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Turner #1
Cypress Grove
The small town where Turner has moved is one of America's lost places, halfway between Memphis and forever. That makes it a perfect hideaway: a place where a man can bury the past and escape the pain of human contact, where you are left alone unless you want company, where conversation only happens when there's something to say, where you can sit and watch an owl fly silently across the face of the moon. And where Turner hopes to forget that he has been a cop, a psychotherapist, and, always, an ex-con.
There is no major crime to speak of until Sheriff Lonnie Bates arrives on Turner's porch with a bottle of Wild Turkey and a problem: The body of a drifter has been found—brutally and ritualistically— murdered and Bates and his deputy need help from someone with big-city experience who appreciates the delicacy of investigating people in a small town. Thrust back into the middle of what he left behind, Turner slowly becomes reacquainted not only with the darkness he had fled, but with the unsuspected kindness of others.
There is no major crime to speak of until Sheriff Lonnie Bates arrives on Turner's porch with a bottle of Wild Turkey and a problem: The body of a drifter has been found—brutally and ritualistically— murdered and Bates and his deputy need help from someone with big-city experience who appreciates the delicacy of investigating people in a small town. Thrust back into the middle of what he left behind, Turner slowly becomes reacquainted not only with the darkness he had fled, but with the unsuspected kindness of others.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
24 people are currently reading
710 people want to read
About the author
James Sallis
188 books396 followersJames Sallis (born 21 December 1944 in Helena, Arkansas) is an American crime writer, poet and musician, best known for his series of novels featuring the character Lew Griffin and set in New Orleans, and for his 2005 novel Drive, which was adapted into a 2011 film of the same name.
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August 20, 2025
GOTICO COUNTRY
And I want the rest of you cowboys to know something, there's a new sheriff in town. And his name is Reggie Hammond. So y'all be cool. Right on.
Diceva Eddie Murphy/Reggie Hammond interrompendo la musica e il ballo in un locale di rednecks dove un tipino di colore come lui l'avrebbero volentieri crocefisso, mentre il suo improvvisato partner Nick Nolte se la rideva sotto i baffi.
Ecco John Turner non direbbe mai una cosa del genere. Turner è sotto traccia, silenzi, pause, ascolto. Niente hard boiled, niente wisecrack.
Turner sarebbe perfetto interpretato da Clint Eastwood con vent’anni di meno.
Il passato di Turner è il primo elemento che distanzia questo eroe seriale da altri del genere (anche se qui il genere è country noir, più che noir tout court – e secondo me, più che noir, siamo nel country gothic): ex soldato in Vietnam, ho i miei dubbi abbia davvero mai superato lo shock di una guerra assurda e cruenta combattuta senza sapere dove né perché.
Tornato a casa, quello che ha imparato in guerra l’ha spinto ad arruolarsi in polizia, dove è stato promosso detective bruciando le tappe. Ma un brutto incidente di lavoro – Turner spara alla persona sbagliata – lo fa finire dritto dritto in galera. E qui, un ex poliziotto ha doppia difficoltà a sopravvivere. Per farlo, Turner è costretto a uccidere ancora, anche se per autodifesa, e a vedere la sua sentenza allungata. Gli anni in prigione diventano undici.
Ma li sfrutta per studiare e laurearsi in psicologia. Quando esce diventa terapeuta: altri sei anni di un’attività che il dolore lo acuisce più che risolverlo, e Turner decide che è tempo di pensione.
La vita, dicono, è quel che succede mentre ci si aspettano tutt’altre cose, che invece non accadono mai.
Si ritira in una capanna nei boschi del Tennesse: in fondo è nato nel sud, è dal sud che proviene.
Lo sceriffo del paesello più vicino gli chiede di fare da consulente in un caso d’omicidio che non riesce a risolvere: è stato ritrovato un vagabondo ucciso in una sorta di omicidio rituale, della vittima s’ignora perfino l’identità. Macabro. E, appunto, per la polizia locale, irrisolvibile.
Racconto del passato e racconto del presente procedono a capitoli alternati per andare in qualche modo a convergere nel finale: quando sappiamo cos’ha alle spalle Turner, capiamo perché indaga in quel modo.
La ritualità dell’omicidio, lo scenario che apre, la specie di ghost town che s’incontra a un certo punto, il banjo e quella musica, il sud degli Stati Uniti..: vari elementi che m’hanno fatto palpare atmosfera di gotico country.
And I want the rest of you cowboys to know something, there's a new sheriff in town. And his name is Reggie Hammond. So y'all be cool. Right on.
Diceva Eddie Murphy/Reggie Hammond interrompendo la musica e il ballo in un locale di rednecks dove un tipino di colore come lui l'avrebbero volentieri crocefisso, mentre il suo improvvisato partner Nick Nolte se la rideva sotto i baffi.
Ecco John Turner non direbbe mai una cosa del genere. Turner è sotto traccia, silenzi, pause, ascolto. Niente hard boiled, niente wisecrack.
Turner sarebbe perfetto interpretato da Clint Eastwood con vent’anni di meno.
Il passato di Turner è il primo elemento che distanzia questo eroe seriale da altri del genere (anche se qui il genere è country noir, più che noir tout court – e secondo me, più che noir, siamo nel country gothic): ex soldato in Vietnam, ho i miei dubbi abbia davvero mai superato lo shock di una guerra assurda e cruenta combattuta senza sapere dove né perché.
