Fliehe Weit und Schnell

Commissaire Adamsberg #4

by Fred Vargas

In a small Parisian square, the ancient tradition of the town crier continues into modern times. The self-appointed crier, Joss Le Guern, reads out the daily news, snippets of gossip, and lately, ominous messages -- placed in his handmade wooden message box by an anonymous source -- that warn of an imminent onset of the bubonic plague.

Concerned, Le Guern brings the puzzling notes to the bumbling but brilliant Chief Inspector Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg and his straight-edged, right-hand man, Adrien Danglard. When strange signs that were historically believed to ward off the black death start to appear on the doors of several buildings, Adamsberg takes notice and suspects a connection with Le Guern's warnings. After a flea-bitten corpse with plague-like symptoms is found in one of the marked buildings, Fred Vargas's inimitable genius chief inspector is under pressure to solve the mystery and restore calm to a panicked Paris. But is it a real case of the bubonic scourge, or just a sinister trick designed to frighten as the body count grows and the culprit continues to elude the police?

Peopled with charming and eccentric Gallic characters, and packed with gripping historical detail, Have Mercy on Us All is a complex, surprising, and stylish tale from France's finest mystery writer.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, France, Thriller, Detective, Roman

Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Fred Vargas is the pseudonym of the French historian, archaeologist and writer Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau (often mistakenly spelled "Audouin-Rouzeau"). She is the daughter of Philippe Audoin(-Rouzeau), a surrealist writer who was close to André Breton, and the sister of the historian Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau, a noted specialist of the First World War who inspired her the character of Lucien Devernois.

Archeo-zoologist and historian by trade, she undertook a project on the epidemiology of the Black Death and bubonic plague, the result of which was a scientific work published in 2003 and still considered definitive in this research area: Les chemins de la peste : Le rat la puce et l'homme (Pest Roads).

As a novelist, Fred Vargas writes mostly crime stories. She found writing was a way to combine her interests and relax from her job as a scientist. Her novels are set in Paris and feature the adventures of Chief Inspector Adamsberg and his team. Her interest in the Middle Ages is manifest in many of her novels, especially through the person of Marc Vandoosler, a young specialist in the period.

She separated her public persona as a writer from her scientific persona by adopting the pseudonym Fred Vargas. "Fred" is the diminutive of her given name, Frédérique, while with "Vargas", she has chosen the same pseudonym than her twin sister, Jo Vargas (pseudonym of Joëlle Audoin-Rouzeau), a painter. For both sisters, the pseudonym "Vargas" derives from the Ava Gardner character in "The Barefoot Contessa".

Her crime fiction policiers have won three International Dagger Awards from the Crime Writers Association, for three successive novels: in 2006, 2008 and 2009. She is the first author to achieve such an honor. In each case her translator into English has been Sîan Leonard, who was also recognized by the international award.

Reviews

[Agnieszka · Rating 4 out of 5]

With every volume that cycle grows on me. And what’s more I just caught myself that I’m reading it not as much for the plot and intrigue as for its protagonists. But I hasten to assure you that the plot is very much okay too. These mysteries can be easily read as standalones but knowing previous tomes you have the opportunity to get to know protagonists and their private affairs better.

Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg as a head of a new murder squad moves with his co-workers, who apart from Danglard and Retancourt are rather blurred and completely unidentifiable to him, to new residence. Readers of Vargas are perfectly aware that Adamsberg has rather unothodox methods, as usual is constantly distracted and to follow his train of thought just needs to walk leaving desk work to others. Thus he spends a lot of time in the company of gulls on the embankment of the Seine. To differentiate his subordinates he keeps written notes with somewhat enigmatic entries ears, toughguy means Noël or hooter, brows, birds relates to Favre. Sometimes it even helps. In his private life he rather makes catastrophic mistake allowing, again, the love of his life Camille to slip away. But let Danglard explicate that phenomenon:

You know, Camille, the day when God made Adamsberg, He’d not slept at all well the night before.” ... Not only had He had a bad night, He’d run out of stuff. So like an idiot He popped down to ask the Other Guy if he could borrow some gear.”
“You mean … the Guy down below?” “Himself. So the Other Guy seized a golden opportunity and lent Him loads of gear... “And what then? What did God give Jean-Baptiste?”
“He gave him intuition, gentleness, beauty and ease.”
"And what did the Devil give him?” “Indifference, gentleness, beauty and ease.”

