“The Cuckoo’s Calling” by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) – Return to Noir
After getting plenty of good reviews, J.K. Rowling (author of Harry Potter for those who don’t know or don’t care about her) came out and admitted that it is indeed her book and she used a pseudonym.
Why did she do it? Apparently, she became tired of all the hype and expectations that come along with her name and wanted to publish something that would be scrutinized on its own and not in relation to her other works.
In any case, The Cuckoo’s Calling is a far cry from the children’s books written by Rowling (yes, I know Harry Potter can also cater to adults, let’s not get into that argument right now), following Cormoran Strike a military veteran from Afghanistan who, after losing his leg to a mine, came back home and started a career as a private detective.
Unfortunately, Cormoran isn’t the most popular guy on the block, and it seem as if he is about to go under when a man by the name of John Bristow comes in through the door. He asks Cormoran to look into the case of his sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry known as the Cuckoo, who a few months ago mysteriously fell to her death.
Though the police ruled it a suicide, Bristow knows there is more going on beneath the surface. Cormoran accepts and very soon finds himself sucked into a world of cruel millionaires, sleazy designers, desperate rock-star wannabes, one where pleasure and delusion rule over all.
Though I did read this book after Rowling announced her involvement with it, I should note it did not impact my decision one bit. As a matter of fact, considering I’m not a Harry Potter fan, buying this book was a bit like a leap of faith. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest with this detective mystery which returns to an older and less common style, the Noir.
Though some may argue against it, I feel like it has all the elements from which classic Noir detective novels are made from. The protagonist is down on his luck and has suffered through much, the mystery revolves around a death made to look like a suicide, an interesting take on the femme fatale concept through the Cuckoo, and the case takes Cormoran into the dark and seedy underbelly of the city.
As far as the atmosphere goes, Rowling did an excellent job with imagery and descriptions, actually making you feel as if you are in an old, black and white movie with jazz playing in the background.
It would be fair to say that I was very impressed with the ending twist; even avid mystery fans such as myself have a hard time figuring it out.
On the whole, I had a great time reading the book and will definitely check out what Rowling has in store for adults.
 | Robert Galbraith (pen name of J.K. Rowling)Personal site Robert Galbraith is, as it happens, a pen name used by J.K. Rowling as she tried to stray away from children’s stories and go for something more adult-oriented. As of now, the name was only used for the novel The Cuckoo’s Calling. |
I wasn't very thrilled about The Casual Vacancy, JKR's entree into adult fiction. In fact, it wasn't my thing at all. I couldn't even finish it.
ReplyDeleteBut with The Cuckoo's Calling JKR's done it again. She's brought back the warmth I always associated with Hogwarts in this solid muggle detective story! The writing is BRILLIANT- with lines I found myself highlighting and smiling at. I love the quirkiness in her descriptions and how well fleshed out the characters were. Their accents, their airs, the mannerisms- all so beautifully captured, just like she did in Potter!
The main character is this stand-up guy whose back story reminded me a lot of Dr. Watson from Sherlock Holmes! His secretary, Robin, made a great partner-in-crime-solving(?)! I do hope we see more and more of her. YES, there is more. This is only the first book in a series and I'm already waiting for the next book! It's also a pretty good mystery. I couldn't solve this whodunnit till the very end of the book when I was surprised to find out who the murderer was.
I guess the bottomline is this:
The Cuckoo's Calling, plot-wise, is NOTHING like Harry Potter. It's an adult detective novel, for godssake. BUT it comes closest to being as warm, as amazing, as engrossing and as much of a treat as a Potter novel! The characters leap out of the page! Even better, since it's an adult novel, the characters don't hold back at all! The mystery is tightly knit, hard to solve! Descriptions of food- even if it's Pot Noodle and sticky toffee pudding rather than pumpkin juice, chocolate frogs and treacle tart- will make your mouth water. When you near the end, you will feel yourself slowing down, not because you're bored but because you don't want it to end.
An all too familiar feeling, isn't it?
Hey Dosti, thanks for adding your in-depth review to mine, it's always good to give people a second opinion before the decide to invest themselves in a book. I agree with virtually everything you said, and just like you, I'm really looking forward to the next entry in the series... I'm just a bit worried that after such a great novel for adults the expectations towards Rowling will rise a bit too high for her, which is pretty much what she wanted to avoid when using a pseudonym.
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