Customer Reviews

The Blind Man of Seville

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This, the new novel by the award-winning author of A Small Death in Lisbon, appears to have much going for it. The first draw is its rather curious title, the second is its exotic setting, Seville, Spain. Plus, the plot itself sounds rather fascinating...

Thursday 12th of April, and a leading restaurateur is found slain in his home. Tied to a chair in front his TV, he has been forced to view horrifically unendurable images. The horrors of these scenes is evidenced by the self-inflicted wounds caused by Raul Jimenez's desperate struggle not to watch them. On top of that, his eyelids have been removed. The normally dispassionate detective Javier Falcon is shocked deeply, and becomes inexplicably frightened by this killer who seems to have know, intimately, every single detail of his victim's life. Never in his career has he confronted a scene so barbaric.

But, for Javier Falcon, the worst is yet to come. Because, in investigating the victim's complex past, he discovers that it is inextricably connected with that of his own father, world-famous artist Francisco Falcon. The case eventually becomes not just a hunt for a killer clearly prepared to strike again, but a voyage of discovery for Falcon as he, through Francisco's journals, learns much about his father's past and the dark secrets it hides...

This story, told through the dual narratives of fascinating diary extracts and standard third-person narration, is told expertly. Even though the first hundred pages or so grow slightly dull at times, and it takes a while to settle all the numerous characters in your mind, the pace soon picks up as we learn that the case has as much to do with the past as it does the present. The setting is described wonderfully, and the city of Seville is really brought to life, shimmering with vitality. I might even recommend this book for the setting alone.

The lead character, Javier Falcon, is unendingly fascinating and gloriously chilly. The reader cannot help but care and get a little worried as his mental health gently seems to decline as he desperately tries to hold everything together in the face of affecting revelations concerning his present and past. When those revelations finally fully come to light near the finish, it is with a great sense of shock on the reader's part. Indeed, the final hundred pages are absolutely wonderful, when everything falls into place and the reader realises the scale of what is being revealed.

This book is a great thriller for the most part, and I'd recommend it quite highly. The writing quality is very good, but the prose itself doesn't exactly sing. Instead, it has a rather detached coolness that fits surprisingly well. Part tense thriller, part examination of the effects of the past on the present, and part novel of ideas and of the natural of true art, I'd give this one a big thumbs up on almost all fronts!

It is Semana Santa in Seville and everything is in a state of excitement, anticipating a full week of Easter processions, crowds of celebrants lining the streets in preparation. In the middle of the cheerful chaos, Inspector Jefe Falcon is chosen to investigate a gruesome murder case with implications of dark secrets and a long-buried history of brutality.

Raul Jimenez surrounded himself with celebrity and the attendant bourgeoisie who made his life run smoothly. With a penchant for depravity, there was a discrepancy between his public and private lives, leading to speculation about the grotesque manner of the killing. As the case unfolds, something equally dark surfaces in Falcon's subconscious, a reawakening of memories tied to his own father, a famous artist of brutal intensity, Francisco Falcon. Living alone in his father's huge mansion, memory lurks in every corner; separated from his wife, Falcon is left confused and vulnerable.

The Inspector seizes upon the idea that the murder is rooted somewhere in Jimenez' past in Tangier in the 1930's and '40's. Falcon, as is his way, leaves no detail to chance, not Raul's younger wife, his son from a prior marriage, nor previous nefarious business associates. Clearly a man of uninhibited tastes, Jimenez had an equally murky history in Tangier, long before attaining the social status of Seville, his peasant beginnings obscured by the sophistication of wealth and power.

Falcon falls deeper into the mystery of his father's past, one that runs concurrent with that of Jimenez, confusing the Inspector's ability to separate truth from fiction. The artist's diaries rival Falcon's attention to his work on the case, as the Inspector becomes preoccupied with the history of the man who looms large in death as well as life. Beset with nightmares and unfathomable fears, Falcon encounters emotions he is ill prepared to comprehend.

More than a clever storyline, the author reaches behind the complex emotions of shocking criminal acts, with complementary plot lines that propel The Blind Man of Seville, gradually revealing the identity of the man who carefully executes the torture of his victims and Inspector Javier Falcon's internal struggle with his personal life, exacerbated by reading his famous father's journal entries. Ultimately, the true nature of the artist is revealed, exposed by his own words, turning Falcon's interpretation of reality upside-down and intimating the killer's identity.

