Sister Pelagia and the White (Mortalis) (Paperback)

by Boris Akunin (Author), Andrew Bromfield (Translator)
Key Phrases: polina andreevna, grand duke, white bulldog, Boris Akunin, Vladimir Lvovich, Naina Georgievna (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Set in the late 19th century, this charming, highly unusual whodunit from Russian author Akunin (the pen name of Grigory Chkhartishvili) introduces Sister Pelagia, a young nun in a remote Russian province far removed from the intrigue of the czarist government. Pelagia's bishop, who has discreetly and successfully employed her deductive skills before, calls on her when an uncommon white bulldog belonging to his aunt is poisoned. After the nun's arrival on the scene, the two remaining dogs in the breeding line turn up dead, leading Pelagia to suspect the killings are actually an indirect attempt to murder their wealthy mistress, whose devotion to the animals is legendary. Akunin's gently humorous omniscient narrative voice distinguishes this novel from other historical mysteries. Even admirers of Akunin's Erast Petrovich Fandorin series (The Death of Achilles, etc.) will appreciate the author's switch to another, even more memorable sleuth. (Jan.)
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Product Description
“Pelagia’s family likeness to Father Brown and Miss Marple is marked, and reading about her supplies a similarly decorous pleasure.”
–The Literary Review

In a remote Russian province in the late nineteenth century, Bishop Mitrofanii must deal with a family crisis. After learning that one of his great aunt’s beloved and rare white bulldogs has been poisoned, the Orthodox bishop knows there is only one detective clever enough to investigate the murder: Sister Pelagia.

The bespectacled, freckled Pelagia is lively, curious, extraordinarily clumsy, and persistent. At the estate in question, she finds a whole host of suspects, any one of whom might have benefited if the old lady (who changes her will at whim) had expired of grief at the pooch’s demise. There’s Pyotr, the matron’s grandson, a nihilist with a grudge who has fallen for the maid; Stepan, the penniless caretaker, who has sacrificed his youth to the care of the estate; Miss Wrigley, a mysterious Englishwoman who has recently been named sole heiress to the fortune; Poggio, an opportunistic and freeloading “artistic” photographer; and, most intriguingly, Naina, the old lady’s granddaughter, a girl so beautiful she could drive any man to do almost anything.

As Pelagia bumbles and intuits her way to the heart of a mystery among people with faith only in greed and desire, she must bear in mind the words of Saint Paul: “Beware of dogs–and beware of evil-doers.”

“Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have praised [Akunin’s] clever plots, vivid characters and wit.”
–Baltimore Sun

“Akunin’s wonderful novels are always intricately webbed and plotted.”
–The Providence Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 273 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Reprint edition (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812975138
• ISBN-13: 978-0812975130
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,166 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Boris Akunin has a new fan, February 7, 2007

By	K. M. "literary devotee" (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

and it's all thanks to "Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog." I haven't read (yet) Akunin's four Detective Fandorin books available in English, but I will -- while I'm eagerly awaiting release of the next in the Sister Pelagia series, "Sister Pelagia and the Black Monk."

Akunin's new, late nineteenth century protagonist is a young, sometimes clumsy, freckled and bespectacled Russian Orthodox Bride of Christ who, we learn as we read, has already solved a few criminal mysteries at the behest of her bishop, the formidable, sometimes bombastic and contradictory, but wise Mitrofanii. This time, she tackles the mystery of who is poisoning specially bred bulldogs with distinctive pelt markings and especially slobbery jowls. At least, that is her initial assignment, but Pelagia soon stumbles upon a sequence of heinous human murders and must discover how everything fits together before she ends up a corpse too.

