A load of old bolognese - Rated 
Judging from the other reveiws you either "get" this book or you don't. I've read it four times and think it quite wonderful; it even made me laugh out loud in several places. It certainly pays re-reading to pick up what you missed first time round.
Yes, it's a fairly hopeless plot for a detective novel. Yes, the central character is largely disinterested in the action and wanders off-stage for large sections of the book; and yes, "cardboard cut-out" can describe more than one of the central characters. But that is the whole point.
The parodies and subversions tumble over each other, and when they don't quite work - as sometimes happens - the book seems really to be sticking its tongue out at itself in the mirror.
It's a deliciously playful game that should be understood for what it is. No more. No less. And for me, one of those books that make life worth living.
Barking mad, barely a crime thriller, but brilliant! - Rated
I have no idea how to even start describing this effort. For a start, as a whodunnit, it's not worth the paper it's written on. Aurelio Zen appears only rarely and does virtually nothing. The entire book is really just a collection of vignettes involving cardboard characters that through a variety of coincidences, manages to come together and cobble a resolution.
It sounds bad, doesn't it? Not a bit of it! This is Dibdin at his most playful, stretching the genre to incorporate pastiche and parody. Fans of his earlier Zen novels (Ratking, Cabal, Vendetta etc) are quite rightly slating this novel as a poor imitation, but for what Dibdin sets out to achieve, it works really well.
So what do we have? A private investigator, Tony Speranza, set up exactly like Chandler's Marlowe (including a very close-to-plagiarism paragraph from "the Big Sleep"), an arrogant University professor, who Dibdin barely bothers to distinguish from real-life prof Umberto Eco. An illegal immigrant from Ruritania (a fictional place from Antony Hope's fictions). Interestingly, Speranza means "Hope" in Italian. Hmmmm.....
We have a lot of references to Jorge luis Borges (including when Uni prof has a dinner date with a one Erik Lonnrot - a fictional character from JLBs Death and the Compass). One gets the feeling that, along with a professor of semiotics and constant references to JLBs somewhat alternative storytelling, Dibdin was probably having a dark moment with the genre and said "Stuff it, let's just have some fun' Eager crime readers will notice a character called Brunetti (like Donna Leon's fictional Italian detective), and one called Guarnaccia (like Magdelen Nabbs Florentine creation). Coincidence, I doubt it, but at the same time, I see no reason for it either. maybe Dibdin is just playing with the concept of semiotics and philosophy that some of his characters expouse at times......
I've no idea how to even classify this. It is brilliant in that it takes off various elements of Italian culture perfectly, and Dibdin can write, oh yes, he constructs a sentence as well as anyone I've ever read. However, as a coherent, credible whodunnit, it's so poor it's laughable.
I don't know whether to recommend it or not. Because I enjoyed it, and it made me laugh, and it's a short read that won't cost you much time if you find you hate it, then it's a 5 star novel.
However, if you're a purist in your crime fiction or you're starting Dibdin for the first time, start with the early ones and work yourself up to it!
Ripping holiday read - Rated 
Well sat on a beach on the Adriatic Coast of Italy this book was a boon. Single sitting read - very clever and well put together. Not read any Dibdin before but will certainly take another one with me to Rome later in the year.
Not sure why anyone would decry the book in any way. Not the most fantastic book ever but a damn good read.
An Irreplaceable Loss to Crime Writing - Rated
Dibdin is the finest writer of crime to come from Britain, able to combine suspense, excitement, characterisation and humour. Along with this he stretches the form as he showed with the magnificent 'Cosi Fan Tutte'. He has returned to this post-modern approach with the glorious 'Back to Bologna'. I read it in one sitting and was swept up in the humour and artistry Dibdin deployed. The Umberto Eco spoof and 'Inspector Nez' was delightful. I think 'Back to Bologna' is one of the most dazzling displays of crime writing I have ever read and a must for fans of Zen.
Disappointing Dibdin - Rated 
I have followed the career of Inspector Zen closely for a number of years, but I think that he is clearly due for retirement. In 'Back to Bologna' Dibdin seems to be going through the motions: he has brought Zen back from the dead, but not to life. The plotting is slipshod: the Curti murder is not explored sufficiently, nor is the football milieu in which it takes place,and Dibdin gives the impression that he has never been to a football game. This background is clumsily provided in the form of long explanations given to Zen by a fellow police officer. The figure of Tony Speranza is ludicrous and unnecessary, apparently only there to provide the murder weapon. Dibdin indulges himself by painting an unflattering picture of Umberto Eco and all his (bestselling) works, although this is hardly likely to worry the academic author himself. The deterioration of Zen's relationship with his 'wife' is not explained, and Zen's physical and psychological problems, described at length at the beginning of the book, seem to disappear on his return to Bologna. I find the combination of farce and cynicism which characterises Dibdin's recent books rather unpleasant. In future I will stick to Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti.
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