April 06
"Poison Story" Maria V. Snyder
What an interesting story! A young woman lives in a very controlled country that was once a corrupt monarchy and now a country ruled by the military. Strict laws and harsh punishment await those who disobey. Everyone wears a uniform unique to the duties they perform in society. The woman, Yelena, was abused and in desperation, killed the son of a powerful general. She was sentenced to hang but was given the choice of hanging or becoming the "Commander’s" food taster and eventually dying of poison. She chose the tasting job and was taught by the "Commander’s" lieutenant how to identify poisons. She was, also, given a poison that required a special antidote each morning which, of course, was meant to keep her from escaping. She develops a special relationship with her tutor and becomes quite important in the palace hierarchy. Splendid characters are developed in this fantasy story of magic, intrigue, and action. The author will write another story about Yelena as she gains more magic powers.
"Quo Vadis" Henryk Sienkiewicz
What a bit of luck! I read "Quo Vadis" many years ago and I always wanted to read it again. Our library has a translation by Jeremiah Curtin in 1896. It is the story of Rome during the time of Nero; it tells of the political intrigues of the times, the way the wealthy and influential people lived with their slaves in their mansions with elaborate baths and gardens. About the sycophants that pandered to the every whim of Nero - out of cold fear. It is also the story of how Christianity began to take hold in Rome. Christians were hated and accused of debauchery, worshiping the head of an ass and devouring children. As a result, the Christians stayed hidden they used the sign of the fish to identify each other and they hid and worshiped in secret. The story tells about Petronius a wealthy, very influential person and his young nephew Markus Vinicius , a rich land owner who is obsessed with love, to the point of irrationality, for a lovely young girl, Lygia who is a Christian. The conflict begins; we meet Peter and Paul and watch while poor Vinicius tries to compete with this "new religion" for the love of Lygia. This is "Christian/Fiction" at its best. Sienkiewicz combines real and fictional characters into a moving and plausible story with some very interesting history of the time. The dialogue is wonderful! I can not help
but notice the intelligent way those "older" authors used words and created dialogue. They wrote "up to the reader" they assumed that the reader was literate and well read when they described situations and used analogies. Raphael Sabatini wrote the same way. This is a classic that should not be missed.
"A Dance to The Music of Time" Anthony Powell
Anthony Powell an English author of considerable force has written a massive three volume novel. He starts with the "The First Movement" which includes three stories as a kind of a serial, then "The Second Movement " and then "The Third Movement"; each movement with three novels. Another long, Proust like, novel about people I really don’t care about in a setting that is foreign to me and does not interest me. Powell is very literate and uses wonderful phrases and description but the day to day happenings with those boring people he created does not interest me. After 150 pages, I scanned the rest of "The First Movement" and will take the book back to the library to rest with it’s other literary acclaimed "movements".
"The Mermaid Chair" Sue Monk Kidd
An interesting and somewhat complex story about a woman, Jessie, who is facing a crises in her life and marriage. In her life, Jessie feels that she has not done anything self fulfilling. She and her husband, Hugh, seem to be growing apart (she calls it growing to much closer together) and, although, she has artistic talent she has for some reason stifled it. Friends of her mother have reported that her mother has been acting very strangely lately. When Jessie learns that her mother has cut off her finger and placed the severed finger in a jar, Jessie has to leave Hugh for a while (actually, with some relief) to go to the East coast island where she grew up to see about her mother. As she travels, she remembers various experiences in her life as she was growing up with her family and friends. The memories are bright and funny and just what one would expect from Sue Kidd. The family characters and friends are charming.
"Poison Story" Maria V. Snyder
What an interesting story! A young woman lives in a very controlled country that was once a corrupt monarchy and now a country ruled by the military. Strict laws and harsh punishment await those who disobey. Everyone wears a uniform unique to the duties they perform in society. The woman, Yelena, was abused and in desperation, killed the son of a powerful general. She was sentenced to hang but was given the choice of hanging or becoming the "Commander’s" food taster and eventually dying of poison. She chose the tasting job and was taught by the "Commander’s" lieutenant how to identify poisons. She was, also, given a poison that required a special antidote each morning which, of course, was meant to keep her from escaping. She develops a special relationship with her tutor and becomes quite important in the palace hierarchy. Splendid characters are developed in this fantasy story of magic, intrigue, and action. The author will write another story about Yelena as she gains more magic powers.
