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Quirke #3
Elegy for April
Quirke — the hard-drinking, insatiably curious Dublin pathologist — is back, and he's determined to find his daughter's best friend, a well-connected young doctor
April Latimer has vanished. A junior doctor at a local hospital, she is something of a scandal in the conservative and highly patriarchal society of 1950s Dublin. Though her family is one of the most respected in the city, she is known for being independent-minded; her taste in men, for instance, is decidedly unconventional.
Now April has disappeared, and her friend Phoebe Griffin suspects the worst. Frantic, Phoebe seeks out Quirke, her brilliant but erratic father, and asks him for help. Sober again after intensive treatment for alcoholism, Quirke enlists his old sparring partner, Detective Inspector Hackett, in the search for the missing young woman. In their separate ways the two men follow April's trail through some of the darker byways of the city to uncover crucial information on her whereabouts. And as Quirke becomes deeply involved in April's murky story, he encounters complicated and ugly truths about family savagery, Catholic ruthlessness, and race hatred.
Both an absorbing crime novel and a brilliant portrait of the difficult and relentless love between a father and his daughter, this is Benjamin Black at his sparkling best.
293 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
270 people are currently reading
1735 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin Black
36 books678 followersPen name for John Banville
Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland. His father worked in a garage and died when Banville was in his early thirties; his mother was a housewife. He is the youngest of three siblings; his older brother Vincent is also a novelist and has written under the name Vincent Lawrence as well as his own. His sister Vonnie Banville-Evans has written both a children's novel and a reminiscence of growing up in Wexford.
Educated at a Christian Brothers' school and at St Peter's College in Wexford. Despite having intended to be a painter and an architect he did not attend university. Banville has described this as "A great mistake. I should have gone. I regret not taking that four years of getting drunk and falling in love. But I wanted to get away from my family. I wanted to be free." After school he worked as a clerk at Aer Lingus which allowed him to travel at deeply-discounted rates. He took advantage of this to travel in Greece and Italy. He lived in the United States during 1968 and 1969. On his return to Ireland he became a sub-editor at the Irish Press, rising eventually to the position of chief sub-editor. His first book, Long Lankin, was published in 1970.
After the Irish Press collapsed in 1995, he became a sub-editor at the Irish Times. He was appointed literary editor in 1998. The Irish Times, too, suffered severe financial problems, and Banville was offered the choice of taking a redundancy package or working as a features department sub-editor. He left. Banville has been a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books since 1990. In 1984, he was elected to Aosdána, but resigned in 2001, so that some other artist might be allowed to receive the cnuas.
Banville also writes under the pen name Benjamin Black. His first novel under this pen name was Christine Falls, which was followed by The Silver Swan in 2007. Banville has two adult sons with his wife, the American textile artist Janet Dunham. They met during his visit to San Francisco in 1968 where she was a student at the University of California, Berkeley. Dunham described him during the writing process as being like "a murderer who's just come back from a particularly bloody killing". Banville has two daughters from his relationship with Patricia Quinn, former head of the Arts Council of Ireland.
Banville has a strong interest in vivisection and animal rights, and is often featured in Irish media speaking out against vivisection in Irish university research.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/benjam...
Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland. His father worked in a garage and died when Banville was in his early thirties; his mother was a housewife. He is the youngest of three siblings; his older brother Vincent is also a novelist and has written under the name Vincent Lawrence as well as his own. His sister Vonnie Banville-Evans has written both a children's novel and a reminiscence of growing up in Wexford.
Educated at a Christian Brothers' school and at St Peter's College in Wexford. Despite having intended to be a painter and an architect he did not attend university. Banville has described this as "A great mistake. I should have gone. I regret not taking that four years of getting drunk and falling in love. But I wanted to get away from my family. I wanted to be free." After school he worked as a clerk at Aer Lingus which allowed him to travel at deeply-discounted rates. He took advantage of this to travel in Greece and Italy. He lived in the United States during 1968 and 1969. On his return to Ireland he became a sub-editor at the Irish Press, rising eventually to the position of chief sub-editor. His first book, Long Lankin, was published in 1970.
After the Irish Press collapsed in 1995, he became a sub-editor at the Irish Times. He was appointed literary editor in 1998. The Irish Times, too, suffered severe financial problems, and Banville was offered the choice of taking a redundancy package or working as a features department sub-editor. He left. Banville has been a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books since 1990. In 1984, he was elected to Aosdána, but resigned in 2001, so that some other artist might be allowed to receive the cnuas.
Banville also writes under the pen name Benjamin Black. His first novel under this pen name was Christine Falls, which was followed by The Silver Swan in 2007. Banville has two adult sons with his wife, the American textile artist Janet Dunham. They met during his visit to San Francisco in 1968 where she was a student at the University of California, Berkeley. Dunham described him during the writing process as being like "a murderer who's just come back from a particularly bloody killing". Banville has two daughters from his relationship with Patricia Quinn, former head of the Arts Council of Ireland.
Banville has a strong interest in vivisection and animal rights, and is often featured in Irish media speaking out against vivisection in Irish university research.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/benjam...
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June 19, 2025
4 stars for a book rich in imagery of 1950s Dublin, Ireland. I will quote the opening few sentences:
"It was the worst of winter weather, and April Latimer was missing.
For days a February fog had been down and showed no sign of lifting. In the muffled silence the city seemed bewildered, like a man whose sight had suddenly failed."
This book 3 in the Quirke series and I have read the two previous books in the series, which was recommended to me by my Goodreads friend Theresa. This book can be read as a stand alone.
Quirke is a pathologist at a Dublin hospital. He is also a recovering alcoholic, and has just spent 6 months at a rehab clinic, drying out.
Quirke's daughter, Phoebe, comes to him for help in finding out what happened to her friend, April. Quirke agrees to help her. They have a complicated relationship. He is her biological father, but when his wife died, he gave the baby to his brother in law, Malachi Griffin, and Malachi's wife to raise. Until recently, Phoebe thought Malachi was her dad. These events were explained in more detail in the previous books.
