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The Manual of Detection
The Manual of Detection: A Novel | Jedediah Berry
20 posts | 21 read | 38 to read
"This debut novel weaves the kind of mannered fantasy that might result if Wes Anderson were to adapt Kafka." --The New Yorker Reminiscent of imaginative fiction from Jorge Luis Borges to Jasper Fforde yet dazzlingly original, The Manual of Detection marks the debut of a prodigious young talent. Charles Unwin toils as a clerk at a huge, imperious detective agency located in an unnamed city always slick with rain. When Travis Sivart, the agency's most illustrious detective, is murdered, Unwin is suddenly promoted and must embark on an utterly bizarre quest for the missing investigator that leads him into the darkest corners of his soaking, somnolent city. What ensues is a noir fantasy of exquisite craftsmanship, as taut as it is mind- blowing, that draws readers into a dream world that will change what they think about how they think.
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xicanti
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THE MANUAL OF DETECTION is one of those books I always expected to love, but I‘m halfway through and I just… don‘t. It‘s weird, which I appreciate, but Berry‘s prose style holds me at a distance. His writing is so smooth and clipped that I can‘t find much personality in it—and this is the kind of book that works best for me with a strong personality to beef up the weirdness. Sadness.

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xicanti
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I‘m gonna post a book (or series) from my TBR every day until I‘ve shared the lot. No descriptions. No explanations. Just a whole bunch of books I haven‘t read yet.

This is Day 6.

#LaTBRrevealed

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ineeadams
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Two new books for my 'To Read' file this month. Coincidentally, @jedediahberry and Erin Morgenstern are both from Massachusetts.

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The_Old_Astronomer
Manual of Detection | Jedediah Berry
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Pickpick

Rereading this for a #crimefiction class. I love the style of the writing and the tone and atmosphere that Jedediah Berry sets up. This book is so cute and clever.

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TobeyTheScavengerMonk
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Pickpick

Isn‘t it lovely when a book feels tailor-made just for you?

In a city of endless rains, the Agency‘s greatest detective has disappeared. His clerk, Unwin, is promoted and must try to find him so that Unwin can get back to his beloved desk job.

The case brings Unwin into the orbit of villains, elephants, thugs, giants, and femme fatales, culminating in a battle of Order vs Chaos, Agency vs Carnival, in a realm of dreams.

TobeyTheScavengerMonk Not enough room for the love I have for this one. I especially liked how the three major female characters were all detective-story tropes turned inside out in surprising ways. 6y
RaimeyGallant Any book with a bicycle on the cover is a win. :) 6y
Squidapus Squidapus is really glad you liked it! 6y
See All 9 Comments
JazzFeathers Staked! 6y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk @saresmoore This was less Wes Anderson + Kafka and more Jean-Pierre Jeunet + Terry Gilliam. Which was amazing! 6y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk @Squidapus It ended up being my very specific cup of tea! 6y
saresmoore Great description! 6y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk @vivastory It is entirely possible that you would dig this. 6y
vivastory I've had this on my shelves unread for a couple of years. Your posts are definitely making me move it up! 6y
81 likes11 stack adds9 comments
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TobeyTheScavengerMonk
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“To the modern detective, truth is rarely its own reward; usually it is its own punishment. And if you cannot track mystery to the back of its ugly cave, then be content to stand at the edge of the dark and call it by name.”

64 likes3 stack adds
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TobeyTheScavengerMonk
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GingerAntics I need those words. 6y
64 likes1 comment
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TobeyTheScavengerMonk
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The Agency does not approve of hunches.

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TobeyTheScavengerMonk

“Greenwood wasn‘t happy to see me. And I saw a look on her face, one I‘d never seen there before. I think it was surprise, but we might need a new name for it, just because it was hers.”

45 likes1 stack add
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TobeyTheScavengerMonk
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Best paragraph ever?

Also my post-punk/neo-swing band‘s 1st album will be called “Shoeless and Frolicsome”.

Lcsmcat 😂 6y
57 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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TobeyTheScavengerMonk
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Each chapter starts with a poetic excerpt from the titular Manual.

@saresmoore Good so far! Will keep you posted.

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TobeyTheScavengerMonk
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#Starting this 100% because the blurb on the cover says it‘s like Kafka through the lens of Wes Anderson.

That is also a pretty accurate description of what the inside of my head looks like.

saresmoore WHAT. 6y
saresmoore If it‘s terrible, you‘ll let Litsy know, right? But that‘s pretty much what the inside of my head is like, too, with some Emily Brontë thrown in. 6y
tjwill I read this a long time ago, and remember almost nothing. I might need a reread. 6y
55 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Squidapus
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Pickpick

What a crazy and zany detective story. Follow the winding and ridiculous journey of a bureaucrat who finds himself no longer filing and stamping paperwork for crimes but solving them instead. By the book, of course. Jumping from genre to genre, Squidapus felt it was hard to get a read on this book sometimes with what it was trying to do as it had its own surreal rules. The ending is a bit of a letdown but overall it was still an entertaining read

TobeyTheScavengerMonk Was planning on picking this up soooooon, but a letdown ending gives me pause... 6y
Squidapus @TobeyTheScavengerMonk Squidapus doesn't think it runs the book as it's worth a read but it certainly left much to be desired 6y
Squidapus @TobeyTheScavengerMonk Let us know how you like it! 6y
1 like4 comments
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MariaW
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Pickpick

That was a really really wheird book. It started off with a main protagonist you wouldn't want to like. A series of confusing events. But then the strings came together and everything was crystal clear. What an unexpected book. Glad I've read it till the end. It's definetly not a typical criminal story.
#jedediahberry #handbuchfuerdetektive #themanualofdetection #crime #crimenovel #criminalnovel #crimestory #crimestories

JazzFeathers And it has a lovely cover 😍 Does it come only in German? 7y
MariaW @JazzFeathers No, the original one is in English. It's called The Manual of Detection. 7y
JazzFeathers @MariaW Thanks. I'll check it out 😊 7y
Laura317 Sounds good! I'll check out 7y
54 likes5 comments
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RealBooks4ever
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This is probably the best of the #SupernaturalMysteries I've read. Smart and unique! #maybookflowers

RealLifeReading Another to add to my tbr! 8y
RealBooks4ever @RealLifeReading I don't think you'll regret this one! 8y
18 likes5 stack adds2 comments
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Cheekydame
Pickpick

Fantastic story with rich characters. Sad it's the only book the author has written.

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LadyElaine
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Pickpick

If Terry Gilliam started directing film noir, it would read a lot like this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

MrBook Added! 😊👍🏻 8y
6 likes2 stack adds1 comment