Пелагия и красный петух

Приключения Пелагии (серия «Провинціальный детективъ») #3

by Boris Akunin

Заключительный роман трилогии «Провинцiальный детективъ, или Приключения сестры Пелагии». На пароходе «Севрюга», плывущего по Волге, совершенно невероятным образом собралась до ужаса разношерстная компания. Здесь и сектанты-духоборы, бегущие от притеснений в Канаду. И евреи-паломники в святую землю. И семейство содомитов, плывущих в новосозданный новый Содом. И «найдёныши» — русские, принявшие иудаизм. И даже загадочные и таинственные «христовы опричники», которых никто не видел, но всем известно, что они точно есть на пароходе. К этому набору в придачу ещё нужно присовокупить и вора по кличке Колобок. Стоит ли удивляться, что эта «пороховая смесь» рано или по

Genres: Mystery, Russia, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Detective, Crime, Historical

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Real name - Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili (Russian: Борис Акунин; Georgian: გრიგორი შალვას ძე ჩხარტიშვილი; Аlso see Grigory Chkhartishvili, Григорий Чхартишвили), born in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1956. Since 1958 he lives in Moscow. Writer and translator from Japanese. Author of crime stories set in tsarist Russia. In 1998 he made his debut with novel Azazel (to English readers known as The Winter Queen), where he created Erast Pietrovich Fandorin.
B. Akunin refers to Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin and Akuna, home name of Anna Akhmatova, Russian poet.
In September of 2000, Akunin was named Russian Writer of the Year and won the "Antibooker" prize in 2000 for his Erast Fandorin novel Coronation, or the last of the Romanovs.
Akunin also created crime-solving Orthodox nun, sister Pelagia, and literary genres.
His pseudonyms are Анатолий Брусникин and Анна Борисова. In some Dutch editions he is also known as Boris Akoenin.

Reviews

[Gil Smolinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akunin's most grisly story, but a great one nevertheless. I'm going to miss sister Pelagia. Full review here: https://smolinskiblog.co/2019/10/22/p...

[Androcles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminds me somewhat of a mayonnaise gone slightly wrong. It has all the required ingredients, many of which are of the highest quality, but their proportions, the way in which they have been added and the sequence of their incorporation and direction of 'stir' are not the best and the result lacks smoothness and satisfaction. If I were to rate this book on the basis of its last 2-3 chapters I would give it 5*****. They are striking in their intensity, imagination, profundity and audacity, and in their ability to provoke thought - we are given a touch of Faust, of Leo Tolstoy and Dante Alighieri all in the space of a few pages. And by then they are a most welcome reprieve. Because at other moments, earlier in the text I was left for long stretches in a state of profound 'ennui'. Cut-to-the-chase Boris I would say! Why so many characters I would add? And why are so many of them so similar? What am I missing? It is like a game of chess with too many rooks, and far far too many pawns! Too many protagonists are given similar 'weightings' and I found myself unable to commit myself to any one of them for any length of time other than to Sister Pelagia and to Bishop Mitrofanii whom we have enjoyed so much earlier in the series. And I suppose I wanted to see a little more of them too. I love your books Boris, but I think I'll take a wee break from Sister Pelagia and from Erast Fandorin for a while; maybe see you again in the springtime?

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I realize that at the beginning of a mystery novel, the direction we will be taken is somewhat obscured. I never did really figure this one out. I forgot who was murdered, for one thing. I did sort of remember it was a look-alike, but who that person looked like wasn't ever clear. At least not to me. Then later, when Pelagia was off on her investigation (of what?), there was a little girl bludgeoned. There was no follow up. Why not? And it just went on like that. No reason for anything.

I loved the first two in this series. That this novel was so disjointed was a huge disappointment. I needed this for my mysteries challenge and so I persevered. I'm down to the last dozen plus for that. Let's hope I still have some good ones yet in front of me. But this one? Two-stars and I'm glad there are not more in the series for me to wonder if I'll be missing out for not reading any more of them.

[Kris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Religious mysteries seem to be in vogue, but this was just stupid. I've never heard of "special caves" or their relationship to red roosters before, maybe it's a russian thing or completely from the author's imagination, but that plot point was so out-there it ruined the story for me. The strange town and castle with the psychotic russian nobleman were hardly believable, but the super-assassin and the graphic details of his kills were stomach-churning and ultimately unresolved. This is supposed to be the last of the Pelagia stories and Thank you for that.

[Agnes · Rating 1 out of 5]

OK, I struggled through this one trying to decipher what was going on due to the various characters (all in love with the nun) and their investigations....should not have bothered since the ending was so sacrilegious for reasons nothing to do with the nun.

