"Non dire niente. Sei troppo serio. È tutta una gran commedia, amico. Alla fine della fiera si muore tutti, e si resta morti per molto tempo. È una grande inculata, da qualsiasi parte la si guardi."Quarto volume della serie Dave Robicheaux, si conferma un ottimo libro che fa di James Lee Burke uno dei maestri del noir per profondità e costanza.Dura poco la tranquillità per Dave Robicheax, con un passato che sembra sempre solo ad un minuto di distanza, ma questo è soprattutto il romanzo di Tony, un gangster cajiun italo americano del quale riusciremo a comprenderne carattere e paure, crudeltà e generosità fino ad essere inconsapevolmente partecipi e complici della soluzione finale.Anche l'amico Clete Purcell o il giovane Tee Bobby con il suo nascondersi ed apparire, riempiono di personaggi , coraggio e amicizia questo bel romanzo.Se non c'è nulla come l'odore di cordite per ripulirti la cavità nasale, non si riesce a non entrare a far parte del club della vita alla giornata. Il domani si prende cura di se stesso ma l'oggi è tutto nostro, delle persone che ci vogliono bene e di quelli che ci vogliono male"Sono le persone per le quali proviamo qualcosa quelle che ci fanno più soffrire. Ed è raro che lo facciano di proposito. È proprio questo che rende tutto così doloroso, ragazzo mio."Qualcuno aveva acceso il juke-box e aveva selezionato una vecchia versione di "Please Don't Leave Me" dì Fats Domino. — Balla con me — disse e noi con loro. Godetevela !Sempre sullo sfondo New Iberia, Louisiana. Una terra magica e aspra, bellissima e crudele. Una terra dove si respira ancora l’odio razziale, dove il male sembra aggirarsi indisturbato per le strade, dove la violenza dimora dentro la pelle delle persone come un verme. Resta il fascino dell'eroe ai margini, con il suo codice morale inattaccabile e con le sue debolezze, quello che affascina nel noir e nell'hard boiled"E immagino che ciò che ho imparato sia una lezione che gli anni o il mio costante pensare a me stesso avevano iniziato a nascondermi; e cioè che al mondo le persone più coraggiose e leali e pronte ad amare hanno raramente le caratteristiche fisiche degli eroi o le aureole dei santi. In realtà i loro volti sono precisamente come quelli che si potrebbero ritrovare a caso nella coda di un supermercato, le loro caratteristiche fisiche così comuni e banali che è difficile ricordarsi del loro aspetto dieci minuti dopo che si sono allontanati."Chiudiamo con un altro pezzo citato nel libro, la Rampart Street Parade, muxica Dixiland in una rara versione con niente di meno che Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, & Phil Harris !
In the books by Burke I have read he interchanges "clips and magazines". They are not the same and Dave is x-marine, NOPD, sheriff yet he does not know the difference.It’s common for people to get the two mixed up, If you hear someone talking about clips … you know they don’t know the difference.A clip describes cartridges held together with a strip until they are loaded into a firearm.A magazine on the other hand is is a container that holds the cartridges. Sometimes magazines themselves are loaded with cartridges by clips. On most firearms a magazine is detachable and replaceable.Dave has a jugboat he uses for going out on the salt with a "big Chrysler engine, two screws" and "iron rod-and-reel sockets for trolling." A single engine powerboat doesn't have two screws but a dual engine one does. Some torpedoes and submarines have dual screws counter-rotating but Dave jugboat (imo) is another story add-on that goes against the facts. And "iron" rod holders would last maybe a week around salt water where as sport fishing boats use stainless steel rod holders. In this story .22 magnum "through the mouth, one under the chin, one through the temple". Burke has mentioned the higher speed of the magnum and hits to the head before in an earlier read. The .22 WMR has a greater velocity than the .22 LR but the bullet is the same unless a pointed tip is used so any positive ID on the bullet is not always possible.Dave has stern and bow red and green running lights on his boat. Red and green running lights are on the bow to indicate the direction of a on coming vessel where stern lights are white. Kim has a Manhattan and nibbles on the orange slice. The traditional drink has a cherry in it. Earlier she has a Gimlet that the bartender mixes in a blender. A Gimlet is mixed or stirred not a blended drink. During one of the boat cruises or chasings Dave reverses his engine. You don't reverse an engine unless it is possible for the engine to spin in either direction you shift the transmission to reverse. (Early submarines actually had engines that could run in either direction in place of a transmission."
Do You like book A Morning For Flamingos (2015)?
I'm reading the Dave Robicheaux series in order. The Dave Robicheaux of A Morning For Flamingoes is very different and a bit more likable than the one we me in Heaven's Prisoners. He is also one of the most complex characters I've ever encountered in a book.The book gets you hooked right from the start and introduces most of the books significant characters. As in the first two books, Dave finds himself being drawn into a world he doesn't really want to visit. Disturbingly, he doesn't seem to try to hard to get out, which is just another aspect of his character.Speaking of character, this book is fulled with fascinating characters, with Tony Cardo being the most interesting. It makes you hope that some of these characters will return in future volumes.I'm eagerly looking forward to A Stained White Radiance.
—Joel Ungar
Slowly but surely getting through this great character Dave Robicheaux and his (mis)adventures. This is book number four.Each book just keeps getting deeper into his psyche and the characters are so well drawn that you can see them clearly in your mind. Some of the main characters are bad guys, drug pushers, killers, etc. but the more you get to know them the more they show their humane side and the reader finds them more complicated to the point that maybe they're not all that bad. But there are the really bad ones, who have no conscience, of course, or are psycho. Twists and turns every other page, with the ending, of course, satisfactory. Satisfactory doesn't sound strong enough, a happy ending with no ends hanging loose. The problems, just find a way to resolve...with very plausible and solid closings. So very glad that I started reading the series because I love characters who are layered with layers unfolding with each book. This one is particularly telling in that Dave delves more into his time in the Vietnam War along with another character in the multiple storylines.Saw a review and they used the word 'gritty' and that was so description of Burke's writing style which I just love. He's a gritty writer, uses gritty words for a gritty storyline. Love his gritty books!
—Cathy DuPont
With some series, you fall in love with the main characters. Watch with interest as they confront their problems, admire their decisions, root for them during lows, and celebrate the victories. Dave Robicheaux is the protagonist in James Lee Burke’s series of the same name, and I’m not particularly sure I like him (Robicheaux, that is, not Burke). I do know one thing, however–I’m in love with Burke’s ability to bring a setting to life. In fact, if Burke ever leaves the mystery gig and heads into travel writing, I’ll be there in a hot minute:“It has stopped raining now, and the air was clear and cool, the sky dark except for a lighted band of purple clouds low on the western horizon. I drove through the parking lot to the back of the building, the flattened beer cans and wet oyster shells crunching under my tires, and through the big fan humming in the back wall I could hear the zydeco band pounding it out.”******************************************************further uncensored thoughts at : http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/0...
—Carol.
