What do you think?
Rate this book
Aberystwyth Noir #5
From Aberystwyth with Love
It was a sweltering August in Aberystwyth: the bandstand melts, the Pier droops, and Sospan the ice-cream seller experiments with some dangerously avant-garde new flavours. A man wearing a Soviet museum curator's uniform walks into Louie Knight's office and spins a wild and impossible tale of love, death, madness and betrayal.
Sure, Louie Knight had heard about Hughesovska, the legendary replica of Aberystwyth built in the Ukraine by some crazy nineteenth-century czar. But he hadn't believed that it really existed until he met Uncle Vanya. Now the old man's story catapults him into the neon-drenched wilderness of Aberystwyth Prom in search of a girl who mysteriously disappeared thirty years ago. His life imperilled by snuff philatelists and a renegade spinning wheel salesman, Louie finds his fate depending on two most unlikely talismans - a ticket to Hughesovska and a Russian cosmonaut's sock.
Sure, Louie Knight had heard about Hughesovska, the legendary replica of Aberystwyth built in the Ukraine by some crazy nineteenth-century czar. But he hadn't believed that it really existed until he met Uncle Vanya. Now the old man's story catapults him into the neon-drenched wilderness of Aberystwyth Prom in search of a girl who mysteriously disappeared thirty years ago. His life imperilled by snuff philatelists and a renegade spinning wheel salesman, Louie finds his fate depending on two most unlikely talismans - a ticket to Hughesovska and a Russian cosmonaut's sock.
271 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
13 people are currently reading
319 people want to read
About the author
Malcolm Pryce
16 books129 followersMalcolm Pryce is a British author, mostly known for his noir detective novels.
Born in Shrewsbury, England, Pryce moved at the age of nine to Aberystwyth, where he later attended Penglais Comprehensive School before leaving to do some travelling. After working in a variety of jobs. including BMW assembly-line worker in Germany, hotel washer-up, "the world's worst aluminium salesman", and deck hand on a yacht in Polynesia, Pryce became an advertising copywriter in London and Singapore. He is currently resident in Oxford.
Pryce writes in the style of Raymond Chandler, but his novels are incongruously set on the rainswept streets of an alternate universe version of the Welsh seaside resort and university town of Aberystwyth. The hero of the novels is Louie Knight, the best private detective in Aberystwyth (also the only private detective in Aberystwyth), who battles crime organised by the local Druids, investigates the strange case of the town's disappearing youths, and gets involved in its burgeoning film industry, which produces What The Butler Saw movies.
Born in Shrewsbury, England, Pryce moved at the age of nine to Aberystwyth, where he later attended Penglais Comprehensive School before leaving to do some travelling. After working in a variety of jobs. including BMW assembly-line worker in Germany, hotel washer-up, "the world's worst aluminium salesman", and deck hand on a yacht in Polynesia, Pryce became an advertising copywriter in London and Singapore. He is currently resident in Oxford.
Pryce writes in the style of Raymond Chandler, but his novels are incongruously set on the rainswept streets of an alternate universe version of the Welsh seaside resort and university town of Aberystwyth. The hero of the novels is Louie Knight, the best private detective in Aberystwyth (also the only private detective in Aberystwyth), who battles crime organised by the local Druids, investigates the strange case of the town's disappearing youths, and gets involved in its burgeoning film industry, which produces What The Butler Saw movies.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
July 24, 2011
Pryce has gives us his fifth vision of Aberystwyth as a slightly out of kilter town existing somewhere between the 1950s and 1980s, with Louie Knight a detective from a slightly mis-shapen Sam Spade school of hard-boiled loner. In this, his fifth outing, Louie and detective-buddy the teenage Calamity Jane, are hired, for the payment of one of Yuri Gaugarin's socks, to solve a case of 1950s spirit possession in Hughesovka, a 19th century replica of Aberystwyth, in Ukraine. In the strange world of Louie & Calamity this seems quite believeable. The plot is a little more labyrinthine than usual (which is saying something) involving as it does a trip on the Orient Express (the longest usual train ride is one to Shewsbury – via Newton, not the most exciting of train journeys) but also the usual slightly twisted sense of the locality – games teachers descended from trolls, the power of the religious police and witchfinder, the morally corrupting influence of Sospan the ice-cream seller, and a visit to town from God. It is classic Pryce, and well worth the wait. The absence of Myfanwy (the love interest who so often becomes the femme fatale of this set of ironic noir books) and the paternal feeling towards Calamity may signal a shift in Louie's hadboiledness. Lots of fun, thoroughly absurd.
August 2, 2011
The latest and best "Aberystwyth" book yet shows Malcolm Pryce's imagination is growing wilder and his writing ever more confident: this is the first episode in which Louie and Calamity's case takes them out of Wales - with a trip on the Orient Express to the closed Soviet city of Hughesovka - the only Welsh speaking city in the Eastern hemisphere.
The book begins with a visit from a mysterious Russian, "Uncle Vanya", who asks Louie to investigate the disappearance of a little Welsh Girl, Gethsemane Walters. She vanished from a long since reservoir-drowned Welsh village 30 years ago, and her spirit seems to have possessed Vanya's little daughter Ninotchka shortly afterwards with tragic consequences. Before he can solve the case Louie must learn the dark arts of the spinning-wheel salesman, deal with dangerous snuff philatelists, drink a lot of vodka, and visit a castle in Transylvania, his only payment for the case being one of Yuri Gagarin's socks!
