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Séraphin Monge #1
The Murdered House
In the midst of a mighty storm, and abandoned to an isolated inn in Upper Provence, a family is brutally massacred. Miraculously, a three-week old child evades the violence and is given up to the custody of the Sisters of Charity. 20 years later, the young orphan, possessive of so traumatized a history, sets off in search of answers.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
6 people are currently reading
378 people want to read
About the author
Pierre Magnan
67 books23 followersPierre Magnan was a bestselling French author of detective novels steeped in the sights and sounds of his beloved Provence; to readers, his sleuth, Commissaire Laviolette, was as indelibly linked to the land of lavender as Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse was to the colleges of Oxford.
Magnan’s autumnal years were prolific; he wrote more than 30 books and saw his novels adapted for French television and cinema. He was never afraid to experiment and shifted easily to non-fiction, writing, amongst other publications, a gentle portrait of Giono (Pour Saluer Giono, 1990), a study of Provençal novels (Les Romans de ma Provence, 1998) and two volumes of memoirs. In The Essence of Provence (1998) he followed the story of L’Occitane from roadside soap stand to globally known brand. “La Provence was present in all his books,” noted Marie-Laure Goumet, his editor at Robert Laffont.
Magnan’s autumnal years were prolific; he wrote more than 30 books and saw his novels adapted for French television and cinema. He was never afraid to experiment and shifted easily to non-fiction, writing, amongst other publications, a gentle portrait of Giono (Pour Saluer Giono, 1990), a study of Provençal novels (Les Romans de ma Provence, 1998) and two volumes of memoirs. In The Essence of Provence (1998) he followed the story of L’Occitane from roadside soap stand to globally known brand. “La Provence was present in all his books,” noted Marie-Laure Goumet, his editor at Robert Laffont.
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October 17, 2014What a waste of my time. I carried this book around so long it became a weight. However, a greater weight is laid upon the unsuspecting reader who perseveres to the end. A final, epilogue sort of chapter is tacked on at the book's end. It explains nothing. In fact, it so veers off course that you feel as though you've been pushed off a cliff. Had I known my perseverance would be so assaulted, I never would have bothered picking up this thing.
It's off kilter, written in the style of Jean de Florette or Balzac, despite being published in the 1980's. The translation is stilted and rife with the patois of the region. One dimensional characters do not come alive in these pages and by the time we find out who is murdering the villagers, we've forgotten all about this inconsequential character, introduced somewhere back in the beginning, who is revealed as the perpetrator. Heavy-handed as its protagonist who goes about smashing every material object he encounters as much as he smashes others attempts to befriend him and love him, I'd rather dive off a cliff then be subjected to a book like this!
Is anything explained. Not a whit! If that's not enough, how about introducing a first person narrator into this third-person account in the epilogue! Enough said! It's a book to be avoided. Better yet, throw if off the cliff!
It's off kilter, written in the style of Jean de Florette or Balzac, despite being published in the 1980's. The translation is stilted and rife with the patois of the region. One dimensional characters do not come alive in these pages and by the time we find out who is murdering the villagers, we've forgotten all about this inconsequential character, introduced somewhere back in the beginning, who is revealed as the perpetrator. Heavy-handed as its protagonist who goes about smashing every material object he encounters as much as he smashes others attempts to befriend him and love him, I'd rather dive off a cliff then be subjected to a book like this!
Is anything explained. Not a whit! If that's not enough, how about introducing a first person narrator into this third-person account in the epilogue! Enough said! It's a book to be avoided. Better yet, throw if off the cliff!
September 1, 2013
Pierre Magnan’s novel, “The Murdered House,” is set in Provence, at the turn of the nineteenth century, in 1896.
At three-weeks old, Seraphin Monge, is the sole survivor of the cold-blooded massacre of his family. His parents, grandfather, and two brothers were murdered in their home on the eve of Saint Michael’s Day, September 28.
In 1920, two years after World War I, Seraphin returned home. He discovered that during his infancy, his family’s land was sold, but the house remained. He also discovered, for the first time, how his family died, and that it took place in their home.
Fearful, superstitious, and ignorant, his neighbors think of him as evil, and reject him for surviving the massacre.
To erase the tragedy, Seraphin dismantles the home, brick-by-brick. During the demolition, he finds several gold coins, and IOUs owed to his father by three neighbors, owing over 1200 francs. The IOUs, with an agreed interest of 23 percent, was to be paid in full, September 29, on Saint Michael’s Day.
