Customer Reviews

Oblivion

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

 

 

I started to read this novel at a normal pace not noticing that, surreptitiously, it was becoming for me a "page-turner."

The structure is not as complex as some make it out to be: it's a missing person's case that turns into a murder mystery and ends as an action thriller, all of it overlayed by the conceit of having the main character develop amnesia (for credible reasons) well into the initial, missing person's phase of the tale. The story would have been there without the protagonist's malady; the malady adds spice to the read.

Mr. Abrahams handles the narrative with lucidity and aplomb. Contrivances of the genre are never heavy handed, even an almost obvious "red herring" causes anxiety though one would feel awfully cheated were it to be true and therefore one knows it could not possibly be... Mr. Abrahams demands that readers remember; his is not the short-chapter, cliff-hanger, serial-style writing of the "da Vinci Code" but rather a well-crafted, cannily developed novel where most characters and relationships are fleshed-out and reveal themselves as the plot advances and the protagonist recovers memories. Only towards the end, when the murder-mystery turns into action-thriller does the story perilously come close to getting "hokey." Somehow it survives.

The writing is always mature, intelligent and engaging.

This is an amusing read; I enjoyed it very much. I recommend it particularly if you can give it good chunks of time, such as by a lake, on a long plane ride, or at the beach. Summer is here.

To answer somebody's query: my star ratings are based on comparisons within the same genre(more or less) and mean nothing about my estimation of a book such as Mr. Abraham's as compared to say, Mann's "Magic Mountain" or Weinberg's "A World at Arms." All three are very fine writers in widely different spheres, the spheres themselves susceptible to different estimation.

I love Peter Abrahams books. His clear, concise writing is a joy to read and his characters are always fascinating.

"Oblivion" starts off with a bang, and I rushed through Part One in record time. Even though Petrov seems to have the easiest job of any detective out there ---- clues fall into his lap faster than candy at a parade --- his creepily flawed character keeps you engaged.

Once he develops brain cancer and a crippling case of amnemia that erases everything he accomplished in the first section of the book, he becomes a "nice guy" --- and this is not a good choice. The middle (the largest part) of the book is a redundant slog, with the detective accumulating all the evidence once more and struggling to put it together. Of course, we're ahead of him half the time, and this makes for a tedious read.

The last section of the book, though clever, is something that's been telegraphed much too vividly earlier and we're never really surprised. And the showdown is about as realistic as the end of a Mannix episode.

All this aside, Oblivion is an extremely well-written crime novel. But to call it a thriller is a stretch. What it lacks is a more ambiguous tone and plot twists that don't scream GOOD or EVIL at you from miles away.

PS: To echo another reviewer, this is a truly handsome, visually pleasing book to read. Clever chapter titles type face, lead-off letters, and such.

Private Investigator Nic Petrov is asked by Lisa Rummel to find her daughter Amanda. The missing person case leads to murder and presents Nic with more questions than answers. The case keeps cycling back to a Hollywood movie made about Nic and the capture of a serial killer. But putting the clue together keeps getting harder as Nic's mental abilities degrade and when amnesia requires that he start back at the beginning.

Nic is presented as a somewhat larger-than-life character, even as his illness progresses. There is a romantic relationship which is completely implausible, if not bordering on silly. The writing style is choppy which, I am guessing, was meant to convey Nic's mental processes but I found rather annoying. Without coincidences the story would have gone nowhere. The identity of the killer, which was a surprise, seemed absurd to me. There was some good tension, it did keep me reading and I liked another book written by Abrahams, which is why I rate it Okay rather than Poor. I'm willing to give Abrahams another try, but I'd recommend passing on this book.

In this exceptionally well crafted suspense novel a private detective searching for a missing girl sufffers from a brain tumor,loses his memory and has to start his investigation from scratch.As he digs deeper he finds out that the missing girl case may be more complex than it seemed the first time around.This fast paced mindbender keeps you on your toes and the fact that the character Nick Petrov is such an interesting character keeps it from becoming just a clever gimmick filled book.If you're tired of reading ordinary by the numbers serial killer mysteries this is a great change of pace.

When I first picked up this book, I never expected to finish it in one day! Main character Nick Petrov is a famous private detective, and I found myself quickly drawn into Nick's newest case and then the mysterious events of his own life which follow. Using a technique reminiscent of the movie Memento, author Abrahams introduces memory loss into the plot and then has Nick work backwards to reconstruct the events of his life that he has forgotten. I especially liked how the author clues the reader into part of the mystery while Nick remains in the dark; as the story progresses, however, Nick and the reader piece together the remainder of the puzzle together. In sum, this book's unique premise kept me thoroughly interested and engaged.

I haven't yet found an Abrahams book I didn't like! This may very well be his best work so far. Like "The Fan" and his other books, this one's hard to put down.

The plot does take unexpected twists and turns but never once did I feel I was suspending my disbelief. Nick Petrov is likable and evokes a sadness given the state of his life. It's amazing how Abrahams can get into the heads of a variety of characters from baseball players to exotic dancers to private investigators making them all convincing.

A must read.

I have to say right away that this was one of the best books I've read this year.

And believe it or not it has nothing to do with a plot that in other writer's hands would have been a mild and predictable story.

The great thing about "Oblivion" is they way it is narrated.

Abrahams chooses the third person single vision style, telling the story from the point-of-view of his detective Nick Petrov.

The novel stats as a regular clever noir story, Petrov is quick with one-liners, a smart guy with good instincts.

Then he starts behaving erratically.

