Baxter Clare Trautman's Blog, page 6
March 28, 2012
The Blue Place – Nicola Griffith
The Blue Place starts fast and punchy. By page four we know just about everything we need to about Griffith's protagonist. Aud Torvingen is a Norwegian transplant to the American south, a hardened ex-cop with bad dreams, and sudden witness to the immolation of a renowned art historian. A woman fleeing the site of the explosion runs into Aud's arms and straight into her life.
Intent on discovering who torched her colleague, art broker Julia Lyons-Bennet tracks Aud down at the local gym. Seeing Aud going through her karate routine, Julia challenges her to a chi sao duel. The name means "sticky hand", and Griffith proves during the erotic duel that the best sex scenes don't necessarily involve actual sex. After their torrid sparring, Julia asks for Aud's help. Retired, wealthy, and cooly untouched by the art historian's death, Aud has no reason to accept the job. But, intrigued by Lyons-Bennet, she accepts.
Clues to the murder come sparingly. Like any good detective, Aud uncovers them through diligence, perseverance, and a titch of luck. The investigation is realistically slow yet Griffith maintains a swift pace, teasing the reader with hints of Aud's difficult professional background, her burgeoning interest in Julia, and a nerve-jangling trip to Oslo. Because Griffiths does such a fine job of fleshing out characters, even minor ones, every scene is compelling and relevant. When the clues at last align in one direction, it is a surprise, but a convincing one, for Griffith has delicately planted signposts throughout the novel.
The Blue Place is an absorbing mystery. I found myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading it and looking forward to picking it up again as soon as I could. For all that, I never warmed to Aud's chilly Norse heart. Given her background, both personal and professional, Aud is understandably detached. Her emotional fjord is part of her allure, so much so that when Griffith finally decides to make Aud sentient it is too little, too late. Like Lisbeth Sanders of Larsson's hysterically popular Millennium series, Aud is tough, ingenious, and a borderline sociopath. Unfortunately, she lacks Lisbeth's haunting vulnerability. Aud is an icy Superwoman, practically able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Her physical and mental prowess stretch credibility, especially in one so young and well-reared, but it works until Griffith tries to transform Julia into emotional Kryptonite.
Despite that minor flaw, Griffith tells a mean story and has introduced an enthralling lesbian noir sleuth. I would have rather Aud remain invincible to the end but appreciate where the author is trying to take her. I trust Griffith gets her there in the follow-up Torvingen novel, Always.
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February 28, 2012
Please Vote for Me!
Shameless begging. I'm not above it. Please go to the link below, copy it to your desktop or wherever you can handily open it, and vote for me everyday. Unless of course you like one of the other books there better! And no, you won't get a bunch of junk mail, and yes, the government already knows if you are or aren't one.
http://lesbianlife.about.com/library/bl-rca-lesbian-book.htm
Thanks everyone!
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February 22, 2012
She Died With Her Boots On.
Veteran correspondent Marie Colvin
Not too many women you can say that about. Marie Colvin was one of the amazing war correspondents I modeled my character Greer Madison after. Eerie parallels between the the two. Marie Colvin died today covering the conflict in Syria. With her boots on. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-57382449-503543/2-western-journalists-reportedly-killed-in-syria/
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January 14, 2012
My Latest Favorite Quote
"Because mystery is horrible to us, we have agreed for the most part to live in a world of labels." Underhill, Practical Mysticism
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January 6, 2012
The Salt Roads – Nalo Hopkinson
Stemming from the Latin crudos, meaning "raw, uncooked, bleeding," and related to cruor "blood from a wound" The Salt Roads is indeed crude. Carved from human flesh, with all it's bone, meat, sweat, blood and juice, Hopkinson spares no pain. Her novel is raw work sliced from the skin of three women and a new-born god.
