In this the eighth installment of the Erast Fandorin series, the author changes his usual narrative style to tell this story via several different points of view. A young girl's journal, newspapers, the reports of an undercover agent, and even poetry all come together to weave a somewhat bizarre tale of a suicide club in Moscow. While suicide clubs are definitely not a new phenomenon in the rest of Europe, in Moscow they have been previously unheard of until now, at the dawn of the new century. She Lover of Death tells the story of a young woman from the provinces and how she came to be mixed up in such a group. It explores the burgeoning society of "decadents" arising around this time period, often delving into the influences of Russian poets such as Lermontov or Pushkin on sensitive psyches, especially those wondering about Russia's fate in this new century. Of course, there's a mystery element to it as well, one involving our illustrious hero and his ever-faithful servant Masa. A young girl arrives in Moscow from Irkutsk, drawn there by a young man named Petya she had met previously while he had visited relatives in the provinces. Marya Marinova (nicknamed Masha) had been truly captivated by this young man she called Harlequin, who "cast a spell on her with the halo of fiery-red curls scattering across his shoulder, his loose-fitting blouse and intoxicating poems." Masha, who saw life as "an empty, stupid joke," was also captivated by Harlequin's comment about the only true beauty being in dying. Upon her arrival in Moscow, she changes everything about herself, including her name, rechristening herself simply as Columbine. When she catches up with Petya, he introduces her to a secret society of poets, brought together not only by their art, but with their fascination with death. The group is called The Lovers of Death; it is within the confines of this group that Death speaks through previous members (now dead by their own hands) via a medium to pick its next victim. The chosen ones must wait for three signs of confirmation before making their way to their rendezvous with Death. The head of this group is an strange character named Prospero, aka The Doge, and the club attracts the attention of a reporter who manages to infiltrate the group, unbeknownst to the others. It also attracts the attention of a strange man with dark hair which is graying at the temples, a person the group knows only as Prince Genji. But you guessed it -- Prince Genji is none other than Erast Fandorin, who believes that there is something more sinister lurking under the surface. The various points of view work well in this novel, making the reader work a little bit harder to suss out what's really going on here. Since Akunin's regular readers are already quite familiar with Erast Petrovich by this time, the author mixes things up so that the reins of the story are given over to others actually involved in this odd tale, choosing to focus instead on accounts written by those smack in the middle of all of the action. What you end up with instead of more of a textured account of events that flesh out the rest of the story, rather than simply a linear mystery going from point a to point z. While Columbine's character is representative of one of these new "decadents" appearing in Moscow society around this time, sometimes it's a bit over the top, while at other times you can't help but feel sorry for this poor naive and very impressionable girl fresh from the provinces. There is a bit of a supernatural feel to this book at times, making for a bit of fun and chills to the spine here and there, but luckily this is limited and doesn't consume the entire plotline. She Lover of Death is another trademark installment in the series -- it's a great deal of fun to read and it offers a realistic sense of place and time owing to the author's research and knowledge of the period. And as usual, it exceeds the boundaries of the regular conventional mystery novel with its characters' actions, especially those of the erstwhile Fandorin. As I've noted before, I don't really read these novels for their mystery component -- they're much more adventurous than a standard mystery story. And I can't help it -- I've been a huge Fandorin fan since the publication in English of Akunin's first novel.I can definitely recommend She Lover of Death, both to followers of Akunin's Fandorin series, and to readers of historical crime fiction. I'm a stickler for following a series in publication order, and you could probably read this one without having read any of the earlier books. On the other hand, you wouldn't have all of the necessary nuances of Fandorin's character that make this series so much fun under your belt.Overall, a fun read, one I had a great time with.
I love this series and the other books have been wonderful, but this one is not on my list of recommended reading. The book's premise of a group of healthy young adults coming together to worship and commit suicide was just a bit too much. I am not familiar with any cases such as presented in the book - and my head says that after the first "death" the group would have broken up very quickly. Mr. Akunin and the translation by Adrew Bromfield is up to the usual excellent quality - but the plot was just too over top for this reader.
What do You think about Любовница смерти (2015)?
Akunin, as those who read or have heard of his Fandorin novels know, aims to write each volume in a particular genre of crime fiction. This one deals with decadence in turn-of-the-century Moscow. A suicide club has formed and it attracts aficionados from all rungs of society. Written in the multi-person perspective familiar from previous books, here we have the story as seen by a young girl arrived in Moscow from the provinces, a newspaper journalist investigating the club, and the police. Bohemians attracted to the society are urged by its leader to write down their ruminations on death in verse, to be praised or condemned by him. The Russians pride themselves on the poetry in their souls, and so they do not necessarily take kindly to being dismissed, but so in thrall are the cultists to their leader that they accept every word of his as manna. Naturally, the world at large is not indifferent to the club, and both the police and the papers attempt to infiltrate it. Fandorin himself, incognito and persona not very grata in Moscow after the disastrous events of the Coronation, embroils himself, too. There are a couple of twists in the tale, and all once again is not as it seems. This is not as good an offering from Akunin as some of his older works, but still worth an evening by the fireside.
—M M
Я давно уже собираю коллекцию из книг о Фандорине, вот недавно прикупила ещё две недостающие книги, и решила перечитать. Первый раз читала лет 7-8 назад.В "Любовнице смерти" речь идёт о расследовании серий самоубийств, которые охватили Москву на рубеже 19 и 20 веков. Ниточки привели к некоему тайному клубу, который именует себя "Любовниками Смерти" и чьи члены получают от Смерти тайные Знаки, повелевающие им убить себя...Это не лучший роман о Фандорине, на мой взгляд. Здесь не так много напряжения, активных действий и приключений, за которые я люблю эти романы. Поставила 4, но за то, что читается, как всегда, отлично, а на самом деле это 3,5.
—Jenny Sparrow
In 1900 Moscow is abuzz with a rash of suicides, and rumours that a suicide club is in operation somewhere in the city. The Lovers of Death, a group of misfits under the charismatic leadership of a man named Prospero, meet weekly to discuss which of them will be the next to meet the long-desired embrace of death. Erast Fandorin joins the Lovers of Death in the guise of a Japanese prince and attempts to get to the bottom of it all.The story is told from the points of view of two of the Lovers: Columbine, an impressionable girl from the country and an unnamed informer who is writing reports for the police. There are the usual twists and turns, although the ending was a little drawn-out and implausible. Akunin's next book in the series is He Lover of Death, which tells the same story from a different point of view, and I'm keen to see where he goes with that.
—Greg
