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This book made me sad for days. It's the story of a boy who escapes from Nazi Germany with only his mysterious parrot. When the parrot gets stolen, it's up to the octogenarian detective next door to find out why.
Don't believe the book description, because however much they try to classify the book as a mystery, it really, really isn't. So what if the parrot is given to singing out long strings of numbers? It's a story about a Jewish boy who is taken out of a concentration camp during World War ...more
Don't believe the book description, because however much they try to classify the book as a mystery, it really, really isn't. So what if the parrot is given to singing out long strings of numbers? It's a story about a Jewish boy who is taken out of a concentration camp during World War ...more
The great virtue of this is it's easy to read and can be finished in an afternoon. Entertaining enough, but I'm not sure why no one in England ever calls "the old man" Mr. Holmes, or Inspector Holmes, or whatever. Are they afraid to say his name so Chabon can be clever? Also, the POV switches rob the book of a lot of its suspense, and the "mystery" (a murder and theft that can be easily solved by the reader before the midpoint of the book) becomes less and less interesting as the book goes on, w
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A well-written, meticulously-crafted mystery, as well as a sometimes funny, sometimes uncomfortable meditation on aging. A very clever concept (the aged Sherlock Holmes takes a case in 1940s London) executed beautifully. Overall, I was more interested in the novel as an exercise and wasn't necessarily drawn deeply into the story. Still, a good read.
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This is a cute, fun throwaway homage to Sherlock Holmes that Chabon wrote on a whim. A murder, a child's missing pet--a quick, engaging airplane read. Chabon's at his best covering much more complex, deeper territory, but his attempt at light fiction is nonetheless worthwhile.
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short book about mute German Jewish refugee boy whose parrot sings mysterious numbers; retired British detective figures it out
Jan 04, 2008
Jennie
marked it as to-read
Mar 31, 2008
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
own-ebook,
to-read-mysteries-thrillers
Mar 12, 2009
Anthony
marked it as to-read
Apr 12, 2009
Ceci
marked it as to-read
