Does Dave robicheaux die in the glass rainbow?

Answer 1

ID2926809357 replies: Yes...he and Clete are busting and smoking the bad guys in the other world. I pray that I am wrong but I suspect that Burke is mindful of his own mortality and the un-answered question as to whether or not he will be able to write another Robicheau and Purcell adventure. RIP my two amigos

Barnabypage replies: Here is another take on it: he doesn't (though I agree Burke leaves it a bit vague).

The boat is symbolic of death, reminiscent of Charon's boat that took newly-dead souls across the river Styx to the underworld in Greek mythology. Robicheaux is trying to get on it, i.e. he is on the verge of death, when Clete pulls him back. Perhaps this implies it is Robicheaux's affection for Clete which keeps him clinging to life?

The two men are also "praying for the pinkness of another dawn", which strongly suggests they are not yet dead and are hoping to survive. There are also a number of references to medical attention in the hallucinatory passages at the very end of the book, which may hint that Robicheaux is already being treated for his injuries but in his confused state is mixing up the reality with memories of Vietnam.