The first installment in Marco Vichi's series featuring Inspector Bordelli of Florence, Death in August takes its reader back to the 1960s (1963 to be...moreThe first installment in Marco Vichi's series featuring Inspector Bordelli of Florence, Death in August takes its reader back to the 1960s (1963 to be exact), and a very hot and mosquito-laden summer. Pretty much everyone has left town for the seaside, but someone has to man the store, so Bordelli stays behind. He is soon called to the scene of a rather odd death -- an elderly woman has been found dead in her bed, and the doctor says that she died to an asthma attack, brought on by a severe allergic reaction. Strangely, the bottle of medicine she normally used is sitting on her bedside table, cap screwed on tightly. Bordelli knows this was no ordinary death by natural causes, and sets out to find out who is responsible. He has his suspicions, but everyone seems to have an alibi for the time of death, which the doctor feels is accurate. It's not going to be an easy case for Bordelli at all.
Although the mystery is solid and the crime's solution itself is a bit perplexing, it takes Bordelli forever to solve it. Actually, that's not so much due to the work of Il Commissario, but of his creator, Marco Vichi. He spends a great deal of time developing atmosphere, setting and his characters, so that the story is more focused on all of these elements rather than on the crime itself. And he does give his readers an interesting cast of people -- there's a scientist who spends his time coming up with crazy inventions that will never sell, a trattoria owner whose dishes tend to swim in fat, a burglar with a passion for dance, and others who seem just as offbeat. Then there's Bordelli himself -- a policeman with a great deal of compassion, something he learned from his father's experiences in the war (memories of which still hang over Italy like the cloying heat of the summer and clouds of mosquitoes) against the Nazis. He is not averse to hiring ex-cons or helping them out with a couple of thousand lire here and there, hoping that they won't have to go back to a life of crime.
Normally the first novel in a crime fiction/mystery series is a bit iffy because most of the elements mentioned above tend to be glossed over in favor of getting the crime solved, but in this book, it's a vice-versa situation. There's so much character development and foundation laying that the reader really doesn't get a good handle on Bordelli's detection abilities, so that even though the solution to the crime is a bit ingenious, there's not a whole lot of buildup to getting there. For crime fiction readers who want their fix of detection and a buildup of clues and suspects, it's a bit of a letdown. Hopefully the author will rectify the situation in following installments of the series.
There's one more thing worth mentioning, and that is a scene in the novel where Bordelli is reflecting back to a time in his childhood where (and there's no getting around just laying it out straight) he's being sexually abused by a girl charged with taking care of him. The author paints it like it's not a big deal, and I'm sorry -- that's just not right. Granted it hearkens back to building Bordelli's character, but really. That is not only not cool, but it was quite unnecessary. Perhaps it's asking too much, but I would have thought the editors might have had some concerns about leaving that part in.
While I thought the scene-setting and the character development was done pretty well, and I enjoyed the compassionate side of the main character, the mystery aspect just sort of fell flat for me. If this is supposed to be a mystery novel (and this is confirmed by the subtitle: "The First Inspector Bordelli Mystery"), the author needs to amp up the crime, add a longer list of suspects and give his readers something they can sink their teeth into. But once again, as I scan its ratings all over the internet, the book is getting 4-star ratings in multiple places, is being highly recommended by many people. So perhaps I'm much more of a demanding crime-fiction reader than most people and I'm being a bit picky. I've just bought the second book in the series, so hopefully since we already know so much about Bordelli (probably a little bit too much, actually), the next installment will focus more on the crime.(less)
There is a Sinhalese expression "Konde bandapu cheena," which translates as "ponytailed Chinaman," and connotes someone gullible ...moreThere is a Sinhalese expression "Konde bandapu cheena," which translates as "ponytailed Chinaman," and connotes someone gullible -- someone who will believe anything. A "Chinaman" in cricket terms is (according to Wikipedia) "a left-handed bowler bowling wrist spin (left arm unorthodox). For a right-handed batsman, the ball will move from the off side to the leg side (left to right on the TV screen). " The question asked by the narrator of this novel is this:
"Is this a story about a pony-tailed Chinaman bowler? Or a tale to tell a pony-tailed Chinaman? That is for you to decide."
Whatever your choice may be after finishing this novel, Chinaman is one of the best novels I've read so far this year. I know jack about cricket, which features heavily throughout the story; no surprise there, considering Americans are far more involved in football, baseball and basketball. Strangely enough, my lack of knowledge was not a drawback in any form. The mix of Sri Lankan history, contemporary politics, humor, the characters and the author's prose all come together to make this book an unforgettable experience.