[Useresu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Until the last pages you don’t know where it’s going and once you arrive there you don’t understand where it took you. Until you do.
It’s seldom you find a series where each next book is so much better than previous one.
I hate the fact that there isn’t more…and I love it.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read Sister Pelagius and the Black Monk, I felt very smug. I got it — I understood it all at every level, watching the mystery unfold and deepen at the same time. So this book, last in the trilogy, humiliated me. Page after page, I couldn’t see how it was working, what was going on. Until finally, finally in the last three chapters, it all came together, more tremendous than could be imagined. Black Monk offered three readings. A reader could read any one of them and come away feeling clever, content at time well spent. Red Rooster offers, in the end, only one. Take it or leave it.

If Jesus Christ himself turned up today in Russia or the USA or many other places, who would let him be and who would stop at nothing to have him killed?

[Cathi Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that was a weird ending! Christians will probably be offended and file it under apostasical literature (if such a thing exists) but…that being said, the skewering of the current state of Religion by Akunin is insightful (and in some way quite sad)
But I am left,yet again, wondering if my lead protagonist is gone forever or will appear again in some other time and place? Traveling with a red cockerel…just at the end of this story or in future stories? Hmmmm…. What has Akunin been up to since 2008?
Side note—this book does send you to a closer reading of the Bible

[Natasha Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Да, я поставила Акунину три звезды. Да, такое впервые. Будет отзыв, ждите. Хотя, кому я пишу) себе, для напоминания

[Višnja Barić · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book and I'm a huge Akunin fan. It was so boring and disappointing.

[Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel is the third of Boris Akunin's mystery series starring an insatiably curious Orthodox nun named Pelagia, who seems to get mixed up in some very unsavory affairs on a regular basis. This outing finds Pelagia traveling to the Holy Land in pursuit of a mysterious wandering stranger and facing mortal danger (as well as fleas) on a constant basis.

I thought this was the weakest of the Pelagia novels. The setting is mostly outside the fictional town of Zavolszhk and outside Russia altogether, so Pelagia's wanderings in the then-Ottoman province of Palestine don't have the atmosphere that the other novels do. Secondly, the mystery is more opaque and hinges around metaphysical questions of faith rather than human evildoers (although there are plenty of those!) and therefore, I found that aspect less satisfying as well. Finally, Pelagia keeps getting into trouble and mostly getting out of it simply because of random coincidences, rather than (as she has in the past) using her own formidable wits to get her out of tight spots. (Also, the body count was enormous in this one, which was a bit off-putting!) The ending makes me think this is going to be the last Pelagia novel, so I guess Akunin decided to kill off as many folks as possible!

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if I'd necessarily have someone start with Pelagia or recommend this series to friends. I think you'd have to be crazy not to like the Erast Fandorin books, but Pelagia is...different.

One of the recurring troubles for Pelagia in this book made me think of a parallel to myself as well. The first impression she gives off to people is a rather ungainly, overly curious, red-headed unnattractive nun, but then a few days in her company and they're madly in love.

So this happened to me too, so ironic. I find myself having to work with these novels and they're not exactly light, kick back, and have everything spelled out for you murder mysteries. Sometimes it can be annoying to put forth effort and hard to figure out what's going on or plowing through dense paragraphs, but Akunin is always enjoyable reading and the reader is always ultimately rewarded. You just have to savor his books.

Also, it is worth it just for the pay off in this. I've been rolling what happens at the end around my brain now for days. I can safely say that with all my assiduous attention to this book, I did not see what happens at the end coming at all. So shocking I can't make up my mind if I like it or not...which probably means that it's amazing and I should love it.

[Melissa McShane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I think about this book. On the one hand, Akunin is a master storyteller, and he keeps the tension high, alternating Pelagia's account of her journey through Russia and Palestine with that of the merciless killer stalking her. On the other, this mystery is very different from those of the first two books, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. Pelagia is chasing a holy fool, a strange mystic with the power to read people's characters and change their behavior with a word. She's misdirected at every turn, with impostors and decoys muddying the waters of her investigation, and encounters other pilgrims to the Holy Land who keep turning up along the way. All of that makes for a good mystery.

