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Southern Seas
£4.10
The body of Stuart Pedrell, a powerful businessman, is found in a Barcelona suburb. He had disappeared on his way to Polynesia in search of the visionary spirit of Paul Gauguin. Who better to find the killer of a dead dreamer than Pepe Carvalho, overweight bon viveur and ex-communist? The trail for Pedrell?s killer unearths a world of disillusioned lefties, graphic sex and nouvelle cuisine – major ingredients of post-Franco Spain. A tautly-written mystery with an unforgettable – and highly unusual – protagonist.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Main edition (15 Jun. 1999), Serpent's Tail |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 224 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1852427000 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1852427009 |
| Dimensions | 12.7 x 1.52 x 19.56 cm |
by Amazon Customer
Carvalho is a detective who works in the 70s and early 80s. Like many other sleuths, he is mature, disillusioned, bitter, tender, tough and thorough. He moves in the rapidly changing Barcelona of those years, filled with hope and early delusions. He is surrounded by a group of inadapted coworkers, he has adapted badly to the changing times. Once a communist, at the same time an agent of the CIA in never clear circumstances, he must visit the luxurious flats of the Barcelona burgois and capitalist classes. Like the detectives of old, he must bring to light nasty secrets, plots, empty lives. In the end, his work will be done, but nobody will be the same, not even him, who burns his old books to feed the firepalce as a matter of principle. Not a glamorous guy, but a real experience for lovers of european mystery. This is not the parish crime, but suburbial tragedy. Enjoy!
by Miss Fox
Very much enjoyed.
by Cleopatra
Great book, punctual delivery, always a joy to purchase my books from ‘World of books ‘ 🙂 Looking forward to my new literary endeavours
by Daphne Laurel
The translation is poor and sloppy so the original may be better. I was misled by other reviews in believing it would be interesting. I know in the period after escaping from the era of Franco’s political and social repression writers will have a reaction but reading it now so many years later it is not interesting. Its politics seems on a parochial level and does not excite any sympathy or interest. The mystery is not very mysterious. It does have a good beginning but does not follow through.
by M
Thank You