Tuesday - A Reading Update and a New Genre Theme

No! No! Eat the grass, not the flowers!

Let's see.. What's happened the last couple of days. Well, one thing that didn't happen was that I still haven't mowed the grass. I wonder if sheep fit in as social distancing? Might save me having to dig out the lawn mower.

Sunday was an excellent TV day / night. Lots of shows that resulted in tears mind you. We had taped a BBC show, The Windermere Children. It was based on a true story. After World War II, Britain took in a large number of Jewish children who had survived Nazi concentration camps. The purpose was to try and re-acclimatize them to some semblance of normal life. The movie followed one such group, housed at Lake Windermere in the Cotswolds. Very powerful, emotional movie. It ended up highlighting a few of those that still lived and their feelings on what had happened. 

After that we watched a Rookie (entertaining but no tears), Call the Midwife (yup, tears) and two PBS shows, World on Fire (following a number of people living through the beginning of the War Years) and Baptiste (a pretty gritty mystery). So all in all an excellent night of TV.

Today I did my normal rounds of shopping; some groceries at John's Independent grocer, some dog food stuff from Woofys (phone in order and pick up at the door) and then bread at Cob's Bakery. While at the last place I could see the far end of the mall that Cob's is inside. There is a Canadian Tire super store at the far end. I was somewhat astounded to see that there was a line-up of about 40 people waiting to get in. Canadian Tire? (Maybe the garden center it has, I guess) But such a crowd of people. And quite close together. Made me feel much better being at the other end of the mall.

I finished what is probably my last April book this morning. I mean there are two days left in April so it's possible I might finish one more, but if I don't, I'm pretty happy with my April selections. I'll provide a review of that book and a synopsis of the next book in line. Then I'll start my new theme, the Spy / Thriller genre. So let's go.

Just Finished

1. Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood (Phryne Fisher #4).

"It's been ages since I read a Phryne Fisher mystery. The main reason for this is because when I bought the 4th book, Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood, I mistakenly ordered an audio book instead of the standard paperback. So, it's been sitting on my book shelf for about six years. I was going to finally read the fifth book but decided to give this audio book a chance so I could keep reading in sequence. And I am quite glad I did. Narrator Stephanie Daniel, who has narrated around 20 of the Phryne stories, was excellent. Daniel passed away in 2013 after  struggle with cancer, but at least Phryne Fisher lovers will have been able to experience her lovely narrating skills.

This story starts off with a bang, literally. Phryne, returning from an outing one evening in 1928, is driving along the dockyards when her car window is shot out and she sees two shadowy men running across the road and leaping the dockyard fence. She also discovers a young man, dying on the road side. He dies before she can get assistance.

This startling beginning will lead Phryne to the world of anarchists and Latvian revolutionaries. It will be a dangerous case that will risk Phryne's life and also threaten those she loves dearly, the Butlers, her assistant, Dot and her two wards, Janie and Ruth.

Phryne also is hired to find a young girl who has run away from home. Phryne will discover many strange things about this family as her investigation progresses. I'll leave it at that, so you can discover for yourself. Suffice it to say that this case is resolved satisfactorily.

The two cases keep Phryne very occupied, although she does find time for some romancing as well, with husky, handsome Peter the Painter, one of the Latvian revolutionaries with whom she comes in contact. With capable assistance from the ever-present Bert and Cecil, and also from Dot and even her wards, both cases are resolved, much to my satisfaction. Phryne is an independent, smart and beautiful detective and the story was interesting and (normally I would say a page turner) I enjoyed the audio book experience. Both Daniel's reading and Phryne's activities kept me interested and fascinated. Excellent story and I'm glad to be delving into the Australian detective's life again. The last chapter featured a brief interview between Stephanie Daniel and Kerry Greenwood which helped place the time frame of the story very nicely. Excellent story all around, whether you read it or listen to it. (4 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. A New Lease of Death by Ruth Rendell (Chief Inspector Wexford #2).

"It was a brutal, vicious crime -- sixteen years old. A helpless old woman battered to death with an axe. Harry Painter hung for it, and Chief Inspector Wexford is certain they executed the right man. But Reverend Archery has doubts . . . because his son wants to marry the murderer's beautiful, brilliant daughter. He begins unravelling the past, only to discover that murder breeds murder -- and often conceals even deeper secrets . . ."