Tornato a casa, quello che ha imparato in guerra l’ha spinto ad arruolarsi in polizia, dove è stato promosso detective bruciando le tappe. Ma un brutto incidente di lavoro – Turner spara alla persona sbagliata – lo fa finire dritto dritto in galera. E qui, un ex poliziotto ha doppia difficoltà a sopravvivere. Per farlo, Turner è costretto a uccidere ancora, anche se per autodifesa, e a vedere la sua sentenza allungata. Gli anni in prigione diventano undici.
Ma li sfrutta per studiare e laurearsi in psicologia. Quando esce diventa terapeuta: altri sei anni di un’attività che il dolore lo acuisce più che risolverlo, e Turner decide che è tempo di pensione.
La vita, dicono, è quel che succede mentre ci si aspettano tutt’altre cose, che invece non accadono mai.
Si ritira in una capanna nei boschi del Tennesse: in fondo è nato nel sud, è dal sud che proviene.
Lo sceriffo del paesello più vicino gli chiede di fare da consulente in un caso d’omicidio che non riesce a risolvere: è stato ritrovato un vagabondo ucciso in una sorta di omicidio rituale, della vittima s’ignora perfino l’identità. Macabro. E, appunto, per la polizia locale, irrisolvibile.
Racconto del passato e racconto del presente procedono a capitoli alternati per andare in qualche modo a convergere nel finale: quando sappiamo cos’ha alle spalle Turner, capiamo perché indaga in quel modo.
La ritualità dell’omicidio, lo scenario che apre, la specie di ghost town che s’incontra a un certo punto, il banjo e quella musica, il sud degli Stati Uniti..: vari elementi che m’hanno fatto palpare atmosfera di gotico country.
October 1, 2019
Noir Διαμαντάκι, southern αισθητικής, με λιτή σχεδόν ποιητική γραφή.
Εξαιρετική, ρέουσα μετάφραση από την Κίκα Κραμβουσάνου.
Η μοναδική (εύλογη θεωρώ) απορία γιατί είναι το μοναδικό του συγγραφέα το οποίο έχει μεταφραστεί και είναι και εξαντλημένο.
Εξαιρετική, ρέουσα μετάφραση από την Κίκα Κραμβουσάνου.
Η μοναδική (εύλογη θεωρώ) απορία γιατί είναι το μοναδικό του συγγραφέα το οποίο έχει μεταφραστεί και είναι και εξαντλημένο.
July 23, 2010
This is a thin slice of vinegar pie. The story and pace is simple and slow, but underneath it all is a depth of character and a real sense of place.
Beautifully written, I get a real sense that Sallis is telling exactly the story he set out to write (that may sound like an obvious thing for a writer, but it's actually rare).
The book is both slow and quick. The even pacing going by quickly. And while I don't think it hits the level of the best of the Lew Griffin books, this is still a very solid read.
Beautifully written, I get a real sense that Sallis is telling exactly the story he set out to write (that may sound like an obvious thing for a writer, but it's actually rare).
The book is both slow and quick. The even pacing going by quickly. And while I don't think it hits the level of the best of the Lew Griffin books, this is still a very solid read.
June 23, 2015
"Η απώλεια είναι το κλειδί, το μυστικό που κανείς δεν σου έχει μαρτυρήσει. Από την πρώτη μέρα της ζωής σου ένας σωρός αρχίζει να σχηματίζεται γύρω σου: ανάγκες, επιθυμίες, φόβοι εξαρτήσεις, τύψεις, χαμένες επαφές. Βρίσκονται πάντα εκεί. Είναι όμως στο χέρι σου ν'αποφασίσεις τι θα κάνεις μ'όλα αυτά. Γυάλισέ τα και στόλισέ τα σ'ένα ράφι. Θάψ'τα πίσω από το σπίτι, κάτω από την κλαίουσα ιτιά. Κουβάλησέ τα μέχρι έξω, άφησέ τα στην μπροστινή βεράντα και κάτσε πάνω τους"-James Sallis, Στη Λίμνη, μετάφραση: Κίκα Κραμβουσάνου, ΠΟΛΙΣ, σ.304. Όλα εδώ..Κι αν σου αρέσει και αν δεν σου αρεσει η Αμερική, το φως και το σκοτάδι της..όλα εδω! Θα ήθελα να μεταφραστεί και το επόμενο της σειράς...Θα ήθελα να το δω να γίνεται ταινία -από τους Αφους Κοεν-, θα ήθελα να έχει country μουσικη...Να το διαβάσεις το καλοκαίρι! ΥΓ Όσα έγραφα αυτες τις γραμμες ακουγα Carter Family-Can the circle be unbroken
August 21, 2018
Blues e solitudine
Turner: veterano del Vietnam, ex agente di polizia, una laurea in psicologia ottenuta mentre era in prigione. Uscito dal carcere, decide di lasciarsi alle spalle il passato per rifugiarsi in una capanna nei boschi che circondano una sperduta cittadina rurale del Tennessee. Un uomo misterioso e sconosciuto, a se stesso e agli altri, oppresso da un fardello inconfessabile che, un pezzo alla volta, deve essere riportato in superficie per poter essere esorcizzato. La visita dello sceriffo del luogo, in cerca di aiuto per risolvere l'assurdo e rituale omicidio di un vagabondo, innesca gli eventi della storia, e induce Turner ad uscire dal suo volontario isolamento.
