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This week's forecast... *pant pant*
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It's 9 pm and still 30 ℃. The dogs are bedraggled and looking forward to Monday when they get their bath and summer haircuts. I just got my email to book my 2nd Covid shot. It'll either be Pfizer or Moderna depending what they have. I don't care. I'm booked for next Tuesday!!! Jo should get her email in a few days as well.
I've finished one more book since my last reading update. I'll provide my review and the synopsis of the next book I'll be reading. I also purchased a couple of books in the last days so I'll also provide the synopses of them. Finally I'll continue to look at women authors I've been enjoying.
Just Finished
1.
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by
Kate Wilhelm (1976).
"American author Kate Wilhelm was a prolific writer. During her career she wrote mysteries, both series and standalones, fiction and Sci-Fi, during her writing career from the 1950's until her death in 2018. Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang is one of her Sci-Fi novels, winning the Hugo Award for best novel in 1977. It was my first exposure to her writing and I will continue to explore her work.
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang presents a dystopic future. The world is starving, people are suffering from sterility, nations are girding for war and a small group of scientists / doctors isolate themselves in rural Virginia, where Walt, David and their extended family live. They prepare secure facilities in the hills nearby, trying to discover a way of ensuring mankind doesn't go the way of the dinosaurs. They are joined by David's love, Celia, who has returned from trying to help the people of Brazil. Hidden in the caves is the set-up for cloning David, Celia and other family members. They need to find a way of preventing 3rd generations from sterility. It's not explained too clearly, lots of this process is only intimated.
We jump generations and see how everything begins to change. Each person has a number of clones and they begin to take over the community; not needing the older generation anymore. David recognized how different they are; they become a group mind; clones of each individual, aka the Davids, can communicate with each other and feel each other (a kind of Midwich Cuckoos). When separated, they suffer from isolation, from depression. We have a variety of main characters, each individual, David, Molly, Ben, Mark, their individuality and how it conflicts with the community's group goals.
It's a fascinating story, with intimations of many other Sci-Fi books; Midwich Cuckoos, Handmaid's Tale, etc. The themes are interesting and at times dark; how the individuals are treated by the group, how women are turned into breeders if they don't fit in, cloning of leaders vs workers and their use as fodder as the community forages further afield to try and survive.
Some of the concepts are glossed over, it's not too technical when it comes to cloning, but just enough info to pique your interest. The conflict between the community and the main characters is well-presented and the description of climate change and the results of the wars on the cities nearby, it all makes for a page turner and excellent story. Well worth trying and I look forward to checking out Let The Fire Fall next. (4 stars)"
Currently Reading
1.
Madam Secretary: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power by
Susan Page (2021). I thought this was a sequel to Tomb Raider: Lara Croft and the Temple of Gold (just kidding). Jo bought this for me early in the year. I've wanted to read more about the most powerful woman in the US Congress, the woman who had Donald Trump dangling from her baby finger.
"Featuring more than 150
exclusive interviews with those who know her best—and a series of
in-depth, news-making interviews with Pelosi herself—MADAM SPEAKER is
unprecedented in the scope of its exploration of Nancy Pelosi’s
remarkable life and of her indelible impact on American politics.
Before
she was Nancy Pelosi, she was Nancy D’Alesandro. Her father was a
big-city mayor and her mother his political organizer; when she
encouraged her young daughter to become a nun, Nancy told her mother
that being a priest sounded more appealing. She didn’t begin running for
office until she was forty-six years old, her five children mostly out
of the nest. With that, she found her calling.
Nancy Pelosi has
lived on the cutting edge of the revolution in both women’s roles and in
the nation’s movement to a fiercer and more polarized politics. She has
established herself as a crucial friend or formidable foe to U.S.
presidents, a master legislator, and an indefatigable political warrior.
She took on the Democratic establishment to become the first female
Speaker of the House, then battled rivals on the left and right to
consolidate her power. She has soared in the sharp-edged inside game of
politics, though she has struggled in the outside game—demonized by
conservatives, second-guessed by progressives, and routinely
underestimated by nearly everyone.
All of this was preparation
for the most historic challenge she would ever face, at a time she had
been privately planning her retirement. When Donald Trump was elected to
the White House, Nancy Pelosi became the Democratic counterpart best
able to stand up to the disruptive president and to get under his skin.
