The Dunbar Curse (Jogging Deputy Mysteries Book 1)

Title The Dunbar Curse. Pierce earned degrees in philosophy and secondary education. The main character is a small-town high school teacher and coach, who works for the county sheriff's department during the summer. Normally, the deputy never leaves the office, so he does not wear a uniform or carry a firearm. Nevertheless, he is thrust into the field when a local physician encounters a farm family being poisoned by arsenic.

The doctor and the sheriff, a boyhood friend, believe that the deputy has the requisite background to solve this case. Reluctantly, he pursues an investigation into the matter. The Dunbar Curse is the first in a series of books concerning this protagonist and the mysteries that become his to unravel. The deputy's success lies in his knowledge of the people in his community and his familiarity with rustic ways.

An avid jogger and occasional golfer, the deputy also finds these avocations to be of aid in his search for the truth. With the exception of Hag Seed, none of the five I have read seem to give fresh insights. It all seems rather confused. It all seemed so silly. This was why I then went back to re-read the original: But St Aubyn takes the opposite approach. So, where Taneja had grey areas to explore and make her story interesting, St Aubyn just seems to pit two despicable daughters against their father and angelic half- sister.

The first three chapters were a problem for me as they seemed to set the book up as "King Lear - The Comedy". As I say, it just felt silly and I wanted to give up. Dunbar is a billionaire media-mogul who wants to step down and hand control of his empire to his daughters. They immediately get a doctor to medically induce a breakdown and ship him off to a care home in the Lake District in England this plays the part of the Heath where a lot of the action in the original is set so that they can privatise the company and rake in billions of dollars.

In the facility, Dunbar meets Peter Walker a down-and-out, alcoholic comedian and they effect an escape. Cue a race between the two evil sisters and the one good sister to get to Dunbar first. The good news is that Chapter 4 onwards is a lot better. The bad news is that is it still not great. For me, it seems the whole story is dominated by the "evil sisters" at the expense of all the other things that make King Lear an enduring classic. View all 13 comments.

The Dunbar Curse by Bruce Pierce (, Paperback) | eBay

Oct 03, Rachel rated it liked it Shelves: Dunbar is the sixth novel in the Hogarth Shakespeare series, but it was actually my first. No, I haven't read Hag-Seed. So it wasn't a desire to keep up with the Hogarth series that drove me to click 'request' on this title - I was drawn to it because for whatever reason I just really, really like King Lear.

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The main question on my mind as I was reading was: I don't think there's ever going to be a definitive consensus on this subject, as I'm sure so Dunbar is the sixth novel in the Hogarth Shakespeare series, but it was actually my first. I don't think there's ever going to be a definitive consensus on this subject, as I'm sure some of us prefer our retellings on the more literal side, while others prefer them to be more abstract. But in general, I'd say that for a retelling to be a success, that the book should pay homage to the original while still adding something new to the story - maybe exploring certain themes present in the original in greater depth.

So with that in mind, how did Dunbar fare? I can't quite make up my mind. Dunbar is a contemporary spin on the tale in which the titular figure is a Canadian media mogul, whose company is currently being usurped by his two vindictive daughters, Abby and Megan. The story begins in medias res, with Henry Dunbar in a care home somewhere outside Manchester, telling the story of how he was betrayed by his two power-hungry daughters, and how he regrets betraying his other, loyal daughter, Florence, by cutting her out of the trust.

While it doesn't follow King Lear to a T, it really only ever deviates by omission. The subplot with Edgar and Edmund isn't really present at all. But where it zeroes in on the relationship between Lear and his daughters, Dunbar is an extremely literal retelling. I mean, Regan is actually called Megan. On the one hand, it was done very well, and on the other, there wasn't a whole lot left to the imagination.

Interestingly, one facet of Lear that I thought went unexplored in Dunbar is actually one of its most salient themes: The passages in which Henry Dunbar grapples with his 'madness' I thought were some of the weakest, and they really missed the opportunity to delve into this theme. Instead, this is a very stripped down King Lear , which ostensibly focuses on the reconciliation between Dunbar Lear and Florence Cordelia. It was well done in its own right, but I couldn't help wanting more out of this story.