"There is nothing more inspiring than a solid deadline," notes retired Sri Lankan journalist WG Karunasena, and after a long career of both sportswriting and serious drinking, he has been given his last one. His doctor has given him about a year to live if he does not stop drinking; if WG cuts down to two drinks a day, maybe a year or two at most. He decides that it's a good time to do a "halfway decent documentary on Sri Lankan cricket", and is obsessed with a cricket player named Pradeep Mathew, who he says, is Sri Lanka's all-time best cricketer. Mathew was a "top spinner...," "Chinaman, googly, top spinner and that amazing arm ball that god rid of the Aussie captain." Along with his friend and fellow cricket fanatic Ari Byrd, WG begins to gather information on Mathew, who has long-since disappeared from the cricket scene, official records and also from Sri Lanka, seemingly vanishing into thin air. As they start the documentary project, which will later evolve into a book project for WG, they run into several people who claim to know something about Mathew, and they run into others who do not want WG to go any further with the project. Is there some conspiracy at work here? As WG and Ari embark on their at times rather strange quest, WG's obsession with Mathew and his discussions about the game of cricket become a vehicle for exploring Sri Lankan politics and history, and life in contemporary Sri Lankan society.
But there are other considerations at work in this novel as well, both on and off the cricket field -- relationships within families; friendships; politics and money that get in the way of sportsmanship; old age; the sadness and regret of wasted lives; the inescapable power plays -- all presented in a style that fits well into the story without ever getting overly preachy. And then there's WG himself -- should anyone even believe his ramblings, considering his alcoholic bent toward self destruction and considering the characters that populate this novel? There's WG's old nemesis, once a rival for WG's wife Sheila, who may or may not have had six fingers and who may or may not have been Mathew's school coach ; a midget who claims to have had an underground bunker and to have secretly taped damning conversations on the cricket field; a friend of WG who may or not be a pedophile; and there's WG himself, the very center of the novel. The story is punctuated throughout with definitions of cricket terms, diagrams of different cricket techniques, parts of the field etc, largely to help the reader and to move the story along. . There are also fuzzy photos here and there that may or may not lend credence to WG's search for the truth about Pradeep Mathew.
Chinaman is funny and downright sobering at the same time, which given the seriousness of the history of ongoing problems in Sri Lanka is a good juggling act, keeping the reader entertained on one hand while exploring the problems of this nation. And then there's the sports aspect: the author clearly brings out the "magic" moments of sporting events that tie people together: "sport can unite worlds, tear down walls and transcend race, the past, and all probability. Unlike life, sport matters." As WG notes,
"In thirty years, the world will not care about how I lived. But in a hundred years, Bulgarians will still talk of Letchkov and how he expelled the mighty Germans from the 1994 World Cup with a simple header."
As an American who knows little to nothing about the sport of cricket, at first the book was a bit daunting, even though the author lays out the basics and then throws in bits about different throws or batting techniques. When I realized that this could be problematic, I went to the internet for help in getting a quick rundown on how this game is played -- problem solved. Cricket might be a sticking point for some readers in this country, but ultimately I discovered it didn't really matter -- the overall story is so good and is so well told that my lack of cricket knowledge was only a momentary glitch that really did not distract from the narrative. The ending may be a bit gimmicky for some readers, but the book's good points are so numerous that they outweigh any negatives.
Whether or not you care about cricket, I definitely and highly recommend this book -- it is that good, offering its readers a glimpse into life in another country, and into one man's journey of discovery in his last months of life. It's a beautiful book, and I hope it finds other Americans to cheer it on. (less)
My many thanks to Tara for offering me this book, and to Random House as well. The Last Storyteller is the final book in Delaney's th...more3.75
My many thanks to Tara for offering me this book, and to Random House as well. The Last Storyteller is the final book in Delaney's three-volume series that begins with Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show then continues with The Matchmaker of Kenmare. Now in Last Storyteller, Delaney offers his readers a novel of historical fiction that not only continues to highlight Ireland's 20th-century past, but also shows that the stuff of legends has a tendency to reverberate in real life and human experience. Most importantly, however, Delaney weaves throughout this book the idea of the transforming power of storytelling, which for readers is undeniable. But he adds another dimension -- that of the wandering seanchai, who travels the country sharing his stories. For readers who are already familiar with the previous two books in the series, Last Storyteller also continues the story of Ben McCarthy, the long-estranged husband of Venetia Kelly.
McCarthy works for Ireland's Folklore Commission, and he lives on a "staple diet" of "herbal cures, rambling ballads, family curses, jigs and reels played on fiddles and pipes, nonsense verse, riddles and recitations -- and above all stories." Ben's travels have given him the opportunity to meet many different kinds of people, but he is most at peace with his friend John Jacob Farrell O'Neill, seanchai, a "fireside storyteller," a "descendant of the bards who had entertained kings and chieftains long before Christ was born." But because of events from his past, and more recent happenings as well, Ben is still in a deeply-entrenched state of loss and melancholy. The Last Storyteller is his own story, addressed to his children Ben and Louise, but it is also a tale of how the power of storytelling leads to Ben's own personal transformation. Taking a bit of advice given to him from his old friend James Clare, who is dying as the novel opens, Ben discovers that
"One day you have to tell the story of your own life...and perceive it as myth. when you can do that -- that's when you've finally grown up."
