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easy to read
bit too easy to put down?
witty nonetheless
bit too easy to put down?
witty nonetheless
Ease Reading-Find Your Next Favorite Book
Aberystwyth Noir #3
The Unbearable Lightness Of Being In Aberystwyth
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Book by Pryce, Malcolm
259 pages, Paperback
First published January 1,2005
This edition
- Format
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259 pages, Paperback
- Published
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January 1, 2005 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- ISBN
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9780747577126
- ASIN
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0747577129
- Language
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English
About the author
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Malcolm Pryce is a British author, mostly known for his noir detective novels.
Born in Shrewsbury, England, Pryce moved at the age of nine to Aberystwyth, where he later attended Penglais Comprehensive School before leaving to do some travelling. After working in a variety of jobs. including BMW assembly-line worker in Germany, hotel washer-up, "the world's worst aluminium salesman", and deck hand on a yacht in Polynesia, Pryce became an advertising copywriter in London and Singapore. He is currently resident in Oxford.
Pryce writes in the style of Raymond Chandler, but his novels are incongruously set on the rainswept streets of an alternate universe version of the Welsh seaside resort and university town of Aberystwyth. The hero of the novels is Louie Knight, the best private detective in Aberystwyth (also the only private detective in Aberystwyth), who battles crime organised by the local Druids, investigates the strange case of the town's disappearing youths, and gets involved in its burgeoning film industry, which produces What The Butler Saw movies.
Born in Shrewsbury, England, Pryce moved at the age of nine to Aberystwyth, where he later attended Penglais Comprehensive School before leaving to do some travelling. After working in a variety of jobs. including BMW assembly-line worker in Germany, hotel washer-up, "the world's worst aluminium salesman", and deck hand on a yacht in Polynesia, Pryce became an advertising copywriter in London and Singapore. He is currently resident in Oxford.
Pryce writes in the style of Raymond Chandler, but his novels are incongruously set on the rainswept streets of an alternate universe version of the Welsh seaside resort and university town of Aberystwyth. The hero of the novels is Louie Knight, the best private detective in Aberystwyth (also the only private detective in Aberystwyth), who battles crime organised by the local Druids, investigates the strange case of the town's disappearing youths, and gets involved in its burgeoning film industry, which produces What The Butler Saw movies.
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Community Reviews
Rating(3.8 / 5.0, 60 votes)
5 stars
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60 reviews All reviews
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This series is getting better every time.
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The relationship between 1940's classic detective setting and modern day Aberystwyth sometimes sits a little uneasy, but overall this has just the right mix of dark film noir moments and light comedy moments.
A good book for those who enjoy classic murder mysteries and detective fiction, it takes a wry look at the genre without laughing at it. A good addition to the set.
A good book for those who enjoy classic murder mysteries and detective fiction, it takes a wry look at the genre without laughing at it. A good addition to the set.
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I love all the Aberystwyth books but is it my imagination, or is there more "noir" and existentialist angst and less humour than in the earlier ones? This one seemed genuinely sad all the way through, as though the author has given in to the feeling of futility.
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Another dark tale of life in a very different Aberystwyth from the one I lived in as a student. Myfanwy is now catatonic and disappears leading to a long and involved mystery.
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This book is a 'delight' from start to finish (despite the violence) - in my view, the best in the series so far.... Pryce is unafraid to write about anything we know of in this world and beyond and he writes in such a way that he makes you laugh and cry at the same time. It helps if you recognise the cultural references (which I very much enjoyed). A gem of a book.
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I picked this up in Prague and finally got around to reading it. I gather that it's the third in a best-selling series, and while one can often jump into a series midway, this time I was really a bit baffled. Before long I did grasp that these are bizarre and comic noir novels set in a parallel-world version of Wales, but all the same I was often unsure whether I ought to know something from an earlier book in the series, didn't recognize a product or practice from British culture, or what. It's inventive, zany, and makes playful use of poetry, while at times sounding somewhat like a Dylan Thomas short story (the style is usually compared to Raymond Chandler's, but I'd say only if you mixed Chandler with Thomas and threw in Jasper Fforde to boot). I wasn't really satisfied with the book but it was strange and original enough that I'd like to try starting at the beginning of the series.
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I've reviewed earlier books in the series and will gladly admit that the fact that I get a boost of nostalgia when reading about Aberystwyth is a huge part of the enjoyment I get from these books. However, I do enjoy Pryce's style - particularly his use of the unexpected and slightly humorous simile.
These books are easy to read, gentle fun and mildly amusing throughout.
These books are easy to read, gentle fun and mildly amusing throughout.
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