The Weird World of José Carlos Somoza

Rating: ☆☆☆

Title: The Art of Murder

Author: José Carlos Somoza

Genre: Mystery?

Read: 9th July 2005





Comments: Billed as a murder mystery, this book is really more like a weird science fiction acid trip to a future where art is everything, and the rich and famous spend millions to adorn their homes with real living human works of art (beautiful naked young people painted and posed), eat off human tables and sit on human chairs. One famous and controversial artist, Bruno von Tysch even creates shock art pieces with suspected serial killers and human freaks of nature as his canvases. However, when one of Tysch's canvases is destroyed (ie: the model is killed anddismemberedd), only days before his major exhibit of recreations of Rembrandts, detective Lothar Bosch must investigate and stop the art thief/ killer...

This is a very tense and creepy book and extremely well-described and believable for all its surreality. The only problem lies in our lack of sympathy for the characters. The final showdown involves a young 'canvas' chosen to be the killer's final target, but she is introduced too late in the novel for us to really sympathize with her. Also while it works as science fiction, the detective / mystery bits were a tad lacking. If you're looking for a classic murder mystery, this book will, I'm afraid, leave you unsatisfied, but if you want to read something that will mess with your mind a bit, I recommend it highly. I also recommend Somoza's earlier work 'The Athenian Murders' which is again another novel of ideas (this time philosophy and solipsism) disguised as a mystery novel.

Quote: "Money is Art."

The Art of Murder

see also

The Athenian Murders