The events of Ben's life in this novel begin in the mid 1950s, and the book takes the reader through turbulent times in Ireland's history that have a bearing on Ireland's modern situation.
The storytelling aspects drew me in to the novel and kept me there, as did the ongoing story of Ben McCarthy and Venetia Kelly, which I first discovered in Delaney's Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show, probably my favorite of the author's three connected novels. The image of a storyteller being welcomed into the homes of strangers, going from fireside to fireside, sometimes staying into the wee hours was quite enchanting; the idea of people gladly opening their doors to this person also grabbed my attention, as did the stories Delaney incorporated into the book. At the same time, the parallels in the stories were a bit too coincidental to Ben's adventures, and it bothered me a little that not enough distance was put between O'Neill's telling and the events unfolding around Ben and those near to him. And sometimes the dialogue was a little too much; there were entire scenes that sometimes dragged due to wordiness.
However, it is quite obvious that the author succeeded in getting his message across and aside from some of the more lengthy conversations and coincidences, I liked this book. The Last Storyteller and the books that precede it it are much lighter in tone than my regular reading choices, but I have a fondness for Delaney's novels, a) because they're set in Ireland, and b) because the author has a gift for storytelling. The novels are not complicated, they are very approachable in terms of reading, and make for a good and relaxing reading experience. My advice: although you could easily catch up with what happened in the previous two novels, start with Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show and work your way toward this one. I think you'll get much more out of The Last Storyteller with the backstory provided by the other two books, and this book will be more meaningful in the long run. And if anyone knows a seanchai who wants to come sit by my fireside, send him on over. (less)
Book seven in the Erast Fandorin series brings us to 1896 and the coronation of Nicholas II as the last Russian czar. Like its predecessor The State ...moreBook seven in the Erast Fandorin series brings us to 1896 and the coronation of Nicholas II as the last Russian czar. Like its predecessor The State Counsellor, The Coronation is steeped in accurate historical detail, from the name of the new Czar's horse to the horrible events that occurred in the field at Khodynka. Unlike The State Counsellor, Fandorin is acting as a lone wolf here, no longer holding his previous position as Deputy for Special Assignments to the Governor General of Moscow. The story is told through the eyes of the head butler at the Hermitage in Moscow, temporary home to the St. Petersburg contingent of the Romanov family and its retinue. His narrative spans two weeks, beginning with Fandorin's death. What????
The coronation is imminent, and the family of the czar's uncle Grand Duke Georgii Alexandrovich is settling into its Moscow lodgings. There's a great deal to do before the big event, but there's plenty of time to take the Grand Duke's little son Mikhail Georgievich on a walk through the park. Out of nowhere, Xenia, grand princess and daughter of the Grand Duke, is snatched up, but the attempt at a kidnapping is thwarted. But sadly, while Xenia is being rescued, even though the little boy is moved away for his safety, the whole thing is only a clever ruse, with Mikhail Georgievich as the real target. A shaggy-looking gentleman, along with an ice-cream seller in the park reveal themselves to the family as (who else!) Erast Fandorin and his Japanese servant Masa, and thus Fandorin is launched into the effort to gain Mikhail's safe release. His opponent is one Dr. Lind, someone with whom Fandorin has scores to settle, and someone who demands something no less than the Orlov diamond, the key jewel of the coronation ceremony. But this is not going to be an easy task -- Lind holds all the cards, Fandorin is not trusted by many in the household, and the family, while concerned with little Mikhail, still have duties to perform to ensure that the coronation goes off without a hitch. After all, nothing can be done to get in the way of the Romanov destiny -- and rumors of a royal kidnapping might undermine the stability of Nicholas' rule even before it is officially acknowledged.
There are several moments to divert one's attention away from the main action of the novel. Some are humorous, for example, the butler's undercover adventures in a club for gay men is only one pleasant diversion to be found. Some are darkly serious and based on a terrible reality where over 1300 people were trampled to death at the Khodynka field on a day when the royal family set up food and drink for their citizens and rumors escaped that there wasn't enough for everyone. And then Akunin offers insight into how the Imperial family views its common citizens, and just how far the family is willing to go to hide anything even remotely detrimental to its image -- a factor that later is going to help bring down the house of Romanov in terms of Nicholas' only son and his hemophilia.
I'll admit to not having figured out the kidnapper's identity in this hostage mind-boggler of an adventure, and I got very caught up in the story while trying to do so. I think, though, that knowing the sad story that's yet to play out with the Romanovs, the history took me in more than the mystery, although it was quite enjoyable and very fast paced. Akunin's sense of place is undeniably vivid, as is his knowledge of detail of the period, more fully fleshing out the events going on around the story of the kidnapping.
The Coronation may be my favorite of the Fandorin novels so far, with The State Counsellor a close second. There's a big leap in quality between these two books and the earlier ones, and I hope the remaining three (She Lover of Death, He Lover of Death and The Diamond Chariot) are just as good as these two have been.
