hard to figure out - I won't spoil it, but I guessed the answer fairly early on in the book. The deeper mystery is harder to sniff out, and (at least for me) comes like a sucker punch in the gut.
Christine Falls was compelling reading. Superficially, it was genre - but like the best literature, it's about what makes people tick.
(A minor complaint - I received this book as part of the LibraryThing "Early Reviewers Program". The implication is that this program is for reviewing not-yet-released books. As it happens, this book has been out for some time - after writing this review I found that there is a NY Times book review written on this book from over a year ago, and the original copyright is from 2006. Abby confirmed that this is in fact a new edition of a book previously released in the UK. And in the end, who can complain about receiving a book of this quality for free?)
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LibraryThing member tangential1
This book was a major disappointment. The jacket synopsis, as well as all the publicized reviews, screamed "thriller!" very blatantly, but that was not what this book was; quite the opposite, actually. As another reviewer said, this is more a dramatic character study than a mystery, let alone a
The pace of the story was very sedate and I found myself wondering "who cares?" through most of it. The mystery that is presented definitely takes the back seat to the main character's morose thoughts and preoccupations, which was rather unfortunate because I really couldn't bring myself to care about him. Nor could I sympathize with any of the secondary characters; I found most of them rather grating. Don't care about the mystery, don't care about the characters; why am I still reading this?
I imagine this might have been a better read had I gone into it with the clear expectation that it was going to be a character study and not a thriller. As it was, I was annoyed at having been roped in by a lie. I found the pace frustrating an the entire resolution very convoluted. I definitely won't be putting myself through the torture that would be the sequel.
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thriller. There was absolutely nothing thrilling about it.The pace of the story was very sedate and I found myself wondering "who cares?" through most of it. The mystery that is presented definitely takes the back seat to the main character's morose thoughts and preoccupations, which was rather unfortunate because I really couldn't bring myself to care about him. Nor could I sympathize with any of the secondary characters; I found most of them rather grating. Don't care about the mystery, don't care about the characters; why am I still reading this?
I imagine this might have been a better read had I gone into it with the clear expectation that it was going to be a character study and not a thriller. As it was, I was annoyed at having been roped in by a lie. I found the pace frustrating an the entire resolution very convoluted. I definitely won't be putting myself through the torture that would be the sequel.
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LibraryThing member lmichet
So. Why, exactly, did I like this book? As a mystery it certainly has its failings-- not enough clues are given, and as a reader you constantly feel either bewildered or stupider than the other characters, neither of which is a good feeling for a mystery to inspire. Certain key moments or
Because the characters and the places are so excellent, really. The characters are all very well-done, are all out of the ordinary-- no cliche personality types here. When we get inside their heads-- and that's something about this book I didn't like, the merciless head-switching, often several times in the same scene, can get a little wearisome-- when we do get inside their heads, they are engaging and realistic. They were all capable of surprise and nothing they did seemed forced. It was the satisfaction of reading perfect characters, I think, that kept me going-- that and the job Banville did with the setting. Anyway, nothing to disappoint from the characters and setting aspects of his style.
Even though the mystery is very slow to develop, however, and even though there were no rewards for the attentive reader-- no way to feel as if you were figuring the plot out, anyway-- Banville managed to keep me feeling as if I were in SOME state of suspense, and I put that down entirely to his above-mentioned craft. That and the fact that he did allow himself a few plot twists, yes. They were pretty good ones.
Here's the thing, though: winner of the Man Booker Prize, like a hero, decides to write what he considers a piece of genre fiction. Good for him, I say! Breaking down the boundaries of the elitist literary establishment! As good as Chabon! Huzzah! But he goes and writes it under a PEN NAME, and then puts the fact that it IS a pen name right there in the text, no hiding it, in order to ALSO mention that he has won the Man Booker Prize. What exactly do you want, Banville? Do you want the secrecy of a pen name, the kind of cover that will allow you to go write commercial fiction despite the fact that you're supposed to be 'literary,' or do you want the plaudits and praise of a literary career? This market and these harsh establishments are not exactly going to want to give you both. The fact that you've written what amounts to a literary crime novel-- not a proper crime novel in itself, since it doesn't have a good enough plot, but not a proper literary novel either, since it's got this skeleton crime-plot sitting there-- is going to make it hard for people to know what to make of you. You're being MARKETED here in the hardback edition I have as a crime novelist, but you get your trade paperbacks printed like you're a literary novelist. So who is going to read you? Crime readers will be disappointed by your amateurish stab at trying to be 'gripping.' Literary readers are going to wonder why, when you've clearly got your chops down, you have stuck old Quirke and his conundrum into the find-what's-hidden formula that a crime novel should have. You can't make everyone happy, Banville!