The battle between Trump and Pelosi, chronicled in this book with
behind-the-scenes details and revelations, stands to be the titanic
political struggle of our time."
New Books
1.
A Game for the Living by
Patricia Highsmith (1958). I do like Highsmith's writing.
"Gentle, generous Theo would tell you that he feels quite logically happy about sharing Lelia with his best friend Ramón.
Although
the word 'logical' troubles him sometimes. (Can love ever be logical?)
It is he, at any rate, who eventually finds Lelia dead in her painter's
studio in Mexico City. She has been raped, her handsome face bloodily
mutilated. Theo's thoughts immediately turn to Ramón as the natural
suspect: hot tempered, moody, a man whose Catholic soul has already been
damned by passion - unable to marry Lelia, unable to give her up...
A confession is made, but are we able to believe it? In A Game for the Living threads of sexual jealousy and guilt are shot through with all Patricia Highsmith's uncanny talent for the unexpected."
2.
The Melting Man by
Victor Canning ( Rex Carver #4 / 1968).
"A millionaire was very
desirous to know the whereabouts of a certain Mercedes and was paying
Rex Carver a lot of money to track it down. Then people started coming
from everywhere trying to keep him from finding it. The search takes
Carver all over Europe and nearly out of his life."
3.
Ninety-Three by
Victor Hugo (1874). This was Hugo's last published novel.
"1793, Year Two of the
Republic, saw the establishment of the National Convention, the
execution of Louis XVI, the Terror, and the monarchist revolt in the
Vendée, brutally suppressed by the Republic. Hugo's epic follows three
protagonists through this tumultuous year: the noble royalist de
Lantenac; Gauvain, who embodies a benevolent and romantic vision of the
Republic; and Cimourdain, whose principles are altogether more Robespierrean.The conflict of values culminates in a dramatic climax on
the scaffold."
4.
A Certain Justice by
John Lescroart (Abe Glitzky #1 / 1995).
"When the angry white
mob poured out of the bar on San Francisco's Geary Street and surrounded
an innocent black man, Kevin Shea was the only one who tried to stop
them. He failed, and now, thanks to a deceptive news photo taken during
the melee, he is wanted for the murder himself-and the real culprits
have threatened his life if he says a word.
As riots rage and
politicians posture, Lieutenant Abe Glitsky finds himself under pressure
to bring Shea in at all costs. And as respect for the law crumbles-even
among those sworn to uphold it-true justice is the only thing that can
prevent the death of another innocent man."
Women Authors I've Enjoyed - Vera Caspary
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Vera Caspary
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Vera Louise Caspary was an American author of books, plays and screenplays. She lived from 1899 - 1987, born in Chicago and died in New York. I have read one of her books so far, it was turned into a noir movie in 1944.
1.
Laura (1942).
"Laura by Vera Caspary is a classic of the noir genre. Originally published in 1942, it was also turned into a successful movie in 1944, starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb and Vincent Price.
The premise is that Laura Hunt, a successful ad executive, is found dead in her apartment, killed by a shotgun blast. Det Lt Mark McPherson is assigned the case. His investigation will bring hm into contact with author / newspaper columnist, Waldo Lydecker and Laura's fiance, Shelby Carpenter. The other main characters are Laura's aunt, Ann Treadwell, and her maid, Bessie.
The story is told from 3 perspectives, in a similar format to Wilkie Collins' Moonstone. It starts off being told from Waldo Lydecker's perspective, as the investigation commences. Lydecker is a strange, interesting character. He obviously loves Laura and has been her best friend for a number of years. He attaches himself to McPherson, providing input into the various other personalities. McPherson seems to like him.
As we move into Part 2, McPherson takes over the narrative. He obviously has developed an attraction to Laura, spending considerable time at her apartment, getting a feel for her. It's difficult to say that there is a lot of investigating going on, but McPherson has his suspicions.
At the end of this section, a development you don't expect occurs. The narrator of the 3rd portion... well, I'll stop there as it's a neat twist and the remainder of the story moves along neatly and at a nice pace with some nice developments. Overall, it's a fascinating story, told in a thoughtful, intelligent manner. The story was excellent and the ending was satisfactory and neatly resolved. Most enjoyable. (4.5 stars)"
The complete listing of Vera Caspary's books can be found at this link. Enjoy your weekend. Stay cool. Stay safe. 😷
