Last Car To Elysian Fields (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
a third of a slow way through this book (not the book's fault), i thought i'd give myself entirely to that most overused of parts of speech, the adjective. i do this because james lee burke is a great user of adjectives, and even when he uses them abundantly he doesn't overuse them at all. but i will. because i want to. the following adjectives describe one aspect or another of this book, while also encompassing, all of them, the book as a whole. the most hackneyed (but nonetheless correctly applicable) adjectives are in ALL CAPS. some adjectives are repeated because i don't feeling like checking, some for effect. some, i'm putting there just to trick and confuse you. the ones in bold stand out because of thicker lines. SULTRY, STEAMY, leafy, autumnal, SODDEN, LUSCIOUS, green, HUED, explosive, reflective, melancholy, DRUNKEN, SOZZLED, soaked, LONGING, desperate, hopeful, SMOKY, barbed, sarcastic, sharp, cutting, EDGY, sleepless, broken, hurt, smelly, putrid, dirty, filthy, BOOZY, olfactory, visual, LONELY, black, noirish, brown, DARK, sunny, bright, shadowy, perverted, compassionate, forgiving/en, fallen, redemptive, assuaging, taut, tense, INTENSE, adroit, skillful, DEADLY, dead, buried, inner, outer, joyless, deadened, guilty, guilt-ridden, miserable, abject, criminal, murderous, uncontrollable, pathetic, TOUGHASNAILS, sordid, compulsive, unheeded, lost, COOL, uncool, detached, lonely, alone, male, masculine, TESTOSTERONE-FUELED, tender, cuddly, needy, unhinged, enduring, surviving, SWAMPY, BRINY, purple, violet, blue, yellow, red, flaming, inflamed, infamous, DUSKY, dusty, loving, entire, disembodied, BLOODY, wounded, injured, inured, urgent, urinary, fecal, gastric, hungry.***i'm still impressed with james lee burke's use of language, but this was a tough book to finish. first, a reflection on language and the mystery genre. i have never been much of a genre reader, so reading mysteries this last year has given me new thoughts to think. here's one: through mysteries, american readers are digesting a tremendous amount of literary, sometimes experimental, sometimes difficult fiction. i don't know what the demographics of james lee burke's readers are, but this readership is certainly doing some heavy lifting. JLB writes real-deal existentialist fiction (the recurring character of the catholic priest and the pervasive presence of catholicism are a dead giveaway) and uses the language of faulkner. this is serious lit.but i had a hard time finishing this book because the violence got the better of me. i realize dave robicheaux's self-hatred is a sort of indictment of his actions, but there is also some unquestionable lust in the vigilantism he and his best friend practice. this lust is a definite turn off for me. men brutally killing men, setting men up to be killed, battering men around like matches in matchstick boxes -- nah, i don't think so. i don't care if these men love their daughters and their dead wives. i don't care if they do it to protect women. i especially don't care if they do it to protect women. i really don't.
This book is yet another in the series featuring Detective Dave Robicheaux of New Iberia and New Orleans in Louisiana.Although I am addicted to this character and all of his inherent flaws, the series is beoming a little stylised and predictable. He is among my most cherieshed crime genre authors (along with: Michael Connelly (my favourite), John Connolly and a host of Britisih authors) and is immensely popular. I think it is time - even given the character's advancing years - to give Dave a slightly new direction and slant. With the religous undertones in the book(s) - I think this could be achieved, without dispensing the core elements of his persona, and give the character a breath of unpredictability and new found flair.Still there would no doubt be, a legion of Dave Robicheaux fans, who would decry this as sacrelige and continue to enjoy the character's tunnel vision and violent path to destruction. One very dispensable associate of his are the wives, whom regularly meet with death by disease of violence and appear to be an item of disposable collateral. No doubt this allows the character to dally without attracting a further stigma of adultery and introduces a cast of very colourful female players into the various scripts.I see Dave as a modern day Robin Hood, who dispenses his brand of justice upon the miscreants of colourful, Louisiana society along with his trusty sidekick Clete. This appeals to a lot of readers, I think, whom like to see perpetrators of crime and violence, given their come uppance, when the "system" appears to be weighted in their favour, rather than the "ordinary" person.Still in all - I found this to be another page turner that I romped through. A good read, indeed!Cheers
What do You think about Last Car To Elysian Fields (2004)?