"Quo Vadis" Henryk Sienkiewicz
What a bit of luck! I read "Quo Vadis" many years ago and I always wanted to read it again. Our library has a translation by Jeremiah Curtin in 1896. It is the story of Rome during the time of Nero; it tells of the political intrigues of the times, the way the wealthy and influential people lived with their slaves in their mansions with elaborate baths and gardens. About the sycophants that pandered to the every whim of Nero - out of cold fear. It is also the story of how Christianity began to take hold in Rome. Christians were hated and accused of debauchery, worshiping the head of an ass and devouring children. As a result, the Christians stayed hidden they used the sign of the fish to identify each other and they hid and worshiped in secret. The story tells about Petronius a wealthy, very influential person and his young nephew Markus Vinicius , a rich land owner who is obsessed with love, to the point of irrationality, for a lovely young girl, Lygia who is a Christian. The conflict begins; we meet Peter and Paul and watch while poor Vinicius tries to compete with this "new religion" for the love of Lygia. This is "Christian/Fiction" at its best. Sienkiewicz combines real and fictional characters into a moving and plausible story with some very interesting history of the time. The dialogue is wonderful! I can not help
but notice the intelligent way those "older" authors used words and created dialogue. They wrote "up to the reader" they assumed that the reader was literate and well read when they described situations and used analogies. Raphael Sabatini wrote the same way. This is a classic that should not be missed.
"A Dance to The Music of Time" Anthony Powell
Anthony Powell an English author of considerable force has written a massive three volume novel. He starts with the "The First Movement" which includes three stories as a kind of a serial, then "The Second Movement " and then "The Third Movement"; each movement with three novels. Another long, Proust like, novel about people I really don’t care about in a setting that is foreign to me and does not interest me. Powell is very literate and uses wonderful phrases and description but the day to day happenings with those boring people he created does not interest me. After 150 pages, I scanned the rest of "The First Movement" and will take the book back to the library to rest with it’s other literary acclaimed "movements".
"The Mermaid Chair" Sue Monk Kidd
An interesting and somewhat complex story about a woman, Jessie, who is facing a crises in her life and marriage. In her life, Jessie feels that she has not done anything self fulfilling. She and her husband, Hugh, seem to be growing apart (she calls it growing to much closer together) and, although, she has artistic talent she has for some reason stifled it. Friends of her mother have reported that her mother has been acting very strangely lately. When Jessie learns that her mother has cut off her finger and placed the severed finger in a jar, Jessie has to leave Hugh for a while (actually, with some relief) to go to the East coast island where she grew up to see about her mother. As she travels, she remembers various experiences in her life as she was growing up with her family and friends. The memories are bright and funny and just what one would expect from Sue Kidd. The family characters and friends are charming.
Jessie's father died in a fiery boating accident and both her mother, Nellie, and Jessie have guilt feelings about the death, both feel responsible for different reasons.
There is a lot of symbolism in the story; mythical stories about mermaids. The mermaid chair is used to bless sea going boats similar to the way that the Greek sponge divers in Florida blessed their boats once a year(I wonder if that is where Kidd got the idea).
There is a monastery where Jessie meets a monk named Whit and she has a love affair with him. Jessie begins to paint more vibrantly; during the love affair, she paints a woman (herself?) arms outstretched peering upward (towards heaven-god?) Then she decides that it won’t work and turns it upside down. She sees that the woman is actually diving down ( to what?).
Jessie’s mother has a psychological problem relating to the death of Jessie’s father. She has a story about an Inuit mermaid, Eudoria, who severed all ten fingers and planted them, they grew into sea creatures and symbolically created a new world ;this could represent to Nellie, a desire to bring the world back to before her husband died. The mermaid chair ,itself , is also involved in her problem. Jessie fears that her mother plans to sever all ten of her fingers.
Hugh finds out about Jessie’s affair and is bitterly angry. They separate. Jessie and Whit end the affair. Everything, eventually, gets resolved in a somewhat satisfactory manner but there is a lot of heartbreak and poignancy.
