Started off the morning with a good run. Jo and I went out to Beninos for lunch and 3 games of Sequence. She won two.. *sigh* We wandered around downtown Comox after and didn't buy anything; no books, no clothes.. 😂 We're catching up on some taped TV shows before supper and might go to the Black Fin tonight for dessert and coffee.
This is my first update of July. I've finished 5 books so far and I'll provide my reviews of them. I'll provide the synopses of the books I've started since. As well of any new books that I've purchased. And away we go!
Just Finished
1.
Dominion by
C.J. Sansom (2012).
"I've previously enjoyed the first 5 Matthew Shardlake historical mystery series by C.J. Sansom. Dominion is quite a departure from that series. The story is set in a dystopic future (or past I guess) where Nazi Germany won the war in Europe. England is an ally of Germany, with Winston Churchill in hiding and leading a revolution against the fascist English government run by Beaverbrook. America is basically isolationist, although the new president Adlai Stevenson might be willing to get more involved. Germany is still fighting a long term battle with Communist Russia and there is friction between the German Army and the SS as Hitler ages and is on his death bed.
English civil servant David Fitzgerald works for the Resistance and is assigned to save a scientist, Frank Muncaster, currently residing in an asylum in Birmingham. Frank's brother had come over from America for their mother's funeral. In a drunken stupor he tells Frank that he was involved in the atom bomb project. This drives Frank mad and he tries to kill his brother. Now the Nazis hear of this incident and they want to find Frank and interrogate him about what his brother might have told him about his atom bomb work.
Now I didn't probably describe that very well but hoping you get the gist. Frank went to university with David Fitzgerald and the Resistance feels he might be able to gain access to Frank. They have one of the Resistance working in the asylum to help David and his team. This begins a race between the Nazis and their English Special Branch assistants and the Resistance to help Frank escape and get him to America.
It's a deeply complex, involved story (maybe a bit too involved) but Sansom has proven before he can spin a mean story and he does so with Dominion. It's told from various perspectives, Frank's, David's, his wife Sarah's and SS agent Gunther Hoth's. It's a very depressing story, as you can probably expect as there is turmoil in England; the Nazis have finally persuaded the British government to begin rounding up and deporting their Jewish citizens. The Nazis seem to have the upper hand but it's an intense, fascinating battle between the Resistance and their agents.
There is so much going on in this story, an interesting look at an alternate history, great characters and a fascinating story. I enjoyed it very much. It was interesting to read something different from Sansom but it will also be great to get back to the Shardlake series. (3.5 stars)"
2.
The Venetian Betrayal by
Steve Berry (Cotton Malone #3).
"This was my first (and I'd say last) attempt at a Cotton Malone thriller by Steve Berry. The Venetian Betrayal is the third book in the series. Now this is probably just personal but I think I'm getting tired of convoluted, very long thrillers with mysterious international conglomerates and dangerous despots.
Cotton Malone is an ex-Secret Service agent, now a book seller in Copenhagen. Someone is going to small museums (one in Copenhagen) and stealing gold coins and then burning the museum to the ground. An old friend of Malone, one Cassiopeia Vitt is investigating the thefts. Somehow the people involved, who work for the President of a new Asian country, were involved in the death / murder of Cassiopeia's lover... He worked for the President to discover where the real remains of Alexander the Great are.
There is an industrial group of billionaires who work out of Venice.... The President is somehow involved in trying to discover what Zovastina (the President) is up to. She seems to have a biological weapon factory and plans to expand her empire... in the same vein that Alexander the Great did.
The thriller moves from Copenhagen to Venice with a stop in Amsterdam and also wanders back and forth to Samarkand in Asia.... A lot has happened in the first half of the book and I'm sure there will be a climactic resolution in Samarkand but I won't be there to see. The story is well-written and moves along at a super pace but I just wish that they didn't need to take so long to be resolved. I'll stick with a couple of series that are of this ilk but probably won't continue with this one. (NR)"
3.
The Year of Magical Thinking by
Joan Didion (2005).
"I only recently discovered the writing of American author and screen writer, Joan Didion. She passed away last December. The first book I read was a collection of her essays, her last published work. The Year of Magical Thinking was published in 2005, describing her attempts to cope with the death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne. Her husband died of a coronary event in their dining room. At the same time they had just returned from spending time with their daughter Quintana Roo, who was in a coma in hospital in New York.