Believing the debtors murdered his family, Seraphin plots to avenge their
deaths. Complications arise when the three debtors’ daughters have a romantic interest in
him. Seraphin has no interest in the young women. He even contemplates murdering one of them.
Seraphin, day and night, with pent-up emotions, becomes absorbed with the murders. He even has nightmares, believing his mother wants him to avenge their deaths. Yet, he is uneasy when he finds someone else is eliminating the debtors for him.
Four people speak to Seraphin about the murders in his home. Two witnessed the murders and two walked in after the murders took place. They all have an account or perception of what happened.
There is a surprise ending disclosing the murderers, although I had an inkling of one of the suspect’s name.
I could connect with the protagonist. Seraphin is an enigma. The other characters were more interesting. The last chapter is confusing; however, I think that was the author’s idea. The last chapter takes place in the 1980s and the only living person who remembers Seraphin Monge is Marie Dormeur, one of the young women who loved him. She is now in her eighties and being interviewed by an unknown man concerning Seraphin. I will say no more than that.
Although Pierre Magnan is sometimes a bit wordy, he gives you descriptive vistas in southeastern France. His similes are excellent.
This book was the winner of France’s Best Novel of the Year Award.
At three-weeks old, Seraphin Monge, is the sole survivor of the cold-blooded massacre of his family. His parents, grandfather, and two brothers were murdered in their home on the eve of Saint Michael’s Day, September 28.
In 1920, two years after World War I, Seraphin returned home. He discovered that during his infancy, his family’s land was sold, but the house remained. He also discovered, for the first time, how his family died, and that it took place in their home.
Fearful, superstitious, and ignorant, his neighbors think of him as evil, and reject him for surviving the massacre.
To erase the tragedy, Seraphin dismantles the home, brick-by-brick. During the demolition, he finds several gold coins, and IOUs owed to his father by three neighbors, owing over 1200 francs. The IOUs, with an agreed interest of 23 percent, was to be paid in full, September 29, on Saint Michael’s Day.
Believing the debtors murdered his family, Seraphin plots to avenge their
deaths. Complications arise when the three debtors’ daughters have a romantic interest in
him. Seraphin has no interest in the young women. He even contemplates murdering one of them.
Seraphin, day and night, with pent-up emotions, becomes absorbed with the murders. He even has nightmares, believing his mother wants him to avenge their deaths. Yet, he is uneasy when he finds someone else is eliminating the debtors for him.
Four people speak to Seraphin about the murders in his home. Two witnessed the murders and two walked in after the murders took place. They all have an account or perception of what happened.
There is a surprise ending disclosing the murderers, although I had an inkling of one of the suspect’s name.
I could connect with the protagonist. Seraphin is an enigma. The other characters were more interesting. The last chapter is confusing; however, I think that was the author’s idea. The last chapter takes place in the 1980s and the only living person who remembers Seraphin Monge is Marie Dormeur, one of the young women who loved him. She is now in her eighties and being interviewed by an unknown man concerning Seraphin. I will say no more than that.
Although Pierre Magnan is sometimes a bit wordy, he gives you descriptive vistas in southeastern France. His similes are excellent.
This book was the winner of France’s Best Novel of the Year Award.
September 9, 2011
High gothic, verging on the camp, tale of murder and revenge in the Provence. A young man returns to his ancestral village to take revenge on those who killed his family 24 years earlier. Some of the authors flights are giggle worthy especially as the author seems to be completly serious, but once you strip that away there is a nugget of a good story with some great twists.
December 14, 2014
As the Dos Equis Guy might say, “I don’t often read mysteries, but when I do, I prefer Pierre Magnan.” This is almost entirely thanks to the locale in which Magnan’s novels are set, early-to-mid-20th-century Provence, which he renders as a 50-50 combination of a picturesque rural storybook come to life, and a forgotten backwater populated since time immemorial by eccentric, inscrutable farmers and villagers who regularly do away with each other in the night, via a limitless variety of ingenious and unique means, for pretty much any reason or opportunity that arises. This mixture of omnipresent quaintness and omnipresent dread makes the perfect backdrop against which to set a mystery plot.
