Customer Reviews

A Rich Full Death

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"A Rich Full Death" is one of Mr. Dibdin's earlier works, and while he still writes a strong narrative, this book was less enjoyable, and was not on par with the balance of his work, until the very end. I plan to read the book once again, as I believe knowing the outcome may improve the entire story. I realize that sounds odd, however that is my impression.

A Mr. Booth is our guide throughout the story, which is related to the reader in the form of letters. As the reader you take the role of Prescott, the letters recipient, and it is from Mr. Booth but for a codicil at the end, who acts as the sole information source for the reader. Since the tale is revealed from one perspective how you feel about Booth is critical. I found him to be an annoying parasitical social climber, a pathetic man desperate to join the correct social circles. This may have been exactly what Mr. Dibdin intended, I don't know, but it annoyed me no end, and as Booth is the narrator, there was no respite from his personality.

The plot twists during the work are not as smooth as the other works I have read, but as I mentioned, the ending is extremely entertaining, is the highlight of this story, and may justify a second reading. As always murder is the sport of choice, and the perpetrator's map for his crimes is extremely well done.

Even though this was not one of the better reads of Mr. Dibdin's work, I believe that a second pass through Dante's Florence may change, or perhaps elevate the read. Such being the case, I err on the high side with the fourth star.

Dibdin scrupulously maintains a mid-19th-century writing style, or at least as much of one as is palatable to contemporary readers. Let's call it "Victorian lite." That in itself interested me. Add his depiction of a slightly shabby ancient city, a lurid mystery, and the gradually unfolding psychological portrait of the narrator, and you have a story with both surface flash and internal complexity. Especially if you've been to Florence, his dusty, neglected, even slightly dangerous city in which everyone has to get around on foot or by carriage provides a fascinating contrast to the modern reality of this prosperous, sophisticated urban gem. Otherwise, Dibdin doesn't paint a very detailed picture of the medieval and renaissance architecture or the landscape. The plot and the relationship between the narrator and the quixotic Robert Browning are what carry the story. After the breakneck pace of the final third, I thought the penultimate plot twist and the twist that follows it at the very end of the novel nicely explained the feverish tone that underlies the polite style of the narrator's letters from the very first page. This is an easy, fun read, made more so by the history and Florentine folklore that Dibdin includes.

I know this won awards, but I didn't like it. I much prefer his Aurelio Zen character in several of his other books. This narrative consists entirely of letters written to a friend, so it's all first-person. I suppose it's clever, and if you're extremely fond of Robert Browning you might enjoy hearing him "speak." But other than those two things, I couldn't recommend it. It also violates a long-standing principal of mysteries concerning the narrator/main character. Can't give that away, but it's very disturbing!

This one started out bad, got a tiny bit better around three quarters of the way through and then crashed and burned with the conclusion. Stilted, dull and mind numbingly bad with a "twist" ending so infuriating that I wanted to toss the book through the window. Actually, two twist endings but whose counting. I have read everything I can get my hands on from Black Lizard and this is the first one that really let me down. If I hadn't been on a weekend vacation with only this book as company, I wouldn't have read it. Robert Browning should have been the big tip off. Historical literary figures don't solve crimes. Not Edgar Poe or Jane Austen or, God help us, Robert Browning. And every book I have come across that tried to paint them in this light have been unanimously bad. Add to this, a narrator that is both pedantic and duplicitous and you have a book that treats the reader very badly. Skip it. Seriously.

I have been a big fan of Dibdin for many years, but this one is best avoided. We are promised a "truly astonishing final twist" which turns out not worth the bother.

The reason I bought the book was a positive reference to Michael Didbin in one of Donna Leon's books. He was praised as a master of the atmosphere and intriguing plot. What a disappointment! The atmosphere was there alright, but the characters and the plot were unconvincing, tedious, and in places downright annoying. After reading some reviews afterwards, I realized that this book may not be his best, so I bought "A Long Finnish" (Aurelio Zen mystery), and didn't like it either.
What bothers me most is that Didbin is recommended to readers who liked Leon (Inspector Brunetti mysteries) and Camilleri (Inspector Montalbano mysteries). As someone who fits in this category, I strongly object! The only thing Didbin's books have in common with the above is that the main character is an Italian detective, and that the plot takes place somewhere in Italy. But if you like the easy flowing style and lively characters of the above two authors, you may be very, very disappointed with Didbin, as well as almost insulteded by the comparison.

I loved this book...until the end. Maybe I read it too quickly, but the end lost me. The book sans the last chapter was an excellent, fun read.

This was my first book by this author, and it is terrific. An entertaining mystery and a nice trip to the Florence of 1855. I had it more or less figured out about halfway through, and the second-to-last chapter proved me right - until the last chapter blew me out of the water! I immediately skimmed the book a second time. The final chapter is a complete surprise - yet perfect. At least 2 of the reviewers above missed the point of the book entirely, but unfortunately, I can't tell you how without revealing the ending. However, I WILL say that the title of the book is the key.

This book is not worth the time required to read it. Disappointed for have enjoyed
the Zen books. Actually, this book sucks.

A Full Rich Death
by Michael Dibdin
Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
204 pages, $12

This is an astonishing book that will leave you reeling. On the cover is a blurb by Ruth Rendell claiming, "Dibdin has a gift for shocking the unshockable reader." That is dangerous because it gets us imagining all of the farfetched possibilities. But then wham! Something we not only didn't anticipate, but a surprise that makes new sense of the whole book including the title. Each chapter, and especially the last few pages, will take your breath away.

This is a period mystery in which Robert Browning is presented as an aspiring young Sherlock Holmes; but Booth, his Watson-like sidekick, has some real doubts about his would-be idol (as well as coveting the poet's mistress). Listen to the sensual language that enriches each layer of this tale:

"Then the lightning -- as bodiless as moonlight, though far intenser than the sun --suffused the scene again, and I saw that the figure was Beatrice, as naked as Eve. The torrential rain blowing in through the window, which she had gone to shut, had sprayed her shoulders and bosom, and the skin gleamed like polished bronze."

"The English are dying too much," a Florentine police chief observes, as the narrator becomes embedded in a murderous plot mirroring Dante's Inferno. From which only we, the readers, will emerge (though not unscathed).

- John Lehman, Rosebud Book Reviews.com