I have mixed feelings about the story. I am ok with the affair between Jessie and Whit; I think it resolved some things for both of them. I don’t think that Hugh understood his culpability in the role he played in the scheme of things but then we never did learn very much about him I would like to think that I would be more forgiving than Hugh. I didn’t care for the religious symbolism and the idea of a cloistered life for a man or a woman where the goal is to seek god rather than live life is distasteful to me. The mermaid saint( according to the myth) St. Senara, was originally Asenora who came out of the water at night (and hid her tail in the rocks) to explore the land and learn about people. The chief monk found her tail and hid it so Asenora lost her ability to swim free and had to live a cloistered life of obedience.(punishment for her nefarious past?) "The wildness was driven out of her; she chose the path of godly delight over that of sensual delight". Interesting that the people threw "mermaid’s tears" into the water at the time of the boat blessing. Very sad! I was also appalled at the idea of Hugh "doling out" forgiveness to Jessie from time to time; if you love, you forgive unconditionally. Ms Kidd’s use of quotes from the poet "Rumi was good. Rumi was a 13th Century mystic poet called "The Poet of the Heart". I read that Rumi considered poetry a "secondary product", a mere reflex of "that huge interior reality that we call love".. He said that "Love is an emotion, totally silent and inexpressible with words".This novel was quite a contrast to Sue Monk’s "Bees" but I enjoyed it and recommend it.
"The Skin Gods" Richard Montanari
This is a creepy, scary story about a psychopath who kills and films the act and then inserts the segment in classic horror film VSR cassettes ("Psyco" by Hitchcock was the first) and leaves them in video stores. It is a "cop" story with some very good characters and some interesting forensic work. The banter between police officers who work in homicide which seems to help them get through the day to day horrors of the job tell a story in itself but the novel is very dark and graphic in it’s violence; a little more than necessary perhaps. The author has written several other thrillers that I might try; he reminds me of some of the early Jeffery Deaver novels.
"Ashes To Ashes" Tami Hoag
It has been a while since I read anything by Tami Hoag I think she wrote this in the year 2000. I found this audio book at the Tullahoma library; 16 hours of fast paced shock, tension, violence and gory references to death, torture and mutilation. With some very strong language. The story is about a victim’s rights advocate becoming involved with a serial killer. She becomes prey. Good, strong police characters following leads and showing their strengths and weaknesses as they try to identify and stop this killer who preys on unfortunate women of the streets who are captured, tortured and set on fire. The identity of the killer is quite a surprise. The story has a wishy washy romance that doesn’t add much. This is not a book for the "faint hearted"; I think that Ms Hoag could have reduced the ever so graphic descriptions and softened some of the very blunt language but that is how people write these days. There is a companion book "Dust to Dust"
"Crippen" John Boyne
An Irish author; his first novel. Fiction, based on an actual murder that took place in England. A "Doctor", Hawley Crippen, poisoned his wife Cora, cut her up in little pieces and buried the remains in the cellar of his house. There was a hew and cry and a man hunt that included a chase across the Atlantic ocean. The murder story has a very interesting twist and the author gives us a clue that you may or may not pick up on. (Think - Robert Montgomery in "Night Must Fall" an old movie from the late 30's or early 40's). While the murder is certainly interesting, it becomes almost secondary to the marvelous characters that people the novel. These are folks who are or were, in some way, involved with Crippen and his wife; each has a fascinating story of their own that you learn as the novel moves backwards and forward in time. Interesting take on how class conscious these folk were in spite of the fact that many had a rather sordid background. I will look forward to more from this author
"Money" Martin Amis
I am frequently puzzled by the glowing reviews that critics or other authors attach to the back cover of novels. "Money" is a disgusting, profane and if it is supposed to be representative of how people with money live "in the fast lane" of our modern society, it is a sorry commentary on where we are going as a society. The pundits liked it; called it realistic and lively. Sorry, No!.
"The Sea" John Banville
Another Irish author who has written a thoughtful story of a man who, after losing his wife to cancer goes back to the seaside town where he spent his childhood during the summer. The story weaves memories of his courtship, his marriage and the trials of his wife’s death, his present day relationship with his grown daughter who is trying to help him in his grief with memories of a family that summered in this same seaside town and made a considerable impression on him. I enjoyed the writing and the story.
"The Bronte Project" Jennifer Vandevere
I picked up the book mainly because of the title. I thought I would learn more about Charlotte Bronte. Instead, I read the story of a young woman, Sara, working on her doctorate thesis and looking for the lost letters of Charlotte Bronte. Apparently, the author of Jane Eyre was infatuated with an older man and she wrote letters to him and to a friend about her "romance" but most of the letters were lost or destroyed. The author uses quotes from fragments of Bronte’s letters to various people as a backboard for the experiences and situations she places her young researcher in. The story is filled with interesting people including a lover or two or three, a marvelously insane and witty and avant guard person who has published material on Princess Diana and wants to collaborate with Sara on a lecture which would compare Charlotte with Princes Diana, a movie producer who thinks, wrongly, that a biographical movie on Bronte would work, and a funny, amoral Frenchman who drifts in and out of the story. The dialog was funny. I thought that the first half of the novel was good; it moved fast and many of the "feminist" ideas were expressed with humor and in most cases right on. After the characters were fully developed, the author didn’t quite know what to do with them. I lost interest.