For all of Magnan’s skill in creating ambience, however, plot is not one of his strengths. Or to be more precise, plot execution is not one of his strengths. The plots themselves tend to be sturdy ones inspired by the conflicts at the center of classic myths (Cain and Abel, Oedipus, etc.), but Magnan often overly complicates things by going overboard with variations and elaborations on the theme, and this is very much the case in The Murdered House. The core plot--the sole survivor of a massacred family returns to the scene of the crime two decades later to avenge his family, and in particular his mother--is solid, but Magnan packs the story with so many possible perpetrators, plot twists, and Rashomon-like “But wait, that’s not what I saw!” moments that it eventually gets tedious, and you find yourself saying “OK, OK, enough false leads; just hurry up and tell us who was the killer already!” and wanting to flip ahead to the final resolution. And after all of the commotion, plot twists, rugs pulled out from under the reader, etc., when the truth is finally revealed, the motives of the killer(s) seem far too trivial and nonsensical to justify the level of complexity and furtiveness with which the tale was told--you find yourself scratching your head and thinking “Wait, that’s it?”
This problem, which Magnan’s Death in the Truffle Wood also suffers from, I think is ultimately just one manifestation of a larger issue in his work, which is that although it’s certainly fine and good for characters, especially those in a mystery, to behave strangely, the behavior of Magnan’s characters often goes beyond the pale of strange, into the territory of just plain unbelievable/inexplicable. I suppose this may be an artifact of the social and cultural differences of Provence (which I know nothing about), but it has certainly detracted from my experience of reading his books, when his characters act in ways, and on motivations, that make no sense whatsoever to me. This is a particularly unfortunate problem in The Murdered House, in that some of the characters therein are extremely complex and sympathetic, especially by Magnan’s standards, but just when I would find myself starting to feel like I really understood and felt for a given character, that character would then do something that would stop me in my tracks and completely disrupt the reader-character bond I had been forming with them.
However, despite his often overly convoluted plots and baffling characters, if you are merely looking to take a break from dense literary fiction and/or serious nonfiction, or if you are looking for the ideal literary accompaniment for a rainy night huddled up in a blanket on your couch with a glass of red wine, Magnan’s novels are hard to beat. Speaking of which, I’ll take this opportunity to specifically plug The Messengers of Death, which is an absolutely fantastic book, by far the best of the three that I’ve read thus far. You’ll never hear the wind in the trees, or see shadows in the street, in the same way again.
For all of Magnan’s skill in creating ambience, however, plot is not one of his strengths. Or to be more precise, plot execution is not one of his strengths. The plots themselves tend to be sturdy ones inspired by the conflicts at the center of classic myths (Cain and Abel, Oedipus, etc.), but Magnan often overly complicates things by going overboard with variations and elaborations on the theme, and this is very much the case in The Murdered House. The core plot--the sole survivor of a massacred family returns to the scene of the crime two decades later to avenge his family, and in particular his mother--is solid, but Magnan packs the story with so many possible perpetrators, plot twists, and Rashomon-like “But wait, that’s not what I saw!” moments that it eventually gets tedious, and you find yourself saying “OK, OK, enough false leads; just hurry up and tell us who was the killer already!” and wanting to flip ahead to the final resolution. And after all of the commotion, plot twists, rugs pulled out from under the reader, etc., when the truth is finally revealed, the motives of the killer(s) seem far too trivial and nonsensical to justify the level of complexity and furtiveness with which the tale was told--you find yourself scratching your head and thinking “Wait, that’s it?”
This problem, which Magnan’s Death in the Truffle Wood also suffers from, I think is ultimately just one manifestation of a larger issue in his work, which is that although it’s certainly fine and good for characters, especially those in a mystery, to behave strangely, the behavior of Magnan’s characters often goes beyond the pale of strange, into the territory of just plain unbelievable/inexplicable. I suppose this may be an artifact of the social and cultural differences of Provence (which I know nothing about), but it has certainly detracted from my experience of reading his books, when his characters act in ways, and on motivations, that make no sense whatsoever to me. This is a particularly unfortunate problem in The Murdered House, in that some of the characters therein are extremely complex and sympathetic, especially by Magnan’s standards, but just when I would find myself starting to feel like I really understood and felt for a given character, that character would then do something that would stop me in my tracks and completely disrupt the reader-character bond I had been forming with them.
