A Reading Chair for Pink Saturday

 

The perfect chair to spend a Pink Saturday with a cuppa and a good book! And here are this week's reads in a capsule ... it's been a very good week for choosing books!

I was totally intrigued and engrossed in this triple-era mystery. First we have the Cadences: wealthy early century bank owners and manor house owners who have a lot of secrets and skeletons and emotional baggage and pitfalls. Next we meet the depression-era children, Ella, Victoria and Clem. They are friends who also have secrets even at their tender age, and one which they will carry to the end of their lives. And, finally, we meet Amy - Ella's grown grandaughter - and Jan, Amy's boyfriend.

Although the story travels the world, it centers on The Poisoned Village. The Poisoned Village is Priors Bramley, a village shut off in the 1950s so that the area could be used for chemical weapons-testing during the Cold War. When the village was evacuated and the razor wire and signs surrounded it, a long history of dark secrets was also closed off to the outside world. Now, sixty years later, the village has been declared safe again. And there are people who want the ugly secrets kept hidden in Priors Bramley forever - and there are some who are searching out answers which promise to stir the secrets to the surface.

If you are up for a neo gothic thriller this one should be next on your list! I do wish Hitchcock were still around to film this story ... he might even surpass Vertigo with this material! 

and speaking of Vertigo! ...

 

Vertigo has always been not only my favorite Hitchcock film, and my favorite film noir, but my absolute favorite film - period. I've seen it over 100 times. And I will still watch it. So, when I found out about this analysis by the renowned film critic Charles Barr, I knew it was no-brainer must-have.

This is a cold analytic study of the film, dissected scene by scene and compared with Hitchcock's first film, the 1924 British silent White Shadow, which has dramatic comparable lines. Barr also discusses at length the cinematography stylistic choices, the actors' poses and camera framing techniques, and the heavy uses of long silent stretches in the movie with lavish orchestral soundtrack. And he takes all of that and assesses how it makes for a stronger, more emotional and more sturdy film. He also shares some of the scenes which were filmed at the studio's behest and which were then discarded as inappropriate for the film Hitchcock envisioned.

I found all of it very interesting and I was ready to delve into the next chapter, when I realized that - I had finished the book. It's only 92 pages long. And a lot of that is taken up with film stills. So, that's my reason for the 2-star review. The little glimpse of insight was excellent. Though, I would suspect anybody not a major Vertigo aficionado would be bored to tears by it. This is very genre specific material. But, for those of us fans, it's a very well done study.

But, I don't think anybody should pay $15 for a 92 page book. Sorry. I felt ripped off.
 

...and, as it's been a noirish kind of week:

I've wanted to read this for a couple years; I guess it was good I waited, as it's been revised and updated. And it's a terrific read by Eddie Muller, the film noir host on Turner Classic Movies channel. It reads much like Muller's film introductions in his distinctive hard-boiled crime story style. It's entertaining without question - and chock full of information and background. The book is divided in chapters on the various 'settings' for film noirs (this is American film noirs, he doesn't try to traverse the entire planet): Sinister Heights (Exclusive Enclave of the Criminally Corrupt); The Precinct (Battered Bastion of Law Enforcement); Hate Street (Randy Region of Ruined Relationships); Hate Street (All the News That's Unfit to Print); Shamus Flats (Lost Someone? Gumshoes for Hire); Vixenville (Fiefdom of the Femme Fatale); Blind Alley (Crossroads of Coincidence and Fate); The Psych Ward (Where Veiled Veterans are Quarantined); Knockover Square (Deluxe District of Heists and Holdups); Losers' Lane (Street of Sorry Psychopaths); The Big House (Last Stop on a Wayward Course); Thieves' Highway (The Risky Road Out of Town); and The Stage Door (Enjoy a Show...Before It's Too Late). Within each chapter, Muller shares the quintessential films that make each of these categories enticing and thrilling to watch, along with photos, trivia, cast information, and production personnel. And it's NEVER dry reading. Somehow - I'm not sure how, but he does it - it all reads like one long screenplay. It's a very original concept; and, a successful one.

Obviously, I highly recommend this to anybody who is a lover of film noir or hard-boiled detective crime novels. The hard copy is a deluxe book, with glossy paper that makes the well reproduced black and white film stills and photos pop right off the page. However, I chose the Nook version which allows me to click on a photo and enlarge it (the way a photo on a phone does). That way I can examine all the little details in the photos, which I find really interesting.

“I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners. They’re pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings.”

“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.”

“Dead men are heavier than broken hearts.”

I'm crazy about this stuff!

After so much noir this week, I needed a change of pace, and this well-written and lavishly illustrated biography was just what I needed. 