Un romanzo lento, malinconico, con un protagonista solitario, ma non cinico, inquieto, ma pacato, riflessivo. La trama gialla è un espediente per parlare della vita di un uomo, delle sue battaglie, dei suoi fallimenti, dei suoi rimpianti, ma anche del suo desiderio di riscatto.
Intimo e struggente. Bello!
"Saper perdere è la chiave di tutto, il segreto che nessuno vi rivela mai. Fin dal primo giorno, la vita è un ininterrotto accumularsi di necessità, desideri, paure, dipendenze, rimpianti, rapporti. Ci sono sempre. Ma potete decidere cosa farne. Dar loro una bella lustrata e riporre il tutto su uno scaffale. Nasconderle dietro casa, vicino a un salice piangente. Accatastarle in veranda e sederci sopra.
Eravamo proprio in veranda, io e Val".
https://youtu.be/NIJTU9iY2iA
Turner: veterano del Vietnam, ex agente di polizia, una laurea in psicologia ottenuta mentre era in prigione. Uscito dal carcere, decide di lasciarsi alle spalle il passato per rifugiarsi in una capanna nei boschi che circondano una sperduta cittadina rurale del Tennessee. Un uomo misterioso e sconosciuto, a se stesso e agli altri, oppresso da un fardello inconfessabile che, un pezzo alla volta, deve essere riportato in superficie per poter essere esorcizzato. La visita dello sceriffo del luogo, in cerca di aiuto per risolvere l'assurdo e rituale omicidio di un vagabondo, innesca gli eventi della storia, e induce Turner ad uscire dal suo volontario isolamento.
Un romanzo lento, malinconico, con un protagonista solitario, ma non cinico, inquieto, ma pacato, riflessivo. La trama gialla è un espediente per parlare della vita di un uomo, delle sue battaglie, dei suoi fallimenti, dei suoi rimpianti, ma anche del suo desiderio di riscatto.
Intimo e struggente. Bello!
"Saper perdere è la chiave di tutto, il segreto che nessuno vi rivela mai. Fin dal primo giorno, la vita è un ininterrotto accumularsi di necessità, desideri, paure, dipendenze, rimpianti, rapporti. Ci sono sempre. Ma potete decidere cosa farne. Dar loro una bella lustrata e riporre il tutto su uno scaffale. Nasconderle dietro casa, vicino a un salice piangente. Accatastarle in veranda e sederci sopra.
Eravamo proprio in veranda, io e Val".
https://youtu.be/NIJTU9iY2iA
March 14, 2017
And so the Turner sequence of novels by James Sallis comes to it's beginnings. Reading in reverse order makes this book feel like a close friend is finally confiding in you the how and the why of his downfall after many years of just not talking about it. It's somewhat lighter in tone than what would come after and it feels clear to me that Sallis didn't actually have a plan to make the series in to the melancholy dissection of memory and ageing and loss because whilst the structure is the same as in the later books - back and forward in time, from memories to present - here it is much more about the slow reveal of details than the way memories are jogged to the surface by events in a person's life or the reflections of a man coming towards the end of his. That is the major reason why Cypress Grove is not on the same level of enjoyment for me, whilst the crime investigation that goes along with it is also a little lacking in depth or substance to really mark this in the top rank of Sallis's fiction.
November 5, 2009
Here's how I arrived at this book: I read a very positive review in the last year or so of Sallis's "Salt River"; the review mentioned the book was the third in a series involving the same protagonist. So, I thought I would start with the first book in the series. Bad mistake.
Cypress Grove is a mannered tale of a retired policeman, living in a rural southern environment, who gets dragged into a local murder investigation. It cuts back and forth between the local investigation and the policeman's prior career. The story itself isn't so bad, and some of the incidents are compelling enough. It's Sallis's style that irritated me. Too heavy on all the things I don't like in pretentious writing: Clever Repartee (no one ever talks like that), Deep Thoughts (come on, they don't think like that either), World Weary Ruminations (everyone's got problems), and Weighty Words (even if you really think the thoughts, how could you ever verbalize them in such a literary way?). Just too much weight for a poor old detective story to carry. Too heavy for me, anyway.
Alas, I guess I'll never see "Salt River."
Cypress Grove is a mannered tale of a retired policeman, living in a rural southern environment, who gets dragged into a local murder investigation. It cuts back and forth between the local investigation and the policeman's prior career. The story itself isn't so bad, and some of the incidents are compelling enough. It's Sallis's style that irritated me. Too heavy on all the things I don't like in pretentious writing: Clever Repartee (no one ever talks like that), Deep Thoughts (come on, they don't think like that either), World Weary Ruminations (everyone's got problems), and Weighty Words (even if you really think the thoughts, how could you ever verbalize them in such a literary way?). Just too much weight for a poor old detective story to carry. Too heavy for me, anyway.
Alas, I guess I'll never see "Salt River."