Readers who found "Don't Cry For Me Aberystwyth" too dark will probably enjoy this more, as "From Aberystwyth from Love" opens with a somewhat lighter touch and I found myself laughing more than I usually do at Louie's adventures. This book has an almost entirely new cast of villains (Mrs Llantrisant, Brainbocs and Patagonian veterans are never mentioned), though along the way we will learn of a surprising connection between Clip and a Soviet space mission.
Although I picked up on more of the pastiche elements of the story than I have with the earlier episodes I continue to be very impressed by just how good a writer Malcolm Pryce actually is: he reminds me of a comedy pianist who is more than good enough to be a genuine musician but who is afraid to take himself too seriously. Some of the descriptions are wonderfully evocative and Louie's philosophical/religious musings continue to be very thought-provoking.
I hope there are many more Louie Knight books to come - this one has really livened up the series.
The book begins with a visit from a mysterious Russian, "Uncle Vanya", who asks Louie to investigate the disappearance of a little Welsh Girl, Gethsemane Walters. She vanished from a long since reservoir-drowned Welsh village 30 years ago, and her spirit seems to have possessed Vanya's little daughter Ninotchka shortly afterwards with tragic consequences. Before he can solve the case Louie must learn the dark arts of the spinning-wheel salesman, deal with dangerous snuff philatelists, drink a lot of vodka, and visit a castle in Transylvania, his only payment for the case being one of Yuri Gagarin's socks!
Readers who found "Don't Cry For Me Aberystwyth" too dark will probably enjoy this more, as "From Aberystwyth from Love" opens with a somewhat lighter touch and I found myself laughing more than I usually do at Louie's adventures. This book has an almost entirely new cast of villains (Mrs Llantrisant, Brainbocs and Patagonian veterans are never mentioned), though along the way we will learn of a surprising connection between Clip and a Soviet space mission.
Although I picked up on more of the pastiche elements of the story than I have with the earlier episodes I continue to be very impressed by just how good a writer Malcolm Pryce actually is: he reminds me of a comedy pianist who is more than good enough to be a genuine musician but who is afraid to take himself too seriously. Some of the descriptions are wonderfully evocative and Louie's philosophical/religious musings continue to be very thought-provoking.
I hope there are many more Louie Knight books to come - this one has really livened up the series.
July 21, 2021
'The sock is from the Hughesovka Museum Of Our Forefathers' Suffering. I used to be the principal curator. As you know, this museum charts the centuries of tyranny and oppression that caused that great Welsh Moses, John Hughes, to throw off the imperialist yoke and lead his people out of servitude to the promised land.'
'Is there really such a place as Hughesovka?'
'You ask such a thing of me?'
'We learned about it in school; they told us it was the only Welsh-speaking community east of the Greenwich meridian – it always struck me as improbable.'
'In our schools we found tales of Aberystwyth equally hard to credit.’
A Welsh Russian named Uncle Vanya asks Louie and Calamity to find out what happened to a young girl called Gethsemane Walters, who disappeared from the town of Abercuawg near Aberystwyth over thirty years before, and pays their fee with one of Yuri Gagarin's socks! The investigation takes Louie and Calamity to the drowned village of Abercuawg which is now reappearing from under the reservoir due to a prolonged drought, and then to Hughesovka disguised as spinning-wheel salesmen, before they work out what happened to Gethsemane and to Uncle Vanya's daughter.
Much to my surprise, I found that Hughesovka (aka Yuzovka, later renamed Stalino and now called Donetsk) is a real place, although John Hughes was from Merthyr Tydfil not Aberystwyth and almost all the Welsh workers returned to Britain after the Russian Revolution.
Although quite sad in parts, this was much more fun than the previous book in the series, "Don't Cry For Me, Aberystwyth".
'Is there really such a place as Hughesovka?'
'You ask such a thing of me?'
'We learned about it in school; they told us it was the only Welsh-speaking community east of the Greenwich meridian – it always struck me as improbable.'
'In our schools we found tales of Aberystwyth equally hard to credit.’
A Welsh Russian named Uncle Vanya asks Louie and Calamity to find out what happened to a young girl called Gethsemane Walters, who disappeared from the town of Abercuawg near Aberystwyth over thirty years before, and pays their fee with one of Yuri Gagarin's socks! The investigation takes Louie and Calamity to the drowned village of Abercuawg which is now reappearing from under the reservoir due to a prolonged drought, and then to Hughesovka disguised as spinning-wheel salesmen, before they work out what happened to Gethsemane and to Uncle Vanya's daughter.
Much to my surprise, I found that Hughesovka (aka Yuzovka, later renamed Stalino and now called Donetsk) is a real place, although John Hughes was from Merthyr Tydfil not Aberystwyth and almost all the Welsh workers returned to Britain after the Russian Revolution.
Although quite sad in parts, this was much more fun than the previous book in the series, "Don't Cry For Me, Aberystwyth".
May 5, 2009
I'm an Aberystwyth alumnus, so it should come as no surprise that I hold Malcolm Pryce's Louie Knight series in affection. This fifth entry in the sequence is as good as any except, perhaps, the second one. The trademark Pryce style of absurdities and maudlin philosophising is present, this time with the balance tipped somewhat in favour of the philosphising.
For those not familiar with the series, Pryce has written about Louie Knight, Aberystwyth's only Private Eye. He works the mean streets of Aber, where organised crime, violence, corruption and vice all live side by side with the ice-cream stands, tourists, University and Welsh National Library. And that's the joke; Aber isn't the epitome of Noir fiction's cities - it's a small, old, quiet town on the West coast of Wales, unremarkable for the most part and yet held in affection by all the Uni alumni.
