Customer Reviews

Body Work (V.I. Warshawski Novel)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It's a little difficult to describe Sara Paretsky's on-going V I Warshawski series to someone who's new to her work. Paretsky has been writing the Warshawski series for about 20 years or so, as well as at least one stand-alone book. Her writing, her characters, her settings, her crimes are unlike any other contemporary mystery writer I've read.

Her latest, "Body Work", is not an easy book to read. I think it's the edgiest of all her novels; the center around whom the story revolves is a "body artist", working out of a Chicago night-club. The "body artist", called here "the Body Artist" is a murky figure who allows customers to paint on her naked body. The images are sent world-wide on a web-cam. The plot of "Body Work" has the standard murders, bad guys, the internet, the war in Iraq, a Blackwater-like company which provides mercenary services in Iraq, sexuality issues, and many more plot points. Paretsky does a good job in laying out the plot and then tidily cleaning it all up again. But in the background of the plot are the issues of V I Warshawski herself.

Vic is a long-time private-eye in Chicago. She's gone through many cases, ably written up by Sara Paretsky, who brings her character along in personal development in each book. Many of the same characters show up in the books; Vic's family members, her neighbor-and-protector, Mr Contreras, various friends and lovers, and, of course, her two dogs, Mitch and Peppy. Paretsky has brought her character from a hard-scrabble childhood as the only child of a Polish Catholic policeman-father and an Italian Jewish opera singer-mother. Her first books were set in that odd Chicago area of the southeast side of Chicago, with the various ethnic groups jockeying for space. The power of Paretsky's writing, in those books, was the diversity Chicago is known for. The settings of the later books have moved to the northside of Chicago and the villains have subtly changed to large corporations - Blackwater, Wal-Mart - who are a blight on our society, in Paretsky's view. (She's not wrong). She regularly brings up societal issues not examined in other fiction.

I felt this book was a little over-written. It could have been a little shorter and more concise. Of course, I'm comparing it to her back-list. It is a good book and an enjoyable one, particularly for long-time Paretsky fans.

Somebody else noted that after two books where she is a significant character, Warshawski's niece, Petra, is becoming a little too annoying. It didn't take two books for me. I found her very annoying in her first appearance and, when, I discovered her in this book as well, it was an irritating let-down. I have read all of the Warshawski books and own most of them. I obviously am a Sara Paretsky fan; however, I found this book to generally be a mess. Warshawski's continuing involvement in the main crime and her insistence at pursuing certain aspects of it that I won't ruin by revealing them here were a genuine puzzlement. The "Body Artist" character and the dynamics of her performance seemed almost ludicrous beginning with the artist's title. She also seemed oddly dated to me. She was supposed to be cutting edge but, instead, seemed kind of 70s. Likewise, another effort at edginess, and a much smaller detail, having a musician play heavy metal music on a hurdy gurdy clanged. Too many characters, too many plot threads, and, although the effort is evident on Paretsky's part, (she didn't just dash this off) too much longing on my part for the quality I found in her books previous to the last two.

There is a body artist who works in a Chicago nightclub. She permits customers to paint her naked body on stage. Her image is posted on a web-cam which she later sells to the public.

While at the club, V.I. Warshawski witnesses an ugly incident where a young painter creates intricate designs on the body artist. Then, an intoxicated man makes certain accusations and is asked to leave the club. Later, Vic witnesses a shouting match between the painter and the club patron, outside the club.

Later, the painter is murdered in the alley beside the club and the intoxicated man, Chad Visneski, is arrested and accused of her murder.

Chad's father tells Vic that his son, Chad, is an Iraq vet who suffers from PTSD but doesn't think that his son would gun down a defenseless woman so he hires Vic to clear Chad's name.

There is something going on at the club, Vic learns that the owner of the club is in financial difficulty and that Anton Kystarnik loaned her money and now has gained an interest in the club.

Vic turns up a lead on the body artist's identity. Her name is Karin Buckley and Vic wants to find her to learn what she may know about what went on at the club.

The plot is complex and tightly connected so that the reader will be entertained.

Spoiler (Vic hires her niece Perta and a number of Iraq vets. The story takes an interesting turn when events that happened in Iraq are brought to life. There is a question that U.S. contractors might have issued faulty equipment to their employees and sold the equipment to the government. Then the company tried to bribe the families of the fallen employees so they wouldn't discuss what went on in Iraq.)

The minor characters are also appealing as one of the vets, staff sergeant Marty Jepson is wonderfully described and seems to be an ideal son. Another old friend is at the scene as Vic's elderly friend and protector, Mr. Contreras makes his appearance and his manner adds a realistic and personal touch as does young Clara Guaman, who is a character who we see develop during the story.

The novel was overly long and could use some tightening up. I rate it as a 3 1/2 star but move to 4 star due to the the finely interwoven plot and engaging characters.

I've been reading the V.I. Warshawski series for years and while they've always been good reads, the last few have just been phenomenal. Last year's HARDBALL was one of my top reads of the year, and this one will be on my list this year. I know some people consider this series too "political", but that's what draws me to it. I like a book that makes me think and examine my opinions. No matter what your take on the Iraqi war is, I guarantee this book will make you think about it! Kudos, Ms. Paretsky!

Since the plot has already be given in other reviews, I won't restate it. I agree with the others that this is a 5 star book. Sara Paretsky's books are like no other mysteries that I have read. They are mysteries, but also sociological and political studies of Chicago and its people. After I have read one of her V.I. books, I feel as though I know Chicago much better. Maybe her books should be called "Chicago Noir." Her books always deal with contemporary subjects of interest, among them in this book, the Iraq war and private contractors, PTSD in returning vets, performance art, Eastern European drug dealers in Chicago, family values in a Mexican Catholic family, and female sexuality. Also, in this book, we see a much more vulnerable V.I., who as she approaches 50 questions what she is doing and how her actions affect others. A very good book, highly recommended.