April 21, 2024
To εξώφυλλο του βιβλίου υπόσχεται μια πολύ πιο πειστική και κλειστοφοβική ατμόσφαιρα από αυτή που τελικά παρουσιάζει ο Sallis σε ένα κοινωνικό μυθιστόρημα μυστηρίου υπερβολικά αμερικάνικης και βραδυφλεγούς κοπής που, από το 2ο μισό και μετά, δείχνει να μην έχει τόση ουσία, όση προσπαθεί να αφήσει να φανεί στην αρχή η ροή των γεγονότων.
Οι χαρακτήρες δεν έχουν κάτι το ιδιαίτερα αξιοσημείωτο, ενώ το πιο θετικό στοιχείο του βιβλίου είναι κάποιες γλαφυρές περιγραφές της αμερικάνικης επαρχίας, γιατί μόλις ολοκληρώνεται η ανάγνωση του, η ιστορία που ξεδιπλώθηκε βαδίζει κατευθείαν προς τα μονοπάτια της λήθης.
Βαθμολογία: 2,1/5.
Οι χαρακτήρες δεν έχουν κάτι το ιδιαίτερα αξιοσημείωτο, ενώ το πιο θετικό στοιχείο του βιβλίου είναι κάποιες γλαφυρές περιγραφές της αμερικάνικης επαρχίας, γιατί μόλις ολοκληρώνεται η ανάγνωση του, η ιστορία που ξεδιπλώθηκε βαδίζει κατευθείαν προς τα μονοπάτια της λήθης.
Βαθμολογία: 2,1/5.
August 3, 2015
4,5/5 - Ευκολοδιάβαστο, ο ορισμός του page turner, στρωτή γραφή, δεξιοτεχνική αφήγηση της ιστορίας. Βιβλίο απ' αυτά που "περνάς καλά" μαζί τους.
November 7, 2015
Απρόσμενα καλο, ο Sallis μάλλον μου ταιριάζει σαν συγγραφέας. Ο ήρωας του ειναι βαθιά ανθρώπινος κ η αφήγηση σχεδιασμένη με δεξιοτεχνία. Η εξιχνίαση του εγκλήματος μάλλον υστερούσε, ίσως γιατι ο προβληματισμός που έκρυβε μου φαινόταν αταί��ιαστος με την αποκάλυψη του παρελθόντος του Τέρνερ που ήταν το κέντρο του βιβλιο αλλα μικρό το κακό. Θα συνεχίσω σίγουρα τη σειρά
May 27, 2015
Αυτό είναι μόλις το πρώτο μυθιστόρημα του Τζέιμς Σάλις που μεταφράζεται στα ελληνικά, γεγονός που με χαροποίησε ιδιαίτερα, μιας και είναι από τους καλύτερους συγγραφείς νουάρ μυθιστορημάτων και από περιλήψεις των βιβλίων του και κριτικές στο ίντερνετ κατάλαβα ότι είναι ένας συγγραφέας που θα ταίριαζε απόλυτα με το γούστο μου. Και επιβεβαιώθηκα, μιας και το βιβλίο μου άρεσε σε πολύ μεγάλο βαθμό.
Σ'αυτό το βιβλίο γνωρίζουμε τον πρώην αστυνομικό, πρώην φυλακισμένο και πρώην ψυχοθεραπευτή Τζον Τέρνερ, που τώρα ζει στην καλύβα του έξω από μια μικρή πόλη κοντά στο Μέμφις, όπου τίποτα συγκλονιστικό δεν γίνεται. Είναι ένα ήσυχο μέρος το οποίο μπορεί να τον βοηθήσει να ξεχάσει το σκοτεινό παρελθόν του και να ζήσει με ηρεμία και απλότητα το υπόλοιπο της ζωής του. Έλα όμως που τα πράγματα δεν έρχονται πότε όπως θα τα ήθελε κανείς: Ο σερίφης της μικρής πόλης, ερχόμενος για κοινωνική επίσκεψη και καλά, τον ενημερώνει για έναν φόνο που έγινε στην περιοχή και του ζητά βοήθεια. Ο Τέρνερ δεν αρνείται...
Όποιος έχει σκοπό να διαβάσει το βιβλίο αυτό για το μυστήριο και τις ανατροπές στην πλοκή ή για το σασπένς και την αγωνία, καλύτερα να αλλάξει σκοπό. Η υπόθεση είναι σχετικά απλή (αν και ενδιαφέρουσα) και δεν βασίζεται σ'αυτήν το βιβλίο. Το βασικό μέλημα του συγγραφέα ήταν να μας γνωρίσει έναν αρκετά αινιγματικό χαρακτήρα, αυτόν του Τέρνερ, να μας δείξει το σκληρό και βίαιο παρελθόν του και, επίσης, να μας παρουσιάσει την ζωή σε μια μικρή επαρχιακή πόλη των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών. Μπορώ να πω ότι τα κατάφερε μια χαρά.