In view of the author’s interest and profession, Fred Vargas is a historian and archeologist, she deftly laces criminal plot with historic events. In this case we got abbreviated history lesson on Black Death with many quotes from ancient sources, we were told about plague-mongers on whom people could shift the resposibility for spreading the disease, we got to know the significance of the backward 4 that put on the door had to protect the inhabitants or that to ward off the danger one need to say cito, longe fugeas et tarde redeas. What translates as go away fast and for a long time, and come back slowly. Note to myself: check out if these words could apply in other situations too. Also Vargas evokes almost forgotten nowadays profession of town crier in the person of an old sailman, Joss.

Since even walking encyclopaedia Danglard doesn’t know everything about the plague Adamsberg needs to make inquieries and that way on the stage appears medievalist Marc Vandoosler who lives with his uncle, a cop and old acquaintance of Jean-Baptiste as it shows, and Mathias- prehistory specialist and Lucien - an expert in Great War history. Their names bring to mind Evangelists and for I know Vargas wrote another cycle titled The Three Evangelists I can safely assume we just met them. And I find it pretty nice device to link these stories and allow their protagonists to make short appearance.

I found the story very well written, with quite a dash of specific humor and eccentric behaviours though some described events are pretty devastating. I liked dynamic between Adamsberg and Danglard, the quirkiness of the first one and calm and reason of the second. I found supporting characters finely drawn too and highly enjoyed time spent with old crier. Needless to say I'm already looking forward to next encounter with unconventional commissaire. Also there are such days that I really need to try this method of Jean-Baptiste to reach the level of animation of a sponge bobbing about on a stormy sea.

[SVETLANA · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the second book by this writer that I read and I liked it very much.

It has everything: the crime, intrigues, history, likeable characters, humour, a bit of romance and an unexpected final.

I highly recommend it. If you are unfamiliar with Fred Vargas's books, try them and discover a very interesting world.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me pasa por tonto y por dejarme guiar de los amigos cultos. Que no espabilo, ya debiera de conocerme mejor. Que se llevó la autora (Fred vargas es un pseudónimo de la escritora francesa Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau) el premio príncipe de Asturias en 2018 y eso ya debiera haberme hecho desconfiar. Pero bueno, al tema.

Es una novela negra con asesino en serie al que intenta atrapar el detective Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, que parece ser habitual en unos cuantos de sus libros. Sí, otro detective. Sí, bastante raro. Y tiene un método de investigación que es más bien la falta de método.

Ambientada en París sobre comienzos de milenio, va de un asesino que intenta convencer de que ha vuelto la peste negra a la ciudad. La forma en que intenta convencer ya la veréis pero a mí me parece poco creíble. Los avances en la investigación tres cuartos de lo mismo.
El cansancio físico/existencial del tal Adamsberg no veo bien de qué viene porque no es que sea la cosa trepidante que digamos. La resolución de la intriga está bien, pero aparece la carta típica de confesión contándolo todo para que el lector no se pierda.

Dios me libre de decir que escribe mal la autora, pero a mí no me han enganchado ni los personajes principales ni secundarios, ni la historia ni la forma de narrarla, ni las rarezas de todos y cada uno de los que aparecen por las páginas. Que no he empatizado con nada, vamos.

Así que mi triste nota es 5/10 y se sube a tres estrellas no sé bien por qué.

[Jim Coughenour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fred Vargas is the nom de plume of French historian, archeologist and writer Frédérique Audouin-Rouzeau, author of my favorite policiers. Only four of her books have been translated into English so far; it's nice to know I have something to live for.

I have a passion for intricate, existentially-eviscerated crime fiction (especially of the Scandinavian variety), so it's with the fanaticism of the connoisseur that I acclaim Vargas as the best of the very best. These books (I've starred all of them) are brilliant, mixing a deep knowledge of the most improbable arcana into delicious plots of labyrinthine complexity.

[Kuszma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Szerintem ez egy igen jó krimi. Vagy hát nem is az, hogy kriminek jó (a megoldás talán kissé túl nyakatekert), hanem egyszerűen jó regény. Vargas nagyon ért ahhoz, hogy tereket és karaktereket alkosson - rá is megy a kulisszateremtésre az első 150 oldal, de nem baj. Itt van például Adamsberg főfelügyelő és hű padavanja, Danglard, hát őket nagyon shippeltem. Úgy illenek egymáshoz, mint a tojás meg a héja: Adamsberg a maga lazaságával, kreativitásával és katasztrofális névmemóriájával, Danglard meg a lelkiismeretességével, önbizalomhiányával és a papírmunka iránt érzett vonzalmával... két totálisan elütő figura, de Vargas valahogy képes elhitetni velem, hogy barátságuk nem csak igazi, de kvázi szükségszerű is, mert mindkettejükben az teng túl, ami a másikból hiányzik. És hát a mellékszereplők is pazar garnitúrát alkotnak, a szerző még az utolsó statisztát is emlékezetessé tudja tenni, az meg kifejezetten mester munka, ahogy kapcsolatokat hoz létre köztük. Ettől érezzük azt, hogy nem csak szereplők vannak itt, hanem egyfajta közösség, amibe mi is szívesen becsatlakoznánk. Milyen kár, hogy egy gyilkos a maga patkánybolháival, pestisbacilusaival, valamint a középkori történelem és a fojtogatás iránt érzett elhivatottságával belerondít az egészbe. Hogy szomorodna meg.