""Road To Paradise" Max Allan Collins
This man wrote "The Road To Perdition" which was made into a movie, He, also, wrote "The Road to Purgatory" and "Road to Paradise" as a final chapter in a trilogy. A fascinating story about the boy from "Road to Perdition"who went on a bank robbing and killing spree with his "hit man" father when he was twelve years old nowgrown up and working for the mob as a Casino manager. The novel takes place in the early 70's; the boy, Michael ,is married and has two teen age children and no longer gets involved in the killing aspects of the Chicago Mob. While this is fiction, the author uses authentic places and scenes in and around Chicago that I remember well ( I remember the "Chez Parie" a mob run nightclub.) He also gives great descriptions of the Chicago gangsters; Al Capone, Tony Accardo, Frank Nitti, Sam Giancana and Sam DeStefano and their hit men with all their colorful names. The story, also, brings in Frank Sinatra and his pals (and gals) as well as JFK and his family when Frank Sinatra fronted for the Chicago mob as owner of a Nevada Casino. Michael is framed as the killer of a high ranking mobster and his life drastically changes as he must protect himself and his family. Lots of action here; author Max Collins really knows his gangsters. I must get "Road to Purgatory"!
More Recent Books
April 15 to
"Road to Purgatory" Max Allan Collins
This is the second book in Max Allan Collins’ trilogy; It should be noted that the first story ("Road to Perdition") was a comic book novel made into a movie and then later, Collins wrote it into a novel which I have not yet found. This story tells the exploits of Mike "Satariano" as a soldier in the Phillippines, how he got his medal of Honor and how he joined "the mob" in Chicago as a means to get to Al Capone who was responsible for the death of his father Michael O’Sullivan Sr. All of the gangland criminals from Rockford, Illinois to Chicago and their exploits in gambling, women, juice (loan sharking),nightclubs and protection are talked about in great and interesting detail. The novel is particularly interesting to some one who knows Chicago, its history and geography. It set the stage very well for the next novel. Max Collins is very prolific; mysteries, gangland stories, stories about Eliot Ness and other characters of the time. I will read more of him.
Derby Rotten Scoundrels" Short Stories Various Authors
I enjoyed this anthology of horse racing and Kentucky Derby days. From doping horses and doping jockeys, grifters and dippers, stolen jewels to murder, each story is bright and frequently humorous. Just some easy reading.
"Beasts of No Nation" Uzodinma Iwela
A very depressing first novel by a bright young African man about a boy, "Agu", who is forced into tribal war. The boy learns with other children to kill and maim as a guerilla fighter, is abused by his "Commander" and all the while he is trying to reconcile the horrible, beastly things he does with the small bit of Christian religion that was taught to him by his mother. The author is Harvard educated but his narrator in the story uses simple phrases and halting English as a poor young boy in these circumstances might use to tell his story. I do not know if the author experienced any of the things he wrote about; it is possible that he did. It is a sad tale.
"Full Moon Rising" Keri Arthur
A bizarre fantasy about vampires, werewolves and now, half vampires and half werewolves. This Australian writer (who, according to her bio, at the age of twelve rewrote an entire novel because her favorite character was killed; she changed the story and ending to suit herself) has created a world where humans and creatures of the night live together under a tentative pact where a "Directorate of Other Races" has been created to watch the "supernatural beings "and protect the humans. Apparently, the vampires behave reasonably well but the werewolves instead of acting like the kind we learned about from Hollywood films - - killing and tearing apart humans, have highly charged sex orgies when the heat of the moon is present .There is a weak plot about someone trying to clone vampires but the novel seems to be mostly about how werewolves and particularly our half & half protagonist, Riley Jenson , satisfy their powerful sexual urges. Alice Brochard, sister to Ann Rice, is the consummate werewolf story teller; read her instead; this is too far out.
"Manhattans & Murder" Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain
This is an Audio "Murder She Wrote " story with a thin murder plot. The story is primarily about Jessica’s trip to New York City to publicize her new novel. Book signings, interviews and famous people as well as a couple of her pals from Cabot Cove weave in and out of the story and Jessica, as always, solves whatever mystery there is. The reader was too heavy on the character accents especially when she tried to "speak New York". Only six disks and if you like Jessica Fletcher, go ahead; I thought it was weak and poor.
