Davis, Lindsey - The Silver Pigs

[oyceter]

Like the other people on my list who started reading Davis, I put the books in my to-read pile after seeing minnow1212 pimp it in her fifteen favorite fictional couples post.

Marcus Didius Falco is an informer in Vespasian Rome; I know next to nothing about Roman culture and history, so this doesn't mean a great deal to me. On the other hand, like everyone else, I was highly amused by the Dramatis Personae (Minnow, Kate and Mely quote from it, links below), and when I finally remembered to get the book and start reading it, I was also greatly amused by Falco's narrative voice.

I have absolutely no head for mysteries in and of themselves; to be honest, I'm not even sure what Falco ended up investigating, except that it involved a blonde in distress and stolen Imperial silver. But then, there's enough fun character interaction to tide me through. In fact, there's a great deal of fun character interaction, and I really loved both Falco and the heroine and how they worked together.

I don't know enough about noir or mystery or ancient Rome to figure out how factual Davis' setting is and how much she's riffing off noir and mystery conventions, but I can tell that she is a bit, and it's really fun to read.

I'm really looking forward to reading the next few in the series; Falco cracks me up.

kate_nepveu's review

coffeeandink's review

Comments

Here via a friend's flist, and unable to resist commenting on Falco

[tree_and_leaf]

Davies' historical background is pretty much spot on (though apparently there is a new theory about how the 'pigs' were made which contradicts Falco's description of it). But I've known classical studies lecturers who recommend them as an easy and fun way to learn about Roman life - in particular, 'Three hands in the fountain' offers a great description of the Roman water system, as well as a cracking mystery.

Of course there are also all sorts of satires on modern life and on literature in general as well (the funniest example being Falco's attempt to write a tragedy while undercover in a theatre group... but to say more would spoil the joke.)

Re: Here via a friend's flist, and unable to resist commenting on Falco

[oyceter]

Cool! I was also wondering about the voice and tone of the books; do you know if that's accurate? I suspect not that much, given the contemporary references, but I honestly have no idea!

Thanks for the FYI!

Re: Here via a friend's flist, and unable to resist commenting on Falco

[tree_and_leaf]

Tone: that's actually harder to answer than you might think. He certainly doesn't sound anything like the masters of Latin prose or writers of history at the time - Cicero, Ceasar, Tacitus. But while his tome is obviously borrowed from the hard-boiled type of detective fiction, it doesn't sound all that different from what you'd get translating a cynical, satirical poet into English prose - someone like Ovid or Juvenal (who, if I remember correctly, complains about living in a flat which is pretty much as grotty as Falco's...)

Re: Here via a friend's flist, and unable to resist commenting on Falco

[oyceter]

Oh, that is cool! I mean, I personally don't mind that it's a riff off of the stereotypical hard-boiled detective, but I love knowing that it is (or could be) historically accurate as well!

[oracne.livejournal.com]

I love these books--so much so that I am parceling them out, one at a time, when I go on trips and such.

[oyceter]

I really liked Falco's voice! So much fun! I think I will be smarter this time and spread them out; otherwise I tend to binge on things and then get sick of them quickly.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

I'm interspersing them with Raymond Chandler, which is an amusing exercise!

[madwriter.livejournal.com]

I love both ancient Roman history and culture, and Lindsey Davis' books--and yes, not only are they a lot of fun, they're also accurate. (Davis herself, as I recall, got an advanced degree in ancient or Roman history.)

My favorite so far is The Iron Hand of Mars, set in Germania; it portrays the land and the Germans in a far, far more realistic way (read: nervewracking) than any non-fiction book on the subject I've ever read.

[oyceter]

Cool! Did you read kate_nepveu's writeup? What did you think of the narrative voice?

[madwriter.livejournal.com]

I haven't read her write-up about it, but I love the voice; particularly Falco's dialogue. Breezy, bantering, and the kind where if he doesn't like you, you may suddenly look down and see the metaphorical gladius sticking out of your gut.

[oyceter]

I know, I really love Falco's voice as well! I was just wondering, because Kate mentions being thrown out of the book because of anachronistic references in the voice, and I can't really tell, given complete lack of knowledge about the era.