Aurelio Zen

[GreenEyesToo]

Although filming hasn't even started yet, quite a few members have read/started reading the books that will be filmed, so please feel free to discuss the character of Aurelio Zen here.

BUT......if you are going to discuss plot details, please make it very clear there are SPOILERS in your post, for those who have yet to read the books.

Who's first?

[nell]

Sorry GE2 I was typing for some time and had a few distractions. Must have started before you redirected.

[spice]

Kygal asked the order of the books in the "Heard from Himself" thread. I'll answer here as the subject applies to this new thread that GE2 started.
Order of the first three books:
Ratking, Vendetta, Cabal. There are 8 other books in the series. Kygal, and for anyone else who may be interested, when you get the first book, all of the titles are listed in one of the first few pages.
I listed these first three as they are the ones mentioned in the articles pertaining to the series in which Rufus will start in as Aurelio Zen.
I hope that helps !
Diane

[rueful]

I read "ratking" a lttle while ago before I knew about Rufus getting the part. Have just re-read it and and am now reading "Vendetta" and like Nell I am enjoying" Vendetta "more .
To try and answer your question , I think Zen is warmer and maybe more cynical , a bit awkward and so more lovable than in " Ratking" , certainly the character is more rounded. The book itself is funnier ,I find ,not LOL but dry subtle and sometimes punning ( beloved of Brits)humour, with Zen laughing at himself. I love Dibdin's command of language.
Whether it is auto suggestion but I see Rufus when I read Zen in " Vendetta ", which I couldn't at all in"Ratking "
I would be interested to read what anybody else thinks.

I agree with frannie that Zen seemed a warmer character in Vendetta. I certainly warmed to him much quicker than in Ratking. He came across as a bit bumbling in Ratking I thought like a combination of Columbo and Dr Tony Hill (Wire in the Blood). I feel I need to read Ratking again though. Although I knew the character on the train was Zen it seemed to go a long way round getting to the point. I felt the whole book was a little like that. I did enjoy it though. Zen seemed somehow funnier though more intelligent in Vendetta, and able to laugh at himself.
Vendetta seemed more humourous and I was routing for Zen from the opening lines "Aurelio Zen lounged on the sofa like a listless god, bringing the dead back to life" I guess I was more intrigued too.
Also Zen's hilarious attempt at passing himself off as a Swiss. Driving a mercedes that he felt made him look Swiss I loved this bit "...They both turned to stare at the Mercedes. Zen gave them a bland, blank look that he imagined to be typically Swiss. They continued to stare. Zen took the opportunity of consulting the map. That too was surely a typically a Swiss thing to do.
....... the locomotive belched a cloud of fumes and a moment later the road was clear again. Zen put the car in gear, stalled, let off the handbrake, started to roll backwards, engaged the clutch, restarted the motor, stalled, engaged the handbrake, released the clutch, restarted the the motor, released the handbrake, engaged the clutch and drove away. None of this, he felt, was typically Swiss. The look the crossing-keeper gave him suggested that she felt the same." Just brilliant !
I'm about to start Cabal now. The jacket description sounds a bit Dan Brownish. Will report back when I've finished reading it.

Thanks for answering my question, Frannie and Nell. Like you, I always appreciate dry humor in books. In fact the darker the subject, the more welcome it is. I thought that a lot of Ratking was quite funny too, but perhaps Dibdin has the advantage of being more comfortable with the character in the second book, so it's more relaxed. Also, Ratking had to establish a lot of history for the character, and that can be burdensome to the story.

At any rate, I'm really looking forward to Vendetta now and also to hearing people's opinions about the rest of the books in the series.

The books, in order after the three Spice mentioned:
Dead Lagoon, Cosi Fan Tutti, A Long Finish, Blood Rain, And Then You Die, Medusa, Back to Bologna, End Games

[kygal]

I read Vendetta first and liked it. I have Ratking, And Then You Die and End Games on order.

I did also read Blood Rain. Lots of twists in this book and the ending is a surprise...thats all I will say right now...dont want to spoil. I did have to order And Then You Die which is after Blood Rain to tie some things up. End Games is the last once so I had to have it. Have Cabal which I hope to start soon.

Have enjoyed seeing Rufus as Aurelio Zen as I have read along.

Thanks Spice and Rueful for the info!

[peach]

I've started reading Blood Sand first, guess I should have started from the beginning, liking it so far, and I think he's perfect for the part. Kygal,you are spot on with the twists. Do you think it matters that I didn't start reading in order? I've enjoyed reading the posts here, an these books will make summer reading that much more enjoyable.