"The Rosary Girls" Richard Montanari
Very heavy on gore, violence and strong language. There is a psychopath on the streets of Pittsburgh who is kidnaping, mutilating and killing young girls. The PPD has created a task force to determine why and to try to find out when and where the killer will strike again. Montanari has created some very complex police characters who sometimes let their own personal problems get in the way of their police work. Throughout the story we learn more than we need to know about the lives of his characters The suspects are varied and plausible but, in the end, the killer is a surprise and is hardly mentioned in the story; a very minor character. Montanari ‘s characters use harsh language, shock and he uses graphic violence a little too much, I think. I am not sure that I will read any more of his stuff.
"Cold Sassy Tree" Olive Ann Burns
Granny Blakeslee has been dead only three weeks but Grandpa has called the family together to announce that he is going to marry Miss Love Simpson the millinery that works at his store; a woman half his age and worse yet, a "Yankee". When they protest that Granny has only been dead three weeks, Grandpa says "good gosh a’mighty! she’s dead as she’ll ever be, ain’t she?" Grandpa is a stingy old man and he figures that a wife would cost less than a house keeper (won’t he be surprised!) A funny and touching story about rural Georgia at the beginning of 1900. A shocked family, a shocked community, a young boy in his early teens growing up and old Grandpa Blakeslee changing and growing young under the tutoring of Miss Love Simpson. A splendid read!
"Death of A Dreamer" A Hamish Macbeth Mystery M. C. Beaton
I first met Hamish in the novel "Death of a Snob". Hamish is a policeman in a very small village in the Scottish Highlands. He knows every one in town and most of the time, crime is limited to petty theft, drunkenness and family differences but when something major comes up, Hamish can be counted on to run an interesting, if low key, investigation which will, eventually, solve the crime. His interaction with the villagers and particularly the ladies (Hamish attracts the ladies) is really a lot of fun. When Hamish’s superiors from the "big city" come to "interfere" they usually end up with mud in their face. I will read more "Hamish"; he kind of grows on you.
"Seven Days To The Sea" Rebecca Kohn
This is a story of Moses told by the two major women in his life; Miryam, Moses’s sister who had a vision that she interpreted as her brother being the one to lead her people out of Egyptian oppression and Tzipporah a woman of the desert who married Moses and although she was very much involved with a strange pagan goddess ," Asherah", she followed Moses into Egypt. The story starts from the birth of Moses during the time of Rameses’ edict that all male children born to Israelites are to be killed through Moses’ learning of his heritage ,to his exile and his sojourn in Midan with Yitro and his daughters. The second half deals with his return to Egypt, the trials, the plagues and the exodus. It is an interesting tale of two women from vastly different backgrounds being thrown together to support the man Moses.
"The Secret Supper" Javier Sierra
An interesting but difficult to read novel about Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of "The Last Supper". It is supposed that Leonardo is detailing secret, blasphemous messages in the painting. A priest from Rome is dispatched to Milan (actually, a member if the inquisition) to find "proof" of Leonardo’s heresy. The famous painting is dissected in the novel; the cup and the bread are not evident, no meat on the table, Leonardo has painted himself into the picture, John looks like a woman (Mary Magdalene?), there is an unscriptural dagger in Peter’s hand and there are other minor things that cause concern. Javier Sierra, a Spanish author, has done a lot of research and has brought in the history of the Cathars, a very early church that did not see any reason for priests or ministers and vaunted a simple religion with direct contact with god. This idea does not set very well with the established church with it’s privileged clergy and pomp and ceremony. Leonardo was supposed to be leaning towards such a religion and the clergy thought that his painting had such messages implanted in the drawings. It was an interesting read; the puzzle was very esoteric but Sierra pulled it all together with diagrams and some pictures. There are some interesting references to the idea of Mary Magdalene as the one who was supposed to head the early church. I wonder what the novel would have looked like if Sierra had seen the new "Judas Gospel"? I will have to read this one again. Sierra is not as good as Dan Brown; the story does not flow as easily.
Hugh finds out about Jessie’s affair and is bitterly angry. They separate. Jessie and Whit end the affair. Everything, eventually, gets resolved in a somewhat satisfactory manner but there is a lot of heartbreak and poignancy.
