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Pelagia and the White Bulldog (Sister Pelagia Mystery 1)
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Phoenix (2007-04-18)
ISBN: 0753821575
EAN: 9780753821572
Paperback: 352 pages
Edition: New Ed
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Customer Reviews
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Ends well but heavy going for the majority
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-02-23
For those who enjoy detective and courtroom fiction, this novel is an unusual take on a familiar genre. It is set in 19th century Russia and combines political intrigue with a murder mystery. The principal investigative character is Sister Pelagia, a nun who becomes involved when she sets out to solve the mysterious killing of a prize bulldog belonging to the Bishop's elderly aunt.
I found it hard to keep track of the characters for most of the book, partly due to the long, unfamiliar Russian names and use of unexplained (to the non-Russian speaking reader at least) nicknames and shortenings. The 'dramatis personae' section at the start of the book was useful with this but it did make for rather disjointed reading and made it harder to get into the story.
In many parts I found the story rather hard to read and slow, particularly the long sections on politics. Although these were necessary for the plot, I felt they could have been written in a more entertaining and lively fashion. There is also a fair bit of jumping around in time which I found quite annoying.
The first part of the story reminded me of Agatha Christie, with a collection of eccentric characters embroiled in various schemes whilst living and around a stately country house. The initial mystery, of who killed the wealthy matriarch's prized pets, is solved at the end of the first half. The second half then takes place in the town and moves on to the political machinations of an ambitious new arrival from St Petersburg and a string of seemingly unrelated murders of people.
The last few chapters come together well, with a reasonably exciting conclusion and a particularly good pair of chapters set in a court. The very ending is rather irritating and the most blatant set up for a sequel I have ever come across. But I can forgive this for the couple of unexpected twists packed in at a very late stage.
On the whole, I wouldn't rave about this story; though I did enjoy its originality, it was a bit too heavy going for my liking and was quite an effort to read for the most part. Probably one for fans of the genre rather than the more casual reader.
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Stick with this series
Rating  (5)
Date: 2007-02-26
11 out of 11 customers found this reveiw helpful
The Sister Pelagia mystery series may not be as effortless a read to take in as Erast Fandorin, but it's well worth the effort. While the White Bulldog may be have a plot that is slightly less dynamic than the one Fandorin fans are used to, it is a refreshing change of pace. The language is beautiful, the characters are engaging and the sleuth and her posse (bishop Mitrofani and Berdichervsky) are at least as charismatic as Fandorin and Masa.
The series (there are only three novels in it) picks up the pace in The Black Monk and positively goes berserk in the Red Rooster, but the provincial charm of the White Bulldog is very enjoyable too.
Most Russian fans of Akunin consider the Pelagia trilogy to be a more workmanlike and even series than Fandorin, which has its peaks and valleys.
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Give me Erast Petrovich any day!
Rating  (1)
Date: 2007-02-01
2 out of 10 customers found this reveiw helpful
Reading this was a real disappointment after reading all of the Fandorin novels. I only stuck with it because it was bought for me as a Christmas present.
Whereas Fandorin has one intriguing case after another, Sister Pelagia only has mundane cases. I didn't find it interesting in the slightest that the bulldogs were being killed off, or that a couple of headless corpses washed up on the riverbank. Bubentsov made a good villain, but the ending was such an anti-climax. I couldn't care less who killed Poggio and Naina Telianova, because none of the characters were interesting with the exception of Bubentsov, and he didn't even kill anyone!
This is not Akunin at his best. As another reviewer has written - if you like Fandorin, and I certainly do, avoid Sister Pelagia. I won't be reading the next one.
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wonderfully entertaining and informative
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-11-20
10 out of 11 customers found this reveiw helpful
I love sister Pelagia mysteries as much as I love Fandorin's though it is impossible to compare them, the two being so different. If Fandorin's series focus on Moscow and its inhabitants, international crimes and politics, Pelagia takes us to small provincial towns and villages where she conquers our hearts with her native wit, intelligence and charm. The Pelagia books are beautifully written, the style bears resemblance to works of Turgenev and Chekhov. It is not only entertaining but also very informative reading and I would certainly recommend the books to anyone.
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Not for a Fandorin Fan
Rating (1)
Date: 2006-07-04
14 out of 25 customers found this reveiw helpful
I love the Fanbdorin series and I was very excited about a new one from Akunin. But I just want to say that if you're a Fandorin fan then maybe this won't be your cup of tea. The style seemed to me similar to Gogol's in the Inspector General. Unfortunately I found it boring and long winded.
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Retail Price: £6.99
Amazon.com's Price:£0.01
That's 100% Off!
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