"O Viajante Assassino" é o primeiro livro da série de Charlie Parker. Podia também ser o último, mas infelizmente há mais.Tudo do que existe de pior e de mais horrível no mundo em que vivemos, com o seu lado mais obscuro, frio e desprezível, envolve o protagonista Charlie Parker, também conhecido por Bird. O antigo detective da polica de Nova Iorque viu a sua mulher e filha assassinadas após uma noite de galhofa com os amigos. Após o sucedido passou de viúvo, a suspeito, a vitima e finalmente caçador.O nosso protagonista assemelha-se muito a um super-herói. Se soubesse voar confundia-se com o Super-Homem. Mas John Connolly não quer ridicularizar o seu enredo e por isso a sua personagem enfrenta tudo e todos sem um pingo medo, sem qualquer tipo de protecção decente e quer Deus que ele saia incolume, sem sofrer um arranhão ou consequência, ainda que apenas moral. Neste mundo o bem não existe e Parker parece mesmo desconhecer o conceito. Digo isto porque as suas reflexões são vagas e têm um conteúdo digno dos diálogos de um novela. A temática principal é a Morte. Poderia resumir as acções de Parker da seguinte forme: encontro com a morte,encontro com a morte,encontro com a morte, pausa para almoçar, encontro com a morte, encontro com a morte, pausa para reflectir e, antes de dormir? O que irá acontecer? Outro encontro com a morte. Totalmente inesperado!As mortes são imensas, demasiadas mesmo, e as descrições são tão horriveis e nauseabundas que a partir da sexta ou sétima a violência deixa de chocar, tal como o efeito surpresa deixa de se fazer sentir. A morte torna-se aqui algo demasiado vulgar e enfadonho. John Connolly torna a morte aborrecida, o que é algo de extraordinário, há que dar crédito ao homem.Sendo perseguido constantemente pela morte (e ninguém está a contar os cadáveres!)Charlie Parker não podia ser um homem mais sortudo. Apesar do horror circundante, a sua vida parece não correr qualquer perigo. É como se o ex-policia fosse salvaguardado por um anjo devido ao seu bom coração e procura pela justiça.Esta é uma história surreal, que se insere mais no género fantasia que no género policial. Apesar da narrativa perspicaz, na voz de Parker e de alguns diálogos estimulantes e com humor, o livro peca - e muito - pelo exagero. Em especial, o retrato da máfia e do mundo obscuro é feito com um número excessivo - para não dizer que é unicamente caracterizado - de clichés. Isto é um livro de ficção sim, mas é suposto retratar o mundo real, o mundo onde vivemos e não outro qualquer. Para mim esta história está longe de mostrar a luta entre as forças do bem e do mal. Antes, mostra só o mal e apresenta-nos um ex-polícia que é suposto representar todo o bem e esperança existentes no mundo. Dizer que é pouco credível é dizer pouco, visto que Parker atitudes duvidosas. Nem por um momento senti empatia por ele. Na minha opinião, John Connolly esqueceu-se ou optou, não o sei dizer ao certo, por não ser imparcial às suas personagens, o que torna ainda mais dificil de digerir o preparado. Não precisam que me digam quem é o bom e quem é o mau da fita: decido por mim.Falando das personagens, elas são tantas que se atropelam umas às outras de uma forma por demais evidente! Só de destaca Charlie Parker - o que se torna cansativo, para não ser demasiado depreciativa - e mesmo este é tão pessimamente caracterizado como as restantes. Sinto que não conheço nenhuma das personagens. Foi como se tivesse ouvido esta história de uma pessoa, que por sua vez a ouviu da boca do irmão, cujo pai lhe contou, após a saber pela mãe do filho e sua esposa, que acidentalmente ouviu a mesma no cabeleireiro de uma mulher cujo sobrinho tem um primo que leu a história numa revista da sua avó. Fiz-me entender? Por último, mas não menos importante, quero chamar a vossa atenção para a existência de um casal homossexual (que inclui um homem de raça branca chamado Angel e um homem de raça preto chamado Louis). Atenção, não são estereótipos! Um é magrinho e não tem papas na línguas, o outro é corpulento e silencioso, mas super protector e atencioso. Serão estereótipos? Nada disso, qual quê? Este casal ajuda Charlie Parker e não podia ser mais óbvio, sensacional - no sentido negativo, atenção - e previsível.Sabem o que seria surpreendente e original neste livro? Se houvesse uma página em que ninguém morresse.
