This often hilarious account of the Monster of Florence case is by Preston (an American mystery writer) and mario Spezi, an Italian journo who covered...moreThis often hilarious account of the Monster of Florence case is by Preston (an American mystery writer) and mario Spezi, an Italian journo who covered the case from the jump.
If you ever get discouraged about the American judicial system read this immediately. You'll feel much better.
Basically, the Italians really screwed the pooch on this thing. The prosector and chief investigator used as their primary source a woman who runs a conspiracy website. Those of us who live in small towns know there is always somebody who hints at dark deeds done behind closed doors (usually in connection with zoning) and, with absolutely zero proof, manages to insert himself into the center of everything. That's what this "source" amounted to.
The story drags a bit at times but it's overall compelling. And it's got a contemporary angle — the same clowns effed up the Amanda Knox trial recently.(less)
Just started the third novel in the volume. I am listening to Django Reinhardt in the background. Seems appropriate and is a damn sight less annoying ...moreJust started the third novel in the volume. I am listening to Django Reinhardt in the background. Seems appropriate and is a damn sight less annoying than that freaking zither in "The Third Man."
Okay, I'm done. Lost the momentum in "Requiem." Story gets too complex.
Pros: Outstanding hard-boiled observations from Bernie Gunther. Mostly tight plots. Great little vignettes on daily life under Adolf and His Merry Men. Nice ambiguity as Bernie tries to decide just where he stands in all of this.
Cons: I wish there was either a glossary of ranks and organizations, or Kerr would just call people "Captain So and So." All this Uberautobahnfuhrergesundheit stuff is confusing. The plot of "A German requiem" got too involved, I forgot who was who and didn't really care.
This was fun, if a bit overwrought. There's a lot of suspension of disbelief necessary as the plot unravels.
The most interesting part to me ...moreThis was fun, if a bit overwrought. There's a lot of suspension of disbelief necessary as the plot unravels.
The most interesting part to me is many of the characters' dislike of their American occupiers. That's a perspective American readers don't often get.(less)
Ambitious cop novel by actual NYC detective. The story revolves around Nick Meehan, who is bored and at loose ends in several aspects of life, and his...moreAmbitious cop novel by actual NYC detective. The story revolves around Nick Meehan, who is bored and at loose ends in several aspects of life, and his partner Esposito, who is under investigation by Internal Affairs. Nick is helping, sort of, but is conflicted about it.
We're talking drug dealers and street thugs, psycho rapists and hottie florists.
And we're also talking a lot of time in Nick's head, where no thought is too weird or insignificant to go unexplored. At length.
Strong points: Good dialogue and an eye for the absurd — the lieutenant, dressed as a priest during a stakeout, bumming a smoke from a Catholic schoolgirl.
Weak points: What Joe Bob Briggs would call "too much plot getting in the way of the story."
The material about the early days of the Stones is interesting, and if you're in the mood for celebrity bitching the later stuff, where Richards calls...moreThe material about the early days of the Stones is interesting, and if you're in the mood for celebrity bitching the later stuff, where Richards calls Jagger "Brenda," is mildly amusing.
But the real meat is on page 243 (I think) where Richards reveals the secret of that gear-grinding guitar sound — the five-string open G tuning. I broke three strings trying to get this right. It works.
About as solid a bio as I can imagine. Lennon was a weird guy, and after reading a bit about his upbringing it's not hard to see why.
I'...more About as solid a bio as I can imagine. Lennon was a weird guy, and after reading a bit about his upbringing it's not hard to see why.
I'd like to know more about Yoko Ono's heroin habit.
Very strong on the early Beatles in Germany.
Out of curiosity, and inspired by the account in the book, I found a YouTube clip of John and Yoko playing with Chuck Berry on the Mike Douglas Show ca. 1072. There's a highly comical moment when Yoko starts her patented caterwauling during the break on "Memphis." The look on Berry's face is priceless.(less)
Gritty PI stuff, set in Detroit. Good if you like this sort of thing. Amos Walker traces a long-lost foster son for a retired madam and finds himself ...moreGritty PI stuff, set in Detroit. Good if you like this sort of thing. Amos Walker traces a long-lost foster son for a retired madam and finds himself knee-deep in old murders, gangsters, molls, and 60s radicals.(less)
I just started this massive tome, which should be very awful and depressing, right? I mean, savage insane dictator convinces everybody in the country ...moreI just started this massive tome, which should be very awful and depressing, right? I mean, savage insane dictator convinces everybody in the country to go nuts and die.
