Customer Reviews

The Bernini Bust

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'll admit it--I missed the complex and worldly European setting that usually surrounds a Jonathan Argyll/Flavia di Stefano mystery. Transplanting Jonathan to Los Angeles on a business trip was a novel idea for Pears, and it works. Jonathan's being a native Brit wandering forlornly through LA with its lack of public transit and decidedly non-European look and feel adds a breath of fresh air to his well-intentioned bumbling. That bumbling, of course, is the comedy that redeems a topic that could become very dry-art history, wealthy art collectors, and old, aristocratic European families.

I love mystery stories, especially serials, but it is always a fine line an author walks while trying to offer fans what they love-and what they want to see again in three, ten, or twenty books about their favorite hero/ine-without coming off as derivative or lacking imagination.

Everything to love about Jonathan and Flavia remains in The Bernini Bust. Jonathan is kind and tends to get confused. Flavia is quick and sharp and alternately frustrated by and worried for Jonathan. The ever-evolving relationship between the two does do some growing in this installment.

I often guess the ending of mysteries written by favorite authors. I can't be the only one who starts to know how an author's ideas tend to turn out after a time. "The Bernini Bust" actually surprised me at the end, and the hilarious conclusion of the murder investigation in LA soothed my ego for guessing wrong. Aside from the murder, the mystery of the Bernini Bust was another clever puzzle that made this yet another great installment in Iain Pears' mystery series.

Jonathan Argyll is almost an anti-hero. He's an art broker who isn't very good at his job, and a lover who suffers from a stuttering inability to express himself. Nevertheless, he's sold an overpriced Titian to an L.A. museum and Argyll must travel from France to the US to oversee his sale.

But L.A. is filled with bad guys--sneaky thieves, tacky museums, and thugs of all descriptions. The art world is turned upside down by murders which expose the darker side of human greed: tax evasion, fakery, and adultery.

Jonathan's friend Flavia, a member of the Italian art fraud squad, joins him in L.A. to help unravel the increasingly twisted skein. Together they solve the crimes, and return to Italy as friends and lovers for the final, surprising scene of this delightful novel.

Enjoy the setting, the characters, and the literate humor of a wonderful mystery story. I highly recommend it.

This is another in Mr. Pears' art history series featuring an Italian art police woman and English art historian/dealer. Unlike the prior books, this one takes place in Los Angeles rather than Rome. The change in venue does not detract.

The Bernini Bust is one of the more enjoyable of the series.
Is there a bust or not? Is it a forgery or not? At least the reader is sure there was a murder early on in this thoroughly enjoyable novel.

Mr. Pears' all-to-human heroes go through their usual mistakes and miscues and end up solving the crime. There is also a bit of shaving the ethical edges that always adds an interesting twist or two to these books.

What adds to this series is that Mr. Pears keeps the characters - and their relationship - developing. He also adds humor - one can imagine that when Mr. Pears writes about Argyll and Flavia he does so with a wry grin.

There's no heavy-lifting in these books, but this book, like the others is a great light, quick read.

Iain Pears is a superb writer -- when he is in his element. Apparently, however, America is not his element. The book is a delight to read, but only if you ignore the fact that all of the characters sound exactly alike. The Americans talk like Brits, the Italians talk like Brits, the Brits . . . well.

I find it hard to believe that Mr. Pears has ever actually met an American. Or if he has, if he's actually listened to the way Americans talk. Because they don't sound anything like the Americans in this book.

One example: virtually every American Argyll meets in L.A. says "I reckon." Have you ever heard anyone outside of maybe Texas or Montana say "I reckon?"

Or this: The widow of a deceased billionaire, in describing the IRS, tells Flavia that it's "a sort of Spanish Inquisition redesigned for the consumer society. Trying to put one over on it is a national sport rivalling the baseball." A national "sport," rather than, say, a national pastime? "Tax relief" instead of "tax break?" THE Baseball? Please!