Well, you can certainly try, and if more people gave it a good try then literary fiction would quit being so shitty and stop being almost exclusively about boring nonsense. There would be fewer books about small-town New England and more literature about, say fighter pilots! Or astronauts! Stuff, basically, that I would actually find interesting to read. That's the problem with the modern literary/genre fiction bifurcation: I don't like reading about boring stuff, so why would I want to read most of the literary fiction that's out there? But, simultaneously, I don't like reading shitty writing, so why would I want to read much of of the genre fiction that's out there? There's no happy medium, except for when people like Banville and Chabon try to bridge the gap by writing well about topics that have usually been considered the purview of genre writing. So keep it up, Banville, I say: get better at this and you could knock everyone flat. This is the kind of direction I want to see writers going in.
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developments in the story are, I feel, handled poorly. But I actually enjoyed the book, and I enjoyed it a lot. Why, then?Because the characters and the places are so excellent, really. The characters are all very well-done, are all out of the ordinary-- no cliche personality types here. When we get inside their heads-- and that's something about this book I didn't like, the merciless head-switching, often several times in the same scene, can get a little wearisome-- when we do get inside their heads, they are engaging and realistic. They were all capable of surprise and nothing they did seemed forced. It was the satisfaction of reading perfect characters, I think, that kept me going-- that and the job Banville did with the setting. Anyway, nothing to disappoint from the characters and setting aspects of his style.
Even though the mystery is very slow to develop, however, and even though there were no rewards for the attentive reader-- no way to feel as if you were figuring the plot out, anyway-- Banville managed to keep me feeling as if I were in SOME state of suspense, and I put that down entirely to his above-mentioned craft. That and the fact that he did allow himself a few plot twists, yes. They were pretty good ones.
Here's the thing, though: winner of the Man Booker Prize, like a hero, decides to write what he considers a piece of genre fiction. Good for him, I say! Breaking down the boundaries of the elitist literary establishment! As good as Chabon! Huzzah! But he goes and writes it under a PEN NAME, and then puts the fact that it IS a pen name right there in the text, no hiding it, in order to ALSO mention that he has won the Man Booker Prize. What exactly do you want, Banville? Do you want the secrecy of a pen name, the kind of cover that will allow you to go write commercial fiction despite the fact that you're supposed to be 'literary,' or do you want the plaudits and praise of a literary career? This market and these harsh establishments are not exactly going to want to give you both. The fact that you've written what amounts to a literary crime novel-- not a proper crime novel in itself, since it doesn't have a good enough plot, but not a proper literary novel either, since it's got this skeleton crime-plot sitting there-- is going to make it hard for people to know what to make of you. You're being MARKETED here in the hardback edition I have as a crime novelist, but you get your trade paperbacks printed like you're a literary novelist. So who is going to read you? Crime readers will be disappointed by your amateurish stab at trying to be 'gripping.' Literary readers are going to wonder why, when you've clearly got your chops down, you have stuck old Quirke and his conundrum into the find-what's-hidden formula that a crime novel should have. You can't make everyone happy, Banville!
Well, you can certainly try, and if more people gave it a good try then literary fiction would quit being so shitty and stop being almost exclusively about boring nonsense. There would be fewer books about small-town New England and more literature about, say fighter pilots! Or astronauts! Stuff, basically, that I would actually find interesting to read. That's the problem with the modern literary/genre fiction bifurcation: I don't like reading about boring stuff, so why would I want to read most of the literary fiction that's out there? But, simultaneously, I don't like reading shitty writing, so why would I want to read much of of the genre fiction that's out there? There's no happy medium, except for when people like Banville and Chabon try to bridge the gap by writing well about topics that have usually been considered the purview of genre writing. So keep it up, Banville, I say: get better at this and you could knock everyone flat. This is the kind of direction I want to see writers going in.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
I have to admit that I am feeling a little let down by Christine Falls, on the one hand this book is strongly written by Benjamin Black, a pseudonym for author John Banville, but on the other, the actual plot seemed lacklustre and felt manufactured. This dark tale of baby smuggling by a powerful
Rather than a mystery, I felt the book was much more of a character study, and the main character, Quirke with his drinking, secrets and isolation was a familiar one for this genre. Unfortunately, the women in the book were on the most part damaged, fragile and insecure. I did love the fact that Black wrote a very layered tale and, in classic mystery style, slowly bits were peeled back and revealed. I guess what was missing for me was an actual mystery.
