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Pelagia and the Red Rooster Boris Akunin

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Pelagia and the Red Rooster

Boris Akunin

Pelagia and the Red Rooster Boris Akunin The ship carrying the devout to Jerusalem has run into rough waters. Onboard is Manuila, controversial leader of the “Foundlings,” a sect that worships him as the Messiah. But soon the polarizing leader is no longer a passenger or a prophet but a corpse, beaten to death by someone almost supernaturally strong. But not everything is as it seems, and someone else sailing has become enmeshed in the mystery: the seemingly slow but actually astute sleuth Sister Pelagia. Her investigation of the crime will take her deep into the most dangerous areas of the Middle East and Russia, running from one-eyed criminals and after such unlikely animals as a red cockerel that may be more than a red herring. To her shock, she will emerge with not just the culprit in a murder case but a clue to the earth’s greatest secret.

Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel features its beloved heroine’s most exciting and explosive inquiry yet, one that just might shake the foundations of her faith.

Pelagia and the Red Rooster Details

Date : Published 2009 by Phoenix (first published 2000) ISBN : 9780753826164 Author : Boris Akunin Format : Paperback Genre : Historical, Cultural, Russia, Literature, , Mystery

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From Reader Review Pelagia and the Red Rooster for online ebook

Jim Leffert says

Boris Akunin (the pseudonym of Georgian writer Grigory Chkhartishvili) has written 11 detective novels, taking place in the 19th century, which feature Russian secret agent and detective Erast Fandourin. Five of these novels have appeared in English. The present book is the third volume in a more recent series that takes place in the waning years of the —around 1910—and that feature an inquisitive and adventurous nun, Sister Pelagia, as the hero.

Having missed the first two installments, I am unaware of the extraordinary and tragic events that led young Polina Andreevna to take up the habit and retire to a convent in rural Zavolzhsk by the River, where she serves as headmistress for the local school. In this book, however, Sister Pelagia soon leaves the monastery and travels far afield, as she seeks to solve the murder of a man believed to be Manuila, a charismatic Russian preacher and founder of a sect of Russians who want to live like Jews and travel to the Holy Land. Manuila is despised both by xenophobic and anti-Semitic elements in Russia and by the established Jewish religious community, but the reasons for his attempted assassination are unclear. When the murdered man turns out to actually be a sect member who was posing as Manuila for security reasons, Sister Pelagia resolves to find the real Manuila in order to protect him from harm and to resolve the mystery of who is after him. Sister Pelagia is also vexed by a vision that she has involving a cave and a red cockerel.

Sister Pelagia’s ally in her detective efforts is Matvei Bentsionovich Berdichevsky, a public prosecutor who is himself an assimilated Jew who has converted to Russian Orthodoxy. Berdichevsky’s zeal to get to the bottom of this mystery is amplified by his infatuation with Sister Pelagia.

As Berdichevsky pursues his leads deep into the heart of reactionary government and quasi-governmental circles, we encounter the political convulsions and intrigues of the time, and particularly the anti-Semitic hostility that boiled over periodically into pogroms and later, into the infamous Beiliss blood libel trial (as detailed in Maurice Samuel’s fine book, Blood Accusation). While Berdichevsky investigates in Zhitomir and St. Petersburg, Sister Pelagia, forced to flee Russia, travels to the Holy Land, where she encounters a group of Zionist Halutzim, a Palestinian Arab guide, a group of homosexuals who are re-establishing Sodom with the help of an American millionaire, and the assassin, who is determined to eliminate her and Manuila.

I was impressed by Akunin’s extensive use of material from Jewish sources throughout the story. The twists and turns of the tale are truly impressive, and one may find humor, pathos, rationalistic ratiocination, political intrigue, and spiritual mysteries nicely brought together.

Melissa McShane says

I'm not sure what I think about this book. On the one hand, Akunin is a master storyteller, and he keeps the tension high, alternating Pelagia's account of her journey through Russia and Palestine with that of the merciless killer stalking her. On the other, this mystery is very different from those of the first two books, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. Pelagia is chasing a holy fool, a strange mystic with the power to read people's characters and change their behavior with a word. She's misdirected at every turn, with impostors and decoys muddying the waters of her investigation, and encounters other pilgrims to the Holy Land who keep turning up along the way. All of that makes for a good mystery.

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What I'm not sure about is the ending, where Pelagia finally catches up with her quarry--and it turns out she's been after him not to solve the mystery of why people want him dead, but because of a mystical experience she herself had. The novel ends with a stunning development that rewrites Christian history and puts Pelagia on an unusual path--it reminds me a little of the ending of Life of Pi, actually--but I felt that it was the wrong kind of twist. Even so, I enjoyed it very much, and it was still an excellent ending to the trilogy.

Lucy says

Have rooster, will travel.

