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I enjoyed this a lot. Banville writes very well - not your typical crime novel writing. His characters drive the novel, not the plot. Quirke is a pathologist - his brother Malachy is an OB surgeon. This is only one of the many differences between these two. Quirke works with the dead, Malachy the living. Recommended for anyone looking for a "literary" crime novel.
This is the first in a series of four at this point. I can't wait to read the next, "The Silver Swan," based on how much I loved this. The main character is a pathologist, Quirke, in Ireland. In this story, he is confronted with a dead young woman who had just given birth, and with what appears to be dishonesty in his own family. Quirke is a depressed sort of character who has taken some lumps in his life, and as the story progresses we find out what some of those lumps have been. The story moves between Ireland and the Irish side of Boston, and the locales are always beautifully described. Black, who is really John Banville, a Booker prize winner, is a fantastic writer and his descriptions of the scenes are amazing. In fact, this is the only thing that would draw me away from the story -- occasionally I had I go back to reread a passage because it was just so beautifully written. And, in a mystery, this would jar me out of the story a bit. It was easy to jump back in, however. This was a great book, and I look forward to reading the next three in the series.
I listened to this book on audio and I think I would have enjoyed it much more if I had read it. The storyline was very interesting and moved quickly. The reader was so monotone I felt like I was being hypnotized - so I am going to try reading the sequel and see if that works. If you like mysteries I would recommend giving this a try