Anyone who enjoys hostage and kidnapping stories will like this, as well as cozy readers who want a bit more of a challenge than the usual fare. Readers of this series will also enjoy it, and I think readers of historical crime fiction will do well with this book. Again -- some of the scenes are just completely over the top, but it still a very good read.
(less)
this is the short review; if you want a longer one, you can find it <a href=http://www.2010theyearinbooks.com/2012/01/running-rift-by-naomi-benaron...morethis is the short review; if you want a longer one, you can find it <a href=http://www.2010theyearinbooks.com/2012/01/running-rift-by-naomi-benaron.html"> here</a>. Unlike the rest of the reading public, it seems, I just didn't go uber-gaga over this book, largely because it reads like a young adult novel, and I'm not overly fond of the style. However, I think that once the word gets out about this book, it has the makings of a bestseller exactly because of its potential appeal to the young adult audience.
Divided into five parts and spanning a period of fourteen years, Running the Rift follows the life of Jean Patrick Nkuba, a Tutsi boy who grows up pretty sheltered, with a father who taught him that there is no difference between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes. With the death of Jean Patrick's father in a car accident, the family's situation changes, and Jean Patrick begins to discover that not everyone thinks the way his father did. While the family is coming to terms with their loss, wondering about the future, an incident occurs in which a group of Hutu boys hurl rocks through the windows of the family home. Jean Patrick chases after the gang, but fails to catch up to them, leaving him feeling guilty about not being a faster runner. The family moves to the home of Jean Patrick's uncle , where he and his older brother Roger did not initially want to go, where, as Roger thought, they would be "nothing but poor fishermen, running around dirty and eating with our fingers like the rest of Uncle’s children. ” Uncle and the rest of the family are definitely poor and life is harder there, but the brothers discover that there is more to wealth than money -- that a loving family is at the root of everything good in life. Things begin to change for Jean Patrick when an Olympic runner comes to his school and to celebrate, the school holds a race which he wins. The prize is a poster which the runner dedicates to Jean Patrick, calling him "our next Olympic hero." At this point, Jean Patrick's life dreams and ambitions are born, and as he moves on to secondary school, he begins training in earnest under Coach, a strange figure who seems to have more going on than just helping young men get to the Olympics, and who offers Jean Patrick a Hutu identity card to stay safe. It's running, not the political situation, that keeps Jean Patric focused while things begin to explode all around him; he becomes very well known after running the 800-meter with an Olympic qualifying time, and it looks like he may actually realize his dream. He's got good backing, too -- his picture appears in the paper with the Rwandan president; McDonald's hamburgers are flown in for a reception with an ambassador, and all eyes are on Jean Patrick. But over time, politics, propaganda and ultimately the murder of the president turn Rwanda into a full-blown, bloody killing ground and events occur that thrust Jean Patrick right into the heart of the nightmare. This is his story, set against a time when "no safe or sane place exists within the country," when Tutsis are hunted down just because they are not Hutus.
As events unfold, the autho examines the effects of this conflict on people at every level, from the family to the community to the nation, even to the world at large, where the Western countries more or less turn their backs to the slaughter. In terms of pacing, the story sort of plods along for much of the first half of the novel, as the characters are introduced and established, as Jean Patrick's early life is set forth, and as change is beginning to rear its ugly head for the worse. My favorite section of Ms. Benaron's book, in terms of writing and prose, is in Book Three, when all hell breaks loose for Rwanda and for Jean Patrick as well -- it is there that the author amps up the pace, where the situation becomes very tense, enough to hold my attention for the longest time. This section, personally speaking, is where I believe the author's true writing potential comes shining through. If the rest of the book had conveyed this much intensity, it would have been a much better reading experience for me.
Despite my personal feelings about the young-adult style, readers are loving this novel, and there are many good things about it to recommend. The book is extremely approachable in terms of reading, and despite the 365 pages, it moves quickly. If you're squeamish about violence, beware. Running the Rift works (imho) largely on an emotional level, so if that's what you're looking for, you'll probably love it.
I'm sort of torn here -- on one hand, I appreciate the author's choice of subject matter and her willingness to tackle it and the fact that she brings this terrible situation to the attention of members of the reading public who may be familiar with events in Rwanda from movies or from TV news of years ago. The basic story is good, and she does manage to get across many of the terrors faced by a young person coming of age in Rwanda during this time. At the same time, with the exception of Book Three, I just didn't think it delivered that punch I was looking for, considering the topic at hand. After having finished it, I thought that Running the Rift was a book my daughter would enjoy much more than I did. It has that young-adult lit feel, and would not be out of place on high-school library shelves, or as a required text for a high-school history course. It really reminded me of books I read when I was younger, where there was enough to tug at my heart strings and to capture my intellectual interest, leading me to want to find out more about the topic. If the book is geared for readers of young adult fiction, then it's a perfect fit; if it was supposed to be more of a literary read, well, it just didn't do it for me.
