‘Sister Pelagia’ story gets lost in details
Most of the books I read I enjoy very much. And then there are times when I get a book that I completely don’t understand, but feel obligated to finish. Blame it on my OCD. “Sister Pelagia and The Red Cockerel” by Boris Akunin is one of those books.
Originally published in Russia, this translated novel is the third and final book in the Sister Pelagia series by Akunin, an acclaimed Russian author who is, however, lesser known in the United States. Sister Pelagia is a Russian nun who is acting head of a girl’s school. She has discovered that she has a certain talent for solving crimes, and while it distresses her superiors, they allow her to use her abilities for the good of everyone.
In “The Red Cockerel,” the good sister and the Bishop are traveling on a steamboat when a fanatical priest is mysteriously killed. It seems that someone on ship wanted to prevent the holy man and his followers from traveling to Jerusalem, and as it was Sister Pelagia who found the body, it’s up to the good Sister to try and help the police figure out why. Her sleuthing will take Sister Pelagia across her native Russia and deep into the Middle East and Israel, where she not only finds clues to the murder, but perhaps to the Earth’s greatest secret.
I’ll have to be honest and say that this was one of the most difficult books I’ve read in a long time. Akunin’s attention to the most minute of details is excruciating for the reader and really doesn’t carry the story along. I’m sure this was a heavy and exciting read in Russia, but it just doesn’t carry well for American readers.
