Category Archives: Domingo Villar

Putting the mockers on (or thoughts on the CWA International Dagger Award 2011)

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Friday night (well Saturday morning my time) at the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate the winner of the CWA International Dagger award for 2011 will be announced.

Of the seven shortlisted novels I have read six (but ran out of puff for the seventh) and definitely have my favourites though I am almost reluctant to speculate on a winner given my notoriously poor form with such matters. Though perhaps it is a smidgen narcissistic to believe that my actions could have a negative outcome on the results?

The six books I have read (in order) are

So….there are three books (marked with *) that I would be happy to see win the award and only one that I would genuinely grizzle about if it were to win (marked with ^). Until two days ago I was madly hoping for a win by Needle in a Haystack but having finished Death on a Galician Shore this week there’s now stiff competition in my heart. On balance though I think Needle offers a more well-rounded reading experience through tackling some weightier issues and being more tightly written. So I’m still crossing my fingers for a win by Mr Mallo and hope this hasn’t put the mockers on his chances. Of course Jean-François Parot’s The Saint-Florentin Murders, which I didn’t get around to reading, might be the best of them all and if it wins I’ll have to accept that the judges knew best, though it probably won’t stop me taking issue with them ;)

I am a little disappointed in this year’s shortlist as it doesn’t quite live up to the high quality of last year’s and I can think of a book or two that I’d have rather seen included (in particular Shuichi Yoshida’s Villain (Japan) and Liza Marklund’s Red Wolf (which even if it isn’t her best work is vastly superior to Three Seconds in my humble opinion). But I’m still genuinely thrilled that there is such a depth of translated crime fiction on offer to us pathetically monolingual readers and applaud the CWA for acknowledging this under-appreciated aspect of fiction which (hopefully) helps to ensure we will have more translations in the future.

 

Review: Death on a Galician Shore by Domingo Villar

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In the Spanish village of Panxón locals think that fisherman Juan Castelo must have committed suicide by throwing himself overboard from his boat one stormy Sunday morning. But the pathologist convinces Inspector Leo Caldas of the Vigo police that, due to the way the man’s hands were tied, it must have been murder. And so Leo begins a slow and methodical round of interviews of the taciturn locals, becoming frustrated by their unwillingness to tell him anything which advances his investigation. The one glimmer of resolution that he spots early on is that Castelo was one of three men to have survived a tragedy some years before. Some believe that the man who did not survive that tragedy might have returned from the dead to exact his revenge.

As with the first book in this series that is fast becoming a favourite of mine two elements really stand out as memorable. The first of these is the characters who are subtly drawn but entirely engaging. Leo is a very self-contained person, spending much of his time alone though it’s not always clear if this is a deliberate choice. His relationship with his father is a complex and uneasy one though the genuine love between the two is evident even if they often show it by getting cross with each other’s foibles. There is humour too though such as when Leo’s father is visiting his sick brother in hospital and is reminded of his Book of Idiots that has fallen into disuse. After adding the name of his brother’s doctor the Book and its new entries becomes a running joke between the men and it provided a lot of warmth to the story (not to mention an inspiration for me to start my own book as it sounded like a satisfying and healthy way to deal with the idiots one encounters in life). The other key relationship Leo has in this book is with his assistant Rafael (Rafa) Estévez who has calmed down a little since the events depicted in the first book though he is still perplexed by the Galician weather and frustrated by the locals’ inability to answer a question directly. There is some friction between the pair and you never get the sense they will be firm friends but stranger things have happened and I am anxious to see what progress is made in future books (hoping of course that there are more to come).

The setting is the other element of the novel that I simply cannot forget. I love the way Villar paints a picture of this part of Spain, incorporating descriptions of both landscape and people in such a vibrant way that I fell like I have strolled along the shore, watched the fishermen bringing in their early morning hauls, wandered over to the market and, inevitably, found a café at which to eat fresh seafood and sip a glass of wine. In addition to making me wistful for a holiday this is a big part of what makes the book so credible. The lives and environment of the key players are depicted in such a way that their murderous ways seem perfectly believable, even sensible in the circumstances.