I have mixed feelings about the story. I am ok with the affair between Jessie and Whit; I think it resolved some things for both of them. I don’t think that Hugh understood his culpability in the role he played in the scheme of things but then we never did learn very much about him I would like to think that I would be more forgiving than Hugh. I didn’t care for the religious symbolism and the idea of a cloistered life for a man or a woman where the goal is to seek god rather than live life is distasteful to me. The mermaid saint( according to the myth) St. Senara, was originally Asenora who came out of the water at night (and hid her tail in the rocks) to explore the land and learn about people. The chief monk found her tail and hid it so Asenora lost her ability to swim free and had to live a cloistered life of obedience.(punishment for her nefarious past?) "The wildness was driven out of her; she chose the path of godly delight over that of sensual delight". Interesting that the people threw "mermaid’s tears" into the water at the time of the boat blessing. Very sad! I was also appalled at the idea of Hugh "doling out" forgiveness to Jessie from time to time; if you love, you forgive unconditionally. Ms Kidd’s use of quotes from the poet "Rumi was good. Rumi was a 13th Century mystic poet called "The Poet of the Heart". I read that Rumi considered poetry a "secondary product", a mere reflex of "that huge interior reality that we call love".. He said that "Love is an emotion, totally silent and inexpressible with words".This novel was quite a contrast to Sue Monk’s "Bees" but I enjoyed it and recommend it.
"The Skin Gods" Richard Montanari
This is a creepy, scary story about a psychopath who kills and films the act and then inserts the segment in classic horror film VSR cassettes ("Psyco" by Hitchcock was the first) and leaves them in video stores. It is a "cop" story with some very good characters and some interesting forensic work. The banter between police officers who work in homicide which seems to help them get through the day to day horrors of the job tell a story in itself but the novel is very dark and graphic in it’s violence; a little more than necessary perhaps. The author has written several other thrillers that I might try; he reminds me of some of the early Jeffery Deaver novels.
"Ashes To Ashes" Tami Hoag
It has been a while since I read anything by Tami Hoag I think she wrote this in the year 2000. I found this audio book at the Tullahoma library; 16 hours of fast paced shock, tension, violence and gory references to death, torture and mutilation. With some very strong language. The story is about a victim’s rights advocate becoming involved with a serial killer. She becomes prey. Good, strong police characters following leads and showing their strengths and weaknesses as they try to identify and stop this killer who preys on unfortunate women of the streets who are captured, tortured and set on fire. The identity of the killer is quite a surprise. The story has a wishy washy romance that doesn’t add much. This is not a book for the "faint hearted"; I think that Ms Hoag could have reduced the ever so graphic descriptions and softened some of the very blunt language but that is how people write these days. There is a companion book "Dust to Dust"
"Crippen" John Boyne
An Irish author; his first novel. Fiction, based on an actual murder that took place in England. A "Doctor", Hawley Crippen, poisoned his wife Cora, cut her up in little pieces and buried the remains in the cellar of his house. There was a hew and cry and a man hunt that included a chase across the Atlantic ocean. The murder story has a very interesting twist and the author gives us a clue that you may or may not pick up on. (Think - Robert Montgomery in "Night Must Fall" an old movie from the late 30's or early 40's). While the murder is certainly interesting, it becomes almost secondary to the marvelous characters that people the novel. These are folks who are or were, in some way, involved with Crippen and his wife; each has a fascinating story of their own that you learn as the novel moves backwards and forward in time. Interesting take on how class conscious these folk were in spite of the fact that many had a rather sordid background. I will look forward to more from this author
"Money" Martin Amis
I am frequently puzzled by the glowing reviews that critics or other authors attach to the back cover of novels. "Money" is a disgusting, profane and if it is supposed to be representative of how people with money live "in the fast lane" of our modern society, it is a sorry commentary on where we are going as a society. The pundits liked it; called it realistic and lively. Sorry, No!.
"The Sea" John Banville
Another Irish author who has written a thoughtful story of a man who, after losing his wife to cancer goes back to the seaside town where he spent his childhood during the summer. The story weaves memories of his courtship, his marriage and the trials of his wife’s death, his present day relationship with his grown daughter who is trying to help him in his grief with memories of a family that summered in this same seaside town and made a considerable impression on him. I enjoyed the writing and the story.
