This morning I finished a book in my 'next book in the ongoing series challenge'. I'll update that and provide the synopsis of the next book in that challenge. I'll also continue my look at the Science Fiction novel. So let's go!
Just Finished
"Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage is the 5th book in M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin, cozy... ish mystery series set in the Cotswolds of England.
In episode 5, Agatha is finally about to marry the man she's fallen in love with since she retired from the advertising business and moved to her small town in the Cotswolds, her neighbour James Lacey. Unfortunately her life will take a harsh step backwards when her ex-advertising friend, Roy Silver, in a spiteful move hires a detective to find her ex-husband Jimmy Raisin. Agatha left Jimmy many years ago when she discovered him to be an alcoholic, violent husband. She has assumed that he is probably dead, but Roy's detective finds Jimmy and Roy tells him that Agatha is about to marry. Roy immediately feels bad about this, but Jimmy still turns up at the wedding to ruin Agatha's life.
Thing begin to fall to pieces very quickly. James Lacey in a fit of depression heads off to northern Cyprus to hide out from the fiasco and Jimmy is found dead in a ditch. The police, including Agatha's friend, Bill Wong, bring James back and both he and Agatha are immediately suspected of the murder. When they are determined to be innocent, the duo decide that they have to find the killer so their lives can return to some sort of normalcy. Agatha is forced to room with James as she had sold her house due to the impending nuptials. The new owner gives off a bad first impression, being irascible and off-putting.
As Agatha and James begin their investigation, they also re-examine their lives together as either a couple or just friends, or... what? Bill Wong is in lust with a new female police officer but she tests his friendship with Agatha. As bodies begin to crop up the tension mounts and while the police tell the duo to stop interfering, Agatha and James expand their investigation.
All in all, it's an entertaining story. Agatha is a neat character, strong at times but also nicely emotional. She must examine her feelings deeply in this story, feelings for James, feelings for her decision to retire and move to the Cotswolds. It's a nice, quick moving story and well-written with a satisfying ending. I'm glad there a still a few more books to read in this series as it's always a joy to delve into Agatha's life and those of her friends. (4 stars)"
Currently Reading
"Leaving Swindon behind her to hide out in the Well of Lost Plots (the place where all fiction is created), Thursday Next, Literary Detective and soon-to-be one parent family, ponders her next move from within an unpublished book of dubious merit entitled 'Caversham Heights'."
The Science Fiction Novel - Kurt Vonnegut
American Sci-Fi author Kurt Vonnegut Jr was born in Indianapolis in 1922 and died in Manhattan in 2007. In a period covering over 50 years he published fourteen novels, 3 short story collections and other works.
Vonnegut's first novel, Player Piano, was published in 1952. In the next twenty years he published several novels, e.g. Cat's Cradle, etc that were only marginally successful. His breakthrough novel was Slaughter-house Five. That was one of the first of his novels that I tried and I thought it was fantastic.
I read a couple of his books back in the 80s or so but then just sort of stopped trying his works. In 2012, I found one of his later works and decided to give it a try. I'll look at a couple of his books for you.
"Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time, Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world's great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous firebombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we fear most."
I recall this book being fascinating. I also thought the movie was excellent.
"In Breakfast of Champions, one of Kurt Vonnegut’s most beloved characters, the aging writer Kilgore Trout, finds to his horror that a Midwest car dealer is taking his fiction as truth. What follows is murderously funny satire, as Vonnegut looks at war, sex, racism, success, politics, and pollution in America and reminds us how to see the truth."
"In The euphoria of colossal innocence, he shot a bullet in the air. By the time it fell to earth, twelve year old Rudy Waltz was condemned as a double murderer, committed to care for his ruined parents - hi mother, whose ultimate fate rested on a radioactive mantlepiece, and his father, who - in his salad days - had found his best and only friend in a hapless young art student, Adolph Hitler. It was an odd beginning, if not an auspicious one. What can you expect when you're born in an Ohio City destined to be depopulated by a "friendly" neutron bomb? And - after all - it was only the beginning. As for the rest, as Rudy, forever to be known as... Deadeye Dick."
My review - "I'm not sure what to say. It's been probably been 30+ years since I read a Kurt Vonnegut story, maybe it was Slaughterhouse Five so I can't really compare. This story was very readable, quirky and different. But ultimately at the end I was kind of left with the feeling, 'so what'. Vonnegut definitely writes nicely and intelligently, but still, the story left me feeling somewhat empty, all fluff, no substance. (3 stars)"
The complete list of Arthur C. Clarke's books is available at this link.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
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