When Quirke enlists the help of a Garda(police) detective friend they encounter a stone wall from April's family. April's uncle is a government minister and pulls strings to keep the investigation private. Quirke does discover the truth and it is a sad ending.
Some thoughts on Ireland in the 1950s: It was a rigid, patriarchal society, heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic church. All forms of contraception were forbidden, even condoms, called "french letters" in the book. Unwed mothers were a source of shame, and unless you were very rich, sent to Magdalen homes. The nuns who ran these homes treated the unwed mothers as sinners who deserved to be punished. The Irish government has recently apologized to these unwed mothers for their treatment and offered compensation to those still alive.
One more quote: "The Shakespeare was one of the few pubs where two unescorted women could meet for a drink without being stared at or even asked to leave by the barman."
Benjamin Black is a pen name for John Banville. His prose is a pleasure to read.
This was an inter library loan.
"It was the worst of winter weather, and April Latimer was missing.
For days a February fog had been down and showed no sign of lifting. In the muffled silence the city seemed bewildered, like a man whose sight had suddenly failed."
This book 3 in the Quirke series and I have read the two previous books in the series, which was recommended to me by my Goodreads friend Theresa. This book can be read as a stand alone.
Quirke is a pathologist at a Dublin hospital. He is also a recovering alcoholic, and has just spent 6 months at a rehab clinic, drying out.
Quirke's daughter, Phoebe, comes to him for help in finding out what happened to her friend, April. Quirke agrees to help her. They have a complicated relationship. He is her biological father, but when his wife died, he gave the baby to his brother in law, Malachi Griffin, and Malachi's wife to raise. Until recently, Phoebe thought Malachi was her dad. These events were explained in more detail in the previous books.
When Quirke enlists the help of a Garda(police) detective friend they encounter a stone wall from April's family. April's uncle is a government minister and pulls strings to keep the investigation private. Quirke does discover the truth and it is a sad ending.
Some thoughts on Ireland in the 1950s: It was a rigid, patriarchal society, heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic church. All forms of contraception were forbidden, even condoms, called "french letters" in the book. Unwed mothers were a source of shame, and unless you were very rich, sent to Magdalen homes. The nuns who ran these homes treated the unwed mothers as sinners who deserved to be punished. The Irish government has recently apologized to these unwed mothers for their treatment and offered compensation to those still alive.
One more quote: "The Shakespeare was one of the few pubs where two unescorted women could meet for a drink without being stared at or even asked to leave by the barman."
Benjamin Black is a pen name for John Banville. His prose is a pleasure to read.
This was an inter library loan.
Read
January 11, 2025Another Quirke and Hackett investigation and at this stage the charm is wearing off.
How many more women can possibly fall into Quirke’s hapless arms?
How many more descriptions of someone smoking or staring into the bottom of a whiskey glass can I take?
How many repetitions of scenes in pubs, restaurants, dreary flats, are possible without the author quoting himself unconsciously? Already I’ve caught Black repeating a description and then passing it off as a character’s ‘recollection’ of an earlier scene.
Not to mention the impossible amount of lamp shades that look like dried human skin. What can that be about..
But Black/Banville does a great line in tongue-in-cheek. Have a look at the characters’ names from the various books:
Quirke speaks for itself but Hackett?
Well, I daresay, if a twenty foot hedge lay between the good inspector and the truth, he'd be just the man to hack his way through it.
April isn’t the cruellest month for nothing.
Dick Jewell just happens to be Jewish?
Christine Falls, and pays the price.
Rose smells sweet but boy, has she got thorns.
Malachy, a long awkward-sounding fellow with just a spot of badness?
Delia, a double dealer?
Jimmy Minor is, well, a minor character.
Andy is randy.
Phoebe? - in Greek mythology she was raped by Castor or Pollux and, yes, the poor girl does indeed get raped - by randy Andy...
But Sarah is just Sarah - isn't that perfectly fitting?
How many more women can possibly fall into Quirke’s hapless arms?
How many more descriptions of someone smoking or staring into the bottom of a whiskey glass can I take?
How many repetitions of scenes in pubs, restaurants, dreary flats, are possible without the author quoting himself unconsciously? Already I’ve caught Black repeating a description and then passing it off as a character’s ‘recollection’ of an earlier scene.
Not to mention the impossible amount of lamp shades that look like dried human skin. What can that be about..
But Black/Banville does a great line in tongue-in-cheek. Have a look at the characters’ names from the various books:
Quirke speaks for itself but Hackett?
Well, I daresay, if a twenty foot hedge lay between the good inspector and the truth, he'd be just the man to hack his way through it.
April isn’t the cruellest month for nothing.
Dick Jewell just happens to be Jewish?
Christine Falls, and pays the price.
Rose smells sweet but boy, has she got thorns.
Malachy, a long awkward-sounding fellow with just a spot of badness?
Delia, a double dealer?
Jimmy Minor is, well, a minor character.
Andy is randy.
Phoebe? - in Greek mythology she was raped by Castor or Pollux and, yes, the poor girl does indeed get raped - by randy Andy...
But Sarah is just Sarah - isn't that perfectly fitting?
July 21, 2022
Elegy for April is the third in the series of eight books (so far) featuring the pathologist Quirke, and I liked it better than the last book. Many straight-up mystery readers are not in love with Black’s series in that it is “too literary,” which I take it to mean it focuses more on place, descriptions, and character, and doesn’t get to the plot! This is the very reason I am attracted to these books, though. I don’t like The Silver Swan as much because it focuses on a sensationalistic sexual predator “monster” at the expense of the character development of Quirke and his relationship to his daughter Phoebe.
So I rather like the focus on Quirke and his relationship to Phoebe in Elegy for April that takes place for most of this book. The backdrop for this relatinship development is that Phoebe's friend April is missing, she asks Quirke to help find her, and he eventually asks Detective Hackett to help him. We get a surprisingly light and hopeful moment, in that the now sober Quirke buys a terrific car for the first time in his life and appears to be moving toward greater stability and even a possible future relationship?