This story is Didion's attempt to not only come to terms with his death but is also an exploration of grief, their lives together, her efforts to avoid places that reminded her of their lives, just a fascinating journey. Didion's writing is clear, focused, beautiful, at times almost unemotional / factual but there is an underlying emotion throughout. Her desire to have her husband back, this feeling that he will return. Her inability to give up his possessions, because if he returns, he'll need his shoes, etc. Her time with Quintana, who recovered, went to LA, then had a severe relapse, is a life event that almost lets Didion hide from dealing with Dunne's death.
The story reads so easily but is at the same time difficult to read. It packs a real punch. Is it worthwhile for someone dealing with such loss to read this book? Honestly, I don't know, but if a person is searching for thoughts about grief, loss, life, death, it might be worth giving it a try. I will continue to explore Didion's works. I think next in line is Blue Nights, which deals with the death of daughter Quintana. (and no I don't search for tragedy, but I feel a need to read it). Oh, Didion died almost to the day that her husband died. Dec 23, 2021 of Parkinson's and Dunne died Dec 30, 2003. Ah well. (4.5 stars)"
4.
Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith by
Grace Ellis (2022).
"Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith is a graphic novel by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer which tells the story of Patricia Highsmith's early days as a writer, up until her final publication of her second novel, The Price of Salt, published initially under the pseudonym of Claire Morgan.
Highsmith started off writing for comics, a job she hated. But she needed money to help her focus on novels. From the perspective of the authors, Highsmith was an awful person; anti-Semitic, rude, misogynist, etc. Highsmith was also a lesbian, for which she tried psychological treatments, but she finally gave up.
Highsmith worked for two comic book companies and had relationships with various women; including her comic editor's wife, her agent's girl friend, etc. She finally gets her first book published, that being the iconic Strangers on a Train. From another relationship, started when she was working part-time at Bloomingdales as a clerk, she came up with the plot for the story Carol (aka The Price of Salt). The final chapter of this novel are her efforts to get the story published; very difficult as lesbian relationships were generally only published in pulp novels at that time. (Hence why it was published under Clair Morgan for the first years.)
It's an interesting story, showing Highsmith will all of her scratchy exterior and issues. The drawings are clear and realistic. It's a fascinating look at her early years and her life. I've enjoyed many of her mysteries and also Carol and it was neat to discover more about her. (4.0 stars)"
5.
Divergent by
Veronica Roth (Divergent #1).
"This is what you call a Dusty book. I've had Divergent by Veronica Roth on my bookshelf since sometime in 2016. For some reason I've neglected it; looking at other young adult Fantasy series, you know, that sort of thing. I've seen the movie and enjoyed that but still didn't pick this up. Well, finally I did. Now reading it brought back memories of what I enjoyed about the movie. Basically an entertaining, well-written, lots of action and thoughtful introduction to a fantasy trilogy.
Tris, short for Beatrice, is a teenage girl living in the Abnegation 'clan' in what used to be the city of Chicago Illinois. She and her brother are joining other teens who will have to make their choice as to what clan they wish to belong to. This, after having been tested under some sort of IQ test. It shows disconcerting facts about Tris. She doesn't really fit into a specific grouping (there are five; Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, Candor and Erudite). The person doing the testing fudges her results and tells Tris that she is a Divergent and that Tris should hide that fact (but doesn't tell her why).
Tris and her brother Caleb let their parents down as neither end up choosing Abnegation (the Selfless). Caleb chooses Erudite, the Intelligent and Tris chooses Dauntless, the Brave. So they are now Initiates in their groups and proceed to their new areas and begin testing. We focus on Tris of course as this is her story. Tris is different and it becomes evident. Various people in Dauntless, the tattoo artist (whose name escapes me) and Four, one of her trainers, warn her to keep her Divergence quiet that Divergent people have been killed.
So we go through Tris's education as a Dauntless, her budding relationship with Four and her sometimes fractious friendships with the other Initiates. Only the top few will be accepted as Dauntless, the bottom few will become basically groupless and homeless. It's a fascinating story with enough action to keep you satisfied. There is a core underlying mystery as well. What does Janine, the leader of the Erudite want? Why is she casting aspersions against the Abnegation leadership, against Tris's parents? What is Tris's mothers secret? It's all well-crafted and interesting. There is a satisfying enough conclusion to this first story but it, and this is a good thing, leaves you wanting to read the next book, Insurgent, to see what happens next. And yes, I will now get Book 2 because I do want to find out. A most entertaining story. (3.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
1.
Death at the Dolphin by
Ngaio Marsh (Inspector Alleyn #24).
"At the newly restored Dolphin Theatre, murder takes center stage.
