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| Back to Bologna | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Dibdin
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $0.05
You Save: $13.90 (100%)
New (34) Used (38) from $0.05
Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 149945
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0307275884
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780307275882
ASIN: 0307275884
Publication Date: September 19, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Some wear on book from reading, spine creases, wear on binding and pages, we guarantee all purchases and ship all items via USPS mail.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 16 | | NEXT » |
 Difficult reading and major disappointment compared to other Zen mysteries! November 23, 2008
I previously read RATKING, DEAD LAGOON, A LONG FINISH, and END GAMES by Dibdin, and can say I rate each at least 4 stars -- good reading. But it took me until half-way through BACK TO BOLOGNA and constant referral to previous chapters to figure out what seemed to be happening. I like a complex, imperfect character in a complex story. But I was sorely disappointed by BOLOGNA. Zen is absurdly hypochondriac in recovering from a prior injury, and, unlike the other books mentioned, his intelligence and insight have nothing to do with resolution of this smoking-gun mystery. He merely observes its accidental resolution. And, as interesting as the thought might appear in the abstract, the concept of seemingly un-related but ultimately intersecting stories unfortunately falls flat in this book. I recommended this book to my bookclub before reading it: big mistake!!
bad and irrelevant to the series November 28, 2007
Many characters, many plots but not a single thread to the core Zen character -career, friends or couple- is in the book, suddenly just finishes and then bye- bye, you need to guess the rest. Disappointing really.
Che un Peccato! September 18, 2007
For anyone who enjoyed Michael Dibdin's earlier Aurelio Zen mysteries, this one is a major disappointment. The edifice is constructed with unidimmensional bricks and thin mortar. The result is profoundly uninteresting. I forced myself to continue even when, about a third of the way through, I found myself asking, "What is the bloody point?" My guess is, there isn't one. I'm not surprised to see that Dibdin's latest book is "The Last Aurelio Zen Mystery." There is nothing in the least bit mysterious about this book and Zen---always an intriguing character---has finally morphed into a listless shadow of his former self. And even he clearly doesn't care what happens. Obviously Dibdin doesn't, either. I don't know if Dibdin's written out, or now fancies himself an oh so "serious" wordsmith, but I will not wait to latch onto a copy of the succeeding Zen mysteris. This one finished off what had been a pleasurable experience and left a sour taste. Che un peccato!
Indistinguishable buffoons May 23, 2007
This was not my favorite Aurelio Zen. The characters were so broadly drawn - including Zen - that I could hardly keep straight who was who. In the end it all got wrapped up, but it took a long time getting there.
 Comedy with occasional outbursts of mystery May 20, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Even if you actually read and (even less likely) loved "Name of the Rose," you'll still enjoy Dibdin's farcical sendup of Umberto Eco in the latest adventure of Vice Questore Aurelio Zen, whose love life is in the dumpster as usual. The operatic plot--the collision of a egotistical television cooking star, a soccer team, an academician of semiotics, a romantic young couple direct from "The Prisoner of Zenda," and a witless private investigator in love with the American PIs of the 40s, with the more than usually self-destructive Zen and his soon-to-be former girl friend--is breathtaking. No one captures the dark side of Italy with more gusto and humor than Michael Dibdin.
Mr. Dibdin's recent passing is a real sorrow to those who love his writing--I'm hoping that there might be a novel or two more yet to come.
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