M M says

Boris Akunin's last of his Pelagia trilogy - Pelagia and the Red Rooster - is out. I haven't taken to this intrepid nun as much as to , Akunin's other great hero. But Akunin's declared that he is done with this series, and its ending is more bitter than sweet, for Pelagia, with her red hair and freckled face, her keen mind and impetuous enthusiasm, is a sympathetic character, and perhaps I have developed an affection for her. This book is more serious and polemic than Akunin's others, darker, and he paints a broad sweep of politics, religion, xenophobia, and the beginnings of the long war between Jews and Arabs in the Holy Land. It is written from the point of view of several characters: Pelagia, an assassin, the chief Prosecutor of Zavolsk (where Pelagia is from), and sundry other minor people who add considerable colour to the tale. Although Pelagia has been accused of betraying her spiritual vows with her constant seeking out of detective thrills, and despite her promise to desist, she is unable to give up the investigation of a series of murders that seem to be associated with a self-proclaimed messiah. An assassin, meanwhile, has been dispatched to kill both her and the messiah. True to the genre, the rot obviously starts at the top, but here it's not really corruption that's spreading across the Russian establishment but conservatism and religious fervour. Several myths combine in this tale. Pelagia makes a grand tour down the Volga and into Palestine where she finds the messiah, as one would expect of a heroine.

Colleen says

I don't know if I'd necessarily have someone start with Pelagia or recommend this series to friends. I think you'd have to be crazy not to like the Erast Fandorin books, but Pelagia is...different.

One of the recurring troubles for Pelagia in this book made me think of a parallel to myself as well. The first impression she gives off to people is a rather ungainly, overly curious, red-headed unnattractive nun, but then a few days in her company and they're madly in love.

So this happened to me too, so ironic. I find myself having to work with these novels and they're not exactly light, kick back, and have everything spelled out for you murder mysteries. Sometimes it can be annoying to put forth effort and hard to figure out what's going on or plowing through dense paragraphs, but Akunin is always enjoyable reading and the reader is always ultimately rewarded. You just have to savor his books.

Also, it is worth it just for the pay off in this. I've been rolling what happens at the end around my brain now for days. I can safely say that with all my assiduous attention to this book, I did not see what happens at the end coming at all. So shocking I can't make up my mind if I like it or not...which probably means that it's

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Kris says

On the surface, this book, part of a series by Akunin, is a mystery - a murder is committed, and the nun Sister Pelagia goes against her promises to her superiors to investigate. But the book is so much more than your typical mystery - it includes commentary by the author on Russian history, Orthodoxy, and religion in general. My only complaint is that, because of some of these off-shoots into commentary, one tends to have difficulty remembering the basic mystery's plot, characters, and clues. This is a translation into English - Akunin is Georgian by birth, but I don't know if the book was originally published in Georgian or Russian. The translator, , does a good job of turning the original text into realistic, readable English while maintaining the decidedly "Russian" feel that anyone who has read Dostoyevsky will recognize. (In fact, the aforementioned commentary off-shoots are really typical of Russian classic literature.) This edition includes a brief section at the end highlighting some of the geography of Pelagia's trip through Russia to the Holy Land, an added bonus for us "internationalists".

Kris says

Religious mysteries seem to be in vogue, but this was just stupid. I've never heard of "special caves" or their relationship to red roosters before, maybe it's a russian thing or completely from the author's imagination, but that plot point was so out-there it ruined the story for me. The strange town and castle with the psychotic russian nobleman were hardly believable, but the super-assassin and the graphic details of his kills were stomach-churning and ultimately unresolved. This is supposed to be the last of the Pelagia stories and Thank you for that.

Biblioworm says

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Inese Okonova says

?oti gr?ti kaut ko uzrakst?t par šo l?dz absurdam novesto postmoderno detekt?vu. Ja (k? man br?žiem š?iet) tas bija nopietni dom?ts un m??ina izkl?st?t autora mor?li reli?iskos uzskatus, tad atliek sa?ert galvu un nošausmin?ties par nej?dz?go pseidofilozofiju. Bet ticam?k jau tom?r, ka š? ir k?rt?j? rota?a ar las?t?ju un detekt?va žanru. Un tad j?atz?st, ka bija jautri, lai gan vietumis pamat?gi p?rs?l?ts. Pareiztic?go m??ene-detekt?ve Pelagija šeit no savas izdom?t?s Aizvolgas aizku?as l?dz pat Palest?nai, kur sapulc?jusies visai jautra komp?nija no visas pasaules, tai skait? Krievijas - visu konfesiju sv?tce?nieki, homoseksu??i, kas apmetas uz dz?vi Amerikas filantropa sponsor?taj? jaunaj? Sodom?, nosl?pumainu sp?ku noalgots slepkava, kura uzdevums ir nov?rst reli?isku katastrofu, "atrade?u" sekta, kur? apvienotie pareiztic?go izcelsmes ?auti?i v?las k??t par j?daistiem, laup?t?ji utt. utjp. V?l pa vidu tam visam ir k?da svar?ga person?ža diezgan smiekl?ga p?rvietošan?s laik?, mistisko alu nosl?pums un ar?, iesp?jams, neeksist?jošs viduslaiku manuskripts par sarkanajiem gai?iem. Visai liels sviests. Bet br?žiem uzjautrinoši. Aku?ins k? nek?. :) Un beigu gal? šo visu iesp?jams iztvert ar? k? autora visai ekscentrisku veidu, k? piebeigt mazliet apnikušu s?rijas galveno varoni.

