I spent some of the weekend watching the various ceremonies for Senator John McCain. I was very impressed with the wealth of feeling towards his life, from both Republicans and Democrats. There were some wonderful eulogies, fascinating memories. What was clear was that whether people agreed with his policies and beliefs or not, they still admired the man and felt that he wanted the best for America, an all-inclusive America, and believed it had an important role to play in helping the world.
Then through all that was 45, unable to resist trying put himself before this week of mourning. He tweeted vileness about Canada, insulted our country, insulted the McCain family with his pettiness about lowering the flags to half - mast, tweeting all through the Saturday ceremonies, etc. It made me wonder more about the man. What was his life like as a child to make such a privileged man so petty, childish, angry with anyone and everyone who dares to criticize him? Unfortunately he also fuels the anger and hatred of those people of his 'base' that are looking to blame 'others' for their problems. I fear we may also be starting to see those people more and more in Canada, what with the current Premier of Ontario who seems to be made from 45's mold. It makes me shudder. I'm hoping that people will learn something from the outpouring of positive emotion that seems to have followed Mr. McCain's life and death. Maybe people will vote for something more positive in the November US mid-terms, someone with a positive message like Beta O'Rourke of Texas; or learn something from the family of the young girl in Iowa, Mollie Tibbetts, who don't want her murder turned into a racist political agenda.
So there you go, my Sunday rant. Let's get on to the normal subject of this BLog; books.
Mysteries of Asia - the Northeast
I have two authors to highlight in this entry. The countries of Northeast Asia include South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Mongolia and China. I have already highlighted China as a separate country due to the number of books I wanted to discuss for that country. Today I'll highlight authors whose stories are from South Korea and Japan.
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| Martin Limon |
"Jade Lady Burning is the first book in Martin Limón's George Sueno and Ernie Bascom mystery series. Both are Army Sgts working in CID in South Korea. They are assigned to investigate the murder of a Korean prostitute as the suspect is an Army Private. It turns out that the Private had filed papers to be married with Pak Ok-Suk. The story is set 20 years after the Korean War.
The story is told in the first person by Sueno. You get an interesting picture of the CID set up and of the darker aspects of Seoul life as the majority of the story takes place in the Ville, the red light district. For much of the story the two detectives seem to be spinning their wheels, trying to find out who might have murdered the girl as they don't believe that the soldier did it.
They get not much support within their chain of command as the system would rather that the case disappear, the better for US and South Korean relations. But Sueno has a bee in his bonnet about the case, partly because of his background and because he believes the two need someone on their side. They are regularly assigned to other work to get them away from this case.
We find out about the corruption between the US Army and their suppliers. We meet Kimiko, an older prostitute who watched over Pak. She is a unique, wonderful character.
I enjoyed this story. It was well-written and it provided a view of a life that was very different to me. My only perspective of South Korea probably hearkens back to MASH and maybe The Bridges at Toko-Ri by Michener. Sueno and Bascom are interesting characters, not black and white but with rough edges. Both are good cops who really want to solve the case. I'm looking forward to the next book, Slicky Boys, hoping it shows more of the country and people. (4 stars)"
"Slicky Boys by Martin Limón is the 2nd book in the Bascom and Sueno mystery series. The first book was Jade Lady Burning. George Sueno and his partner, Ernie Bascom are Cpls in the 8th Armies CID organization. They spend a lot of time in Seoul's red light district, partly investigating black marketing and other crimes, but also, they just like the place.
A young woman asks them to deliver a message to her boyfriend, a British soldier who is part of the UN militaries honor guard. This message unfortunately results in the soldier being murdered. Feeling a responsibility for this, Sueno and Bascom take on the investigation. The two play fast and loose sometimes with the law. They sometimes work with the local Korean National Police. They often rile their boss, the Top Sgt in the CID with their methods.
The story is told mainly from Sueno's perspective as he is the more thoughtful of the two. He has made the effort to learn the Korean language and he respects the locals. Ernie Bascom is his wild partner, loves drinking, sex, tearing things apart... that sort of thing. Sueno asks questions and when answers are not forth coming, Ernie steps in.
The murder leads to others. We are introduced to the Korean Slicky Boys, the organized underworld of Korea, dealing in the black market, stealing and selling US items. We meet Herbalist So, the king of the Slicky Boys, always seeming to be one step ahead of the crime fighting duo.
There is another wild card in this, a mysterious serial killer, who might be an American soldier. He is a constant threat throughout the story and we do get sneak peeks at him as the story develops.
At times the story is quite far-fetched, but at the same time, it's tense, exciting and portrays a fascinating cultural conflict; that of the South Koreans and their American allies. The story moves along at an excellent pace and draws you in totally. It's a well-crafted, page turner and well worth trying. I'm looking forward to finding a copy of the 3rd book, Buddha's Money. (4 stars)"
"George and Ernie are American military cops in Korea. They work the neon alleys of sin districts, chasing felons and black marketeers. It's not glamorous, but somebody's got to do it.
The kidnapping of a child, held ransom for a priceless jade artifact, is more than these seedy cops can handle. They urge the father to pay it. The only problem is, dad hasn't got it. From that point on, officers Sueno and Bascom are pushed into intrigues way over their heads and expected to unravel conspiracies that are beyond them.
Can two disheveled, disrespectful army foul-ups cope with all this? Then again, it's not like they have a choice."
The remaining books in this entertaining series are -
- The Door to Bitterness (2005)
- The Wandering Ghost (2007)
- G.I. Bones (2009)
- Mr. Kill (2011)
- The Joy Brigade (2012)
- The Iron Sickle (2014)
- The Ville Rat (2015)
- Ping Pong Heart (2016)
- The Nine-Tailed Fox (2017)
- The Line (Oct 2018)
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| Seicho Matsumoto |
"In the wee hours of a 1960s Tokyo morning, a dead body is found under the rails of a train, and the victim’s face is so badly damaged that police have a hard time figuring out the victim’s identity. Only two clues surface: an old man, overheard talking in a distinctive accent to a young man, and the word “kameda.” Inspector Imanishi leaves his beloved bonsai and his haiku and goes off to investigate—and runs up against a blank wall. Months pass in fruitless questioning, in following up leads, until the case is closed, unsolved.
But Imanishi is dissatisfied, and a series of coincidences lead him back to the case. Why did a young woman scatter pieces of white paper out of the window of a train? Why did a bar girl leave for home right after Imanishi spoke to her? Why did an actor, on the verge of telling Imanishi something important, drop dead of a heart attack? What can a group of nouveau young artists possibly have to do with the murder of a quiet and “saintly” provincial old ex-policemen? Inspector Imanishi investigates."
So there you go, folks. Many more authors and books to come as I explore other areas of Asia. Have a great week!!!!
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