Dunbar was also my first encounter with Edward St. Aubyn, who admittedly I hadn't even heard of before now, but I have to say that for the most part I was impressed. His writing is lively and clever; I was awed by his intelligence on more than one occasion. I'll readily admit that as someone with essentially zero knowledge of the stock market, a lot of the details of this book went right over my head - but St. Aubyn still kept me engaged, with stakes that consistently felt high even when some of the details escaped me.

Bottom line insofar as I am able to give a bottom line when I'm as conflicted as I clearly am about this book: As a King Lear retelling, it left a lot to be desired. Nevertheless, I did really enjoy reading this, and was fully prepared to give it 4 stars until its overly hasty conclusion, which unfortunately left me dissatisfied. Thank you Netgalley, Hogarth, and Edward St. Aubyn for the advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review. Sep 17, Eleanor rated it it was ok. Dunbar , like most of the Hogarth Shakespeare series, fails for several reasons.

Most particularly, it fails because it entirely lacks a moral component, and—relatedly—any sense of universality. Shakespeare's Lear is a King, of course, so hardly an Everyman, but the actors who play him have the opportunity to invest him with the most human of fears: Dunbar says this too, but St Aubyn doesn't give him the chance to be an Everyman; instead he's an aggressive and deeply unple Dunbar , like most of the Hogarth Shakespeare series, fails for several reasons.

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Dunbar says this too, but St Aubyn doesn't give him the chance to be an Everyman; instead he's an aggressive and deeply unpleasant media mogul who's suffered a drug-induced psychotic break. Where is the tragedy in this? Where is the audience's self-identification with the fallen man, the terror and the catharsis?

Glimpses of Dunbar's childhood—a cold and distant mother, a stint in provincial Winnipeg—might have made this possible, but St Aubyn never does more than glance at them. The mother, clearly, is meant to explain some of the Lear story's misogyny. I'm left wondering, as always, whether this is an inherent problem of form; whether these stories are so plainly play-shaped that making them into novels is doomed; or whether there is something about consciously attempting to adapt Shakespeare that makes even revered writers choke; or whether shall we whisper it?

It is clearly not impossible to write an excellent novel that brings the concerns of King Lear into the present day: But maybe we ought to stop expecting such a thing from established literary names. There have been too many disappointments already. With the assistance of a bent doctor, the sisters had Dunbar declared unsound and quietly tucked away in a sanatorium in the Lake District. Now the sisters plan to take back the family company at a meeting and move the old man to a secure facility in Austria.

The sisters plans come undone first by Florence seeking out her father for a reconciliation and by Dunbar himself when, with fellow patient comedian Peter Walker, the two men devise a plan to dispose of their medications and make a run for it.

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When Peter becomes too drunk to continue Dunbar sets out alone, sleeping rough for two nights while the sisters and Florence try to find him. Cumbria in December - people flock here just for the hailstorms. As with King Lear, the potential for a happy outcome is eroded and then lost through fateful decision-making. I admit to being lost in the machinations of boardroom takeovers but liked the sudden ending. I enjoyed this retelling of an old tale and look forward to others in the Hogarth series, as well as other works by Edward St.

Oct 15, Sid Nuncius rated it it was amazing Shelves: I thought Dunbar was excellent. I approached it with a little trepidation because a modern re-imagining of the King Lear story could have been worthy or turgid or forbidding or just plain terrible. In fact I found it gripping, witty, touching and very readable. Henry Dunbar, the Lear character, is a billionaire media mogul and the machinations of the characters are in the business and financial worlds which, given the events of the last couple of decades, works extremely well.

In the characters o I thought Dunbar was excellent. Aubyn catches the lazily indignant sense of entitlement and the unthinking, self-absorbed cruelty of the over-privileged sisters. Dunbar escapes from an institution in the Lake District to which these two have secretly committed him, and we get a brilliant picture of a disintegrating mind as he wanders the fells…and so on.

The Dunbar Curse by Bruce Pierce (2001, Paperback)

The plot is recognisable without being slavish to the original, and St Aubyn uses it for some very well-aimed barbs at modern finance, the behaviour of the super-rich and other aspects of contemporary life. He writes beautifully, in prose that is elegant but simply carries you along without drawing self-regarding attention to itself.

I marked lots of neat passages and phrases, like an institution which "could not keep up with the modern demand for a place in which to neglect the mad, the old and the dying," or the rich, powerful man who "knew what it was to be surrounded by a halo of hollow praise," which seemed especially apt in The humanity and pity of the play are all there, too, and in the context I found, "Florence, is that you?