The genial part of the book is the third person POV is the POV of a brain-damaged person. Petrov is sick. He never realises how much.

Soon we are way ahead of him, and he doesn't have a clue, he's a mix between the guy from Memento and the blind character played by Audrey Hepburn in Wait until dark, the suspense is built in waiting for the character to get it, we can forsee the danger, but he doesn't.

Abrahams succeeds creating a clever interesting deep character in Petrov. His misgivings, and the way his mind works are the best points of his prose.

He's able to create a background story, one of those usually mentioned as flashbacks to add depth into characters, and then transform it into a very important part of the plot, and he does it cleverly slow. Creeping on us.

Highly recommended.

Before you tackle "Oblivion," by Peter Abrahams, you might want to take Dramamine for motion sickness. Abrahams shifts time, place, and reality so many times that you may lose your bearings while trying to keep the plot straight. "Oblivion" is exciting and challenging at times, but it is also frustrating and exasperating.

Nick Petrov is a hotshot private eye and former cop who is famous for catching a serial killer named Gerald Reasoner. Nick's fame spreads even more when a movie-of-the-week is made about the Reasoner case, with Armand Assante playing Nick. One day, a thirtyish woman named Liza Rummel approaches Nick, asking him to help her find her missing fifteen-year-old daughter, Amanda. He agrees to take the case, but while he is investigating the matter, he begins to suffer from severe and troubling neurological symptoms.

Suddenly, Nick finds himself flat on his back in a hospital bed, and he is diagnosed with a life-threatening condition. He loses part of his memory, and his investigation of Amanda's disappearance is placed on the back burner. When Nick finally gets out of the hospital, he tries to piece his life back together bit by bit. Not only does Nick have trouble recalling the simplest things about his past, but he also must make vital medical decisions that will affect his future. After leaving the hospital, Nick tries continues working on the Amanda investigation, but he has almost no memory of what he has accomplished so far. He attempts to retrace his steps and piece together the bits of information that will help him solve the case.

"Oblivion" is a clever and maddening book with some passages of delicious black humor. It is very confusing and requires an enormous suspension of disbelief. The author would have us believe that Nick Petrov suffers a major illness, and yet he has the desire and ability to somehow continue working in the throes of seizures, dizziness, weakness, and even partial paralysis. In addition, Nick forms an unlikely relationship with a nurse, Billie, who takes care of him in the hospital.

I like Abrahams' prose style, which, although cryptic, is also smart, brash, and funny. Abrahams has fun with Nick's character transformation. He changes from a self-centered and shallow person who has all the answers to a man humbled by circumstance; he now lacks the answers to even the most basic questions. After becoming ill, Nick is eager to reconcile with his estranged son, Dimitri, whom he has neglected, and Nick belatedly comes to the realization that he must connect with other people in order to make whatever is left of his life worth living.

As Nick edges closer to a resolution of his case, dead bodies begin to pile up. He begins to realize that Amanda's disappearance is somehow related to the Reasoner case. Unfortunately, not only is the book's plot often bewildering, but it is undermined by a paint-by-numbers ending that is hackneyed and unrealistic. Although Peter Abrahams has fun toying with the thriller genre, and there are some engrossing and effective scenes in "Oblivion," it is an uneven novel that doesn't quite hold up.

Summary, no spoilers:

This is the story about detective Nick Petrov, who specializes in finding missing persons.

Several years earlier, he had been responsible for the apprehension, arrest and conviction of a particularly gruesome serial killer. They even made a movie about that, which made him a relatively well-known person.

At the beginning of this novel, Nick is contacted by a woman named Liza to find her daughter Amanda. The story is about that quest.

We can sense that something is wrong physically with Nick, but we don't find out what until about 1/4 of the way into the book, exactly what is wrong.

I give this 3 stars because as a mystery story, I found it rather mediocre. It almost seemed rushed to me, and there is too much coincidence and "luck" for my taste.

What is unique and good about this novel, is the concept that the protagonist would have to deal with memory problems (you know that from right away, that isn't a spoiler.)

This book is still entertaining, and it does have a twist at the end. But other than the "Memento" like aspects, it just wasn't anything special.

OBLIVION starts as a rather ordinary mystery, but picks up steam when private eye Nick Petrov suffers a brain hemorrhage resulting from a tumor. Another unique element is that the reader knows more about what's going on than Nick does when he wakes up in the hospital.

The early part of the book deals with a woman hiring Nick to find her daughter. He accumulates clues, painstakingly entering them in code in his notebook. After his operation he no longer remembers the code and must recompile the evidence.

Nick's main claim to fame was his role in the capture of serial killer Gerald Reasoner. Armand Assante even played him in a movie about the case. As he reaccumulates evidence, he begins to find similarities between the new case and the Reasoner murders. Someone is also trying to thwart his efforts, as he loses a key piece of evidence when an intruder breaks into his house.

A subplot involves Nick's love life. His former lover is now the LA chief of police. Their affair ruined his marriage. In his new world, Nick begins to fall for Billie, a black nurse who cares for him while he's in the hospital.

Another rather unique element is the presence of Nick's dead father, a former KGB investigator, as Nick pursues the missing girl. We're never quite sure if this is a consequence of his brain tumor, or if he really thinks he's talking to his father. The father also goads Nick for his ineptitude

One drawback of the book is that Abrahams telegraphs the culprit about midway through the book; we even recognize his/her accomplice when he arrives on the scene.

I've read one other Abrahams novel, END OF STORY, and one element they both have in common is originality. If you're tired of formulaic writing, give Abrahams a try.