Almost Blue

by Carlo Lucarelli

Book Overview

A serial killer is terrorising the people of Bologna and rookie Detective Inspector Grazia Negro is determined to solve the case. She only has one witness who can identify the killer - and he is blind. Simone spends his nights listening to Chet Baker and scanning the radio waves of the city, eavesdropping on other people's lives. He imagines what people are like - based on the 'colour' of their voice - and his acute hearing sets alarm bells ringing...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0099459434
• ISBN13: 9780099459439
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Vintage Books USA
• Length: 166 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.3" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

B..O..R..I..N..G

The book is terrible and makes very little sense. I have read great authors who successfully experiment with an unusual, complicated, difficult-to-render writing style. Lucarelli is NOT one of them! This was disappointing to realize given the excellence of his storytelling in every other novel of his that I've read. If you are buy this book based on your good estimation and enjoyment of his typical novels and style (e.g., the DeLuca series), you're in for a huge letdown.

Take the leap

Dive in and read this even though it might feel a little hard to get into at first. You won't realize how completely immersed you've become until the last few pages ! So many levels of human consciousness are explored expertly with so few pages ! The translation is extraordinary. Bravo Lucarelli ! Brava Oonagh Stransky !

Lucarreili -Almost Blue is a modern day masterpiece

Lucareelli from the first chapther grabs the readers attention and doesn't let go to the chilling ending. It not only is exciting murder thriller but also offers insight into cultural aspects of Modern day Italy. A word of warning the novel isn't for the faint of heart. I still have trouble sleeping at night I keep waking imaging the killer is in my room.

Distinctive prose style sets this one apart

I bought this after it had been featured on NPR, and found it a compelling and disturbing read. The way that the author alternates POV's is challenging. As you are reading, you are not often able to immediately determine who is speaking. Chapter trasition is inspired, as well. The violence is described in a manner that is spine-chilling without being repulsive. This is a great read for someone bored with the cookie cutter way thrillers are currently written. It is refreshingly short and well-paced.

A refreshing fast-paced compelling read

Meant to give 4 stars. Very Nice translation. Good Mystery. What a delight to happen upon this Lucarelli book! Grazia Negro enters the book world of female cop detectives for English readers with this translation. This is a crime noir novel with signifigant twists from the ordinary. Besides the fast-paced complelling plot of tracking the serial killer, these pages also invite the reader into the world of Simone, a blind Bologna native, who provides the distinctive experience of seeing through a blind man's senses -unheard of in the usual crime/detective novel. The effect is poetic, lyrical, and fresh. The quality of translation is clear in that the reader also perceives the richness of the Italian experience, with just enough original Italian phrasing left by Stransky and with Lucarelli's pictoral journeys through the city to provide these nuances. Lucarelli, musician that he is, serendipidiously provides morsels of contemporary music which the xgen folks particularly will enjoy: NIN, Chet Baker, Costello and more. Crime buffs, book-lovers who enjoy thrillers and mysteries, especially those jaded by books in those genre which seem written in canned formulas these days, will welcome this new arrival. If Lucarelli has 10 more untranslated novels, keep them coming Ms. Stransky. An eager audience awaits.

It's Almost You

City Lights Books in San Francisco continues its avant-garde mission with the launching of its own "Noir" crime series, and Carlo Lucarelli's "Almost Blue" is a superlative debut thriller. A serial killer dubbed the Iguana slashes university students in Bologna and assumes their identities. Detective Grazia Negro, recently transplanted from Rome and unfamiliar with this other city, ends up relying upon Simone, a blind broad-band radio voyeur, to help locate the Iguana through his "green" voice. Lucarelli has crafted a word collage to tell the tale -- multiple first person voices, thoughts interwoven with descriptions, music and lyrics by Chet Baker, Elvis Costello, and Nine Inch Nails. Oonagh Stransky's translation is amazing; I wonder if she wrote this, it's that good. If you like the "Mask Noir" series from Serpent's Tail and Soho Crime series authors, you'll love this.