Pryce needed to dump a whole collection of ideas and characters from the previous books because they were getting tired and, bravely, he actually did it. This is perhaps why this book is slightly less strong on the comic absurdity; how many more Noir fiction/Welsh cultural cliches can he think of to stuff into stuffy old Aber thereby making them new, lively and hilarious? There's got to be a limit and it looks as if Pryce is nearing it. Perhaps this should be Knight's last case.
For those not familiar with the series, Pryce has written about Louie Knight, Aberystwyth's only Private Eye. He works the mean streets of Aber, where organised crime, violence, corruption and vice all live side by side with the ice-cream stands, tourists, University and Welsh National Library. And that's the joke; Aber isn't the epitome of Noir fiction's cities - it's a small, old, quiet town on the West coast of Wales, unremarkable for the most part and yet held in affection by all the Uni alumni.
Pryce needed to dump a whole collection of ideas and characters from the previous books because they were getting tired and, bravely, he actually did it. This is perhaps why this book is slightly less strong on the comic absurdity; how many more Noir fiction/Welsh cultural cliches can he think of to stuff into stuffy old Aber thereby making them new, lively and hilarious? There's got to be a limit and it looks as if Pryce is nearing it. Perhaps this should be Knight's last case.
September 14, 2013
Pryce's fifth Aberystwyth novel feels like the work of an author in the prime of handling his material: it strikes an excellent balance between silliness, noir conventions, and the deep melancholia that was a growing tone in his work.
It's not nearly as soul-crushingly depressing as _Don't Cry For Me_, nor as manic as _Unbearable Lightness_. We see Louie maturing, beginning to let go of the memory of his true love Myfanwy, realizing the depth and value of his relationships in town. The story is a meditation on the value of futile quests, of the maintenance of an artificial sense of purpose in the face of life's meaninglessness, an effective updating of noir themes. Yet there's quite a bit of positivity, including a hilarious and touching payoff to a honeytrap on the Orient Express...
_With Love_ keeps the hilarious absurdity that's the series trademark and deepens many of the character relationships. The only drawback is a turn from the worldbuilding that marked the earlier volumes: Pryce may consider his world adequately developed at this point, but I miss the minor characters' links to his alternate history (though there is a gorgeous bit involving the progeny of Clip, the hero dog of the Patagonian War).
This one is nigh-perfect, marred mostly by the knowledge that I've only got one book left to read in this wonderful series.
It's not nearly as soul-crushingly depressing as _Don't Cry For Me_, nor as manic as _Unbearable Lightness_. We see Louie maturing, beginning to let go of the memory of his true love Myfanwy, realizing the depth and value of his relationships in town. The story is a meditation on the value of futile quests, of the maintenance of an artificial sense of purpose in the face of life's meaninglessness, an effective updating of noir themes. Yet there's quite a bit of positivity, including a hilarious and touching payoff to a honeytrap on the Orient Express...
_With Love_ keeps the hilarious absurdity that's the series trademark and deepens many of the character relationships. The only drawback is a turn from the worldbuilding that marked the earlier volumes: Pryce may consider his world adequately developed at this point, but I miss the minor characters' links to his alternate history (though there is a gorgeous bit involving the progeny of Clip, the hero dog of the Patagonian War).
This one is nigh-perfect, marred mostly by the knowledge that I've only got one book left to read in this wonderful series.
February 4, 2016
This was the 5th book in the Aberystwyth Noir series following the exploits of Louie Knight, the town's only Private Detective. This book has a more melancholic and philosophical feel to it than the previous books. It has wit rather than humour, and seems a lot more complex than the others. In this tale we see Louie, and his sidekick Calamity Jane, actually venturing outside of Wales. There are links to a Welsh village buried beneath a reservoir, The Orient Express, Transylvania, Hughesovka in the Ukraine, but how are they linked? In this surreal world anything can happen, and it usually does? The reader is introduced to some unusual ice-cream flavours, and given an insight into how the letters go through a stick of seaside rock.
These books do have a cult following, but personally I don't find that the reach the same heights as Tom Holt, Jasper Fforde and Sir Terry Pratchett. They are still worth reading though, just suspend your normal thinking.
These books do have a cult following, but personally I don't find that the reach the same heights as Tom Holt, Jasper Fforde and Sir Terry Pratchett. They are still worth reading though, just suspend your normal thinking.
March 6, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2025
Louie Knight finds himself involved in a case with Yuri Gagarin’s sock as his reward. It’ll mean him travelling to Hughesovka and trying to solve the mystery of a young girl who disappeared. It might be a case that haunts him.
A mixture of Welsh humour, laugh out loud moments and some quite dark moments. The Louie Knight series is never dull.
A mixture of Welsh humour, laugh out loud moments and some quite dark moments. The Louie Knight series is never dull.
July 16, 2019
Think this is my favourite in the series so far? Loved this book and can't recommend enough!
October 25, 2022
I highly recommend this book! The mystery and the characters are captivating, and there's plenty of wisdom and surrealism on top of that. What is more, Malcolm Pryce perfectly captures the unmistakable atmosphere and charm of Aberystwyth - the unique Welsh town that I spent my student years in.
My favourite quotes:
''We seek happiness with an insatiable hunger, like plants seek the sun, and yet it is the dark times in which we gain our real insight into the mysteries of life.''
