Coffin Road
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Description
This is one of the most abysmally poorly written books I've come across in a long time. I always knew the plot would be far fetched and I've read and watched enough crime fiction and drama to accept things that are hugely unlikely in the name of entertainment, but... The only clue is a well-thumbed Ordnance Survey map of Harris, with a route sketched out in marker pen. Locals call it the Coffin Road and Neal and his neighbour Sally follow it the next day. The hidden beehives they discover seem familiar to Neal – but what are they doing there? And do they have any bearing on his past life? He has apparently been posing as an author, writing a book about the nearby Flannan Isles, but a search of Neal’s laptop unearths a Word document containing no words whatsoever. What on earth is he doing in this remote spot? Peter May lives in France and his China Thrillers have received several nominations for awards in that country. In 2007 he won the Prix Intramuros. [12] This prize is unique in France as it is awarded by juries of readers made up of prisoners in French penitentiaries. The books under consideration are reduced to a shortlist of 6 finalists and the authors of the shortlisted books then have to travel to various French prisons to be interviewed by panels of detainees. [12] In 2007, May was the only non-French author in the shortlist. He received the prize at the annual Polar&Co literary festival in Cognac. [13]
In addition to the Lewis Trilogy, the Enzo Files, and the China Thrillers, Peter was also able to write six standalone novels including his very first novel, The Reporter published in 1978. In this novel, investigative reporter, Colin Anderson, unknowingly puts his life and the life of his assistant, Janis Sinclair, on the line when he begins to uncover what could very well be the biggest international sabotage of all time. Peter’s other standalone novels include Fallen Hero 1979, Hidden Faces 1981 and 1982, The Noble Path 1992 and 1993, Virtually Dead 2010, and Entry Island 2014. Television and Film Well there are two things behind it really. One, was this vision I had in my mind’s eye of a man washed up on a deserted beach. I very much knew what beach it was, it was a beach called Luskentyre on the Isle of Harris which has been voted the most beautiful beach in Britain and one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world, and it’s enormous. It’s winged by mountains and the sea is turquoise, it’s an extraordinary place. And I just had this image of a guy getting washed up there, coming to, and realising that he had no idea who he was, where he was or how he’d got there. And that was the vision that I had for the opening of the book.These three aspects come together brilliantly, working together to slowly unfold the main mystery of the book. Parts reminded me of the first China thriller, in the way there was something much larger than any of the individual characters at play, but it was far from a carbon copy of the book. In questa storia i misteri e le domande, a cui non seguono risposte adeguate, si susseguono incessantemente, creando una bella atmosfera fatta di suspense, rivelazioni e colpi di scena a più livelli. That sums up how I felt through much of the book. Wet and cold! This part of the world is known for some challenging weather, so it’s no surprise that it’s a feature here. A man washes up on a beach in the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides and has no idea who he is. All'io narrante di Neal, infatti, si alternano capitoli in terza persona in cui si muovono gli altri (non molti) personaggi. Personaggi, tra l'altro, tutti caratterizzati molto bene, ma Karen... quanto mi è piaciuta Karen... che ragazza determinata, che carattere, quanto coraggio!
Peter May has become well recognized for his work both as a novelist and in film and television. His very first award was the Fraser Award in 1973 for being the Scottish Young Journalist of the Year. In 1996, Machair was nominated for the Best Drama Serial Award at the 17th International Celtic Film and Television Festival. Entry Island, Peter May's first book after the Lewis Trilogy, won the Deanstons Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2014, [31] the UK national prize, the Specsavers ITV Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year 2014 [32] and the French Trophée 813 for the Best Foreign Crime Novel of the year 2015. [33] The book is partly set on a remote island in modern-day Canada and partly set on the Isle of Lewis 150 years earlier during the Highland Clearances. I particularly liked the man who washed up on the beach with no memory. A man who apparently called himself Neal but who—as he sets about rediscovering his life—now realises he was a fraud. And perhaps worse. Neal’s our main narrator and perhaps that’s why I identified most with him. I’m not sure of the scientific veracity of Neal’s memory loss as described in the novel (as dissociative amnesia), but it was interesting that he remembered how to do many things without knowing how he knew how to do them. If that makes sense. Le Telegramme newspaper feature about Peter May winning Grand Prix". Letelegramme.fr. 25 May 2012 . Retrieved 12 May 2015. His latest novel, Coffin Road came as a bit of a surprise as it grabbed me from the get-go. Coffin Road
Comments
Grand Prix des Lecteurs du Télégramme [43] (2012) L'Homme de Lewis (The Lewis Man) winner of the Prix des Lecteurs du Télégramme, 10,000 Euro Readers' Prize of French daily newspaper. [44] May, Peter (5 November 2013). "A Man of Letters Amongst His Books". Polaroidblipfoto.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015 . Retrieved 18 January 2016. When I took up with crime fiction, I assumed some of the same good things would be at play as in “serious” fiction. I frequently find it is not. Take Coffin Road by Peter May. He uses one of the saddest tropes in fiction or drama: “I have to know.” In this case it’s Neal –or is it? He was washed up on shore in the Hebrides and has no memory. He must find out who he is, for he soon discovers a dead body. Is he the killer? A teenage girl lies in her Edinburgh bedroom, desperate to discover the truth about her scientist father's suicide. Two years on, Karen Fleming still cannot accept that he would wilfully abandon her. She does not yet know his secret. French Literary Prizes – Prix Ancres Noires des Lecteurs". Lesandresnoies.com . Retrieved 9 February 2011.