Η αφήγηση σε πρώτο πρόσωπο, πηγαίνει συνεχώς μπρος-πίσω, στο ένα κεφάλαιο βλέπουμε το παρόν του Τέρνερ και παράλληλα την εξέλιξη της υπόθεσης του φόνου, και στο αμέσως επόμενο κεφάλαιο βλέπουμε στιγμές από το παρελθόν του. Και πάει λέγοντας. Κάπου στα τριάντα εφτά κεφάλαια είναι χωρισμένο το βιβλίο, τα μισά περίπου είναι στο τώρα και τα άλλα μισά στο πριν. Και τα δυο κομμάτια μου άρεσαν πολύ και νομίζω ότι έδεσαν εξαιρετικά. Όσον αφορά την γραφή, μου φάνηκε πραγματικά πολύ όμορφη, άμεση, με ωραίες περιγραφές και ρεαλιστικούς διαλόγους, σίγουρα το στιλ του συγγραφέα ταίριαξε πολύ με αυτό που μου αρέσει σ'ένα σύγχρονο νουάρ μυθιστόρημα.
Επιγραμματικά, πρόκειται για ένα ανθρώπινο αστυνομικό νουάρ, που βασικό του μέλημα δεν είναι να αγχώσει τον αναγνώστη του με μια αγωνιώδη πλοκή γεμάτη ανατροπές και σασπένς, μιας και η πλοκή του δεν είναι τέτοια, αλλά να μας παρουσιάσει μια όψη της σύγχρονης Αμερικής (έστω της Αμερικής μια δεκαετία πίσω), που έχει την δική της ξεχωριστή ομορφιά. Απ'όσο βλέπω δεν είναι καν από τα πιο καλά του βιβλία, φαντάζομαι πως θα είναι τα πραγματικά καλά του. Ελπίζω να δούμε και άλλο βιβλίο του στα ελληνικά.
Σ'αυτό το βιβλίο γνωρίζουμε τον πρώην αστυνομικό, πρώην φυλακισμένο και πρώην ψυχοθεραπευτή Τζον Τέρνερ, που τώρα ζει στην καλύβα του έξω από μια μικρή πόλη κοντά στο Μέμφις, όπου τίποτα συγκλονιστικό δεν γίνεται. Είναι ένα ήσυχο μέρος το οποίο μπορεί να τον βοηθήσει να ξεχάσει το σκοτεινό παρελθόν του και να ζήσει με ηρεμία και απλότητα το υπόλοιπο της ζωής του. Έλα όμως που τα πράγματα δεν έρχονται πότε όπως θα τα ήθελε κανείς: Ο σερίφης της μικρής πόλης, ερχόμενος για κοινωνική επίσκεψη και καλά, τον ενημερώνει για έναν φόνο που έγινε στην περιοχή και του ζητά βοήθεια. Ο Τέρνερ δεν αρνείται...
Όποιος έχει σκοπό να διαβάσει το βιβλίο αυτό για το μυστήριο και τις ανατροπές στην πλοκή ή για το σασπένς και την αγωνία, καλύτερα να αλλάξει σκοπό. Η υπόθεση είναι σχετικά απλή (αν και ενδιαφέρουσα) και δεν βασίζεται σ'αυτήν το βιβλίο. Το βασικό μέλημα του συγγραφέα ήταν να μας γνωρίσει έναν αρκετά αινιγματικό χαρακτήρα, αυτόν του Τέρνερ, να μας δείξει το σκληρό και βίαιο παρελθόν του και, επίσης, να μας παρουσιάσει την ζωή σε μια μικρή επαρχιακή πόλη των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών. Μπορώ να πω ότι τα κατάφερε μια χαρά.
Η αφήγηση σε πρώτο πρόσωπο, πηγαίνει συνεχώς μπρος-πίσω, στο ένα κεφάλαιο βλέπουμε το παρόν του Τέρνερ και παράλληλα την εξέλιξη της υπόθεσης του φόνου, και στο αμέσως επόμενο κεφάλαιο βλέπουμε στιγμές από το παρελθόν του. Και πάει λέγοντας. Κάπου στα τριάντα εφτά κεφάλαια είναι χωρισμένο το βιβλίο, τα μισά περίπου είναι στο τώρα και τα άλλα μισά στο πριν. Και τα δυο κομμάτια μου άρεσαν πολύ και νομίζω ότι έδεσαν εξαιρετικά. Όσον αφορά την γραφή, μου φάνηκε πραγματικά πολύ όμορφη, άμεση, με ωραίες περιγραφές και ρεαλιστικούς διαλόγους, σίγουρα το στιλ του συγγραφέα ταίριαξε πολύ με αυτό που μου αρέσει σ'ένα σύγχρονο νουάρ μυθιστόρημα.
Επιγραμματικά, πρόκειται για ένα ανθρώπινο αστυνομικό νουάρ, που βασικό του μέλημα δεν είναι να αγχώσει τον αναγνώστη του με μια αγωνιώδη πλοκή γεμάτη ανατροπές και σασπένς, μιας και η πλοκή του δεν είναι τέτοια, αλλά να μας παρουσιάσει μια όψη της σύγχρονης Αμερικής (έστω της Αμερικής μια δεκαετία πίσω), που έχει την δική της ξεχωριστή ομορφιά. Απ'όσο βλέπω δεν είναι καν από τα πιο καλά του βιβλία, φαντάζομαι πως θα είναι τα πραγματικά καλά του. Ελπίζω να δούμε και άλλο βιβλίο του στα ελληνικά.