The once-dilapidated Dolphin Theater, now restored to its former glory, is open again-and all of London is buzzing about its new play, The Glove, inspired by the discovery of a genuine Shakespearean glove. But on one unfortunate evening, the Dolphin opens its doors to the harshest critic of all: death. Now Inspector Roderick Alleyn must find out who stole the scene with a most murderous act."
2. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham (1925).
"Kitty Fane fell in love for the first time two years after she married Dr. Walter Fane. It was an ecstatic, passionate, violent love, and the man was not her husband.
Her lover, Charles Townsend, was also married. Kitty worshiped him. And, at least at first, they managed their affair with skill and caution.But Dr. Fane found out. Quietly he gathered complete proof. Then, just as quietly, he offered Kitty Fane a choice of dramatic alternatives.What her choice was and what it did to her life and character is the story Maugham tells-a novel that has become a modern classic."
3. Ha'penny by Jo Walton (Small Change #2).
"In Ha'penny, England has completed its slide into fascist dictatorship. The last hopes of democracy seem extinguished. Then a bomb explodes in a London suburb.
The brilliant but compromised Inspector Carmichael of Scotland Yard is assigned the case. What he finds leads him to a conspiracy of peers and communists-of staunch King-and-Country patriots and hardened IRA gunmen-to murder the Prime Minister and his ally, Adolf Hitler.Against a background of domestic espionage and suppression, a band of idealists blackmails an actress who holds the key to the Fuhrer's death. From the ha'penny seats in the theatre to the ha'pennys that cover dead men's eyes, the conspiracy and the investigation swirl inexorably to a stunning conclusion."
4. A Terrible Fall of Angels by Laurell K. Hamilton (Zaniel Havelock #1).
"Meet Detective Zaniel Havelock, a man with the special ability to communicate directly with angels. A former trained Angel speaker, he devoted his life to serving both the celestial beings and his fellow humans with his gift, but a terrible betrayal compelled him to leave that life behind. Now he’s a cop who is still working on the side of angels. But where there are angels, there are also demons. There’s no question that there’s evil at work when he’s called in to examine the murder scene of a college student—but is it just the evil that one human being can do to another, or is it something more? When demonic possession is a possibility, even angelic protection can only go so far. The race is on to stop a killer before he finds his next victim, as Zaniel is forced to confront his own very personal demons, and the past he never truly left behind."
New Books
1. Margaret Atwood: A Biography by Nathalie Cooke (1998).
"Although Margaret Atwood has been the subject of a great deal of literary criticism and commentary, this is the first biography of the celebrated author, poet, critic, and social activist whose critically and popularly acclaimed works include Surfacing, Cat's Eye, The Handmaid's Tale, and Alias Grace. The Atwood who emerges in these pages is an intense and driven woman, struggling daily to balance the demands of her own artistic perfectionism with her commitment to enjoying a rich and varied private life. Nathalie Cooke (a former president of the Margaret Atwood Society) traces an astonishing network of interconnections that weaves its way through Atwood's past and present: friends, lovers, wives, and husbands who become each others' publishers, editors, promoters, and critics. Cooke follows the web, and along the way discloses some of Atwood's most painful and personal moments, including broken engagements, betrayals, and divorce. This biography follows Atwood's development as a major figure in the evolution of contemporary Canadian literature and culture, and at the same time chronicles the reception of her works and her own ongoing creation of her public persona."
2. Rumer Gooden: A Storyteller's Life by Anne Chisholm (1998).
"Once upon a time by a river in India there lived a little English girl called Ma Rumer Godden.
The life of Rumer Godden, one of our best-loved contemporary authors, has been as eventful and dramatic as the plot of any of her novels. Born in India to English parents at the height of British colonial power, she always knew she wanted to be a writer. Her literary career has spanned six decades. In 1939, Black Narcissus became an overnight bestseller in England and America and it has remained in print ever since. The film she scripted for Jean Renoir in 1949 from her own novel, The River, has become one of the classics of the cinema.Anne Chisholm's biography places Rumer Godden's work in the context of her remarkable life. At the heart of Godden's writing is her idyllic childhood in Bengal. In her twenties, she established her own dancing school in Calcutta and was disapproved of as a working woman and as a teacher of Eurasian girls. Although she married in 1934 and had two daughters, she was a fiercely determined writer who struggled to reconcile her need to write with the demands of her family. As her marriage failed, she retreated from the decadence of fading colonial Calcutta to the tea plantations of Assam and then the mountains of Kashmir.But Godden's relationship with India, though passionate, was ultimately ambivalent. In Kashmir a servant tried to poison her and her children (an extraordinary incident which brought this ambivalence to a head). The notoriety surrounding the case forced Godden to leave Kashmir, soon afterwards she left India for good. This mysterious episode is explored here in detail.On returning to England, she built a new life marrying again and continuing to write. Her conversion to Catholicism led her to write one of her best-known books, In This House of Brede. Several of her novels and children's books were filmed or adapted for television, including The Greengage Summer, Vie Diddakoi and The Peacock SpringThrough conversations with Rumer Godden herself and from her exclusive access to private letters, Anne Chisholm has written the definitive story of an emotionally powerful writer and a woman of unusual strength of character."