Halvány dunsztom sincs, miért nem adták ki a többi részt (az Adamsberg sorozat 12. részes, ebből kettő jelent meg magyarul), meg eleve: miért a 4. résszel nyitottak. Lehet, rossz pillanatban próbálkoztak vele, egy olyan korban, amikor a néplélek a sötétebb, skandinávabb menüre volt kiéhezve. Elképzelhető, hogy most, az Osman által csúcsra pörgetett "Cosy Crime" divathullám farvizén jobban megtalálná az olvasóit itthon. Akárhogy is, hangulatos kis cucc, szívesen lebegtem benne.

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 4 out of 5]

''Have Mercy on Us All' by Fred Vargus, number three in the Chief Inspector Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg mysteries, has Adamsberg newly promoted yet again because of his previous successes in solving murders! This novel is another character study of quirky fictional characters living in Paris while the story entertains readers with a murder mystery. This book is about revenge, wrongfully being convicted as guilty of crimes one did not commit, and the possible resurrection of the Black Death virus by a madman!

In each of the three books a peculiar murder is done by an offbeat psycho serial killer (each one so far reminding me of The Abominable Dr. Phibes, starring Vincent Price - see YouTube trailer https://youtu.be/YqZBNPoJbSI). However, the killer is never in the center ring of the three-ring circus Vargus creates!

The early chapters introduce readers to a center ring of quirky people who meet cute in some dark slightly messed-up fashion. After their back stories are told in selective tidbits, the spotlight moves to the smaller circus ring on the right where Adamsberg is beginning to puzzle over an odd article in the newspaper, or a strange story brought to his attention by a concerned but wacky citizen. Everyone else in the police dismisses the citizen as a nutjob, but something resonates in the citizen's story attracting Adamsberg's attention. Shortly after, a body which has been peculiarly murdered shows up. Meanwhile, in the left circle, the spotlight highlights a mysterious person or persons, involved in crazy thoughts, planning out the murders.

Unlike circus rings, though, these circles overlap slightly on top of each other, eventually joining and unraveling to become a spiral spinning downward exposing more layers of mystery and motive than had been supposed!

These novels are fun. The murders from book to book are not connected, but Adamsberg has a continuing personal situation going on from book to book. I recommend starting with The Chalk Circle Man, the first in the series, but it is not the best book. 'Have Mercy on Us All' is the best mystery of the series in my opinion, so far. Except for the murders themselves (at least sixes on a ten-number ick scale), these books are cozies, if somewhat edgy.

[Ksenia (vaenn) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Дивуюся, як це так вийшло, що я досі не читала Фред Варґас. Мабуть, чекала на український переклад, бо як детективний текст - це цілком моє. Хоча не мало би бути. Маю два улюблені типи детективів: або холоднуваті розлідування-балети, де кожен крок працює на формулу розв'язання логічної загадки, або вже галасливий світ-як-світ, для якого детективна складова лише частина повсякдення. "Мерщій тікай" у чистому вигляді не є ні тим, ні іншим, але має щось від обох типів.

Це доволі не_чесний детектив - бо таке дозування правдивої інформації варто визнати неконвенційним. Це чесний трилер - бо письменниця майстерно нагнітає (механізми поширення паніки та робота ЗМІ в "бойових" умовах тут класно відображені). Це хороший поліційний роман - бо має не лише харизматичних та несхожих одне на одного напарників, але й показує, як може працювати окремо взятий підрозділ за дуже... нетипового начальника. Це симпатичний "історіографічний" текст, для якого порпання у старих книжках та середньовічній символіці є важливою складовою сюжету. Зрештою це гарний роман "за життя", яке триває поза межами розслідування - з виразними персонажами, упі��наваними проблемами та обжитим Парижем. За тональністю трохи нагадує чарівливе божевілля книжок про багатодітного брата Бенджамена Малоссена іншого французького письменника, але з меншим градусом абсурду. Фух, здається, хочу іще.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great find! (Thanks to Hannah for first reviewing, then recommending this book.) I wouldn't have come across this in a month of Sundays, as Fred Vargas isn't as popular on this side of the pond as she seemingly is on t'other side. What a shame.