April’s family is decidedly not helpful in the pursuit of April, and while we see closer connections between Quirke and his generally estranged daughter, the book ends with over-the-top sensationalism that almost undermines all of the interesting developments in the lives of Quirke and Phoebe. So I’ll call it a rating of 3.75, really.
The writing is to me is generally so good. I like mystery/detective novels that focus on character, as in the Matt Scudder novels of Lawrence Block, which I characterize as novels about the main character’s alcoholism and guilt and isolation rather than crime-solving. The same thing attracts me to the Quirke novels, which I am told were initially inspired mostly by George Simenon’s Inspector Maigret series; Maigret and Quirke are largely morose, humorless, not good with human interaction, sort of existentialist characters, loners. I like that about them, though. Scudder is like that, too. Staring into those empty whiskey glasses, cigarette smoke swirling in the room.
I won’t give too much away about the plot, except to say that the whereabouts of April are not clear by book’s end, so that’s interesting. The book is also typically politically motivated for Black in castigating Irish Catholic 1950’s life--a savage family story, shaped by Catholic sexual politics, and a focus on racism. Well, all three books are ruthlessly critical of the Church and patriarchal society’s treatment of women with regard to sex. I’d like to say how relevant this book is to recent (2022) US Supreme Court decisions, but will hold my tongue and encourage you to read these books.
So I rather like the focus on Quirke and his relationship to Phoebe in Elegy for April that takes place for most of this book. The backdrop for this relatinship development is that Phoebe's friend April is missing, she asks Quirke to help find her, and he eventually asks Detective Hackett to help him. We get a surprisingly light and hopeful moment, in that the now sober Quirke buys a terrific car for the first time in his life and appears to be moving toward greater stability and even a possible future relationship?
April’s family is decidedly not helpful in the pursuit of April, and while we see closer connections between Quirke and his generally estranged daughter, the book ends with over-the-top sensationalism that almost undermines all of the interesting developments in the lives of Quirke and Phoebe. So I’ll call it a rating of 3.75, really.
The writing is to me is generally so good. I like mystery/detective novels that focus on character, as in the Matt Scudder novels of Lawrence Block, which I characterize as novels about the main character’s alcoholism and guilt and isolation rather than crime-solving. The same thing attracts me to the Quirke novels, which I am told were initially inspired mostly by George Simenon’s Inspector Maigret series; Maigret and Quirke are largely morose, humorless, not good with human interaction, sort of existentialist characters, loners. I like that about them, though. Scudder is like that, too. Staring into those empty whiskey glasses, cigarette smoke swirling in the room.
I won’t give too much away about the plot, except to say that the whereabouts of April are not clear by book’s end, so that’s interesting. The book is also typically politically motivated for Black in castigating Irish Catholic 1950’s life--a savage family story, shaped by Catholic sexual politics, and a focus on racism. Well, all three books are ruthlessly critical of the Church and patriarchal society’s treatment of women with regard to sex. I’d like to say how relevant this book is to recent (2022) US Supreme Court decisions, but will hold my tongue and encourage you to read these books.
April 29, 2015
I read this book for a challenge and the author was previously unknown to me. It turned out to be an okay read and was reasonably interesting but I will probably not be seeking out the rest of the series. The main character is the usual alcoholic heavy smoking, melancholic middle age man who is nevertheless amazing at solving impossible crimes and astonishingly attractive to young beautiful women. Sounds familiar? I think I already have enough of those in my reading lists. Nevertheless this is not a bad book and would be enjoyable for anyone who likes historical crime novels.
November 12, 2012
Years ago I read "Christine Falls," an intriguing rather gothish, noir mystery by an author (pen) named Benjamin Black. It was good enough to have remained RAM-ready for recall in the intervening years, whereas, say, when I (re)purchased the book "Crimson Petal and The White" it was not until page 400 or so did I get that first flicker of recognition. Sadly, even Annie Proulx's Pulitzer masterpiece had mind-floated away from me into that frigid, churning sea until Qouyle finally dawned on me 2 or 3 chapters in. I read too much, apparently, in the early '90s ; )
Black has certainly mastered the art of crafting noir, which does require a certain ambience, a mood and a nod to time, place and characterization. Black isn't Black, just so you know. He is John Banville, who wrote "The Sea," which won The Booker Prize. That too was a superbly crafted piece of work. Nothing like this series though. Apparently this is a trio although I haven't read the one in the middle, "The Silver Swan." The books do stand alone but Quirke, Dr. Quirke that is, along with his daughter Phoebe make more than a few passing references to the traumatic experiences that ostensibly happened between Book 1 and Book 2. So I suppose that one will be coming up soon for me.
Dr. Quirke is a pathologist with a drinking problem who seems to find himself enmeshed in matters of intrigue better left to Scotland Yard. In "Elegy For April" there are as many Doctors involved in the storyline as there are Detectives, with a few femme fatales thrown in. It's not noir without your well-corseted, sultry, beauty, exhaling her cigarette smoke with a certain flair, a savior faire that is long dead and her kind is not to be found in any other genre. She drinks her scotch neat and thinks hard about staying the night when the circumstances invariably arise. More often than not he's watching her scarf flutter in the wind as she flys round the bend, going 50 in her Roadster, past the flickering light at the corner, leaving him gazing at the dark trees looming ominously like a portent of bad things to come.
April is a friend of Phoebe. She is missing. Or is she? She is an up and coming young Doctor, related to a wealthy, prominent family whose lives are immersed in Medicine and Politics. By all appearances their good name and social standing are far more important than solving the mystery of what might have happened to their daughter, their niece, their granddaughter. Phoebe and April are part of a larger circle comprised mostly of young Doctors, medical students, a journalist and a rather famous young actress. They are split on the issue if anything untoward has occurred at all. April has a reputation for indiscretion. But the deeper Quirke, and his old pal Inspector Hackett dig into the mystery surrounding April Latimer's last days before she disappeared, the more they are convinced someone is going to great lengths to cover-up a terrible crime. Long before DNA and CSI this one will have to be solved the old fashioned way—with intelligence.
