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Title: The Wailing Wind CD by Tony Hillerman, Guidall George ISBN: 0-06-009258-0 Publisher: HarperAudio Pub. Date: 07 May, 2002 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 6 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.96 (79 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Back in stride, the master
Comment: Tony Hillerman finds his stride again after the stumbling in Hunting Badger. A mystery that entangles lost gold mines, wailing ghosts, Navajo sacred places, infidelity and confidence games, The Wailing WInd brings Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee together again. Leaphorn is retired but insatiably curious about a murder and disappearance that seem to be linked to a new killing. Chee and his new (and let us hope permanent) love interest, Officer Bernadette Manuelito, sift through the clues to find a killer and, incidentally, a basis for their own relationship.
The novel is fast and fun. Hillerman includes his tradmark ethnic insights, such as the hilarious scene when Jim and Bernie stumble into an interview between a Navajo singer and the FBI agent in charge. Chee weaves his own simultaneous interview of the medicine man into the fabric of the "technical assistance" he is providing to the FBI's inept translator.
If the last few pages get a bit blurry about motivations and character, that is a quibble no more germane than complaining about the meandering pace of a sweet old uncle who is a great storyteller. The twists and turns of the plot are a pleasure, anticipated or not.
Non-fans may not enjoy this one. If you haven't read any of the Chee or Leaphorn books, read Skinwalkers and A Thief of Time, to get a sense of the context and power of the series. (And do not miss the PBS Mystery Theatre dramatization of Skinwalkers this fall.)
Hillerman fans will cheer for Bernie Manuelito, chuckle over Joe's discreet intimacy with his "friend" Louise Bourbonette, and enjoy this new visit to a place--imaginary or not--where Anglo and Indian co-exist in harmony if not without conflict, the best of both races operating with mutual respect, and a crowd of people, men and women, we have learned to admire, respect, and love.
Rating: 4
Summary: Decidedly Hard-Boiled Hillerman
Comment: At one point in "The Wailing Wind", Joe Leaphorn muses on a Raymond Chandler story he once read. That's rather appropriate as this book is certainly one of Hillerman's more hard-boiled books. Much like Chandler, it meditates on the human condition, finding more dark than light, and offering at best, a few shreds of hope for all those participants who make it to the end.
Of all of Hillerman's books, this is his darkest. This is not to say that his previous ones are Agatha Christie drawing room cozies. They all had their share of grimey street-level detective work, and some have left the protaganists with dim world-views. But let's face it, the Navajo reservation setting, the cultural trappings, and the very genial and lovable protagonists in the form of Chee and Leaphorn are the real attraction to these books, and why they stand out among mystery writers, not their dark atomosphere and cynicism.
But with "The Wailing Wind", Hillerman has incorporated darker elements. Perhaps Leaphorn should have thought of Ross MacDonald, as this book has much in common with MacDonald's work. Here, a murder, which Leaphorn investigated long ago, continues to reach out and damage lives in the present, as Chee and Leaphorn desperately try to keep things from falling apart, and inevitably failing. The titular wailing wind is the key to many a downfall, leaving all parties (including the reader)afloat in a sort of moral morass, like the best of Chandler, Hammet, and MacDonald.
Hillerman has touched on deeper elements before in his work (the ambigous ending of "Dancehall of the Dead" springs to mind), but never with so much sharpness. This is definitely a book to remember, and a reminder why I enjoy Hillerman so much. Eagerly awaiting the next one.
Rating: 3
Summary: Short Winded
Comment: I didn't care too much for this book, it just didn't meet my expectations. Some reviewers have likened the lightweight storyline to the Hardy Boys; I suggest that Jessica Fletcher could be substituted for Leaphorn or Chee, and a quirky sidekick for Manuelito, and you've got a Southwestern Murder, She Wrote.
First off, the book is very short; initially I thought I had picked up a large-print edition - the type is so big - but the Amazon summary matches the ISBN. If more time and space had been devoted to telling this story, all these problems could have been eliminated easily.
Second, because it's so short character development takes place in quantum leaps. For instance, Officer Manuelito considers a career change, commenting that her mother says "there's just too much evil in this business ... too much sorrow." Nice sentiments, certainly, but it overlooks the fact that a) only Manuelito's awareness of the evil/sorrow has changed, not that there's any more of it in society than there has ever been (and, indeed, most of the evil and sorrow in this book has been waiting decades to be discovered); and b) her reaction to this awareness is to run from it, which only gives evil and sorrow that much more power over the innocent. Granted, people don't always behave logically, but this smacks of Hillerman having developed a relationship into a corner and needing to take drastic measures to get out of it quickly.
Third, the folklore and myth in this book is trivial. The "Wailing Wind" or "la Llorana" connection is more in line with a belagaana ghost story (it even takes place at Halloween); the final Zuñi anecdote was pretty much just a punch line. The myths and legends in Hillerman's books usually provide color and metaphor for the events in the book. Here they don't, and that's unfortunate.
Fourth, with so much of the story being told in flashbacks, Hillerman has some pretty clumsy segues. You can almost see the page go all wavy and hear harp music in the background. The broad details of the past would have been better dealt with in a prologue (a court scene would have worked well), with specifics and discrepancies coming out in the body of the work.
This is not to say that there's nothing to like in the book. The first half in particular is handled very well. I especially liked how Chee and Manuelito carried out independent investigations to discover the location of a murder scene. He used U.S. Forest Service data, she used botanical knowledge, both arrived at the same conclusion - that's nice detective work. I also liked the new FBI agent; despite his handicaps of not knowing the language and having the tribal police working against him as much as with him, he did do a good job of arresting the right people. The suggestion that the Chee/Manuelito angst may soon be coming to an end is a welcome development (if only Leaphorn and Bourbonette would finalize things, too).
It's not that The Wailing Wind is a bad book, but it is pretty mediocre. It's like the fast-food "chipotle" craze - you get a sense of the Southwestern flavor you want, but excellence has been sacrificed for expedience. Go ahead and read the book; it's okay, but don't expect it to fully satisfy your appetite.
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Title: The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman ISBN: 006019443X Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Hunting Badger by Tony Hillerman ISBN: 0061097861 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 01 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The First Eagle by Tony Hillerman ISBN: 0061097853 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Listening Woman by Tony Hillerman ISBN: 0061000299 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 15 June, 1990 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman ISBN: 0061092886 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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