I loved it from beginning to end and just gobbled it up in the last 24 hours. There is an archaic resonance to it which is particularly pleasing -- not necessarily in the plotline, but in the dialogue and the construction of it. I can't quite put my finger on why I liked this certain awkwardness in the tale telling, but ... some things you just can't explain.

It is not a complex novel, so there's nothing much to review: just know that it's a great mystery that moves along at a good clip with nary a false step. There is, in fact, a nice little jolt to the heart, which I won't reveal, and caught me completely off-guard. I was impressed.

My new find in favourite detectives: Adamsberg and his trusty sidekick Danglard ... for where would a good detective story be without a good accomplice?

[Vavita · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fave of the series so far

[Outis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fred Vargas è una scrittrice di thriller molto apprezzata. Questo è il suo primo libro che leggo e non è andata molto bene. Capisco perché possa piacere: innanzitutto il suo stile è buono, inoltre il commissario Adamsberg è il tipico protagonista con tutte le caratteristiche che servono per renderlo un commissario amato dai lettori. Anche a me le prime pagine sono piaciute ma poi non c'è stato il click. Anzi, durante tutta la lettura ho provato una certa antipatia per la Vargas e per i suoi personaggi. Anche la risoluzione del caso, è troppo irrealistica per i miei gusti. Interessanti invece gli accenni alla peste e alle varie superstizioni ad essa collegate.
Obbiettivamente il romanzo si meriterebbe almeno 3 stelline ma io valuto la mia esperienza di lettura e il sentimento predominante che ho provato, purtroppo, è l'irritazione.

[Roger Brunyate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overcomplex Mystery in a Magnificent Translation

Fred Vargas is the pseudonym of the French historian, archaeologist and writer Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau. Think Umberto Eco, only younger, French, and female. But definitely an academic with a fascination for language and the ways in which distant history can impinge upon present-day events. In this case, the historical legacy is the Plague, a.k.a the Black Death. It appears that some madman is loose in Paris aiming to spread the disease by means of rat fleas, and Chief Inspector Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg must catch him before more victims die. In this, he is aided by advice from a medieval historian living a quasi-monastic life with two others, calling themselves The Three Evangelists. Both the trio and the detective have their own series in Vargas' considerable part-time oeuvre.

As a detective story, I would rate it only three stars. It takes a very long time to get going, by means of a retired Breton trawler captain who has taken up the outmoded profession of town crier in the district around Gare Montparnasse in Paris. Since he will eventually drop out of the story, the fifty or so pages devoted to him seem too many. The middle section of the book, though, is quite good, with Adamsberg keeping a frustrating step or two behind the crimes, while trying and failing to keep a handle on his own private life. But the end quite falls apart, I think, relying too much on over-complex back-stories that were not so much as hinted at before, and long confessions in lieu of patient detection.

I was given this book originally to read in French, under the title Pars vite et reviens tard ("Leave quickly and take your time coming back"). It is some of the most difficult French I have ever read, given Vargas' verbosity, unfamiliar vocabulary, and abundant patois—and the fact that there is hardly a normal character in it for four of the first six chapters. Then I checked part of this translation by David Bellos in Amazon’s Look Inside feature, and immediately realized that this was something very special. So I ordered it and waited to finish the book in English, with occasional checking of the French for comparison.

Bellos is a distinguished English translator and head of the translation program at Princeton. But he does not write like an academic at all, treating the text with remarkable freedom and much recourse to slang—British slang, I should emphasize: for instance the phrase "bloody great howler" for glaring error. He goes further than I have ever seen a translator go in altering the structure, images, and even the literal meaning of its model. Yet he comes up with a creative work in its own right, a living being of a different nationality, but with the spirit and bloodstream of the original flowing in its veins. Here is a short example, in three versions: the original French, my own literal translation, and finally David Bellos:

La moindre faute de manipulation, parce que offrant à la chose une liberté soudaine, si minime fût-elle, amorçait une série de calamités en chaîne, pouvant parcourir toute une gamme, du désagrément à la tragédie. [Vargas]

The least error in handling, since it gives the thing an unexpected freedom, however small, sets off a chain of calamities that can run the gamut from annoyance to tragedy. [Brunyate]

The merest slip of the hand can give a supposedly inanimate object enough freedom of movement to set off a chain of catastrophes which may peak at any point on the Murphy Scale, from "Damn Nuisance" to "Bloody Tragedy." [Bellos]

Now I can see that some authors or publishers might think this was going too far (though Vargas has used Bellos twice). But for me, it created a unique object: a book I read virtually for the vigor of the translation alone. And reveled in it from beginning to end.