I did think this book a bit slower than its predecessor (it’s quite a bit longer) and especially in the first half a little repetitive in the way that Leo and Rafa kept re-interviewing the same people for not much gain. But this did help to generate a sense of the frustration that Leo was experiencing (and police must often experience in real life) and I was more than happy to relax a little and soak up the ambience. The pace and complexity of the investigation kicks up a notch in the second half and I enjoyed the neat but still surprising way the resolution fell into place. Without any of the violence or junk-science common to so many procedurals and brimming with warm characters and an inviting atmosphere this book has a great story and, if only fleetingly, makes you feel like you’ve had a holiday in Spain. Delicious reading.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Death on a Galician Shore has been reviewed at Crime Scraps, Euro Crime (By Maxine) and The Game’s Afoot

I reviewed Water Blue-Eyes, the first book in this series, last month.

This is one of seven books nominated for this year’s International Dagger award for translated crime fiction which will be announced this Friday (22 July). I managed to read 6 of the 7 which are Anders Roslund & Borge Hellstrom’s Three Seconds, Ernesto Mallo’s Needle in a Haystack, Fred Vargas’ An Uncertain Place, River of Shadows by Valerio Varesi and Andrea Camilleri’s Wings of the Sphinx. I’m afraid time (and a slight lack of inclination) has prevented my from reading Jean-Francois Parot’s The Saint-Florentin Murders. 

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
My rating 4.5/5
Translator Sonia Soto
Publisher Hachette Digital [2011]
ISBN 9780748120055
Length 346 pages
Format eBook (ePub)
Book Series #2 in the Leo Caldas series
Source I bought it

The half-way point

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As of the end of June I had finished 84 books (and abandoned another eight) which is a pretty good start to the year. I consider anything I rate 3 stars or above to be reading time well spent and 70 (or 83%) of the books I’ve read have fallen into that category this year. While this is obviously good news for my reading it does make choosing ‘best of’ lists quite hard. Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise is, once again, collecting ‘best crime fiction books of the year so far’ lists and after much struggling I’ve come up with 10:

Left off this list (because if I didn’t stop at 10 I’d have listed the lot) were a whole load of great books. Most of these are listed on my 2011 reviews page (a few books have not been reviewed but that can’t be helped)

Review: Water-Blue Eyes by Domingo Villar

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As this book opens we meet Leo Caldas, a Police Inspector in the Spanish town of Vigo, as he is participating in the weekly radio broadcast Patrol on the Air, during which people can ring in with questions or complaints for the police to investigate. Caldas is a grudging participant in the PR exercise and entertains himself by keeping a running tally of how many enquiries he will need to follow up on and how many he can hand over to the City police. When he’s finished the show he barely has time to sit in his office chair before he and his subordinate, Rafael Estévez, are rushing to attend a luxury apartment building where a man has been killed. The man, local jazz musician Luis Reigosa, has been tied to his bed and suffered horrific burn-like injuries to his stomach and groin but forensic specialists need time to identify the exact cause of death, which doesn’t give Caldas and Estévez many leads with which to begin their investigation.

Several elements of this excellent novel compete for status as the standout feature but in the end they all come together to form the perfect novel. Perhaps the thing I loved most were the characters who are richly drawn and highly believable. Although this is the first novel in which he appears Caldas is a fully formed man whose past we see in glimpses as the current narrative unfolds. His personal life is complicated by an uneasy relationship with his father and a split from the woman in his life due to their differences over the idea of having children. His working life is also complicated, mainly by having to deal with the consequences of Rafael Estévez’ aggression which is generated when he encounters the difficulties of his new home. Poor Estévez is not a native of Galica (the region of northern Spain in which Vigo is situated) and he has struggled to adjust to his new environment. He finds the unpredictable weather and steep streets equally frustrating but worst of all

To Rafael Estévez’ stern Aragonese mind, things were this way or that, got done or didn’t, so it was only with considerable effort that he managed to decipher the ambiguous expressions of his new fellow citizens.

This issue generates much of the warm humour of the book, though I felt a little guilty for laughing at Estévez as I too have a tendency towards literalness and find ambiguity annoying to deal with.