James Lee Burke is arguably one of America’s greatest hardboiled detective authors, and Last Car to Elysian Fields not only does that reputation justice, it strengthens his position as a crime writer with an immense literary range that borders on the poetic.Detective Dave Robicheaux is asked by Father Jimmie Dolan to join him on a trip into St. James Parish, where he meets the daughter of a musician who disappeared years before. Soon strange links begin to emerge between the musician, a savage attack on Father Jimmie Dolan, a fanatical and conflicted assassin, and the filthily rich whom Dave despises. The detective is drawn into the familiar collection of sordid secrets and escalating violence, as echoes of his own unresolved past begin to affect the direction of his case.Burke is a masterful storyteller, who weaves an intricate web that hums with tension along its cords. What I appreciate most about his novels is that he doesn’t rely on tedious red herrings and cheap last-minute revelations to keep the thrill going; instead, he provides us with so much information about the people and circumstances that Dave encounters that we must distil the answers at the same pace as Dave Robicheaux. In other words, Burke allows us to be detectives in his novels, not passive viewers waiting for the next corny surprise. This plot line is as solid as his detective, and his Louisiana is as vivid and infectious as feverish dreams. His style remains wonderfully articulate and timeless, and one can only say the Robicheaux series is like a loyal old dog: it’ll never let you down.
—Richard Kunzmann
Aspiring writers should not read James Lee Burke (JUST KIDDING--sort of)There are so many things about his novels that should not work, but yet does (see below) but probably the thing that works best are his descriptions and characters which artfully convey the new and old South and where they intersect. For those who have grew up in the South in the past 20-30 years, his novels may also, as they do for me, remind one of old ghost/folk stories told to us as children and the even more frightening stories overheard, when parents thought we were not listening, about things that happened that people attempted to forget: things grandparents and neighbors witnessed and worse things grandparents and neighbors did. Things that shouldn't work but do-His prose can seem so close to being overwritten, especially as it is often the narrative of Robicheaux's inner thoughts, but it actually reads as almost poetry. You could see lesser writers trying the same thing and it coming off as overdone and pretentious. Narrative shifts from Robicheaux to individual characters to several flashbacks. This could create confusion or a disjointed narrative, but he makes it work. He is working with a well worn genre, a damaged, loner detective (not a PI, but you get the idea). Dave Robicheaux could easily become a cliche, but Burke gives him enough depth that his pain and frustration are real. Burke's plots are often overly complicated and resolution often is either unclear or seems to rely on a series of concidences or "happy accidents", but you (or at least, I am willing to forgive this as he populates the stories with such intersting characters and descriptions that you just enjoy the ride.
—Zach
This was my first James Lee Burke novel. I was first introduced to his work by an interview on Religion and Ethics Weekly on PBS about how he incorporates religious themes in his novels. After reading this novel, I can affirm the he does have a special eye for religious concerns that helps his characters have added depth and feel more alive. I don't usually read many crime thrillers so I wasn't used to hard I had to work to follow along with all the plot points coming together. It was because of this, that when the climax arrived I felt I was still two step behind so I couldn't enjoy the drama. Even though this was my first James Lee Burke novel, I didn't feel lost with the reoccurring characters. I would say they are not a problem if you do not want to start with the beginning of the series. The strength of the book was how Burke incorporated his setting very well to the actions of the characters. I traveled to New Orleans a few years back and this book brought that trip back into my memory. The weakness of the book was the sporadic nature of the main character. With the novel written in the first person, I should have some sense what his next move is or have him at least planning on what to do.
—Daniel Clark