Black has certainly mastered the art of crafting noir, which does require a certain ambience, a mood and a nod to time, place and characterization. Black isn't Black, just so you know. He is John Banville, who wrote "The Sea," which won The Booker Prize. That too was a superbly crafted piece of work. Nothing like this series though. Apparently this is a trio although I haven't read the one in the middle, "The Silver Swan." The books do stand alone but Quirke, Dr. Quirke that is, along with his daughter Phoebe make more than a few passing references to the traumatic experiences that ostensibly happened between Book 1 and Book 2. So I suppose that one will be coming up soon for me.
Dr. Quirke is a pathologist with a drinking problem who seems to find himself enmeshed in matters of intrigue better left to Scotland Yard. In "Elegy For April" there are as many Doctors involved in the storyline as there are Detectives, with a few femme fatales thrown in. It's not noir without your well-corseted, sultry, beauty, exhaling her cigarette smoke with a certain flair, a savior faire that is long dead and her kind is not to be found in any other genre. She drinks her scotch neat and thinks hard about staying the night when the circumstances invariably arise. More often than not he's watching her scarf flutter in the wind as she flys round the bend, going 50 in her Roadster, past the flickering light at the corner, leaving him gazing at the dark trees looming ominously like a portent of bad things to come.
April is a friend of Phoebe. She is missing. Or is she? She is an up and coming young Doctor, related to a wealthy, prominent family whose lives are immersed in Medicine and Politics. By all appearances their good name and social standing are far more important than solving the mystery of what might have happened to their daughter, their niece, their granddaughter. Phoebe and April are part of a larger circle comprised mostly of young Doctors, medical students, a journalist and a rather famous young actress. They are split on the issue if anything untoward has occurred at all. April has a reputation for indiscretion. But the deeper Quirke, and his old pal Inspector Hackett dig into the mystery surrounding April Latimer's last days before she disappeared, the more they are convinced someone is going to great lengths to cover-up a terrible crime. Long before DNA and CSI this one will have to be solved the old fashioned way—with intelligence.
July 26, 2012
for a single glance at the first four novels in the Quirke series, click on through to where I post my online crime fiction reviews.
We start moving into deeper, blacker territory here with Elegy for April, a trend that continues through the two novels following this one. This book also happens to be one of my favorites in the series.
The book appropriately begins in the fog, which hangs over the story throughout -- and finds Quirke at the House of St. John of the Cross, a "refuge for addicts of all kinds, for shattered souls and petrifying livers," where he'd checked in after a six-month drinking binge he could barely remember. For Quirke, "stopping drinking had been easy; what was difficult was the daily, unblurred confrontation with a self he heartily wished to avoid." During his daughter Phoebe's last visit before Quirke checks himself out, she tells him that one of her friends, young Dr. April Latimer, has seemingly left without telling anyone and that she's concerned. None of their group of mutual friends have heard from April in a week. At first Quirke tells Phoebe that a week is not so long a time, but he does promise to make some calls. Phoebe, however, remains concerned, especially when she and another friend go into April's flat and find what may be blood in the bathroom. Not too long after Quirke releases himself from rehab, he, Phoebe and Hackett make their way to April's home, where they discover blood on the floorboards. They decide to go and visit April's family, but they find themselves up against the epitome of Dublin's "fiercely-Catholic" powerful, the Latimers. April's Uncle Bill is no less than the Minister of Health; her mother Celia a widow of a well-respected GPO war hero, a powerful socialite, known for her good works and for having the ear of "many at the pinnacle of power in society;" April's brother is a powerful physician known to be "concerned with keeping condoms out and maternity hospitals full." After they go to the family with their concerns, Quirke and Hackett both realize that the family is starting to distance themselves from April while simultaneously closing ranks. That doesn't mean, however, that Quirke will stand down from his enquiries.
Elegy for April is the best of the novels among the first three. Not only is the central mystery intriguing, but the fog that begins in the first chapter immediately establishes a very real sense of the claustrophobia that pervades Dublin at the time, and also conjures a murkiness that lingers through the mystery of April's disappearance. Throughout the story there are "lingering ghosts," that reflect not only the hold of the past, but the "poison of the past" as well, something Quirke knows very well. Racism is added to the ongoing list of the city's ills, Quirke may or may not have a found a girlfriend, and Phoebe is becoming more fully developed as a character. And while the post-dénouement action might seem a bit contrived, it works in a clumsy sort of way. All of that is really sort of secondary though, because in this novel, it's the literary quality of the writing and the depth to which Black dives into character psyche that stand out above everything else. I was so taken by and wrapped up both areas that sometimes I forgot I was reading a crime novel.
Definitely recommended -- and, as with all of the Quirke novels, they should be read in order to get the most out of them.
We start moving into deeper, blacker territory here with Elegy for April, a trend that continues through the two novels following this one. This book also happens to be one of my favorites in the series.
The book appropriately begins in the fog, which hangs over the story throughout -- and finds Quirke at the House of St. John of the Cross, a "refuge for addicts of all kinds, for shattered souls and petrifying livers," where he'd checked in after a six-month drinking binge he could barely remember. For Quirke, "stopping drinking had been easy; what was difficult was the daily, unblurred confrontation with a self he heartily wished to avoid." During his daughter Phoebe's last visit before Quirke checks himself out, she tells him that one of her friends, young Dr. April Latimer, has seemingly left without telling anyone and that she's concerned. None of their group of mutual friends have heard from April in a week. At first Quirke tells Phoebe that a week is not so long a time, but he does promise to make some calls. Phoebe, however, remains concerned, especially when she and another friend go into April's flat and find what may be blood in the bathroom. Not too long after Quirke releases himself from rehab, he, Phoebe and Hackett make their way to April's home, where they discover blood on the floorboards. They decide to go and visit April's family, but they find themselves up against the epitome of Dublin's "fiercely-Catholic" powerful, the Latimers. April's Uncle Bill is no less than the Minister of Health; her mother Celia a widow of a well-respected GPO war hero, a powerful socialite, known for her good works and for having the ear of "many at the pinnacle of power in society;" April's brother is a powerful physician known to be "concerned with keeping condoms out and maternity hospitals full." After they go to the family with their concerns, Quirke and Hackett both realize that the family is starting to distance themselves from April while simultaneously closing ranks. That doesn't mean, however, that Quirke will stand down from his enquiries.