Yet I find humor here, which says more about me than about life in Cambodia in the 1930s.
Or does it?
"For the young, Phnom Penh in the 1930s was a place of wonderment...each spring crowds gathered to wtach the Royal Oxen plough the Sacred Furrow..." (p.26 in the hard cover)
Not too long after that tidbit we get into the concubine situation, which makes me think there was some subtle symbolism at work here.
The symbolism here is less subtle: During ceremonies the King sat on a platform and everybody else was below so they had a good view of the Royal feet.
And if they wanted to address the King, they had to start by identifying themselves with "the consecrated formula, 'we who carry the King's excrement on our heads.'" (p.27)
And the young Pol Pot frequently got his crank yanked by bored concubines, who would go that far but wouldn't let him plow the Sacred Furrow. (This is where the fine old expression "Plow Tease" originated.)
Now I'm no fan of crazy Commie dictatorships, but it occurs to me that life in Cambodia was just one damn thing after another. First you're getting all jazzed up about maybe plowing some furrow, then you have to sit around with the King's poop on your head (symbolically), and then you get toyed with by concubines.
Usually when people talk about "moderates" or a "third way" they are taking a political stance similar to the Democratic party ca....moreUsually when people talk about "moderates" or a "third way" they are taking a political stance similar to the Democratic party ca. 1976 — which was not all that different from that of the Republican Party ca. 1976.
And when libertarians get going, they often start out strong — the government that governs best governs least — and then flounder on the reefs of legalizing all illegal drugs, or adopting a McGovernish foreign policy. (See Ron Paul.)
These guys, from Reason magazine, are charting a third way that is based not as much on doctrine as on youth and technology.
The gist is that younger voters today approach politics like consumers. And they are jamming the servers with complaints about the slothful, wasteful and dopey government.
What, they ask several times, is so difficult about the concept that we are broke?
What indeed.
With bonus insight into the importance of the Velvet Underground, which should be a clue that this is not the orindary political book.(less)
I'm a fan of this series, and this one took a decidedly darker turn. It took me a while to get used to the shifting points of view — the "Nameles...moreI'm a fan of this series, and this one took a decidedly darker turn. It took me a while to get used to the shifting points of view — the "Nameless" narrator (whose name is Bill) in first person, and the third-person narrative of the other characters.
There was one glaringly dumb thing in this book, however — the description of how Alex Chavez keeps himself amused on stakeouts by listening to "right wing hate radio." There follows a litany of complaints about Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck that is straight out of Media Matters and MSNBC.
That's fine, although I disagree with the sentiments. But the rant doesn't advance the story and it doesn't fit in with anything about the character, who is a pretty law-and-order kind of guy. It's like sticking a tuba in the middle of a string quartet, just for the hell of it.
You want to write about talk radio, send a letter to the editor.(less)
I read one of these but I forget which. My friend Kurt is a fan, so I checked a couple out from the library — grabbed at random.
This one w...moreI read one of these but I forget which. My friend Kurt is a fan, so I checked a couple out from the library — grabbed at random.
This one was jogging along quite nicely in Berlin 1934. Nazis in power and flexing their muscle in various unpleasant ways. Bernie Gunther trying to chart a vaguely honorable course in the middle of all this mayhem.
Add American gangsters and a spectacular woman.
Then — we're in Havana, 1954. Bernie's now Carlos. The gangster and the woman are back. We get some info on Bernie's war — not pretty. Name-dropping abounds — Hemingway, Meyer Lansky. It's historical fiction time, all of a sudden.
And an ending worthy of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."
The entire second section reads like an afterthought. Was it grafted on the end of an unfinished story? Awkward.
So this is the official end of the Kurt Wallander series. Somehow I thought it had ended a couple years ago, but I guess not.
The main plot...moreSo this is the official end of the Kurt Wallander series. Somehow I thought it had ended a couple years ago, but I guess not.
The main plot is spy stuff — old Cold War shenanigans popping up way after the fact.
Wallander, now living in a house in the country, is enjoying his place but getting itchy: his daughter is now a mother, and he's feeling as if he's assumed the role of his late father, with whom he had a difficult relationship.
