| Product: |
The Mannequin Man - Luca Di Fulvio |
| Date: |
30/05/06 (64 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Beautifully written and translated
Disadvantages: Gruesome, some flaws in the plot
Introduction
I've had a couple of bad experiences with books badly translated from the original language recently, but I'm glad I didn't let it put me off, because this book was well worth the read. Patrick McKeown, the translator, has done a superb job of converting a beautifully written book into English. The author, Luca di Fulvio, has been likened to Thomas Harris, the author of the Hannibal Lecter novels, and there are definitely some comparisons to be made; also with Henning Mankell. Anyone who enjoys thrillers rather than the traditional cozy type of crime fiction will enjoy this book.
The author
Luca di Fulvio is based in Rome. He writes both thrillers and, strangely, fairytales for children. The Mannequin Man was shortlisted for the European Crime Writing Prize and has been made into a film called Eyes of Crystal. It was di Fulvio's first novel.
The plot
The story begins with an amateur taxidermist hunting for prey. He comes across a young couple making love in a secluded area and notices an old man spying on them from behind a bush. Something snaps in him and he shoots and kills the two men before mutilating the young girl.
Inspector Giacomo Almadi and his colleague, Nicola Frese don't take too much notice of the report of the deaths to begin with; they have enough on their plates with a city-wide rubbish strike, the disappearance of some important files, and a young girl with a stalker. However, when badly mutilated bodies with limbs replaced by wooden ones start turning up, they realise that there may be a connection with the murder of the two lovers and the old man, which seems to have been the murderer's initiation to killing. As the crimes begin to escalate, the rush is on to find the murderer before more innocent women are killed.
The characters
Reading the amount of crime fiction that I do, it isn't often that I come across a fictional detective that stands out from the rest. There is nothing particularly exceptional about Giacomo Almadi, but I liked him. He became a detective because the first love of his life was found murdered and he found her body. Twenty years later, he has still not forgotten the death and sees each case he works on as a personal challenge. He has never married; and although he meets a woman in this book, he has difficulty in committing to her. I thought he was very well-portrayed and I hope the character is carried over into other books.
The murderer is also depicted very well, because part of the book is following the developments through his eyes. We are drip-fed information throughout the book as we find out about his childhood experiences and how they spill over into his adult life. Descriptions of his breakdown into complete madness were really well done and very believable.
Conclusion
This is a particularly gruesome book; if you don't like Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter novels, then steer well clear of this. There are no holds barred with the descriptions of the victims. The writing flows beautifully; amazing for a translation and I found myself drawn into the book very quickly. This is not a novel where we are left guessing who the murderer is; the entertainment is following how the detectives work out who he is.
There is an ongoing motto throughout the book where the bags of rubbish piling up on the streets because of the rubbish strike are likened to the mutilated bodies of the victims. Not very pleasant, but it does make the deaths that much more vivid. The violence that erupts as a result of the rubbish strike fits in well with the grisly atmosphere. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the city in which the events take place; it is not named, but is supposed to be very similar to Genoa.
Apart from the gruesomeness of the deaths, which some may see as a disadvantage, my only criticism is that in parts, I found it hard to understand how Almadi and his colleagues made the leap to connect the different clues. I didn't find this believable. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is not quite as clever as Thomas Harris' work, but I think I got more pleasure out of it. Recommended.
The book is available from Amazon for £6.59. Published by Bitter Lemon Press (which seems to print a lot of translated crime fiction), it has 367 pages. ISBN: 1904738133
Summary: Well worth a read if you don't mind gory details
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