What I'm not sure about is the ending, where Pelagia finally catches up with her quarry--and it turns out she's been after him not to solve the mystery of why people want him dead, but because of a mystical experience she herself had. The novel ends with a stunning development that rewrites Christian history and puts Pelagia on an unusual path--it reminds me a little of the ending of Life of Pi, actually--but I felt that it was the wrong kind of twist. Even so, I enjoyed it very much, and it was still an excellent ending to the trilogy.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite book on time travel ever! Reading all the negative reviews of the novel, I could understand because yes it is grisly, and yes the plot is crazy..... with time travel and armageddon mixd in with a boatload of religious fanatics, crazy converts and prophets... (both murdered and doubles alike)... Sister Pelagia is Miss Marple in the guise of an Orthodox nun and well..... her time travel back to the streets of Jerusalem, Sodom and beyond.. are all totally over the top. And yet I could not put it down. Like Akunin, I am a Japanese translator and am planning to check out his Japan series next. The author sounds to me like a force of nature--fun article here http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles...

[Biblioworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Белый бульдог мне понравился - хорошая стилизация, интересно.
Черный монах похуже - многовато мистики. Но в итоге хотя бы "фокус объясняется", хотя понятно что с намеренной многозначностью - кто хочет, вот объяснения, а кто не хочет - думайте что хотите.

Но в этой книге сделан шаг еще дальше, и хотя тоже вроде дается логическое объяснение, но скорее в форме "можно наверно и так объяснить, но автор так не считает".
И дело даже не в концовке, а вся книга слишком уж заполнена мистикой и воспринимать ее как детектив уже не получится никак - нет логики.

Линия же с "новыми евреями" вообще странная - выглядит как какой-то незавершенный обрывок другого рассказа.
Хотя и красиво иллюстрирует нечеловеческую жестокость героя, походя, мановением руки, разрушившего столько жизней.

[Ekaterina Kalinina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Первые две книги про Пелагию прочитала с удовольствием, тем сильнее разочарование после прочтения третьей. Думала будет итересный детектив, а получилась не то "про", не то "анти" религиозная книжка, от души приправленная убийствами. Таким позавидовал бы и Стивен Кинг. Мне, лично, потом кошмары снились. Плюс куча мала: здесь и Библия, и политика, и мистика, и сеусуальные меньшинства, и феминизм, и технический прогресс - всего и вспомнишь. Да и зачем? В общем книга из серии "Прочитать и забыть", а впечатлительным вообще не советую её открывать.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed with this one. It felt like a missed opportunity to question religious hypocrisy more provocatively. I usually forgive the caricature in Akunin’s novels as it’s often balanced with genuine empathy and a knowing wink. But I couldn’t help imagining a queer writer (Akunin’s double from a cave to another dimension?) could have subverted both the quasi-religious and homophobic caricatures here with more wit and insight. I like magic caves though. And spiritual mysteries.

[Fellini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Третья и заключительная повесть о Пелагии. Ещё больше география повествования, больше главных и второстепенных героев. Начав с камерного расследования в пределах усадьбы, монашка перешла на международный и, кажется, межвременной уровень.
Очень тронула философия Мануйлы, чувствую в ней какую-то истинность, пусть и выраженную странным образом.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have rooster, will travel.

[Kat]

A very odd read especially in relation to the two other books in the series. If you are looking for a straight forward mystery, I would think twice about picking this one up.

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nun of the Russian Orthodox Church goes on board a ship going to Jerusalem and is soon faced with a corpse of a man who may be a holy leader or an imposter and of course, just who is he supposed to be and why are people out to kill him. Sister Pelagia at first seems intent on finding who killed him but then she ends up back in Russia and questioning if she should even be investigating a murder of a supposed leader of an upstart religion. But somehow or other, Sister Pelagia decides that she must take on a journey of not only an investigation but apparently a mission. Is she trying to find the real story, the real villain or the real religious leader?

And who are these who are following her? Who is District Prosecutor Berdichevsky and where does he come into the story? Who is Sister Pelagia really trying to reach?

Slowly, every so slowly we have additional murders and an assassin that is after Pelagia. It could be considered comic to see her struggle throughout her travels but its not really funny because there is no way the reader can understand what it is all about.

So, I'll put this simply — this whole story, supposedly set in the late 1890s or early 1900s, is too, too confusing. It goes in several different directions with people falling in love with the little nun, attempting to help her without knowing what her mission is and why, and those attempting to kill her, again why?

Meanwhile, there are additional deaths, a lot of slogging around Russia and the Middle East, and a lot of discussions about religion, faith, etc. In the midst of all this there is some silliness, some vague humor (that didn't make sense to me) and random, very vague clues to what this story may be all about.

