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Product Description
Review
'Teresa Solana's second novel, makes you laugh so much the tears soon start to roll. Solana shoots from the hip: against the guardians of culture; against endogamy in universities; against journalists and the press; against conceited critics and writers. Nobody is spared. The writer is pitiless when handing out brickbats, but also generous with reminiscences and memory. The bloodhound Lluis Arquer, who helps the detective twins, is in homage to the detective by the same name created by Jaume Fuster. The reconstruction of the crime scene takes us back to Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot.A" El Pais
Product Description
Praise for Teresa Solana:
"Solana's excellent novel, set in the streets and parlors of Barcelona, offers both probing social commentary and an excellent crime story."—Booklist
"Solana's sparkling novel pokes sharp fun at Catalan politics, society and pretensions. The brothers bumble and stumble to the truth and hopefully to further adventures."—Publishers Weekly
Marina Dolç, media figure and writer of bestsellers, is murdered in at the Ritz in Barcelona on the night she wins an important literary prize. The killer has battered her to death with the trophy she has just won. The detective twins Borja and Eduard are plunged into the murky waters of the bookish Barcelona scene and need all their wit and skills of improvisation to solve this case of truncated literary lives.
As in A Not So Perfect Crime, Teresa Solana combines humor and roman noir in a critical portrait of contemporary society, in this case with writers as the protagonists. The murder trail leads to the most unlikely places in hilarious scenes worthy of Tom Sharpe, whether in the sausage-making town of Vic, the packed cells of the notorious Modelo prison, or a literary party where guests get high on loaded canapés.
Teresa Solana lives in Barcelona. Born in 1962, she studied philosophy and worked as a literary translator and essayist. She has written several novels kept quietly in her drawer. A Not So Perfect Crime, her first published title, won the 2007 Brigada 21 Prize for the best Catalan mystery novel.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wacky literary mystery, Mar 11 2011
By Patto - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Shortcut to Paradise (Paperback)
This is the second mystery featuring Eduard and Borja, totally dissimilar twins investigating crimes and misbehavior in Barcelona.Eduard is a plump, placid family man in love with his wife. His stylish brother Borja has assumed an aristocratic name, hangs out with rich people and has two girlfriends. Because Eduard is so lacking in elegance, Borja insists they keep their twinship a secret.
Their office is like a movie set, and their firm nonexistent for tax purposes. Lacking a detective license, they handle delicate inquiries for wealthy clients as "consultants."
Now they've been hired by a novelist's agent to clear him of a murder charge. He's been accused of killing another novelist in a drunken rage right after she won an award. You'll never guess how the twins solve the mystery!
Author Teresa Solana writes in Catalan, a language spoken in parts of Spain among other places. I'm grateful to Solana for making me aware of this language, which has been suppressed and is now enjoying a revival. Solana's characters are writing novels and poetry in Catalan.
And they're an astonishingly disagreeable bunch of backbiters! Only the murder victim, a writer of crass bestsellers, is a nice person.
For some reason, I'm always a bit put off when writers satirize the literary world. Too incestuous? But since nobody shares this prejudice of mine, I'm putting it aside in reviewing A Shortcut to Paradise.
Solana deserves high marks just for inventing her nonstop funny Barcelona twins. And there are other deeply amusing characters in this book too. Solana's comic genius is rare and wonderful.
Her first mystery, A Not So Perfect Crime, is quite perfect in my opinion. I strongly suggest reading it as a prelude to this book. Meanwhile, I hope the next mystery in the series is coming soon.
5.0 out of 5 stars
for lovers of catalonia and literature, Jun 21 2011
By simone "simone" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Shortcut to Paradise (Paperback)
I enjoyed this book for the satire of the literary world and the evocation of Catalonia. The way it savages the pretentiousness of academia and publishing is deeply amusing. If you know anything about the conflict/rivalry/discord between Spain and Catalonia you will appreciate the subtly mocking tone the author uses to acknowledge it. And the mild-mannered writer and high school teacher who ends up in prison and not only is mistaken for a cannibal but also kills his one friend there,a psychopathic murderer, with his poetry - priceless!
4.0 out of 5 stars
fun satire, April 5 2011
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Shortcut to Paradise (Paperback)
In Barcelona, fifty something bestselling author Marina Dolc wins the Sixth Edition of the Golden Apples Fiction Award. After gracefully receiving the misshapen fruit with a bite taken out on a Thasos base prize, Marina returns to the Ritz Hotel where she always stays. A late visitor arrives who she welcomes in her room though Marina is tired. The visitor picks up the statue and hammers her in the head with it. Her assassin leaves her dead with her prize next to her; a climax that comes from one of her novels.The Catalan police realize the victim welcomed her killer into her room. They arrest author Amadeu Cabestany, who knew the deceased and came in second for the prize. Although they insist they are not detectives, but only consultants, the brothers Eduard Martinez and Borja Masdeu are hired to prove the prime suspect is innocent. Using the same tactics they applied to solving A Not So Perfect Crime and to their usual adultery case, the siblings bluff their way from one clue to another as they improvise the script while interviewing the pretentious ostentatious literati world.
The second bumbling Martinez-Masdeu satire lampoons the cast of characters who make up the literary world though ostensibly Barcelona, but could be London, Melbourne, Singapore, New York or Toronto as well. The amusing story line is fast-paced as the siblings trip over clues while exposing the greats and the wannabes as egomaniacs without substance. Although some of the translation loses the Spanish essence of the cast, fans will enjoy this nod to Peter Falk's Colombo while endearingly mocking the hand that feeds Teresa Solana.
Harriet Klausner
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