- Hardcover: 176 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber; Second Impression edition (4 Aug 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571227759
- ISBN-13: 978-0571227754
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.2 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 489,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Back to Bologna (Aurelio Zen 10)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Every so often--and his new novel Back to Bolognais a good example of this--Michael Dibdin stretches the form of the detective novel to involve his often glum detective Aurelio Zen in situations of wild, bloody farce. Dragged back to work in spite of ill health that may be hypochondria, and faced with the breakdown of his long-term relationship, Zen finds himself caught up in the murder of a football club owner, a cooking duel between a celebrity chef and a post-modern professor and the amorous adventures of a beautiful immigrant from Ruritania. Back to Bologna combines some sharp satirical comments with a dim view of unreasonable behaviour, whether by spoiled brat football hooligans or blundering private eyes. Dibdin combines sharply-phrased misanthropy with a capacity ultimately to forgive human weakness. Many of his books are classics of modern crime writing; Back to Bologna is perhaps less ambitious, but it is a technically accomplished delight. ---Roz Kaveney
Product Description
When the corpse of the shady industrialist who owns the local football team is found both shot and stabbed with a Parmesan knife, Italian police inspector Aurelio Zen is called to Bologna to oversee the investigation. Recovering slowly from surgery, and fleeing an equally painful crisis in his personal life, Zen is only too happy to take on what at first appears to be a routine and relatively undemanding assignment. But soon a world-famous university professor is shot with the same gun, immediately after publicly humiliating Italy's leading celebrity television chef, the case - intertwined with the fates of an earnest student of semiotics and a mysterious young immigrant who claims to be from Ruritania - spins out of control, and Zen is in no condition to rise to the challenge. There's also a wild card in the pack - Tony Speranza, Bologna's most flamboyant private detective. Back to Bologna is dazzlingly plotted, features a cast of vivid and idiosyncratic characters, and along the way delivers both comic and serious insights into the realities of today's Italy.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Simple, but still good,
By
This review is from: Back to Bologna (Hardcover)
This is a short book with a plot which is interesting without being challenging. The beauty of Dibdin, however, remains his very rich writing, his wit and his insights. Rarely does Dibdin produce a poor read and once again he has done himself proud with this effort. I have trouble warming to Zen, his lead character, but this didn't detract from the overall appeal of this book. Keep 'em coming Mr Dibdin.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Back to Bologna,
By John Bettelley (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Back to Bologna (Hardcover)
I have been a big fan of Michael Dibdin for most of his books, enjoying the development of the fascinating character of Aurelio Zen, the tight plots, and the most insightful Italian context.The last 2 or 3 books, however, have made me cool off somewhat, and this last one - Back to Bologna - I found awful. The characters were mostly caricatures, with far too much extraneous guff spent on what might be thought of as their development; the hero and his partner had gone completely off the rails, and the plot was highly questionable. And he even had one of his police inspectors called Brunetti; what's the matter with him? I can't believe that he's not aware of Donna Leon's splendid hero. Sorry, Michael Dibdin, the Zen series is all washed up. Try something else or leave us alone.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing,
By
This review is from: Back to Bologna (Hardcover)
As a great admirer of the Zen novels it probably took me longer than some to realise that this was not a standard Aurelio Zen story, but a lighthearted parody. It involves a plot as convulated and reliant on unlikely coincidence as anything in Shakespeare's comedies (to which there is a sly reference in the text). It also involves another fictional detective in a walk-on part in which he makes little or no impression.It is as if Conan Doyle had written the script for one of the post-modern film versions of Sherlock Holmes; and about as interesting. I must add that I found the vulgar language of some characters jarring and unpleasantly out of place.
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