Scan barcode
A review by kimbofo
Elegy for April by Benjamin Black
4.0
Elegy for April, published a decade ago, is actually a precursor to John Banville's latest novel April in Spain. (Benjamin Black is the pseudonym Banville once used for his crime novels.)
It's a brilliantly evocative novel set in 1950s Dublin that explores what might have happened to a junior doctor who goes missing — even though there is no body to be found and her family don't seem remotely interested that she's vanished.
The star protagonist is the pathologist Quirke — who was first introduced to readers in Banville's 2006 novel Christine Falls — and together with his adult daughter Phoebe and a local police detective, a loose and unofficial "investigation" gets underway to figure out whether April Latimer has disappeared of her own accord or met with foul play.
It's a brilliant story, written in Banville's typical lush prose with big dollops of humour and much social commentary throughout. I loved it.
To read a more detailed review, please visit my blog.
It's a brilliantly evocative novel set in 1950s Dublin that explores what might have happened to a junior doctor who goes missing — even though there is no body to be found and her family don't seem remotely interested that she's vanished.
The star protagonist is the pathologist Quirke — who was first introduced to readers in Banville's 2006 novel Christine Falls — and together with his adult daughter Phoebe and a local police detective, a loose and unofficial "investigation" gets underway to figure out whether April Latimer has disappeared of her own accord or met with foul play.
It's a brilliant story, written in Banville's typical lush prose with big dollops of humour and much social commentary throughout. I loved it.
To read a more detailed review, please visit my blog.