Synopses & Reviews
In the debut crime novel from the Booker-winning author, a Dublin pathologist follows the corpse of a mysterious woman into the heart of a conspiracy among the city's high Catholic society It's not the dead that seem strange to Quirke. It's the living. One night, after a few drinks at an office party, Quirke shuffles down into the morgue where he works and finds his brother-in-law, Malachy, altering a file he has no business even reading. Odd enough in itself to find Malachy there, but the next morning, when the haze has lifted, it looks an awful lot like his brother-in-law, the esteemed doctor, was in fact tampering with a corpse--and concealing the cause of death.
It turns out the body belonged to a young woman named Christine Falls. And as Quirke reluctantly presses on toward the true facts behind her death, he comes up against some insidious--and very well-guarded--secrets of Dublin's high Catholic society, among them members of his own family.
Set in Dublin and Boston in the 1950s, the first novel in the Quirke series brings all the vividness and psychological insight of Booker Prize winner John Banville's fiction to a thrilling, atmospheric crime story. Quirke is a fascinating and subtly drawn hero, Christine Falls is a classic tale of suspense, and Benjamin Black's debut marks him as a true master of the form.
Review
"[An] enjoyable crime novel....A good story, and gorgeous writing." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Christine Falls is deeply atmospheric....[C]rime-fiction fans who favor garden-variety mysteries may find this complex and deeply ruminative novel more than they bargained for." Booklist
Review
"Christine Falls is a triumph, of classical crime fiction, finely, carefully made, not a single false move or wrong word why oh why don't they write books like this anymore?" Alan Furst, bestselling author of Kingdom of Shadows
Review
"Leave it to an Irish novelist to nail down what's so scary about parentage, family and belonging." Los Angeles Times
Review
"Readers who enjoy a meaty, textured tale from a skillful novelist will be well satisfied." Seattle Times
Review
"Mr. Banville, a k a Mr. Black, makes his plot almost secondary to the haunted, richly developed characters who ricochet through this suspenseful but unhurried book, all of them full of secrets and all very much products of their time." Janet Maslin, New York Times
Synopsis
In the debut crime novel from the Booker-winning author, a Dublin pathologist follows the corpse of a mysterious woman into the heart of a conspiracy among the city's high Catholic society.
It's not the dead that seem strange to Quirke. It's the living.
One night, after a few drinks at an office party, Quirke shuffles down into the morgue where he works and finds his brother-in-law, Malachy, altering a file he has no business even reading. Odd enough in itself to find Malachy there, but the next morning, when the haze has lifted, it looks an awful lot like his brother-in-law, the esteemed doctor, was in fact tampering with a corpse and concealing the cause of death.
It turns out the body belonged to a young woman named Christine Falls. And as Quirke reluctantly presses on toward the true facts behind her death, he comes up against some insidious and very well-guarded secrets of Dublin's high Catholic society, among them members of his own family.
Set in Dublin and Boston in the 1950s, the first novel in the Quirke series brings all the vividness and psychological insight of Booker Prize winner John Banville's fiction to a thrilling, atmospheric crime story. Quirke is a fascinating and subtly drawn hero, Christine Falls is a classic tale of suspense, and Benjamin Black's debut marks him as a true master of the form.
Synopsis
Returning to the morgue where he works after an office party, Dublin pathologist Quirke stumbles across a body that should not have been there, a young woman named Christine Falls, as well as his brother-in-law, eminent pediatrician Malachy Griffin, altering a file to cover up the corpse's cause of death. By the Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea. 100,000 first printing.
Synopsis
In the debut crime novel from the Booker Prize-winning author, a Dublin pathologist follows the corpse of a mysterious woman into the heart of a conspiracy among the city's high Catholic society
Synopsis
The hero of Christine Falls, Quirke, is a surly pathologist living in 1950s Dublin. One night, after having a few drinks at a party, he returns to the morgue to find his brother-in-law tampering with the records on a young womans corpse. The next morning, when his hangover has worn off, Quirke reluctantly begins looking into the womans history. He discovers a plot that spans two continents, implicates the Catholic Church, and may just involve members of his own family. He is warned--first subtly, then with violence--to lay off, but Quirke is a stubborn man. The first novel in the Quirke series brings all the vividness and psychological insight of John Banvilles writing to the dark, menacing atmosphere of a first-class thriller.
Synopsis
It's not the dead that seem strange to Quirke. It's the living. One night, after a few drinks at an office party, Quirke shuffles down into the morgue where he works and finds his brother-in-law, Malachy, altering a file he has no business even reading. Odd enough in itself to find Malachy there, but the next morning, when the haze has lifted, it looks an awful lot like his brother-in-law, the esteemed doctor, was in fact tampering with a corpse--and concealing the cause of death.
It turns out the body belonged to a young woman named Christine Falls. And as Quirke reluctantly presses on toward the true facts behind her death, he comes up against some insidious--and very well-guarded--secrets of Dublin's high Catholic society, among them members of his own family.
Set in Dublin and Boston in the 1950s, the first novel in the Quirke series brings all the vividness and psychological insight of Booker Prize winner John Banville's fiction to a thrilling, atmospheric crime story. Quirke is a fascinating and subtly drawn hero, Christine Falls is a classic tale of suspense, and Benjamin Black's debut marks him as a true master of the form.
