Christine Falls

The trouble all began with the body of Christine Falls. Although she had recently given birth, Quirke could not find out what had become of her child. Not that it was his job, as a pathologist, but having been an orphan himself, he's particularly tender in that regard. Could it really be that she's connected to the family that took him in as a child? Quirke suddenly finds himself besieged by hired thugs and buried in family secrets. Secrets that color how he thinks of himself and everyone around him.

There are so many reviews of this book, I'll keep it short: I loved this book. Dark and angst-ridden, it is right up my alley. For some reason I kept thinking of Kate Atkinson while reading it, all the way her characters are connected, but show more I like Black even better in that regard. I also kept thinking of Wuthering Heights, but I'm not going to explain why, no need to spoil the surprise. I'll be looking for the next in this series. show less

Writing as Benjamin Black, John Banville made an impressive debut as a mystery writer in 2006 with “Christine Falls.” Dark, moody and muddled (in a good way), the story manages to rise above genre to become literature of the sort the author writes under his own name.

The title character, a young Irish woman named Christine Falls, is dead before the first page. Quirke, a pathologist in 1950s Dublin, notices nothing amiss until he catches Mal, his brother-in-law who is also a doctor, altering the death records late at night. Yet Quirke is drunk at the time, so later he isn't sure he remembers what he thinks he remembers.

The woman and her baby supposedly both died in childbirth. But what happened to the baby's body? And who is the show more father of the baby — Mal, who married the Crawford sister Quirke desired for himself. or someone else? And what really happened to Christine Falls? The more questions he asks, the more bad things happen, including the murder of a woman who knows too much and a crippling beating of Quirke himself.

More tragic consequences follow Quirke to Boston when he goes there on family business. It turns out that is where the answers to his questions lie.

This is a solid mystery debut, never losing its grip on the reader despite its deliberate pace. show less

Christing Falls by John Banville
This book started out well for me, but then it started to go downhill. I found it clichéd with some very stereotypical wooden characters. Its portrayal of 1950s Dublin was accurate, but the main character was flawed in ways that lacked verisimilitude. It was very depressing and did not have any glimpse of light relief. It left me feeling that I do not wish to read anything else by John Banville.

Many contemporary Irish writers seem to focus on depressing and well-trodden miseries of Irish history and societal failings. While it is important to record and examine these issues some recent book releases appear to exploit the human misery rather than providing a forum to examine and learn from them.

Another show more thing I felt Banville did was to pile too many issues into the one story. Banville has rolled in alcoholism, sectarian bigotry, illegal export by nuns of babies for adoption, the dreadful treatment by nuns of girls who have “gotten themselves into trouble”, hypocrisy of members of elite Catholic organisations, nepotism, marital strife, child killing, poor housing conditions, the power of the church both in Ireland and the US, etc… That should give you an idea of the misery piled high in this book. I haven’t even mentioned the unrequited love, the sibling rivalry, the parental domination, the secret societies, unsavoury characters, poverty, abuse of servants, and more.

There was a dreadful event that was signalled several times and in a very obvious fashion. When it happened I gave up reading the book. It was just too much cliché stacked on top of an already teetering pile of cliché. I stopped reading at 54% telling myself I could be spending my reading time more usefully by reading something else.

Would I read another book by this author?
No.

Would I recommend this book?
No.

Did this book inspire me to do anything?
Yes: avoid any other John Banville books.

Was the book engrossing?
I found myself reluctant to pick it up and read it. The fact I stopped reading at 54% indicates that I was not engrossed in the story. show less

I liked it at first, probably because it's the characters are Irish and the plot chugs along toward an indictment of a particularly Irish crime--shipping babies of young unmarried women off to American to be adopted and raised to be nuns and priests. The novel was ultimately ruined for me, though, by the gazey maleness, the icky wish fullfillment, the middle-aged white guyness. It's just so tedious how they position themselves in book after book.

In the plus column, he pulls off a pov that shifts between characters very nicely, sometimes darting rapidly between perspectives and sometimes settling in for long stays.

