Books: Christine Falls. A Novel By Benjamin Black

(Drivebycuriosity) - I just finished reading "Christine Falls. A Novel" by Benjamin Black (amazon). The book is set in Dublin in the 1950s. Quirke, a pathologist who works in a morgue, develops interest in Christine Falls, one of his corpses. He believes that something is not right and starts a personal investigation, even though this isn`t his business. He gets obsessed with Christine´s case and explores stubbornly, without regard for the consequences (this is a spoiler free blog).

"Christine" is a very Irish story (if you read this book you will see what I mean). I don`t think the plot would function in a non-Irish social environment. The novel, told in at least 3 parallel running but combined plots, is sinister, spiced with bloody violence, murder & evil. The leading characters are well described and I cared about them. Quirke is not only confronted with a hostile environment, he is also haunted by his own past. But the strength of the book is Black`s style, he really can write. I loved the metaphors and descriptions which make the book an exciting piece of literature. 

Benjamin Black is the pen name of the Irish writer John Banville. I loved his novels "Kepler" and "Wolf on a String" (here my reviews Kepler & wolf ) and enjoyed "Christine" too, which is the start of a Quirke series. I am looking forward to read more Quirke books.