Elegy for April is the best of the novels among the first three. Not only is the central mystery intriguing, but the fog that begins in the first chapter immediately establishes a very real sense of the claustrophobia that pervades Dublin at the time, and also conjures a murkiness that lingers through the mystery of April's disappearance. Throughout the story there are "lingering ghosts," that reflect not only the hold of the past, but the "poison of the past" as well, something Quirke knows very well. Racism is added to the ongoing list of the city's ills, Quirke may or may not have a found a girlfriend, and Phoebe is becoming more fully developed as a character. And while the post-dénouement action might seem a bit contrived, it works in a clumsy sort of way. All of that is really sort of secondary though, because in this novel, it's the literary quality of the writing and the depth to which Black dives into character psyche that stand out above everything else. I was so taken by and wrapped up both areas that sometimes I forgot I was reading a crime novel.
Definitely recommended -- and, as with all of the Quirke novels, they should be read in order to get the most out of them.
April 6, 2017
Many of the very best mysteries are profoundly political. In digging deeply into what makes their characters tick, the writers locate the roots of their class origins and the wounds inflicted on them by their families, their neighbors, and society at large.
Not convinced? Think about the sociology underlying Elizabeth George’s Inspector Lynley series . . . the vast power of the moneyed forces fought by V. I. Warshawski in Sara Paretsky’s novels . . . the legal battles between powerful institutions and hapless citizens in John Grisham’s work . . . the overtly political circumstances in John Sandford’s several dozen novels featuring Lucas Davenport, Virgil Flowers, and other protagonists.
Now add the Quirke series by Benjamin Black, the pen name of the Booker Prize-winning Irish novelist John Banville. Elegy for April is the fourth of Black’s seven novels about the alcoholic Dublin pathologist named Quirke. (He has a first name, but we never learn it — just one example of the author’s sly humor.) The Quirke novels, all grounded in Dublin in the 1950s, explore the tight grip of the Catholic Church on Irish society and the crimes so often committed in her name. Quirke, though he has no official role as an investigator, is drawn into what usually prove to be murder cases by virtue of his family’s involvement. He collaborates with a senior police detective named Hackett, often outclassing him as an investigator.
In Elegy for April, Quirke’s daughter, Phebe, complains that her friend April has disappeared. The story that ensues revolves around the young women’s circle of friends and April’s powerful and devout medical family, which includes Dublin’s leading pathologist (her brother) and the Minister of Health (her uncle). I won’t spoil the story by going any further into the plot.
Though Banville insists he writes mysteries strictly for fun and profit, it’s clear that his famously brilliant literary style suffers not at all in the process. Here’s an example of what I mean: “he was received by the Minister’s private secretary, an oddly implausible person by the name of Ferriter, plump and shabby, with lank black hair and pendulous jowls.” Now, I ask you: how can any discerning reader fail to be charmed by prose like that?
Not convinced? Think about the sociology underlying Elizabeth George’s Inspector Lynley series . . . the vast power of the moneyed forces fought by V. I. Warshawski in Sara Paretsky’s novels . . . the legal battles between powerful institutions and hapless citizens in John Grisham’s work . . . the overtly political circumstances in John Sandford’s several dozen novels featuring Lucas Davenport, Virgil Flowers, and other protagonists.
Now add the Quirke series by Benjamin Black, the pen name of the Booker Prize-winning Irish novelist John Banville. Elegy for April is the fourth of Black’s seven novels about the alcoholic Dublin pathologist named Quirke. (He has a first name, but we never learn it — just one example of the author’s sly humor.) The Quirke novels, all grounded in Dublin in the 1950s, explore the tight grip of the Catholic Church on Irish society and the crimes so often committed in her name. Quirke, though he has no official role as an investigator, is drawn into what usually prove to be murder cases by virtue of his family’s involvement. He collaborates with a senior police detective named Hackett, often outclassing him as an investigator.
In Elegy for April, Quirke’s daughter, Phebe, complains that her friend April has disappeared. The story that ensues revolves around the young women’s circle of friends and April’s powerful and devout medical family, which includes Dublin’s leading pathologist (her brother) and the Minister of Health (her uncle). I won’t spoil the story by going any further into the plot.
Though Banville insists he writes mysteries strictly for fun and profit, it’s clear that his famously brilliant literary style suffers not at all in the process. Here’s an example of what I mean: “he was received by the Minister’s private secretary, an oddly implausible person by the name of Ferriter, plump and shabby, with lank black hair and pendulous jowls.” Now, I ask you: how can any discerning reader fail to be charmed by prose like that?
March 7, 2016
Third times the charm, usually, and could still very well be if you start here. B. Black is a wonderful writer (of course, we all know he is in his *other life* the wonderful Irish novelist John Banville, moonlighting to pay the bills between his literary novels). Problem I see with his Quirke novels is they are so far (x3) formulaic and not particularly shatteringly creative (which we all forgive because, my god, it is getting harder and harder to find a good author these days--or a good recommendation). I imagine this is a difficult genre in which to keep a reader's attention when the nightly news, or my neighbors once removed, have a more criminally mysterious life going on. But Quirke is always good for a trip abroad, a roll in the hay, a forgiving bounce off the wagon, making us not feel so bad about our own missteps, or mundane lives as the winter drags on. I'll continue with Quirke: he's kind of an awkward poor man's Bond.
July 23, 2024
God I love when Benjamin Black nee John Banville writes his Quirk novels. He might think of these books as his unserious novels (not sure, but he uses a pen name and writes them fairly fast), but dark Irish gods float through his wet prose. Not many crime novels hit me as hard as Blacks. Some of the earlier Noir novelists, definitely Patricia Highsmith, etc., but the man can write a sentence, evoke a scene, and stick and ending.
