Day 3 - My Xmas Month Countdown - A Book and a Song

Another day, another song and book for you to consider as we count down to Xmas day.

Book 23

Nigel Balchin

The Small Back Room by Nigel Balchin'

English author, Nigel Balchin, lived from 1908 - 1970. He was known especially for his novels written during and just after WWII. He also wrote under the pseudonym of Mark Spade. He is also known for his screenplay for The Man Who Never Was and Mandy. The Small Back Room was my first exposure to his work and I will try to find others of his books; Darkness Falls from the Air and Mine Own Executioner. My review for The Small Back Room is below.

"I can't exactly remember how I heard about The Small Back Room by Nigel Balchin. I imagine it was listed at the back of another book I'd enjoyed and it sounded interesting. Balchin lived from 1908 - 1961 and is noted for his novels written during and after WWII, of which The Small Back Room was one. He also wrote novels under the name of Mark Spade.

The Small Back Room tells the story of Sammy Rice, who because of a crippling disability (which means he has an artificial foot, is unable to be in the British military during WWII and now works as a weapons scientist for a small firm that assists the British government with new ideas for equipment. Sammy is disillusioned with the politics of his work, especially with RB Waring, an advertising executive who keeps inserting himself in their work. Sammy finds Waring always trying to affect the scientific analyses of his team as they try to report on this new equipment.

Sammy lives with Sue, a secretary at the firm and struggles to understand why she should want to be with him, a broken man. Sue is a wonderful woman, who always tries to encourage Sammy and keep him from his more destructive impulses, brought on by his work frustrations and the steady pain of his damaged leg.

Sammy also in involved with situation. He has been called to assist an English military engineer, a bomb specialist. It seems that German aircraft have been dropping booby traps that have killed a number of people. Little information is available as the bombs have been exploded before they are able to get information about them; what they look like, what sets them off, etc. This is an ongoing story line that will be critical to the final action of the story.

It's a fascinating story that mixes the emotional context of Sammy's work and relationships with the technical aspects of this work. It's nice that it doesn't get too lost in the technical part, but presents enough to make that part also interesting. The story moves along at a nice pace and we get an excellent view of the characters and their lives. The last chapters are tense and almost heart stopping. I initially found the ending somewhat unsatisfying, but as I think about it, it's actually not at all. I think the reactions of Sammy as he looks at his life are quite normal and realistic. Excellent little gem of a story. (4 stars)"

Song 23

Sigrid Raabe

Sigrid - Mine Right Now

Sigrid is a Norwegian singer / songwriter born in 1996. She released her first EP in 2017. My first exposure to her music was with her song Sucker Punch which was also the name of her debut album, released in 2019. The song Mine Right Now is from the same album.

There you go, folks, some reading and musical entertainment for your Tuesday. Later on, I'll have another post updating my December reading. Enjoy what's left of your Tuesday.