|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
As she did in her absorbing U.S. debut, The Saturday Morning Murder: A Psychoanalytic Case , Israeli writer Gur follows Michael Ohayon, Superintendent of Criminal Investigations in Jersusalem, on the trail of murder set within a small, tightly structured community. Here, two professors in the Hebrew Literature Department at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem are killed on one weekend: young lecturer Iddo Dudai is poisoned in Eilat by carbon monoxide introduced into his scuba diving tanks, and Shaul Tirosh, Israel's most prized poet and head of the Literature Department, is fatally bludgeoned in his university office. The week before, Dudai, who had recently returned from a research trip to the States, had challenged Tirosh's critical views in a public seminar. Tirosh, remotely elegant and a known womanizer, had just ended a longtime and widely acknowledged liaison with the wife of his ardent supporter and colleague, Tuvia Shai, and had turned his attentions to Dudai's young wife. While unraveling the tangled personal and professional relationships that knit the victims and suspects (who are chiefly the members of the literature department), the scholarly Moroccan-born Ohayon finds himself drawn to Tirosh's poems, instinctively believing that they hold the key to the case. As he uncovers the diverse and profound betrayals that lie behind the crimes, Ohayon takes his first trip to the U.S., adjusts to an unwanted break from his married lover and oversees the interaction of his own colleagues. A complex mystery set in an unusual, well-developed milieu with a full cast of multi-dimensioned characters, Literary Murder is literary pleasure.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
The suspicious death of a scuba diver pulls Michael Ohayon, chief inspector of the Jerusalem police, into an unfamiliar world of high academicians, poets, and the petty (but sometimes fatal) spats and jealousies that run rampant in such a rarified atmosphere. The Moroccan-born Ohayon is a compassionate and considerate man and a relentless investigator, and he despises social and intellectual pretensions. When he rubs against the Israeli social and cultural elite, the sparks fly. Gur, a professor of literature in Jerusalem, knows academia well, and she uses it as a foil to illustrate the social and cultural tensions that permeate Israeli life. At the same time, she tells a fine detective yarn, keeping her cards well hidden until the end, deftly setting up the reader for twists, turns, and surprises. Jay Freeman
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Because it was led by Shaul Tirosh, the departmental seminar was being documented by the media. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Because it was led by Shaul Tirosh, the departmental seminar was being documented by the media. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Academic Lectures Meet Crime,
By Lottie L. Baker (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Literary Murder (Paperback)
Batya Gur's entrancing novel captivates readers with its rich plot and well-developed cast of lively characters. Gur masterfully intertwines the murder mystery genre with an academic genre of literary interpretation, allowing readers to understand her book on different levels. The murder plot itself is gripping from the beginning of the novel when two Hebrew University literature colleagues are found dead. Readers follow chief police inspector Michael Ohayon's painstaking procedure of discovering whom he can and cannot trust. The process of fathoming the mystery shows that everyone has secrets and lies, whether they are directly related to the murder or not. Emphasizing the constant tension of discerning truth from lies, Michael and his staff constantly rely on and refer to the polygraph machine, which indicates that nearly all witness testimonies are "inconclusive." The solution of the novel in fact reveals that false identities in fact lie at the center the mystery.The motivation behind the murders is perhaps more fascinating to the reader than the basic "whodunit" question; revealed at the book's conclusion, the reasoning and background behind the crimes shock readers more than the actual killers. In order to fully enjoy and appreciate the novel, readers must pay close attention to Gur's literary allusions and analogies throughout the plot. Gur interweaves academic lectures on the nature of poems and interpreting lectures within her murder mystery. Although readers may be tempted to skip over the academic speeches as seemingly unrelated to the mystery at hand, the lectures actually parallel, hint at, and comment on the mystery's solution. Connecting the literature professors' lectures on poetry with the reasoning behind the crimes allow readers to perceive a larger implication about the nature of art and its relative importance in the world.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Academic Lectures Meet Crime,
By Lottie L. Baker (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Literary Murder (Paperback)
Batya Gur's entrancing novel captivates readers with its rich plot and well-developed cast of lively characters. Gur masterfully intertwines the murder mystery genre with an academic genre of literary interpretation, allowing readers to understand her book on different levels. The murder plot itself is gripping from the beginning of the novel when two Hebrew University literature colleagues are found dead. Readers follow chief police inspector Michael Ohayon's painstaking procedure of discovering whom he can and cannot trust. The process of fathoming the mystery shows that everyone has secrets and lies, whether they are directly related to the murder or not. Emphasizing the constant tension of discerning truth from lies, Michael and his staff constantly rely on and refer to the polygraph machine, which indicates that nearly all witness testimonies are "inconclusive." The solution of the novel in fact reveals that false identities in fact lie at the center the mystery.The motivation behind the murders is perhaps more fascinating to the reader than the basic "whodunit" question; revealed at the book's conclusion, the reasoning and background behind the crimes shock readers more than the actual killers. In order to fully enjoy and appreciate the novel, readers must pay close attention to Gur's literary allusions and analogies throughout the plot. Gur interweaves academic lectures on the nature of poems and interpreting lectures within her murder mystery. Although readers may be tempted to skip over the academic speeches as seemingly unrelated to the mystery at hand, the lectures actually parallel, hint at, and comment on the mystery's solution. Connecting the literature professors' lectures on poetry with the reasoning behind the crimes allow readers to perceive a larger implication about the nature of art and its relative importance in the world.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Literally a Literary Murder,
By Brooke Bakun (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Literary Murder (Paperback)
The title embodies the text: quality literature combined with a murder mystery. When acclaimed professor Shaul Tirosh is found dead in his office the same weekend his young collegue, Iddo Dudai, has died in a scuba ï¿accident,ï¿ the quiet Hebrew University braces for intrusion and attention from the community and police. Chief investigator, Michael Ohayon, must decipher the clues to understand if the murder of Tirosh, a womanizer and popular icon known for his poetry, is at all linked to the death of Dudai. Tuvia Shair, Tiroshï¿s number one fan and friend, who so respects Tirosh that he allows for him to conduct an affair with his wife, is eventually placed on the suspect list. This quiet man driven by his passion for teaching and Tuviaï¿s poetry serves as an example of how the people in this area treat their icons and local celebrities. When it comes down to the solution to the murders, as in classic mysteries, the most crucial clue is uncovered at the start of the investigation but is mistakenly overlooked. The plot not only entertains but also is didactic, exploring a serious world of poetry and literature. Over the course of the text, Gur skillfully incorporates a class led by suspect Tuvia Shai in which an excellent discussion is led about the poem, ï¿Samsonï¿s Hair.ï¿ Beautifully and believably written, this section truly places readers in the culture and atmosphere of the fictional but representative Hebrew University and its scholars. The intertwining lives of the characters in the forms of friendships, romances, and affairs weaves a text full of vivid personas through which the Hebrew lifestyle and intellectual pursuit is well developed. In the policeï¿s view, several professors like Ariyeh Klein (recently returned from abroad), Tuvia Shai and University staff seem to be hiding something critical to the solution of the case. Who will be the murderer(s) and what has been the motive behind two such violent deaths? Ultimately, the ending is a surprise, relying more upon the affects of the literary community, copyright laws, and fame through writing than on the typical motive of revenge, hate, or accidental murder. Following Investigator Ohayon through the plot, the revelation he uncovers will have drastic effects upon the academics and ethics of literature while entertaining and drawing readers into a fast-paced and information filled Jerusalem.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