[Daniel Shindler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gem by Fred Vargas in her quirky entertaining series. The plot is almost irrelevant.There are twists and turns but the heart of novel is the mind of Adamsberg and his interactions with his team and the off beat characters populating the book.This is the third book in the series and begins to flesh out the personalities and idiosyncrasies of the people on his investigative team.Be prepared for a meandering journey filled with arcane knowledge and many chuckles.

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a happy time doing January in Japan on bookstagram, I was pretty eager to continue with February in France. Since I’m pretty unfamiliar with the genre, I had a pretty fun time looking for books. I ended up focusing on mysteries because that’s a genre I love and it felt more accessible, eventually borrowing Have Mercy on Us All by Fred Vargas,

Have Mercy on Us All is the fourth book in the Commissaire Adamsberg series and it deals with a serial killer using The Plague. We start off with a town crier who’s been receiving a series of bizarre messages. They pay well, so the messages are cried out and a curious resident soon figure out that they portend a return of The Plague. At the same time, Commissaire Principal Adamsberg has been receiving of strange backward “4”s been written on doors across Paris. Soon, black bodies bitten by fleas are found…

Although I jumped into the series, I had a lot of fun with it once I started getting into the flow of things. The bodies don’t appear until everything has been set up, and that takes quite a while, which worked because it also took me two or three chapters to get into the narrative flow. But once I got a grasp of the main characters and interested in the mystery of the announcements, the bodies started turning up and I was hooked on the story.

As for characters, we have Joss, the town crier, Decambrais, someone who’s interested in the messages, Adamsberg, and his right-hand man Danglard. Joss, Decambrais, and Danglard made sense, but Adamsberg was pretty unique. Adamsberg has a rather abstract way of thinking that for some reason reminded me of Peter Whimsy. I suspect that me jumping into book four didn’t help matters, because the personal life of Adamsberg made no sense to me – sure, he was described as someone who’s more intuitive than logical, but he seemed like many eccentric detectives who star in novels and his eccentric personal life didn’t make as much sense to me. Perhaps it will if I go back and read book one.

Something I thought interesting was the setting. I will admit that I wasn’t sure that it was in Paris for a good part of the novel, and I suspect it’s because I’ve got some idealised version of the city in my head. I’ve never visited so all my notions of Paris comes from books, movies, and TV shows that show a fictionalised version of the place. The Paris here is dark and rougher, and I appreciated the book for showing me another aspect of the city. It can be dangerous to build up one idea of a city that you’ve never visited in.

Overall, I enjoyed this mystery. It took some time for me to get used to the style of the book, but I enjoyed it immensely once I did. I’ll definitely be interested in reading more of the Commissair Adamsberg series in the future.

This review was first posted at Eustea Reads

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I romanzi con protagonista Adamsberg invitano a prendersi del tempo, a perdersi tra le pagine, a uscire per fare una passeggiata e riflettere. E riescono comunque a mantenere vigile l’attenzione del lettore. In Parti in fretta e non tornare il caso è di ampio respiro. Untori, peste, paura, storia, violenza, omicidi, intrecci familiari, avidità, rapporti personali, parole: tutto si incastra alla perfezione.
Sono felice di aver letto gradualmente questi lavori, altrimenti credo che avrei fatto fatica a comprendere le strane relazioni che Adamsberg instaura con gli altri.
Di questo romanzo, tra molti particolari, ho apprezzato il cameo dei tre evangelisti e del vecchio Vandoosler, altri personaggi famosi nell’universo Vargas.

C’era gente che sapeva una quantità di cose spaventose. Cha da un lato era stata attenta a scuola, e poi aveva continuato ad accumulare conoscenze a vagonate. Conoscenze di un altro mondo. Gente che dedicava la vita a untori, a pulci latine e elettuari. E questo, poco ma sicuro, era solo uno dei tanti vagoni ammassati nella testa di Marc Vandoosler. Vagoni che, del resto, non sembravano aiutarlo a cavarsela meglio di un altro nell’esistenza. Eppure, stavolta, sarebbero stati di vitale importanza.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Why the 18 percent?"
"Because that's how many anxious, gullible and superstitious people live among us. The people who are afraid of an eclipse, who panic at the end of a millennium, who are scared by prophecies and believe that Doom is Nigh … the killer will have the city to himself … "

Medievalist and author Fred Vargas sets the stage for an incomprehensible event: the mass panic and uncontrolled chaos of a release of The Black Death, the Plague, in our era. In the Paris of the new millennium, seemingly so distant from such monsters of antiquity. As a pretext for suspense and high-wire jeopardy, as a backdrop for the adrenaline-juiced counteraction of the metropolitan police, a wide-open map of storyline and possible outcome.