And he thinks he's losing his marbles. He's starting to forget things — not his notebook, or his phone, but where is he is, and why.
This gets five stars for two reasons — first, for the consistent excellence of the entire series.
And secondly, for the cunning of Mankell. I get annoyed with Wallander's absent-mindedness, just as adults with a parent in decline get irritated by the symptoms of aging.(less)
I blame Ronson for turning me on to mega-nut David Icke and his endlessly entertaining Lizard people conspiracy theory in "Them: Adventures with ...moreI blame Ronson for turning me on to mega-nut David Icke and his endlessly entertaining Lizard people conspiracy theory in "Them: Adventures with Extremists."
In this one he's asked to investigate an elaborate and weird hoax involving a book called "Being or Nothingness," by Joe K. - which takes him to Indiana and Douglas Hofstadter ("Godel, Escher, Bach").
That in turn sets him off on psychopaths, the Hare Psychopathy Checklist. Lots of oddballs emerge.
Ronson's got a funny style, and apparently a real knack for tracking down the world's screwballs. Very interesting and enjoyable.
Also uncomfortable at times, especially when the reader starts considering the psychopath checklist in terms of himself or his friends.(less)
This is the first novel (or film) I've read (seen) that accurately captures the world of 12-step recovery groups.
That it's a satirical work...moreThis is the first novel (or film) I've read (seen) that accurately captures the world of 12-step recovery groups.
That it's a satirical work helps. The 12-step world suffers from an abundance of earnestness, if not zealotry, and deserves to be taken down a peg once in a while.
The gist of the story is this: expatriate Brit literary agent spies a famous, reclusive author going into an AA meeting. Brit follows, hoping to make commercial contact, and not realizing what he's getting into.
Then he starts pretending to be interested in the program, not the author.
Confusion results.
The ending's a little cheesy and the author is a little confused about Catskill geography, but that's okay.(less)
Rock criticism from The New Yorker. About what you'd expect — relentlessly liberal, pointlessly artsy, idiotically searching for Truth in pop music. F...moreRock criticism from The New Yorker. About what you'd expect — relentlessly liberal, pointlessly artsy, idiotically searching for Truth in pop music. Fortunately Willis hung up her typewriter before PoMo completely screwed the critical pooch forever. With fawning intros and whatnot from women who find it highly significant that Willis is also a woman. Very dull.(less)
I read this and two other Abe Lieberman procedurals (Lieberman's Day and The last Dark Place) in short order. Best comparison is to Ed McBain's 87th P...moreI read this and two other Abe Lieberman procedurals (Lieberman's Day and The last Dark Place) in short order. Best comparison is to Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels. Recurring characters, similar crimes — including the bar mitzvah they all seem to be in eternal preparation for.
Good gritty stuff with nice terse and sometimes funny dialogue.(less)
I have taken up Stuart Kaminsky this summer. In this one, set in Sarasota, Fla., reluctant detective and depressed guy Lew Fonesca gets tangled up in ...moreI have taken up Stuart Kaminsky this summer. In this one, set in Sarasota, Fla., reluctant detective and depressed guy Lew Fonesca gets tangled up in a plot to keep a county commissioner from voting not to open the Midnight Pass, some sort of canal/bayou thing. Or maybe it was to open it. Either way, the stakes are high.
The interest isn't, however, and the only reason I gave it three stars is it's well-done as far as it goes. (less)
Funky period mystery, involving Joan Crawford and a fat dentist who gets mixed up with a gang of survivalist weirdos, in early 40s Los Angeles. Funny ...moreFunky period mystery, involving Joan Crawford and a fat dentist who gets mixed up with a gang of survivalist weirdos, in early 40s Los Angeles. Funny situations, absurd plot, good dialogue. Enjoyable.(less)
I read a later book by this guy, and didn't get it at all. I think this is the first, and I sort of got it.
Thursday Next is a sort of litera...moreI read a later book by this guy, and didn't get it at all. I think this is the first, and I sort of got it.
Thursday Next is a sort of literary cop in a weird futuristic Britain. There is a lot of time travel and other sci-fi stuff that I frankly find tedious.
But Fforde keeps the story moving so I was able to move past the more annoying features. There are also a couple of legitimately funny moments and that helps.