 

Sal Mineo was such an unusual combination of angry young rebel and sensitive artist to become a teenage heartthrob movie idol. His career began on Broadway, playing first as an extra, young boy in Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo and then as Prince Chulalongkorn in The King and I starring Yul Brynner and Gertrude Lawrence. He is probably best known for his iconic role opposite James Dean in the classic film Rebel Without a Cause, for which he was Oscar nominated; but, he was also nominated for his outstanding work in Exodus opposite 16 year old Jill Haworth (the future Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway) and won the Golden Globe for it. He had several top ten hits and had girls screaming and chasing him like all the rock and roll stars of the period. Then he made the tragic mistake of admitting his bisexuality. His career dried up. He went back to his roots, the theatre, and started producing and occasionally directing and/or appearing in controversial plays that explored society sexual and cultural taboos. He starred in the west coast production of P.S.Your Cat is Dead and directed and played Rocky in the controversial prison play Fortune In Men's Eyes He did have a long term relationship, but his life was cut short by a botched robbery.

This book was well researched and there were many interviews with people who both worked with him and were involved with him in personal relationships. It was well written, and stayed fairly true to life events and didn't dwell too heavily on the more sensational and exploitative parts of his life. His interest in the arts and his attempts to live a cultured, artistic and somewhat private life was explored and I found was sympathetic. There are many photographs - private candid shots, publicity shots, film stills and play photos - all well reproduced and clear.

I recommend it to anybody who is a fan of Mineo's - especially if you've only read the more lurid accounts of his life (I've read two that were just dreadful). And, if you only know him as Plato in Rebel Without a Cause, this is a very good way to learn more about a young American artist cut down too early in his life. 

I can't believe I'm giving this 4 stars. I mean, honestly, this is not great American theatre repertoire material. Nobody is ever going to mistake it for a play written by Tennessee Williams or Eugene O'Neill or Arthur Miller or Edward Albee.

But, it is the laugh out loud, knee-slapping, funniest play I have ever read. I used to think the funniest play ever was Paul Rudnick's I Hate Hamlet. Nope. This is it. Not only funny - but has the most outrageous and mind-blowing twist ending ever. It's not a mystery - but this ending is right up there with the Agatha Christie oh-I-don't-believe-it final curtain!

If you get a chance, read this play. It will only take you about an hour or so to read it. And trust me. I dare you to read the paper bag scene and PICTURE IT in action and not howl with laughter! 

This book has a terrific 'hook'...it reads as if written in real time. It's not - just as films that are supposedly in real time (I'm thinking of Run, Lola Run, Rope, 12 Angry Men, Phone Booth, Dog Day Afternoon ), there are times when there is a quick shift forward which is almost unnoticeable. But, the intent to present as real time is there - and it certainly reads that way. It's clever and well-done.

A woman's infant has been kidnapped and she has been given very specific instructions on what is required to get the child returned to her. She and her best friend spend a terrified time trying to, not only follow the demands exactly, but also, determine who is the criminal and why she was targeted.

I can't give any more away - it's too good to spoil the discovery on your own. This was a fast read; not because it's short or simplistic but because it's genuinely suspenseful and tense and I tended to race through it to find out what was going to happen next.

It's a good one. I've never read this author before but I'm going to search out more!

And, if you prefer lounging to sitting while reading on Pink Saturday morning or afternoon, here's a nice comfy chaise lounge that should fit the bill nicely ...

I hope you found something that sounds like a good juicy read to you ... and when you're all inspired from your reading adventures, be sure to check out the other offerings on today's Beverly's Pink Saturday Blog Hop, then go make something beautiful!

¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´) Tristan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pink Saturday Silk Ribbon Embroidery + 2 Out of 4 Isn't Bad!

I have always been fascinated by people who have the patience, skill and talent to create flowers and design embellishments with bits and pieces of silk ribbon. This example seemed too perfect for Beverly's Pink Saturday Blog Hop not to share. If you scroll to the bottom of the post, I'm going to share a couple other photos of other marvelous pieces!

But, first, this week's book round-up. Two terrific must-reads for mystery lovers - and two books that I'm so sorry to have picked up! LOL

 ☆☆☆☆☆

First I have to address some of the reviews I've read on Goodreads and Amazon that contain complaints that this book has too much plot. Seriously?! With so many mystery/thrillers that have chase/romance/escape filler to disguise the fact that there is hardly any plot, I found the many complex and disparate threads that wove into one final tapestry exceptionally well written. I've decided Mr. O'Brien must have written this from the end backwards. There are so many plot lines that eventually feed into each other it was astonishing to me. And, though I hadn't figured out the denouement, I had to admit all the clues and arrows were pointing there and readily available to somebody more quick-witted than I!

Now, how disparate are those threads? The book is about a 30 year old Manson-like thrill killing spree and a contemporary copy cat killing. And there is a film being made of the original gruesome crime that has been plagued by disasters, including deaths, of the people involved in the making of it. So why disparate? Because the protagonist and main character in the book is young mother/widow of a war hero who works as a cook in a gourmet diner and is being stalked by her ex-lover. And she has absolutely nothing to do with the film, the original murders or the copy-cat murders. How is that for out of left field? LOL

I loved this book. I enjoyed every page. The characters are vivid and sharply drawn. The plot is complex and smart. The dialogue is believable and each character has a voice of their own. And I enjoyed that it was about Hollywood film and celebrities and nostalgia - but takes completely in Washington state. I found the whole thing refreshingly original. This is one of my rare 5 star reviews! I think it's about as close to perfect as a murder mystery gets! 

