RARA-AVIS: Re: Ken Bruen

From: Karin Montin ( kmontin@sympatico.ca)
Date: 04 Jun 2007


I've recently read three more of Ken Bruen's: Rilke on Black, The Dramatist and The Magdalen Martyrs.

The Magdalen Martyrs is the best I've read yet, I think. The Dramatist was good, as well. I like Jack Taylor.

I wasn't as carried away by Rilke on Black--those bloody typos again (see my post on The White Trilogy). Serpent's Tail really should hire a good proofreader. It wasn't as bad as The White Trilogy, but consider these examples. A conversation between a guy whose doorman "just got nicked" and the narrator, Nick (p. 4):

        "You look as if you could handle yourself. Done any of that kind of work?"
        "Does it require a shit? As I've never done anything that needed that. I've done work that might have needed jail if that's any indication."

Turns out the job requires a suit.

Or this epigraph, p. 59: "A man's dress tells you what he does." Ecclesiastics 19:27. The Ecclesiastics reference is repeated later.

I plan to reread this again, paying greater attention to the Rilke quotes, which I don't think I fully appreciated first time through.

I recommend reading any Ken Bruen you can get your hands on.

Karin



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