''One thing you learn in life is almost everything your grandmother told you when you were young, and which you thought at the time was just the lunacy of old age, is actually true.''
''Words are such wonderful things that they deceive us, we fail to see how even the simplest things so often lie beyond their reach; we can describe spaceships and traslucent sea creatures that live on the floor of the ocean trench, but we have no way to describe the subtly differing currents that sweep through the channels of our own hearts. Words are brass coal tongs with which we seek to caress butterflies. When the veils of memory are torn asunder and the raw experience is released like scent in the mind, the coal tong snap on empty air.''
''Promised lands are illusions, born of the failure to understand the central problem of the human condition, namely that dissatisfactions are not the result of physical geography but rather the geography of the soul. Paradise, on the other hand, is something we have lost, a happy dell from which we have been expelled, and to which we yearn to return.''
''It was late afternoon and September had arrived. That soft month poised between the edge of summer and the rim of autumn, when quite often we are given a taste of summer that frequently eludes us earlier in the season.''
God and Louie (the main character) in converstaion:
''God: Try and... have faith.
Louie: But I don't believe in You.
God: I know. It's the ones who don't believe that need faith; it's easy for others. Goodbye, Louie, I'll be watching over you. ''
My favourite quotes:
''We seek happiness with an insatiable hunger, like plants seek the sun, and yet it is the dark times in which we gain our real insight into the mysteries of life.''
''One thing you learn in life is almost everything your grandmother told you when you were young, and which you thought at the time was just the lunacy of old age, is actually true.''
''Words are such wonderful things that they deceive us, we fail to see how even the simplest things so often lie beyond their reach; we can describe spaceships and traslucent sea creatures that live on the floor of the ocean trench, but we have no way to describe the subtly differing currents that sweep through the channels of our own hearts. Words are brass coal tongs with which we seek to caress butterflies. When the veils of memory are torn asunder and the raw experience is released like scent in the mind, the coal tong snap on empty air.''
''Promised lands are illusions, born of the failure to understand the central problem of the human condition, namely that dissatisfactions are not the result of physical geography but rather the geography of the soul. Paradise, on the other hand, is something we have lost, a happy dell from which we have been expelled, and to which we yearn to return.''
''It was late afternoon and September had arrived. That soft month poised between the edge of summer and the rim of autumn, when quite often we are given a taste of summer that frequently eludes us earlier in the season.''
God and Louie (the main character) in converstaion:
''God: Try and... have faith.
Louie: But I don't believe in You.
God: I know. It's the ones who don't believe that need faith; it's easy for others. Goodbye, Louie, I'll be watching over you. ''
January 30, 2021
Any book which makes you laugh out loud and then engage right to the end deserves its five stars. And yes I know this is the fifth book in the series, but it’s the first one I’ve read and I shall happily be searching out the others.
Plot? Is a pile of gothic silliness, with some daft humour and some definite noir and underplay built in. To give you a flavour: we open with a gulag survivor engages the services of the private eye using a sock which purportedly was once owned by Yuri Gagarin to get to the bottom of why his daughter, now lost, was under the impression that she was possessed by the spirit of a Welsh girl who went missed two decades ago. It’s that kind of story.
The cast of characters: the ice cream philosopher Sospan (Bach or fawr I never got to find out), Eeyore the donkey rider, Mooncalf the fixer and “buyer of found goods”, Calamity the sidekick - who has a huge streak of common sense, seaside rock made by a special recipe - which has the wonderful part to play in Hughessovka in which the actual seaside rock was meant to have the letters printed on it!, and of course the amazing metropolis of pleasure, the centre of the universe, Aberystwyth herself. No you don’t have to have lived there, but the links to the streets and sights will help to bring extra life to the book.
Recommended if you like your detective stories both humourous and darkly grim.
Plot? Is a pile of gothic silliness, with some daft humour and some definite noir and underplay built in. To give you a flavour: we open with a gulag survivor engages the services of the private eye using a sock which purportedly was once owned by Yuri Gagarin to get to the bottom of why his daughter, now lost, was under the impression that she was possessed by the spirit of a Welsh girl who went missed two decades ago. It’s that kind of story.
The cast of characters: the ice cream philosopher Sospan (Bach or fawr I never got to find out), Eeyore the donkey rider, Mooncalf the fixer and “buyer of found goods”, Calamity the sidekick - who has a huge streak of common sense, seaside rock made by a special recipe - which has the wonderful part to play in Hughessovka in which the actual seaside rock was meant to have the letters printed on it!, and of course the amazing metropolis of pleasure, the centre of the universe, Aberystwyth herself. No you don’t have to have lived there, but the links to the streets and sights will help to bring extra life to the book.
Recommended if you like your detective stories both humourous and darkly grim.
March 17, 2012
I didn't laugh out aloud whilst reading this novel half as much as I did with the earlier ones. It felt a whole quantum shift darker and sadder, although still pretty witty. The main theme is a little girl who disappeared from a village near Aberystwyth and the effect that had on the lives of a number of people in Wales and behind the iron curtain - no I won't put a spoiler in here to explain how!
I did enjoy the picture of Louie Knight sitting on the prom discussing philosphy with the donkey-rides man (who happens to be his Dad) and psychology with the ice cream kiosk man Sospan. A note at the back says the author was struggling with illness while writing this book, which may explain the darker feel, butthere's a lot of compassion in there too and an understanding of the ups and downs of ordinary life.