The Spy / Thriller Genre
From Wikipedia "Spy fiction, a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device, emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligence agencies. It was given new impetus by the development of fascism and communism in the lead-up to World War II, continued to develop during the Cold War, and received a fresh impetus from the emergence of rogue states, international criminal organizations, global terrorist networks, maritime piracy and technological sabotage and espionage as potent threats to Western societies. As a genre, spy fiction is thematically related to the novel of adventure (The Prisoner of Zenda, 1894, The Scarlet Pimpernel, 1905), the thriller (such as the works of Edgar Wallace) and the politico-military thriller (The Schirmer Inheritance, 1953, The Quiet American, 1955)."

What I hope to do over the next 30 or 40 posts on this subject is highlight various authors / books that might fit into this category. I will also include some thriller authors as well, that may or may not fit. I'll let you judge that. I'll preface this by stating it is not an all-inclusive list. It's a list pulled from my bookshelves, specifically my Goodreads' lists, those books that I've either read or plan to read that fit the category. I hope you enjoy my attempt. 

My first authors (three of them) were among those who probably started the Spy genre. The three specific books were published in the early 1900's. Let's take a look, eh?

Erskine Childers

1. Robert Erskine Childers. Erskine Childers was born in London in 1870 and died in Dublin in 1922. He became a supporter of Irish Republicanism and smuggled guns into Ireland. He was executed during the Irish Civil War. His novel, The Riddle of the Sands, published in 1903 was called the first spy novel and was later acclaimed as the 3rd best spy novel of all times by the Telegraph.

a. The Riddle of the Sands (1903).

"Tempted by the idea of duck shooting, Carruthers joins his friend Davies on a yachting expedition in the Baltic. But Davies has more on his mind than killing fowl. As they navigate the waters and treacherous, shifting sands on board the Dulcibella, Carruthers learns the real reason behind their trip and how the safety of Britain depends on it.

On a wild journey of intrigue and espionage the two men meet danger at every turn, encounter strange sailors and English traitors, and discover a fleet of German war ships assembling amongst the Frisian Islands, ready to invade across the North Sea…" (3 stars)

G.K. Chesterton

2. Gilbert Keith (G.K.) Chesterton. Chesterton was born in London in 1874 and died in Buckinghamshire in 1936. He is most known for his Father Brown mystery series. But he was a novelist, essayist, poet and journalist over the course of his life. He was quite prolific and I've enjoyed some of the Brown books and others of his stories. I'm focusing on one of his novels, described as a 'metaphysical thriller'. I have to say that unfortunately I didn't get it, but in some ways I think it's a nice early novel in the genre.

a. The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare (1908).

"The story begins when Gabriel Syme, a poet and member of a special group of philosophical policemen, attends a secret meeting of anarchists, whose leaders are named for the days of the week, and all of whom are sworn to destroy the world. Their chief is the mysterious Sunday - huge, boisterous, full of vitality, a wild personage who may be a Chestertonian vision of God or nature or both. When Syme, actually an undercover detective, is unexpectedly elected to fill a vacancy on the anarchists' Central Council, the plot takes the first of many surprising twists and turns." (2 stars)

Joseph Conrad

3. Joseph Conrad. Conrad, a Polish - British author, was born in the Russian Empire in 1857. He died in Kent in 1924. He was both a novelist and short story writer and may be best known for Heart of Darkness (1899). His inclusion in my look at the Spy novel is his story, The Secret Agent (1907).

a. The Secret Agent (1907).

Synopsis - "Mr. Verloc, the secret agent, keeps a shop in London's Soho where he lives with his wife Winnie, her infirm mother, and her idiot brother, Stevie. When Verloc is reluctantly involved in an anarchist plot to blow up the Greenwich Observatory things go disastrously wrong, and what appears to be "a simple tale" proves to involve politicians, policemen, foreign diplomats and London's fashionable society in the darkest and most surprising interrelations."

My Review - "This book was a slow start for me. It's a style of writing I'm not used to these days, but once I got into it, the story flowed nicely and it was a thoughtful, interesting read. I enjoyed having to read and think about what I was reading. The characters were interesting, the story well-crafted and tragic. Mr. Verloc, the spy, caught in a tragic situation and his wife Winnie, taking care of him, her simplish brother Stevie and her mother, having to deal with unexpected death... 

Also an interesting, if unresolved interplay between the Assistant Commissioner (unnamed) and Chief Inspector Heat, each with his own motives and thoughts on dealing with the key 'incident'. I'm glad I worked my way through the story, it was quite excellent. (4 stars)"

So there you go, my initial post on this new topic. I hope it grabs your interest and you'll continue to check in. Take care!