"The Bronte Project" Jennifer Vandevere
I picked up the book mainly because of the title. I thought I would learn more about Charlotte Bronte. Instead, I read the story of a young woman, Sara, working on her doctorate thesis and looking for the lost letters of Charlotte Bronte. Apparently, the author of Jane Eyre was infatuated with an older man and she wrote letters to him and to a friend about her "romance" but most of the letters were lost or destroyed. The author uses quotes from fragments of Bronte’s letters to various people as a backboard for the experiences and situations she places her young researcher in. The story is filled with interesting people including a lover or two or three, a marvelously insane and witty and avant guard person who has published material on Princess Diana and wants to collaborate with Sara on a lecture which would compare Charlotte with Princes Diana, a movie producer who thinks, wrongly, that a biographical movie on Bronte would work, and a funny, amoral Frenchman who drifts in and out of the story. The dialog was funny. I thought that the first half of the novel was good; it moved fast and many of the "feminist" ideas were expressed with humor and in most cases right on. After the characters were fully developed, the author didn’t quite know what to do with them. I lost interest.
""Road To Paradise" Max Allan Collins
This man wrote "The Road To Perdition" which was made into a movie, He, also, wrote "The Road to Purgatory" and "Road to Paradise" as a final chapter in a trilogy. A fascinating story about the boy from "Road to Perdition"who went on a bank robbing and killing spree with his "hit man" father when he was twelve years old nowgrown up and working for the mob as a Casino manager. The novel takes place in the early 70's; the boy, Michael ,is married and has two teen age children and no longer gets involved in the killing aspects of the Chicago Mob. While this is fiction, the author uses authentic places and scenes in and around Chicago that I remember well ( I remember the "Chez Parie" a mob run nightclub.) He also gives great descriptions of the Chicago gangsters; Al Capone, Tony Accardo, Frank Nitti, Sam Giancana and Sam DeStefano and their hit men with all their colorful names. The story, also, brings in Frank Sinatra and his pals (and gals) as well as JFK and his family when Frank Sinatra fronted for the Chicago mob as owner of a Nevada Casino. Michael is framed as the killer of a high ranking mobster and his life drastically changes as he must protect himself and his family. Lots of action here; author Max Collins really knows his gangsters. I must get "Road to Purgatory"!
More Recent Books
April 15 to
"Road to Purgatory" Max Allan Collins
This is the second book in Max Allan Collins’ trilogy; It should be noted that the first story ("Road to Perdition") was a comic book novel made into a movie and then later, Collins wrote it into a novel which I have not yet found. This story tells the exploits of Mike "Satariano" as a soldier in the Phillippines, how he got his medal of Honor and how he joined "the mob" in Chicago as a means to get to Al Capone who was responsible for the death of his father Michael O’Sullivan Sr. All of the gangland criminals from Rockford, Illinois to Chicago and their exploits in gambling, women, juice (loan sharking),nightclubs and protection are talked about in great and interesting detail. The novel is particularly interesting to some one who knows Chicago, its history and geography. It set the stage very well for the next novel. Max Collins is very prolific; mysteries, gangland stories, stories about Eliot Ness and other characters of the time. I will read more of him.
Derby Rotten Scoundrels" Short Stories Various Authors
I enjoyed this anthology of horse racing and Kentucky Derby days. From doping horses and doping jockeys, grifters and dippers, stolen jewels to murder, each story is bright and frequently humorous. Just some easy reading.
"Beasts of No Nation" Uzodinma Iwela
A very depressing first novel by a bright young African man about a boy, "Agu", who is forced into tribal war. The boy learns with other children to kill and maim as a guerilla fighter, is abused by his "Commander" and all the while he is trying to reconcile the horrible, beastly things he does with the small bit of Christian religion that was taught to him by his mother. The author is Harvard educated but his narrator in the story uses simple phrases and halting English as a poor young boy in these circumstances might use to tell his story. I do not know if the author experienced any of the things he wrote about; it is possible that he did. It is a sad tale.
"Full Moon Rising" Keri Arthur
A bizarre fantasy about vampires, werewolves and now, half vampires and half werewolves. This Australian writer (who, according to her bio, at the age of twelve rewrote an entire novel because her favorite character was killed; she changed the story and ending to suit herself) has created a world where humans and creatures of the night live together under a tentative pact where a "Directorate of Other Races" has been created to watch the "supernatural beings "and protect the humans. Apparently, the vampires behave reasonably well but the werewolves instead of acting like the kind we learned about from Hollywood films - - killing and tearing apart humans, have highly charged sex orgies when the heat of the moon is present .There is a weak plot about someone trying to clone vampires but the novel seems to be mostly about how werewolves and particularly our half & half protagonist, Riley Jenson , satisfy their powerful sexual urges. Alice Brochard, sister to Ann Rice, is the consummate werewolf story teller; read her instead; this is too far out.