In the long run although I enjoyed the original and creative writing in Christine Falls, I needed more than well turned phrases, and both the pacing and the plot felt a little flat.
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Catholic Society in the early 1950‘s involves murder, conspiracy and family secrets, and although parts of the book are truly well done, there were also parts that I found repetitive and rather boring. Rather than a mystery, I felt the book was much more of a character study, and the main character, Quirke with his drinking, secrets and isolation was a familiar one for this genre. Unfortunately, the women in the book were on the most part damaged, fragile and insecure. I did love the fact that Black wrote a very layered tale and, in classic mystery style, slowly bits were peeled back and revealed. I guess what was missing for me was an actual mystery.
In the long run although I enjoyed the original and creative writing in Christine Falls, I needed more than well turned phrases, and both the pacing and the plot felt a little flat.
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LibraryThing member mcfitz
I have very mixed feelings about this book and found writing this review more difficult than expected. I won't repeat what the other reviewers have already written about the book, as they've described it more than adequately to give a potential reader the what, where and when of the story.
I began
Throughout the story, the theme of Catholic tyranny ran strong. Orphanages, a home for unwed mothers, convents and the nuns and priests themselves were constant targets. The Protestant versus Catholic issue was present, of course. Since the story was set mainly in 1950's Ireland, this was not a surprise, but I think Americans might not appreciate the deep-set religious enmity of some Irish that this represents.
The structure the author chose worked well for the book, jumping between two stories in very different locations with very distinct characters, tied together by a single thread. Without spoilers, I will say the two threads did eventually converge. The book was quite slow throughout the first three quarters for me -- I kept wondering when something was going to actually happen -- but the final stretch picked up.
The author has an incredible descriptive ability; I could almost smell the cigarette smoke that prevailed in each 'film noir' scene while the damp, chilly weather made me shiver. The atmosphere was often described in detail so exact that I could fully relate to the scene. This was the real strength of the book, in my opinion, and one I admire tremendously.
Overall, the book was not an enjoyable read for me. I found the themes depressing, the atmosphere dark, and the characters unlikable, and I must feel more empathy for characters to enjoy a story. The writing itself was wonderful, however, especially the "literary illustrations." I would definitely look for the author again, if not in this genre.
I began
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reading the book with the expectation of a crime drama/mystery but it quickly turned into character study. The interaction between people was very interesting and the dialog moved along at a good pace. However, I disliked most of the characters, and even Quirke, the "anti-hero," was barely agreeable. His rat terrier attitude toward the mystery was questionable, as well; why was he so interested in the possible crime in the first place? His career as a pathologist seemed very promising at the beginning -- CSI, anyone? -- but it had very little to do with the story.Throughout the story, the theme of Catholic tyranny ran strong. Orphanages, a home for unwed mothers, convents and the nuns and priests themselves were constant targets. The Protestant versus Catholic issue was present, of course. Since the story was set mainly in 1950's Ireland, this was not a surprise, but I think Americans might not appreciate the deep-set religious enmity of some Irish that this represents.
The structure the author chose worked well for the book, jumping between two stories in very different locations with very distinct characters, tied together by a single thread. Without spoilers, I will say the two threads did eventually converge. The book was quite slow throughout the first three quarters for me -- I kept wondering when something was going to actually happen -- but the final stretch picked up.
The author has an incredible descriptive ability; I could almost smell the cigarette smoke that prevailed in each 'film noir' scene while the damp, chilly weather made me shiver. The atmosphere was often described in detail so exact that I could fully relate to the scene. This was the real strength of the book, in my opinion, and one I admire tremendously.
