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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorite series going-, August 18, 2005
This review is from: Door to Bitterness (Hardcover)
I really like Martin Limon's series and his irrascible protagonists George Sueno and Ernie Bascom. Door into Bitterness is the fourth installment and I have been waiting impatiently for six years for this novel. Limon is an extremely talented writer who has not received the attention and acclaim he deserves; his writing has such presence and conveys such atmosphere you feel transported to whatever time and place he takes you, in this instance, 1970's Korea.
George and Ernie are military investigators nominally tasked with keeping an eye on the free-wheeling black market barter economy outside Korean army bases and insuring US servicemen neither get in too much trouble nor cause too much trouble. Their intrepretation of their role is a lot less rigid than probably what their supervisors had in mind and so they often turn a blind eye to much of what they are supposed to police, nor are they are above having a good time in the adult wonderland themselves. Their attitude to policing vice outside the army bases is simply a very realistic assessment on their part because there is only so much you can do when a country is flooded with 19 year old soldiers with big paychecks and the local populace is only too accomodating in finding compelling and interesting means to separate them from their money. George and Ernie, while not above availing themselves of a good time, do take their job seriously though. They may not try to fight human nature if a seviceman wants to barter cigarettes for sex, but they do take violent exception to, in this novel, robbery, kidnapping and murder. Especially when they are on the receiving end of part of the mayhem. Thieves drug, beat and abandon George but not before absconding with his badge and gun. They then use these items to commit a robbery/murder. Facing a courts martial for losing his service sidearm, the commanding general gives our team one chance to find the weapon and capture the criminals before facing the consequences.
I whole-heartedly recommend this book. On the surface, it is a fairly straight forward investigation told from George's point-of-view. Underneath is a breathtakingly beautiful work of poignancy, despair, hope, alieness, and redemption. Limon is a masterful writer because he doesn't tell you things, he lets you learn things only through the narrow lens of perception; both yours and that of the characters. It is through dialogue, action, and reaction that his story unfolds not the simple, clumsy narrative descriptions most writers resort to. We experience Korea through the eyes of an anguished young hispanic orphan who has become a military investigator, and the story unfolds like the petals of a lotus. This book, Door into Bitterness, is aptly named for there is much that is heart-rending in this novel, but I feel the work still signals a return, after a long hiatus, to a less bleak world view for George and Ernie. Buddha's Money, the third novel, was almost too much to endure, except for the magical qualities of the gifted writing. My take? I love this book, I love the series, Limon is a master fo his craft, and I sincerely hope I do not have to wait another six years for the next book.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Glad to see the series resume!, September 19, 2009
This review is from: Door to Bitterness (Hardcover)
I was really pleased when this appeared. I really liked the earlier books in the series, except for portions of "Buddha's Money" that were just a bit too gruesome. There was a long gap between the last book in the series and this one, but it seems like it was worth the wait. I actually thought this was overall more mature and better written than some of the earlier books. Indeed I think I like it the best so far of the books I have read. As with the earlier books, there is a lot of dark humor. I do like however that the author is respectful and sympathetic to the characters, Korean or American. As in the other books, the author does a nice job of presenting the culture clash associated with the Americans working in the Korean environment without making it seem overly exotic, it all comes across as very matter of fact.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Tasty Stew, October 24, 2005
This review is from: Door to Bitterness (Hardcover)
Martin Limon is the best writer of mysteries writing today. He transcends the genre and produces great literature. After the somewhat disappointing Buddha's Money (where, I'm convinced, his publisher bullied him into making a "Hollywood version" of his work), The Door to Bitterness finds Limon in top form.
What are his works like?
Imagine a recipe for a tasty stew:
Start with characters as fully developed and interesting as Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe (but make Pascoe the narrator and give him some street smarts).
Stir in a police procedural plot as well designed as one of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels.
Fold in a peacetime military background as rich as James Jones' classic (in fact, Limon writes about the peacetime military better than any writer since Jones)
For spice, add something uniquely Limon: an awareness and sensitivity to Korean culture and a poignant awareness of the inevitable change and corruption of an ancient civilization as it copes with Western influence.
One can't compare this last point to Kipling or Conrad, because, although Limon is every bit as sensitive toward Asian culture as those two writers, they essentially stood above the subjects they wrote about. In a post-colonial world, Limon looks at Korean culture with a different eye, one on the same level as his subject.
If Limon's background is anything like that of George Sueno, the protagonist/narrator of the books, one can understand his extraordinary empathy. His hero grew up an outsider, an Hispanic in LA foster homes, and suddenly finds himself again an outsider in South Korea, only this time as a gringo (since the Koreans don't recognize racial differences among Caucasian soldiers). This strange outsider looking at the world from below transformed into an outsider looking at the world from above creates a wonderful point of view which keeps you off balance and allows the reader to discover new perspectives on every page.
Limon clearly loves Korean culture, and you learn a lot about Korean culture from him. His characters - American and Korean - are fully rounded people. He understands the importance of the military presence in Korea, even as he is aware of the deleterious effects it has on society. And his mysteries keep you hopping.
Martin Limon is a retired military policemen, so some part of his books must be a roman a'clef. From his novels, you gain insight to Martin Limon the man and you can see from his observations and attitudes that he must be a good cop, a good soldier and a good man. And all of that adds up to make him a terrific novelist.
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