September 9, 2018
Does the sun never shine in Dublin? This one starts off slowly and drags us along in the cold dreary weather. I just loved it. Quirk is as bleak as the weather.
September 7, 2025
This novel is probably more about Quirke himself than it is about April of the title. In the beginning we find that on Christmas Eve he checked himself into a place so that he could dry out from his continuing over indulgence in alcohol. He felt "cured" after 6 weeks and checked himself out again. He felt so good he thought he would buy a car, despite the fact that he didn't know how to drive.
Phoebe reports that her friend, April Latimer, has not been seen nor heard from in at least a week. Phoebe reports that she and April were in almost daily touch and she is worried something may have happened to her. April is known to have been estranged from her family, a very prominent and influential family. Still, Quirke is encouraged to speak with them and not the police. No, no one in the family has spoken with her and they repeat the information that not having heard from her is quite normal. April was, they say, a bit flighty and maybe she has just gone off somewhere for a few days.
This is a series which I believe is better read in order. That said, it has been nearly 3 years since I read #2 and I had mostly forgotten some of the pertinent details about Quirke and his life. All was OK as the highlights were brought forward here to remind me. I was glad of that, but think if I had not read about them initially, I would feel as if I had been a tad short changed. I have already acquired the next installment, so there is a greater likelihood of my not letting so much time pass.
I love the writing style. Keep in mind, Benjamin Black is a pseudonym of John Banville, so one should rightly expect superb writing. I love the characterizations which are really quite well done, even as to the supporting characters. There is a mystery here - afterall, April Latimer appears to have gone missing. Still, I think there is less plot that one might expect in the genre. I admit to recognizing this more in the aftermath than in the reading. Again, for me, it is all about writing style and characterization. The plot, what there is of it, is solid and kept me reading, but do not expect a page turner. It is not 5-stars, but probably about as good a 4-star read as I've had lately.
Phoebe reports that her friend, April Latimer, has not been seen nor heard from in at least a week. Phoebe reports that she and April were in almost daily touch and she is worried something may have happened to her. April is known to have been estranged from her family, a very prominent and influential family. Still, Quirke is encouraged to speak with them and not the police. No, no one in the family has spoken with her and they repeat the information that not having heard from her is quite normal. April was, they say, a bit flighty and maybe she has just gone off somewhere for a few days.
This is a series which I believe is better read in order. That said, it has been nearly 3 years since I read #2 and I had mostly forgotten some of the pertinent details about Quirke and his life. All was OK as the highlights were brought forward here to remind me. I was glad of that, but think if I had not read about them initially, I would feel as if I had been a tad short changed. I have already acquired the next installment, so there is a greater likelihood of my not letting so much time pass.
I love the writing style. Keep in mind, Benjamin Black is a pseudonym of John Banville, so one should rightly expect superb writing. I love the characterizations which are really quite well done, even as to the supporting characters. There is a mystery here - afterall, April Latimer appears to have gone missing. Still, I think there is less plot that one might expect in the genre. I admit to recognizing this more in the aftermath than in the reading. Again, for me, it is all about writing style and characterization. The plot, what there is of it, is solid and kept me reading, but do not expect a page turner. It is not 5-stars, but probably about as good a 4-star read as I've had lately.
November 9, 2025
Four and a half stars for being so brilliantly what it is-a literary encapsulation of the quote: “Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.” (Attributed, maybe shakily, to Yeats.
April 18, 2010
I wondered after I read this novel, which while atmospherically lovely, was somewhat lacking in character development, if it assumed previous knowledge of the protagonist, Quirke, a middle-aged pathologist/alcoholic in 50s Dublin, trying to dry out, but failing, and sometimes failing miserably. He appears in previous novels by the author but I found him a hard character to get to know just on the basis of Elegy for April.
Quirke is assisting his biological daughter, Phoebe, by looking into the mysterious disappearance of a friend, who may or may not have met with foul play. The two have some deep issues, not the least of which is abandonment, so much of his motive for doing some detective work is based on wanting to please her.
April Latimer, Jr. M.D. in training at the local hospital, appears to be as much of a mystery to her friends as her disappearance is. We are only shown very little glimpses of her, in conversations between friends and between Quirke and other characters. Revelations about April emerge more to the end of the book, but I felt a little cheated by that. If there is a character which is the center of a mystery, shouldn't you care more about what has happened to them? The most you find out about before the big reveals, is that her family thinks she's a troublemaker and have basically disowned her. But no concrete examples of her black sheep status are ever illuminated, beyond April being selfish and does what she wants to do.
On the other hand, Author Black does a fine job drawing you in to the daily rhythm of this city, and painting some lovely word pictures of rain, ice, bleak mountainsides, and other landscapes, which in some way reflect the reticence of characters I would have liked to know more about. For instance, why is Phoebe so attracted to Patrick Ojukwu, the young black Nigerian also studying to become an M.D., along with April? Yes, physical differences can attract, be exotic, but while her awkwardness in his presence was nicely written, I felt I wasn't quite getting the whole picture.
A couple of characters feel stock; the diminutive reporter using friendship to scoop stories, the bohemian actress affecting icy allure as part of her craft, but Black for the most part gives us an interesting cast of characters, particularly Inspector Hackett, the most well-drawn of the major players, besides Quirke. The novel is definitely worth a read, but you may well hunger for more, whatever that more is to you.
After a few days of reflection having finished reading the novel, still unsettled remembering the ending as being jarring in its intensity and subject matter. Jarring because we're being shown something horrible and being asked, "There, see? See what April endured? Now you can care about her." And up to that point, I hadn't really known enough to feel the concern others in the story did, so in essence it is asking quite a lot of a reader to suddenly care when that ending hadn't been set up at all in the beginning or middle sections of the novel. Still, The novel is definitely worth a read, but you may well hunger for more, whatever that more is to you.
I found Quirke intriguing enough that I want to investigate Black's other works featuring him.
May 11, 2010
Took the audio version on my road trip. Timothy Dalton's narration is just excellent. The story is very atmospheric, well, actually very gloomy. One might ask, "Why bother?". Well, the writing is so good. Lyrical in fact.