Mer is a slave in Haiti who's only hope lies in brief liaisons with her woman lover, and her faith in La Sirene, one of the gods from the old country. Jeanne, in another time and land, is Baudelaire's scheming dark mistress, desperate to grasp at security in a century and land where there is no security for women, of any color. Thais, an Alexandrian prostitute, runs away from her master to see the great Roman cathedral at Capitoline. At the hands of their masters, each woman suffers the hardships of their time, and then more.
Within each, Hopkinson deftly interweaves the triple aspects of Erzulie, the Vodun goddess of love. Riding, or possessing, Mer, she is La Sirene, ruler of the ocean and motherhood. Like La Sirene, Mer steadfastly mothers and bathes the ill, oppressed, and wounded slaves of her new land. As Erzulie Danthor, Jeanne is consumed with jealousy and passion, unable and unwilling to keep herself from affairs with either man or woman. Through Thais and her ordeals in the desert, comes the aspect of Erzulie Freda, the virgin goddess of love.
Fortunately from all my research for Cry Havoc it was easy to see the various manifestations of Erzulie in each of the women, but I'm afraid that is a subtlety lost on the more casual reader. Having said that, I have to admit the borning of Erzulie throughout the story confused me. It seems that, like the women, the goddess wasn't able to fully manifest until suffering through an almost near-death wounding, a sacrifice if you will from the hand of her oppressor. As with the women, once the wound was overcome, she was reborn into her authentic destiny.
Hopkinson's novel is earthy, mystical fare, heavily seasoned with the vital salts of blood, sweat, and juice. It's a compelling read of women and gods, displaced and found. While compelling, be warned that The Salt Roads is often disjointed – Hopkinson juggles the four lives unevenly, with Thais appearing late in the story, as if in afterthought.
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The River Within now in PAPERBACK
For all those who asked if "The River Within" was available in paperback, the answer is yes! Thanks to Catherine M. Wilson's generous and talented work at Raqoon Design http://raqoon-design.com/ "River" has been beautifully re-formatted (as well as professionally edited) and can now be safely read in the hot tub, ocean, or rain!
But wait, there's more! Packing a generous 390 pages "River" also makes a handy paper weight and convenient bedside weapon. Best of all, if you read it and don't like it "River" has 390 pages just perfect for starting that cozy winter fire!
Hurry! Act now! Quantities limited to the first 5,000 buyers! http://amzn.to/wSb8Zt
Seriously, thanks to all of you who asked for this in paper. Without your encouragement I never would have made the leap from e to tree.
Best, Baxter
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January 2, 2012
“Cemetery Bird” – Bridget Bufford
I hate star ratings. I gave this novel three – wait! Don’t go! See? That’s what happens with stars, we skip twos and threes and go looking for fours and fives. But literature, like life, is a lot of threes and you shouldn’t skip them over because threes are solid, quality, “likes”. To me three stars means I liked this book well enough to finish it and I will read this author again. (Four stars is I really like the book and thought about it all day when I wasn’t reading it. Five stars is I love this book and it’s going to a desert island with me.)
After a mishap on a fire-fighting crew Jay returns home to recuperate in the company of her father, sister-in-law, and autistic nephew. Bufford alternates between the present and 1983, when 12-year old Jay is forced to stay with her rigid grandmother after her mother runs away from rehab and a stint in jail. In an effortless transition from Jay the girl to Jay the woman, we follow a lost child as she becomes a lost adult.
There is a persistent tension in the present scenes from Jay’s outings with her teenaged nephew and his Jesus-idolizing, brain-damaged friend. Both are large, volatile, pubescent young men and the book reads like a car wreck about to happen. You brace yourself, squeeze your eyes shut, and wait for the impact. With characters that include a junkie mother, dead brother, autistic nephew and his violent friend, one would expect the impact to be devastating, but Bufford’s eventual wreckage brings hope rather than despair.
I think I saw this book mentioned on a lesbian literature forum so I assumed it was lesbian fiction. I read, waiting for a relationship to develop, but it’s not a lesbian book at all, just a good story about people who are deeply flawed, richly human, and coming to grips with life on life’s terms.