I did enjoy the picture of Louie Knight sitting on the prom discussing philosphy with the donkey-rides man (who happens to be his Dad) and psychology with the ice cream kiosk man Sospan. A note at the back says the author was struggling with illness while writing this book, which may explain the darker feel, butthere's a lot of compassion in there too and an understanding of the ups and downs of ordinary life.
June 26, 2020
Not for me
Fairly incomprehensible jumble of whimsical nonsense linking together a narrative making little sense either. When I had read a seemingly endless monologue and missed out it was a couple of characters talking with some sort of stream of consciousness masquerading as plot development going on in the background, I realised it was time to call it quits. Maybe it makes sense in Aberystwyth and the Ukraine.
Fairly incomprehensible jumble of whimsical nonsense linking together a narrative making little sense either. When I had read a seemingly endless monologue and missed out it was a couple of characters talking with some sort of stream of consciousness masquerading as plot development going on in the background, I realised it was time to call it quits. Maybe it makes sense in Aberystwyth and the Ukraine.
May 2, 2016
Not as much fun as the previous four books. There were quite a few rambling philosophical parts reminiscent of Russian literature, but maybe that was the point.
April 17, 2025
Yes it has some amusing parts but mainly it's just pure drivel
June 23, 2024
This feels a little like those 'specials' in a long-running series, where they take some of the characters abroad, or on holiday, away from their normal setting. I don't like those - it feels like a cheat's way of extending the scope of the programme - but in this case, it works, probably because most of the book is still set in the usual place.
Some of the usual cast are missing, but the mainstays are there and the foreign (in all senses!) setting is the Eastern Bloc Aberystwyth, aka Hughesovka, now known as Donetsk, in Ukraine. As ever, there are mysterious characters, a convoluted story, oh and ice cream!
I found the initial story didn't hang together, but unlike the previous book, it all makes sense in the end!
Some of the usual cast are missing, but the mainstays are there and the foreign (in all senses!) setting is the Eastern Bloc Aberystwyth, aka Hughesovka, now known as Donetsk, in Ukraine. As ever, there are mysterious characters, a convoluted story, oh and ice cream!
I found the initial story didn't hang together, but unlike the previous book, it all makes sense in the end!
July 5, 2017
I needed half stars, this was 3 and a half I think -- I enjoyed it greatly as a light read for the train, I love Aberystwyth, I may well read the others. I like my noir a little darker though, and it talks about the 'great' Pinkertons in the beginning and they were evil incarnate, so that crushing blow stayed with me a bit and I kept waiting for the other reactionary shoe to drop. Which it didn't really so I maybe forgave it as maybe that's no longer a well-known fact, but the fear lingers that this is tongue and cheek at the expense of noir's traditional down and out heroes, which, you know, is why I love noir.
February 29, 2016
В пятой части своего цикла про Аберистуит Малколм Прайс продолжает разбирать различные характерные для шпионских и детективных романов клише, и на сей раз под его прицел попадает одна из особенно любимых западными авторами тем - наша большая Советская Родина. Сознательно не говорю о ней как о России, потому что в сюжете фигурирует не только она, да и таймлайн позволяет говорить именно об СССР.
Но просто писать о плохих (или не очень плохих) русских (или не очень русских) парнях неинтересно и как-то не по-прайсовски, поэтому в своей книге "Из Аберистуита с любовью" автор знакомит нас с Хьюзовкой - городом, расположенным в восточной части Украины и являющимся "единственным поселением к востоку от Гринвича, где проживают люди, говорящие по-валлийски".
Именно оттуда, из Хьюзовки, и приезжает в Аберистуит человек, скрывающийся под псевдонимом "дядя Ваня", и его цель - разгадать тайну своей давно потерянной дочери Ниночки, в которую в середине 1950-х неожиданно всадился дух другой девочки, валлийки Гефсимании Уолтерс. За помощью дядя Ваня обращается к единственному в Аберистуите частному детективу Луи Найту, предлагая в качестве платы за услуги очень ценный носок, который был на Юрии Гагарине в день того самого исторического полёта 12 апреля 1961 года.
Думаю, эта завязка уже намекает на то, что уже привычный по предыдущим книгам цикла градус упоротости сохраняется и здесь, и по ходу действия снижаться он явно не собирается. Дальше становится только интереснее.
Очень скоро Луи выясняет, что вышеназванная Гефсимания Уолтерс исчезла при невыясненных обстоятельствах в окрестностях Аберистуита всё в те же 1950-е годы, и становится ясно, что судьбы девочек действительно каким-то образом связаны. И тут впервые за 5 книг расследование заставляет Луи покинуть пределы Великобритании. Раньше он и из Аберистуита редко выезжал, и дальше Шрусбери не забирался, а тут отправляется в далёкую Хьюзовку. Восточным экспрессом. Через Сигишоару, где ему предстоит переночевать в замке графа Влада Цепеша. Ну, вы поняли.