☆

Very disappointing to me. I thought this was going to be a mystery thriller. And, it sort of is ... but it's supernatural and, basically, an excuse for chapter after chapter of soft porn. I've never been a fan of soft porn. I have always equated soft porn with real life sex: soft just doesn't get the job done. Okay - too much information, I know. But, it bored me silly.

One dead ex-lover's spirit inhabits the body of a new lover and makes the life of the main character a living hell. It's a living hell for a bazillion chapters while he has supposedly mind-blowing sex.

Just not my cup of tea. If you like this kind of thing, I suppose it was bizarre enough to keep one reading. I only kept reading because I thought it was going to turn out that somebody was trying to drive the main character crazy or something. Nope. It was what it was.

As much as I disliked the book, I really disliked the publisher's advertising and found it disingenuous and misleading. And that quote from Stephen King on the cover raving about it? - how much did they pay for that?!

 ☆☆☆☆

Something about UK (and Scandinavian) serial killers is creepier than our American ones...or, at least the fictional ones. Perhaps I've just read too many American serial killer novels and watched too many of our films and television series. But, they do tend to be doggedly similar. These Brits are really wacky and loonier tunes than I would be able to come up with LOL.

This novel works on three levels: the serial killer (who 'steals' tattoos - especially full body ones - from his murder victims); the tattoo artist who is avoiding her exhusband, the serial killer, and might have a thing for the detective in charge of the case (even though she's a boho tattoo artist rebel and naturally anti-police); and the police detective who is a jaded, sour fellow who is still grieving his murdered wife and young daughter.

Now doesn't all that sound cheerful? This is one dark, edgy, twisty and twisted noir-ish tale.

It's terrific. I loved it. I read the whole thing in one night ... though it did take me the whole night. It's well written; tight and concise and Ms. Belsham has a knack for describing horrifying murder scenes without being graphic and downright disgusting.

And, if you're of a mind, there are some fab ideas for tattoos! 

☆

The set up for this story was intriguing: Nazi-occupied Paris with an odd-couple of detective partners, one a French police detective and the other a Gestapo detective. Together they've been assigned to work as a team to solve murders during the occupation. And the set up for this mystery was intriguing, too. I think. I say "I think," because I'm not really sure what any of it was. This has to be the worst translation I've ever tried to wade through. Garbled sentences, incomplete thoughts, partial phrases rendered meaningless by the 'translation by Google translator." It took me over four hours just to read 100 pages. And I wasn't even sure what was going on. I know it involved antique coins, a possible maybe or maybe not murdered prostitute, a criminal murdered on a carousel (or maybe it was a Resistance fighter? I'm not sure) ... or maybe those were just sidelines in the story. I just knew I wasn't going to attempt another 300+ pages.

I have a feeling if you read French and got a copy of the book in the original language, it would be quite good. But, this is like trying to listen to music while you're underwater. 

And that's it for this week! Here are two more promised images of beautifully crafted silk ribbon embroidery samples. I wish I knew the artists who created them so I could find more of their work. I'm afraid I have to be satisfied with these!

Enjoy your weekend - be sure to check out the other offerings on Beverly's Pink Saturday Blog Hop!
And then - go make something beautiful!

¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´) Tristan

 

 

The Perfect Pink Saturday Morning Spot for Some Reading Inspiration!

The perfect spot for a Pink Saturday Blog Hop morning snack and inspiration!

I know, I know. I've been woefully missing in action for a couple months. I wish I could say that I've been doing exciting and magical things. Alas, it's not so. We are still not fully opened up here from the pandemic, so except for restaurants and malls - neither of which I'm really interested in right now - there still isn't much in the way of fun to be had. For the most part, I've been watching lots of Turner Classic Movies, Raku and Netflix, baking way too many desserts ... and, of course, reading, reading, reading! I've got six - count 'em six! - terrific suggestions for you this week. I'll have some more soon - but I didn't want my book 'reviews' to be as long as an actual book.

 

A definite change of pace, this novel does an excellent job of placing us in the retro era of the 1950s-60s. Like the novels of Patricia Highsmith, whose books this reminds me of quite a bit, it's a mystery - definitely not a 'cozy!' - and though there is a murder or two it's not a murder story per se. It's a bonafide psychological mystery thriller. With a bang up terrific ending. With obsession, suspicion, mental fragility, fear of past friends and mistrust of loved ones as the orders of the day, it's interesting how measured and evenly tempered this story progresses, told between the points of view of the two main characters.

I recommend this to anybody who like a good mystery, as well as a story that reads like a midcentury black and white movie. 

After reading Ms. Mangan's Tangerine, I searched out her other writing and discovered this, her second book, has just been published. I quickly got it and devoured it. I liked it even more than the first one. This is an author to keep a watch out for new work from.