She should (Fred is a she) be on home ground, as a scholar of the Middle Ages and literally a specialist on the bubonic plague-- this should be the police procedural written in a white-hot onslaught of pace and drive. But it is not. For reasons unknown, the reader is given a long, leisurely lead-in to the possibilities of a pandemic like this, and yes given lots of fascinating background, but-- is somehow never really lashed into the crash vehicle, or duly abandoned at the center of the storm.

Vargas writes what might be called "Alt Procedurals". The reader should be confident that by the end of the maze here, there will be very adequate closure, that five or six bolts will be rammed home in a few pages, as with any satisfying mystery. But Vargas is most dedicated to the Alt part of the equation, the bewilderingly illogical and iconoclast part of her policiers. That anything should follow logically or sensibly-- is heresy to Vargas. And that's the best part of her work.

A normal police procedural has its "maze" of clues and actions set up like a pinball machine. Certain unpredictable events trigger certain very predictable consequences, which themselves feed into known pathways of narrative resolution. The fallen body and the crimetape lead inexorably to the confrontation and confession. Vargas says no. Vargas has a thinly disguised Gallic Shrug for the diehards of the procedural. Again though, that's what is good about her novels. Vargas sets up the story like a surrealist cabinet of wonders.

But. It's important that the maze in a procedural have its integrity, at least in theory. An assurance to the reader, perhaps, that things will go in the direction of a logical outcome. If you've read a few of Vargas' books, you're not worried about that. But here, her maze section diverts into what sailors would call the Doldrums; when nothing makes too much sense or pings any real triggers for fifty or a hundred pages at a time, the pace suffers. It's hard to keep hold of the bearings or a sense of timing if you've been floating at the whim of the currents.

Still, a good early mystery from Vargas, and one that wraps up sharply in the final chapters. Maybe a good starter-Vargas, an intro to the alt-procedural.

[Sebastian Darie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probabil că nu există timp nepotrivit pentru a citi un roman poliţist, fie că e cald sau vreme mohorâtă, fie că e a cincea carte citită la rând sau n-am mai citit de multă vreme una din genul ăsta.

Oricum ar fi, personajele doamnei Fred Vargas sunt oricum, dar numai obişnuite de-ale genului nu.

Atât protagonistul romanului cât şi subiectul în sine sunt ieşite din rândurile altor scrieri poliţiste.
Cu umor (uneori bizar), îmbinând perioada actuală (sfârşit de sec.XX - sec.XXI) cu evenimente, climat şi atmosferă aduse din urmă cu câteva veacuri, inclusiv din perioada medievală, impregnate de un simbolism rezonant, protagonistul pare a fi un Hercule Poirot aerian şi peripatetic (dialogând în foarte mare parte cu el însuşi), care pare că nu-şi dă prea mult interesul, dar totuşi reuşeşte admirabil să vadă ceea ce mulţi nici nu iau în seamă, în timp ce teama şi paranoia generală nu-l impresionează câtuşi de puţin.

Unde mai pui că face acest lucru fără să pară că depune mari eforturi sau că şi-ar abuza raţiunea fără milă; raţiune ce pare să fie văzută de cele mai multe ori ca un accesoriu care stă inutil în drum.

Intuiţia e oricum parte din arsenalul oricărui detectiv, nimic nemaiîntâlnit aici; doar că în cazul comisarului Adamsberg, intuiţia e un cult. Unul căruia nu i se aduce nicio ofrandă. Dar nici nu e nevoie, pentru că e ceva firesc, chiar vital, deşi dispreţuit de mulţi.

Intriga e bifurcată, ajungând ca cele 2 fire narative să se metamorfozeze şi să se întrepătrundă fără să se mai desfacă până la final; final care mi-a lăsat şi el un gust greu de clasificat. Când credeam că mi-am dat seama ce se întâmplă şi de ce, povestea a luat o întorsătură demnă de un viraj din Formula 1, iar când efectul întorsăturii cu pricina e aproape de a fi aşezat şi acceptat, de fapt nu e în niciun caz ce părea să fie.

Nesatisfăcător într-o anumită măsură, dar imposibil de a fi nemulţumit de el şi cu siguranţă admirabil.