Overall, the book was not an enjoyable read for me. I found the themes depressing, the atmosphere dark, and the characters unlikable, and I must feel more empathy for characters to enjoy a story. The writing itself was wonderful, however, especially the "literary illustrations." I would definitely look for the author again, if not in this genre.
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LibraryThing member davidefelton
This is my first time reading John Banville. I have known of him for several years and had heard good things. I am thrilled to be now acquainting myself with Banville's writing. In Christine Falls he writes as Benjamin Black, and introduces readers to a reluctant anti-hero with the wonderful
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surname of Quirke. (Writing this now I find myself wondering if we ever learn Quirke's full name? I'll have to go back through and check.) Quirke, orphaned as a child, is now a widowed pathologist in post WW II Dublin. Banville gives a sense of Quirke as lumbering and stumbling forward in his life since his wife's death. Quirke stumbles upon his adoptive brother (as well as brother-in-law), a prominent Ob-Gyn at the hospital where Quirke works, altering a death certificate late one night. The next morning Quirke is hungover and unsure of what he saw. But a question has taken seed in his mind and it is not to be denied. The rest of the book is a beautifully written, with poetic description of exterior and interior landscapes, account of the dangerous rooting and blossoming of Quirke's question. Although at times Quirke's survival is in grave doubt (if something else doesn't get him one worries at times about Quirke himself) but he does survive the havoc which his question produces all around him in his most intimate circles. Show Less
LibraryThing member MuseofIre
Unrelentingly grim depiction of Ireland, Irish-American life, and the Catholic Church in the 1950s. Well-crafted prose and some deft characterization, but I could never really enter into the story because there was no one to care about. Quirke is an unsatisfactory hero, even as an anti-hero, not
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just because he's so baffled and inarticulate about what drives him, but because he's essentially emotionally dishonest. The identity of Christine's lover was obvious to me from about 12 pages in, and only Quirke's heavy drinking and willful blindness can explain his failure to see it too. Show Less
LibraryThing member jfurshong
Admittedly I am an unusual reader. Years ago I decided to upgrade my shotgun approach to reading and have worked my way through the Pulitzers, Bookers and the National Book prize lists just to name a few. I also love mysteries, mostly focused on international writers and foreign locales.
What an
Christine Falls has all the attributes of the Man Booker winning novels, but is an even greater departure in genre, style and tone. Successful mysteries must contain all of the staples: a suspicious death, an engaging detective, seemingly overwhelming odds against solving the crime and carefully sprinkled clues, like crumbs in the forest, eventually leading to the murderer. Imagine all of this being by accomplished by an author who brings the level of mystery writing to that of literature.
Setting is a key element of a good mystery and Dublin in the 1950s feels as atmospheric as Paris in the war years. Quirke, a pathologist, discovers his physician brother-in-law tampering with the body of a murder victim. Like all admirable, and often unwilling detectives, Quirke has a personal history and a set of circumstances that work against him and he pursues the truth despite the opposition of the Catholic Church and men in power in Dublin and in Irish circles in America.
Black’s writing is elegant and it powers a story line that takes hold early and doesn’t let go until the final pages. Characters are sharply drawn and react and interact in ways that make sense while still providing surprise and suspense. As a reader I experienced a satisfying mystery and a fine novel within the pages of one volume.
Unless Banville wins another award I am not likely to read another mainstream novel by him. But the good news is that Christine Falls is the first in a series of Quirke novels and I am eagerly awaiting the next additon. Oddly enough, and despite the recognition of the literary cognescenti, Benjamin Black is a much better writer than John Banville.
What an
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interesting twist to come across Christine Falls by Benjamin Black. Interesting because Christine Falls is a mystery and Benjamin Black is the nom de plume of Booker award winning author John Banville. In 1981 Banville received the Booker (now the Man Booker) for Kepler. Set in the 16th century Kepler is an accounting of the life of the astronomer Johannes Kepler and his struggle to pursue his scientific discoveries in a world rampant with political intrigue and religious strife. Much more recently, in 2005, Banville received the Man Booker for the second time for The Sea, a strikingly different novel. Returning to the seaside village where as a young man he encountered a family that profoundly shaped him, a middle-aged man grieves the death of his wife. Both novels are intricate, layered and perhaps a little mannered.Christine Falls has all the attributes of the Man Booker winning novels, but is an even greater departure in genre, style and tone. Successful mysteries must contain all of the staples: a suspicious death, an engaging detective, seemingly overwhelming odds against solving the crime and carefully sprinkled clues, like crumbs in the forest, eventually leading to the murderer. Imagine all of this being by accomplished by an author who brings the level of mystery writing to that of literature.