I am a dilettante when it comes to my tastes. I like to read here and there, delve into some genres deeply, take a break with a shallow dip in another genre, and in general approach literature like it is a buffet. It keeps things interesting, but at times I wonder if it means I am losing the ability to be truly critical when it comes to such things as ‘clichés of the genre’. I’m not an expert in any genre, so things that seem fresh and fascinating to me may come across as clichéd and wearying to others.For example, Every Dead Thing. Is it a cliché to have a detective so tormented by his past? To have that past be so carefully described, the tragedy be so disturbing and overpowering, that the reader still thinks of it while reading of perhaps unrelated mysteries? The hero, Charlie Parker, is so tormented that his story is as equally compelling as the plot of the actual mystery.Is it a cliché to have settings rendered so richly? The atmosphere in this novel is so thick, so rich, so substantial, that you can cut a piece out of it and eat it. It is a very impressive achievement, particularly when considering that the author hails from Ireland while the action of the novel takes place mainly in the American South. Connolly’s descriptive abilities and his skill at conveying exactly how a place looks and feels are the abilities of both an expert journalist and a passionate historian.Is it a cliché to have supporting characters that are highly idiosyncratic yet totally sympathetic, who just pop off the page whenever they appear? The gay couple, one a killer and the other a thief, are just such supporting characters. They are not easy caricatures built solely to add color and spice or to amuse the reader; they are fully flesh-and-blood, characters who are intriguing yet make perfect sense, and who demand their own novel. Which apparently they have.Is it a cliché to have a detective novel that includes the supernatural to such a strong degree that at times the reader feels they are reading something that is much more ambiguous, much more rooted in primal fears and unearthly mysteries than a standard police procedural? Is it a cliché to have a story that solves a finite mystery but leaves the greater mysteries entirely unsolved? Certainly this is common enough in mainstream literary fiction, but how often does it happen in the detective genre? That is truly what sets this novel apart for me. The mystery is solved, yes. But the world the protagonist lives in is still the greatest and most troubling mystery of all.
What do You think about Every Dead Thing (2000)?
This was my first book by John Connolly, and it certainly won't be the last. This was a great detective/thriller story with a couple of of serial killers' stories linked in. The main story concerns former policeman, Charlie Parker, whose life has been put on hold ever since a serial killer murdered his wife and 3 year-old daughter, mutilating their bodies savagely.Parker is an incredible character! Very believable, and impossible NOT to like. With all he's gone through, it's easy to see how he needs to find closure for this tragedy on his own terms. The only thing that caused me to take off one star, was the tendency of the author to "backtrack" and go off on tangents in the middle of heightened action. IMO, that took a little of the momentum away from the main storyline, and it would take me a while to refocus on the plot afterwards.I can't wait to delve into the next book in the series!Highly recommended!
—Kimberly
I was taken from this world too soon.No sun, no light, no moon.With each beat my heart does break.No peace you felt at my wake.I pray you do not seek me soon.Where there is no sun, no light, no moon.by NikkiI enjoyed this thinking read of a man whose wife and daughter were killed in an awful way and how he was steadfast in his resolution to find the killer. In his quest he also has the help of some interesting friends and many more murders and twist are unveiled in his search. The only downside was the author's tendency to introduce characters and back-story in lengthy detail every time someone/something came up. Reminded me of Dick Tracy or something when that happened, like it should be a voice-over section. I will be reading more in this series because it was gritty, entertaining, and I felt like I got my monies worth.
—Ms. Nikki
I don't give five out of five stars very often (which is probably debatable, given the number of five-star books in my "read" list, but whatever), so when I read a book that really blows me away, life is good. "Every Dead Thing" by John Connolly is a phenomenal book, a perfect confluence of everything that I love in a detective novel: well-written, fast-paced, suspenseful, well-plotted, extremely violent, dark, philosophical, intelligent, and emotional. Critics compare Connolly to Thomas Harris, but I personally think Connolly is far superior to Harris. Don't get me wrong, "Red Dragon" and "Silence of the Lambs" are great novels. Every fan of serial killer thrillers uses those two books as the standard by which every other serial killer thriller written since is measured. In my humble opinion, Connolly has set the new standard. In his brooding, tortured private eye, Charlie "Bird" Parker, Connolly has created an anti-hero for the new millenium, a heroic figure who is at war with the dark side of his psyche, and the dark side is winning. Connolly's novels are excruciatingly violent and graphic, brutal in their pessimism, and heart-breaking in their fatalistic world-view, but there is also a beauty in them that is sometimes difficult to see but equally difficult to deny. Maybe it's Connolly's Irish heritage, his acceptance of the supernatural and dismal view of humanity, that endears him to such stories of death and grief and torture. Whatever the reason, Connolly (and his rich characters he has created) embraces the darkness, perhaps because it is only within the darkness that we can truly appreciate the light. The plot of "Every Dead Thing" is, like most of Connolly's books, elaborate and complex, with dozens of characters, major and minor, to keep track of. It starts with the brutal murder of Parker's wife and daughter, a scene so visceral and horrific that it may turn off some readers within the first 10 pages. Fair enough. Connolly isn't for everyone. I urge readers to carry on, though, as Parker carries on. He travels from his home state of Maine to Louisiana where he tracks down a lead: the possible murder of a young woman in the bayou whose murderer has an eerily similar m.o. to his wife and child's murderer. Soon he is piecing together the work of a serial killer, dubbed "The Travelling Man", due to the fact that his victims appear to be spread out across the country. Somehow, his investigation involves him in a mob war in New Orleans. Red herrings and plot twists abound.This book is a must-read for anyone who loves intelligent, action-packed, suspenseful thrillers. The body count is ridiculously high and the violence may be too much for readers with squeamish stomachs, but Connolly delivers, big-time.
—Scott Rhee
