Aurelio Zen

I have added two goals to my list to:

• Re-read all of the Aurelio Zen series by Michael Dibdin
• Write a film script based on one of the Aurelio Zen novels

There are 11 books in the series from Ratking (1988) to End Games (2007). Unfortunately there will be no more as, sadly, the author died in 2007.

These have for a long time been my favourite series of detective novels. There is a fine balance of plot, character and social commentary (of modern Italy) in each of the stories. The writing is infused with irony and a dark, at times almost bleak, sense of humour. I gave the lead character in my nanowrimo novel a nickname of Zen was a deliberate nod of the head as a thank you for the enjoyment I have gained from the Aurelio Zen books.

Re-reading the series will be a pleasure. I haven't previously read them all in one go as I tended to read them soon after publication which was usually at two yearly intervals.

The books would seem an ideal candidate for re-working into a film format. The strong characters and rich locations would lend themselves readily to the screen. The idea of my re-working one of the novels to a film script is that it will be a learning exercise for myself rather than as any serious attempt to initiate a film project.