It is just possible that I've found the novel that come next December I'll be listing as my favorite book of the year. Go ahead -- scoff or do the ey...moreIt is just possible that I've found the novel that come next December I'll be listing as my favorite book of the year. Go ahead -- scoff or do the eyeroll if you so choose, but this book has just set the bar for my reading year. With this novel, the prose, the characters, the story and the author's imagining of life under totalitarian rule in North Korea all combine to produce the literary equivalent of the perfect storm in my reading universe.
While getting my thoughts together and perusing the internet, I discovered an interview where the author notes that
"... in North Korea there is a national script, conveyed through propaganda. There is one notion about who the people are and what the national goals are, and you as a citizen are conscripted to be a part of this national narrative. . . You have to relinquish your own personal desires.”
And the main character in this story, Pak Jun Do, has spent a great deal of his young life following the script. His early life and career are laid out in the first part of this novel, "The Biography of Jun Do," which even by itself would have made an incredible story. His father is in charge of the orphan camp called Long Tomorrows near Chongjin, where Jun Do grows up without a mother. Orphans are very low in the social order, and are hired out to various companies or other work details; when they get older they are sent directly to the military, where they are usually assigned the most dangerous jobs. Jun Do, although not technically an orphan, ends up as a tunnel soldier, then ends up on assignment kidnapping people from Japan. From there, he is assigned to language school, then to a listening post on the fishing boat Junma, where he monitors radio transmissions. After an encounter with an American interceptor at sea and later a defection, he is proclaimed a hero and recruited for a secret mission to Texas. It is there, looking through of all things a telephone directory, that he comes to realize that there's a bigger and better world out there, and that he hates his "small, backward homeland, a land of mysteries and ghosts and mistaken identities." His return to North Korea leads directly to part two of the novel, "The Confessions of Commander Ga," where in a rather abrupt change, we find Jun Do in a prison mine where one of the outputs is the blood of the dead that is shipped to the capital, Pyongyang. From there Jun Do's life takes on a new twist, one I won't reveal here, but it is a story guaranteed to keep you awake and turning pages because you do not want to miss even a second of Jun Do's story.
The strongest parts of the novel are found in how different people retain their dignity and integrity after enduring incredible hardships, and in what really constitutes a hero, a word that is bandied about at the upper echelons in keeping with the national myth. North Korea is a place where above all the myths behind the cult of personality endure, no matter what methods are used to ensure its survival -- "re-education," fear, torture, etc. While the author shows that not everyone buys into it, there is also propaganda everywhere, made very clear by the loudspeakers in everyone's living room, factory floors, offices, etc. Announcements beginning with "Citizens" are a device the author uses often throughout the novel, often related in a tongue-in-cheek manner, used to broadcast not only the latest good deed done by the Dear Leader -- "Kim Jong Il was seen offering on-the-spot guidance to the engineers deeping the Taedong River channel," but also the myth: "While the Dear Leader lectured to the dredge operators, many doves were seen to spontaneously flock above him, hovering to provide our Reverend General some much needed shade on a hot day."
The Orphan Master's Son is a wonderful novel for several reasons, and I've just skimmed the surface of the story here. I had only a small problem in terms of reading, and that was with the juxtaposition from part one to part two, where I read a few pages, scratched my head and had to go back again to make sure what I'd read was correct. Once I figured out what was happening and continued reading, all was explained and back into smooth reading zone I went.
It's very obvious that the author has done his research, even traveling to North Korea. At one point I looked up kidnapping of Japanese citizens by North Koreans and was amazed to discover that this practice has been going on for some time. Furthermore, the propaganda and mythmaking around Kim Jong-il so beautifully incorporated into The Orphan Master's Son is now being ramped up in real life for the new leader Kim Jong-un, as shown in this article.
Very highly recommended, although his book may not be for everyone -- many readers might find the story too dark or bleak to get through, so if you're looking for a lighthearted read, forget it. It is gritty and often difficult to get through, with scenes of torture and prison life, starvation, famine and other hardships endured by regular people in a situation in which they have little or no control. And although this book is very approachable from a reader standpoint, some may be bothered by the change in narrative form from part one to part two, which admittedly is a bit confusing at first. On the other hand, it is a book in which the author's imagination regarding this closed society comes to life and translates into a credible look at a place most people know only through news reports.
I can't say exactly why I loved this book, but it is one that made its way under my skin and one I will not soon forget. Bravo, Adam Johnson! (less)
There are a number of novels where the story is told in a number of different voices, but I do believe this one may win the prize for the largest numb...moreThere are a number of novels where the story is told in a number of different voices, but I do believe this one may win the prize for the largest number of narrators. It is a bit reminiscent of modern television documentaries in which multiple people relate their experiences relating to a given topic; unlike television however, the story is not passive; it is one in which the reader has a job to do in interpreting what's really going on -- if he or she can find any reliability in the narration. Each narrator has his or her own slant on the truth -- and what they say speaks not only to the situation at hand but also to how they perceive and wish others to perceive them in the world each occupies.