But still...I tend to conk out when a story gets too fantastic. (less)
A rather wide-ranging historical spy thriller. Moves around from Vienna in the late 1930s to Auschwitz to guys being interned in Canada to Los Alamos ...moreA rather wide-ranging historical spy thriller. Moves around from Vienna in the late 1930s to Auschwitz to guys being interned in Canada to Los Alamos and the atom bomb project and finally to London.
Everything hinges on this one girl, a cellist.
The plot is a little convoluted and not all that easy to follow. The descriptions of the characters keeps the thing moving.(less)
This is one of Estleman's Westerns. I grabbed it from the library shelf without looking at it very carefully. (Plus it had a "mystery" label...moreThis is one of Estleman's Westerns. I grabbed it from the library shelf without looking at it very carefully. (Plus it had a "mystery" label applied.)
The Western is a genre I have assiduously avoided. I know Elmore Leonard works the genre, as did Robert Parker, but I just figured I could get by without reading about spurs and tobacco juice and cows and hangings and so on.
This is the story of a very successful undertaker who, with his wife, go from Michigan to the wild, developing San Francisco to a railroad boom town in Kansas. It's a fairly compelling story, and certainly doesn't conform to my preconceived notions of what a Western is.
There's some shootin' and drinkin' but it's not the stuff of cliche.
In short, a pleasant surprise that makes me want to explore the genre a bit.(less)
I'm going to re-read as many Nero Wolfes as possible this summer.
I never need an excuse to pick up a Rex Stout, but I got some of the A&E TV...moreI'm going to re-read as many Nero Wolfes as possible this summer.
I never need an excuse to pick up a Rex Stout, but I got some of the A&E TV shows and decided to go back to the source.
Incidentally, the TV shows have some problems, mainly in the property department. ONe of them has Archie Goodwin wearing spectator shoes throughout a multi-day period. Archie might wear spectators for a night dancing at the Flamingo, or to Lily Rowan's Westchester place for a summer weekend, but not for detecting.
"Doorbell" is Wolfe vs. J. Edgar Hoover, and it has a specific period feel that many of the novels do not. It also has some funny stuff about a nude photo of the murder victim.(less)
Not sure what to make of this Tommy Hambledon thriller. A 1951 pub. date would place it in the middle of the books, and not as one of the later ones t...moreNot sure what to make of this Tommy Hambledon thriller. A 1951 pub. date would place it in the middle of the books, and not as one of the later ones that may or may not have been at least partially farmed out to other writers. "Now or Never" has all the elements of a Hambledon adventure, but it's curiously arid and lacking in the funny stuff. Curious. For diehard fans only.(less)
"Balkans" is a nice, tight, understated spy story. It's a black and white novel, with Bogart, Bacall, Greenstreet, Lorre and that fat guy wh...more"Balkans" is a nice, tight, understated spy story. It's a black and white novel, with Bogart, Bacall, Greenstreet, Lorre and that fat guy who played the bartender goon in "Key Largo."
Nothing is wasted in this book. There's nothing remarkable about the story — except that it just moves along, and made me want to find out what was next.
Best of all, there's no existential blah blah blah (apart from the setting, which is Greece in the early 1940s — not a carefree place). John LeCarre is a brilliant wirter but, like Raymond Carver for American fiction and John Coltrane in jazz, he spawned legions of lousy imitators.
This Furst guy is a find, and I seem to be the last on on the bandwagon.(less)
This is a nicely-plotted detective story that straddles the line between psychological thriller and procedural. The translation seems effortless to me...moreThis is a nicely-plotted detective story that straddles the line between psychological thriller and procedural. The translation seems effortless to me; after I got used to the names the story moved right along.
It's told in a very matter-of-fact way, with an omniscient narrator. It's the kind of leisurely-paced story that would make a good multi-part TV series.(less)
I really enjoy this series. In this one the detectives are trying to track down Mr. Fox, the serial killer and master of disguise and deceit.
...moreI really enjoy this series. In this one the detectives are trying to track down Mr. Fox, the serial killer and master of disguise and deceit.
There is the usual slapstick — which is to say the highly unusual slapstick. Social commentary on college students. Interesting info on the London subway, flash mobs, and other subjects new to me.
Less angst than some of the others, which is fine by me. We have Henning Mankell for that.(less)
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