August 11, 2015
Ένα noir ποτισμένο από την υγρασία του Νότου. Ο πρωταγωνιστής ένας εξηντάρης πρώην πολεμιστής του Βιετνάμ, πρώην μπάτσος, πρώην κατάδικος, πρώην ψυχαναλυτής έχει παρατήσει τα πάντα και κατοικεί μόνος στη μέση του πουθενά έξω από μια μικρή πόλη. Έχει μπουχτίσει από την ζωή και τους ανθρώπους. Η ζωή όμως δεν έχει τελειώσει μαζί του. Καλείται να βοηθήσει την εξιχνίαση ενός αποτρόπαιου εγκλήματος ασυνήθιστου για την ήσυχη πολίχνη. Κινείται παρατηρώντας, σου δίνει την αίσθηση ότι κουβαλάει το άχθος του κόσμου στην πλάτη του και μαζί του βλέπεις και εσύ τις λεπτομέρειες της παρηκμασμένης κοινωνίας. Με ένα πολύ ιδιαίτερο τρόπο η εξιχνίαση της υπόθεσης μπλέκεται με σπαράγματα αναμνήσεων από την προηγούμενη ζωή του. Το τέλος καθόλου λυτρωτικό τα πάντα είναι γκρι κάτω από τον καυτό ήλιο. Το βιβλίο διαβάζεται πίνοντας bοurbon με πολλά τσιγάρα.
April 9, 2017
Typical southern rural crime, just a little overwritten for its own good.
The plot alternates with flashbacks giving insight to what lead Turner here and now. The main crime plot is rather paper thin but the overall atmosphere and characters compensate. I particularly liked the introductory scene of sheriff Bates. Some lines are savorous.
What ticked me off were a good part of the dialogs. I can accept litterary inner monologues, assuming the narrator took its time to write them, but nobody talks about socio/philosophical topics like that in their daily lives. It sometimes rang totally off-key and bothered me.
The plot alternates with flashbacks giving insight to what lead Turner here and now. The main crime plot is rather paper thin but the overall atmosphere and characters compensate. I particularly liked the introductory scene of sheriff Bates. Some lines are savorous.
What ticked me off were a good part of the dialogs. I can accept litterary inner monologues, assuming the narrator took its time to write them, but nobody talks about socio/philosophical topics like that in their daily lives. It sometimes rang totally off-key and bothered me.
June 1, 2015
3.8* για την ακρίβεια
Από την σελίδα 200 και μετά βρίσκει τον ρυθμό του, πιο πριν οι διάλογοι είναι υπερβολικά αμερικάνικοι, τόσο που ξενίζουν έναν Ευρωπαίο. Εντέλει όμως αξίζει τον κόπο και το στόρυ αλλά και ο τρόπος που επιλέγει ο συγγραφέας να το παρουσιάσει. Πολύ ενδιαφέρον κατ'επίφαση νουάρ, περισσότερο κοινωνικό θα έλεγα βιβλίο, και αν μεταφραζόταν και άλλο του ιδίου θα το διάβαζα οπωσδήποτε
Από την σελίδα 200 και μετά βρίσκει τον ρυθμό του, πιο πριν οι διάλογοι είναι υπερβολικά αμερικάνικοι, τόσο που ξενίζουν έναν Ευρωπαίο. Εντέλει όμως αξίζει τον κόπο και το στόρυ αλλά και ο τρόπος που επιλέγει ο συγγραφέας να το παρουσιάσει. Πολύ ενδιαφέρον κατ'επίφαση νουάρ, περισσότερο κοινωνικό θα έλεγα βιβλίο, και αν μεταφραζόταν και άλλο του ιδίου θα το διάβαζα οπωσδήποτε
November 6, 2017
He’s been a cop, inmate, psychiatrist, almost an English professor, and currently a consultant on a murder case. With such a varied CV, it’s difficult to imagine how a reclusive character like Turner will apply all his life experience to successfully solve the brutally ritualistic murder of an emotionally disturbed young man who’d been lifting the mayor’s mail. Be forewarned: the clues may appear at a pace akin to molasses, and alternate chapters meander back and forth in first person narrative to reveal Turner’s heartrending past. However, this seemingly lackadaisical pace belies a building tension that compels one to continue reading non-stop. And a plot that could have devolved into repressive Southern Gothic or slipped into overly sentimental vignettes adroitly sidesteps such pitfalls. This balance is what makes “Cypress Grove” such an engaging read. With a finely balanced dose of wry humor, clever twists, and colorful supporting characters, James Sallis has woven a fascinating tapestry in which all the pieces-past and present- dovetail perfectly. Since this is the first installment of the series, it is clearly one worth investigating further.
October 1, 2024
3.75
A retired detective/ex-con/ex-psychologist moves to a small town to live out his days and forget his past. Unfortunately, the local sheriff knows about Turner's past and comes calling on him to help his small PD solve the murder of a homeless man.
The story is told with the on-going investigation, then reverting back to Turners start as a policeman and re-telling of his life that ultimately ended with him secluding himself away in Cyress Grove.
The reader begins to understand how things progressed in Turners life and now follows his steps in helping to solve the case being presented to him now.
I really enjoyed this story.