Coloană sonoră: Deftones - Passenger

[verbava · Rating 4 out of 5]

хороший, хоч і концептуально близький до "чоловіка, який малює сині кола" детективний сюжет з подвійним, навіть потрійним дном, та й сама історія чуми чого варта (а фред варгас розбирається, вона археолог та історик). може, фінал трошки overcrowded, але все одно добре вийшло.
ще приємно, що тут з'являються троє євангелістів із іншої серії, вкрай доречно й природно, бо що може бути логічніше, ніж звернутися по консультацію з середньовічних текстів про чуму до знайомого через треті руки медієвіста. і жарти, спеціально припасені для читачів, які вже знають про євангелістів, дуже тішать.
єдине, що нікуди не налазить у цій книжці, - то спосіб, у який варгас позбулася камілли. ну тобто я розумію, що вона мала втекти, щоб у наступних частинах адамбергові було, кого шукати, але спровокувати цю втечу можна було б якось трошечки імовірніше.

[Seher Andaç · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Maskaralık devedikeninden daha dayanıklıdır.”
Biz okurlarda öyle:)) Yazar Fred Vargas tıpkı bir jonglör gibi kurduğu hikaye içinde okuru döndürüyor; hem de hiç yere düşürmeden.
Geçmiş. Esas kahraman. Hem bir cinayet aleti olarak hem de katile haklı sebepler sunarak. Geçmiş sanki bir sandık, artık içinden hangisini çekersen:)
….

“Pars vite et reviens tard” Kitabın Fransızca ismi bu. Veba salgınında da kullanılan Latince bir deyim. Kitapta da açıklanarak bahsi geçiyor. “ Çabuk git ve geç dön” anlamı buymuş. Biz de neden “hemen git ve çabuk dön” uygun görülmüş anlayamadım.

“Pars vite et reviens tard” isimle filmi de çekilmiş. Konuyu ve katilin kim olduğunu bilmeme rağmen merakla izledim.

[Lāsma U. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Šī ir trešā Adamsberga sērijas grāmata, ko lasu un jau pie pirmās sapratu, ka pilnīgi un pavisam esmu Fredas Vargasas fane. Un nevis tieši detektīvintrigas dēļ.
Kaut kas tik ļoti labs ir tajā kā viņa būvē savus varoņus, stāstus, dialogus, ja man būtu jānosauc piemērs kāpēc kāds vispār raksta grāmatas, kāpēc kāds tāds izdod un lasa, tad šobrīd es nosauktu viņu.

P.S.
Kāpēc cienījamais latviešu izdevuma mākslinieks uz grāmatas vāka izlēma attēlot šo sarkano (pat diezgan glīto) kleksi tā simbola vietā, kuram tur tiešām būtu jābūt, gan paliek lielā noslēpumā tīts.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce livre ne se lit pas pour répondre à la question "qui est le coupable ?" (il me semble qu'on s'en doute un peu assez rapidement) mais simplement parce que l'idée de faire venir la peste dans le Paris d'aujourd'hui (sans entrer dans la science-fiction) est géniale et vraiment bien gérée.
Un de mes préférés de l'auteur pour l'instant !

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

E' stato il mio preferito tra i tre romanzi dell'autrice finora letti. Mi ha preso fin dalle prime pagine. Ben scritto,bello veramente. Ho fatto nottata per finirlo, e il dubbio sul "colpevole" li ho avuti da un certo punto in poi.

[Gunnar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die französische Historikerin und Archäologin Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau hatte sich unter dem Pseudonym Fred Vargas national bereits einen großen Namen gemacht. International und in Deutschland begann erst so richtig mit der Jahrtausendwende und der Übersetzung „Die schöne Diva von Saint-Jacques“ aus der Reihe um die „Evangelisten“. Diese spielen auch 2001 im Orginal erschienenen „Fliehe weit und schnell“ eine kleine Nebenrolle. Protagonist ist allerdings zum vierten Mal der ziemlich kauzige Pariser Kommissar Adamsberg.

Dieser hat einen zunächst sehr seltsamen Fall am Hals. In verschiedenen Pariser Wohnhäusern werden Wohnungstüren mit einem seltsamen Zeichen, einer spiegelverkehrten 4, markiert. Doch nicht alle, manche bleiben unmarkiert. Zeitgleich erhält Adamsberg Kenntnis von dem Bretonen Le Guern, der in seinem Viertel die alte Tradition des Ausrufers wiederbelebt hat und mehrmals am Tag Nachrichten und Annoncen verkündet, die für ihn in einem Kasten hinterlegt werden. Unter diesen Nachrichten befindet sich mehrere seltsame Mitteilungen, die kommendes Unheil ankündigen. Adamsberg findet heraus, dass sich hierbei um alte Beschreibungen der Pest handelt und die markierten Türen galten damals als Schutz vor der Epidemie. Wenig später wird hinter einer der unmarkierten Türen ein Toter gefunden. Ist in Paris die Pest ausgebrochen?