Yes, the author has a unique voice and perhaps there are some who are fond of his writing. Perhaps it's even a bit of problem with the translation. I just didn't get it. I was frustrated by the extensive ramblings that didn't add to the mystery, with all the characters who seemed to equally have no clue what was going on, and a story that never provides a straightforward a clue of what is being sought and why.

It's at the end of the story that I finally got a sense of what the story was all about but it was just too late. Instead of feeling excited that I had figured out something — that would be impossible because there is nothing to lead to the solution — I felt sad, disappointed and frustrated. I'm being very generous in giving this book two stars.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

не удалась книга, совершенно. такое впечатление, что вместо нужного файла в печать ушел неряшливый первый черновик - с кусками, которые при редактировании должны были быть, безусловно, выброшены, с целыми ненужными сюжетными линиями и лишними героями. свойственная Акунину тщательность в передаче деталей абсолютно ему изменяет в "еврейских" частях, полных абсурда и безвкусицы, вроде принявших иудаизм крестьян, кричащих "азохн вей", или раввина, цитирующего Писание по Синодальному переводу. вместо обычных для Акунина элегантных и остроумных отсылок к русской классике - бесхитростное заимствование булгаковской образности и стилистики. вместо динамичности и экономности повествования, к которой приучили другие его книги, тут - провисание на провисании. и квест не разрешается, а сдувается, как шарик. очень жаль.

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

As soon as I finished The Black Monk, I plunged into The Red Cockerel, which had been waiting patiently on the Kindle for several years.
Sadly, I didn't like it as much as the other Sister Pelagia's novels. It was CONFUSING. It had too little of too much. So many interesting threads, all of them leading either nowhere or getting snapped just a few inches/centimetres/whatever later. I did not like the ending both personally and non-personally. Non-personally I think that it a) Did not end the story, only truncated it; and b) Did not make sense. I'm a literary dunce, but I get a chime that Akunin borrowed the Great Inquisitor from Dostoevsky in this one. That's an original idea, but it could have been done cooler.

[Aasin Peña · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed the trilogy, but it felt as if the final book in the series was incomplete. It ends so abruptly that I had to pause, and make sure that this really was the ending. Mitrofanni and Berdichevsky are left hanging with no clear ending for their characters. Bedichevsky especially I felt was out of character especially with how he ends up at the end. With regards to Pelagia it is even more so as this character of reason suddenly gets mystical in the end. Granted there were many things that led her to the path, but you just do not end a story like how Akunin did here. I would recommend the series still to others, but be ready for an incomplete ending.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a definite one of a kind. I've read about 7 of the Erast Fandorin books and the two other Sr. Pelagia and still was not quite prepared for what happens in this one.
Spoiler alert....
The mystery at the heart of this story isn't just who killed the "prophet" at the beginning, but what are the teachings, who is the prophet, did jesus die on the cross and other esoteric questions about life, love and religion.
Some truly gruesome deaths and a bit of suggested sodomy make it not for the faint of heart

[Adri Helyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book! Great repesentations of the mysticism that took a grip of Russia at the turn of the 20th century, of the powerless tsar and the nobility that foresee the Motherland's doom and is prepared to do anything to prevent it. I saw an interesting distillation of Rasputin in Maniula: seeing his hypnotic powers, his spiritualism, minus the womanizing, orgy loving part of the real man.
Endlessly saddened that this is the end of the series!

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Russian mystery set vaguely in the 1880-1920s--hard to say, featuring lots of religious nuts. The focus in on a group of Russian Greek Orthodox trying to convert to Judaism. The detective is a nun and the plot is convoluted. It also involves special caves apparently capable of time travel--if you have a red rooster.

[David Knadler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slightly bizarre and labyrinthine book, but the period detail is pitch perfect and the slight suggestion of time-travel is fascinating. I did not find the ending particularly satisfying -- but I can't say why without spoiling the book. All in all, I'd recommend this. A work well-translated from Russian into English somehow seems to have a magic of its own.

[Irina Podgurskaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Тут вообще все какое-то трогательное, и отчаянные молодые евреи с социалистическими идеями строительства счастливого мира в Палестине, и загадочная клика мужеложцев, и эта Пелагия смешная посреди всего уже окончательно перестает притворяться монахиней и скачет куда-то на арабских конях.

Обожаю авантюрные романы, совершенно сладостный эрзац жизни.

[Chequers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questo libro conclude la trilogia delle avventure di Pelagija, ma al contrario dei due libri precedenti, credo che qui il mio amato Akunin abbia messo un po' troppa carne al fuoco, ed il risultato e' un minestrone abbastanza improbabile. Peccato.