A Morning for Flamingos [Import] [Paperback]

James Lee Burke (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd; New Ed edition (July 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099415577
• ISBN-13: 978-0099415572
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,828,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Lee Burke, a rare winner of two Edgar Awards, is the author of twenty-three previous novels, including such New York Times bestsellers as Bitterroot, Purple Cane Road, Cimarron Rose, Jolie Blon's Bounce, and Dixie City Jam. He lives in Missoula, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BURKE DOES IT AGAIN..., June 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Morning for Flamingos (Mass Market Paperback)

In this installment of the Dave Robicheaux series, James Lee Burke again paints a rich tapastry of the failings and triumphs of the human spirit set against the backdrop of southern Louisiana. As is true in his other novels, Burke uses his standard plot woven around career criminals, the disenfranchised,and the poor with a violent psychopath or two thrown in for good measure, to explore the complexity of human relationships and how and why past experiences can motivate us, even subconsicously, to behave in certain ways. All of Burke's characters are fully formed, three dimensional people that I felt like I knew by the end of the book. There wasn't a card board cutout among them. No body is ever really quite as good, or bad, as they initially seem( well, except for Jimmie Lee Boggs). I have read his books out of chronological order, and I do think there has been some drop off in recent years. Maybe this is due to building too many stories around the same basic plot of gangsters, low lifes, and crazed hitmen, or maybe now that Dave is married to Bootsie and has been in the same job for several novels, there hasn't been any room for any major new plot twists. Hopefully, Burke can explore Robicheaux's relationship with his daughter Alafair more as she becomes a young adult.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Building a Better Burke, June 22, 2001

By 

Patrick Burnett "penngos" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Morning for Flamingos (Mass Market Paperback)

This is, without a doubt, one of the better of the Dave Robicheaux novels. As always, James Lee Burke writes with a lyrical grace that should awe the average reader. And this early novel was written before he started plagiarizing himself wholesale, stealing plots, characters and even entire paragraphs in order to flesh out his balletic swamp-songs.

A black mark on this otherwise fine novel is the odd decision to have Dave go undercover in the home of Mobster Tony Cardo, a razor-edged freak of a man living on the outlines of his own criminal organization. Personally, if I were a crook, I'd never accept an ex-cop into my home, but maybe that's just me - the fact is that tony does and that's how this rollicking book gets going.

It's not important that there's any more plot than that - in a Burkle novel, the setting is the most important element. As always, Burke paints pictures and only incidentally places characters and action within them, with the exception of Dave Robicheaux himself. I have always admired Dave - he is morally ambiguous and righteously angry, which causes him to behave in ways that are almost as freakish as Tony Cardo's ways. An example is dave's heroism at the climax of this novel - it's both awe-inspiring and breathtaking, but it's probably not what I wold have done in the same situation.

Burke is an amazing writer and a good story-teller. He's not a bad painter, either.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Burke On Track, December 29, 2001

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Morning for Flamingos (Mass Market Paperback)

I had just about given up on James Lee Burke. After being stunned with the genius of "Neon Rain," I found most contemporary Dave Robicheaux novels rather gloomy and over-described affairs. Went back to "Black Cherry Blues" his Edgar-winning novel and was disappointed. Now, I feel I've read another gem. I am doubly pleased because from reading and seeing interviews, I think James Lee Burke is one of the most charming authors around.

"A Morning for Flamingos" begins with the death of Dave's partner while transporting two prisoners, Te Beau, a New Iberia boy to whom Dave has certain obligations, and the menacing Jamie Lee Boggs. Dave is left critically wounded and remembers little of the actual escape. The story leads to underworld figures, voodoo, and the sordid, steamy underside of New Orleans.

The pace and brooding menace never let up, and Burke allows no loose ends to annoy the reader. The characterizations are sharp, descriptive, and unforgettable. The solution is elegant and exciting. I liked Dave all over again.