Jerome Parisse's Blog, page 7

Tunis – Carthage and Sidi Bou Said

Part of our trip to Europe last summer took us to Tunis – OK, it's not Europe, but North Africa, I know, but it was still part of our "Europe" tour. The heat was terrible with temperatures up to 40 degrees, so it was a little hard at times. I had been to Tunisia a few times before but only once to Tunis and I realised with horror that it was thirty years ago! I spent a few weeks in Tunisia as a teen-ager helping to build a school in the desert, and the trip had started with a visit of the capital. It has changed, of course – it is more modern – but not that much, and it has retained its charm. I love the white houses, the thick vegetation and the mixed smells. We visited Carthage, even if there is not much of it left, but to think of what a city it was never ceases to amaze me. I keep hearing my Latin teacher when I was twelve years old, who loved to remind us that "Carthago delenda est" ("Carthage must be destroyed"), a sentence which Cato the Elder was supposed to finish all his speeches with. The Romans did end up capturing (and destroying) Punic Carthage in 146 BC  before making it one of the most important Roman cities until its final destruction by the Muslims in AD 698. The ruins of the city are in the wealthy suburbs of Tunis today, close to Sidi Bou Said, another touristy spot. Sidi Bou Said is full of white-washed houses with blue doors and windows. It has become a major tourist attraction and its main street is full of shops. It's still cute but I think it has lost a lot of its charm. Here are a few pics for you to see…

Sanctum

It was a quiet night at home last night and we watched Sanctum, a movie I had purchased in China a while ago. Sanctum is a thriller/action movie that came out in 2011. It was directed by . It's the story of an underwater caving expedition in Papua-New Guinea, which goes wrong (of course). Because of a tropical storm, the team finds themselves trapped in the abyss, with little air and a lot of water! Who will survive, that is the question… I got one right and one wrong! I love diving but can't stand diving in caves because of a certain level of claustrophobia – I've even gone as far as doing caving (not underwater) for a week with friends, but hated it and won't be doing it again in the near future. Being claustrophobic, I should have known better. Of course, I was a bit nervous during the movie, not really my thing, but it was part of the "fun" of watching it. It's a 3-D movie, by the way. Having said that, I was disappointed. It's an okay movie, but it lacks real tension, it's a little cheesy at times, and all too easy towards the end (which you can predict from the start). If you've seen it, let me know what you think!

Florence, Italy

Can anyone tell me why had I never been to Florence before? I went there for the first time this summer and was stunned by how beautiful the place is. Yes it is very touristy and yes we have all seen pictures of it before, but it's truly an amazing city, with history and beauty mixing everywhere you look. It is easy to get away from the well trodden path and to find quiet spots. It was actually an effort to get there from La Spezia, first a train to Pisa, and then another one to Florence, and if you know Italian trains, you will understand what I mean, but it was well worth the effort. I'll be happy to go back as soon as I can. Coming with me?

Chengdu, Sichuan, China (成都，四川， 中国)

I was in Chengdu last weekend. First time in Sichuan. Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan and boasts 10 million inhabitants (14 million for the municipality)., a very important city of Western China. People speak Sichuanese, a dialect of Mandarin, and I found it really hard to understand it. The pronunciation in particular is not easy – and to be honest, they found it hard to understand me too at times! We had a wonderful time and were lucky to get perfect weather on the first day (the city has a reputation for rain). We went to visit the Panda Research and Breeding Centre, unique in the world. They breed pandas there and do amazingly well. You should visit the centre from July to December, which is the time pandas are born. Incredibly they are only a few centimetres long at birth. We were lucky to see a dozen or so three-week old pandas, sleeping happily in incubators. What a sight! They are gorgeous things, so cute we wanted to take one home! The whole park is stunning. Be warned, it's better to visit early in the morning when the pandas are active.

We also went to visit Leshan's Giant Buddha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, a two-hour drive from Chengdu. As it was Mid-Autumn Festival, the place was swarming with Chinese tourists and we had to queue for one and a half hours to get to the buddha, but it was worth the wait. In the past you used to be able to climb up on the left hand side, but now you go down on that side and walk back up on the other side. The buddha is 71 metre high and was built in the Tang Dynasty (618–907AD). Luckily, it was not damaged by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Blood Harvest, by S.J. Bolton

Heptonclough is a small village on the moors, and this is where Bolton's horrifying story is taking place. What I like about Bolton is that each of her crime novel is different from the others. The theme to start with. And the characters. This one, I loved! And the ending… oh my God! Bolton is so good that I read four of her novels in a row… Postings for each one of them to follow…

A family with three young children has just moved to Heptonclough. Somehow, something tells them they are not welcome. They are driven away with pranks and threats, and their oldest, ten-year-old Tom Fletcher, soon realises someone terrifying is watching them. There are wonderful characters, such as the new vicar and Evi, the therapist. The adults soon understand that something isn't quite right in Heptonclough, and this includes accidental (or is it, really?) deaths of children over the last ten years.  Then Tom's siblings go missing and the story turns into a nightmare for the family. The village's secret is more than you can bear – trust me!

The other two Bolton novels I will write about next are Sacrifice, and Awakening. They are bloody good as well. S. J. Bolton is an amazing storyteller, she masters plot and character development and gives her stories a gothic feeling that works perfectly. What a writer! Bolton blogs here (and she is funny).

And here's the video thriller for "Blood Harvest":

Dogs of War, by Brad Convissar

A little while ago, I interviewed Brad Convissar about his 25,000 word stand alone novella, Dogs of War. I just realised I never got to post a review of the story, so here it is. Dogs of War is a horror story, the story of ghost dogs and a revenge they want to take on someone who's hurt – and killed – them. This is a most unusual story, and it actually grips you from the very start. I read it in one go, as I wanted to know the ending straight after reading the first page. I am not a dog person, but I loved the dogs in this story, which takes you to weird places… I won't say more, except that it's a great, unusual, quite brutal novella about justice, fate and reasons for living.

Here's a synopsis by Brad: "After divorcing his wife of two years, Gary Lettner thinks he has found the perfect house for himself and Molly, his eight-year-old dachshund. But when the throats of the dead begin to cry out in a voice that only Molly can hear, and when evidence of past atrocities committed in his new home begin to surface, Gary finds himself an unlikely participant in a brutal quest for vengeance."

The Leopard, by Jo Nesbo

I don't usually write about novels from the same author twice in a row, but I read two Nesbo novels one after the other, and I didn't quite enjoy the second one as much as the first, so I decided to share it with you right away. In The Leopard, Inspector Harry Hole is back with a vengeance, trying to solve several murders that he believes have been committed by the same person. A serial killer, in other words. The story is delightfully complex (and if you like long stories, you'll like this one) and once again, it's hard to guess who's done it…. The story even seems to be solved at some stage, with the culprit arrested, but of course, since this happens at roughly 80% of the book, it cannot be that simple. The Leopard is another very gloomy novel. I liked it, but I have to say that I do not connect with Hole. He is an anti-hero and really annoys me. No sympathy there. I read somewhere that Nesbo said he would kill Hole. I won't cry. I find his personal story too much, and it detracts a little from the story. Another (small) thing I have noticed, especially with this book, is that Nesbo doesn't know how to finish his books. The Leopard goes on and on once everything is clear – I would prefer to be left in the dark as to what the characters will do after solving the mystery. It could very well be described at the start of the next novel in the series. I simply skimmed over the last three chapters. I did enjoy, though, the parts of the book that take place in Hong Kong, where I live (and will be leaving until the end of this month – I am moving to Melbourne, Australia, in October).

The Redeemer, by Jo Nesbo

I had been hearing about Jo Nesbo for a while, but it's only recently that I managed to read two of his novels, The Redeemer, and The Leopard. The Leopard will be a separate post. This one is about The Redeemer. I don't know what it is about

Scandinavian writers (Nesbo is Norwegian) but I find the atmosphere of their books quite gloomy. True, it does reflect certain aspects of Scandinavian culture, especially the long winters and the lack of light. It's a well-known fact that the suicide rate increases dramatically in Scandinavia in winter. I just wish the novels would also depict a happier, more beautiful Scandinavia, which I love. In any case, Nesbo is a great writer, apt at describing stuffy atmospheres and at making you feel and live the story in great detail. I enjoyed this book and the complexity of the plot. I can tell Nesbo likes to travel – his books take us to places outside Norway. If you like complex crime stories with dark personal stories for the characters, Nesbo is for you.

In The Redeemer, a Salvation Army soldier is executed by a man at a Christmas concert in Oslo. Inspector Harry Hole is the policeman who leads the search for the killer. As it happens, the murderer has not completed his mission and keeps targeting a man, who may in fact not be what he appears to be. Hole and his colleagues are confused, but the truth – and a few shocking facts – are slowly uncovered. It's hard to guess who's the real culprit. Read the book if you want to find out!

Back to Dubrovnik

The first time I went to Croatia was in 1987, when it was still part of Yugoslavia. It has obviously changed. In fact, it has changed so much that I hardly recognised the place. What a jewel it has become! Have a look.

Venice again!

I never thought they would come, but I am finally on holidays (and loving every minute of it!). I will be spending a few weeks in Europe, in a variety of places, including time with the family in country France. We started the trip with Venice. It's only my second time here, and I am enjoying it as much as the first a few years back. So much has been said about Venice that I don't really need to say it again. It's pure magic. A few photos will suffice. Enjoy!