[kygal]

Hey Peach. I am still waiting for Ratking. I did read Cabal and it follows Vendetta I believe...it is good. Not sure it really matters to read out of order. But I think I will hold off on reading some of the others and try to get in order. I do have the one following Blood Rain ordered as well and the last one!

[tipou]

well if ratking is less interesting than the other books, i may have found my new agatha christie. i am totally into this story. love the author's style. love the characters.

as rueful said, it is only normal that a first book feels somewhat introductory, but then again the writing is so cunning and clever, i dont mind. plus we get to know some interesting facts about recent history.

as kygal said, i like to have a (cute) face to put on the main character as i read.

and i agree with peach, perfect summer read!!!!

i have the first 3, and i may have to order more, in fact, if i do want to spend the summer with aurelio. i am reading awfully fast for the amount of time i have ...

[rueful]

For Peach and others who have asked about book order: I've now read the first 5, and although the individual mysteries/crimes should be perfectly understandable if read out of order, there are references in each book to personal and professional developments that took place in the previous book(s). So I think it would be helpful for you if you can read them in order, but it's not essential.

I am continuing to enjoy the series. Each book is so different, not just in the setting, but in the tone and characters. For example, one is structured to parody an opera. If the show scripts are half as good, they will be better than most of what is usually found on television. Although I am wondering how they will possibly fit all of the very complicated plots into 90 minute episodes. The main thing is that the character of Zen himself has many shadings and will be a great showcase for Rufus's talent.

[peach]

I am now well into my second book, tho not in any order, this one is Dead Lagoon, imagine my surprise when I found out that we share a last name. According to this book Zen is not his last name.

Tipou I agree with you on the writers' style, the characters are well developed as well as the story lines. I'm enjoying them. I have 4 more waiting for me. It's going to be a long, hot summer.

[GreenEyesToo]

We have a co-star!:



Sizzling Caterina Murino likes it hot
By Baz Bamigboye

Caterina Murino said it's going to be a 'very hot summer in 'Rome', and added, knowingly, 'in all the different meanings of hot'.

What could she mean? When I pressed her, she replied: 'If I go any further and my boyfriend reads this, he's going to kill me!'

Which brings us to the subject of why we were talking in the first place. Caterina, 32, is to star alongside Rufus Sewell in three Zen films for BBC1.

Sewell will play Michael Dibdin's famous literary Italian police crime investigator Aurelio Zen in three, feature-length films, with Caterina playing detective Zen's colleague, the tantalising Tania Biacas.

The television movies will begin shooting on locations in and around Rome in May.

Caterina told me she read Simon Burke's script for the first film, Vendetta, in one sitting.

'Normally it takes me a week to go through a script, but I got very excited by this and kept reading and reading.

'I am going to be the secretary of Zen's boss, the chief of police, and sometimes I help him in a murder case.

'We are secretly in love, but there's a problem because I am married. We don't know how to explain this secret love, but I have a feeling we'll sort it out,' she teased.[/i]

www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1262895/BAZ-BAMIGBOYE-Sizzling-Caterina-likes-hot.html

ADDED: another interesting bit I left out last night, from the same article:

Producer Andy Harries, who is making the films for BBC Scotland, told me he hoped they would go on cinema release in Europe, but they will be shown on BBC1 in the UK.

I should imagine, since PBS is involved, that they will be on TV in the US.

(May isn't long now )

[numbat]

Caterina Murino said it's going to be a 'very hot summer in 'Rome', and added, knowingly, 'in all the different meanings of hot'.

Now THAT sounds promising - maybe instead of cutting out the "hot" scenes from the book as they usually do (as per the forest scene from TPOTE), they're actually going to improve on them.

You old fox Aurelio


Added:
Now i've seen the photo of her, i'm pleased to know she already has a boyfriend, LOL!!!

[judypatooty]

If her boyfriend has any sense, he'll accompany her to the set each morning, wait on set throughout each day's filming and then take her home with him at the end of each day.

THAT is the power of Rufus and his mysterious pheremones.

[evngrnreyes]

Such exciting news! I've been away for a while doing some serious job hunting. Just had to get back in the loop since there seems to be so much happening for our Rufus. I can't wait to see this series. I missed the info on where to order the books.Can someone tell me where to find them?

[Tinkerdog]

I got the ZEN Omnibus from 84 Charing Cross Road. A few others I downloaded from Amazon to a Kindle. Maybe Ebay has good deals.

I like the idea that it will be on the Wallander level of series. The British know how to make series and drama's. They have fewer episodes but those they produce are excellent and approximately 1 1/2 hours. They have a wider vision, more talent and more freedom to produce a quality series.

If this isn't a British production, then I expand my compliments to all of Europe.