??????? ?????? says

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Erin says

While finishing this book up, I was telling a friend about it. When you say it all aloud, this book sounds really off the rails. "It's about this nun who is also a detective. It starts on this steamer where a prophet is killed, which then turns out to be the prophet's double. The nun then heads to the Holy Land on a adventure to....I'm not sure why she went. On the way, between the various characters,there's a magic cave, a white supremacy cult, a aristocratic murder house, an Arab assassin, and a drag queen who lives in Sodom." See? All over the place and not what you would expect from the Russian equivalent to Miss Marple. Well, I equate the characters. The game was upped everywhere in this last chapter of Pelagia. The violence in this one seemed more intense than other Akunin books. Shocking and startling in places. Didn't enjoy the ending. Not the ending I would hope for sharp,observant Pelagia.

Karen says

PELAGIA & THE RED ROOSTER is the third book (and I believe the last) in this series by Russian author Grigory Chkhartishvili aka Boris Akunin. Readers may be more aware of the six Erast Fandorin novels, which I understand have sold over 18 million copies in Russia alone.

This is the first of the Pelagia novels I've read, having had the pleasure of a few of the Fandorin novels before, and I was reminded again of the absolute feeling of 19th and, in this case, 20th Century Russian

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Having said that, I'm not sure that I'd recommend a new reader to the Pelagia series start at this point, not the least because I found this book more than a little odd. It took quite a while to get the character of Sister Pelagia figured out, especially, as I had no idea what it was that bought the young Polina Andreevna to a convent in rural Zavolzhsk by the Volga, to take up the habit and turn to teaching at the local school. I suspect this lack of background made Pelagia seem a most unlikely sort of a nun to have come from this place, in this timeframe. Pelagia has a very unexpected attitude to authority within the church, and a quite upfront relationship with the Bishops and with her fellow-travellers. To say nothing of a level of freedom which didn't quite make sense at points.

On a ship returning from St Petersburg, Pelagia comes across members of a controversial Jewish sect. After the murder of a man, initially believed to be the sect's charismatic leader in the cabin next door to Pelagia, she travels even further afield; seeking the dead man's true identity and the whereabouts of the real founder of the sect - Manuila; as well as, ultimately, a murderer.

As Sister Pelagia conducts this investigation she is hindered by a lurking man with a removable eye, but aided by a small Red Rooster and the public prosecutor Matvei Bentsionovich Berdichevsky. Matvei a Jew who has converted to Russian Orthodoxy, finds himself pursuing leads within government circles, surrounded by political machinations, intrigues, and anti-Semitic hostility. He also finds himself very preoccupied by his attraction to Sister Pelagia. Meanwhile she is forced to flee to the Holy Land, encountering Palestinian guides, Zionist groups and an American millionaire supporting the re-establishment of Soddom.

Needless to say, this is a very complicated, convoluted and heavily populated plot to get a handle on whilst you are also trying to work out what the central character's personal story is. It could also be very easy to think that you are heading into expected territory what with a single, female, unlikely central investigator. Pelagia, however, is not a Russian Miss Marple character. Very quickly it becomes obvious that PELAGIA & THE RED ROOSTER is not just an intricate tale of religious differences, tensions and obsessions, it is also a tale of a society that is undergoing massive upheaval. Whist appreciating the glimpse into the societal aspects, I never did lose the feeling throughout the book that things were a bit odd. Whether or not it was the elaborate, very Russian stylings, balanced against a nun who didn't seem to be behaving as expected; whether or not it was the religious machinations which were laid on very very thick, or simply the sense that everybody hated everyone who wasn't from their own group, I couldn't shake the feeling that I just didn't quite know what was going on. I think I would have preferred a lot more of the red rooster, and a lot less of the religious machinations. Perhaps if you're a fan of intricate historical perspectives, with a higher tolerance for or interest in religious perspectives - you might like to try the Sister Pelagia series.

The earlier books are Pelagia and the Black Monk and Pelagia and the White Bulldog.

