four and one-half stars out of fiveA Few Thoughts on Morals and Dave RobicheauxIn all likelihood I will never read a James Lee Burke book and give it less than three stars and it’s more likely to give it four or five stars. With that said, the vast number of characters in Burke’s books seems to get longer and longer with creative names which I simply cannot remember. Remember them for longer than one page anyhow. Usually the last quarter of the book, people are in a frenzy getting rid of the guy sitting next to them who has intimate knowledge of all the skeletons in the closet; he’s the one who is bumped off. So for a few pages every 50 or so read, there’s person flying out the window landing on a fire hydrant (head first, of course); a fellow shot running out the back door of a whorehouse and a pimp walking down the street who is neatly sliced with a shiv. By the end, when it may be mentioned that Matisis Yelloman was dead, I’m trying to recall when and how he died. Who was he, I’m asking myself; how, when did HE die?I found that this particular book was a few shades different than previous books in that not all was resolved at the end which is fine with me since I don’t need a bow neatly tied at the end of story or book. However, moral questions were raised; what is our obligation to our fellow man? Is vengeance/retribution moral and just (and legal?) These questions have been raised and discussed for thousands of years and once again in this book. (Let it be known that moral questions are usually raised in Burke’s books, so this is not unusual.) Burke’s writing is as colorful as always with descriptions of southern Louisiana, as usual, so much so that Burke takes you there mentally. Well on my way in continuing the Dave Robicheaux series with this being #10. Coming up next is Purple Cane Road. Can't wait but think I might take notes on the names. An Aside - Fictional TV Series DebutsI saw an interview last night with Kevin Spacey who stars in the new series, “House of Cards.” It’s a series where Spacey (who’s the best, in my opinion) “stars in the drama as Representative Frank Underwood, a silkily ambitious and amoral politician who, after being passed over for Secretary of State, sets in motion a plan to take down the new president he helped get elected.” This is certainly payback in the political arena. (Since the series premiers in the next few days, the script and the series was recorded long before any recent political event.) An Aside About US90I was thinking when reading one of the many descriptions that devoted readers of Robicheaux probably who happen to be in the area, would take a nearby US90 exit and simply drive a narrow paved (maybe) road just looking around the area. Perhaps looking lost, a local might ask “can I help you find something?” and the driver (and captive family who may know little of Dave Robicheaux) would reply, “no, just looking around” and the local responding,” looking for Dave Robicheaux’s fish camp?” The reply could be “yes, as a matter of fact.” The reason I mention this is because it occurred to me to do just that knowing full well there is no fish camp...not one that belongs to Dave. Thinking of US 90, it’s an interesting road, 1633 miles from Jacksonville, FL to Van Horn, TX passing through small towns, ramshackle old motels and gas stations since it was once well traveled going east to west. My favorite part of US 90 is in the Florida panhandle where it skirts the Gulf. It’s a beautiful, remote area. There should be signs reading “Drive carefully – ‘coon and ‘dilla crossing.” My kind of area.
In the eleventh installment of the Dave Robicheaux series, Dave is haunted by the crucifixion of Jack Flynn - which occurred 40 years prior. His dealings with an ex-con named Willy "Cool Breeze" Broussard bring him back into the thick of the murder, where he also finds a movie producer, a prominent Iberia citizen, an acrobatic ex-con, and a few hired killers.I love James Lee Burke's character development and his poetic language. You just feel like you are IN the story, an onlooker there in Iberia Perish. Of course Dave is the central character in this series, but the supporting characters are vital to the novels as well. Clete, Helen, Batiste and Alafair never fail to make me laugh. And of course Dave's demons help to make him the complex character that he is. In this novel, Burke's development of the antogonists is just phenomenal. I was constantly left wondering, "alright, who is the real villain here?" The character of Swede Boxleiter was especially intriguing to me. It was hard to decide how to feel about him - Burke leaves you to feel all kinds of things and figure it out for yourself. Awesome!And Burke is strikingly realistic. He doesn't paint a rosy picture where there wouldn't really be one. While those type of pictures often leave you feeling "warm and fuzzy" inside, they also leave you saying, "that wouldn't really ever happen, though." Batiste isn't very prominent in this novel, and Tripod only makes a brief appearance.
What do You think about Sunset Limited (2002)?
