Reissued in wonderful new Phoenix livery Tommy Lee Jones has bought DIXIE CITY JAM to produce, direct and star as Robicheaux 'It is difficult to think of new superlatives to describe Purple Cane Road...But this must be the best of the series ... Indeed, the book makes most other crime writing seem crude, simplistic and immature' Evening Standard 'Purple Cane Road is not only a brilliant mystery, with an astonishing denouement, but a moving evocation of nostalgia and pain set in a marvellously described location' Gerald Kaufman, Scotsman 'When James Lee Burke writes, the little birdies sing, the sun comes out and old men learn to dance again. That's how good he is' Independent on Sunday.
James Lee Burke is the author of many previous novels, including twelve featuring Detective Dave Robicheaux. He lives with his wife, Pearl, in Missoula, Montana and New Iberia, Louisiana.
James Lee Burke is the heavyweight champ, a great American novelist
whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed.
*Michael Connelly*
A gorgeous prose stylist.
*Stephen King*
Richly deserves to be described now as one of the finest crime
writers America has ever produced.
*Daily Mail*
The gentle giant of US crime writers, Burke always ensures that his
Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux grapples with hot topics as
much as with his own inner demons.
*i newspaper*
There are not many crime writers about whom one might invoke the
name of Zola for comparison, but Burke is very much in that
territory. His stamping ground is the Gulf coast, and one of the
great strengths of his work has always been the atmospheric
background of New Orleans and the bayous. His big, baggy novels are
always about much more than the mechanics of the detective plot;
his real subject, like the French master, is the human condition,
seen in every situation of society.
*Independent*
The king of Southern noir.
*Daily Mirror*
His lyrical prose, his deep understanding of what makes people
behave as they do, and his control of plot and pace are
masterly.
*Sunday Telegraph*
No crime writer in America can hold a pen to Burke's mastery of
style and powers of evocation and empathy; this is prose that cuts
straight to the heart, summoning a wonderful parade of damaged
humanity in its wake
*Guardian*
When it comes to literate, pungently characterised American crime
writing, James Lee Burke has few peers.
*Daily Express*
Burke creates a landscape in which lovely and terrible things
happen, with characters big enough never to be upstaged by the
scenery. Potent, lyrical, inimitable
*LITERARY REVIEW*
'When James Lee Burke writes, the little birdies sing, the sun
comes out and old men learn to dance again. That's how good he is.
And now he's back . . . Purple Cane Road may be the finest novel
Burke has written' Independent on Sunday
*INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY*
It is difficult to think of new superlatives to describe Purple
Cane Road: like all James Lee Burke's novels it has an intricate,
but superbly machined plot, brilliantly imagined characters (with
brilliantly imagined names), and is written in a language which, at
once sharp yet poetic, can handle with nonchalant skill anything
from extreme violence to languorous ease. But this must be the best
of the series . . . Indeed, the book makes most other crime writing
seem crude, simplistic and immature
*EVENING STANDARD*
James Lee Burke has created an extraordinarily vivid world: scary,
bleak, full of eccentric low-lifes and devious, vengeful characters
on the make . . . At times Burke's writing and atmosphere remind
one of William Faulkner; at other moments Raymond Carver. I cannot
think of much higher praise that can be accorded a novel
*THE TIMES*
Purple Cane Road, confirms him as the most skilful stylist
currently writing in America . . . Once more, James Lee Burke goes
from strength to strength; he's The Man
*DAILY POST*
Burke's effortless command of language and his understanding of
turbulent emotions make his books, and this one in particular, both
moving and painful. I can think of no other writer today who
captures the American South with such eloquence and sympathy
*SUNDAY TELEGRAPH*
Purple Cane Road is not only a brilliant mystery, with an
astonishing denouement, but a moving evocation of nostalgia and
pain set in a marvellously described location
*SCOTSMAN*
Although nominally in the crime fiction genre, Lee Burke's novels
transcend such a bracketing, being highly atmospheric slices of
Southern Americana. Think Faulkner, with equal depth of character
but clearer resolution of motive and plot
*IRISH TIMES*
Wonderful writing lifts this dark, grim tale to a lyrical hymn to
the possibility of personal redemption
*IRISH INDEPENDENT*
PURPLE CANE ROAD is not only the best book of the year by a street,
but also possibly the best he has written . . . Like all Burke's
novels PURPLE CANE ROAD has an intricate plot, brilliantly imagined
characters, and is written in a language which, at once sharp yet
poetic, can handle anything from extreme violence to languorous
ease
*EVENING STANDARD*
