The Blind Man of Seville

Rating:
Summary: a compelling read although not always suspenseful
Review: Although things unfold a little slowly and in a rather sedate manner in "The Blind Man of Seville" -- this, in spite of the fact that the book is supposed to be a murder mystery that focuses on the attempts of the police to apprehend a clever, methodical but seemingly crazed murderer -- this latest Robert Wilson offering turned out to be a truly compelling read. Some books just make you smell, taste and 'see' the things that are being described: like the smell of marble and wood polish in old buildings, shadow and light in corridors, the music from cafes and the smell and taste of coffee ... and "The Blind Man of Seville turned out to be one of those books.

When Chief Inspector Javier Falcon of the Seville Homicide Dept. is called in to investigate the brutal murder of famed restaurateur Raul Jimenez, he is thrown by the horrific and savage manner in which the man was brutally murdered. And when a preliminary search of the scene of the crime reveals how meticulous and methodical the murderer was -- even to the extent of stalking and filming his subject/victim and carefully leaving evidence of his diligence for the police to find, Falcon realises that he is dealing with an intelligent and but deranged personality with an agenda of his/her own. But it is when the investigations begin to infringe on his own past and memories, and hints at a relationship between the Jimenez and his own dead artist father, that things begin to take a toll on his own personal mental health. For now Falcon must not only battle internal petty official politics (his second in command is after his job) but also dig into a past that might reveal even more horrors than has already come to light and that might also include some rather uncomfortable truths about his own family...

What makes this novel so very compelling is the manner in which Robert Wilson tells his tale. He draws things out but in such a manner that I was forced to read along eagerly, even though I was (at the same time) growing a little frustrated at the slow manner in which the novel was unfolding. And the sheer brilliance in which he was able to allow me to 'see' things unravel -- like the disorientation Falcon experiences as he tries to come to grips with what he remembers of his childhood, and what has been suppressed, and how all this is taking a toll on his work. I suppose what I really appreciated about "The Blind Man of Seville" was the tone and the artful storytelling. Mystery-wise, there have been better ones. The lack of concrete suspects and a tangible motive together with the not always there air of suspense and tension, were a little off putting, but I still found "The Blind Man of Seville" to be a very compelling and engrossing read.

Rating:
Summary: Involving, intricate and satisfying -- a mighty good read
Review: Another superbly convoluted and entirely involving mystery thriller from Wilson who changes his locale this time to Spain and Tangiers. Terrific mystery, expecially for art lovers. Wilson gets not only into his characters just right but he builds his locale into service as well. For anyone who has despaired for sophisticated mystery, Wilson has come to our rescue. As with any Wilson book, there's welcome commentary on the regional cuisine and drink.

Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining.
Review: I enjoyed the book very much. It got me distracted and took me to a different place and that was what I was looking for. An escape! He is a powerful writer with great command of the language. He knows Spain and the language very well from what I could gather. His description of Sevilla is fascinating.
If you need a book to take your mind off your troubles, this one will do the trick.

Rating:
Summary: Far Superior to "A Small Death in Lisbon"
Review: I so thoroughly enjoyed Wilson's "A Small Death in Lisbon" and "The Company of Strangers" that I couldn't wait to get into this one. To call it a disppointment is not just putting it mildly, it's giving the book far more credit than it possibly deserves. This is a mean-spirited, small-hearted, oppressive book from start to finish. That Wilson writes superbly only makes matters worse: from the sickening opening sequence to the end, it is a book of unleavened savagery, brutality and torture. For Wilson, sex and childhood are both utterly traumatic -- I don't recall a single passage in the book of two people enjoying sex or of anyone having had a normal, stable, happy childhood. Wilson attempts to makes his protagonist, Inspector Jefe Javier Falçon, a troubled, complex (read human) man but only succeeds in making him look, by turns, sophomoric, petulant, maudlin, self-pitying and self-indulgent - an utterly loathsome person. He says things that are supposed to sound profound (at his least the other characters appear to think so) but when you read the line again you realize that more often than not he's only stating the obvious but cleverly contriving not to put it into any context, thus giving it an aura of depth it doesn't deserve. About half-way through the book, the reader is suddenly plunged into diaries of our hero's dad who (and this seems truly incredible) is even worse than his son: charlatan, murderer, philanderer, pederast, this man, Francisco Falçon is supposed to have indulged in every depravity known to man and more. You wonder, at first, whether this is going anywhere or if this is just another novel that somehow meandered into this one. There's a little postscript by Wilson at the end that says that he (Wilson) sat down and wrote out these journals for three months, but only some of them have been included, the rest being irrelevant (but available on the publisher's website). Actually, the whole of it is totally irrelevant and hampers the story, such as it is. At some point, Wilson goes into his Hemingway routine with a needlessly bloody description of a bullfight (the bull wins this round). The book is apparently endless and certainly seems to lose its way; we plough on and then Wilson rushes into an absurd and thoroughly unsatisfactory conclusion that is so contrived it's actually laughable (and evidently written with one eye firmly aimed at Hollywood). But perhaps the most irritating thing about the book is that a good quarter of it isn't in English at all. Wilson peppers every line, or every other line, with some wildly esoteric Spanish phrase, and not just names of places: there are medical terms, legal terms, forensic terms, type of coffee, the works. You need a phrasebook and sooner or later you tire of guessing what the heck he's talking about and just skip ahead, feeling cheated and increasingly angry. All this foreign-phrase-dropping adds zip to atmosphere, if that's what was intended, but a considerable amount to the reader's discomfort and annoyance. Apart from anything else, it seems to show a complete lack of concern and respect for the reader. We understand that it's set in Seville, but it's supposed to be written in English isn't it? Or did Wilson miss that?

