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    The Lemur: A Novel
    The Lemur: A Novel
    The Lemur: A Novel
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Lemur: A Novel

    Written by Benjamin Black

    Narrated by John Keating

    3/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    When John Glass's billionaire father-in-law hires him to write his biography, he feels he can't refuse. Then his research assistant on the book discovers some very sensitive information about John's in-laws, and is murdered before he can tell anyone what he knows. John is on his own to find out the young man's secret, before the murderer finds him.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateJun 24, 2008
    ISBN9781427204790
    The Lemur: A Novel
    Author

    Benjamin Black

    Benjamin Black is the pen name of the Man Booker Prize-winning novelist John Banville. Black's books include The Black-Eyed Blonde, Christine Falls, The Silver Swan, among others. He lives in Dublin.

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    Reviews for The Lemur

    3/5

    131 ratings18 reviews

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    • 2/5
      READ IN DUTCH

      Bored, that's what I felt reading this book. It's very short, only about 150 pages, and still, it was too long for the story that was being told.



      I just couldn't care for the story. I'm not planning on reading more books by this author, and wouldn't recommend them.



      Something I do think is interesting - although it doesn't really has to do with this particular book - is why Irish authors apparently all choose a pseudonym ".... Black". Fascinating...
    • 4/5
      Writing as Benjamin Black, John Banville gives us the short thriller or mystery novel The Lemur. Set in New York City, the novel is about finding out the truth and uncovering long-kept secrets. Protagonist John Glass is a journalist who is hired by his father-in-law William Mulholland to write his, 'Big Bill's', biography. The Irish-American Bill Mulholland is a former CIA operative turned billionaire heading up the Mulholland Trust. Tasked with writing his biography, John Glass hires the researcher Dylan Riley whom he just calls 'The Lemur' because of his appearance. Not even having started writing the book, Glass is called by the 'Lemur' who is found dead shortly thereafter. While suicide is the assumed cause of death, matters look a bit fishy as the 'Lemur' dies of a gunshot directly through the eye. Coincidentally, Charles Varriker, a former colleague and friend of Bill Mulllholland's, died in the same way several years ago. Not so much concerned with the biography anymore, John Glass only wants to find out the truth about those two deaths and what is going on in his family.With only 185 pages, the novel is rather short and also a real page-turner. Despite its brevity, the story is very interesting and there is not much detail missing. One might have provided many more details and a lengthy backstory but the book actually does quite nicely without such additions. John Glass is a very credible character and his interaction with the other characters in the novel is very natural. The dialogues are well written but are sometimes reminiscent of your typical B-movie dialogue. This did not disturb me very much, though.All in all, The Lemur is an entertaining story that might disappoint readers who love more lengthy fiction. For all the other readers interested in the genre it might actually be a read well worth your while. 4 stars.
    • 2/5
      The story revolves around a man in a trouble marriage who's offered a huge paycheck if he'll write a biography of his bigger than life father-in-law. That would mean looking into the life of Big Bill Mulholland, who is presently a powerful magnate in international communications, oh, and was a legend in the world of espionage. John Glass is regularly a journalist, but when a million dollars is offered up for this book, he accepts the deal. Then he finds the project nearly impossible to begin. He asks around about someone to do research—and then things begin to happen and threats come his way.This is more mystery than I normally go for, but the writing won me over and I much enjoyed the ride the novel gave me.
    • 2/5
      Although I received this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers, I never posted a review of it because I did not enjoy the book. I couldn't say why and I never got around to looking at it again to try to figure it out.
    • 5/5
      A short suspense novel with a set of interesting characters in Black's poetic,literary writing with New York as a background authentically portrayed..
    • 2/5
      I read this very quickly. It is a very forgettable thriller, with a weak story line and unsympathetic characters. Although it is short, it is more like a short story that has been padded with unnecessary detail about what the characters are wearing. The way that chapters ended on a "cliffhanger", and the next chapter would resume with the protagonist waking up and having breakfast, just annoyed me.In one word, insignificant.
    • 3/5
      John Banville is a writer of legendary proportions who has chosen to write under the pseudonym of Benjamin Black. This short novella is a deviation from his other Black novels in that it is set in New York, rather than Dublin.Our protagnist, John Glass, is a once-famous Irish journalist, who is living a loveless marriage in New York. He is having an affair with an Irish artist, but is subservient to his wife, a glamourous New Yorker who runs the famous Mulholland Trust. Her father is Bill Mulholland, an ex-CIA operative reknowned for his honesty who later made his fortune in the electronics industry.Bill has asked John to write his biography, telling him of his desire to keep things in the family. Struggling to rise to the challenge and rediscover his desire for writing, Glass hires Dylan Riley to help with the research. Unfortunately Riley turns up dead, leaving Glass worried and more than a little scared.Despite an initially intriguing outline, the story is weak, uninspiring and a bit too fantastic. For a short story, it feels too long.
    • 4/5
      This book by Benjamin Black ( a.k.a. John Banville) was serilized in the New York Times before being published in novella form by Picador. It is a standalone mystery set in New York not Dublin where Black's previous works - CHRISTINE FALLS and THE SILVER SWAN were set. The plot involves an Irish journalist named John Glass being asked tyo write the biography of his bigger than life father-in-law Big Bill Mulholland. Glass decides to hire a reseacher named Dylan Riley to help with the biography. Soon afterwards Dylan, also called the Lemur by Glass winds up dead.It is now up to glass to solve the crime. The author is a wonderful writer and the book deserves to be read to experience one of the great craftsman of literature. However if one has not read anything by John Banville I would not start with his mysteries - THE UNTOUCHABLE or THE SEA which won the Booker Prize a few years ago are better places to start with this wonderful writer.
    • 2/5
      Audiobook. Benjamin Black is the pen name for John Banville. I enjoyed Christine Falls and its follow-up novel The Silver Swan. A fun take on the detective novel with great accent in the reading. This book about an Irishman with an American wife in New York City. A bit of a mystery. A slight book to say the least. Competent. But hardly worth having written. . . . .
    • 5/5
      John Glass is the son-in-law of billionaire William Mulholland. Glass is in the process of writing the billionaire's life story,and employs Dylan Riley to do research on the project for him.Things go badly wrong when Riley is found shot in the eye,and the police begin to take an unwelcome interest in both Glass and his father-in law.Albeit this book is a mere 185 pages long,I found that I just had to keep reading,and indeed completed the book in under a day,this is for me nearly unheard of.I think that whether writing under John Banville or as his new persona of Benjamin Black, his prose is just so sharp and elegant. You cannot but help sitting back and enjoying the superb plotting and the well-drawn characters.
    • 4/5
      The only reason I can't give this 5 stars is because it's such a perfect example of it's category - it's perfect Noir! That cloud on the cover is NOT cigarette smoke -- it's the oppressive haze of despairing hopelessness that weights the entire novel. It's short; which is good because much more would be suffocating. The writing is elegantly beautiful. And -- dare I say? -- it packs a wallop! Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      The Lemur is the latest mystery by John Banville (Booker Prize 2005 for The Sea) writing as Benjamin Black (Christine Falls, The Silver Swan). It first appeared serialized in The New York Times Magazine. As such, it is quite brief (132 pages) and heavily oriented to the New York scene. In fact, Black seems to be almost tongue-in-cheek in his “product placement” of classic New York locales and habits clearly designed for a New York readership. The plot centers on John Glass, former Irish journalist enlisted by his wealthy father-in-law and former CIA honcho Big Bill Mulholland, to write his biography. Glass enlists a researcher, Dylan Riley, whose looks lead Glass to nickname him the Lemur. Riley turns up some sort of dirt on Big Bill and the next thing you know he’s murdered. Meanwhile, Glass juggles interactions with his wife, his mistress, and the police trying to figure out what information the Lemur had. The story sags a bit but the twist in the end is satisfying. The beauty of the novel is in the fine writing, a literary mystery that is also a fun read. I look forward to the next in the series begun with Christine Falls and The Silver Swan, but this was a nice diversion in the meantime.
    • 4/5
      A short little story about secrets and how they can destroy a family. John Glass, former journalist, has been hired by his father-in-law, Bill Mulholland, to write "Big Bill's" biography. As a former CIA agent, there are bound to be some secrets in Bill's past. And a whole lot of other stuff. So John hires a researcher, who he refers to as the Lemur.And just when it seems that the Lemur has stumbled upon a big secret in Bill's past, he turns up dead. Murdered. And John's journalistic background seems to kick in again, spurring him on to find out what secret could possibly have led to the Lemur's murder--although if he follows though it could come at the expense of the destruction of his family.
    • 4/5
      This is such a slender book that I kept looking at the pages remaining unread, trying to figure out how the author was going to tie up the various intrigues before the book's end. He does, but it turns into a much simpler tale than that alluded to in the first hundred pages. The Lemur is marvelously written; I kept rereading sentences for the enjoyment of reading them again. The writing is anything but lazy; each word is carefully chosen and fits perfectly with those around it, part of the book's slender size is surely due to the author's unwillingness to set down a single unnecessary phrase.On the other hand, the plot begins by hinting at an immense complexity involving big business, an important charitable foundation, shady internet researcher and journalists discovering dark secrets, infidelity and the CIA. This is pared down to a much simpler story, not always to the benefit of the story; much remains unexplained or reduced.
    • 4/5
      This is an architectural drawing of a mystery novel: light, cool, precise, and bloodless. From the first, I was frequently confused about what time period the book was set in, because all outward signs indicate that it takes place in contemporary New York City, but all inward signs would seem more at home in the 1950s. The aptly named narrator, John Glass, is stalled in early middle age, lacking interest or agency and 'unmanned' by the comfortable lifestyle that surrounds him. This arrested state characterizes just about every person you will encounter, most of whom are members of or otherwise tied to the family into which Glass has married. All strong feelings belong to the past -- except someone in the mix rustles up enough gumption to murder a dirt-digging researcher. Although the facts of this mystery will be revealed, my warning is that understanding is unlikely to follow. The "take away" from this cleanly incised text is that lacking great wealth, especially family wealth, is among the luckiest fates that can befall a person.
    • 5/5
      The most impressive thing about this book is the quality of the writing. Not only the use of words more often seen in poetry than prose, but also the smooth transition of character roles that classifies good drama. The only detraction was the lack of likable characters, but in a book this short, it's not too much of a burden to follow them. While I would be hard pressed to call the protagonist a hero, he is presented so that I cannot help but identify with him. The little details of how his mind wanders and the physical effects of being angry make him feel real.Most importantly for any type of mystery, the twists and turns managed to be both unanticipated and reasonable in light of the rest of the story.This is the first book I've read by Benjamin Black. I'll certainly be looking for more.
    • 3/5
      I can't decide if this is supposed to be a thriller or a mystery. The set up contains elements of both. John Glass disillusioned Irish journalist living in New York who has married money and now works on a biography of his father-in-law, an ex-CIA operative. The researcher Glass has hired to do his legwork for him quickly turns up dead. The questions are: who killed him and why? If it's a mystery, then Glass must transform himself back into a great reporter, but he doesn't quite do that. If it's a thriller, then we wait to see how quickly his life disintegrates. The narrator does a good job of promising both outcomes, a solution and a train wreck, and the promise of each is plenty enticing, and yet neither one, when played out, actually satisfies. I found myself more struck by the writing, the insights and attention to detail that can give us a maid in uniform serving lemonade while showing the crush she has on her boss, or the disdain that Glass endures from a woman who is about to become his mistress. At one point, the narrator describes a policeman as having "the face of an El Greco martyr." Wonderful. These small moments, and they come along frequently, offer great entertainment. Black's signature is writing scenes in which emotions detonate and the dialog takes such abrupt left turns that the reader can barely keep up. He offers the true sensation of eavesdropping. I think the book first appeared as a magazine serial, and it reads as such. The chapters are tight and of uniform length and they march along to a conclusion without the subplots and diversions that might otherwise be half the fun. Still, it's a good, quick read.
    • 4/5
      A very good short novel. I was on edge from the beginning. Its unpleasant characters kept making me want to put the book down, but I couldn't stop until I finished. The author gives the story a creepy atmosphere all out of proportion to the events in the plot. Quite enjoyable, if an hour or two of tension is your thing.