Hand Me Down World is the story of a young woman in Tunisia whose quest for her young son begins in the middle of the Mediterranean, where she is dumped by human traffickers and told to hang on to a buoy until someone comes to pick her up. After a while it becomes obvious she's been duped, so she makes her way dog paddling onto the Italian coastline. There she takes on the name Ines, and with only a plastic bag in which she keeps only a few meager possessions, she begins to make her way to Berlin where her son's father lives. Her story is related by those with whom she comes into contact, and by Ines herself. This cast of characters include a truck driver, an elderly snail collector, an ex-pat Parisian who calls himself Millennium Three, a researcher from the UK sent to study the Roma culture in Berlin, and others that bump into Ines along the way. After the book introduces all of these people (and a few more), the most involved narrations begin with Ralf, an elderly blind man who hires Ines to view the world for him; Defoe, another lodger taken on by Ralf, and then there's Ines herself, whose account of things doesn't always coincide with what has already been said about her. The novel is structured sort of like a detective story, where there are conflicts among all of the narratives for the reader to sort and then try to piece together in some coherent fashion. And then there's the Inspector, whose purpose I won't reveal here, but who serves as sort of a compiler of all of the stories.
While the author explores Ines' search for her son and her experiences along the way, he is also able to veer off into other areas, especially the issues faced by immigrants trying to find a better life than the one they left behind, who often become "the real ghosts... those whom we choose not to see." But even as he's tackling this issue in a big way, running through the novel is theme of identity, most obviously examined in Ines but also among all of the other characters. There's also a great deal of thought offered about living with dignity instead of fear, a choice Ines and other characters have to consider in the hopes of having any kind of future.
While the prose may be a bit sparse in comparison to Jones' Mr. Pip, the pacing is good and appropriate for a novel like this one. In the first part of the book,the reader is not stuck on any one character or situation too long as Ines makes her way through Europe. As Ines continues her journey, the story also moves along and doesn't dwell too long in one spot . The second half moves a bit slower as it boils down to the stories of only a few characters in Berlin, and then of course, Ines herself. This part is not as quick to read through, but what makes it very interesting is how certain events are repeated and retold, offering a new slant on information received earlier in the novel.
I was very intrigued by this novel both in terms of structure and story; the multiple-voice approach is quite interesting and actually works well here as things are slowly revealed, little by little. Yet at the same time, just when I started thinking I had Ines figured out, the author throws in little curve balls that made me wonder if I knew her at all. This line of thought carries throughout the book, and actually, I'm walking away from the book wondering how well I really know anybody. If you're looking for a regular narrative story in linear format, keep looking -- this isn't the book for you. But if you want something intriguing that resonates long after the last page is turned, you might just want to give it a try. (less)
After having been a bit disappointed in Under the Dome, I wasn't so sure I wanted to shell out the $$ for this one, but because a) I needed a "l...moreAfter having been a bit disappointed in Under the Dome, I wasn't so sure I wanted to shell out the $$ for this one, but because a) I needed a "light" read at the moment and b) the premise sounded interesting, I coughed up the cash and brought it home. What I thought this was going to be and what it turned out to be are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I thought I'd be reading an alternative-history/what-ifish kind of thing based on a thwarting of the Kennedy assassination in 1963, and there is a smattering of that, but I got a surprisingly good story, one that kept me flipping pages just to find out how everything turns out. For a book of sci-fi/escape-type fiction, 11/22/63 is a winner.
click here to read a really long review; read on through for the short one.
El Narco is truly one of the best books of nonfiction I've re...moreclick here to read a really long review; read on through for the short one.
El Narco is truly one of the best books of nonfiction I've read this year. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's even remotely interested in the topic. I noticed that while looking at reviews I found one where someone calls this book "conspiratorial," "left-wing" and "Anti-American." Don't believe it. The book is frightening in its implications, because it's all too real, but the facts are well presented and thoroughly researched. Grillo's own insights and personal contributions even convey some humor to break up what is an incredibly serious situations, and he's been covering Mexico and other parts of Latin America for years and is therefore most credible. Great book.
Ioan Grillo, journalist and author of El Narco has based his book not only on comprehensive and impeccable research, but on firsthand accounts, his own observations and often hair-raising interviews. The roadmap for understanding this book is completely laid out in the first chapter as Grillo examines
a) the transformation of groups responsible for drug smuggling who have in the last decade or so become more militarized into "paramilitary death squads" responsible for "tens of thousands" of deaths, as well as the effects on ordinary people in Mexico;
b) the rise of these groups as a dangerous "criminal insurgency," one that threatens to become a civil war along the US/Mexico border;
c) the combined effects of the lack of success of the US war on drugs and Mexico's own political and economic issues in creating this insurgency; and
d) possible solutions based on what Grillo calls a "drastic rethinking of strategies" that should not depend on US military involvement
But before launching into the meat of the book, Grillo first examines the concept of "El Narco." He notes that in Mexico, El Narco is the collective term used for traffickers, but in reality the term also designates an entire culture in its own right, spawning its own music, co-opting religious icons and religions, its own clothing styles, etc., all based on the drug trafficker as local hero. It is an entire movement based in the "drug underworld," and as Grillo notes, the threat of El Narco and figuring out possible solutions is best understood by following its development.
