Laurie R. King Virtual Book Club discussion
This topic is about
The Cuckoo's Calling
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archived VBC Selections
>
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (pseud.) - VBC August 2018
Mod
As people are starting reading, I wonder what your sense of place is in the book.
For me, it is such a contemporary, perhaps typical, description of London, it feels very familiar to this Londoner in terms of people, language and location. . I wonder when she actually wrote it though rather than published it, as some references recall many years ago.. Done on purpose because who cares it’s a story .... ?
Did anyone see the BBC series, by the way, with Tom Burke as Strike. Definitely worth finding.
For me, it is such a contemporary, perhaps typical, description of London, it feels very familiar to this Londoner in terms of people, language and location. . I wonder when she actually wrote it though rather than published it, as some references recall many years ago.. Done on purpose because who cares it’s a story .... ?
Did anyone see the BBC series, by the way, with Tom Burke as Strike. Definitely worth finding.
Mod
I knew they had made one, but I don't think it's made it's way across the pond yet? I'll have to go looking!
Mod
For me, it is such a contemporary, perhaps typical, description of London, it feels very familiar to this Londone..."
I loved the TV series and thought it was very well cast (it was on Cinemax, Erin). The star, Tom Burke, is the son of David Burke, Jeremy Brett's first Watson!
Pam, your comment was very interesting to me because I was thinking last night that one of the things I enjoyed about the book was the great sense of place. I also thought that added to the series (his office is on London's "music row" and it was cool to see the remaining record shops and the like. She also did a great job of capturing the north of England, I thought, when Strike and Robin go on their road trips.
Mod
Mod
Mod
Mod
Pam wrote: "As people are starting reading, I wonder what your sense of place is in the book. For me, it is such a contemporary, perhaps typical, description of London, it feels very familiar to this Londone..."
It's definitely written after Harry Potter.
I was amused by the negative reviews on Amazon. Her words were too big!
I just re-read this, and enjoyed it a lot. And I wouldn't mind the VBC doing more Cormoran Strike, but I was not enthusiastic about the second book, The Silkworm, because the murder was just so nauseating. (And I'm not particularly squeamish.) Although I do recognize that Galbraith/Rowling must have had some fun skewering the publishing industry. (I read that Harry Potter was rejected more than 10 times before a publisher took it on, something I repeated often to my daughter when she was seeking a publisher for her first book.)I think Robin is a more interesting character than Cormoran. Cormoran is kind of one's typical slightly burned-out ex-military hero, but Robin really evolves over the books. After we get past the first 10 days, I really want to discuss her.
Mod
Now I'm really excited!
Mod
Yes, the murder in "The Silkworm" was gross, I quite agree. Although I did enjoy the book once we got through that part!
Food for thought: one of J. K. Rowlings failings in the Harry Potter books was writing romantic relationships. Everyone I have discussed them with feels similarly - that the romance fell flat. How do you feel she does with the adult relationships in this book?
Enjoyed the books, really liked the TV series, too. Good casting, interesting adaptations from books to screenplays.
KarenB wrote: "Food for thought: one of J. K. Rowlings failings in the Harry Potter books was writing romantic relationships. Everyone I have discussed them with feels similarly - that the romance fell flat. How ..."The relationships are developed with intelligence and restraint. Rowling allows readers to draw inferences and react to interplay between Robin and her fiance, Robin and Cormoran, and among the trio, too. I'm fascinated by the exchanges, verbal and nonverbal. Can't say more 'til after the 10th. :-)
Mod
Although I didn't have too many complaints about the romantic relationships in Harry Potter (these were teenagers, after all, aren't they supposed to be awkward?), I thought the relationships in "Cuckoo's Calling" were quite believable - one certainly comes to care for Robin and the pickle she's in, torn between two men. And Strike's magnetic pull in the direction of a woman who is absolutely wrong for him is all too lifelike!
Merrily wrote: "...one certainly comes to care for Robin and the pickle she's in, torn between two men. ..."In fact, what I like about the portrayal of Robin's situation is that she does not seem romantically attracted to Cormoran (at least, not in the books I've read so far), she just wants to work with him. She likes him and sees the opportunity to be a detective with him as the fulfillment of a lifelong (if somewhat repressed) fantasy. The pull is that Matthew doesn't seem to like that vision of Robin's life. It's not clear whether he doesn't trust Cormoran with Robin (or perhaps doesn't trust Robin with Cormoran) or whether he's just really tied into a more conventional view of what his wife would be like.