Эпизоды, местом действия в которых является Хьюзовка, достойны отдельного упоминания. Уж не знаю, как их может воспринять читатель-британец или какой-нибудь другой иностранец, но меня как человека, родившегося ещё в СССР, они очень позабавили. Вот, например, в поезде Луи и его партнёр Каламити (в единственной переведённой на русский язык книге, "Аберистуит, любовь моя", её назвали Амба Полундра, но в оригинале она Каламити Джейн, ну или Катастрофа Джейн, но Катастрофы - это как-то жёстко в качестве имени) знакомятся с уроженкой Хьюзовки Наташей, которая рассказывает про расположенный в центре города мавзолей, где лежит забальзамированное тело Джона Хьюза, некогда основавшего указанное поселение. Ничего не напоминает? Прямого сравнения в тексте нет, но аналогия уж очень прозрачная. Описание города достаточно гротескное, но, опять же, гротеск настолько явный и даже в какой-то мере нарочитый, что кажется почти изящным. Перед глазами так и встаёт какой-нибудь типичный райцентр с памятником Ленину на центральной площади. Или вот описание квартиры, где на кухне стоит покрытый клеёнкой и заставленный разномастной посудой стол - там и стаканы, наверняка гранёные, и фарфоровые тарелки в цветочек и с позолоченным ободком. Картина, знакомая до боли. :)
И я уж молчу про сцену "допрос в НКВД", а там и такая имела место быть.
Впрочем, когда дело касается исторических моментов, выясняется, что Прайс вполне способен быть серьёзным - во всяком случае, про сталинские лагеря он пишет совсем не смешно. Так же, как и про войну в предыдущей книге. С другой стороны, он не может удержаться и не изобрести свою альтернативную историю: в "Не плачь обо мне, Аберистуит" новыми фактами в биографии обзавелись Буч Кэссиди и Сандэнс Кид, а здесь мы узнаём кое-что новое о собаке Лайке, которая в своё время неудачно слетала в космос. Причём в сюжеты Прайса эти дополнения вплетаются вполне органично.
Что ещё хорошо в книгах об Аберистуите - часто в детективах уже примерно к середине книги начинаешь догадываться, в чём всё дело и кто злодей, а здесь всё так годно запутано и закручено, что детали начинают вставать на свои места только ближе к концу. Интрига сохраняется, по сути, вплоть до развязки.
Ещё это первая книга, где вообще не упоминается Патагония и где мы не встречаемся с персонажами-антагонистами, знакомыми нам с первой книги. Зато автор придумал много новых людей. Чего стоит живущий с авторитарной мамашей парень, которому в его 34 года позволено носить только короткие штанишки, который с упоением читает "Поллианну" и который никогда не получал подарков на день рождения. И персонажей своих Прайс, в общем-то, не щадит - но для выбранного жанра это вполне типично. Хотя к некоторым из них и за короткое время успеваешь проникнуться тёплыми чувствами, а потом сожалеешь о том, как вс�� повернулось.
Написана книга по-прежнему хорошо. За предыдущие несколько книг успеваешь привыкнуть к стилю, перестаёшь спотыкаться на каких-то языковых особенностях и начинаешь получать истинное удовольствие от чтения. Хотя перевести это всё на русский по-прежнему хочется.
И конец, как всегда, приятный и по ощущениям именно такой, как надо. Хотя тут, пожалуй, и есть кое-что от открытого финала, когда тебе не говорят прямым текстом, чем конкретно закончились все сюжетные линии, но тут оно вполне уместно, и есть намёки, как мне показалось, именно на оптимистичную развязку. Зачёт.
И даже жаль, что осталась всего одна книга про Аберистуит - прощаться с этим местом, этими героями и этой атмосферой совсем не хочется.
Но просто писать о плохих (или не очень плохих) русских (или не очень русских) парнях неинтересно и как-то не по-прайсовски, поэтому в своей книге "Из Аберистуита с любовью" автор знакомит нас с Хьюзовкой - городом, расположенным в восточной части Украины и являющимся "единственным поселением к востоку от Гринвича, где проживают люди, говорящие по-валлийски".
Именно оттуда, из Хьюзовки, и приезжает в Аберистуит человек, скрывающийся под псевдонимом "дядя Ваня", и его цель - разгадать тайну своей давно потерянной дочери Ниночки, в которую в середине 1950-х неожиданно всадился дух другой девочки, валлийки Гефсимании Уолтерс. За помощью дядя Ваня обращается к единственному в Аберистуите частному детективу Луи Найту, предлагая в качестве платы за услуги очень ценный носок, который был на Юрии Гагарине в день того самого исторического полёта 12 апреля 1961 года.
Думаю, эта завязка уже намекает на то, что уже привычный по предыдущим книгам цикла градус упоротости сохраняется и здесь, и по ходу действия снижаться он явно не собирается. Дальше становится только интереснее.
Очень скоро Луи выясняет, что вышеназванная Гефсимания Уолтерс исчезла при невыясненных обстоятельствах в окрестностях Аберистуита всё в те же 1950-е годы, и становится ясно, что судьбы девочек действительно каким-то образом связаны. И тут впервые за 5 книг расследование заставляет Луи покинуть пределы Великобритании. Раньше он и из Аберистуита редко выезжал, и дальше Шрусбери не забирался, а тут отправляется в далёкую Хьюзовку. Восточным экспрессом. Через Сигишоару, где ему предстоит переночевать в замке графа Влада Цепеша. Ну, вы поняли.