3. The Hours of the Virgin by Loren D. Estleman (Amos Walker #13).
"Detroit is no place for virgins, or gentlemen. Walker, who is neither, follows the 500-year-old trail of a stolen illuminated manuscript across the bleak landscape of a dead city, coming face to face with a trinity as unholy as anything in Revelations: a crippled millionaire pornographer, a mystery woman with mismatched eyes, and the darkest demon from his own past -- the man who murdered his partner 20 years ago."
4. Gone By Midnight by Candice Fox (Crimson Lake #3).
"Ex-cop Ted Conkaffey is slowing rebuilding his life in Crimson Lake, and getting to know his three-year-old daughter, Lillian. But when he and his PI partner Amanda take on the case of a boy who seems to have literally disappeared into thin air, his job once again threatens everything . . .
Crimson Lake is where bad people come to disappear - and where eight-year-old boys vanish into thin air . . .On the fifth floor of the White Caps Hotel, four young friends are left alone while their parents dine downstairs. But when Sara Farrow checks on the children at midnight, her son is missing. The boys swear they stayed in their room, and CCTV confirms Richie has not left the building. Despite a thorough search, no trace of the child is found.Distrustful of the police, Sara turns to Crimson Lake’s unlikeliest private investigators: disgraced cop Ted Conkaffey and convicted killer Amanda Pharrell. This case just the sort of twisted puzzle that gets Amanda’s blood pumping.For Ted, the case couldn’t have come at a worse time. Two years ago a false accusation robbed him of his career, his reputation and most importantly his family. But now Lillian, the daughter he barely knows, is coming to stay in his ramshackle cottage by the lake.Ted must dredge up the area’s worst characters to find a missing boy. And the kind of danger he uncovers could well put his own child in deadly peril . . ."
5. Matryona's House and Other Stories by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1963).
"A new edition of the Russian Nobelist's collection of novellas, short stories, and prose poems Stories and Prose Poems collects twenty-two works of wide-ranging style and character from the Nobel Prize–winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, whose shorter pieces showcase the extraordinary mastery of language that places him among the greatest Russian prose writers of the twentieth century.
When the two superb stories "Matryona's House" and "An Incident at Krechetovka Station" were first published in Russia in 1963, the Moscow Literary Gazette, the mouthpiece of the Soviet literary establishment, wrote: "His talent is so individual and so striking that from now on nothing that comes from his pen can fail to excite the liveliest interest." The novella For the Good of the Cause and the short story "Zakhar-the-Pouch" in particular—both published in the Soviet Union before Solzhenitsyn's exile—fearlessly address the deadening stranglehold of Soviet bureaucracy and the scandalous neglect of Russia's cultural heritage.
But readers who best know Solzhenitsyn through his novels will be delighted to discover the astonishing group of sixteen "prose poems." In these works of varying lengths—some as short as an aphorism—Solzhenitsyn distills the joy and bitterness of Russia's fate into language of unrivaled lyrical purity."
6. John Macnab by John Buchan (1924).
"Three high-flying men - a barrister, a cabinet minister and a banker - are suffering from boredom. They concoct a plan to cure it. They inform three Scottish estates that they will poach from each two stags and a salmon in a given time. They sign collectively as 'John McNab' and await the responses. This novel is a light interlude within the "Leithen Stories" series - an evocative look at the hunting, shooting and fishing lifestyle in Highland Scotland."
7. Time's Arrow by Martin Amis (1991).
"In this novel a man's life is portrayed backwards, from death to birth, as are some of the scenes - for example, sex begins with climax, moves through foreplay and exhausts itself on flirtation. The plot is about a doctor whose story begins with his death."
Ah well, almost supper time. We're currently enjoying a Sister Boniface mystery. Enjoy your weekend.