Like her previous novel, Palace of the Drowned is decadently atmospheric. This time it's 1966, and we're in Venice - the city of dreams, mystery, beauty, art and - in this case - treachery. You may remember that 1966 was the year of the great Venice flood - which plays a large role in this novel. But, I won't tell more than that because giving too much away would be spoiling the (many) surprises.

Also like her previous novel, this is told from the points of view of the two main characters; though in Tangerine they are long time friends and in Palace of the Drowned they begin as strangers to each other. Sometime this storytelling technique can be confusing and frustrating, but Ms. Mangan has mastered it and the voice is always clear and recognizable as the character speaking.

Again, this is a book I heartily recommend. I look forward to finding out her next book is being pubished.

 I wish I could remember who recommended this book to me, because I would really like to give them a big thank you! From the brief description on the Barnes & Noble page, it's not a novel I would usually choose (it sounds a bit too much like a romance to me; they do it a grave injustice), but I trusted whoever gave it the thumbs up and gave it a try. What a good choice.

It's written from two characters' perspective - and from two time periods and locations. First we meet Odile in Paris just before and during the Nazi occupation. Then we discover her again in a one-traffic-light burg in Montana during the 1980's, where we also meet Lily, the teenage girl who lives next door to the now aging Odile.

We live through their joys and tragedies: both endure great personal losses and have to cope with hardships. But, they also have great joys and rewards and learn important things to help them get through their futures. All of this is written with a spare and clean writing style that doesn't allow the tragedies to become mawkish nor maudlin, nor allow the joys to become absurdly over-the-top. And the lessons learned are clear-eyed because they come from reality and not from preaching. I'm not sure any of that is any easy balancing act for a writer and Ms. Skeslien-Charles does it admirably.

But, what I really really loved about this book was the background for a good amount of the novel. The American Library in Paris was (and is) an American based subscription library in Paris. Much of the story involves the love of books, words, writing - and, of all thing!, the Dewey Decimal System - and the fascinating and intriguing cast of employees (of which Odile is one) and the subscribers who are daily visitors to the library. These characters spring to life, and for brief periods we come to know and enjoy each and every one; they are presented with vivid and delightful characterizations and their conversations are a treat.

The fictional book tells the real story of how the librarians of the American Library in Paris defied the Nazis and the Gestapo and kept the library running - and even managed to get books to both French soldiers at the front and to Jewish and 'foreign enemy' victims in hiding. The afterwards goes into detail about the ways research was conducted for the book - and quite a few of the characters in the book are actual people who lived and worked in the APL. It's not only a wonderful character-driven novel, but also a WWII novel with a unique perspective and vision of the war we don't often see or read about.

So, let me be YOUR person who you forget recommended this to you! Just grab a copy and enjoy - it's a very nice change of pace, and perfect for anybody who is in love with books, words, and libraries. 

Anybody who is a fan of noir - whether it be film or literary - has probably read or seen The Big Sleep. As the book flap states, "This work established Chandler as the master of the 'hard-boiled' detective novel, and his articulate and literary style of writing won him a large audience, which ranged from the man in the street to the most sophisticated intellectual." And the film adaptation is almost always in the top five of the greatest American film noirs. I have read it several times over the decades - and seen the movie, well, dozens of times. It punches all the right buttons for a noir fan. There is one tiny issue with it that has always bothered me - and I'm far from the first person to have stated it: the plot simply doesn't make sense. There are leaps of logic, impossible coincidences, and when all is said and done, way too many threads dangling to call it a neatly tied up mystery. So, when I saw this annotated version, I couldn't wait to delve into it. There are hundreds of footnotes, diagrams, photographs, letters and memos, maps, etc. all tying up as much as possible - and also alerting the reader to Chandler's use of plot, characters, and even entire chapters from earlier published short stories (word for word!).

I found this completely absorbing and enjoyable. I will say that I'm not sure I could have enjoyed it as much if I hadn't been reading on a Nook - so when ever a footnote appeared, I could simply click on it, read the footnote and/or see the images associated with it, and the click back to where I was reading. If I had to thumb back and forth in a paper hard copy and search for the footnote and then get back to my place in the book, I'm not sure it would have been as much fun. And, it was fun!

If you already know The Big Sleep, this is a great opportunity (and excuse) to read it again. If you've not discovered The Big Sleep yet, I envy your first time prowling the dark, rain-slick streets of 1940s Los Angeles and your first introduction to the jaded and shallow millionaires, the shady down-at-their-heels hustlers and conmen, the twists, turns, and first appearance on the scene of the now iconic detective, Phillip Marlow. Did I mention a femme fatale or two?

This gets my definite recommendation for anybody who wants to learn more about film noir than just the plot!

This magical faery tale told in the absolute most realistic way is nothing short of brilliant. I was captivated by it the entire way through. It's a book that has stayed with me through the three books I've read since ... the characters - from the lonely, kind and gentle merchant to the vivacious and celebrated courtesan to the shrewd, bitter housekeeper to the savvy, overstuffed, aged whorehouse madam - are rendered in wonderful detail and are constantly amusing, tragic, frustrating and poignant. And, then, there's the mermaid ...