"Manhattans & Murder" Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain
This is an Audio "Murder She Wrote " story with a thin murder plot. The story is primarily about Jessica’s trip to New York City to publicize her new novel. Book signings, interviews and famous people as well as a couple of her pals from Cabot Cove weave in and out of the story and Jessica, as always, solves whatever mystery there is. The reader was too heavy on the character accents especially when she tried to "speak New York". Only six disks and if you like Jessica Fletcher, go ahead; I thought it was weak and poor.
"The Rosary Girls" Richard Montanari
Very heavy on gore, violence and strong language. There is a psychopath on the streets of Pittsburgh who is kidnaping, mutilating and killing young girls. The PPD has created a task force to determine why and to try to find out when and where the killer will strike again. Montanari has created some very complex police characters who sometimes let their own personal problems get in the way of their police work. Throughout the story we learn more than we need to know about the lives of his characters The suspects are varied and plausible but, in the end, the killer is a surprise and is hardly mentioned in the story; a very minor character. Montanari ‘s characters use harsh language, shock and he uses graphic violence a little too much, I think. I am not sure that I will read any more of his stuff.
"Cold Sassy Tree" Olive Ann Burns
Granny Blakeslee has been dead only three weeks but Grandpa has called the family together to announce that he is going to marry Miss Love Simpson the millinery that works at his store; a woman half his age and worse yet, a "Yankee". When they protest that Granny has only been dead three weeks, Grandpa says "good gosh a’mighty! she’s dead as she’ll ever be, ain’t she?" Grandpa is a stingy old man and he figures that a wife would cost less than a house keeper (won’t he be surprised!) A funny and touching story about rural Georgia at the beginning of 1900. A shocked family, a shocked community, a young boy in his early teens growing up and old Grandpa Blakeslee changing and growing young under the tutoring of Miss Love Simpson. A splendid read!
"Death of A Dreamer" A Hamish Macbeth Mystery M. C. Beaton
I first met Hamish in the novel "Death of a Snob". Hamish is a policeman in a very small village in the Scottish Highlands. He knows every one in town and most of the time, crime is limited to petty theft, drunkenness and family differences but when something major comes up, Hamish can be counted on to run an interesting, if low key, investigation which will, eventually, solve the crime. His interaction with the villagers and particularly the ladies (Hamish attracts the ladies) is really a lot of fun. When Hamish’s superiors from the "big city" come to "interfere" they usually end up with mud in their face. I will read more "Hamish"; he kind of grows on you.
"Seven Days To The Sea" Rebecca Kohn
This is a story of Moses told by the two major women in his life; Miryam, Moses’s sister who had a vision that she interpreted as her brother being the one to lead her people out of Egyptian oppression and Tzipporah a woman of the desert who married Moses and although she was very much involved with a strange pagan goddess ," Asherah", she followed Moses into Egypt. The story starts from the birth of Moses during the time of Rameses’ edict that all male children born to Israelites are to be killed through Moses’ learning of his heritage ,to his exile and his sojourn in Midan with Yitro and his daughters. The second half deals with his return to Egypt, the trials, the plagues and the exodus. It is an interesting tale of two women from vastly different backgrounds being thrown together to support the man Moses.
"The Secret Supper" Javier Sierra
An interesting but difficult to read novel about Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of "The Last Supper". It is supposed that Leonardo is detailing secret, blasphemous messages in the painting. A priest from Rome is dispatched to Milan (actually, a member if the inquisition) to find "proof" of Leonardo’s heresy. The famous painting is dissected in the novel; the cup and the bread are not evident, no meat on the table, Leonardo has painted himself into the picture, John looks like a woman (Mary Magdalene?), there is an unscriptural dagger in Peter’s hand and there are other minor things that cause concern. Javier Sierra, a Spanish author, has done a lot of research and has brought in the history of the Cathars, a very early church that did not see any reason for priests or ministers and vaunted a simple religion with direct contact with god. This idea does not set very well with the established church with it’s privileged clergy and pomp and ceremony. Leonardo was supposed to be leaning towards such a religion and the clergy thought that his painting had such messages implanted in the drawings. It was an interesting read; the puzzle was very esoteric but Sierra pulled it all together with diagrams and some pictures. There are some interesting references to the idea of Mary Magdalene as the one who was supposed to head the early church. I wonder what the novel would have looked like if Sierra had seen the new "Judas Gospel"? I will have to read this one again. Sierra is not as good as Dan Brown; the story does not flow as easily.
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