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"Cemetery Bird" – Bridget Bufford
I hate star ratings. I gave this novel three – wait! Don't go! See? That's what happens with stars, we skip twos and threes and go looking for fours and fives. But literature, like life, is a lot of threes and you shouldn't skip them over because threes are solid, quality, "likes". To me three stars means I liked this book well enough to finish it and I will read this author again. (Four stars is I really like the book and thought about it all day when I wasn't reading it. Five stars is I love this book and it's going to a desert island with me.)
After a mishap on a fire-fighting crew Jay returns home to recuperate in the company of her father, sister-in-law, and autistic nephew. Bufford alternates between the present and 1983, when 12-year old Jay is forced to stay with her rigid grandmother after her mother runs away from rehab and a stint in jail. In an effortless transition from Jay the girl to Jay the woman, we follow a lost child as she becomes a lost adult.
There is a persistent tension in the present scenes from Jay's outings with her teenaged nephew and his Jesus-idolizing, brain-damaged friend. Both are large, volatile, pubescent young men and the book reads like a car wreck about to happen. You brace yourself, squeeze your eyes shut, and wait for the impact. With characters that include a junkie mother, dead brother, autistic nephew and his violent friend, one would expect the impact to be devastating, but Bufford's eventual wreckage brings hope rather than despair.
I think I saw this book mentioned on a lesbian literature forum so I assumed it was lesbian fiction. I read, waiting for a relationship to develop, but it's not a lesbian book at all, just a good story about people who are deeply flawed, richly human, and coming to grips with life on life's terms.
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January 1, 2012
An Embracement of Riches
Untitled by Janelle Younger
On this first day of 2012 I uploaded The River Within to Amazon's CreateSpace and for those of you who have wanted it in book form, look for it in 5-7 days. Much gratitude to whoever, many moons ago, suggested I get help from Catherine M. Wilson with formatting issues. Not only did she fix all the nasty e-book bugs, but she turned out a beautiful cover for the paper edition. Sounds simple enough but when I saw the paper version needed a spine and back cover, too, I ran screaming from the CreateSpace page straight to Catherine's at http://raqoon-design.com/. She patiently walked me through the whole process and created a beautiful end product.
Tomorrow I will start reading the short stories submitted for the Kissed by Venus Short Fiction Contest. I am honored to be one of the judges and can't wait to start reading the entries. Good luck to all that entered!
2011 was a year of riches. I didn't win the lottery, buy a Mercedes, or move into a McMansion. It wasn't about those kinds of riches, but rather the riches of the heart. The gift of discovering wonderful women like #1Fan and a riotous reviewer who feeds frozen chocolate-covered bananas to her dog while typing with her toes, whirling a hula, and singing the praises of lesfic in all shapes, styles and colors. Yeah, you know that's you. It's the riches of a having an 86-year old mother-in-law, who still introduces me as her daughter's friend, but loves to watch football with me while she spanks me at backgammon. ( Must remember to write her a check for all her winnings.) The riches of friends in sickness and health. It is even the riches of watching two women I love going through a brutal breakup, knowing there is nothing I can do. I so want to take a side, make one see "reason", but they are both square on the path the gods have chosen for them. It is my job simply to witness and love both. They are giving me the riches of learning to be compassionate and non-judgemental, when all I want to do is be angry and blameful. That is much the easier thing to do. Not all riches are pleasant, or as I heard yesterday, "every school has it's tuition."
Riches come in all shapes, sizes, varieties and colors. What do yours look like?
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December 20, 2011
Well, so maybe you can’t hear it…
I was hoping to have The River Within out in time for Christmas but no such luck. For those of you looking for a dead tree copy, don’t despair. I’m still working on it and hope to have it available to tide you through the Winter Doldrums.
For all you Franco fans, I’ve started Book 6 in the series. Hied myself away to a cabin in Big Sur and wrote for five glorious, uninterrupted days. Anyone looking for a cozy, reasonably priced spot near Carmel that happily takes dogs, here’s the link: http://www.vrbo.com/276993
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