I've been looking for you everywhere," every bit as moving as, " Do not laugh at me; For, as I am a man, I think this lady To be my child Cordelia" which for me is really saying something. In short, I found Dunbar readable, gripping, witty, moving and insightful and I can recommend it very warmly. Sep 29, Fiona rated it it was amazing Shelves: A thoroughly enjoyable Lear for the 20th century. Dunbar is not a king but a Canadian media mogul whose daughters, Megan and Abigail, are manoeuvring themselves into position to take over his empire. They have had him committed to a care home in the Lake District where he is losing his mind due to the cocktail of drugs he is being drip fed.

St Aubyn does a tremendous job of depicting Dunbar's descent into madness as he becomes lost in the wilderness of the fells. All the things he had ever felt a A thoroughly enjoyable Lear for the 20th century. All the things he had ever felt ashamed of seemed to have been distilled into the elixir of his own cruelty. An eye for an eye: They were holding him down to clamp his head in a vice and slice his eyelids off.

No, please, not that. As he climbed higher his vision grew more blurred, feeding his fear of being blinded by the venom of his accumulated crimes. He clutched his head between his powerful hands, to show how tightly trapped it was, but also in the hope of somehow finding the strength to wrench it aside, to avoid letting the corrosive liquid fall, drop by blistering drop, on to his precious, defenceless eyes. No, please, please, please.

His heart was bursting with anguish. He scrambled up the last few yards on all fours and collapsed on the brow of the hill He would have to linger on, cattle-prodded through a labyrinthine slaughterhouse of hunger, exposure, infection and insanity or, worse, be rescued, to be paraded at his daughters' triumph, like a conquered king in chains, pelted with filth and rotten food by the jeering populace. Dunbar's estranged daughter, Florence, is trying to find him before her sisters do and it's not difficult to imagine Dunbar staggering around the fells with two helicopters in hot pursuit.

It's not necessary to have an intimate knowledge of the play. It may be enjoyed on a different level if you are at least familiar with Shakespeare's characters but I'm sure it can be enjoyed as a bittersweet black comedy with no previous knowledge whatsoever. View all 5 comments. A bit of a quandary with this, only the second of the current Hogarth Shakespeare adaptations I've now read the other being Winterson's take on The Winter's Tale, which although similarly muddled, I rather enjoyed.

Aubyn and have read his entire canon, but this seems neither one of his better efforts, nor does it really succeed as a retelling of Lear which My sincere thanks to both Goodreads Giveaways and the Hogarth Press for the ARC of the book in exchange for this honest review. Aubyn and have read his entire canon, but this seems neither one of his better efforts, nor does it really succeed as a retelling of Lear which I reread immediately preceding this to make sure I had it sufficiently down pat.

Had I not KNOWN this was based on Lear, I actually might have totally missed the connection entirely, as Dunbar goes so far afield from the source material that one wishes the author had not been under the constraint imposed by the assignment.

Basically, I think it was a mismatch to begin with; St. Aubyn, with his acerbic wit, would have been better suited adapting one of the comedies, despite his penchant for dysfunctional families. Be that as it may, St.

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Aubyn is incapable of writing something that isn't, at the bare minimum, interesting, witty and with some exceptional prose - so am settling on 3 stars. Mar 11, Wanda rated it it was amazing Shelves: Aubyn was certainly up to the task! I picked it up Sunday morning, meaning to just get a start on it. After all, I already knew the inevitable ending—everybody dies, right?

He made it fresh with Henry Dunbar, the media mogul, whose hubris has brought him low. I read the entire thing before lunch! Like Lear in the play, Dunbar regains his wits just long enough to realize all that he has lost, a truly tragic ending. I really loved the drunken comedian, Peter Walker, in his role as the fool. How have I not read any of St. That mistake must be corrected! Feb 28, Chris Mara rated it it was amazing. This was an extraordinarily written book. Each of the main characters carries the component for exhibiting one or more of the Seven Deadly Sins Pride Greed Lust Envy Gluttony Wrath Sloth Henry Dunbar, one of the worlds most powerful, influential leaders of a highly successful global media company finds himself mentally slipping away and doing oddball things that bears question to his capability to continue to run his company.