A retired detective/ex-con/ex-psychologist moves to a small town to live out his days and forget his past. Unfortunately, the local sheriff knows about Turner's past and comes calling on him to help his small PD solve the murder of a homeless man.
The story is told with the on-going investigation, then reverting back to Turners start as a policeman and re-telling of his life that ultimately ended with him secluding himself away in Cyress Grove.
The reader begins to understand how things progressed in Turners life and now follows his steps in helping to solve the case being presented to him now.
I really enjoyed this story.
March 29, 2021
3.5 stars
Was looking for a thriller and although this one was a good read, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. Not sure if I will continue with the series when I'm in a different frame of mind.
Was looking for a thriller and although this one was a good read, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. Not sure if I will continue with the series when I'm in a different frame of mind.
September 17, 2017
A quick read, well developed characters, a very interesting detective with a prison record. Well written.
February 28, 2018
I enjoyed it enough to read more in the series. Loved some of it and drifted off at other parts, but enough there to make me want to see what is to come.
June 13, 2014
Surely you have oft heard the expression "I thought so&so was pretty good, but he's no. . . " Be it sports, stage, screen, or literature. That is how I felt after reading this book, by an author whose stuff I have read before and liked, but I just had this nagging feeling that this was, shall we say, second string. Mind you, it was still a good story and I liked it, and will read the others in the series, so that should tell you something, but the characters were not as sharp, nor the narrative as precise, or the description as lyrical. Perhaps I have been reading really outstanding examples lately, and this pales somewhat in comparison, though still very enjoyable and fun to read. No doubt too, when you have read many similar tales, that at times there seems to be a blueprint some authors follow (and I am not making any accusations) and they just mix things up a bit to avoid complaints. You find a small town, place a older lawman (with baggage), present a possible love interest, find a way to get him involved in a case. . .and you're off. The transitions seemed rough, especially as he worked to fill in back story, and that tale was jumbled right from the beginning. I just kept hoping for a sharper edge, so to speak.
December 18, 2015
James Sallis can write some great prose and he can also write some strange prose, often in the same paragraph.
"He looked up as we came in. Wet brown eyes that reminded me of spaniels, ruddy face narrow and shallow like a shovel, thin hair. Something electric about him, though. Sparks and small connections jumping around in there unremarked."
Well I'm thinking, here's a dishevelled looking older guy with sad sympathetic eyes acting like a bundle of loose nerves ... but then, I can't really be sure, cause of the unremarked connections? Know what I mean?
Dialogue is short, reserved and delivered mostly staccato style. Like somebody who taught themselves not to stutter, you can hear the pause between the words.
Story(ies) jump around in time and space. One's about he protagonist, like how he got to be where he is today and the man he's come to be. The other is about a mystery and a cult film which may or may not have marked connections.
Anyway I thought maybe too much effort on style and effect kinda overwhelmed the substance of the story, like it had moments of greatness, mixed in a fog of confusion, ultimately leaving me feeling ...unremarked?
Still a lot of good stuff. I will read another.
"He looked up as we came in. Wet brown eyes that reminded me of spaniels, ruddy face narrow and shallow like a shovel, thin hair. Something electric about him, though. Sparks and small connections jumping around in there unremarked."
Well I'm thinking, here's a dishevelled looking older guy with sad sympathetic eyes acting like a bundle of loose nerves ... but then, I can't really be sure, cause of the unremarked connections? Know what I mean?
Dialogue is short, reserved and delivered mostly staccato style. Like somebody who taught themselves not to stutter, you can hear the pause between the words.
Story(ies) jump around in time and space. One's about he protagonist, like how he got to be where he is today and the man he's come to be. The other is about a mystery and a cult film which may or may not have marked connections.
Anyway I thought maybe too much effort on style and effect kinda overwhelmed the substance of the story, like it had moments of greatness, mixed in a fog of confusion, ultimately leaving me feeling ...unremarked?
Still a lot of good stuff. I will read another.
March 19, 2014
Great prose but the plot left me cold. Sallis' style, southern gothic, rolls off the page and the first chapter is a great and quiet opener reminiscent of some of Peter Mathiessen's work.
But I didn't take to all the homely characters - the good old southern fried vibe between the main protagonists - it smacked too much of an idealized south, even if Turner, the main character, is dysfunctional.
I also have some issues with the constant back and forth between the past and the present. Certainly in the first half of the book, the actual murder plot takes a back seat to Turner's coming of age tales in which the cops are painted way too human(e) for my taste. Most of his partners are painted as victims of a tough life, and all of them are basically ok, upholding American law. Urgh.
There's some great language but the conservative line that runs through the text - the way tradition, honor and truth are discussed, seems hardly contemporary, or even relevant to the fractured world we live in. But perhaps out there in the southern sticks, those old truths still hold true. Where I'm sitting it reads a bit like Tea Party romanticism.
But I didn't take to all the homely characters - the good old southern fried vibe between the main protagonists - it smacked too much of an idealized south, even if Turner, the main character, is dysfunctional.
I also have some issues with the constant back and forth between the past and the present. Certainly in the first half of the book, the actual murder plot takes a back seat to Turner's coming of age tales in which the cops are painted way too human(e) for my taste. Most of his partners are painted as victims of a tough life, and all of them are basically ok, upholding American law. Urgh.