Setting is a key element of a good mystery and Dublin in the 1950s feels as atmospheric as Paris in the war years. Quirke, a pathologist, discovers his physician brother-in-law tampering with the body of a murder victim. Like all admirable, and often unwilling detectives, Quirke has a personal history and a set of circumstances that work against him and he pursues the truth despite the opposition of the Catholic Church and men in power in Dublin and in Irish circles in America.
Black’s writing is elegant and it powers a story line that takes hold early and doesn’t let go until the final pages. Characters are sharply drawn and react and interact in ways that make sense while still providing surprise and suspense. As a reader I experienced a satisfying mystery and a fine novel within the pages of one volume.
Unless Banville wins another award I am not likely to read another mainstream novel by him. But the good news is that Christine Falls is the first in a series of Quirke novels and I am eagerly awaiting the next additon. Oddly enough, and despite the recognition of the literary cognescenti, Benjamin Black is a much better writer than John Banville.
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LibraryThing member pandalibrarian
Slow start and hard to get into - I actually put this one down and read another book before finishing this one. It took over half the book, but I finally cared what happened to the characters and wanted to solve the mystery.
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
Quirke is a pathologist and has a good life. During a party he discovers his brother-in-law changing a file to cover up the cause of a corpse's death. This story reaches into the echelons of upper class Dublin and Boston.
Set in 1950's Ireland this wasn't quite clear until a bit into the story this
It is written by John Banville and really isn't much of a change from his normal pace. If you enjoy John Banville it would be a good read but I'm not really a John Banville fan. Truth be told I had left the book in work over the easter weekend and although I wasn't very far away from work when I realised it I didn't go back to collect it even though I was only about 150 pages from the end.
It's a book that's neither fish nor fowl, neither a usual John Banville nor a true murder mystery.
Set in 1950's Ireland this wasn't quite clear until a bit into the story this
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isn't the best mystery novel I've read. It is very evocative of Ireland before the boom and it's interesting in some ways.It is written by John Banville and really isn't much of a change from his normal pace. If you enjoy John Banville it would be a good read but I'm not really a John Banville fan. Truth be told I had left the book in work over the easter weekend and although I wasn't very far away from work when I realised it I didn't go back to collect it even though I was only about 150 pages from the end.
It's a book that's neither fish nor fowl, neither a usual John Banville nor a true murder mystery.
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LibraryThing member PirateJenny
Quirke is a pathologist in 1950s Dublin. Life is fairly unremarkable for him until he comes into his lab one evening after a going-away party for a nurse at the hospital and finds his "brother" (they were raised by the same man, Judge Griffin, but only Mal was his child by birth) writing in a file.
Benjamin Black is the pen name of John Banville. As Black, he seems intrigued by the secrets bound up in family ties (as in The Lemur). This was a very well-written book and a damn good noir mystery.
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This is odd because Mal Griffin is an obstetrician, not a pathologist and has no reason to be in the basement lab. When Quirke later checks the file, he finds it is for a woman by the name of Christine Falls, whose corpse he is unaware of. When he does locate Christine, he finds he cannot let the mystery of her death go and ends up uncovering secrets that come straight back to his own family.Benjamin Black is the pen name of John Banville. As Black, he seems intrigued by the secrets bound up in family ties (as in The Lemur). This was a very well-written book and a damn good noir mystery.
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LibraryThing member blackburn
There is certainly a literary quality to Christine Falls, which shouldn’t be surprising since Benjamin Black is the pen name of John Banville (he makes that obvious). While this story mainly takes place in Dublin, the city doesn’t play much of a part, which was disappointing. I believe Tana
Black’s strengths lie with his characters. They seemed realistic, even if I was left questioning some of the motives driving them. He did an excellent job spreading the back story throughout the novel. Unfortunately, I found the back story to be more interesting than the action supposedly driving this book.