Wilson's style of writing tunnels into the imagination, planting images, possibilities, and perverse thoughts that lodge in the mind. All in due time. The reader is complicit in the plot, a voyeur perched on Falcon's shoulder, privy to his musings and sharing his fears. This author has drawn me deeply into the subconscious texture of the plot, a willing victim. I read this novel compulsively, found it impossible to resist. Luan Gaines/ 2005.

THE BLIND MAN OF SEVILLE is a tour de force. Robert Wilson melds police procedural with psychological thriller as he leads the reader through the social, geographic, and historic topography of Seville and Tangier. Along the way Wilson offers insights into the vagaries of memory, the discomforts of truth, and the origins of loneliness.

Seville's chief homicide detective Javier Falcon, son of a famous painter, struggles to identify a killer who mutilates his victims while showing them unendurable images from their past. At the same time Falcon is wrestling with ghosts of his own past: his divorce and the contents of his dead father's studio which he's kept locked away for nearly two years. What he learns in these simultaneous investigations brings Falcon to verge of collapse.

This may not be a book for readers who want their mysteries to be simple mind candy. It is dark, violent, and frightening. However, if you admire the dark stories of Ruth Rendel and Nicolas Freeling, you should read THE BLIND MAN OF SEVILLE.

Robert Wilson constructs the plots of his books in the same way as a watchmaker puts together a fine watch. He lays all the parts out in front of himself, and then slowly but surely constructs the finished product, in which all of the disparate wheels and springs and dials fit together precisely. This plot works the same way. Initially, what appears to be a murder investigation develops into something much, much more, and all of the apparantly disconnected bits of information the author strews throughout the book slowly, ever so slowly, come together into a unique creation. All of the questions are answered, and all the threads are tied together, perhaps not always neatly, but when has life ever been neat and tidy? It's thrilling to watch a master plotter at work, and this book fulfills that ideal.

Java Falcon, homicide detective working in Seville, Spain is confronted by several problems. First of all, he must investigate the brutal murder of a local restaurateur who was found with his eyelids removed evidently forced to watch something and killing himself trying to get out of the restraints. Falcon is particularly affected by the mutilated eyelids. The second issue concerns a journal written by his dead father, a famous artist. Falcon was asked to destroy the journal in a letter written by his father just prior to his death, However, he disobeys and in stark detail learns what a depraved and damaged man his father was. The third problem is Falcon facing his own demons as he deals with the journal and the murder. Will his struggle prove to be truly self destructive?
First of all, this is most definitely not a book that appeals to my personal taste. It is long- very very long and is written in such a leisurely introspective style that it actually reads much longer than it is. The British call this a thriller and I simply cannot fatham why. I would also not characterize the book as compelling or even enjoyable. To be honest, I couldn't wait to finish it. Yet its excellence cannot be denied. The writing is lyrical. Falcon's personal angst is so deep and well thought out that his character becomes breathtakingly lifelike. There is great complexity in both segments of the plot- the journal of Falcon's father, as well as, Falcon's story. There is greatness here- that cannot be denied. This book reminds me of the classics of literature that we had to read in school- great books that challenged the reader. The bottom line is the book is not fun but is highly worthwhile.

Robert Wilson's "The Blind Man of Seville", no doubt displays the authors creativity but bogs down as connections are made to tie the plot together.

Chief homicide inspector of Seville, Javier Falcon is atypically deeply disturbed by the abhorent murder he is presently investigating. A celebrated and wealthy restauranteer Raul Jimenez is found bound to a chair, facing a TV monitor, in his apartment and gagged with his own socks. The apartment is nearly empty as his family is in the process of moving. Falcon and his team discover that the 70 year old victim had been forced to watch a video, apparently so horrible that he inflicted wounds to himself trying to extricate himself resulting in shock and heart failure. What disturbed Falcon was that the victims eyelids had been incised off to assure that he would being viewing the terrifying video. The homicide team quickly find a video in the apartment of the victim having sex with a youthful looking prostitute. Circumstances point to Jiminez's young and attractive wife as the main suspect.

Falcon, who has recently divorced, is living his deceased father's palatial mansion. Falcon's father, Francisco Falcon was a famous painter celebrated for his exquisite execution of five nudes of Falcon's mother, Pilar, which were considered masterpieces. While Francisco Falcon was fabulously wealthy selling other pieces he was never able to again achieve the perfection of his nudes in other work.

