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: Complete darkness.
Review: I am giving "The Blind Man of Seville" one star, but I could just as easily have given it five for the successful realization of a thriller. The thing is that the plot, the graphic scenes of torture, and the angst of the characters gave me nightmares. I tried to stick with it to find out what happened to the child Arturo, or what caused the victim such horror at the time of death, but considering what had happened so far ,did I really want to know? No. I put "The Blind Man of Seville" down.

This is the most unsettling book I have read since "Red Dragon," which I was actually able to finish. I found Robert Wilson's "The Company of Strangers" a very smart spy tale which brewed history, characterization, and deceit into a dark and satisfying result. The well-developed characters, unusual, believable setting, and high-stakes crime are all here, but the way they play out is repellent. I have never put a book down because I was too disturbed to go on. Wilson is an excellent writer, but this book is sickening. If that is what he intended, he has succeeded brilliantly. If that's not what you're after, stay away.

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 found "A Small Death in Lisbon" disappointing, so it was with some trepidation that I began "The Blind Man of Seville." The writing here is far superior to Wilson's earlier work. The characters were vivid and the plot compelling. I must say, I enjoyed most everything that the "mean spirited and spiteful" reviewer disliked. However, Wilson does need to work on his endings. He sets up several promising scenarios and pursues none of them, opting for something "completely different" at the end. I think the ending comes off poorly. But I could not put the book down. A wonderful read.

Rating:
Summary: Third Strong Book Proceed With Caution
Review: I have read and commented upon the two previous novels offered to readers by Robert Wilson in The USA, "A Small Death In Lisbon" and "The Company Of Strangers". This third work, "The Blind Man Of Seville", initially left me less pleased than his previous works, and though I have changed my assessment, it is for the moment the least enjoyable of his works that I have read. Other books that have never been released in The United States are set to begin release this summer, so his entire body of work will finally be available to readers here.

Like the two previous books I mention this is also heavily based upon History. If I was rating this book strictly on style and skill I would give it a four star ranking as I have. If rating the book in terms of enjoyable reading, it would just have made three stars, and that is due to several themes I rather not read about in fiction. I also think a writer with the talent of Mr. Wilson can produce books without choosing subjects or subject matter of the type he chose. I know these situations exist and there are plenty of non-fiction books I can read to learn about these horrific actions directed at children. I do not need them when reading fiction. I am not suggesting he was being sensational or puerile, just that the topic left me cold on the book.

Mr. Wilson has several storylines that are entwined throughout the book, and while he resolves them nicely the book seemed a bit busy at times. In his notes he explains that the writing of the book was interrupted and that may explain why this book is less crisp than the previous two I have read. Children play a role in this book, whether as children or scarred adults. The descriptions are extremely graphic and unsettling, as their subject virtually demands they be by definition. However, as I said, the brutalization of children by pederasts is not a subject I would choose for reading a book of fiction

The description of the book is very brief and does not suggest the deviant behavior the book includes. As much as I admire this man's work, and even as I will continue to read his new books, had I known more about the contents of this book, I would likely have passed. Mr. Wilson is a very talented man with a pen, and the material he uses in this book is necessary for the tale he is telling. It is not the type of material that I enjoy in reading fiction. All that said, I look forward to his next book, and I maintained the fourth star because my disliking a facet of a book's subject matter does not mean I should penalize the book in its entirety.

Rating:
Summary: Slow and confusing
Review: I never could get traction in this book. The slow start, combined with what I felt was a confusing similarity in the names of the characters, made for tough going. Eventually it picked up the pace, but by then I had trouble caring. If you enjoy the feel of a "foreign" novel, this will probably appeal--there is no doubt the author has captured the sense of living in Seville. But if you want a quick, fast thriller that you can read hungrily, this one isn't for you.

Rating:
Summary: Mean-spirited and spiteful
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.