The narrator of "Sister Pelagia" is unnamed and "hovers" wherever the author chooses. One gets the impression this is an omniscient denizen of the province's humble capital town, Zavolzhsk. In the first third/half of the book, this narrator provides an abundance -- one can claim overabundance! -- of background information on the various, colorful, sometimes blackly comical, sometimes broodingly base, sometimes just plain demented individuals who people Zavolzhsk and the bishop's aunt's country estate. All this familiarization hinders the tale's flow for a time. But once Pelagia solves the first mystery, the novel swings into high gear plot-wise. The suspense is supreme when she must fight for her life, first on land, then in water. And the courtroom scenes provide a satisfying finale to the complex mysteries Akunin devised.

The author, whose perversely playful pen name, Akunin, means "wrongdoer" in Japanese; was born in the USSR and currently resides in Moscow. In an interview (appended in this volume), he commented relevantly, "The problems that Russia faced at the end of the nineteenth century are essentially the same problems we have in Russia today." Not by accident then, "Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog" contains a loose governmental and ethical/religious organization blueprint for the story's province that Akunin evidently thinks present-day Russian public institutions could do well to emulate. The novel contains a number of leisurely exchanges between characters about the nature and reach of good government and other social influences like the Orthodox Church. This aspect of the book lends it added gravitas and consequence.

"Sister Pelagia and the White Bull Dog" is compared to Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" by Akunin's interviewer. There do exist similarities, and one definitely feels a classic "Russianness" in the style. By the way, translator Andrew Bromfield has, to this non-Russian-speaking reader, superbly conveyed the feeling we should get when reading this spry and wry Russian author. And reviewers have suggested that the intrepid Pelagia shares characteristics with famous fictional detectives Father Brown and Miss Marple. Agreed, although young Pelagia also reminds one of Sherlock Holmes who wasn't always himself either....

A wish list for future Sister Pelagia installments: a map is always welcome (even of a make-believe location), and a list of characters can't hurt...it is difficult to keep all the long Russian names straight.

This is a very rewarding read. Four and a half stars. [...]

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A female Fr. Brown, February 13, 2007

By	Frank J. Konopka (Shamokin, PA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In the midst of writing mysteries about detective Erast Fandorin, the author has also begun a new series. This one concerns a nun named Sister Pelagia, who is sent out by her Bishop to help solve mysteries and murders in a backward province of Imperial Russia. The action is fast, the plot never wavers, and the characters are all well-srawn. One interesting quirk to this story is that, when it is required, Sister Pelagia assumes the identity of her "sister", a widow who dresses and acts exactly as would an upper class member of the Russian nobility. I found the premise of this book fascinating, and the characters of both the good sister and her boss the bishop very believeable, therefore I am awaiting anxiously the next book in this marvelous series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a good mystery, but very different from Akunin's other mysteries, November 28, 2008

By	doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

As a fan of Boris Akunin's Erast Fandorin mysteries, I picked up _Pelagia and the White Bulldog_ to see what his new character, Sister Pelagia was all about. I have mixed feelings.

The mystery itself is a bit odd ... you feel the initial mystery: who has been killing white bulldogs, a new breed that is being developed in rural Russia - is solved the first third of the book; yet Akunin is merely toying with you, as the death of the dogs (while tragic) is merely an hors d'ouvre to larger and more sinister crimes. This was fantastic, and while it took a bit to get used to the fact that the crime Pelagia was working on was not necessarily that to which she was called for, it was worth the investment of sticking with the story in the end.

Sister Pelagia, a young nun and new protagonist, is likable and, as a previous reviewer noted, similar somewhat to Christie's Miss Marple, I have mixed feelings about her - I much prefer Erast Fandorin. However, the reason I give _The White Bulldog_ four stars is the tendency of Akunin to go off on tangents. For example, an entire chapter is devoted to a discussion of the village in which the crimes take place, without any real bearing on the mystery itself. Similarly, the final courtroom scene where the murder is unmasked is a bit dragged out (almost giving a blow-by-blow of the opening remarks of both prosecution and defense.) I could have done without these painful details, and found myself wanting to "get to the meat" of the story. Tighter editing (perhaps in the original) would have solved this.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the story. While I wait for the next Fandorin mystery to be translated, I can certainly entertain myself with this trilogy. A recommended read for mystery lovers.