| Title | : | Death of a Century: A Novel of the Lost Generation |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1628727551 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781628727555 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 280 |
| Publication | : | First published June 2, 2015 |
Unanswered questions pile up in the wake of a violent night: Gresham lies dead in his home; a manuscript he had just completed has gone missing; three Frenchmen have been killed in a car wreck less than a mile from Gresham’s home; and a trunk full of Gresham’s clothes sits neatly packed in his bedroom. When Henry discovers a one-way ticket reserved in his friend’s name aboard a steamship to France, he assumes Gresham’s identity and slips away from the grasp of the town sheriff to pursue the truth about his friend’s death. In Paris, he becomes a hunted man. To clear his name he must find Gresham’s murderer while evading his own demise and discover the secret revealed in the lost manuscript. In the process, with the help of other shattered expat veterans living in Paris, he finds hope in a world irrevocably altered by war. With cameos from Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein, Death of a Century is at once a playful romp that brings the Paris of the Lost Generation to life and a compassionate story of the enduring impact of war on a generation.
Death of a Century: A Novel of the Lost Generation Reviews
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Good not great.
A rather formulaic murder mystery without much mystery. Hitchcockian: the wrong man; the macguffin; on the run from the cops...
Read it for the history and aftermath of World War I. -
I read a lot of historical mystery fiction, but most of it from earlier eras. By Paul C. Doherty, for example. This one sounded interesting so I got it and I was not disappointed. A lot of murders, gangsters following the lead character, chases through Paris of the 1920s, etc.
A few small criticisms: At times, when reading a paragraph, I thought, "Wow, this almost sounds like literature, not a mystery novel" .. at other times, I felt it was simply over-written; too much imagery for this type of book. (Another reviewer commented about some of the "ponderous and self-conscious language ... "some very nice passages next to overblown melodrama"; I agree, although this was not constantly throughout the book, of course.)
Also, why would Joe take off for Paris instead of staying, hiring a lawyer, and defending himself from the charge hanging over his head? (Not enough action in that type of situation, I suppose.) He is more motivated to solve a mystery about the death than to defend himself. That did not seem credible.
Otherwise, I would certainly recommend this novel for the action component, for the atmosphere in France of the 1920s, the characters' vivid reminiscences of World War I, and the "shell shock" (PTSD) that they suffer: from mild to serious. The reminiscences of battles are often very well written, when not overdone (melodramatic). I hope Robinson plans to write more books in this genre... perhaps continuing this as a series. -
Interesting but odd. I loved the setting, the history and the period detail. And the characters were a good collection. The depiction of the World War I soldier's experience felt grim but realistic. But the writing was hard to warm too. Fairly ponderous and self-conscious language - a better editor would have helped. Word repetitions, odd turns of phrase, misused words, etc. Plus some very nice passages next to overblown melodrama. But not without promise.
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Read this for a Historical Novel Society feature article on WWI. If you read the article, you will notice the absence of any accolades for Robinson's writing.
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/da... -
Solid but not great. The depiction of Paris and discussion of the horrors of WWI are good, but the hard-boiled (there are almost no female characters, and the minor female character is two-dimensional) noir wore on me. There is also a coincidence at the end that really made my eyes roll.
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It read like a noir film. Little dry but such an amazing insight into the WWI generation. The mystery itself wasn't extremely compelling but the novel transports you to another time. A good, contemplative read with little bursts of intrigue.
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Excellent this guy can write. A bit rough in spots but I am pretty darn impressed