As the book proceeds, it follows the above-listed guideline to provide an incredible look at how the traffic in drugs in Mexico went from a few people who dominated the poppy/opium/narcotics market to a major insurgency and an all-out war which threatens to explode into unprecedented violence and a very real threat.(less)
The Boy in the Suitcase is the opening installment of a series featuring main character Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse and member of an underground-type...moreThe Boy in the Suitcase is the opening installment of a series featuring main character Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse and member of an underground-type network that offers help to illegal immigrants in need who have little recourse to official services or other kinds of assistance. It's a series I will be following as the books are published in English; while Boy in the Suitcase has some "thriller"-type moments, it also continues the tradition of voicing concerns regarding social issues, most especially those facing illegal immigrants in Denmark. While I liked this book, I have to say that I'm not too sure about the choices Nina makes throughout the story. Talk about a flawed character -- at the same time she is serving as the ultimate Good Samaritan for those in rather desperate situations, Nina's family life is going down the tubes largely because of the decisions she makes.
The authors hook the reader with the very first page. A woman is lugging a heavy suitcase down the stairs of a building into the underground parking lot. Before she gets to her car, she decides that maybe it would be a good idea to look inside the suitcase. Shock overcomes her as she discovers its contents: a little three year-old boy, naked and folded up "like a shirt." But the biggest surprise was yet to come: the boy is alive. Unable to deal with the situation, she calls her friend Nina Borg, and asks her to come to a Copenhagen train station, where she has put the suitcase back into a locker. Nina finds it, then decides to go the police. Her plans, however, change, when the station police are called to the same locker from which Nina has just retrieved the suitcase, where a man is causing a scene, violently beating on the locker. His behavior makes Nina change her mind about the cops; she begins to wonder just what her friend Karin has gotten herself into. She decides to deliver the boy to her friend, only to discover that she's now dead -- violently murdered at the remote cabin where she has gone into hiding. Now the only thing Nina can think of is to find the child's mother -- worried that the boy is possibly part of the wares of a human trafficker. But Nina's efforts in helping out her friend, and her decision to try to locate the boy's mother lead her, the boy, and others into danger. In the meantime, a Lithuanian woman wakes up to find herself in the hospital, and discovers she's there after taking a fall while very, very drunk. The problem is that she's not a drinker. And no one seems to know where her little boy is. She goes to the police but, dissatisfied with the pace of the official investigation, decides she needs to take matters into her own hands. Neither woman knows what she is getting herself into -- there's the guy who paid for the suitcase to deal with, and even worse, the extremely irate man who never got his money for the delivery. As these plotlines develop and eventually merge, the story becomes an interesting insight into each person's past life and their relationship to the present crisis.
Although Nina Borg is the main character, the most realistic character in all of this is the boy's mother, Sigita. The authors did a wonderful job with her, as the readers feel her pain and anguish, the sheer adrenaline that keeps her on track, and her desperation to get her boy back. As far as Nina goes, I admire her sense of urgency in getting help for people who need it, at great personal cost, but at some point, it seems to me that Nina is turning her back on the people who need her most -- her own family, a fact that can't be avoided as you read through the novel. I'm not so sure that this is "heroic" behavior when all is said and done.
There's a great deal of fast and high-powered action here, which will be good for thriller readers; there is also a good, plausible mystery at the heart of the story which is good for people like myself who prefer getting to the bottom of the why and the who. However, I think the thrill ride outweighed everything else, and although I liked The Boy in the Suitcase, and will be among the first to line up for the next installment in the series, I didn't love it. But that's just me...looking around on the internet at various reviews, the book gets very high star ratings, so it's one you'll have to decide about on your own.(less)
A new Nordic author has come my way -- Norwegian writer Thomas Enger, who also has a new series to watch ou...moreA solid 3.5 of a series opener.
A new Nordic author has come my way -- Norwegian writer Thomas Enger, who also has a new series to watch out for. Even if I didn't know that there are already more in the works, the end of Burned literally paves the way for a sequel. Hopefully the new entries will be translated and made available to readers as soon as possible, because if this first foray is any indication, the series is going to be a good one.