(This is the tenth in the Dave Robicheaux series.)Tangled Web UK Review: "America's finest crime writer returns to Louisiana with his great creation Detective Dave Robicheaux. When Dave Robicheaux discovers that Megan Flynn and her brother Cisco are back in town his well-honed instinct for trouble is aroused. Drawn as ever to those whom he feels need protection he remembers how their father had been murdered by the Klan. Then two boys are brutally killed after allegedly raping a black girl; Harpo Scraggs - a dubious government informant - appears on the scene and Robicheaux is gripped by a deep and irreversible need to resolve the past.'Among present crime writers no one handles complex plots better than Burke; no one is better at creating characters good bad or evil; and above all no one writes with such a sensuous appreciation of life with so poetic yet meticulous observation of detail' London Evening Standard'Anyone not familiar with the novels of James Lee Burke Should go out and buy one this minute ... Together his books amount to the most impressive body of crime fiction in America today. Indeed many have gone further and argued that Burke's work is too good to be categorised - that he writes great fiction period' Independent"
—Alan Reynolds
Il bayou.......dejà-vu Ho letto questo romanzo di un autore che in passato ho molto apprezzato ...ma ho fatto fatica a finirlo, anche se forse "Sunset Limited" non è inferiore ai sette Burke che ho ammirato in precedenza (non proprio tutti per la verità...). Ho riflettuto ed ho ricollegato questo scarso interesse al fatto che poco tempo prima (troppo poco...) avevo letto con soddisfazione "La palude dell'odio" (pessimo titolo, meglio l'originale "Cadillac Juke-box"), ancora di Burke e sempre col suo più famoso protagonista, il detective cajun Dave Robicheaux ed è quindi scattato in me un fastidioso senso di saturazione...James Lee Burke è in possesso di una bellissima tavolozza per creare le sue affascinanti ed inconfondibili storie: è composta da stupendi paesaggi nelle paludi della Louisiana di cui egli è approfondito conoscitore e talentuoso descrittore, da personaggi eccentrici, quasi tutti sangue misto, cajun e messicani, yankees e discendenti dei sudisti, neri e texani. Infine utilizza l'ingrediente che in pochi Stati gli autori americani possono permettersi e cioè la storia: la guerra civile, la tratta dei neri, la guerra contro i messicani ed i luoghi strettamente legati a queste tragiche epopee, che i personaggi più anziani richiamano costantemente alla memoria e raccontano ai giovani (o almeno a quelli che, come Robicheaux, hanno voglia di ascoltare...). In queste storie spesso affondano le radici le vicende descritte nel presente, con personaggi che sono epigoni più o meno consapevoli dei protagonisti di allora.Il problema è che con questo ricchissimo materiale a disposizione, Burke indulge a scrivere sempre lo stesso romanzo, pur con lievi variazioni, ed i personaggi, le storie, le locations sono talmente caratterizzati che questa sorta di riproposta può essere tollerata solo da chi vi si avvicina la prima volta oppure non legge un suo libro da un bel po' di mesi...Non starò qui ad elencare in modo pignolo i particolari che legano Sunset Limited a Cadillac Juke-box (di cui peraltro è precedente...) e agli altri romanzi. Però la sequela di individui pericolosi o di donne fatali che arrivano uno dopo l'altro a bordo di cadillac o vecchie pontiac al pontile di Dave mentre egli è intento a riordinare gli attrezzi; gli scontri verbali con vecchi proprietari terrieri o con i loro tirapiedi; le improvvise esplosioni di violenza intervallate da tranquille sedute di pesca nel bayou; tutto questo e tanto altro ancora porta con sè una tale quota di dejà-vu che induce il lettore a controllare se, per propria sbadataggine, non abbia intrapreso una lettura già fatta in passato!
—Ubik 2.0
James Lee Burke is my all time favorite author. So, being incredibly biased, it's hard to give an objective review. Every one of his books seem to weave an amazing dance between lyrical prose, complex characters that are so real in my mind I can SMELL them, would recognize them if I saw them on the street - and plots that keep me caring till the very last page. The man has a gift, there is no question about it. It's obvious he has honed his craft well by putting in the WORK of writing, not just to sell books but to give us a gift of insight into human pride, frailty and pathos all wrapped up in some of the most amazing language I've ever encountered. Love his work~!
—Lynda