Ein ungewöhnlicher Kriminalroman, der zwar im modernen Paris spielt, aber viele Anleihen in die Vergangenheit hat. Das Ganze ist komplex und wird durchaus mit großem Anlauf erzählt, der Leser bleibt aber am Ball dank der ungewöhnlichen Figuren, ausgehend vom Kommissar bis hin zu den kleinsten Nebenfiguren. Eine ungewöhnliche Krimireihe, die bis heute erfolgreich besteht.

[Tittirossa · Rating 3 out of 5]

E' una lettura piacevole, abbastanza improbabile - colpevoli, moventi, struttura - ma molto ben costruito. Forse troppo. A partire dall'investigatore protagonista, Adamsberg.
Quando incontrai Marlowe o Carvalho non riuscii più a smettere di leggere. Adamsberg non mi ha fatto lo stesso effetto, forse perché mi è sembrato un cocktail su come deve essere un protagonista di romanzi gialli per non essere banale e scontato. Un tocco di Maigret (la bonarietà ed il disincanto), di tenente Colombo (la trasandatezza), di James Bond (belloccio ed intuitivo).
Come se Vargas avesse studiato a tavolino le caratteristiche genetiche del suo eroe, un po' troppo ogm per essere genuino.
L'atmosfera parigina non è male, anche se il microcosmo umano a metà tra Simenon e Notre Dame, insomma, è godibile ma non credibile.

Nota: fortissima irritazione per la traduzione italiana del titolo assolutamente fuorviante e non rispettosa nè dell'originale nè del contesto.

[Babette Ernst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein gut gemachter, ideenreicher Krimi, der nicht zu Unrecht den Deutschen Krimipreis 2004 erhielt. Das Pariser Stadtviertel, in dem die Handlung spielt, wird bevölkert von skurrilen Figuren, jeder einzelne mit Brüchen in den Lebenslinien und doch auf der Suche nach ein wenig Gemeinschaft und Glück. Dazu gibt es den oft üblichen Kommissar, der sich ganz dem Beruf verschrieben hat und sein Privatleben nicht auf die Reihe bekommt. Der sich von Offensichtlichem nicht beeindrucken lässt, sondern spürt, dass an den Fakten etwas falsch ist. Ein paar überraschende Wendungen und am Ende war es der Unverdächtigste. Doch neben diesen Stereotypen hat der Krimi einiges an besonderen Ideen zu bieten sowie an Fakten zur Verbreitung der Pest in Frankreich.
Mir hat das Lesen große Freude bereitet und die Entspannung geboten, die ich suchte. Wer Krimis mag, wird hier auf seine Kosten kommen.

[Lea Saurusrex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voici que j'achève la lecture de mon premier Fred Vargas, alors que le polar n'est ni ma tasse de thé, ni ma zone de confort.

Mais l'autrice réussit là où beaucoup ont échoué selon moi.

Une plume agréable à lire, une histoire aussi sombre et compliquée que simple et émouvante, des personnages qui sortent des clichés, hauts en couleurs, touchants et attachants... Et puis ce souci du détail, ces informations bien distillées, la véracité des faits historiques (sans doute due au premier métier de l'autrice), le tout concorde pour faire de ce roman quelque chose d'agréable à lire.

Contrairement à d'autres livres du genre, celui-ci ne s'embarrasse pas de détails de plus en plus scabreux et de l'escalade dans l'horreur, non, il prend l'enquête presque comme un prétexte pour donner la part belle à tous ces personnages qui gravitent autour, et c'est rafraîchissant.

Une belle découverte.

[Phoebes · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://www.naufragio.it/iltempodileg...

[Sarmīte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Izcili!

[jaroiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jsou ty blechy nakažené morem nebo ne?
Jako i předešlé díly, užila jsem si tuto klasickou detektivku maximálně.
A hned jdu na další díl.

[Halley Sutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big hmm.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il s’agit d’une série visiblement, mais pas besoin d’avoir lu les précédents pour suivre ce thriller.
Intrigue vraiment originale et personnages hauts en couleurs. Beaux retournements de situations. On ne s’ennuie pas. Bon thriller en définitive, le ton reste globalement léger et humoristique ce qui lui donne un genre particulier plutôt agréable.