If the local tourist bureau in Galicia hasn’t paid Villar something for his work then they should because my overwhelming desire upon finishing the book was to investigate how much it would cost me to fly there and stay a while. The environment is described beautifully and the relaxed pace of life depicted appeals to me greatly. Even a serious police investigation must stop for deliciously described meals and the occasional paddle in the ocean and I couldn’t help but wish that all of life was prioritised in this way. Of course Caldas manages to have a fascinating conversation about philosophy with other patrons during one memorable lunch and this ends up leading him to an important discovery in his investigation which proves there’s nothing wrong with this way of working at all.

I was undoubtedly pre-disposed to liking this book because of its length. At 167 pages it is tiny in comparison to many of the lengthy tomes published these days but is an absolutely captivating read without any of the dead weight of its competitors. It’s fast, witty, oozing a sense of its location, has terrifically memorable characters and a taut, compelling plot. It is also beautifully readable in its second language, a testament no doubt to the skill of translator Martin Schifino, who has managed to capture the poetic essence of the Spanish very well. This is a true gem of a novel that would be enjoyed by all readers, crime fans or otherwise.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

This book has been reviewed at Crime Scraps, Petrona, Reviewing the Evidence and The Game’s Afoot (where Jose Ignacio read the book in its original Spanish).

I’m using this as the first book for my European leg of this year’s global challenge

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
My rating 5/5
Translator Martin Schifino
Publisher Arcadia books/Euro Crime [this translation 2009, original edition 2006]
ISBN 9781906413255
Length 167 pages
Format paperback
Book Series The first in a series to feature Leo Caldas
Source I bought it

Books of the Month – July 2010

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That was Then

July was a month of reading highs and lows for me. Undoubtedly my favourite book for the month (and the year so far) was Adrian Hyland’s Gunshot Road. I know I have become a bit of a broken record but it really is a beautifully written ripping yarn and I encourage everyone to read it. Honourable mentions go to

  • Deon Meyer’s Thirteen Hours (a brilliant thriller with heart and humour on top of great action)
  • Sulari Gentill’s A Few Right Thinking Men (Australian historical fiction combining politics, social commentary and a puzzle in a most satisfactory way)
  • Teresa Solana’s A Not So Perfect Crime (a deliciously funny Spanish tale of brothers, justice and disillusioned left-wingers)

I finished another 8 books besides these but there were a couple of duds and another couple I haven’t found time to review yet.

New Additions

I somehow managed to acquire twice the number of books that I read for the month which just means I’ll have to learn to read faster. Among these treasures are some I’m really looking forward to reading including these:

What to read next?

I’ve been a bit disgruntled and distracted lately so at present am after lighter reading. I plucked the first title in a new cosy series from my TBR pile (Riley Adams’ Delicious and Suspicious) this morning. After that I might tackle one of the political titles I added to my TBR pile after asking for recommendations from you all on what to read while #ausvotes. I have Margaret Truman’s Murder at the Kennedy Center (thanks Margot) which looks like it might be light and political at the same time.

And then I’ll need to pay attention to my two remaining challenges for the year. I’m going to read James Thompson’s Snow Angels for the Scandinavian Reading Challenge (it’s set in Finland) and Charolotte Jay’s Beat Not The Bones (set in Papua New Guinea) for the Global Reading Challenge.

And all the while I’ll be plodding through R J Ellory’s A Simple Act of Violence in audio format. The book won the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award in July this year but at the moment I am struggling to understand why. In audio format the book is 18 hours long and feels every minute of it. I have so far (hour 7+) found it slow going and not terribly compelling. About the best I can say is that it “will do” as accompaniment to the dullest of my housework activities.

Chart of the Month

I’ve not got an actual chart this month but a couple of numbers:

$738.11

Is the amount I spent on all the books I read (including DNFs) in the first 6 months of this year. I only bought 58 of the 85 books but if I average the cost out across all the books read my hobby has cost me an average of $8.68 per book or roughly $1.24 per hour of reading entertainment (I’ve used an average of 7 hours reading time per book).

This is to be compared with

$1,914

which is a rough estimate of the amount I would have spent if I’d bought all 58 purchased books in Australian bookshops. It’s actually a quite conservative estimate of $33 per book because while I might have scored the odd $24 bargain I would have paid $45-50 per audio book (there are 28 of those) and would probably have incurred some hefty special order fees for some of the translated fiction I like to read (one book I ordered from Book Depository for $9.18 would have cost me $53 to ‘special order’ locally).

That’s why I don’t shop in Australian bookstores.