There's some great language but the conservative line that runs through the text - the way tradition, honor and truth are discussed, seems hardly contemporary, or even relevant to the fractured world we live in. But perhaps out there in the southern sticks, those old truths still hold true. Where I'm sitting it reads a bit like Tea Party romanticism.
December 1, 2012
Cypress Grove is oddly captivating. It’s not a page-turner in the sense of a high powered thriller, but rather it hooks the reader in a quiet, understated way. Sallis’ storytelling kind of just drifts along regardless of dramatic moments, sketching out a portrait of an essentially good man whose life has been punctuated by terrible moments: being drafted to Vietnam, killing his partner, killing a prison inmate just prior to being released; all of them somehow beyond his control. Sallis’ is a noted poet and essayist as well as novelist and it shows in his writing, which has a lyrical cadence and some lovely turns of phrase. The story is told through two intersecting plotlines that alternate across chapters; one in the present; the other Turner’s back story. It’s an effective structure, providing a series of interesting counterpoints. The plot itself is relatively straightforward and Turner solves the case quite easily, but the puzzle is hardly the main focus of the story, rather it's Turner’s journey and the unfolding of his re-integration into life and law enforcement.
January 12, 2017
Ένα αστυνομικό βιβλίο διαφορετικό από το είδος που έχω συνηθίσει. Έχει στοιχεία noir με πολλά flashback του πρωταγωνιστή. Ουσιαστικά, τα κεφάλαια εναλλάσσονται μεταξύ του σήμερα και του παρελθόντος του πρωταγωνιστή. Ο James Sallis παρουσιάζει την ιστορία χωρίς να κουράζει ιδιαίτερα και σε προσκαλεί να γυρίσεις και την επόμενη σελίδα για να μάθεις τη συνέχεια.
Ένα πολύ καλό βιβλίο με το οποίο μπορείς να περάσεις ευχάριστα την ώρα σου. Δεν θα έλεγα πως είναι εξαιρετικό αλλά έχει πολλά στοιχεία που σε κρατάνε. Βασικά το βιβλίο είναι για 3,5* και όχι για 3. Τα αρνητικά του είναι πως είναι κάπως επίπεδο χωρίς διακυμάνσεις στην ένταση του και πολλές φορές ξεφεύγει από την βασική ιστορία και μπλέκει άσχετα θέματα μέσα.
Γενικά όμως θα το πρότεινα σε κάποιον που θέλει να διαβάσει ένα noir μυθιστόρημα χωρίς πολλές εντάσεις και συγκινήσεις με ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία και συμπαθητικούς χαρακτήρες.
Ένα πολύ καλό βιβλίο με το οποίο μπορείς να περάσεις ευχάριστα την ώρα σου. Δεν θα έλεγα πως είναι εξαιρετικό αλλά έχει πολλά στοιχεία που σε κρατάνε. Βασικά το βιβλίο είναι για 3,5* και όχι για 3. Τα αρνητικά του είναι πως είναι κάπως επίπεδο χωρίς διακυμάνσεις στην ένταση του και πολλές φορές ξεφεύγει από την βασική ιστορία και μπλέκει άσχετα θέματα μέσα.
Γενικά όμως θα το πρότεινα σε κάποιον που θέλει να διαβάσει ένα noir μυθιστόρημα χωρίς πολλές εντάσεις και συγκινήσεις με ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία και συμπαθητικούς χαρακτήρες.
January 26, 2012
While the back and forth narrative style, showing Turner now and then, was, at times, hard to keep track of, but it's how Sallis wraps everything up that deserves much praise. Also, this is a deceptive book. I came into it expecting a crime/noir story, moody in the way that "Drive" was, but this is a different read. Sallis spends more time with the little details of Turner's world, gets us in there, shows us the inner struggle of the character as opposed to straight up crime and violence. Nicely done.
March 6, 2008
Cypress Grove and its sequels, Cripple Creek and Salt River, are a trilogy of lyrical crime novels by James Sallis. His prose is beautiful and his characters wonderful. The world of these novels is one of unremitting violence and good people get hurt or killed all the time, although those same people are able to find one another and some comfort in music and one another. Read all three but space them out a bit and read something optimistic after each Sallis novel.
February 7, 2014
This was his first Turner book. He has just moved to this small town, and the Sheriff comes calling wanting him to help w/ a murder in his town that he feels he is "in over his head" on this one. Turner reluctantly agrees to help. The book also has Turner going back in his thoughts to what brought him to where he is today, the war, his days as a cop, prison, and his years as a therapist. Should have read this one first, now I am ready for the 3rd Turner book.
March 29, 2015
Southern noir. Liked it and going to read more books in this series. Sallis brings the heat and humidity, the liquor and the slow drawls to life. The essence of the Southern way of speaking is expressed not by changing the spelling of words as many authors tend to do these days, but by the way he uses punctuation, the rhythm of the sentences, and the texture of the words to tell the story. Craft rather than shortcut.
July 5, 2012
Really liked the style of writing here and the way the character's past history was laid out. Very curious to me though as a 'crime novel' as it seemed like it spent all of 20 pages on anything directly involved in the main murder. So as a crime novel its not all that detailed or full of drama but the style of writing, God. Just brilliant.
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