Falcon, reluctant to enter his father's studio, finally does and discovers a will and a diary. The will instructs Falcon to destroy all his work and implores him not to read the diary. Javier's curiousity prompts him to read the diary which reveals many previously unknown facets of his father's life. His father's story leads him from his expulsion from his family at 16 to his long service in the foreign legion through his experiences in WW2 fighting for the Axis. He finally settles in Tangier, Morocco involved in the smuggling business and commencing his career as an artist.

The story become actually two stories that merge into one. Javier continues to investigate the murder which turns into a multiple murder as the prostitute in the video also turns up dead. Meanwhile Wilson narrates the diary of Francisco Falcon, which gradually reveals a connection to the murders being committed. Falcon eventually becomes psychologically distraught as his father's diary has him question his own existence.

Robert Wilson obviously loves Spain and he brings the city of Seville to life. The culture, climate and cuisine all come together in a wonderous mix. The story of Spain's involvement with bull fighting is fascinating.
The protagonist is a police inspector but the drama comes from
the meshing in his work of the personal side with the psychological
implications of involvement. Family history is in the core story. Very entertaining. . Hard to put down but I rationed myself because I didn't want to have the story end too quickly.

Robert Wilson writes some of the most unusual fiction in modern literature. His books are multi-layered, with a deceptively simple mystery plot which usually mutates into a long, complex riff on a variety of subjects. In the present instance, the murder of a Seville restauranteur sets the local homicide inspector on the trail of a killer who seems a bit to clever, and very familiar with the detective.

This is an amazing book, but it's important to emphasize that it's not a suspense novel, really. There's a mystery, here, but the suspense is on the level of The Name of the Rose, say, as opposed to the latest by Robert Crais or Jeffrey Deaver. Instead, the plot wanders through a whole list of issues, dealing with everything from corruption and adultery to homophobia and psychological disorders, with a good deal of Spanish atmosphere thrown in. I would tell you more about the story, but that would only make it less compelling when you read it. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys serious literature, or mysteries, provided they can handle something that has more than just a puzzle.

Although things unfold a little slowly and in a rather sedate manner in "The Blind Man of Seville" -- this, in spite of the fact that the book is supposed to be a murder mystery that focuses on the attempts of the police to apprehend a clever, methodical but seemingly crazed murderer -- this latest Robert Wilson offering turned out to be a truly compelling read. Some books just make you smell, taste and 'see' the things that are being described: like the smell of marble and wood polish in old buildings, shadow and light in corridors, the music from cafes and the smell and taste of coffee ... and "The Blind Man of Seville turned out to be one of those books.

When Chief Inspector Javier Falcon of the Seville Homicide Dept. is called in to investigate the brutal murder of famed restaurateur Raul Jimenez, he is thrown by the horrific and savage manner in which the man was brutally murdered. And when a preliminary search of the scene of the crime reveals how meticulous and methodical the murderer was -- even to the extent of stalking and filming his subject/victim and carefully leaving evidence of his diligence for the police to find, Falcon realises that he is dealing with an intelligent and but deranged personality with an agenda of his/her own. But it is when the investigations begin to infringe on his own past and memories, and hints at a relationship between the Jimenez and his own dead artist father, that things begin to take a toll on his own personal mental health. For now Falcon must not only battle internal petty official politics (his second in command is after his job) but also dig into a past that might reveal even more horrors than has already come to light and that might also include some rather uncomfortable truths about his own family...

What makes this novel so very compelling is the manner in which Robert Wilson tells his tale. He draws things out but in such a manner that I was forced to read along eagerly, even though I was (at the same time) growing a little frustrated at the slow manner in which the novel was unfolding. And the sheer brilliance in which he was able to allow me to 'see' things unravel -- like the disorientation Falcon experiences as he tries to come to grips with what he remembers of his childhood, and what has been suppressed, and how all this is taking a toll on his work. I suppose what I really appreciated about "The Blind Man of Seville" was the tone and the artful storytelling. Mystery-wise, there have been better ones. The lack of concrete suspects and a tangible motive together with the not always there air of suspense and tension, were a little off putting, but I still found "The Blind Man of Seville" to be a very compelling and engrossing read.

I enjoyed the book very much. It got me distracted and took me to a different place and that was what I was looking for. An escape! He is a powerful writer with great command of the language. He knows Spain and the language very well from what I could gather. His description of Sevilla is fascinating.
If you need a book to take your mind off your troubles, this one will do the trick.