Эпизоды, местом действия в которых является Хьюзовка, достойны отдельного упоминания. Уж не знаю, как их может воспринять читатель-британец или какой-нибудь другой иностранец, но меня как человека, родившегося ещё в СССР, они очень позабавили. Вот, например, в поезде Луи и его партнёр Каламити (в единственной переведённой на русский язык книге, "Аберистуит, любовь моя", её назвали Амба Полундра, но в оригинале она Каламити Джейн, ну или Катастрофа Джейн, но Катастрофы - это как-то жёстко в качестве имени) знакомятся с уроженкой Хьюзовки Наташей, которая рассказывает про расположенный в центре города мавзолей, где лежит забальзамированное тело Джона Хьюза, некогда основавшего указанное поселение. Ничего не напоминает? Прямого сравнения в тексте нет, но аналогия уж очень прозрачная. Описание города достаточно гротескное, но, опять же, гротеск настолько явный и даже в какой-то мере нарочитый, что кажется почти изящным. Перед глазами так и встаёт какой-нибудь типичный райцентр с памятником Ленину на центральной площади. Или вот описание квартиры, где на кухне стоит покрытый клеёнкой и заставленный разномастной посудой стол - там и стаканы, наверняка гранёные, и фарфоровые тарелки в цветочек и с позолоченным ободком. Картина, знакомая до боли. :)
И я уж молчу про сцену "допрос в НКВД", а там и такая имела место быть.
Впрочем, когда дело касается исторических моментов, выясняется, что Прайс вполне способен быть серьёзным - во всяком случае, про сталинские лагеря он пишет совсем не смешно. Так же, как и про войну в предыдущей книге. С другой стороны, он не может удержаться и не изобрести свою альтернативную историю: в "Не плачь обо мне, Аберистуит" новыми фактами в биографии обзавелись Буч Кэссиди и Сандэнс Кид, а здесь мы узнаём кое-что новое о собаке Лайке, которая в своё время неудачно слетала в космос. Причём в сюжеты Прайса эти дополнения вплетаются вполне органично.
Что ещё хорошо в книгах об Аберистуите - часто в детективах уже примерно к середине книги начинаешь догадываться, в чём всё дело и кто злодей, а здесь всё так годно запутано и закручено, что детали начинают вставать на свои места только ближе к концу. Интрига сохраняется, по сути, вплоть до развязки.
Ещё это первая книга, где вообще не упоминается Патагония и где мы не встречаемся с персонажами-антагонистами, знакомыми нам с первой книги. Зато автор придумал много новых людей. Чего стоит живущий с авторитарной мамашей парень, которому в его 34 года позволено носить только короткие штанишки, который с упоением читает "Поллианну" и который никогда не получал подарков на день рождения. И персонажей своих Прайс, в общем-то, не щадит - но для выбранного жанра это вполне типично. Хотя к некоторым из них и за короткое время успеваешь проникнуться тёплыми чувствами, а потом сожалеешь о том, как вс�� повернулось.
Написана книга по-прежнему хорошо. За предыдущие несколько книг успеваешь привыкнуть к стилю, перестаёшь спотыкаться на каких-то языковых особенностях и начинаешь получать истинное удовольствие от чтения. Хотя перевести это всё на русский по-прежнему хочется.
И конец, как всегда, приятный и по ощущениям именно такой, как надо. Хотя тут, пожалуй, и есть кое-что от открытого финала, когда тебе не говорят прямым текстом, чем конкретно закончились все сюжетные линии, но тут оно вполне уместно, и есть намёки, как мне показалось, именно на оптимистичную развязку. Зачёт.
И даже жаль, что осталась всего одна книга про Аберистуит - прощаться с этим местом, этими героями и этой атмосферой совсем не хочется.
September 22, 2021
I think this may be the best in the series. That said, I will have to read number six and then read them all again to make a final decision on that. If you have only just discovered this wonderful series, you are in for a treat - this is British humour at its best, flavoured with irony and tragedy. I spent a few weeks in Aberystwyth myself back in 1986 and it was indeed a magical place - but that's another story....
January 23, 2022
Another great book in the spoof detective noir series set in a partly fictitive Aberwswyth (though some stories are rather close to the truth). I wonder how Malcolm managed to keep his focus on the features of Aber, while weaving fantasy-realist extensions of Welsh culture. while he was writing this series sitting in luxury appt in Bangkok! Good read, especially evocative if you know that part of the world.
May 20, 2023
Louie Knight meets Chekhov! This time the noirish intrigues of our Cymric detective move beyond the dark and seedy side of Aberystwyth and take him and Calamity, his girl Friday, to the Welsh enclave of Hughesovka in Russia in order to solve the mystery of Gethsemane Walters. As usual the plot is absolutely bonkers and its characters even more so but, somehow, the author make it all seem reasonable if not plausible.
February 14, 2022
It's the first book I am reading from Pryce. I chose it because I love the city of Aberystwth.Interesting plot that I personally couldn't follow at some points,vivid characters and an unexpected end.I learned a lot of new words in English and a lot of historical facts. Not the type that I usually read but I am happy that I have managed to finish the book.
October 27, 2023
I'm going to miss reading these when I complete the series.
They're good fun, I love the nostalgia of the references to Aberystwyth where I was a student, and I've rather invested in the characters now that I've read nearly the whole series.
The narrative spreads as far as Russia in this novel but is probably one of the most convincing resolutions of the series.
They're good fun, I love the nostalgia of the references to Aberystwyth where I was a student, and I've rather invested in the characters now that I've read nearly the whole series.
The narrative spreads as far as Russia in this novel but is probably one of the most convincing resolutions of the series.
May 27, 2020
Loved this book, enjoying the series. Complex, well written, ridiculous yet loveable characters. And the descriptions of the light, the water, the buildings, particularly the back entrances leave me green with envy.
July 27, 2020
Another good read from Malcolm Pryce. Louie & Calamity take a trip through the murky world of Aberystwyth and Hughesovka. With several red herrings and a nice twist to the ending.
October 8, 2020
Malcolm Pryce is simply so original.