A fall, while at Davos, landed Henry in the hospital for several weeks and This was an extraordinarily written book. A fall, while at Davos, landed Henry in the hospital for several weeks and since then he has not been his regular self. His two evil daughters look at this as their opportunity to take over and profit heavily from his inabilities. Bob, to incarcerate him into a sanatorium in Manchester for a rest. Bob is another who stands to get a lot of money out of all this.

High stakes in the form of a multi-million trust, an aggressive competitor who will pay for inside secrets, and payoffs to the very unethical Dr. Bob, company board members, 2 of the 3 daughters, and others who are or who will get involved along the way in this twisted play for profit plot. The two daughters are evil minded and want to overthrow their father based on his increasing lack of mental capacities.

Bob, is no angel and always has a handy supply of hard core prescription medications to pass out. Henry makes friends with Peter, an alcoholic comedian at the sanatorium and the two plot to stop taking their meds and escape. What a pair they make as they escape, with Peter doing the planning, drinking, doing impersonations, and leading the way out. I really liked Peter; he brought comedy to the story. An incident occurs along their escape route where Peter and Henry part ways; Henry continues onward on his own.

In the harsh beauty and ruggedness of nature, memories of his personal and business life flit across his mind, and he ponders over them as he continues to makes his escape over the hills. His wit, his clarity, persistence, determination and perseverance and his will to live becomes even more stronger. Florence and her father had parted ways but when she hears her father has been taken to an unknown sanatorium because of his illness, the two sisters will not divulge his location to her or anyone else, so now she tries to work with some other folks to locate her father.

Betray the one who betrayed the betrayed. Florence finds the home her father was placed into, learns of his escape, then hires a pilot and helicopter and they search the cold, wet, snowy hills for her father and he is rescued but not returned to the home. Henry is now with Florence and recuperating under the professional care of a different doctor no more bad docs or bad meds and both Florence and her Father reunite. They forgive each other and try to make sense of the others scheming. Sep 05, Kasa Cotugno rated it it was amazing Shelves: Hogarth could not have made a better choice than Edward St.

Aubyn to update King Lear for their Shakespeare today series. In his five-volume expose of his own wildly dysfunctional family, he has proven he can skewer those nearest and dearest, and so he does so with this, probably the most definitive example of people who shouldn't even know each other let alone constitute a family. In this version, Dunbar is a Ruppert Murdoch-like kingpin of media, but since he is meant to be a sympathetic char Hogarth could not have made a better choice than Edward St. In this version, Dunbar is a Ruppert Murdoch-like kingpin of media, but since he is meant to be a sympathetic character, maybe Murdoch is a wrong choice.

His two oldest daughters are even more venal and evil than their prototypes, and the third, result of a second marriage and obviously his favorite since she so resembles her late mother, is maybe too good to be true.

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But how this translates to modern day is seamless, and of course familiarity with the original material is helpful in getting most of the references. Sep 25, Amanda Brookfield rated it really liked it. When I heard that various top writers had been asked to tackle the big Shakespeare plays and turn them into prose fiction I really wasn't interested. I mean, quite apart from the small detail of Shakespeare being a genius, he wrote for the theatre; it's called drama, and with good reason. But then someone said Edward St.

Aubyn had made a very good fist of 'King Lear', which triggered the happy memory of once, a million years ago, sitting round a small table with Edward himself studying - of all When I heard that various top writers had been asked to tackle the big Shakespeare plays and turn them into prose fiction I really wasn't interested. Aubyn had made a very good fist of 'King Lear', which triggered the happy memory of once, a million years ago, sitting round a small table with Edward himself studying - of all things - King Lear, when we were both students trying to get into university.

The thing about Edward St. Aubyn is that he is extremely clever. Round that small table he did not speak often, but when he did all assembled jaws hit the floor because what he said was so original, so intelligent, so apt. And so it is with his novel 'Dunbar' in which St. Aubyn has proved that the impossible feat of turning Shakespeare into a modern novel is in fact possible. The novel is set in the high-octane world of money.

Henry Dunbar, once the all-powerful head of a global media corporation, has handed over the care of his company to his eldest daughters, Abby and Meghan, only to regret the decision very quickly as they freeze him out. While Florence, his youngest daughter, plays the Cordelia role, of not needing to make declarations about a love that is intrinsic and self-evident and at first suffering for her integrity. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway.

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