The weakness of Christine Falls, in my opinion, is the plot. I love the mystery genre, so perhaps my expectations were a bit formulaic. I saw several of the surprise twists coming a mile away, and I was confused about what the mystery actually was. As I neared the end of the book, I found myself skipping much of the literary descriptions in order to get to the plot. I found the big reveal to be anti-climatic. The discovery may have been shocking in 1950s Dublin, but it didn’t do much for me.
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French’s In the Woods did a better job using Ireland as a backdrop.Black’s strengths lie with his characters. They seemed realistic, even if I was left questioning some of the motives driving them. He did an excellent job spreading the back story throughout the novel. Unfortunately, I found the back story to be more interesting than the action supposedly driving this book.
The weakness of Christine Falls, in my opinion, is the plot. I love the mystery genre, so perhaps my expectations were a bit formulaic. I saw several of the surprise twists coming a mile away, and I was confused about what the mystery actually was. As I neared the end of the book, I found myself skipping much of the literary descriptions in order to get to the plot. I found the big reveal to be anti-climatic. The discovery may have been shocking in 1950s Dublin, but it didn’t do much for me.
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LibraryThing member idiotgirl
Listened to as an audiobook, read by Timothy Dalton. (The reading is quite lucious--the Irish accents hinted at not made to be front and center here.) This is an odd and interesting book. Written under a pen name by Booker prize winner John Banville, this book is very much focused on an Irish
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story. Set in Dublin and Boston in the 1950s, I had a hard time with the Catholic part of the plot. But ultimately I've decided to give Banville, being Irish, the benefit of the doubt on this. Religion can make folks do things that are downright weird. You have to be facinated by the book. All kinds of games and playfulness in the "blackness"--beginning with a hero called Quirk. Some seriously beautiful and intriguing language. Some pretty overwrought plot resolutions. But you have to believe the author knows this and is having a great deal of fun. I would probably read (or listen) to this one again for the language. And I'm definitely happy to hear that "Black" is planning for sequels for Quirk. Show Less
LibraryThing member bohemiangirl35
I am surprised that I actually liked this book. I tend not to read too much Irish, British, English fiction because I listen to audio books and don't care for those particular accents. However, I gave this one a try and although I had a hard time with Timothy Dalton's narration (I think it was more
The beginning of the book was excellent, the ending was only so-so, and the mystery itself was not very difficult. But I liked the fact that the main character had some real flaws and wasn't invincible. I also liked that he was persistent. I wonder if Quirke might have solved the mystery sooner if it didn't involve his family. Sometimes people see so much of what we want to see that we don't see what's really there.
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the pitch of his voice than anything), I did enjoy the story.The beginning of the book was excellent, the ending was only so-so, and the mystery itself was not very difficult. But I liked the fact that the main character had some real flaws and wasn't invincible. I also liked that he was persistent. I wonder if Quirke might have solved the mystery sooner if it didn't involve his family. Sometimes people see so much of what we want to see that we don't see what's really there.
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LibraryThing member jeanned
As the body count grows throughout the pages of this atmospheric mystery, the secrets of wealthy families and powerful men unravel. My own vision of the 1950s was never so cold, dark, and callous. This 2007 winner of both the Anthony Award and the Edgar Award was also a finalist for the Los Angeles
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Times Book Prize (Mystery / Thriller category) and the 2007 Macavity Award. In order to maintain the standardization of my rating system, I must award it an 8 out of 10, but these are elemental decisions that don't reflect my being less-than-satisfied at the novel's end. Show Less
LibraryThing member downstreamer
When John Banville decided to write a straightforward mystery novel he adopted the pen name of Benjamin Black. This gave him permission to write faster, and be more interested in a plot driven story. "Christine Falls" is the first of these novels, and despite the different approach, the old
Banville's signature attention to the details of weather - passing clouds, changing light, the effect of mist, sleet, and cold weather - makes the book worth reading on its own. Set largely in 1950's Dublin, there is a conviviality in the indoor scenes which comes largely from the contrast to the weather outdoors. The main character, Quirke, is a pathologist who stumbles onto a plot involving the distribution of unwanted orphans to Boston. The scheme involves his close family, and he must decide whether or not to proceed, as he is warned off at all levels.