Rating:
Summary: (4.5) The nature of pure evil
Review: It is Semana Santa in Seville and everything is in a state of excitement, anticipating a full week of Easter processions, crowds of celebrants lining the streets in preparation. In the middle of the cheerful chaos, Inspector Jefe Falcon is chosen to investigate a gruesome murder case with implications of dark secrets and a long-buried history of brutality.

Raul Jimenez surrounded himself with celebrity and the attendant bourgeoisie who made his life run smoothly. With a penchant for depravity, there was a discrepancy between his public and private lives, leading to speculation about the grotesque manner of the killing. As the case unfolds, something equally dark surfaces in Falcon's subconscious, a reawakening of memories tied to his own father, a famous artist of brutal intensity, Francisco Falcon. Living alone in his father's huge mansion, memory lurks in every corner; separated from his wife, Falcon is left confused and vulnerable.

The Inspector seizes upon the idea that the murder is rooted somewhere in Jimenez' past in Tangier in the 1930's and '40's. Falcon, as is his way, leaves no detail to chance, not Raul's younger wife, his son from a prior marriage, nor previous nefarious business associates. Clearly a man of uninhibited tastes, Jimenez had an equally murky history in Tangier, long before attaining the social status of Seville, his peasant beginnings obscured by the sophistication of wealth and power.

Falcon falls deeper into the mystery of his father's past, one that runs concurrent with that of Jimenez, confusing the Inspector's ability to separate truth from fiction. The artist's diaries rival Falcon's attention to his work on the case, as the Inspector becomes preoccupied with the history of the man who looms large in death as well as life. Beset with nightmares and unfathomable fears, Falcon encounters emotions he is ill prepared to comprehend.

More than a clever storyline, the author reaches behind the complex emotions of shocking criminal acts, with complementary plot lines that propel The Blind Man of Seville, gradually revealing the identity of the man who carefully executes the torture of his victims and Inspector Javier Falcon's internal struggle with his personal life, exacerbated by reading his famous father's journal entries. Ultimately, the true nature of the artist is revealed, exposed by his own words, turning Falcon's interpretation of reality upside-down and intimating the killer's identity.

Wilson's style of writing tunnels into the imagination, planting images, possibilities, and perverse thoughts that lodge in the mind. All in due time. The reader is complicit in the plot, a voyeur perched on Falcon's shoulder, privy to his musings and sharing his fears. This author has drawn me deeply into the subconscious texture of the plot, a willing victim. I read this novel compulsively, found it impossible to resist. Luan Gaines/ 2005.


