Day 15 - My Xmas Month Countdown - A Book and a Song

A bright, cool, crisp morning to start the day off. Lovely day. Let's get right to it with my Day 15 book and song (or in other words, my 11th favorite book and song of 2019).

Book 11

John Dudley Ball

John Dudley Ball - In the Heat of the Night.

John Ball was an American writer of mystery novels. He lived from 1911 - 1988. He's best known for his mystery series featuring African - American police detective Virgil Tibbs. It took me a long time to discover that there was a book series (11 books) which started in 1965. I'd enjoyed the movie with Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger and also the TV series. Recently I decided to check out the first book. The copy that I received when I ordered it was a hybrid, a play adaptation of the book by Matt Pelfrey. It was excellent. I have ordered the 2nd book in the series since; The Cool Cottontail. My review of In the Heat of the Night is below.

"In the Heat of the Night is an adaptation for the stage by Matt Pelfrey of the novel by John Dudley Ball. This was the first in a series of books featuring African American police detective, Virgil Tibbs. The book was turned into an award winning movie and also an award winning TV series. I've tried to find a copy of the book and when I ordered this copy was surprised to find it was, instead, Pelfrey's adaptation.

With all that preamble, I must say I enjoyed this tremendously. My normal reading of plays is both haphazard and more often than not, not all that enjoyable. But this adaptation caught me from the very beginning and held my interest until the end. It was, to say the least, excellent.

I've seen the movie and have enjoyed the TV series from the late '80s / early '90s as well. This short play grabbed all of the salient aspects of both perfectly; the racism of Alabama where the story / play is set, the intelligence of Virgil Tibbs and his ability to transcend this racism as he tries to help the local sheriff (almost against both of their wills) solve the murder of a local realtor, and the realization by the sheriff and one of his deputies that there is more to a man than just the colour of his skin.

Briefly when local realtor Charles Tatum is found murdered in the middle of the road in Argo Alabama, local sheriff Gillespie has one of his deputies, Sam Wood check out the train station to ensure the possible suspect isn't trying to leave by train. Wood arrests a black man, thinking he is the murderer. It turns out to be Virgil Tibbs, who is a police detective from California, waiting for his train after visiting with his mother.

By various circumstances, Tibbs is thrown into the murder investigation and during this time, the feelings of Gillespie and Wood towards him evolve very quickly. Not so with other members of the community, especially those of the Klan. For a short play, it manages to run the gamut of emotions and personal feelings quickly and effectively. The story is developed in a logical, swift manner and it drags you into the characters immediately. I will still have to find a copy of the original book, but his adaptation was excellent and I can't recommend highly enough. (4.5 stars)"

Song 11

Years & Years

Years and Years - If You're Over Me.

Years and Years are a British synth - pop band which formed in London in 2010. The band consists of Olly Alexander, Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Turkmen. I've liked them for quite a while now, enjoying their first songs, King and Shine. King reached #1 in the UK Charts in 2015. Shine reached #2. They have released only 2 albums; Communion in 2015 and Palo Alto in 2018. If You're Over Me was released in 2018 and reached #6.

Enjoy. Starting tomorrow as I get into my Top Ten books and songs, I may add my Top Ten TV shows. We'll see. Have a great week.