Here's another one: Barclay, the billionaire Moresby's lawyer, is talking about his employer's finances: ". . . and I would have filled out Moresby's tax form to that effect . . ." When was the last time you heard your lawyer, or your accountant, talk about tax "forms," instead of tax "returns?"

Finally: L.A. homicide detective Morelli instructs Argyll to "bring him [a witness who's fainted] round," instead of "bring him around." The former is what a Brit would say, the latter is standard American. Later on, Morelli, discussing the widow's motive, says "so Anne Moresby inherits the lot." He says "the lot," when -- as an American -- he means "everything." I don't think Iain Pears can even hear the difference, let alone acknowledge that it matters. But it does.

I have enormous respect for Iain Pears. I loved An Instance of the Fingerpost, The Dream of Scipio, and most recently The Portrait. He is scrupulous about details, precise in his language, masterful in his characterizations. Usually.

Having said all that, The Bernini Bust is still a treat.

This is the third in the Argyll series. For me it is better then the Titian Committee, but falls short of The Raphael Affair's fast pace. I have to agree with the people who say that having the mystery take place in California, vice Europe, takes some of the enjoyment out of this read. However, I thought the ending had great charm, and the way in which the mystery was 'solved' gave it a good twist. It is the most humorous of the three so far (the characters are developing and interacting nicely), and leave me wanting to go right into the next book. Like all series there will be the occasional dud, this is not a dud but suffers in comparison to other Pears efforts.

This is the second Iain Pears book I have read, but it is the first of the Jonathan Argyll mysteries that I have read. I was intrigued by the premise of mixing the art world with mystery and was plesantly surprised that such a caper is possible; and why not, with all the instances of fraud that go on in the art world? Iain Pears is a talented writer with a gift for crafting quick paced mysteries (short or long) that involve the reader in the action.

Jonathan Argyll, a somewhat inept seller of art, is stuck in Los Angeles, awaiting payment on a Titian he has sold to the Moresby Museum. While he awaits authentication and payment, the owner of the museum turns up murdered and the list of suspects seems especially long, with Jonathan unwittingly finding himself the target of the killer. Working alongside the American detective Morelli, Jonathan enlists the help of his friend Flavia di Stefano to not only track down the killer, but to also uncover the mystery of a Bernini bust. The bust was supposedly purchased by the owner and disappeared from his office at the same time as his death. Flavia and Jonathan must track down how the bust was smuggled out of Italy which embroils them in the search for the murderer.

"The Bernini Bust" is a well-written art fraud caper, filled with likeable (though at times cliched) characters and a plot that clips along at a breezy pace. The mystery is a bit too pat and easy to solve, and the novel has none of the magic and power of Pears' "An Instance of the Fingerpost". Nevertheless, for fans of mysteries it is a fun saunter through clues and alibis to track down a murderer. Plus, the title is excellent, on all the levels of definition, especially when the final mystery is solved.

This is a typical art dealer Jonathan Argyll/art cop Flavia di Stefano outing: a convoluted who-done-it with touches of droll British humor and a dash of romance. Enjoyable and entertaining.

I love all Ian Pears' books. This one is light and witty with an American scenario for a change.

After reading The Instance of the Fingerpost, pretty close to being a masterpiece, I was disappointed with the mystery series. He gets a little better as he progresses but, generally speaking, they're pretty boring except for the art details and the Roman way of life. However if he's as inaccurate about Rome as he is about America, I might have to revise that opinion.

My real reason for writing this is to vent about English writers who feature Americans in their novels. Deliver me. Can't someone tell them or their publishers that they need an American advisor to keep them from looking like complete dolts?? This applies to every single English novel I have ever read, featuring Americans, and, believe me, I have read tons of them. Someone please tell them that people in all walks of life, in America, do not say, "I reckon" on a regular basis. To a man (or woman) they always make American characters talk like they just stepped out of Hopalong Cassidy movies from the '50's. And to top it off, they do it very smugly as if they really have it down. If only there was someone I could complain to. Or to whom I could complain, as the case may be.

Meanwhile, the books are readable, if there's nothing better or you happen to be in the mood. But "Fingerpost" is far, far superior to the mysteries.

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