History should always be written this way!

I read this back at the beginning of the year and just realized I never listed it in my 'read' update feed. I don't know why - I thoroughly enjoyed it; in fact, I enjoyed it far more than I expected. It's advertised as a sort of gothic thriller taking place in the art world - but, it's so much more than that. It's really an intriguing - and creepy - character study with, admittedly, lots of twists and turns. But, those twists and turns are more character based than thriller shockers. Oh, there's a killing (though you aren't sure who is dead for quite some time), and there are some tense moments. But, they don't have the kind of tension that makes you feel the writer is gearing up for the film version.

There are three main characters: all rather bizarre and fascinating, if somewhat unsettling. A famous counter-culture philosopher and experimental drug user, his reknown artist hermit-like lover, and an obsessed fan, meld into a story of psychosis, talent, love, betrayal, loyalty, seduction, and murder.

If you like a good mystery with some eerie and unusual characters, this is one for you. It's a rather lengthy novel - but a fast read, mainly because you just can't stop reading. I doubt you'll have this one figured out before it's spelled out for you by the clever author.

Well, that's it for this week! If you've made it this far, I wanted to give you some information about the fabulous sparkling pink kitchen at the top of the post.

Yanna Potter is an insanely brilliant computer graphic artist who will make just about anything sparkle, shimmer, glimmer and gleam! I wouldn't even hazard a guess to the number of pounds of glitter or number of thousands of crystal rhinestones it would take to to do this kitchen. But, then, how about this one?! 

... and just a couple more to end this post where it started ... in the kitchen! 

Thanks for stopping by Enchanted Revelries today - be sure to check out the other terrific offerings on today's Beverly's Pink Saturday Blog Hop!

Now, be more creative and motivated than I - go make something beautiful!

¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´) Tristan

 

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

 

 ☆☆☆☆

This is probably the saddest book I ever laughed out loud all the way through. The heartbreaking story of this brilliant and genius dysfunctional family of performance artists is told in such a clever and satirical voice, it's impossible not to snicker and breakup at their weaknesses, cruelties, and deeply ingrained failings. It is so extravagant and extreme and thoroughly enchanting, when it finally begins to spiral completely out of control it doesn't even seem too outrageous to be true!

The best recommendation I can give for this book comes from a short conversation about it I had in bed with my better half:
"I thought you wanted me to read this book...?"
"Oh, I do!"
"Then why are you reading almost the entire thing out loud to me?"

For people who love art; for people who hate art; for people who never considered what goes into making art; for people who find performance art both pretentious and precious; and for every person who has spent ten minutes in a food court in an American shopping mall: this is a gotta read!

"Kids kill art. No. Art kills kids."
You gotta be there. 

☆☆☆☆
I don't know what about this book kept me engrossed for almost a straight-through day and night. The characters - though completely believable - aren't particularly pleasant, and usually I need at least one person to root for in a book. But, there was something about the writing and the story which kept me up until I finished it!
Basically it's a family saga of a completely dysfunctional Irish show-business family (a couple of performers, a film producer, a talent agent). It's written from the point of view of three of the family members (the three brothers), and often the same incident is retold from a different perspective. No one is faultless and without blame for the fall-out which often/always occurs, yet there is something that intrigued and kept me turning pages.
If you have penchant for dark, twisted, quirky and sometimes bizarre characters, I heartily recommend this one! It's not a particularly light read, as it has quite an emotionally dangerous undertow to it; however, it's also not a deeply philosophical narrative nor a pretense of a psychology lecture. It's a good quick read, mainly because you'll want to keep reading it straight through meals! I have to add, if you're a fan of sunshine, rainbows, children's smiles and heart-warming Hallmark movies, I would say skip this one!

☆☆☆☆
I enjoyed this multi-generational family saga. A young couple from Germany leaves for America - not speaking English and not having any real money to speak of - in order to escape her disapproving family who feel that the man is beneath her daughter's station. From there we follow the family through the adult years of their grandchildren.
It's a gentle, quiet story. There are certainly many emotional moments and chapters of intrigue; but, they are handled in a very realistic way and not in a thriller/suspense novel way. And, of course, a major surprise at the end of the book which I genuinely was not expecting.
And, the nice thing about this - and the reason I chose to read the book at this time - is many of their decisions in life are made with the thought of their patriotism and love for America and all the good things it's meant to stand for.
I would recommend this to anybody who would like an unassuming, well-written, thoughtful, loving story of an uncommon common family with all the joy, tragedy and skeletons-in-the-closet that involves.
I should add, this was written by Alex George, who wrote The Paris Hours - a book that I was totally enamored of a couple months ago. Obviously, I really enjoy his writing and his way with a tale!

 

I'm so glad you stopped by Enchanted Revelries today ... and I hope your interest was piqued to search out a book you didn't know about before!

¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´) Tristan

 

 

A Quartet of Beauties ...

 This week I am sharing four of my favorite novels of the 21st century (so far!) with you ...

