Southern Seas

Rating:
Summary: Great, satirical detective story of post Franco Barcelona
Review: Highly recommended hard-boiled detective novel that looks at the cultural malaise of Spain in general and Barcelona in particular coming out of thirty years of Fascist dictatorship. Every character in this book has a serious political past and agenda, and they recite their political evolution and handily give the details of which party they recently voted for and why in the same fashion that Law & Order interviewees cynically give the details of their professional pitfalls. The hero Pepe Carvalho is so wacked out he burns books (but why is the question,) and he seems to be an overweight balding alcoholic with gourmand tendencies, but he's still a hit with the ladies. And the story is excellently written, and at once amusing and sad.

Rating:
Summary: Great, satirical detective story of post Franco Barcelona
Review: Highly recommended hard-boiled detective novel that looks at the cultural malaise of Spain in general and Barcelona in particular coming out of thirty years of Fascist dictatorship. Every character in this book has a serious political past and agenda, and they recite their political evolution and handily give the details of which party they recently voted for and why in the same fashion that Law & Order interviewees cynically give the details of their professional pitfalls. The hero Pepe Carvalho is so wacked out he burns books (but why is the question,) and he seems to be an overweight balding alcoholic with gourmand tendencies, but he's still a hit with the ladies. And the story is excellently written, and at once amusing and sad.

Rating:
Summary: PEPE CARVALHO'S FINEST
Review: Once again Montalban hypnotizes us with his great story-telling ability, his poetry, his stunning metaphores and unforgettable characters. Detective literature never aimed this high. Winner of many prestigious awards including "The Raymond Chandler Award", Southern Seas introduces us to the figure of Pepe Carvalho, detective, gourmet, wine-expert, philosopher, lover, former member of the Communist Party and the CIA. The setting is Barcelona, Spain, in the post-Franco era. Images of rare beauty and impressive power alternate in this atypical "who done it?" story. Montalban succeeds in elevating the genre to a higher level and, perhaps, creates a genre on its own. More Montalban, please!