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Post by kissmekate on Jul 12, 2011 13:51:46 GMT
Oh, what a pity - but thanks for trying anyway! I just finished reading "And then you die". I had a few points to criticize about that one (here he seemed to be painted a bit too naive with regard to travelling abroad etc.), but I loved how Zen was bored on the beach and how he tried out his somewhat rusty flirting skills  |
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Post by kissmekate on Aug 11, 2011 12:37:51 GMT
Last week, I read "Medusa". Fine writing again, and Aurelio Zen is his old self again here (I found him acting a bit out of character towards the end of "ATYD"). I liked the very outspoken references to political Italy under Berlusconi and the tangled case itself. And it's very nice to see Zen in a functioning relationship for a change  I loved the description of him buying the yummiest breakfast treats for his girlfriend! Only criticism here: the interspersed German expressions were often faulty ;D |
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Post by GreenEyesToo on Aug 11, 2011 19:42:25 GMT
I've started working my way through the books, in the order they were written, and have just finished Cabal yesterday.
How very different to the TV version it was! I loved both versions, but wish the TV one could have included all the stuff with the Vatican (totally understandable why they didn't, of course).
***SPOILERS***
I think this was the most intricately-written of the first three books, although Zen's morals were very much under a spotlight here. I felt quite uncomfortable at his initial willingness to go along with Ruspanti's death being suicide, simply because he didn't have jurisdiction in the Vatican. I didn't like how he had keys to Tania's flat without her knowing. I certainly didn't like his willingness to sell the transcript, or to extort money from Falco - although in the end, of course, his typical haplessness meant he lost out. Still.....all rather unsavoury for a hero.
Having said that, I can totally see how the stories appealed to Rufus. Zen is certainly a flawed hero.
Just started Dead Lagoon.....an island of bones? Yuck....
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Post by anyother on Aug 11, 2011 19:53:45 GMT
That's a coincidence, GE2, I'm reading Dead Lagoon at the moment as well, and really like the Venitian atmosphere Dibdin's picturing.
Back to Bologna, which I read before Dead Lagoon, was a bit of a disappointment to me.
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Post by kissmekate on Aug 12, 2011 8:08:36 GMT
Having said that, I can totally see how the stories appealed to Rufus. Zen is certainly a flawed hero. Throughout the book series, I found myself wincing at Zen's morals at times. On the other hand, this makes him all the more believable. He makes bad decisions, he does stupid things, he can be sneaky or illogical - not one of those impeccably ethical know-it-all detectives you find in many other novels, but I quite like this take at a flawed hero. Oh yes, that beginning is creepy!  Dead Lagoon was one of the best instalments in the series, though. Loved the Venetian atmosphere and Zen's digging into his own past. |
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Post by rueful on Aug 12, 2011 13:55:55 GMT
I agree that Rufus's Zen was a bit less corrupt. Despite Rufus pushing the idea in interviews that his Zen is not totally honest and can be underhanded, I felt like his manipulations shown in the series had a more light-hearted tone and were almost designed to make him look charming. How can viewers object, for example, when he scams the very corrupt minister out of an apartment for Tania. And certainly no one will mind when he hands a bag of cash to a nun working with African orphans. This isn't meant to be a complaint--I loved the adaptations. But book Zen had a much more ambiguous character. I sure would have loved to see more episodes to find out if they headed Zen in that direction.  I really enjoyed Dead Lagoon too. One of my favs. |
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Post by kissmekate on Aug 23, 2011 14:33:02 GMT
Ten down, one to go I finished "Back to Bologna" recently and liked it surprisingly well (while many reviews are not too enthusiastic). I loved that TV cook thing, a very funny aside at all those cooking shows mushrooming in TV landscapes everywhere, I loved the football references, and I loved Aurelio for getting absolutely nothing right at first in this book - neither his relationship nor his assignment nor his health problems. |
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Post by joyceinva on Aug 23, 2011 15:54:09 GMT
I loved Aurelio for getting absolutely nothing right at first in this book - neither his relationship nor his assignment nor his health problems. I think this is why this is my favorite of the series. He gets everything wrong but still manages to straighten everything out in the end. I also think that this book has the most humor of all of them - many cite Cosi Fan Tutti as the funniest, but I think you miss a lot of the humor in that one if you aren't familiar with opera. This one has humor that is much more accessible. |
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Post by kissmekate on Aug 23, 2011 15:57:12 GMT
I also think that this book has the most humor of all of them - many cite Cosi Fan Tutti as the funniest, but I think you miss a lot of the humor in that one if you aren't familiar with opera. This one has humor that is much more accessible. That's right. I enjoyed Cosi Fan Tutti very much but I think I missed plenty of allusions to the opera and thus half the fun. The mere idea of the cooking battle in Bologna cracked me up! |
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Post by welshdragon on Aug 25, 2011 12:47:08 GMT
I read the Zen books after watching the series and I don't know whether I would have warmed to Aurelio if I had read the books first. As others have said his morals are sometimes dubious but I gave him the benefit of the doubt because of Roof's version of the character - does that make sense?lol!
I think even in the novels Zen has a good heart and tries his best and I did warm to him but he's not instantly likeable, I didn't think.
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Post by joyceinva on Aug 25, 2011 16:20:11 GMT
I think even in the novels Zen has a good heart and tries his best and I did warm to him but he's not instantly likeable, I didn't think. Quite agree Welshdragon - in the first book Zen is not at all likeable - he seems just as corrupt as the others around him. He's more than willing to let the authorites think that he's fastened the crime on an innocent person! But as the books go along Dibdin lets you see how he's using the corruption around him while still upholding his conception of honor. As Rufus so rightly pointed out in his interviews - Zen is NOT a totally moral person. He is capable of taking advantage of a situation to futher his own wants/desires. |
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Post by kernowsqueen on Oct 19, 2012 21:07:16 GMT
I must agree Joyceinva!
I just finished RatKing and I really felt far more sympathy for Ivy than for anyone else - what a sad and sordid family the Milletis were! I found myself really disliking Aurelio by the end - although I felt some slight sympathy for him after Ellen left ... His poor nutty mother!
I admit that I rather like the adaptation in the television series.
kq
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Post by kygal on Oct 20, 2012 11:41:13 GMT
Some of the books were dark. You really may not like him in some later books. I did like Aurelio because I pictured Rufus when I read...and you know I like him good, bad or whatever. I think he tried to do the right thing, most of the time, and things just went wrong for him at times. He certainly had trouble with relationships until the later books.
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Post by kernowsqueen on Oct 20, 2012 13:10:05 GMT
Kygal
Well if everyone is sweetness and light in a story then its a wee bit dull! I think that I will read the other stories as they are really wonderfully written. (my FF is going to be based on my interpretation of the series and I certainly don't want to replicate Dibdin's style.)
love
kq
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Post by francesca on Oct 20, 2012 15:31:07 GMT
I read the Zen books in chronological order before the Tv series came .
I found his character developing as I went along.
Surely this is what everyone does as we go through life .
As Rufus said when he discussed Zen , he was not Zen of the books.
Andy Harries had adapted Zen as he saw him.
When I write my Zen stories, I take Michael Dibdin's and Andy Harries' character and put that with how I see him.
I even let Numbat's version influence me.
(If she ever reads this , I hope you don't mind, Numbat)
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I loved the description of him buying the yummiest breakfast treats for his girlfriend!
Dead Lagoon was one of the best instalments in the series, though. Loved the Venetian atmosphere and Zen's digging into his own past.