A young woman is found half buried and stoned to death in a tent with one of her hands cut off. It is not long until the police suspect that the details of her death relate to an "honor killing," a draconian form of punishment under Sharia law, implying a connection to Islam. It just so happens that her boyfriend is a Muslim, and it doesn't help that the a) young woman has left two messages for him about another man meaning nothing, asking for forgiveness and b) he is found trying to destroy his computer when the police come to question him. The boyfriend is quickly arrested. The murder coincides with the return of Henning Juul, an investigative journalist for the online news site, 1-2-3 News, "as easy as 1-2-3!" Juul has been away for two years as a result of a tragedy that left him physically scarred on the outside and emotionally scarred within. He's not too excited about returning to work after what's happened, but his feelings begin to change as he becomes involved in covering the case. Sent to cover the press conference on his first day back, Juul hears what the police have to say, and isn't quite sure they've got it right. After he goes to visit the university where the young girl was a student, he is even more convinced that there's much more to this story than meets the eye. Helped by an informant from the police whose identity he does not know, as they converse only via instant messaging, Juul sets out to discover the truth, and as he does so, he puts his own life in danger.
There are several reasons to like this novel. First, there's Juul himself, who makes his way back into the world of journalism only to find that it's become more dependent on titillation, sensationalism and celebrities rather than on old-fashioned reporting, and that now it's the sex and gossip columnist that is the "paper's most important news desk", and that the number of website hits is what really determines success. It's interesting to watch Juul slowly changing as the thrill of chasing after the truth starts to help him back to his feet emotionally, but he also carries around a lot of baggage. There's his mother, lost in an alcohol and cigarette haze; his estranged sister, who just happens to be a minister of justice, and his ex-wife, who is now involved with one of Juul's colleagues; all of this on top of dealing with past tragedy, or "That Which He Doesn't Think About," which is unfolded as the novel progresses. The plotting is tight and very well paced, and there's a good, solid mystery at the core. But there's something else as well -- although the plot involves elements of Islam, it never devolves into anything stereotypical or demeaning.
On the other side of the fence, I got really tired of the character of Inspector Bjarne Brogeland, a schoolmate of Juul's, and a "Romeo whose ambition was to sleep with as many girls as posssible." He might be a decent cop, but the continuing sleazebaggy, interior monologues about another female officer that run throughout the story got really old after a while. The first of these was just an eyebrow raiser, as in "this guy's such a jerk", but became tedious very quickly. I can only hope that in the next novel the author either develops this bit or shelves it all together. It's pointless, really, adding nothing to the story but contempt for a cop. While a great many of the characters are flawed, as credible characters most often are, Brogeland was just a bit too much to take. And as another issue, I sort of figured out the who before anyone else in the story did -- to me it was a bit obvious.
Overall, Burned is intelligent, believable (down to Juul's obsessions with matches and batteries), and at times humorous, while remaining somewhat understated in tone. These same traits also mirror those of the main character. I like the fact that Henning Juul is not just another detective or another cop, but a journalist, who is much better than the police at putting people at ease while he's getting valuable information out of them. I'd definitely recommend this one to readers of Scandinavian crime fiction.(less)
If you'd like a longer review, click on through; otherwise, here's a brief look.
While...moreA solid 3.5 opener of a mystery series.
If you'd like a longer review, click on through; otherwise, here's a brief look.
While some of the plot was easy to figure out, the writing, the characters, and the exploration of small-town life and its secrets that permeates this solid police procedural drew me in and kept me there. Above all, though, Kallentoft is very good at creating atmosphere and maintaining it through the end -- a quality that I greatly admire in an author.
Detective Malin Fors lives in the Swedish city of Linköping with her young, 13-year-old daughter Tove. On a freezing cold morning, temperature minus 30, Malin and her partner arrive at the scene of a most brutal crime: a man hangs from a tree, noose around his neck, savagely beaten and finished off with a knife. He hadn't hanged himself; it was obvious that whoever murdered him had left him there. He is identified as Bengt Andersson, a loner unable to work due to mental health issues. He's one of those eccentric guys that everyone makes fun of; or who some see as a target for harrassment; a man who loved waiting outside the fence at the local soccer field so he could retrieve balls that came his way. Once he is identified, the investigation begins in earnest. There are different theories of the crime, but the first clue the detectives uncover is a rumor that as a boy, Andersson had put an axe into his father's head. Just who was Bengt Andersson, and what kind of person was he that someone would unleash so much violence against him?
Overall, Midwinter Sacrifice is a fine series opener, a good police procedural with characters that need a bit more fleshing out but which are pretty well drawn for a first series installment. My concerns are very minor compared with the entire day I spent being transfixed with this book (and I did spend all of today reading it without doing a blasted thing otherwise), and they're largely issues that appear in many first series novels. The translation flowed -- there were no awkward moments here whatsoever to cause any sort of pause. If you're cool with dead men thinking out loud, then the only other thing that might give readers pause is the ending, which I will not go into -- suffice it to say it may leave some readers scratching their heads. I'll recommend it to readers of Scandinavian crime fiction, but don't expect a gimmicky serial killer with lots of thrill ride attached if that's what you're into. (less)
Loading...