While the story is indeed plot driven, it it not at the expense of Banville's exquisite attention to descriptive detail, his evocation of place, his uncanny ability to conjure up a scene and a mood through description of smells. The ending of the story is frenetic, and somewhat improbable, but this is still a book to be savored and enjoyed.
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Banville is, thankfully, still evident.Banville's signature attention to the details of weather - passing clouds, changing light, the effect of mist, sleet, and cold weather - makes the book worth reading on its own. Set largely in 1950's Dublin, there is a conviviality in the indoor scenes which comes largely from the contrast to the weather outdoors. The main character, Quirke, is a pathologist who stumbles onto a plot involving the distribution of unwanted orphans to Boston. The scheme involves his close family, and he must decide whether or not to proceed, as he is warned off at all levels.
While the story is indeed plot driven, it it not at the expense of Banville's exquisite attention to descriptive detail, his evocation of place, his uncanny ability to conjure up a scene and a mood through description of smells. The ending of the story is frenetic, and somewhat improbable, but this is still a book to be savored and enjoyed.
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LibraryThing member AnneliM
Veering between well written and incongruous
LibraryThing member flashflood42
Written by the Booker winner of The Sea (204) under a pseudonym. Beautifully written. A bleak mystery about a pathologist (Quirke) who learns that his brother-in-law has falsified a death certificate for a young woman. This discovery leads to his discovery of a huge illegal baby smuggling operation
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(give poor couples in the US out-of-wedlock Irish babies to bring up and then the Church takes them back when they are of age as nuns and priests). Clearly influenced by the laundries established by the Catholic Church where unwed mothers were sent by their families. Ultimately, Quirke discovers that not only his own family is complicit in the death of the girl and her child but he too has played a role by his inability to accept his own child at his wife's death. Show Less
LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
Christine Falls is the name of a corpse that Quirke, a Dublin pathologist, sees in his morgue one evening. By the next morning she is gone, leaving behind only a falsified file. Quirke doggedly unravels the mystery despite familial disapproval and not a small amount of physical pain.
Taking place
Taking place
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during the 1950's, a time as foreign in its own way as outer Mongolia, Christine Falls abounds in melancholy atmosphere. Black has the ability of creating complex characters in very few words and Quirke's sadness is evident in every page. Show Less
LibraryThing member readingrat
Works better as a character driven novel than a mystery/thriller.
LibraryThing member reader517
This atmospheric mystery set in 1950s Dublin begins with a pathologist finding his doctor brother-in-law altering the records of a recently deceased young woman in the morgue. Although the aptly named Quirke has his own problems, including being a little too fond of whiskey and his late wife’s
Man Booker Prize-winning author John Banville, here writing as Benjamin Black, offers up a cleverly plotted if leisurely crime novel written in dark, elegant prose that is an absolute pleasure to read. But beyond the beautiful writing, a big satisfaction of the book comes from getting to know the laconic Quirke, a great bear of a man shambling through the wreckage of his life.
Christine Falls is the first of a Quirke series, which is good news for mystery readers who like their UK detectives brooding loners with inner demons. (Think a more morose Morse, a dourer Dalgliesh.) Quirke joins their ranks as a misfit crimesolver with scruples…and secrets.
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sister, he can’t let go of the mystery of the dead woman and her connection to his family, even when his search leads to more death and violence.Man Booker Prize-winning author John Banville, here writing as Benjamin Black, offers up a cleverly plotted if leisurely crime novel written in dark, elegant prose that is an absolute pleasure to read. But beyond the beautiful writing, a big satisfaction of the book comes from getting to know the laconic Quirke, a great bear of a man shambling through the wreckage of his life.
Christine Falls is the first of a Quirke series, which is good news for mystery readers who like their UK detectives brooding loners with inner demons. (Think a more morose Morse, a dourer Dalgliesh.) Quirke joins their ranks as a misfit crimesolver with scruples…and secrets.
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Subjects
Awards
Edgar Award (Nominee — Novel — 2008)
LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — Mystery/Thriller — 2007)
Macavity Award (Nominee — Novel — 2007)
Irish Book Award (Nominee — Popular Fiction — 2007)
Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award (Shortlist — 2007)
Language
Original language
English