Rating:
Summary: Not fun to read but highly worthwhile
Review: Java Falcon, homicide detective working in Seville, Spain is confronted by several problems. First of all, he must investigate the brutal murder of a local restaurateur who was found with his eyelids removed evidently forced to watch something and killing himself trying to get out of the restraints. Falcon is particularly affected by the mutilated eyelids. The second issue concerns a journal written by his dead father, a famous artist. Falcon was asked to destroy the journal in a letter written by his father just prior to his death, However, he disobeys and in stark detail learns what a depraved and damaged man his father was. The third problem is Falcon facing his own demons as he deals with the journal and the murder. Will his struggle prove to be truly self destructive?
First of all, this is most definitely not a book that appeals to my personal taste. It is long- very very long and is written in such a leisurely introspective style that it actually reads much longer than it is. The British call this a thriller and I simply cannot fatham why. I would also not characterize the book as compelling or even enjoyable. To be honest, I couldn't wait to finish it. Yet its excellence cannot be denied. The writing is lyrical. Falcon's personal angst is so deep and well thought out that his character becomes breathtakingly lifelike. There is great complexity in both segments of the plot- the journal of Falcon's father, as well as, Falcon's story. There is greatness here- that cannot be denied. This book reminds me of the classics of literature that we had to read in school- great books that challenged the reader. The bottom line is the book is not fun but is highly worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: Precision puzzle
Review: Robert Wilson constructs the plots of his books in the same way as a watchmaker puts together a fine watch. He lays all the parts out in front of himself, and then slowly but surely constructs the finished product, in which all of the disparate wheels and springs and dials fit together precisely. This plot works the same way. Initially, what appears to be a murder investigation develops into something much, much more, and all of the apparantly disconnected bits of information the author strews throughout the book slowly, ever so slowly, come together into a unique creation. All of the questions are answered, and all the threads are tied together, perhaps not always neatly, but when has life ever been neat and tidy? It's thrilling to watch a master plotter at work, and this book fulfills that ideal.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, but not really suspenseful
Review: Robert Wilson writes some of the most unusual fiction in modern literature. His books are multi-layered, with a deceptively simple mystery plot which usually mutates into a long, complex riff on a variety of subjects. In the present instance, the murder of a Seville restauranteur sets the local homicide inspector on the trail of a killer who seems a bit to clever, and very familiar with the detective.

This is an amazing book, but it's important to emphasize that it's not a suspense novel, really. There's a mystery, here, but the suspense is on the level of The Name of the Rose, say, as opposed to the latest by Robert Crais or Jeffrey Deaver. Instead, the plot wanders through a whole list of issues, dealing with everything from corruption and adultery to homophobia and psychological disorders, with a good deal of Spanish atmosphere thrown in. I would tell you more about the story, but that would only make it less compelling when you read it. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys serious literature, or mysteries, provided they can handle something that has more than just a puzzle.

Rating:
Summary: NONE SO BLIND...
Review: THE BLIND MAN OF SEVILLE is a tour de force. Robert Wilson melds police procedural with psychological thriller as he leads the reader through the social, geographic, and historic topography of Seville and Tangier. Along the way Wilson offers insights into the vagaries of memory, the discomforts of truth, and the origins of loneliness.

Seville's chief homicide detective Javier Falcon, son of a famous painter, struggles to identify a killer who mutilates his victims while showing them unendurable images from their past. At the same time Falcon is wrestling with ghosts of his own past: his divorce and the contents of his dead father's studio which he's kept locked away for nearly two years. What he learns in these simultaneous investigations brings Falcon to verge of collapse.

This may not be a book for readers who want their mysteries to be simple mind candy. It is dark, violent, and frightening. However, if you admire the dark stories of Ruth Rendel and Nicolas Freeling, you should read THE BLIND MAN OF SEVILLE.

Rating:
Summary: Not a blind read
Review: The Blind Man of Seville is my first Robert Wilson book, but it won't be my last. Written in a manner that is engaging and just a little poetic, The Blind Man of Seville is filled with wonderful characters in a great setting.

Detective Javier Falcon, Chief Inspector of the Seville Homicide Department is called to investigate the murder of a well known restaurateur Raul Jiminez. Falcon not only struggles with the brutality of the murder, but also the meticulous manner in which the killer planned and stalked his prey. Falcon very quickly discovers that he is dealing with a brilliant psychopath. Ultimately, his investigation begins to touch his own past. In some ways, and with obvious differences, The Blind Man of Seville reminds me of Jeffery Deaver's The Bone Collector because of the way the killer plays with the police. However, the treatment of children in this story is disturbing....nuf said.
If there is a weakness to this book, and it is a small one, it would be the referrals to the long lost journal kept by Falcon's father. The constant break in the ebb and flow of the first story is distracting.
I am looking forward to the release of Instruments of Darkness, Wilson's next scheduled book for U. S. readers.
This is a worthy book and deserving of your attention.