☆☆☆☆☆

I don't remember who recommended this book to me (I should keep a list of these things - but, then I'd have to keep a list on my desktop of where the list is being kept, and then - well ... anyway), however, I am so glad they did! I also don't know how this book published twenty years ago escaped my attention; obviously, I wasn't paying attention!

Some authors have the unique gift of writing in a way that makes poverty - especially Great Depression poverty - seem almost beautiful. Truman Capote, Carson McCullers, Toni Morrison were/are all able to create a private, secluded world of hard scrabble and destitution that existed in a bubble of familial love and compassion and comraderie. Joe R. Lansdale, the author of The Bottoms, is that kind of author. Though the characters in this novel are dirt poor and the plot line is squalid and grubby on the surface, the author has put a 'spit shine' on the whole thing and it has sparkle and romance to it that perhaps it doesn't deserve, but, nonetheless it's there and it's a joy to live through. As Tom says in the opening of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, "The stage magician gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion."

The book is a narration by a very elderly man in a nursing home, as he reminisces about his youth in a small town in East Texas. It's a coming of age tale that involves family history and discovery, awareness of Jim Crow racism, violence, rape and alcoholism, and finally a serial killer. Though the serial killer follows the story through the entire book, it is - in no way, shape, or form - a thriller. It's no more a serial killer book than To Kill a Mockingbird is about child abuse. It's a strategic part of the narrator's history - but it's not the focus of the author.

I'm not going to write more about it, because I'm afraid that I will spoil it for anybody who decides to take my prodding recommendation and reads it. This is one terrific book.

☆☆☆☆☆

Locked down and isolated on a long cold dark winter's afternoon? Have I got a book for you! Tana French's The Searcher was a welcome surprise as my first book of 2021 - and I'm taking it as an omen of good literary things to come in the coming year!

When you get right down to it, the advertising blurb for the book is quite misleading. It reads like an ad for a conventional murder mystery thriller. And, perhaps it is that superficially, but it's so much more than that. There is a murder mystery on which the story is hung; however, the story is one of loneliness, self-redemption, survival and compassion. Cal and Trey and Mort are three loners - all making their way with various degrees of psychological success for different reasons. As the murder mystery unfolds (and, trust me, the thriller part is non existent), they find each other, circle and learn to either trust - or not - each other.

The book is what I believe is called a slow burner ... it definitely has a forward thrust and energy; but, it's not hurried or given to leaps over logic to get to the next chase scene (spoiler: no chase scenes). It kept me completely engaged, but not through the artifice of the murder mystery (which is quite believable in itself). Rather, I found myself wrapped up in the people involved and interested in how each of their personal stories would resolve (or not).

I don't believe this was a best seller or got a lot of press coverage in book reviews which is a shame. It should have more readers who are less partial to pulp genre novels and more prone to books about the human condition. 

 

 ☆☆☆☆☆

One of the most evocative and engrossing books I've read in a long while. If you follow my reviews, you know I rarely give 5-star reviews - to me, a 5-star review signifies an almost perfect book and there are

darned few of those around. This, I found to be one.

I will admit, it took me 50-75 pages to get really intrigued by the premise. There are lots of characters, disparate locations and time eras - and until your mind clicks in on who is who and when and/or where they are living it can be a bit of a challenge to keep up. But, once, all comes together, it's quite easy to bridge the time and geography and protagonists' leaps.

What is is it about? Well, it's about the small things in life: war, love, life, art, ambition, loyalty. In this book, those words are not contranyms. All of these things make up the lives of the people in "The Muse," and yet, they - as major plot points - remain in the background.

What we learn about are the sudden and unimportant joys and the exquisite and ultimate horrors and supreme disappointments of the characters. When first starting the book, I found myself doing what I do in all books - deciding who is good, who is bad, who is suspect, who is possibly dangerous out of ignorance. But by the middle of the book, I cared for each of them. They did not all have "good" traits - but neither did they try to be exploit their bad ones. They simply tried to get through their lives as well as they could.

When reading this book, I would encourage readers not to "think" too much - let the book engulf, encircle, and wash over you. I had figured out who one of the main characters was long before it was revealed in the book - but, I was so wrapped up in the story-telling, it didn't stop me from crying when the author chose to divulge it.

Ms. Burton's "The Miniaturist" was one of my favorite books of 2016. Now, this book, though written in 2002, has become my favorite thus far of 2021

For those able to allow a book to spill over them, rather than race to get through it, I can't recommend it highly enough. Although I have been known to tear up at Folger's Coffee Christmas tv commercials, I'm not really one who is easily brought to tears. This book made me cry several times - not out of sorrow or because something sad happened - simply because the beauty of the language overwhelmed me.

 

☆☆☆☆☆

I opened this book with no expectations. As I am a fairly fast reader, I was halfway through it when I realized: whoa! This is something special. Something not to be glossed over. This is something to be savored. So I started over, and read slowly, relishing every delicious word combination and whimsical improbable possibility.

I only wish I had discovered Duchess long before the book was written and I was made aware of her. She is a magical, enchanting, and devilishly clever wordsmith who has the ability to envelope her reader in genuine love and compassion and the care that would come if the reader were one instead of one of thousands.

