Welcome to Litsy!

Nice book.#2010

The second book I‘ve read from this series, which I seem to be navigating backwards, having started with the latest. I needed to adjust to the unspectacular quality of the plots: they aim not so much for surprise as at confirmating of your worst suspicions—and are not afraid of cliché. This one, in particular, reminded me of Simenon. The characters are fascinating, compelling and credibly flawed. They more than make up for the underpowered plot.

“… all people are either intelligent or stupid, and either lazy or enterprising. There are lazy idiots, usually irrelevant and innocuous; then there are the intelligent and ambitious, who can be given important tasks to perform. The greatest achievements, in all fields, are nearly always the work of those intelligent and lazy. But … the people who are unfailingly responsible for the most appalling disasters … are enterprising idiots.”