I wonder if I would like John Banville, the serious writer version...I bet not. He couldn't see things THAT differently show more writing under a different name. show less

In the first novel featuring inquisitive pathologist Quirke, Benjamin Black (aka, John Banville) spins a dark and seedy tale of murder and mayhem, family secrets, cover up and deceit in 1950s Dublin and Boston. Late at night, after an office party, a booze-addled Quirke happens upon his step-brother Malachy Griffin (a physician) altering the file of a girl who recently had the misfortune to end up on the slab in his morgue. Not one to let odd events go unquestioned, Quirke starts digging into the death of the girl, Christine Falls, and uncovers a trail of corruption and treachery that stretches back decades and involves collusion among the Catholic Church, the elite of Dublin society, and members of his own family. The story is show more thoroughly engrossing, the characters indelibly drawn, and the writing fluent and atmospheric. Banville is one of the most accomplished literary artists working in English, but he is not slumming it in this mystery novel written under a pseudonym. His incredible talent is on stunning display on every page. Highly recommended for fans of detective fiction or anyone who likes an absorbing well-written mystery. show less

My first encounter with John Banville's writing under either name and I can safely say it won't be my last, at least under his Banjamin Black alias.

Christine Falls is faithful to many of the genre conventions: Quirke drinks too much, pines for his dead wife and has no respect for authority, not surprising given what he finds out as this masterful novel progresses. 1950s Dublin is atmospherically dark and gloomy and brilliantly evoked.

It's the latter that really separates this, and the best crime writing, out. One reads Chandler not for his watertight plotting but for his delicious prose and his fascinating investigator. Banville/Black, whilst stylistically hugely different from Chandler, understands this and achieves the same.

The novel show more is less surefooted once the action moves from Dublin to Boston but by then I, for one, was already hooked and being reeled in.

After Franzen's "Freedom", for me this was 2011's second 5 star read. show less

Admittedly I am an unusual reader. Years ago I decided to upgrade my shotgun approach to reading and have worked my way through the Pulitzers, Bookers and the National Book prize lists just to name a few. I also love mysteries, mostly focused on international writers and foreign locales.

What an interesting twist to come across Christine Falls by Benjamin Black. Interesting because Christine Falls is a mystery and Benjamin Black is the nom de plume of Booker award winning author John Banville. In 1981 Banville received the Booker (now the Man Booker) for Kepler. Set in the 16th century Kepler is an accounting of the life of the astronomer Johannes Kepler and his struggle to pursue his scientific discoveries in a world rampant with show more political intrigue and religious strife. Much more recently, in 2005, Banville received the Man Booker for the second time for The Sea, a strikingly different novel. Returning to the seaside village where as a young man he encountered a family that profoundly shaped him, a middle-aged man grieves the death of his wife. Both novels are intricate, layered and perhaps a little mannered.

Christine Falls has all the attributes of the Man Booker winning novels, but is an even greater departure in genre, style and tone. Successful mysteries must contain all of the staples: a suspicious death, an engaging detective, seemingly overwhelming odds against solving the crime and carefully sprinkled clues, like crumbs in the forest, eventually leading to the murderer. Imagine all of this being by accomplished by an author who brings the level of mystery writing to that of literature.

Setting is a key element of a good mystery and Dublin in the 1950s feels as atmospheric as Paris in the war years. Quirke, a pathologist, discovers his physician brother-in-law tampering with the body of a murder victim. Like all admirable, and often unwilling detectives, Quirke has a personal history and a set of circumstances that work against him and he pursues the truth despite the opposition of the Catholic Church and men in power in Dublin and in Irish circles in America.

Black’s writing is elegant and it powers a story line that takes hold early and doesn’t let go until the final pages. Characters are sharply drawn and react and interact in ways that make sense while still providing surprise and suspense. As a reader I experienced a satisfying mystery and a fine novel within the pages of one volume.

Unless Banville wins another award I am not likely to read another mainstream novel by him. But the good news is that Christine Falls is the first in a series of Quirke novels and I am eagerly awaiting the next additon. Oddly enough, and despite the recognition of the literary cognescenti, Benjamin Black is a much better writer than John Banville. show less