Убить Хемингуэя

Hector Lassiter #8

by Craig McDonald, Крейг Макдоналд

2 июля 1961 года на вилле в Кетчуме, небольшом городке штата Айдахо, прогремел выстрел. Патриарх американской литературы, кумир не одного поколения читателей Эрнест Хемингуэй свел счеты с жизнью, покончив с собой. Сценой его самоубийства начинается роман американца Крейга Макдоналда "Убить Хемингуэя".
Спустя четыре года после смерти "папы Хема" открывается конференция, посвященная его творчеству. Четвертая жена и признанная вдова писателя Мэри Уэлш обещает открыть миру тайну "самоубийства века". Но далеко не все хотят, чтобы вся правда о жизни и смерти кумира читающей Америки стала известна...

Genres: Mystery

514 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Edgar/Anthony-nominee Craig McDonald is an award-winning novelist, editor and journalist. His internationally acclaimed Hector Lassiter series includes "One True Sentence," "Forever's Just Pretend," "Toros & Torsos," "The Great Pretender," "Roll the Credits," "The Running Kind," "Print the Legend," "Three Chords & the Truth," "Write From Wrong," and "Head Games," which was a finalist for the Edgar, Anthony, Gumshoe and Crimespree Magazine awards for best first novel. It is being adapted as a graphic novel by First Second for release in 2015.

A standalone thriller about illegal immigration, "El Gavilan," was published in autumn 2011 to starred reviews and was also selected for several year's best lists.

A new series of direct-to-eBook thrillers featuring crime novelist Chris Lyon was launched in 2012; the series features crossovers by characters from the Hector Lassiter series; Hector himself appears in "Angels of Darkness."

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Craig McDonald's series character HECTOR LASSITER is kind of a cool crime novelist and he is buddies with Ernest Hemingway. This is the third Hector Lassiter book in the series. I did not read the first two, and I understand they all revolve around famous historical figures. The previous book is called "TOROS & TORSOS" which deals with Fidel Castro in Cuba and takes place in 1935. The present book takes place in 1961 and revolves around Hemingway's death/murder and the search for one of Hemingway's lost manuscripts.

I found this book quite fascinating with it's delving into the steadier side of Hemingway, his life, loves and adventures. It has re-peaked my interest so much so that I am tempted to go back and read Hemingway with new eyes. If I have time that is.

"Print the Legend" is a literary thriller about Hemingway's death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkTWC...

[Andrew]

Wow

My second Lassiter in the last few days and every bit as good as my first, Print the Legend. This one deals with the death of Hemingway, the FBI surveillance and disruption of artists and authors deemed by Hoover to be subversive and so much more. These books are hard to describe but they are just so good-- the right mix of intelligence and pulp. I mean what book has a character based on Watergate plotter, E. Howard Hunt, which deals with Hunt's pulp fiction career? Read it.

[Yulia Guliaeva · Rating 5 out of 5]

about Papa

[Mike Vines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating mix of literary history, government malfeasance, deadly competitions. Looming in the back story is the late Papa Hemingway. So good. Highly recommended!

[Cara Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are really some of my favorite to read, I love the historical fiction and the characters are great. You never know how it’s going to unfold, can’t wait to read the next one!

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a difficult book for me to review. Technically, it's a tight read, great phrasing and sparse language for the most part. There are some great ideas present, and it's quick to get through. The style itself is loosely modeled on the modern/postmodern methods that the story explores throughout with Hemingway and the Lost Gen. And there is definitely the fascinating historical aspect concerning Hoover's war on art and writers.

But the story itself is inconsistent. I did not get the sense that it could focus on one character or thread enough to really tie it all together in a manner that didn't seem jumpy. Hemingway scenes were sporadic and took away from the 'present day' storyline with Hector, Hannah, Creedy et al. True introspection into Hannah's character does not even occur until very late in the novel. There are graphic scenes here and there, and I'm not sure to what effect they were put in, perhaps a bit gratuitous in their use as metaphor.

Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed it. At times i was ready to give it a 4, perhaps 5 star review, but then the rushed ending really made me rethink what I'd read to that point. 3.5 is probably a fair assessment.

[Lance Charnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

McDonald's tale of crime, fraud, academic vainglory and the erection of myths is a tour de force. An original embroidery on an actual event -- Ernest Hemingway's 1961 suicide in Idaho -- Print the Legend weaves together McCarthyism, the CIA and a bushel of secrets and lies unearthed by one of the more unlikely mystery heroes in recent memory: 60+ year-old Hemingway crony and crime-fiction author Hector Lassiter.

Vivid settings, sharp characterizations and spot-on dialog make this trip through Papa's legend an Ellroy-esque roll in historical mud. Acid portraits abound of people both real (Hemingway's venomous widow Mary) and fictional (the unctuous academician, a Javert-like spook-nemesis). The action when it occurs is fast and clearly drawn; a birth scene late in the story is more horrific than many a fictional murder I've read. Lassiter is fine, cranky company through the tangled web of myth and reality.

Lassiter appears in some of McDonald's other works. If he's as good company in these other books as he is in this one, I have some reading to do.

[Montessahall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always drawn to books about Hemingway and this one
did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the pace of the story
along with the excellent character development. The characters
were engaging. My only negative comment is regarding the
ending which seemed a bit rushed. The ending was also sketchy
leaving out details that would have tied up some storyline
loose ends. The scene between Hoover and Lassiter was
out of place and somewhat confusing. Still, I liked the
book a great deal and have recommended it to others.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book but would probably never have picked it out if I hadn't heard about it on NPR. It reminded me of an old detective or film noir movie. I haven't read much that I have been impressed with lately, but I was pleasantly surprised that I would like a book of this genre so well. Plus, if you're interested in literature, the Hemingway story line adds a unique touch to what may otherwise have been a novel that would get lost in the crowd.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Hector Lassiter the main character in Mc Donald'books (since Head games)he's a man of the XXème century from the the 30's to the 60's,he's a great man always sincere with his friends like Hemingway or Dos Passos; and Hector is a real gentleman with women ;-)

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

listened. Interesting premise - did Mary Hemingway kill Ernest at his request?

[Jennifer Kilmurray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky, well researched and highly entertaining. This is the semi biographical story of the months following the death of Ernest Hemingway.