Pearl

by Frank Delaney

Tijdens een lunch in het chique Savoy-hotel wordt er een pakje bezorgd voor architect Nicholas Newman. De inhoud: een stanleymes. De afzender: onbekend. De volgende dag wordt Nicholas in de metro aangevallen door agressieve voetbalhooligands, die hem bedreigen met... een stanleymes. En weer een dag later krijgt hij te horen dat zijn vriend Antony op gruwelijke wijze is vermoord. Zijn lichaam is bewerkt met een scherp mes...
Heeft de dood van Antony iets te maken met de bedreigingen die tegen Nicholas zijn geuit?

Genres: Thriller

389 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

Frank Delaney was an author, a broadcaster on both television and radio, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, lecturer, and a judge of many literary prizes. Delaney interviewed more than 3,500 of the world's most important writers. NPR called him 'The Most Eloquent Man in the World'. Delaney was born and raised in County Tipperary, Ireland, spent more than twenty-five years in England before moving to the United States in 2002. He lived in Litchfield County, Connecticut, with his wife, writer and marketer, Diane Meier.

Reviews

[Grada (BoekenTrol) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book to read. Interesting, but also quite complicated, because as a reader I actually didn't know more than the main character. And when you feel that you no longer have an overview, when a headless chicken is running around, I think the writer did well.

[Diane Meier · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second in the Amethyst series of novels that explore the genesis of evil, as expressed in Nazi Germany, and mean to discover how it can survive or thrive in a civilized world.

As protagonist, a very civilized (perhaps overly civilized) architect named Nicholas Newman.

Pearl takes us into World Class International Soccer and the skin-head fans, manipulated and used by men who require unrest and fear to fuel their power. Terrifying. Brutal. Very strong stuff.

Very much "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" before it existed, these three books garnered huge attention, best-seller status and great respect in Europe in the 1990's but thought to be too violent for our sensibilities, they were never published in the USA.

[Iuliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes a great story line for a movie thanks to its intriguing narrative threads and by being so anchored into today's world (football, hooligans) but by also bringing to light the lingering flavours of the past (anti-semitism, WWII). Didn't like the "narrator" being selfish but enjoyed the transformation he undergoes once he experiences what love feels like and he starts to care for somebody else rather than just for himself.

[Sibylle Seys smets · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lent et pas très captivant finalement. Je ne pense même pas le terminer...

[Barry Worth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Matthew Eisenberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pearl is a superb example of why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and why I shouldn't impulsively stray from the list of 300+ well-reviewed books on my "To-Read" shelf. This book is a boring slog, not worth a moment of your time, nor the $1 I paid for it at a library book sale. The protagonist is a detached, unknowable, and thus unrelateable character. While the events in which he finds himself engulfed have the potential to be interesting, most of the book's focus is on the mundanities of the main character's life. This book is just an utter bore, a terrible read. One good thing---Pearl has inspired me to return to reading impactful, knowledge-expanding, thought-provoking non-fiction for the foreseeable future.