I can't even begin to say what this book is. It's not a novel. It's not a biography. It's not a roman à clef. It's not a book of humor. It's not a self-help book. It's not a celebrity expose. It's not the story of survival and emotional courage. However, it's all of those things.

If treasures like "Sometimes I tie your words in linen with a little lavender and mint and use them as a poultice for my weary old heart" and "If you find yourself feeling embittered, roll around in a barrel of kosher salt until encrusted, and then set yourself in a collander to drain" or "A lot of people go very Martha Graham when dancing on their enemies' graves. Me, I like flamenco. I want the souls of the dead to feel it" excite and thrill you and make you smile, rush out and get this book!

It's less than 200 pages...you can easily read it twice in once sitting. And, when you read it, you will want to read it again!

It wouldn't be fair to complete this without thanking Geri Degruy for recommending this book to me. It is definitely my favorite book of the year thus far!  

 

¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´) Tristan

 

 

 

Good Neighbors and French Exit ... Two Winners This Week!

 

What a surprise this novel was! I didn't really know what to expect. I had heard some good comments about it and it was on sale, so I got it.

WoW! 

Razor sharp satire, biting social commentary, mournful heartbreak and desolate tragedy combined with a soupcon of science fiction create a book of startling humor and rage and awareness and, well, shock.
 

Set less than ten years in the future, the story takes place with America living through climate change unabated. It's not the keystone of the book - but, it's always in the background. And the way the environment is viewed, and traversed by the population ran incredibly true to American form for me. The characters were all alarmingly familiar - as I'm sure they'll be for anybody who grew up in the middle/upper middle class neighborhoods of the east coast.
 

I can't even say more because I feel that divulging any more details will spoil it for anybody who picks this up...as I hope you do! I don't belong to a book club, but I want to join one just so I can discuss this book with others!
 

If you follow my book reviews, you know that I rarely give a 5 ☆☆☆☆☆ rating, as I consider that a next-to-perfect book. That's how I feel about this one. I can't imagine anything that would have been an improvement.

 This is a brilliant combination faery tale, comedy of manners, social satire, and character study wrapped up with a ribbon of dysfunctional family tragedy...or is it hope? I haven't yet sorted out my feelings about this intriguing and bewitching book about the most endearing, frustrating, irritating, charismatic and curious people I've run across in a novel in a good long while.

While I was completely captivated by it - in fact, I just finished it after reading through the entire night without sleeping to get to the last word - I realize that this book is not going to be to everybody's taste. In fact, I can even imagine being in a different mood and not caring for it myself. I'm so glad that I was in a receptive move last night, because I was rewarded for it! It is at various times hysterically funny, heart-rendingly sad, extraordinarily fanciful, razor-sharp perceptive, and forcefully passionate.

I'm not going to re-write a mini-synopsis of the story when the advertisement synopsis does a perfectly good job of it:

Frances Price – tart widow, possessive mother, and Upper East Side force of nature – is in dire straits, beset by scandal and impending bankruptcy. Her adult son Malcolm is no help, mired in a permanent state of arrested development. And then there’s the Prices' aging cat, Small Frank, who Frances believes houses the spirit of her late husband, an infamously immoral litigator and world-class cad whose gruesome tabloid death rendered Frances and Malcolm social outcasts.

Putting penury and pariahdom behind them, the family decides to cut their losses and head for the exit. One ocean voyage later, the curious trio land in their beloved Paris, the City of Light serving as a backdrop not for love or romance, but self destruction and economical ruin – to riotous effect. A number of singular characters serve to round out the cast: a bashful private investigator, an aimless psychic proposing a seance, a doctor who makes house calls with his wine merchant in tow, and the inimitable Mme. Reynard, aggressive houseguest and dementedly friendly American expat.

Brimming with pathos and wit, French Exit is a one-of-a-kind ‘tragedy of manners,’ a riotous send-up of high society, as well as a moving mother/son caper which only Patrick deWitt could conceive and execute

If you're in the market for a quirky, non-stop roller coaster ride, I can't recommend it highly enough. If you enjoy Coen Brothers and Wes Anderson films, this is the literature version! 

 

Thanks for stopping by - hope you've been given some good tips for a book that will make the coming week enjoyable!

¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´) Tristan

Four for the Price of One!

Four short reviews today ... keeping it quick and clean and moving on!

This book was recommended to me by a friend, so I just got it without even knowing what it was really about. Then I read a few reviews by people who really didn't care for it. They all seemed to have the same objection to the book: the characters were unlikable. I don't actually find that a valid reason to dislike a book. I don't "like" Fagin, or Bill Sykes or Mr. Bumble, but that doesn't mean I don't like the book Oliver Twist ... and I don't plan on having anybody like Scarlett O'Hara be my best friend, but that doesn't keep me from reading Gone With the Wind every couple of years! I don't need to best friends with the characters, as long as it's a good story and told honestly and unpretentiously (a little wit and humor never hurt either!).