February 1, 2021
Good, I preffered the previous books in the series to this one. A little to surreal at times, but definetley worth a read.
Read
September 8, 2021DNF
March 14, 2017
This is a quirky, quaint mystery novel that is a spoof off the Film Noir style.
In this book, private investigator Louie Knight is given a strange case to delve into. He receives a visitor from Russia who tells him that his daughter is having visions of a girl who disappeared from Wales many years ago! What happened to this Welsh girl and why does someone in Russia know all about her?
To figure out the case, Louie must travel to Russia and meet all sorts of characters along the way!
I found that with this book I really had to concentrate and try to remember all the details. Because of the style, it is a very wordy book and sometimes I couldn't figure out or remember who was talking. Also, there were so many scenes that I couldn't figure out what they had to do with the plot. So, there was a lot to keep in my head at a time.
I did like how the book takes place in Wales, where I am living now, so the scenes were very familiar. I do not think, however, I will read any more in the series. They would probably make a good tv series, though!
In this book, private investigator Louie Knight is given a strange case to delve into. He receives a visitor from Russia who tells him that his daughter is having visions of a girl who disappeared from Wales many years ago! What happened to this Welsh girl and why does someone in Russia know all about her?
To figure out the case, Louie must travel to Russia and meet all sorts of characters along the way!
I found that with this book I really had to concentrate and try to remember all the details. Because of the style, it is a very wordy book and sometimes I couldn't figure out or remember who was talking. Also, there were so many scenes that I couldn't figure out what they had to do with the plot. So, there was a lot to keep in my head at a time.
I did like how the book takes place in Wales, where I am living now, so the scenes were very familiar. I do not think, however, I will read any more in the series. They would probably make a good tv series, though!
September 24, 2014
This was one of the first books I got on Kindle in early 2012, which gives you some idea of the timescale I am working to with my acquisition of books. It seemed light-hearted fun at the time and as it was on a winter sale, I thought why the hell not? I’d heard of the work and the writer before but at the time of purchase did not realise that it was the fifth book in the series. Luckily, prior knowledge of the series appears irrelevant as the writer fills you in on the gaps.
It is baking hot day in August in the West Wales tourist town when our protagonist Louie Knight turns up for work and is confronted by a most unusual proposal from a client. The man claims to be a Museum Creator from Hugheskova, the quirky “English” town in the Ukraine (today called Donetsk, one of the hot points of the present Ukraine Crisis). He carries with him a sock which he claims will be Knight’s fee for solving the mystery he is about to present. Completely unimpressed with the sock, even though he is told it is of tremendous iconic wealth to the people of Hugheskova, he is at first reluctant to take it on.
In this world, Hugheskova is the only place outside of Wales where Welsh is the official language. In the real world, the town was founded by a Welsh private merchant who designed it to British imperial plans and invited over many Welsh miners and industrialists to help build the town – it is fascinating history that Pryce has played on for the sake of the plot.
But anyway, what is this strange man asking the team to do? Investigate the disappearance of a young girl who went missing when her village was flooded thirty years before. That seems odd, a long time has passed – but it also seems that this disappeared girl has been appearing to his daughter, someone they believe is an imaginary friend. This is a strange world mixing urban fantasy, silliness and a dry wit. Comparisons to Jasper Fforde are inevitable thanks to the tone of the writing and the feel to the world, but the comparison should end there. Fforde’s humour is high-brow, based on in-jokes, word play and inside knowledge of literature. The humour here is dead pan, ironic and a little caustic at the same time.
On the downside, I felt my attention start to wander around halfway through. The plot slowed, there appeared to be little action and a lot of talking and the humour dried up a little. I can barely remember laughing in that second half, and it limped towards a final act that was interesting and clever – but one where I had almost lost interest in the resolution.
See more book reviews at my blog
It is baking hot day in August in the West Wales tourist town when our protagonist Louie Knight turns up for work and is confronted by a most unusual proposal from a client. The man claims to be a Museum Creator from Hugheskova, the quirky “English” town in the Ukraine (today called Donetsk, one of the hot points of the present Ukraine Crisis). He carries with him a sock which he claims will be Knight’s fee for solving the mystery he is about to present. Completely unimpressed with the sock, even though he is told it is of tremendous iconic wealth to the people of Hugheskova, he is at first reluctant to take it on.
In this world, Hugheskova is the only place outside of Wales where Welsh is the official language. In the real world, the town was founded by a Welsh private merchant who designed it to British imperial plans and invited over many Welsh miners and industrialists to help build the town – it is fascinating history that Pryce has played on for the sake of the plot.
But anyway, what is this strange man asking the team to do? Investigate the disappearance of a young girl who went missing when her village was flooded thirty years before. That seems odd, a long time has passed – but it also seems that this disappeared girl has been appearing to his daughter, someone they believe is an imaginary friend. This is a strange world mixing urban fantasy, silliness and a dry wit. Comparisons to Jasper Fforde are inevitable thanks to the tone of the writing and the feel to the world, but the comparison should end there. Fforde’s humour is high-brow, based on in-jokes, word play and inside knowledge of literature. The humour here is dead pan, ironic and a little caustic at the same time.
On the downside, I felt my attention start to wander around halfway through. The plot slowed, there appeared to be little action and a lot of talking and the humour dried up a little. I can barely remember laughing in that second half, and it limped towards a final act that was interesting and clever – but one where I had almost lost interest in the resolution.
See more book reviews at my blog
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews