Martin Edwards's Blog, page 226
April 3, 2013
The Debt - film review
The Debt is a recent American remake of an earlier Israeli film, and it boasts a wonderful cast - Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Jessica Chastain and Marton Csokas, to name a few. It's an espionage film, but although there's plenty of exciting, and sometimes chilling action and suspense, there's also an attempt to deal with important issues such as when it is better to tell the truth rather than sticking to a lie that has saved people from harm.
The early scenes need to be watched very carefully, as the action zips around and two different periods of time are involved. Mirren plays Rachel, a woman who in 1990s Israel enjoys a considerable reputation for courage, whose adoring daughter has just written a book about her past exploits in espionage. Wilkinsoon is her ex-husband, a spy who has become an important political figure, but who uses a wheelchair (we learn that this is because he had been blown up by car bomb.)
Various scenes flash back to a time, 30 years earlier, when this pair, along with another young man, go to East Germany during the Cold War, trying to capture a brutal former Nazi medic - the Surgeon of Birkenau. We see early on an apparently conclusive scene explaining what happpened, but later on, it turns out that we have been misled.
The tricky storytelling rather appealed to me. Playing games with story structure is something that is fascinating when it is well done, and here it is very well done. There are some very dark moments along the way, and I'm not entirely sure why Rachel made her final choice. In fact, I'm not absolutely convinced it was the right choice, but this is a consistently gripping movie, which made quite an impact on me. A good example of a strong story that is something more than just a straightforward thriller.
The early scenes need to be watched very carefully, as the action zips around and two different periods of time are involved. Mirren plays Rachel, a woman who in 1990s Israel enjoys a considerable reputation for courage, whose adoring daughter has just written a book about her past exploits in espionage. Wilkinsoon is her ex-husband, a spy who has become an important political figure, but who uses a wheelchair (we learn that this is because he had been blown up by car bomb.)
Various scenes flash back to a time, 30 years earlier, when this pair, along with another young man, go to East Germany during the Cold War, trying to capture a brutal former Nazi medic - the Surgeon of Birkenau. We see early on an apparently conclusive scene explaining what happpened, but later on, it turns out that we have been misled.
The tricky storytelling rather appealed to me. Playing games with story structure is something that is fascinating when it is well done, and here it is very well done. There are some very dark moments along the way, and I'm not entirely sure why Rachel made her final choice. In fact, I'm not absolutely convinced it was the right choice, but this is a consistently gripping movie, which made quite an impact on me. A good example of a strong story that is something more than just a straightforward thriller.
April 1, 2013
Jonathan Creek: The Clue of the Savant's Thumb: BBC TV review
Jonathan Creek returned tonight on BBC 1 with The Clue of the Savant's Thumb, a brand new episode written by David Renwick and starring Alan Davies as Creek and Sheridan Smith (whose acting career has been hitting the heights since we last saw her in this series) as his "Watson", Joey Ross. The supporting cast included Joanna Lumley, Nigel Planer and Rik Mayall, which indicates the focus of the show on "feelgood" television. And there's nothing wrong with the feelgood factor, especially after the winter we've had.
This story presented us with two mysteries. Fifty years ago, in a strict convent school, a young girl died in bizarre circumstances. Her death has haunted her old schoolfriend, played by Lumley, ever since. Now, Lumley is married to a terminally ill man (Nigel Planer) and is having an affair with her husband's GP. Her husband's blood-stained body is found by their adopted daughter. Lumley takes a photograph of the apparent crime scene. But by the time the emergency services arrive, the body has disappeared...
Meanwhile, Jonathan Creek has married and moved into the glitzy world of marketing along with his glamorous and wealthy wife. Joey tracks him down and persuades him to take an interest in the case, which is being investigated by Mayall, a brilliant detective in his own right, who is now confined to a wheelchair. There are plenty of clues, and even more red herrings, before first the old mystery is solved and then the puzzle of the disappearing corpse is explained, before a slightly cartoonish finale borrowed from a political conspiracy thriller.
David Renwick is a witty and clever writer, and his enthusiasm for the work of John Dickson Carr - which I share - is the key to what is most enjoyable about the Jonathan Creek storylines. Of course, you have to suspend your disbelief, but with Jonathan Creek, as with the Dickson Carr stories, the breezy writing means this is no hardship.
One of the great things about the success of Jonathan Creek is that it has shown that the classic elements of the traditional detective mystery can be adapted with great success for modern readers and audiences, if the writer is good enough, and shows respect for the form, rather than merely attempting pastiche (though I'd add that there have been a number of parodies and pastiches of Golden Age detective stories that I've really enjoyed.) This latest episode was entertaining, although I didn't think it was quite as effective as the last,
Impossible crime stories have long appealed to me, and I've written several over the years; short stories rather than novels, though. Just as Jonathan Creek tends to work better in a one hour episode than a ninety minute episode like this one, so do locked room tricks tend to be easier to pull off in short stories rather than novels. One of those stories, suitably adapted, forms the basis of my Victorian murder mystery event, "Who Killed George Hargrave?" This was performed a couple of weeks back at Holywell, in North Wales, by an excellent cast of library volunteers.
What interested me about this event (and another, at Knutsford a fortnight earlier) was that it was a sell-out, gaining much larger audiences than I find conventional talks or writers' panels tend to attract. In fact, I gave a talk about the locked room story as part of the event, and during the questions, again I was struck by the extent of people's enthusiasm for this type of story. As reaction to my Friday Forgotten Books posts shows, there is still a huge amount of interest in classic detective fiction - in fact, I'm certain there's more interest in it today than there was a few years ago. Jonathan Creek shows that this is not simply a matter of nostalgia. We still love a mystery, and there's plenty of room for the elaborate puzzle today, alongside all those relentlessly dark stories about autopsies and serial killers.
This story presented us with two mysteries. Fifty years ago, in a strict convent school, a young girl died in bizarre circumstances. Her death has haunted her old schoolfriend, played by Lumley, ever since. Now, Lumley is married to a terminally ill man (Nigel Planer) and is having an affair with her husband's GP. Her husband's blood-stained body is found by their adopted daughter. Lumley takes a photograph of the apparent crime scene. But by the time the emergency services arrive, the body has disappeared...
Meanwhile, Jonathan Creek has married and moved into the glitzy world of marketing along with his glamorous and wealthy wife. Joey tracks him down and persuades him to take an interest in the case, which is being investigated by Mayall, a brilliant detective in his own right, who is now confined to a wheelchair. There are plenty of clues, and even more red herrings, before first the old mystery is solved and then the puzzle of the disappearing corpse is explained, before a slightly cartoonish finale borrowed from a political conspiracy thriller.
David Renwick is a witty and clever writer, and his enthusiasm for the work of John Dickson Carr - which I share - is the key to what is most enjoyable about the Jonathan Creek storylines. Of course, you have to suspend your disbelief, but with Jonathan Creek, as with the Dickson Carr stories, the breezy writing means this is no hardship.
One of the great things about the success of Jonathan Creek is that it has shown that the classic elements of the traditional detective mystery can be adapted with great success for modern readers and audiences, if the writer is good enough, and shows respect for the form, rather than merely attempting pastiche (though I'd add that there have been a number of parodies and pastiches of Golden Age detective stories that I've really enjoyed.) This latest episode was entertaining, although I didn't think it was quite as effective as the last,
Impossible crime stories have long appealed to me, and I've written several over the years; short stories rather than novels, though. Just as Jonathan Creek tends to work better in a one hour episode than a ninety minute episode like this one, so do locked room tricks tend to be easier to pull off in short stories rather than novels. One of those stories, suitably adapted, forms the basis of my Victorian murder mystery event, "Who Killed George Hargrave?" This was performed a couple of weeks back at Holywell, in North Wales, by an excellent cast of library volunteers.
What interested me about this event (and another, at Knutsford a fortnight earlier) was that it was a sell-out, gaining much larger audiences than I find conventional talks or writers' panels tend to attract. In fact, I gave a talk about the locked room story as part of the event, and during the questions, again I was struck by the extent of people's enthusiasm for this type of story. As reaction to my Friday Forgotten Books posts shows, there is still a huge amount of interest in classic detective fiction - in fact, I'm certain there's more interest in it today than there was a few years ago. Jonathan Creek shows that this is not simply a matter of nostalgia. We still love a mystery, and there's plenty of room for the elaborate puzzle today, alongside all those relentlessly dark stories about autopsies and serial killers.
March 30, 2013
Kate Mosse's Labyrinth - Channel 4 miniseries TV review
Labyrinth, by Kate Mosse, is a book I haven't read, but I thought I'd give the Channel 4 TV miniseries version of the book a go, not least because Carcassonne, where the story is set, is very high on my list of places to visit. Another factor was that, though I don't know her, I've heard Kate Mosse speak, and she does come over very well. Rightly or wrongly, this made me think I might like her best-selling story.
There are, in fact, two stories, set 800 years apart, but connected by one woman. She is Alice Tanner, a teacher who goes to France after breaking up with a boyfriend, in order to claim an inheritance under a will. En route, she volunteers to help a friend on an archaeological dig near a mysterious cave. There she has a strange experience, almost like a hallucination, which seems to connect her with a woman from the area's bloody history.
That woman is Alais, played by Jessica Brown Findlay, who is embroiled in a power struggle linked to the Crusades. Her husband is having an affair with her venomous half-sister, but Alais' task, she learns from her father, is to find the Holy Grail. Now, I must admit that this development was a bit of a turn-off, as Holy Grail quest stories are not my favourite form of fiction. On the other hand, I'm fascinated by mazes and labyrinths, and also by mysterious wills.. And there's a liveliness about the way the two stories interconnect that has kept me interested after the first two-hour instalment.
The cast is strong, including John Hurt and Janet Suzman as well as the two exceptionally attractive women in the lead roles. The lovely setting is also a plus. Certainly, watching Labyrinth has reinforced my desire to take a look at Carcassonne on of these fine days. So will I keep watching? The answer is yes.
There are, in fact, two stories, set 800 years apart, but connected by one woman. She is Alice Tanner, a teacher who goes to France after breaking up with a boyfriend, in order to claim an inheritance under a will. En route, she volunteers to help a friend on an archaeological dig near a mysterious cave. There she has a strange experience, almost like a hallucination, which seems to connect her with a woman from the area's bloody history.
That woman is Alais, played by Jessica Brown Findlay, who is embroiled in a power struggle linked to the Crusades. Her husband is having an affair with her venomous half-sister, but Alais' task, she learns from her father, is to find the Holy Grail. Now, I must admit that this development was a bit of a turn-off, as Holy Grail quest stories are not my favourite form of fiction. On the other hand, I'm fascinated by mazes and labyrinths, and also by mysterious wills.. And there's a liveliness about the way the two stories interconnect that has kept me interested after the first two-hour instalment.
The cast is strong, including John Hurt and Janet Suzman as well as the two exceptionally attractive women in the lead roles. The lovely setting is also a plus. Certainly, watching Labyrinth has reinforced my desire to take a look at Carcassonne on of these fine days. So will I keep watching? The answer is yes.
March 29, 2013
Wodehouse in Exile - TV review
Wodehouse in Exile, a BBC Four tv show, offered a fascinating insight into the events surrounding P.G. Wodehouse's notorious radio broadcasts during the Second World War. The script by Nigel Williams was sympathetic to Wodehouse, and Tim Pigott-Smith gave a charming portrayal of the great humorous writer, but there were enough nuances in the screenplay and performance for this to seem a fair and balanced account of a controversial story.
As a young boy, I fell in love with the Wodehouse books, and read a great many of them in a short space of time. This was not long after I'd discovered Agatha Christie, and I soon learned that Christie and Wodehouse were fans of each other. Dorothy L. Sayers and Anthony Berkeley were other crime writers who were very keen on Wodehouse, and I know that he was invited to a Detection Club dinner in the early 30s, though it's not entirely clear whether he actually showed up.
My father was one of the many people of his generation who felt that Wodehouse betrayed Britain. I can understand that, when one is facing the possibility of death during a war, feelings run very high and it's not too easy to be entirely judicious in one's assessment of those who seem to be having it easy. And that was the impression many people had of Wodehouse. There may be some truth in it, as he was a naive and perhaps self-indulgent man. But I don't believe he was a traitor.
The death of Wodehouse's daughter is one of the pivotal moments in the screenplay. One interesting snippet is that she was the author of a very good crime short story, "Inquest", under the mysterious pseudonym of Loel Yeo. It's well worth a look. Wodehouse too wrote a number of stories that verge on crime fiction,testament to his lifelong interest in the genre. As for me, I'm still an admirer of his work. And though the man was flawed, who isn't?. Wodehouse in Exile seemed to me to be informative as well as entertaining, and it enriched my understanding of the great writer's life.
As a young boy, I fell in love with the Wodehouse books, and read a great many of them in a short space of time. This was not long after I'd discovered Agatha Christie, and I soon learned that Christie and Wodehouse were fans of each other. Dorothy L. Sayers and Anthony Berkeley were other crime writers who were very keen on Wodehouse, and I know that he was invited to a Detection Club dinner in the early 30s, though it's not entirely clear whether he actually showed up.
My father was one of the many people of his generation who felt that Wodehouse betrayed Britain. I can understand that, when one is facing the possibility of death during a war, feelings run very high and it's not too easy to be entirely judicious in one's assessment of those who seem to be having it easy. And that was the impression many people had of Wodehouse. There may be some truth in it, as he was a naive and perhaps self-indulgent man. But I don't believe he was a traitor.
The death of Wodehouse's daughter is one of the pivotal moments in the screenplay. One interesting snippet is that she was the author of a very good crime short story, "Inquest", under the mysterious pseudonym of Loel Yeo. It's well worth a look. Wodehouse too wrote a number of stories that verge on crime fiction,testament to his lifelong interest in the genre. As for me, I'm still an admirer of his work. And though the man was flawed, who isn't?. Wodehouse in Exile seemed to me to be informative as well as entertaining, and it enriched my understanding of the great writer's life.
Forgotten Book - The White Priory Murders
Today's Forgotten Book, The White Priory Murders, first published in 1935, is an "impossible crime" mystery with a splendid basic premise. A famous actress's battered corpse is found in a country house pavilion, surrounded by snow that is unmarked by footprints, except for those of the man who, it seems, has found her body there. It's classic John Dickson Carr territory - or perhaps I should say classic Carter Dickson territory, for this and other stories with the same sleuth were published under that rather transparent alias.
More than one possible solution to that central puzzle is put forward, and it was characteristic of Carr's ingenuity that he excelled at coming up with multiple explanations for the cunning puzzles he devised. And it's that fascinating puzzle that constitutes the appeal of this book, for in some respects it's not (to my mind, anyway) anything like as good as his best work.
There are three reasons why this one seems to me to fall below Carr's highest standards. First, too much of the vital action is off-stage. One of the characters, the newspaper baron Lord Canifest, plays an important part in the plot,but I don't think we see enough of him, or of certain key incidents. Second, Sir Henry Merrivale, the usual Carter Dickson sleuth, is a rather cruder version of Gideon Fell, who stars in most of the best Carr books. Some Carr fans prefer Merrivale, because of the comedy in the books in which he appears, but for me,comic writing was far from Carr's greatest strength. His humour lacks the subtlety of his best plots..
Finally, what I love about the best Carr books is their macabre atmosphere. He is very good at making us suspend our disbelief, and he often does so by wrapping up the events of his story in a rich and sometimes dark blanket, that conceals some of the implausibilities of the story. Here, I found the characters and setting less gripping than those in his better books. So, not one of his best, but still worth a look because of the cleverness of the central problem.
More than one possible solution to that central puzzle is put forward, and it was characteristic of Carr's ingenuity that he excelled at coming up with multiple explanations for the cunning puzzles he devised. And it's that fascinating puzzle that constitutes the appeal of this book, for in some respects it's not (to my mind, anyway) anything like as good as his best work.
There are three reasons why this one seems to me to fall below Carr's highest standards. First, too much of the vital action is off-stage. One of the characters, the newspaper baron Lord Canifest, plays an important part in the plot,but I don't think we see enough of him, or of certain key incidents. Second, Sir Henry Merrivale, the usual Carter Dickson sleuth, is a rather cruder version of Gideon Fell, who stars in most of the best Carr books. Some Carr fans prefer Merrivale, because of the comedy in the books in which he appears, but for me,comic writing was far from Carr's greatest strength. His humour lacks the subtlety of his best plots..
Finally, what I love about the best Carr books is their macabre atmosphere. He is very good at making us suspend our disbelief, and he often does so by wrapping up the events of his story in a rich and sometimes dark blanket, that conceals some of the implausibilities of the story. Here, I found the characters and setting less gripping than those in his better books. So, not one of his best, but still worth a look because of the cleverness of the central problem.
March 27, 2013
The Man Who Was George Smiley
The Man Who Was George Smiley is a very good title for a new book by Michael Jago, published by Biteback, which is sub-titled The Life of John Bingham. Bingham's claim to fame - you've guessed it! - is that he was the spy whom John Le Carre used as a model for Smiley. Interesting in itself. But more interesting to me is that Bingham was a successful writer of crime novels and espionage stories, and I was glad to learn more about him, as well as about his work.
Due to Julian Symons' advocacy, I read many years ago Bingham's debut novel My Name is Michael Sibley, a story told from the point of view of an innocent man accused of crime. It's a strong and original story, and I'm really not sure why I've seldom read Bingham since. But Jago's book has definitely encouraged me to do so.
Jago gives a good and readable account of Bingham's life, and does not flinch from the rift that developed between Bingham and Le Carre. Bingham's wife was especially unhappy with Le Carre, and it's intriguing and rather sad to read about how their relationship deteriorated. Part of the problem was no doubt jealousy of Le Carre's critical and financial success, which far outstripped Bingham's. It's always a huge mistake to be jealous of others. Yet Jago suggests there were faults on Le Carre's side too, and that is probably right.
I enjoyed reading the sections about Bingham's own books, and his relationship with Victor Gollancz, one of the most brilliant of all British publishers. I suspect that Jago is not really a detective fiction fan, as there is little here that connects Bingham with the wider genre, or his place in it. Sir John Masterman, for instance, a spy of distinction, is mentioned, but his detective novels are not. The Detection Club, of which Bingham was a long-standing member, as was Masterman, isn't mentioned, one more frustration for its archivist. But I liked this book, which has made me want to read more of Bingham's work, and that's a sign of a good literary biography.
Due to Julian Symons' advocacy, I read many years ago Bingham's debut novel My Name is Michael Sibley, a story told from the point of view of an innocent man accused of crime. It's a strong and original story, and I'm really not sure why I've seldom read Bingham since. But Jago's book has definitely encouraged me to do so.
Jago gives a good and readable account of Bingham's life, and does not flinch from the rift that developed between Bingham and Le Carre. Bingham's wife was especially unhappy with Le Carre, and it's intriguing and rather sad to read about how their relationship deteriorated. Part of the problem was no doubt jealousy of Le Carre's critical and financial success, which far outstripped Bingham's. It's always a huge mistake to be jealous of others. Yet Jago suggests there were faults on Le Carre's side too, and that is probably right.
I enjoyed reading the sections about Bingham's own books, and his relationship with Victor Gollancz, one of the most brilliant of all British publishers. I suspect that Jago is not really a detective fiction fan, as there is little here that connects Bingham with the wider genre, or his place in it. Sir John Masterman, for instance, a spy of distinction, is mentioned, but his detective novels are not. The Detection Club, of which Bingham was a long-standing member, as was Masterman, isn't mentioned, one more frustration for its archivist. But I liked this book, which has made me want to read more of Bingham's work, and that's a sign of a good literary biography.
March 25, 2013
The Interrogator
What do the following crime writers have in common? Lee Chld, Michael Connelly, Joyce Carol Oates, Laura Lippman, David Morrell, Jeffrey Deaver, Mickey Spillane, and Martin Edwards? One thing's for sure, it's not the fact that they are all best-sellers, since I'm certainly not in that league. But I'm pleased to say that, along with those other, much bigger names, I have a story in a new anthology, The Interrogator, published by Cemetery Dance in the US. Quite an honour.
The book is edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg, and a sad note is that Marty Greenberg, the doyen of anthologists, died not long after this book was first put together. I never met or talked to him, but I have had stories in a few of the colossal number of books of stories that he either edited or co-edited. Ed has dedicated this collection to Marty, and it's a fitting tribute, given the calibre of the other contributors.
The story of mine that is included is "Clutter", which previously appeared in Original Sins, the CWA anthology of 2010. I'm absolutely delighted to say that, although there was no CWA anthology last year, there should be a new collection later in 2013, to celebrate the CWA's Diamond Jubilee. Suffice to say the stories I've received are of a very high calibre, and there are some major names among the contributors..
The same is true of those in The Interrogator, and I'd also like to mention the extremely informative introduction by Jon L. Breen. As with Ed Gorman, he's someone I've never met, but have admired for a long time. Undoubtedly, he's one of the leading crime fiction critics of the past 30 years, and everything he writes is well worth reading. He's also produced a handful of enjoyable novels of his own. They are worth a look and so too, regardless of my own contribution, is The Interrogator.
The book is edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg, and a sad note is that Marty Greenberg, the doyen of anthologists, died not long after this book was first put together. I never met or talked to him, but I have had stories in a few of the colossal number of books of stories that he either edited or co-edited. Ed has dedicated this collection to Marty, and it's a fitting tribute, given the calibre of the other contributors.
The story of mine that is included is "Clutter", which previously appeared in Original Sins, the CWA anthology of 2010. I'm absolutely delighted to say that, although there was no CWA anthology last year, there should be a new collection later in 2013, to celebrate the CWA's Diamond Jubilee. Suffice to say the stories I've received are of a very high calibre, and there are some major names among the contributors..
The same is true of those in The Interrogator, and I'd also like to mention the extremely informative introduction by Jon L. Breen. As with Ed Gorman, he's someone I've never met, but have admired for a long time. Undoubtedly, he's one of the leading crime fiction critics of the past 30 years, and everything he writes is well worth reading. He's also produced a handful of enjoyable novels of his own. They are worth a look and so too, regardless of my own contribution, is The Interrogator.
March 22, 2013
Forgotten Book - The Cask
Is The Cask, by Freeman Wills Crofts, really a Forgotten Book? Published in 1920, it was in its day a best-seller, far outstripping in sales most other Golden Age titles, and it remains the best known of Crofts' books, even though he was a prolific author who went on to write for more than 30 years. But yes, I think it is pretty much forgotten today, by all except really keen Golden Age fans. I count myself as one of their number, but even I have only just got around to reading it.
I've had my green Penguin copy of the book for years, but I confess that I'd been rather put off by its sheer length. It's a lot longer than most Golden Age novels, which normally (whatever their other defects) had the merit of being pretty short. I thought it might be a rather dreary read. But it proved not to be, and I must say I was glad I did make the effort to read through it, albeit belatedly.
The opening premise is gripping. Dock workers unloading some casks that have arrived in London from continental Europe drop one, causing it to split slightly. They discover that it contains gold sovereigns...and that's not all. They can see a woman's hand. The police are called, but a mysterious Frenchman arrives and claims the cask as his own. Soon Inspector Burnley is hot on the trail. The cask and the Frenchman, Felix Leon, are tracked down, and it is found that inside the cask is the body of a beautiful woman. It's a vivid and memorable image, though described in Crofts' sober style. Who is she, and what caused her death?
One of the suspects has an apparently unbreakable alibi, and much of the story is devoted to attempts to crack it. This was to become a trade mark device for Crofts. I was impressed by the way he maintained my interest in the story from start to finish.Yes, by modern standards, it is slow, but the elaborations of the puzzle are very well done. Much of the book is set in France, and the fact that many Golden Age novels had a rather cosmopolitan feel is rather under-estimated by their detractors. All in all, this is a book that is still definitely worth reading today.
I've had my green Penguin copy of the book for years, but I confess that I'd been rather put off by its sheer length. It's a lot longer than most Golden Age novels, which normally (whatever their other defects) had the merit of being pretty short. I thought it might be a rather dreary read. But it proved not to be, and I must say I was glad I did make the effort to read through it, albeit belatedly.
The opening premise is gripping. Dock workers unloading some casks that have arrived in London from continental Europe drop one, causing it to split slightly. They discover that it contains gold sovereigns...and that's not all. They can see a woman's hand. The police are called, but a mysterious Frenchman arrives and claims the cask as his own. Soon Inspector Burnley is hot on the trail. The cask and the Frenchman, Felix Leon, are tracked down, and it is found that inside the cask is the body of a beautiful woman. It's a vivid and memorable image, though described in Crofts' sober style. Who is she, and what caused her death?
One of the suspects has an apparently unbreakable alibi, and much of the story is devoted to attempts to crack it. This was to become a trade mark device for Crofts. I was impressed by the way he maintained my interest in the story from start to finish.Yes, by modern standards, it is slow, but the elaborations of the puzzle are very well done. Much of the book is set in France, and the fact that many Golden Age novels had a rather cosmopolitan feel is rather under-estimated by their detractors. All in all, this is a book that is still definitely worth reading today.
March 20, 2013
Nina Bawden at the double
Whilst on holiday, I read a number of ebooks published by Bello, who have managed to resurrect some very interesting titles, long unavailable. Two were early works by Nina Bawden, indicative of her strong interest in crime and mystery during her apprenticeship as a novelist.
Of the two, I felt The Solitary Child was the stronger. It has distinct echoes of Rebecca, and whilst it certainly does not rank with the Daphne du Maurier masterpiece, it's sufficiently enjoyable for me to recommend it. A young and rather naive woman has a whirlwind romance with an older man and marries him. However, he has recently been acquitted of murdering his first wife, and suspicion continues to cloud his life. Soon it becomes clear that he has a number of enemies, and his bride begins to doubt his innocence.The story is neatly worked out and, I felt, psychologically plausible.
At that early stage of her writing career, it seems to me, Nina Bawden was sometimes tempted to try to increase mystification by withholding information. This is a device that can work exceptionally well, as Agatha Christie showed so many times, but I'm not sure the young Bawden was especially good at playing tricks on her readers. As a result, I felt Who Calls the Tune was a little frustrating, even though the storyline, about a troubled family in a remote part of Wales, was full of interest and kept me reading the pages. But I wasn't too happy about the ending. Christie did the same thing so much better.
Anyone who is a fan of Bawden ought to give at least one of these books a try, because they contain plenty of good, crisp writing, and some good evocations of life in rural Wales, with which she was obviously very familiar. Children who are, or claim to be, being poisoned, feature in both stories, an odd coincidence. In later life, she wrote more famous books, but these early works show a young writer of real talent and potential, a potential that was happily fulfilled. How splendid that they are now there to entertain a new generation of readers.
Of the two, I felt The Solitary Child was the stronger. It has distinct echoes of Rebecca, and whilst it certainly does not rank with the Daphne du Maurier masterpiece, it's sufficiently enjoyable for me to recommend it. A young and rather naive woman has a whirlwind romance with an older man and marries him. However, he has recently been acquitted of murdering his first wife, and suspicion continues to cloud his life. Soon it becomes clear that he has a number of enemies, and his bride begins to doubt his innocence.The story is neatly worked out and, I felt, psychologically plausible.
At that early stage of her writing career, it seems to me, Nina Bawden was sometimes tempted to try to increase mystification by withholding information. This is a device that can work exceptionally well, as Agatha Christie showed so many times, but I'm not sure the young Bawden was especially good at playing tricks on her readers. As a result, I felt Who Calls the Tune was a little frustrating, even though the storyline, about a troubled family in a remote part of Wales, was full of interest and kept me reading the pages. But I wasn't too happy about the ending. Christie did the same thing so much better.
Anyone who is a fan of Bawden ought to give at least one of these books a try, because they contain plenty of good, crisp writing, and some good evocations of life in rural Wales, with which she was obviously very familiar. Children who are, or claim to be, being poisoned, feature in both stories, an odd coincidence. In later life, she wrote more famous books, but these early works show a young writer of real talent and potential, a potential that was happily fulfilled. How splendid that they are now there to entertain a new generation of readers.
March 18, 2013
Justice/Seeking Justice - film review
Justice is a 2011 movie which is also known as Seeking Justice and was, it seems,originally known by the more memorable title of The Hungry Rabbit Jumps. The idiosyncratic, but often reliable, Rotten Tomatoes review website gives it a poor score, but I beg to differ. I really enjoyed it, and found it an unpredictable and twisty thriller of genuine quality.
So often, our views are influenced by our expectations. I must admit that I did not have high hopes for this film, but its plot came as a pleasant surprise. Essentially, it's a film about vigilantism, and as we all know, vigilantism in movies is generally a Bad Thing. Here, the wife of Will, a quiet English teacher (Nicholas Cage) is brutally attacked and raped. Will is approached by a mysterious stranger (the excellent Guy Pearce) and is made an offer: we'll kill your wife's attacker, if you give us a small bit of help in the future. Of course, we know it won't work out like that, but after some reservations, Will goes along with the idea.
Before long, his life is in chaos. He is set up to kill someone who is described as a sex pest (but is that true?) and his marriage starts to run into difficulty. January Jones, a very beautiful woman, plays Cage's wife, and she has a key role in the plot - not only as the initial victim. Half-way through the film, the story changes direction, as Will's "victim" proves to be, not a sex pest, but a man with an agenda of his own, whom the vigilantes wanted dead.
The pace falters a little in the final third of the story, but overall, I rated this film highly. A thriller of this kind needs to avoid predictability,and vigilante movies tend to be all too predictable, but I was kept engaged from start to finish. The cast is good, and the deeper significance of the issues at the heart of the story are touched on, if only (and sensibly) in a brief way. Never mind Rotten Tomatoes. This is a very enjoyable action thriller, which I gladly recommend.
So often, our views are influenced by our expectations. I must admit that I did not have high hopes for this film, but its plot came as a pleasant surprise. Essentially, it's a film about vigilantism, and as we all know, vigilantism in movies is generally a Bad Thing. Here, the wife of Will, a quiet English teacher (Nicholas Cage) is brutally attacked and raped. Will is approached by a mysterious stranger (the excellent Guy Pearce) and is made an offer: we'll kill your wife's attacker, if you give us a small bit of help in the future. Of course, we know it won't work out like that, but after some reservations, Will goes along with the idea.
Before long, his life is in chaos. He is set up to kill someone who is described as a sex pest (but is that true?) and his marriage starts to run into difficulty. January Jones, a very beautiful woman, plays Cage's wife, and she has a key role in the plot - not only as the initial victim. Half-way through the film, the story changes direction, as Will's "victim" proves to be, not a sex pest, but a man with an agenda of his own, whom the vigilantes wanted dead.
The pace falters a little in the final third of the story, but overall, I rated this film highly. A thriller of this kind needs to avoid predictability,and vigilante movies tend to be all too predictable, but I was kept engaged from start to finish. The cast is good, and the deeper significance of the issues at the heart of the story are touched on, if only (and sensibly) in a brief way. Never mind Rotten Tomatoes. This is a very enjoyable action thriller, which I gladly recommend.