However, despite his often overly convoluted plots and baffling characters, if you are merely looking to take a break from dense literary fiction and/or serious nonfiction, or if you are looking for the ideal literary accompaniment for a rainy night huddled up in a blanket on your couch with a glass of red wine, Magnan’s novels are hard to beat. Speaking of which, I’ll take this opportunity to specifically plug The Messengers of Death, which is an absolutely fantastic book, by far the best of the three that I’ve read thus far. You’ll never hear the wind in the trees, or see shadows in the street, in the same way again.
October 23, 2010
Another book that I got from Grandma. And another murder mystery. This one is set in France, though. And deals with a twenty-year old murder.
It feels like it is an older murder than that, though, because of how everything is framed. Which is a little strange. The twist at the end is interesting, and predictable if you know what to look for. As well as why someone keeps beating the main character to his intended victims.
Setting: Rural France. Which makes this kind of fun to read for that. In fact, this was translated into English from French. So it is authentic as far as that goes.
Plot: Basically, it is the main character's intention to find and then kill his parents' murderer (or murderers). He is also erotically haunted (perhaps subconsciously, perhaps just in his mind) by his mother's ghost. This part is just weird.
Conflict: Just between the main character and his would-be targets. Who mysteriously end up dead before he gets the chance to.
Characters: There is some meat here, with lots of different kinds of characters. I didn't really find myself caring for any of them. Maybe Rose. But the author implied that she lived to be old, so the tension there was lost and it seemed obvious that she never married the main character, so tension there was lost too. I still don't understand why he left or why the ending happened the way it did. Very strange. Perhaps to set up another book? It was definitely not an uplifting book, in any case.
Text: I liked the French feel, with the turns of phrase and the words used (translated in footnotes as appropriate).
It feels like it is an older murder than that, though, because of how everything is framed. Which is a little strange. The twist at the end is interesting, and predictable if you know what to look for. As well as why someone keeps beating the main character to his intended victims.
Setting: Rural France. Which makes this kind of fun to read for that. In fact, this was translated into English from French. So it is authentic as far as that goes.
Plot: Basically, it is the main character's intention to find and then kill his parents' murderer (or murderers). He is also erotically haunted (perhaps subconsciously, perhaps just in his mind) by his mother's ghost. This part is just weird.
Conflict: Just between the main character and his would-be targets. Who mysteriously end up dead before he gets the chance to.
Characters: There is some meat here, with lots of different kinds of characters. I didn't really find myself caring for any of them. Maybe Rose. But the author implied that she lived to be old, so the tension there was lost and it seemed obvious that she never married the main character, so tension there was lost too. I still don't understand why he left or why the ending happened the way it did. Very strange. Perhaps to set up another book? It was definitely not an uplifting book, in any case.
Text: I liked the French feel, with the turns of phrase and the words used (translated in footnotes as appropriate).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2016
A perfect book for a rainy winter night – or not. This muddled mystery won several prizes in France when it was published in the early 80s, and Publishers Weekly named it as one of their 10 Best Mysteries of 2008; it was also touted on some crime fiction blog that persuaded me to order it.
I was intrigued, sometimes titillated by its necrophiliac eroticism, but any seasoned mystery reader will guess the identity of the shadowed stranger behind the crimes. I enjoyed the evocative Jean De Florette / Manon of the Spring divagations. I even enjoyed the nonsense of a man patiently pummeling his ancestral home. The problem was the denouement which I won't spoil because I can't. I finished the book with a solitary piercing question:
What?…
I was intrigued, sometimes titillated by its necrophiliac eroticism, but any seasoned mystery reader will guess the identity of the shadowed stranger behind the crimes. I enjoyed the evocative Jean De Florette / Manon of the Spring divagations. I even enjoyed the nonsense of a man patiently pummeling his ancestral home. The problem was the denouement which I won't spoil because I can't. I finished the book with a solitary piercing question:
What?…
August 5, 2014
This book was really weird and sometimes hard to follow. I'm not sure if this was due to being translated from French or the fact that the author was trying to write a more psychological thriller. The story focused on the psychological makeup of Seraphin Monge--his need for revenge, his sexual obsession with his dead mother, his lack of connection with other humans, etc. This plotline had its ups and downs because it dragged at some points. This would have been fine (and earned 3 stars) except for the final chapter. After reading it was left saying "What the...?!" but not in a good way.