HAfter the relatively lightweight Sunset Limited (1998), Cajun cop Dave Robicheaux returns in a powerhouse of a thriller that shows Burke writing near the peak of his form. Robicheaux faces his most personal case yet, when a pimp puts him on the trail of the truth behind his mother's long-ago disappearance. Meanwhile, he uncovers new evidence in the case of death-row inmate Letty Labiche, who took a mattock to the man who molested her as a child, state executioner Vachel Carmouche. Burke parades the usual cast of grotesques: feckless Louisiana governor Belmont Pugh; cold-blooded attorney general Connie Deshotel; sleazy police liaison officer Jim Gable, who "keeps the head of a Vietnamese soldier in a jar of chemicals"; and psychopathic hit man Johnny Remata, who acts as all-around avenging angel. Wife Bootsie's having had a fling with Gable drives Robicheaux into a jealous fury more than once, while daughter Alafair's flirtation with Johnny raises the temperature even higher. Old buddy Clete Purcell doesn't have a lot to do, other than to contribute to the general mayhem. Once Robicheaux learns that his mother fell afoul of a couple of New Orleans cops in the pay of the Giacano crime family, it's a simple matter of identifying the guilty pair and bringing them to justiceDor is it? Burke winds up an often convoluted and gratuitously violent plot with a dynamite ending that will leave readers feeling truly satisfied, if a bit shell-shocked. Major ad/promo; author tour. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
James Lee Burke is the heavyweight champ, a great American novelist
whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed. *
Michael Connelly *
A gorgeous prose stylist. * Stephen King *
Richly deserves to be described now as one of the finest crime
writers America has ever produced. * Daily Mail *
The gentle giant of US crime writers, Burke always ensures that his
Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux grapples with hot topics as
much as with his own inner demons. * i newspaper *
There are not many crime writers about whom one might invoke the
name of Zola for comparison, but Burke is very much in that
territory. His stamping ground is the Gulf coast, and one of the
great strengths of his work has always been the atmospheric
background of New Orleans and the bayous. His big, baggy novels are
always about much more than the mechanics of the detective plot;
his real subject, like the French master, is the human condition,
seen in every situation of society. * Independent *
The king of Southern noir. * Daily Mirror *
His lyrical prose, his deep understanding of what makes people
behave as they do, and his control of plot and pace are masterly. *
Sunday Telegraph *
No crime writer in America can hold a pen to Burke's mastery of
style and powers of evocation and empathy; this is prose that cuts
straight to the heart, summoning a wonderful parade of damaged
humanity in its wake * Guardian *
When it comes to literate, pungently characterised American crime
writing, James Lee Burke has few peers. * Daily Express *
Burke creates a landscape in which lovely and terrible things
happen, with characters big enough never to be upstaged by the
scenery. Potent, lyrical, inimitable * LITERARY REVIEW *
'When James Lee Burke writes, the little birdies sing, the sun
comes out and old men learn to dance again. That's how good he is.
And now he's back . . . Purple Cane Road may be the finest
novel Burke has written' Independent on Sunday * INDEPENDENT
ON SUNDAY *
It is difficult to think of new superlatives to describe Purple
Cane Road: like all James Lee Burke's novels it has an
intricate, but superbly machined plot, brilliantly imagined
characters (with brilliantly imagined names), and is written in a
language which, at once sharp yet poetic, can handle with
nonchalant skill anything from extreme violence to languorous ease.
But this must be the best of the series . . . Indeed, the book
makes most other crime writing seem crude, simplistic and immature
* EVENING STANDARD *
James Lee Burke has created an extraordinarily vivid world: scary,
bleak, full of eccentric low-lifes and devious, vengeful characters
on the make . . . At times Burke's writing and atmosphere remind
one of William Faulkner; at other moments Raymond Carver. I cannot
think of much higher praise that can be accorded a novel * THE
TIMES *
Purple Cane Road, confirms him as the most skilful stylist
currently writing in America . . . Once more, James Lee Burke goes
from strength to strength; he's The Man * DAILY POST *
Burke's effortless command of language and his understanding of
turbulent emotions make his books, and this one in particular, both
moving and painful. I can think of no other writer today who
captures the American South with such eloquence and sympathy *
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *
Purple Cane Road is not only a brilliant mystery, with an
astonishing denouement, but a moving evocation of nostalgia and
pain set in a marvellously described location * SCOTSMAN *
Although nominally in the crime fiction genre, Lee Burke's novels
transcend such a bracketing, being highly atmospheric slices of
Southern Americana. Think Faulkner, with equal depth of character
but clearer resolution of motive and plot * IRISH TIMES *
Wonderful writing lifts this dark, grim tale to a lyrical hymn to
the possibility of personal redemption * IRISH INDEPENDENT *
PURPLE CANE ROAD is not only the best book of the year by a street,
but also possibly the best he has written . . . Like all Burke's
novels PURPLE CANE ROAD has an intricate plot, brilliantly imagined
characters, and is written in a language which, at once sharp yet
poetic, can handle anything from extreme violence to languorous
ease * EVENING STANDARD *
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