Body Work is an outstanding read and an excellent addition to the Warshawski canon. Sara Paretsky picked a very ambitious theme, or set of themes, combining intricate subplots (and "teaching points") into one unified and highly successful narrative. As always, she has the Chicagoland scene letter-perfect. And I have huge admiration for her courageous treatment of difficult and sensitive topics. V.I. is for real, and so is Sara!

As a retired Soldier, I was also very pleased to see V.I. doing battle with a crooked Iraq War defense contractor/war profiteer. Sadly, Tintrey has all too many real-world counterparts. I'm grateful, as well, for her sympathetic treatment of Army and Marine veterans.

The coincidence of all her threads coming together at "Club Gouge" was very well handled, although it wouldn't have satisfied Ross Macdonald (if you come across a coincidence in a Lew Archer novel, it's not).

For me, a great attraction of Paretsky's novels is that I really like her detective as a person. Whereas, for example, I certainly admire Sue Grafton's craft, but I can't imagine having a friendly drink or going to a ballgame with Kinsey Millhone.

A tour de force. Five stars - but I do find Cousin Petra pretty annoying. She could stand a vacation. A long one.

I had read my last V. I. Warshawski novel about fourteen years ago before I tried "Hardball" when it came out. In essence, I had given up on the series, finding that it did not seem to be deveoping. Although I gave "Hardball" five stars, it didn't do that much for me (the 5 star rating was mainly because I rather enjoyed coming back to this series). This is a much nicer work, but it does have some flaws. The "deus ex machina" ending when V. I. becomes a body artist herself is a bit strained as a way of tying things together. Still and all, a fine work.

First, the usual cast of regulars is here, Sal, Mr. Contreras, Lotty, Ryerson, the police whom she drives crazy (Mallory and Finchley). Each plays a credible role in the developing story. Even Mr. Contreras' dogs fit in! And the city of Chicago, as always and as proper, is also part of this work. The description of Chicago always rings pretty true to me. Here, a wicked winter provides a bleak backdrop to a tough story.

Second, the plot itself features a set of characters. Bringing the various stories together at the climax of the work is handled reasonably well, although V. I. sometimes feels like she was a bit slow on the uptake. The main plot line: a woman is killed after a showing by "The Body Artist," who does performance art at a trendy Chicago bar. A young woman, Nadia, does drawings upon the Artist's body. One night, she is killed, The primary suspect, Chad, is a traumatized Iraq War veteran who would go crazy when he saw the design that Nadia drew on the Artist at her performances. Hence, he becomes the suspect after Nadia's murder.

V. I. is hired by Chad's family, to determine his innocence. She begins her investigation. In the process, she runs into information about the death/murder of Nadia's older sister; she runs across a scandal involving a major company supplying body protection to troops in Iraq; she tangles with hardened thugs and rich corporate thieves. And Petra, her young relative, sometimes helps and sometimes hinders V. I.'s work. Other key actors? Iraq veterans who are drinking buddies with Chad and end up working as part of V. I.'s team to solve the mystery.

This, overall, works pretty well. It is also a good change of pace to see V. I., in a relationship that doesn't die quickly from her own demons. We shall see if there is any future in that relationship in future volumes. And it is good to see a character aging as Warshawski is doing. As I recall, she was in her thirties in the first book that I read; here, she has entered her fifties. On the other hand, I sometimes think that she has not developed as a person and seems doomed to perpetual crankiness and emptiness. But that itself makes her character rather interesting.

Bottom line: a nice entry in the series.

VI's back and she's getting cranky. Now that she's 50, she's losing her patience (aren't we all?) I love an author who lets her character age, change with that age and still shows PI work realistically. VI makes it known that her bread and butter is working for corporate clients not the glamourous, media headline cases. I found this plot so unrealistic. It was just so contrived. Still I would rather have VI in an unrealistic plot than no VI at all.

I hate to say it, but at about halfway through "Body Work" I am beginning to lose interest...which usually does not happen with
Paretsky's work...

This one just doesn't seem to have the "life" of her previous books...I'm not getting any
real depth of character out of the descriptions of the people involved;it's like she expects
the reader to know who - and how - all the regular characters fit into the story...and
it reads to me like she's just going through the motions...

I'll stick it out to the end and keep hoping it will come alive like her previous works,
but...well...I'm not holding my breath on this one.

First, I'm a long-time fan of Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski novels. I've read them all (most more than once), and, at the conclusion of each of the previous novels in the series, have found myself looking forward to the next. Body Work is not the novel I'd been looking forward to reading.

Paretsky is a skilled writer, so this isn't really a bad novel--it's just not up to her usually high standards. V.I. seems tired and lacking in spirit. She's less dogged than usual, and fails to follow up on the clues that she would have been all over in the past. In addition, she has a number of moments when she seems to lose confidence and berate herself for not picking up on things. One might even say she wallows(!)

And, speaking of self-indulgent wallowing--what's up with the continued presence of her cousin, Petra? She's self centered, irresponsible, and not germane to solving the mystery. In fact, she's just the type of young woman that V. I. would have felt compelled to tell off in the good old days of this series. So, why is Petra here? If she's intended to make the series relevant to a younger generation of readers,--please, she doesn't. She's just silly and annoying. In fact, she's like a commercial interlude. I found it preferable to simply skip a few pages each time she appears.

I hope Ms Paretsky is not tired of her series or her main character. V.I. has always been one of my favorite strong, feminine/feminist heroines. And, I still need her!!