Reviews for The Blind Man of Seville

The average rating for The Blind Man of Seville based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-06-23 00:00:00 Joe Black I first read a Javier Falcón thriller thirteen years ago, it was book three in the series - yes, I seldom seem to start at the beginning. I then read book four a few years later. I know enjoyed them both (I can tell by the fact I rated them both four stars) but I can now recall very little about them. But I clearly decided it was worth going back to the beginning of the series as I ordered a copy of book one. It's been sat on my bookshelf, still in its cellophane wrapping, for about ten years. About time I got to it then! The first thing I noted is that it's very Spanish. Set in the city of Seville, the text is peppered with words spoken in the local language - sometimes translated, sometimes not. I didn't find this off-putting, it just seemed to me that it added a level of authenticity and local flavour to the tale. Falcon (a Chief Inspector) is called to attend the scene of a gruesome murder. At least, it looks like a murder except on closer inspection it seems that the man had been forced to witness a horror which had caused him to beat himself to death by repeatedly mashing his head against a protrusion on the tall backed chair he'd been strapped to. What on earth could have brought about such an extreme reaction? Falcón himself is going through what seems to be the beginnings of a nervous breakdown. His exposure to the scene sets off a series of physical reactions he's not experienced before and it's clear that there are things in his own personal life that are playing heavily on his mind. His split from his wife and the loss of his father, a famous painter who died two years ago, are bubbling away inside his head. All of this isn't helped by the fact that he's now living in the house his father left to him, complete with a locked room regarding which his father had left explicit instructions that everything inside should be destroyed. Falcón hasn't plucked up the courage to enter this room yet. And now there is an additional matter to consider, the man whose death he is investigating may have had a connection to his own father. They'd both lived in Tangier at the same time, years ago when Falcón was very young, and it's quite likely that they knew each other. This in itself wouldn't be such a significant discovery if it wasn't for the fact that it's prompted a number of foggy memories relating to the loss of his mother at an early age. What a tangled web. As he rattles around in the sprawling, multi-roomed mansion that's now his home he finally plucks up the courage to enter 'the room'. Inside, amongst other things, he finds a series of journals written by his father. The journals tell of a life lived as a fighter who served with the Spanish Legion, then later as a painter in Tangier. Sections from the journals are then interspersed with the story of Falcon's current life and the ongoing investigation. The entries from the journal are shocking and explicit for reasons I wont go into, but needless to say they do little to settle Falcón's dodgy mental state. It's gripping stuff as the reader is now effectively teased through the passage of two separate stories, albeit stories that have linkages that are only slowly evolving. The characters here are brilliantly drawn and interaction and relationships are developed and explored with an expert's touch. And as the story rocks along I'm trying to piece together the loose ends to see just how it all knits together. This is the type and calibre of book to take over my life from first page to last, an absolute tour de force. The mix of a compelling crime story together with writing that's the equal of any literary experience I've had in the past few years make this book certain to be amongst the best I'll read this year, or perhaps one of my favourite reads of all times. I'm now desperate to read book two and equally keen to re-explore books three and four. Superb. Footnote At the end of the book the author explains that in developing the story he spent three months writing the journals found by Falcón. At that time, he wasn't sure quite how they'd be fed into the narrative but it helped him in his development of the character of Falcón's father. Ultimately, he used excerpts from these diaries in the book but he's made the full set available via the link I've supplied below. This most certainly shouldn't be read in advance of reading the book but definitely makes fascinating reading thereafter.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-11-30 00:00:00 Benjamin Curtis I must confess that, when I dove into the Blind Man of Seville, I did it primarily for the narrative setting and expected it to be an indulgent but superficial detective story of almost "pulp" quality. A few chapters in, and I quickly realized how wrong I was -- this is a rich, complex and intricately woven tale that brings the best of historical fiction, thriller and detective fiction together in delightful and delicious fashion. Many detective writers are adept, spinning text that is tightly bound and then rushes from page to page, pulling the reader along with it --- often just being along for the ride is fun and joy enough. Wilson is an adept writer in this vein, for sure, but is surprisingly poetic and vivid in his style. The Blind Man of Seville is refreshingly elaborate for a detective story; the pathways of discovery revolve not just around crime solving, but also a deep and personal psychological exploration of the protagonist and his historical father. Wilson crafts a compelling and seductive picture of Seville, conjuring images that blend Moorish mystery with the vibrant heat of a buzzing Spanish city. His treatment of post-WWI Tangiers and Morocco belong in a class of their own as excellent historical fiction. It is probably worthy of four stars, in reality, but it so pleasantly surprised me -- and spurned me to the next installment in the series -- that I gave it top rating.