Agnes says

OK, I struggled through this one trying to decipher what was going on due to the various characters (all in love with the nun) and their investigations....should not have bothered since the ending was so sacrilegious for reasons nothing to do with the nun.

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Kris McCracken says

This is most definitely the oddest of the Pelagia series, and the one with the highest (and gristliest) death rate!

In this novel, we follow the titular nun (and quite a few others) all over Russia, and across into the holy lands of the Middle East. Ultimately, this recaptures the ever-present tension in fin de siècle, pre-revolutionary Russia, where religious and political anxiety rule the day and conspiracies abound.

There is a very complicated, convoluted and heavily populated plot, made pleasurable by Akunin's wonderful ability to conjure up a real sense of time and place. This is an intricate tale of religious difference, tension and obsession, told amidst a society undergoing massive upheaval. As such, it won't be for all.

Bibliophile says

Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel is the third of Boris Akunin's mystery series starring an insatiably curious Orthodox nun named Pelagia, who seems to get mixed up in some very unsavory affairs on a regular basis. This outing finds Pelagia traveling to the Holy Land in pursuit of a mysterious wandering stranger and facing mortal danger (as well as fleas) on a constant basis.

I thought this was the weakest of the Pelagia novels. The setting is mostly outside the fictional town of Zavolszhk and outside Russia altogether, so Pelagia's wanderings in the then-Ottoman province of Palestine don't have the atmosphere that the other novels do. Secondly, the mystery is more opaque and hinges around metaphysical questions of faith rather than human evildoers (although there are plenty of those!) and therefore, I found that aspect less satisfying as well. Finally, Pelagia keeps getting into trouble and mostly getting out of it simply because of random coincidences, rather than (as she has in the past) using her own formidable wits to get her out of tight spots. (Also, the body count was enormous in this one, which was a bit off-putting!) The ending makes me think this is going to be the last Pelagia novel, so I guess Akunin decided to kill off as many folks as possible!

Chequers says

Questo libro conclude la trilogia delle avventure di Pelagija, ma al contrario dei due libri precedenti, credo che qui il mio amato Akunin abbia messo un po' troppa carne al fuoco, ed il risultato e' un minestrone abbastanza improbabile. Peccato.

Rusty says

In this book, Sister Pelagia is asked to solve yet another strange murder. She leaves the monastery where she is a teacher intending to find the murderer of a man named Manuila, a charismatic Russian preacher. Is the murdered individual the preacher who established a sect of Russians whose goal is to live like Jews and travel to the Holy Land or is he not? When she discovers that the murdered man is a member of the group disguised as Manuila, she is determined to find the real Manuila. Obviously, his life is in peril. In addition, Matvei Bentsionovich Berdichevsky, a public prosecutor who is enthalled by Sister Pelagia, is following her

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Androcles says

This book reminds me somewhat of a mayonnaise gone slightly wrong. It has all the required ingredients, many of which are of the highest quality, but their proportions, the way in which they have been added and the sequence of their incorporation and direction of 'stir' are not the best and the result lacks smoothness and satisfaction. If I were to rate this book on the basis of its last 2-3 chapters I would give it 5*****. They are striking in their intensity, imagination, profundity and audacity, and in their ability to provoke thought - we are given a touch of Faust, of Leo Tolstoy and Dante Alighieri all in the space of a few pages. And by then they are a most welcome reprieve. Because at other moments, earlier in the text I was left for long stretches in a state of profound 'ennui'. Cut-to-the-chase Boris I would say! Why so many characters I would add? And why are so many of them so similar? What am I missing? It is like a game of chess with too many rooks, and far far too many pawns! Too many protagonists are given similar 'weightings' and I found myself unable to commit myself to any one of them for any length of time other than to Sister Pelagia and to Bishop Mitrofanii whom we have enjoyed so much earlier in the series. And I suppose I wanted to see a little more of them too. I love your books Boris, but I think I'll take a wee break from Sister Pelagia and from Erast Fandorin for a while; maybe see you again in the springtime?

Lila says

A Russian mystery set vaguely in the 1880-1920s--hard to say, featuring lots of religious nuts. The focus in on a group of Russian Greek Orthodox trying to convert to Judaism. The detective is a nun and the plot is convoluted. It also involves special caves apparently capable of time travel--if you have a red rooster.

Leanne says

Favorite book on time travel ever! Reading all the negative reviews of the novel, I could understand because yes it is grisly, and yes the plot is crazy..... with time travel and armageddon mixd in with a boatload of religious fanatics, crazy converts and prophets... (both murdered and doubles alike)... Sister Pelagia is Miss Marple in the guise of an Orthodox nun and well..... her time travel back to the streets of Jerusalem, Sodom and beyond.. are all totally over the top. And yet I could not put it down. Like Akunin, I am a Japanese translator and am planning to check out his Japan series next. The author sounds to me like a force of nature- -fun article here http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles...

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