March 6, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2018
prose and atmosphere were amazing, especially the descriptions of sometimes foggy, sometimes Ice-bound Dublin in February. Characters and plot both felt thin though, so mixed feelings about the book as a whole. Would like to read more by this author, so opting for 3 stars.
April 22, 2022
Three stars for beauty of language alone. Exciting plot points felt like a bonus – perhaps I'm desensitized to drama, but this narrative just didn't do it for me. Also, I understand this is 1950s Ireland and women were merely walking fertility vessels who made hats, but would it really be so much skin off Banville's back to write a realistic female relationship? The Phoebe X Rose dynamic could have been delightfully developed – strained as it is – and instead it was overshadowed, sometimes literally, by pages-long descriptions of thick fog.
May 16, 2022
“It was the worst of winter weather, and April Latimer was missing.”
A perfect opening for the gloom and doom one can expect from a 1950’s Dublin mystery noir.
Especially with Quirke, known as a notorious curmudgeon. p36: “an aging androgyne shuffling down the wearying middle stretch of life’s long road.” Not an uplifting picture.
Fog, rain and cold add to the atmosphere of foreboding. Nothing good is to be expected…
It’s also darkly humorous. Descriptions of people are mostly comically non-flatering. The weather keeps on being depicted as stale, gray, dim, damp and dismal. Well you get the drift. Not pleasant. All perfect in line with the general low mood of Dublin in the 1950’s. I liked it!
And in the meantime. Where is April?
We follow both Quirke and Phoebe, Quirke’s daughter and friend of April on their quest to figure out what happened to her.
Slowly we get to know April’s family. A closed and pretentious lot. And April’s friends: an actress, a crime reporter and an African, studying to become a surgeon.
Nothing much happens really. It’s more a character study of Quirke and Phoebe. Also the other characters have some depth.
In the end we do get to know, sort of, what happened to April. Althought the pervading fog, mist and rain are more than a metaphore of what really happened…
All in all a fun read. It kept my attention. I will read the other books in this series.
A perfect opening for the gloom and doom one can expect from a 1950’s Dublin mystery noir.
Especially with Quirke, known as a notorious curmudgeon. p36: “an aging androgyne shuffling down the wearying middle stretch of life’s long road.” Not an uplifting picture.
Fog, rain and cold add to the atmosphere of foreboding. Nothing good is to be expected…
It’s also darkly humorous. Descriptions of people are mostly comically non-flatering. The weather keeps on being depicted as stale, gray, dim, damp and dismal. Well you get the drift. Not pleasant. All perfect in line with the general low mood of Dublin in the 1950’s. I liked it!
And in the meantime. Where is April?
We follow both Quirke and Phoebe, Quirke’s daughter and friend of April on their quest to figure out what happened to her.
Slowly we get to know April’s family. A closed and pretentious lot. And April’s friends: an actress, a crime reporter and an African, studying to become a surgeon.
Nothing much happens really. It’s more a character study of Quirke and Phoebe. Also the other characters have some depth.
In the end we do get to know, sort of, what happened to April. Althought the pervading fog, mist and rain are more than a metaphore of what really happened…
All in all a fun read. It kept my attention. I will read the other books in this series.
April 8, 2011
Now that I've read this book, I'm amazed at the hype it got. Not only did I find the characters very two-dimensional, but the plot also was thin. And the ending was an "oh, come ON!" for me.
April Latimer, a junior doctor, is missing. Her friend Phoebe hasn't heard from her in several days, even though they usually talked on the phone at least once a day. (It is never explained why Phoebe and April are close enough to warrant so much communication.) Phoebe gets her (and April's) group of friends together and they seem much less concerned that she is. April is the black sheep of a very prestigious family: both rejecting them and being rejected by them. She apparently often goes off by herself without notifying anyone.
Phoebe even enlists her father, Quirke, in the investigation. We learn that Quirke is Phoebe's biological father, even though he gave her up to be raised by his brother-in-law after Phoebe's mother's death. It's very confusing about how and why Phoebe finally learns the truth and why Quirke gave her up in the first place.
Quirke's friend, a police detective, becomes involved as well and discovers traces of blood in April's room, blood that is apparently from an abortion.
So where is April? Are any of her group of friends involved? Why does Quirke get invovled with one of the group, a girl young enough to be his daughter and in fact a friend of his daughter? Why is Phoebe even a member of this group when she works in a hat shop and the others are medical students, a journalist and an actress?
The plot limps on to the end. We discover where April is, but the ending is a "You've GOT to be kidding!" It ends a story that you discover you were never interested in in the first place.
April Latimer, a junior doctor, is missing. Her friend Phoebe hasn't heard from her in several days, even though they usually talked on the phone at least once a day. (It is never explained why Phoebe and April are close enough to warrant so much communication.) Phoebe gets her (and April's) group of friends together and they seem much less concerned that she is. April is the black sheep of a very prestigious family: both rejecting them and being rejected by them. She apparently often goes off by herself without notifying anyone.
Phoebe even enlists her father, Quirke, in the investigation. We learn that Quirke is Phoebe's biological father, even though he gave her up to be raised by his brother-in-law after Phoebe's mother's death. It's very confusing about how and why Phoebe finally learns the truth and why Quirke gave her up in the first place.
Quirke's friend, a police detective, becomes involved as well and discovers traces of blood in April's room, blood that is apparently from an abortion.
So where is April? Are any of her group of friends involved? Why does Quirke get invovled with one of the group, a girl young enough to be his daughter and in fact a friend of his daughter? Why is Phoebe even a member of this group when she works in a hat shop and the others are medical students, a journalist and an actress?
The plot limps on to the end. We discover where April is, but the ending is a "You've GOT to be kidding!" It ends a story that you discover you were never interested in in the first place.
November 3, 2014
This book is beautifully written. It evokes the fog-enveloped gloom of 1950s Dublin. It provides insights into the claustrophobic world of the city’s middle class. But nothing happens.
