Vida

Alba & Gorodish #5

by Delacorta

French

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Delacorta is a pseudonym used by Daniel Odier for some of his works, notably his Alba fiction series.

Reviews

[Daniel]

Rereading this series after many decades, other than Diva, they're a bit of a disappointment. The obvious problematic issues are even worse than remembered and they feel hastily thrown together, written in a week, ephemeral and disposable. But somehow engaging. This is the worst of the lot. I've never read the last book in the series and am wondering if it's worth tracking down.

[Davidg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: The Alba series of books centre on the relationship between a 13 year old girl who is frequently described in sexual terms and a man in his late 30s. Although it is made clear that no sexual intercourse occurs, their sharing of beds and nudity is unsettling to the modern reader. However, the fact that Alba is more mature than most 18 year olds makes it possible to enjoy the stories despite the qualms as it hard to believe that the character described is really only 13. I suspect that Delacorta only gives her the age of 13 just to shock, he could easily have made her 15 ( the age of consent in much of Europe) without changing anything else.

Alba and Gorodish move to a dippy Los Angeles in the fifth book of the series. The plot is now so ridiculous that it is back to being good again. Once again, the relationship between the two of them is good fun and their relationship with the rest of the world even better. There are genius artists and business people who are even younger than Alba, who couldn't possibly exist. Someone is shot at point blank range by a professional killer and survives unscathed with no explanation. It is all ludicrous but fun.

[Dale Pobega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe I'm just a sucker for this series. I do think this is the best of the five Delacorta novellas I have read so far. "Vida" is after all an anagram of "Diva" and there seems to be as much passion poured into this instalment as its predecessor.

The transfer of Alba and Gorodish to L.A seems to have inspired Delacorta no end. Sun, sand, sea, open skies, skyscrapers, tans and muscles, coke (and more coke), zany cults and New Aged therapies , health food and the mafia, jazz and Chandler-esque noir detectives, are some of the American pie elements of this fun read.

Why on earth hasn't there been a director since Beineix interested in bringing either Vida, Nana or Luna to the screen?

There is a cracker of a chapter in this book called "Nuts" worthy of Fellini. It describes a mad capped, debut of an avant-garde orchestral work conducted by a baboon!

"Never again will a banana be thought of merely as a banana."

[The Wee Hen · Rating 5 out of 5]

***I have scored this so high because, for a time, it was one of my favourite books. Keep in mind I read it in high school so... it's hard to take the loves of a 14 year old me seriously. The 80's weren't exactly one's finest hour. I'm positive that if I read these books again I would have nothing to say but that these were puerile fantasies unworthy of my time.***

[Kaethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the day I thought this series was so cool: sexy, and French, and awesome. I suppose it's telling that I've never felt a desire to re-read them. Nowadays the whole set up seems skeevy.

Personal copy.

[Karmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In LA, Alba sets up a detective agency. Her first job is to find the Pharaoh, a super architect. Serge and she get in touch with Vida, a hit woman for the mob. Pharaoh hired her to kill the architects of the ugliest buildings in LA. They all survive and live happily ever after.

[Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd give this 2.5 stars, but only for the sarcastically funny lines that poke fun at Los Angeles. Events in the plot are too ridiculous believe, even for a detective novel. There were not enough exciting events in the plot.