So, that being said, I loved this book! You are forewarned about what you're getting into from the very first sentence: "Ivy Lin was a thief but you would never know it to look at her." Right off the bat, you are thrown off balance. There are many different kinds of thieves: from bank robbers to con artists to international secret spies to shoplifters. What kind is Ivy? I'm not telling you. If you're intrigued enough to find out, as indeed I hope you are!, you may be surprised. And at much more beyond. Ivy is a multi-faceted, many-layered, paradoxically lazy and industrious woman with an agenda. I will admit, there were things she was willing to do to achieve her agenda that surprised - even shocked - me. Yet, somehow, I was never turned off from reading her story - I wanted to know how it played out ... if she would succeed and if so, how. And, for some bizarre reason, this very unlikable woman got under my skin and I rooted for her to win - though what the prize was going to be I never really knew.

The writing is clear, clean, with original uses of descriptions and a vision of a Chinese-American born to Chinese immigrants that we don't often read about or see in media.

Go ahead - give Ivy a try. She's worth the effort!

 

This was a delightful little surprise. A quick one-day read, thoroughly entertaining, this is a modern version of a period Agatha Christie murder mystery. It takes place in the roaring 20's - always good for period music, fashion, fads and political descriptions - at a posh Egyptian hotel almost at the foot of the Great Pyramids. The leading 'detective' is, of course, an amateur sleuth, who is daring and clever and amusing - oh, and a beautiful single woman. There is the usual assortment of supporting characters, villainous, virtuous, friend and foe. It's a fairly fast paced tale, told by the leading lady who is witty and judgemental and a quite good narrator. As I have read dozens (and dozens) of these murder mysteries I was sure I had it all figured out. Naturally, I was completely off the mark, and the guilty culprit was as much of a shock to me as it was to the detective!

If you like a good, almost-innocent, fun, fast murder mystery read, I heartily recommend this one.

 

Some of the most intriguing mystery/thrillers and complex characters I've read in the past few years have come from Scandanavia ... from the Dragon Tattoo series to the Nordic-noirs of Ragnar Jonasson and Kjell Eriksson. The Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell is another to add to the ever-growing list of authors being translated for English readers.

I found this one particularly interesting as the horrible murder and the bizarre mystery that follows is based on a neoNazi group. It's very different reading about the descendants of the people who grew up in the Nazi 'neighborhood' written by a European, rather than by what American authors feel about it. Granted, it's not the main focus of this book, but the difference in the way the characters are written is quite evident.

The well-established tropes in modern Scandinavian crime writing are all in play here. A blood-splattered crime scene tells a seemingly simple story of a crime of passion, but the acute, gruesome details illuminate a richer, thornier backstory. And it requires the appropriately downtrodden loner detective (this time recently diagnosed with tongue cancer - tongue cancer?!) to decipher all the minutiae of clues, both direct and circumstantial.

The bleak winter landscape of rural Sweden is written about in stark, bleak language which brings it to life; reading about the cold in this book makes you shiver. The blistering torment of the inner monologue we're privy to in Detective Stefan Lindman's mind is in direct counterpoint to the quiet, reserved, reticent manner of his social discourse.

The only reason I couldn't give this book four ☆☆☆☆ is I truly believe it's about 50 pages too long. At almost 400 pages, it could have been shortened. Of course, this could be entirely the result of the translation and perhaps the original book wasn't quite this wordy - but, whatever - this is the one we're given to read. And it's really only an issue right towards the end. I was completely engrossed in the book until just about the last hundred pages, and almost as if a switch was flipped, I was waiting for it to wrap up.

I actually spent three nights reading this one. I took my time with it. It's not a fast read. But, it's a good one. 

This had to be the most disappointing book I've read in a good long while. I (like everybody) have heard so much about it; read so many glowing reviews; read and watched so much discussion about the film, that I was quite anxious to dig into it. sigh. Dig is right. What a gully to slog through. First and foremost: a thoroughly unpleasant and self-interested and self-involved group of people. And this is not a short book, so we are with these people for a good chunk of time. Second, it's written in the first person (by one of the aforementioned unpleasant and thoroughly self-involved people), so there is no other point of view to be gained at any junction of the journey.

I did give it three stars instead of two because admittedly the final shocker(s) in the last several dozen pages was definitely a head spinner.

This was absolutely a case of my letting reviews get to me. If I hadn't known that this was a top NYTimes bestseller with glowing reviews from everywhere and that it was getting a glossy film adaptation starring Tilda (one of my favorite actors!) Swinton, I would have abandoned it within the first third of the book. I thought it was obnoxiously repetitious. I can't say too much about what was repetitious because it would be spoiling the plot for anybody who is crazy enough to pick this one up LOL. And, I know that a lot of people will. The subject matter is too controversial, the concept is too juicy, and the reviews are too splendid not to be intrigued. I get it. I fell for it. But, don't frown when I tell you that I told you so!

 That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by ... I hope you found something that sounds intriguing that you will read!

And ... have a lovely holiday weekend!

¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´) Tristan