For the most part the characters are new, though the island copper does make a return appearance. This time the story focuses on a man who stumbles from the sea one wild and windy night. He’s soaked through, desperately cold and somewhat beaten up. Moreover, he can’t remember what happened to him or even who he is; he’s lost all memory of his history and his identity. As the story develops we get to experience his reactions to his circumstances real-time and through his eyes. It’s pretty well done, though I couldn’t help wondering why he remembered how to do certain things yet was he was unable to recall any details at all regarding his life to date. Is loss of memory this selective? Maybe, but I found it a bit distracting. May touches on some interesting and very topical themes: the importance of bees in the world’s ecosystems; the devastating effect of reputedly harmless pesticides; the power of the large, multi-national agrochemical companies; and the concealment of unfavourable research results. May’s love of the Outer Hebrides is apparent in his wonderfully evocative descriptions: “…I can see the rain falling from it in dark streaks that shift between smudges of grey-blue light and occasional flashes of watery sunshine that burn in brief patches of polished silver on the surface of the sea” Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year". Harrogateinternationalfestivals.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 . Retrieved 10 July 2013.
ENTRY ISLAND wins French Literary Award
May, Peter (21 May 2016). "China Thrillers New Editions". Maypeter.com . Retrieved 27 December 2016. Another man lies dead from a head bashing in a small chapel at a lighthouse on Eilean Mor. Detective Sergeant George Gunn is sent from Stornoway on Isle of Lewis to investigate who the dead man is and what he was doing on the uninhabited island and who would want him dead. No small task with no ID on the murder victim. His only lead is the identification of a man seen fleeing the island by a tourist boat captain.
Even when he does learn a name, it fits like borrowed clothes. The more he discovers, he starts to wonder if he really wants to know who he once was. Then you have Neal’s lover. Now who is she? And what are all those bee stings about? Why, let’s have some excruciating exposition to explain and how a Swiss agribusiness is ruining the world for future tattooed, multiply pierced, dyed hair, promiscuous, ignorant wee lasses. Coffin Road sits around the midline in terms of where it sits on my list of favourite Peter May books. It isn’t quite the Lewis trilogy, but I liked it more than the Enzo Files. It was better than Runaway, yet it wasn’t quite Entry Island. Middle ground. Of course, middle ground for Peter May is still higher than my average middle ground. Worth a read if you’re a Peter May fan; a good starting point if you’re new to his work but not the first book I would direct you towards. A man stands bewildered on a deserted beach on the Hebridean Isle of Harris. He cannot remember who he is. The only clue to his identity is a folded map of a path named the Coffin Road. He does not know where this search will take him.My second read of Peter May's books after reading The Man With No Face, this looks a good story, how will it hold up? I could read Peter May just to enjoy his descriptions of the various islands in Scotland. I can feel the wind whipping around my face and see the beauty of the countryside. I feel like I am actually with the characters as they live their lives on the unique, stunning islands they call home. The Killing Room (Les Disparues) movie to be produced by French production company, French Connection in partnership with Korean Dream Capture Studios [39] Action to be transferred from Shanghai, China to Seoul, South Korea. I wish all of my Goodreads’ friends a wonderful Holiday whether you are celebrating the Thanksgiving Day in the US or not. Best wishes to all. French Literary Prizes – Prix des Lecteurs du Télégramme". Letelegramme.com . Retrieved 20 June 2010.
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