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商品の説明
内容説明
Idyllic but remote, the Greek island of Thiminos seems untouched and untroubled by the modern world. When the battered body of a young woman is discovered at the foot of a cliff, the local police - governed more by archaic rules of honour than by the law - are quick to close the case, dismissing the death as an accident. Then a stranger arrives, uninvited, from Athens, announcing his intention to look into the crime he believes has been committed. The stranger's methods of investigation are unorthodox, and his message to the islanders is plain - tell the truth or face the consequences. Before long, he's uncovering a tale of passion, corruption and murder. But the stranger brings his own mystery into the web of dark secrets and lies. Who has sent him to Thiminos, and on whose authority is he acting? And how does he know of dramas played out decades ago? Rich in images of Greece's beautiful islands and evoking a life of which few outsiders know, this wonderful novel leads the reader into a world where the myths of the past are not forgotten and forbidden passion still has dangerous consequences.
Book Description
Idyllic but remote, the Greek island of Thiminos seems untouched and untroubled by the modern world. When the battered body of a young woman is discovered at the foot of a cliff, the local police ? governed more by archaic rules of honour than by the law ? are quick to close the case, dismissing the death as an accident. Then a stranger arrives, uninvited, from Athens, announcing his intention to look into the crime he believes has been committed. The stranger's methods of investigation are unorthodox, and his message to the islanders is plain ? tell the truth or face the consequences. Before long, he's uncovering a tale of passion, corruption and murder. But the stranger brings his own mystery into the web of dark secrets and lies. Who has sent him to Thiminos, and on whose authority is he acting? And how does he know of dramas played out decades ago? Rich in images of Greece's beautiful islands and evoking a life of which few outsiders know, this wonderful novel leads the reader into a world where the myths of the past are not forgotten and forbidden passion still has dangerous consequences.
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カスタマーレビュー
Amazon.com で最も参考になったカスタマーレビュー (beta)
Amazon.com:
25件のカスタマーレビュー
22 人中、21人の方が、｢このレビューが参考になった｣と投票しています。
Bleak Mystery of the Greek Islands
2010/5/13
形式:ハードカバー|Amazon Vine™ レビュー
(詳しくはこちら)
In many ways, I feel that I am not a good reviewer for The Messenger of Athens. Sometimes a book works for you and sometimes it does not. I gave it a good rating, though, because I felt it was a good book for the right audience (even though I was not that audience). I love the Greek islands and had hoped this would be an intriguing mystery in one of my favorite locales.
The story takes place on the island of Thiminos and it is a terrible, bleak place. The inhabitants are depressed and bored with their restricted lives, and have litttle (no) ambition to change their lives. They rise each day--if they even bother to get out of bed--only to see the graveyard outside their window, reminding them of the pointlessness of their lives. Only the victim's uncle seems to have had any kind of a life at all, as he traveled in his youth and remembers South America (mostly the ladies of the night) with fondness. Sadly, his neice is subjected to rumors of cheating on her husband and is found dead at the bottom of a cliff.
Hermes Diaktoros, described mostly as "The Fat Man" arrives to investigate her death. His trademark appears to be an obsession with keeping his white sneakers white with the shoe polish he carries around.
I'm afraid I had difficulties caring about the characters, or the mystery of why the neice died. If I was her uncle living in that depressing place, I'd have been inclined to serve a little cyanide along with the coffee.
That's why I believe this was simply not the book for me.
The writing was good and the mystery had a satisfying end. If you like mysteries with a more "literary" flavor, then you will appreciate the atmospheric writing, as well as glimpses into how bleak life can really be on a Greek island. I guess it's not all sunshine and turquoise ocean waves.
The story takes place on the island of Thiminos and it is a terrible, bleak place. The inhabitants are depressed and bored with their restricted lives, and have litttle (no) ambition to change their lives. They rise each day--if they even bother to get out of bed--only to see the graveyard outside their window, reminding them of the pointlessness of their lives. Only the victim's uncle seems to have had any kind of a life at all, as he traveled in his youth and remembers South America (mostly the ladies of the night) with fondness. Sadly, his neice is subjected to rumors of cheating on her husband and is found dead at the bottom of a cliff.
Hermes Diaktoros, described mostly as "The Fat Man" arrives to investigate her death. His trademark appears to be an obsession with keeping his white sneakers white with the shoe polish he carries around.
I'm afraid I had difficulties caring about the characters, or the mystery of why the neice died. If I was her uncle living in that depressing place, I'd have been inclined to serve a little cyanide along with the coffee.
That's why I believe this was simply not the book for me.
The writing was good and the mystery had a satisfying end. If you like mysteries with a more "literary" flavor, then you will appreciate the atmospheric writing, as well as glimpses into how bleak life can really be on a Greek island. I guess it's not all sunshine and turquoise ocean waves.
8 人中、8人の方が、｢このレビューが参考になった｣と投票しています。
Pleasantly Surprised
2010/7/8
形式:ハードカバー|Amazon Vine™ レビュー
(詳しくはこちら)
I went into this book not really knowing what to expect, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I picked it solely based on cover.
The small Greek island is set more or less in present day, but it's one of those timeless places that makes the story read more like a folk tale - which is good. When a man referred to mostly as 'the fat man' shows up to investigate the death of a local woman, he goes about his business despite the protestations of the corrupt local 2-man police force, who have declared the death a suicide.
We are drawn into the story several ways. One story follows the fat man as he investigates. He follows the word on the street, but is also surprisingly knowledgeable about all things involved, and gets to the heart of the matter with each person he questions. In his satchel, he is able to pull out the perfect thing to thank each person or convince them of his intent. We are never told exactly who is he, who he works for, why he is there, or how he knows anything. When justice is done, it is fair and perfect.
We also see the story through the eyes of Irini, the woman who died, Andreas her husband, and Theo her lover. Some of these asides are flashbacks that alternate with the fat man's chapter, and some happen concurrently with the fat man's investigation. The juxtaposition of these stories works very well to make you care for an understand the motivations of all the characters.
I really enjoyed this book and will be looking for more from the author.
The small Greek island is set more or less in present day, but it's one of those timeless places that makes the story read more like a folk tale - which is good. When a man referred to mostly as 'the fat man' shows up to investigate the death of a local woman, he goes about his business despite the protestations of the corrupt local 2-man police force, who have declared the death a suicide.
We are drawn into the story several ways. One story follows the fat man as he investigates. He follows the word on the street, but is also surprisingly knowledgeable about all things involved, and gets to the heart of the matter with each person he questions. In his satchel, he is able to pull out the perfect thing to thank each person or convince them of his intent. We are never told exactly who is he, who he works for, why he is there, or how he knows anything. When justice is done, it is fair and perfect.
We also see the story through the eyes of Irini, the woman who died, Andreas her husband, and Theo her lover. Some of these asides are flashbacks that alternate with the fat man's chapter, and some happen concurrently with the fat man's investigation. The juxtaposition of these stories works very well to make you care for an understand the motivations of all the characters.
I really enjoyed this book and will be looking for more from the author.
13 人中、10人の方が、｢このレビューが参考になった｣と投票しています。
Authentic and intriguing
2009/11/14
形式:ペーパーバック
I've visited the Greek islands, but had no idea what life was like beneath that placid surface... This is sold as a crime novel, but don't be expecting blood and gore - it's more in the line of Morse, or Poirot. But as much as anything, read it as a piece of travel writing, or an insight into a very foreign way of life brought to life with an unmistakable touch of authenticity. Thoroughly enjoyable.
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