I think it is unrealistic to think that every non-familial relationship between a man and a woman, especially in the workplace, has to be sexual. But I also think that one's romantic partner, especially if relatively young and insecure, can be jealous of such a relationship, even knowing rationally that the other relationship isn't romantic.
Mod
In fact, what I like about the portrayal of Robin's situation is that she does not seem..."
Very good analysis, Lenore, I quite agree. I would say (having read all the books up to this point) that by the end of the third book it's pretty clear that Strike has feelngs for Robin, although he's also too good a guy to try to interfere with her relationship with her fiance. The fiance, IMO, is rather a jerk and so it's hard not to want Robin to make a different choice, but Rowling isn't going down any obvious paths here.
Yeah, for fear of spoiling, we can't talk about the events of the third book, but I kind of wonder how this marriage is going to work out after Matthew's actions in that book. And Strike really has no role in that, whatever his feelings.
Mod
Exactly!
Turning to the characterisation of Strike.... he is a very much drawn in the style of the latter day anti-hero, who in this case is a damaged actual hero. I wonder if this anti hero ‘archetype’ of our time is, in part, a reaction to the cold calculating machine of ACD... Although we know Holmes is more complex and certainly less than perfect, he does not seem to struggle/work for his results as our hero here. Apologies if this is a well rehearsed discussion which has taken place elsewhere!
Mod
Pam, I know that some of the detective story historians view Holmes as the prototype of the damaged hero - he is a genius, of course, which Strike isn't (and wouldn't claim to be), but he is as you say Flawed in various ways (the severe depressions, the drugs, etc). Strike is in some ways a combination of Holmes and Watson, in that he's more an ordinary guy (not by any means stupid) and, like Watson, is dealing with war injuries both physical and mental.
I wonder too if any perceived difference in the "struggle" to solve a case is because we see Holmes through Watson's always -admiring eyes, whereas with Strike we're closer to him via an omniscient narrator. Watson makes Holmes' work look easy, but as Holmes once tells Russell, he often wasn't around for the boring slog parts!
Karen B., I just started Cuckoo’s Calling so I have no opinion about its romantic relationships. But I never saw anything lacking in those in the Harry Potter series. When you see the friction between the child Ron and the child Hermione you suspect something may develop. Same with Ginny’s infatuation for Harry. The romances are tame, especially when the children become teenagers but still seem to think only of missing. But I never thought they fell flat. Perhaps another examples of the phenomenon of are we reading the same book. I hope I like Cuckoo’s Calling anywhere near as much as I am attached to the HP series.
Mod
I agree, and I think the relationships developed in a realistic and believable way over the course of the series.
I really enjoy the Cormoran Strike series, hope you will as well.
Yup! and remember the HP series happened a long time ago in the real world. And they were written for a young audience, which a responsible author treats as young. The twelve and thirteen year olds I worked with as readers paid very little attention to "romance" and might have been turned off. Looking forward to getting to NYC at some time to see the plays, which I have read, and are a lovely way to look "forward."I think Holmes if Holmes and Mary is Mary and I never expect any "normal, conventional, or cliched" behavior from either of them. They neither think nor feel exactly like most of us. Thank goodness.
Mod
I'm dying to see the plays too. I get to New York fairly often so just have to get organized and make it happen.
Cathy wrote: "Karen B., I just started Cuckoo’s Calling so I have no opinion about its romantic relationships. But I never saw anything lacking in those in the Harry Potter series. When you see the friction betw..."The problem with the Ron and Hermione pairing is that JRK admitted to Emma Watson during an interview with her that Ron was based on a boy she'd had a crush on and he'd turned her down. Jo and Emma agreed that their marriage would take a lot of work and probably counselling.
Hmmm, the discussion about relationships in HP came up with my daughter and her group of friends, who all grew up with the HP series and most were fairly intense fans. They all felt, and they were comparable ages to the characters, that the relationships felt flat, that there was little to no chemistry between Ron & Hermione and between Harry & Ginny. But, it is in the reader's eye, I suppose!
My sons grew up with Harry Potter too and they and their friends are devoted fans. One, to my text about the question, said the relationships are fine in the books but develop less well in the movies. The other said he thought both pairings had their high and low points but that Ron and Hermione worked best because we saw it grow and we know them well.