Phoebe thinks her friend April may have disappeared but April always was a bit of a wild one. Phoebe talks about it to Quirke. Quirke ruminates on his complex family history. He learns to drive. He occasionally does some work but when he does it’s not very good.
Various people suddenly want to speak to Quirke with the express purpose of not telling him anything about April. They acknowledge that she may be missing, but then she always was a bit of a wild one. They remind us of Quirke’s complex family history.
Quirke has a flash of insight then wraps up the mystery in a couple of pages, just in time for his complex family history to become even more complex.
I’m not sure whether John Banville is toying with his readers or whether he isn’t really interested in crime fiction. I recently heard him talking on Radio 4 about how he found his Benjamin Black novels much easier to write than his literary novels. Perhaps he needs to find them a bit harder.
Phoebe thinks her friend April may have disappeared but April always was a bit of a wild one. Phoebe talks about it to Quirke. Quirke ruminates on his complex family history. He learns to drive. He occasionally does some work but when he does it’s not very good.
Various people suddenly want to speak to Quirke with the express purpose of not telling him anything about April. They acknowledge that she may be missing, but then she always was a bit of a wild one. They remind us of Quirke’s complex family history.
Quirke has a flash of insight then wraps up the mystery in a couple of pages, just in time for his complex family history to become even more complex.
I’m not sure whether John Banville is toying with his readers or whether he isn’t really interested in crime fiction. I recently heard him talking on Radio 4 about how he found his Benjamin Black novels much easier to write than his literary novels. Perhaps he needs to find them a bit harder.
September 28, 2013
Benjamin Black conjures up 1950's Dublin in his Quirke detective series, which features a hard-drinking, middle aged pathologist who is more inclined to brooding than to living. In Elegy for April, Quirke is recruited by his daughter to discover what has become of her friend April, who hasn't been seen in nearly two weeks. He begins with decided reluctance, but that soon evolves into a kind of dogged determination to get to the bottom of things. This is mystery falls squarely into the noir tradition, bleak in its protagonist, its plot and and its settings. it's easy to picture Kenneth Branagh in the leading role. Black (aka John Banville) is a skilled writer, particularly with respect to his powers of description, his ability to develop an aura, a mood. Strangely, the title character, April, never really comes across as real, though the solution to what has become of her is a profoundly chilling one.
Recommended primarily for fans of noir mysteries.
Recommended primarily for fans of noir mysteries.
August 13, 2016
Do you know what was more interesting than this book? Everything. I stopped reading this book part way through to read another book. Also, I had to tear myself away from the internet many times to force myself to read this book because more interesting things include: FB, pinterest, blogs, gifs, online shopping, online TV, buzzfeed, the list goes on.
There was way too much attempt at character development in this book. Which would have been okay if it wasn’t all completely pointless. As a mystery book this was awful. As a novel it was okay. It’s like the author couldn’t decide what he was trying to write though and seeing as how I was hoping for a mystery this did not meet my standards. I'm being harsh but I'm just annoyed at how much time I spent reading this blah of a book.
There was way too much attempt at character development in this book. Which would have been okay if it wasn’t all completely pointless. As a mystery book this was awful. As a novel it was okay. It’s like the author couldn’t decide what he was trying to write though and seeing as how I was hoping for a mystery this did not meet my standards. I'm being harsh but I'm just annoyed at how much time I spent reading this blah of a book.
June 1, 2021
When a junior doctor with a wild reputation goes missing, her friend Phoebe, who happens to be the daughter of the Dublin pathologist, Quirke, wants something to be done about it. The missing doctor, April Latimer, has an estranged and reluctant family who are avoiding scandal by insisting that she's just run off with someone and will return in time. Quirke and Phoebe investigate and rattle some cages, and it's their tentative, tenuous relationship that is one of the best things about this noir-ish crime novel set in the 1950s. Quirke's struggles with alcoholism are also vividly painted and realistic. Come for the mystery, stay for the family drama at the heart of this third book in the Quirke series.
October 27, 2013
This third entry in the Quirke series is an eloquently written mid-century mystery that takes place in Dublin. We never meet April, the central character, but we learn much about her from her friends and family. The story is centered on the best and worst of human relationships, and explores the broad spectrum between truth and deceit. The central question in this compact story is never really resolved, but I'm OK with that; the mere quest for an answer changes everyone involved in ways they could not have anticipated.
September 29, 2020
I gave this a 3; because, I am sure it would have been better if I read it as opposed to listened to it. The reader was far too dramatic and hard to understand at times. That being said, the story was pretty slow moving. Some parts were strong, but overall I don't think the concept was strong enough for a novel. The end made it a little better, but not quite enough. I guess I would be interested in reading the other Quirkes; not because this book was so good...maybe just so I can see if the other ones are better.
May 25, 2020
I'm confused. It was a whole pointless beginning and middle where nothing happened and no one really figured anything out. Went around in circles of doing the same thing of doing nothing. The "bad" person had a very dark and sad confession. The story continued for a little bit longer in even more pointless things and ended quite abruptly. Like what is the point? Is there one? I really don't think there is.
May 7, 2010
It was quite disappointing. I felt the story dragged and really didn't get interesting until the last few pages.
April 22, 2020
Pretty slow, with everything wrapping up in one chapter. None of the characters were very likable, or if they were they made terrible choices. To use the author's constant setting it was like looking at a possibly interesting story through fog.
June 19, 2022
Black breaks nearly all the rules of good writing, including: opening with the weather, free use of adverbs, circling back to the weather, abrupt point-of-view switch to a walk-on character, and a preponderance of interior thoughts over action. The best part of about the third Quirke book is his personal struggle with alcoholism. He's just "dried out" and is inching his way back to drinking (while teaching himself to drive on the fly). Quirke's flaws are what makes him great, and they are the showcase. To clarify: this is NOT a murder mystery. It's a character study...with a lot of weather.
May 3, 2020
A bit confusing at times. Did not hold my attention as much as I thought it would. Also spent a lot of time explaining random stuff that didn’t really add anything to the story line..
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