March 19, 2017
Seraphim, a haunted, tortured soul allowing his past to deny him a future and a normal happy life. Growing up an orphan and returning from the war with no idea of his past he is told a version of the 'truth' and of the death of his family. He sets out to obliterate his past but as more 'truths' are revealed revenge now drives him. A powerful, suspenseful tale and in many ways very sad. More unexplained deaths before he finally hears the truth and finds release from his pain.
June 26, 2020
Une histoire qui a la saveur du terroir du Midi de la France et évoque à la fois Gide et Henri Bosco. Se mêlent le roman d'enquête policière, l'amour, les croyances magiques populaires, la belle écriture et le vocabulaire soigné, dans un style classique peut être un peu ancien. Un auteur à redécouvrir.
May 27, 2022
An intense read as you, with the major character, who was an infant survivor of the slaughter of his parents & brothers try to discover the who & why of it all. Set in a small town where everyone knows everything shortly after the war there is much nuance & food for thought. Of course as you come to think you know the who & why of it all...SURPRISE! Don't think I've ever been so gobsmacked before.
February 22, 2021
I really liked it...but I am not sure why.
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May 27, 2010There is a lot that I liked about this book. Not your traditional "crime story" it's probably best to flag it as a mystery. The mystery builds right from the start with the brutal massacre of an entire family - except for one. When that one orphan, now a man home from the war, returns to his family home, his agony and pain, left alone in the world, is beautifully illustrated in his manual, slow, stone by stone destruction of the house in which is family died; as is his planning of vengeance on those responsible.
Reading this book was a really odd experience for me - on the one hand I spent a fair amount of the book in a fugue of confusion, on the other hand, I found Seraphin's story and he, as a character, incredibly engaging. Sad, determined, damaged and yet powerful, this is a fascinating man. Perhaps part of the confusion for me, at least, comes with the translation. Magnan writes in the vernacular of this small area / town in France and much of that doesn't seem to have translated easily or well. The language in the book ended up feeling a little muddy, murky if you like. I always felt there was something in the descriptions of people and places, the dialogue that I wasn't quite a party too.
So whilst, there was definitely a lot I liked about the book, there was also a bit that I didn't. I most definitely didn't like the confusion. On the other hand I loved the ambiguity. I loved the characters, but felt I never really got to know them. I loved the place, but I felt I never quite got to go there.
I'd certainly not discourage anyone of a more adventurous or curious reading nature to try this book - quite the contrary in some ways. Perhaps it needs to be read as a fantastic, unusual, different style of book, that was translated too exactly. It always felt like somewhere, under the words, there was a beautiful story lurking.
Reading this book was a really odd experience for me - on the one hand I spent a fair amount of the book in a fugue of confusion, on the other hand, I found Seraphin's story and he, as a character, incredibly engaging. Sad, determined, damaged and yet powerful, this is a fascinating man. Perhaps part of the confusion for me, at least, comes with the translation. Magnan writes in the vernacular of this small area / town in France and much of that doesn't seem to have translated easily or well. The language in the book ended up feeling a little muddy, murky if you like. I always felt there was something in the descriptions of people and places, the dialogue that I wasn't quite a party too.
So whilst, there was definitely a lot I liked about the book, there was also a bit that I didn't. I most definitely didn't like the confusion. On the other hand I loved the ambiguity. I loved the characters, but felt I never really got to know them. I loved the place, but I felt I never quite got to go there.
I'd certainly not discourage anyone of a more adventurous or curious reading nature to try this book - quite the contrary in some ways. Perhaps it needs to be read as a fantastic, unusual, different style of book, that was translated too exactly. It always felt like somewhere, under the words, there was a beautiful story lurking.
June 20, 2011
This was a very strange novel, the story of Seraphim Monge, who as a baby was left in a crib while his family was massacred around him. 25 years later (now it is 1919) he is finally told the story of how he was found and is given the key to his family home, a home that was never sold because of the massacre. Three men were caught and hung for the murders, but it is later revealed that they might not actually be guilty. Seraphim sets upon destroying the house, and while doing so, uncovers the identities of the true murderers. He begins to plot revenge, but is there a second hidden murderer out there that executes his revenge for him? He also seems to have taken the interest of three local young women, but becuase of his past vows to nevery marry or have children, and has to thwart them at every turn.
This was a rather strange novel but very readable. It is a little slow to start, because you have to get the setup, and this takes a rather long time, but it makes more sense when events start to happen in the present day. Then, the plot moves much more quickly to the end. The end is very strange, and I am not sure I totally understand it. I have a general idea, at least what I THINK might have been a general idea, but not knowing anyone else who has read it, one can never be sure. It IS an ending that will stay with you.
It is a rather dark and dreary novel, and is a stand alone mystery.
This was a rather strange novel but very readable. It is a little slow to start, because you have to get the setup, and this takes a rather long time, but it makes more sense when events start to happen in the present day. Then, the plot moves much more quickly to the end. The end is very strange, and I am not sure I totally understand it. I have a general idea, at least what I THINK might have been a general idea, but not knowing anyone else who has read it, one can never be sure. It IS an ending that will stay with you.
It is a rather dark and dreary novel, and is a stand alone mystery.
March 29, 2018
I was disappointed in this book, probably because I hadn't read anything about it and the previous book I'd read by Pierre Mangan was funny and involving. This one was hard going, is set just after WW1 in a tiny village in the southern mountains of France, and all the characters are rather unsympathetic. The main mystery is resolved satisfactorily as the author has provided plenty of clues, but the ending has a twist which just didn't make sense to me (not revealing details to avoid spoilers).
November 17, 2012
I love gothic. I love secrets buried in the walls. I love mysteries at the bottom of old wells. I especially love when everything comes together and makes sense in the end. THAT was the one thing The Murdered House lacked. I mean, it made enough sense...but...it had that uniquely little French twist of "What the hell just happened?" The literary equivalent of a mime chasing a red balloon across the last frame of a film and you're supposed to infer deep meaning from it.
April 12, 2015
I really enjoyed this book, what an amazing story! I'm normally a slow reader but I finished this within the week! I so want to be Seraphin Monge's friend now, and help him have a good life now this is over! Also loved the descriptions of the Hautes-Alpes area, and now want to visit La Durance valley! This story is going to stay in my head for a long time!
January 8, 2010
This is probably really lame, but I couldn't get used to the names so I stopped reading it. I didn't get past the first chapter.
June 4, 2025
The book is magnificent. It's a particularly enjoyable regional novel. The author introduces us to the region with the same love that Pagnol showed his own. The writing is pleasant and simple, though peppered with dialect, which makes it easy to immerse ourselves in this world that's both light and dark.
The story is gripping, but you have to wait until halfway through the book for the action to really pick up. The first part is more descriptive. We focus on the region and the hero's feelings. All of this is beautifully done, with the possible exception of Séraphin's recurring dreams, which I could have done without. The image of his dead mother has strange effects on him, and the author dwells on it too much for my taste.
The characters are interesting. Although a perpetual victim, the hero isn't necessarily the most endearing. He inspires pity above all because he's as miserable as a rock, unable to move on despite all the opportunities offered to him. He's a handsome man, a colossus of incredible strength, but he remains soft in front of others, frozen by the images that haunt him. I found the character of Patrice, the broken-faced man who struggles with suicide and tries to cling to life, much more endearing. This man exudes an impressive kindness and quiet strength despite his misfortunes.
In summary, I can only recommend this book to those who haven't read it, because it's fascinating. Lovers of gripping stories and local favorites won't be disappointed.
The story is gripping, but you have to wait until halfway through the book for the action to really pick up. The first part is more descriptive. We focus on the region and the hero's feelings. All of this is beautifully done, with the possible exception of Séraphin's recurring dreams, which I could have done without. The image of his dead mother has strange effects on him, and the author dwells on it too much for my taste.
The characters are interesting. Although a perpetual victim, the hero isn't necessarily the most endearing. He inspires pity above all because he's as miserable as a rock, unable to move on despite all the opportunities offered to him. He's a handsome man, a colossus of incredible strength, but he remains soft in front of others, frozen by the images that haunt him. I found the character of Patrice, the broken-faced man who struggles with suicide and tries to cling to life, much more endearing. This man exudes an impressive kindness and quiet strength despite his misfortunes.
In summary, I can only recommend this book to those who haven't read it, because it's fascinating. Lovers of gripping stories and local favorites won't be disappointed.
February 12, 2020
I ended up really enjoying this, but at first I didn't really know what to make of it. It's not the usual crime/mystery novel, that's for sure! It started with some great atmospheric writing which finished with a family being massacred (except for a 3 week old baby). Then it jumped forward about 20 years and nothing much seemed to happen, until I realised that the author was describing the effects of the crime on the survivor and the other people in the area. Eventually it built up into a reasonably intriguing mystery (although it relied a lot on witnesses deciding to spill the beans at convenient points in the plot, even though they had kept their mouths shut for around 2 decades).
I ended up really liking it and I think it was due the author's atmospheric writing (which must have been difficult to translate). I suspect this is a "marmite" book (i.e. people with either love it or hate it). I wasn't sure which group I was going to join for a while, but something kept me reading and I'm glad I did stick with it because ultimately it was a very rewarding book to read and one that I will remember for a long time.
I ended up really liking it and I think it was due the author's atmospheric writing (which must have been difficult to translate). I suspect this is a "marmite" book (i.e. people with either love it or hate it). I wasn't sure which group I was going to join for a while, but something kept me reading and I'm glad I did stick with it because ultimately it was a very rewarding book to read and one that I will remember for a long time.
October 26, 2019
A family is violently massacred, the only survivor is a three-week-old week old baby. In 1920 Seraphin returns home in search of answers and to avenge his family’s killers, but for each murder he plots another hand silently executes it in his place.
This is a historical (and somewhat muddled) mystery set in rural Provence. It’s an interesting story with some unusual twists and not what I would consider a light read. The characters behave in rather bizarre ways and merrily kill off their neighbours in interesting and ingenious ways. The core plot - revenge for the death of his family - is solid but tends to get over complicated with too many red herrings. I have heard that Magnan’s 'Messengers of Death' is an amazing read so I’m prepared to give this author another try.
This is a historical (and somewhat muddled) mystery set in rural Provence. It’s an interesting story with some unusual twists and not what I would consider a light read. The characters behave in rather bizarre ways and merrily kill off their neighbours in interesting and ingenious ways. The core plot - revenge for the death of his family - is solid but tends to get over complicated with too many red herrings. I have heard that Magnan’s 'Messengers of Death' is an amazing read so I’m prepared to give this author another try.
November 19, 2023
Dur à lire, peut-être à cause du vieux français. L'auteur veut aller trop loin dans le mystère et le retournement final de situation n'est pas convaincant...
J'ai sauté des paragraphes entiers de description qui n'apportent rien et semblent juste retarder l'envie d'enfin savoir qui est le(s) meurtrier(s).
Les femmes dans ce livre sont soit laides et aigries, soit extrêmement belles et prêtes à tout (mais trop) pour mettre le personnage principal dans leur lit. NOPE.
Un très grand bof.
J'ai sauté des paragraphes entiers de description qui n'apportent rien et semblent juste retarder l'envie d'enfin savoir qui est le(s) meurtrier(s).
Les femmes dans ce livre sont soit laides et aigries, soit extrêmement belles et prêtes à tout (mais trop) pour mettre le personnage principal dans leur lit. NOPE.
Un très grand bof.
January 3, 2018
This book was interesting. It was a bit hard at times to understand due to translation between languages, but I enjoyed it. It didn't turn out the way I thought, and there weren't as many breadcrumbs throughout the book to lead you to the conclusion as you can find in other mystery books, but I still liked it.
June 9, 2020
Un roman très bien écrit qui immerge le lecteur dans un village provençal dans la première partie du XX ème siècle. Globalement, la trame est intéressante, mais j’ai trouvé certains passages un peu longs.
May 6, 2018
j'ai adoré mais vraiment adoré le film avec Patrick Bruel qu reste un de mes films préférés.
j'ai également aimé ce livre et j'ai été triste de la fin.
j'ai également aimé ce livre et j'ai été triste de la fin.
February 18, 2021
4 étoiles car l'écriture de pierre magnan est magnifique
June 30, 2021
2 1/2 stars. French fantasy carried too far.
May 22, 2022
The story line was just okay, idk if that’s just the writing style in general, or if it’s the translation or the age but I did have to kind of slough through it.
August 6, 2022
This book was painfully to get through!
May 1, 2023
Shame you can't give zero stars.
A ponderous, slow-moving, and grotesquely padded story that could've been told in well under 50 pages.
That might've made this book bearable, then.
A ponderous, slow-moving, and grotesquely padded story that could've been told in well under 50 pages.
That might've made this book bearable, then.
September 19, 2024
Somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4. Beautifully written, full of atmosphere and charm, but confusing, too.
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