I think the Cursed Child play does reflect some of the predictable tensions in the Ron-Hermione marriage. Only read it, haven’t seen it despite living in NYC.
Mod
Given how large the fanfiction community is for HP and the serious shippers for wildly different romantic pairings, I'd say your daughter and her friends are in good company, LOL. But then there are an equal number of fans who love the pairings as presented in the books. I think the variable opinions is one of the things that makes that series amazing. We can all disagree on the particulars, but still agree that the books are wonderful.
(ETA: Perhaps we should have selected Harry Potter as a discussion book! LOL)
Mod
Mod
Mod
The one thing we haven't had yet is a mysterious dame appearing in his office with a problem...
I’m enjoying the quality of the writing. And I like Strike and Robin.
is Cormoran a real British name? I keep reading it as cormorant, like the bird, or Corcoran, like the captain of the Pinafore.
Mod
Emily, I believe in the book it says that Cormoran was named after a legendary giant in a Welsh folktale - so guess the name is Welsh. Am sure John will correct me if I'm wrong!
Emily wrote: "is Cormoran a real British name? I keep reading it as cormorant, like the bird, or Corcoran, like the captain of the Pinafore."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormoran
Yes, indeed, he is a giant in Welsh folklore.
is Cormoran a real British name? I keep reading it as cormorant, like the bird, or Corcoran, like the captain of the Pinafore.Yes! I have this vague impression of him as a large bird!
I agree with the noir-ish feel to the book. While it doesn't follow all the conventions, obviously, it certainly borrows heavily from that tradition - the seedy office, the shady connections he has, the female assistant and his, in spite of the stated description of him, attractiveness to women.
Mod
Yes! I have this vague impression of him as a large bird!
I agree w..."
Suspect that we all have had that brief brain flash of the bird, Karen. I wonder how she decided to choose "Cormoran" in the first place...
I thought she did a good job of introducing us to the continuing characters. Sometimes the first book in a series seems to carry the weight of too much "world-building," but Cormoran and Robin emerged fully fledged for me. And we know he's an outsider from the first, thanks to his rather bizarre family background.
Mod
Merrily wrote: "I meant to say earlier, I was delighted to find out yesterday that the fourth Cormoran Strike book, "Lethal White," is due out early in August - the 7th, I think. So those of us who have been follo..."Merrily, I have Lethal White as coming out Sept. 18th here in the states. I keep a running list of when books are coming out and publish it on my blog when each month starts. I'm so looking forward to this one.
I was so pleased that I loved The Cuckoo's Calling when it came out. I wasn't sure what to expect from J.K. Rowling in this new undertaking. I've enjoyed all three immensely. However, I started to watch the TV series and stopped. I just wasn't crazy about the actor playing Cormoran. I know he's rough around the edges, and I agree with Erin that he is rather a noir character, but I felt that Tom Burke looked and acted a bit too brutish. I should maybe give the show another chance, but I hate when I have a character pictured a certain way and he is appears much different in a film or show.
Mod
Thanks for the correct date, Kathy. I'm so excited about that book! Love the series.
Mod
I think you might change your mind if you finished it, Kathy - by the end we see that Strike is anything but brutish -
I enjoyed Cuckoo’s Calling very much and am now reading Silkworm. But, as to the former, I didn’t recognize who the villain was in advance. What clues did I miss?
I finished the book last night. Not bad enough to put down, not good enough to read the next in the series. Obviously the writing is excellent but a little formulaic for me- a noir detective, stereotypical female characters - model, secretary, whore. Glad others liked it. We can't all like the same thing.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Laurie R. King Virtual Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Silkworm (other topics)The Silkworm (other topics)
This book introduces us to Cormoran Strike, a struggling private investigator who has just had a final breakup with his on-again, off-again fiancee, Charlotte Campbell. The story opens with Charlotte storming out of Strike's office, nearly colliding with Robin Ellacott, a young woman just moved to the neighborhood, newly engaged, and looking for Strike's office where she is to start working as a temporary secretary (unexpected by Strike). Robin and Strike meet by literally running into each other at the top of the flight of stairs, and Corcoran saves her from falling down the flight by grabbing her (in a tender spot). As the two of them regain their composure, and decide that Robin can stay to work for a week (per her contract with the temp agency), a new client (apparently a man of means) appears at the door seeking Cormoran's investigative skills. And the game is afoot...
As usual, let's allow ten days of non-spoiler comments, then open up a full discussion. Enjoy!