About the Author
Benjamin Black is the pen name of acclaimed author John Banville, who was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. His novels have won numerous awards, most recently the Man Booker Prize in 2005 for The Sea. He lives in Dublin.
Reading Group Guide
Discussion Questions
1. "In secret," the author writes, "Quirke prized his loneliness as a mark of some distinction." (pg. 12). What does Quirkes loneliness do for him? How does it make possible what he ultimately accomplishes in the story? Is Quirkes isolation part of what allows him to see the truth about the conspiracy around him?
2. What does Crawford mean when he says to Quirke that America is "the New World," that, "This is the place. Gods country." How are Ireland and America treated differently in the novel? How do these portrayals relate to the current America and Ireland?
3. Do the revelations about Quirke, Phoebe, and what he knew about their relationship change your perception of how he treated her earlier in the novel? Why do you think Quirke kept the secret so long of who her parents were? Was it the right decision?
4. Early in the novel, Quirke is thinking about his late wife Delia: "Perhaps he had cared for her more than
he knew, had cared for what she was, that is, and not just what she had been to him." How do these two different
types of caring come into play for other characters in the novel? Do you think they are always distinct
from each other? Are some people capable only of one or the other?
5. What do you think of the overall portrait of the Catholic Church that emerges from the novel? Did you find the conspiracy plausible? Did you feel sympathy for the nuns, the Staffords, and other less powerful figures who were complicit in it?
6. Consider the difference between Quirkes early childhood, first in a brutal orphanage and then in an adoptive home, and Mals, as the natural-born son of a wealthy father who loved him less than his brother. How do you think their respective childhoods can be connected to the decisions they make in their relationships in this story?
7. What role does social class play in the novel?
8. Why do you think Quirke sleeps with Rose? Is she right when she tells him, "Youre more like me than your precious Sarah. A cold heart and a hot soul…"?
9. What do you think drew Quirke and Sarah together initially? Do you think they were better off for having stayed apart throughout the years, despite an acknowledged love for each other?
10. Quirke realizes midway through the novel that as "Mr. Punch and fat Judy" were beating him, the prospect of his own death was insignificant, that "he had thought he was going to die and was surprised at how little he feared the prospect." Is this is a sign of bravery in Quirke, or despair, or both? Do you think his own life matters more or less to him by the end of the novel?
11. At the end of chapter 28 a nun says to Quirke, "From the little Ive seen of you, youre a good man, if only you knew it." Do you agree with her assessment? What does she mean by, "if only you knew it." Would knowing it change his behavior?
12. What do you imagine happening after the end of the book? How will Quirkes relationship to his family evolve, including to Sarah and Phoebe? Have the events in this story made him a happier man, a better man? Or have they changed him for the worse?
Discussion Questions
1. "In secret," the author writes, "Quirke prized his loneliness as a mark of some distinction." (pg. 12). What does Quirkes loneliness do for him? How does it make possible what he ultimately accomplishes in the story? Is Quirkes isolation part of what allows him to see the truth about the conspiracy around him?
2. What does Crawford mean when he says to Quirke that America is "the New World," that, "This is the place. Gods country." How are Ireland and America treated differently in the novel? How do these portrayals relate to the current America and Ireland?
3. Do the revelations about Quirke, Phoebe, and what he knew about their relationship change your perception of how he treated her earlier in the novel? Why do you think Quirke kept the secret so long of who her parents were? Was it the right decision?
4. Early in the novel, Quirke is thinking about his late wife Delia: "Perhaps he had cared for her more than
he knew, had cared for what she was, that is, and not just what she had been to him." How do these two different
types of caring come into play for other characters in the novel? Do you think they are always distinct
from each other? Are some people capable only of one or the other?
5. What do you think of the overall portrait of the Catholic Church that emerges from the novel? Did you find the conspiracy plausible? Did you feel sympathy for the nuns, the Staffords, and other less powerful figures who were complicit in it?
6. Consider the difference between Quirkes early childhood, first in a brutal orphanage and then in an adoptive home, and Mals, as the natural-born son of a wealthy father who loved him less than his brother. How do you think their respective childhoods can be connected to the decisions they make in their relationships in this story?
7. What role does social class play in the novel?
8. Why do you think Quirke sleeps with Rose? Is she right when she tells him, "Youre more like me than your precious Sarah. A cold heart and a hot soul…"?
9. What do you think drew Quirke and Sarah together initially? Do you think they were better off for having stayed apart throughout the years, despite an acknowledged love for each other?
10. Quirke realizes midway through the novel that as "Mr. Punch and fat Judy" were beating him, the prospect of his own death was insignificant, that "he had thought he was going to die and was surprised at how little he feared the prospect." Is this is a sign of bravery in Quirke, or despair, or both? Do you think his own life matters more or less to him by the end of the novel?
11. At the end of chapter 28 a nun says to Quirke, "From the little Ive seen of you, youre a good man, if only you knew it." Do you agree with her assessment? What does she mean by, "if only you knew it." Would knowing it change his behavior?
12. What do you imagine happening after the end of the book? How will Quirkes relationship to his family evolve, including to Sarah and Phoebe? Have the events in this story made him a happier man, a better man? Or have they changed him for the worse?