Simon Lewis's Blog, page 2
November 29, 2009
The best Noir crime books-12
Casino Royale, Ian Fleming, 1952
The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning.
Ian Fleming is a good writer, and the James Bond books are good books. That needs to be said, because everyone seems to assume that they are pulpy shlock.
Not at all. They're gritty, low [...:]
The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning.
Ian Fleming is a good writer, and the James Bond books are good books. That needs to be said, because everyone seems to assume that they are pulpy shlock.
Not at all. They're gritty, low [...:]
November 24, 2009
The best Noir crime books-11
Strangers on a train, Patricia Highsmith, 1950
The train tore along with an angry, irregular rythmn
Guy is good egg; a talented young architect on the up – the only flaw in his life is his vicious estranged wife. On a train journey he meets decadent mother's boy Bruno, who impulsively plans the perfect double murder – [...:]
The train tore along with an angry, irregular rythmn
Guy is good egg; a talented young architect on the up – the only flaw in his life is his vicious estranged wife. On a train journey he meets decadent mother's boy Bruno, who impulsively plans the perfect double murder – [...:]
October 30, 2009
Jungle trek
The last time I was in Jinghong it had a thriving backpacker culture – banana pancake cafes and cheap guesthouses. The backpackers had been drawn by culture and nature; now there was less of both, and the backpackers had largely gone, to be replaced by high rolling Chinese tourists, who generally are happy to be [...:]
October 24, 2009
Dwarf Kingdom
There are almost a hundred dwarves living in Dwarf Kingdom, a theme park attraction outside Kunming. Every morning they put on a show for visitors.
The compere is a midget, about two foot tall – he looks like a child but he has an adult's confidence and economy of movement. He explains that he is [...:]
The compere is a midget, about two foot tall – he looks like a child but he has an adult's confidence and economy of movement. He explains that he is [...:]
September 8, 2009
The best Noir crime books-10
After just failing to assassinate a European dictator (it's Hitler, basically, but that's never stated) our narrator is interrogated then left for dead.
August 8, 2009
The best Noir crime books-09
Fifty Two Pick Up, Elmore Leonard, 1974
'He could not get used to going to the girl's apartment.'
Three Detroit villains try to blackmail Harry Stanton over his affair. But they've picked the wrong guy: tough factory owner Harry plays them off against each other – with the help of his angry wife.
Leonard has written dozens [...:]
'He could not get used to going to the girl's apartment.'
Three Detroit villains try to blackmail Harry Stanton over his affair. But they've picked the wrong guy: tough factory owner Harry plays them off against each other – with the help of his angry wife.
Leonard has written dozens [...:]
June 11, 2009
The best Noir crime books-08
Dickey, a poet, brings an exquisite sensibility to his story of four guys on a wilderness canoeing trip who have to fight for their lives after tangling with some horny hillbillies.
June 6, 2009
The best Noir crime books-07
The Vanishing, Tim Krabbe (1984)
Steady as spaceships, the cabins full of tourists moved south over the long, broad road.
The Vanishing is a short sharp shock of a novel with a nightmarish ending. Rex Hofman is on holiday with his fiance Saskia, when she simply disappears. He can't understand it, and years later he's still restlessly [...:]
Steady as spaceships, the cabins full of tourists moved south over the long, broad road.
The Vanishing is a short sharp shock of a novel with a nightmarish ending. Rex Hofman is on holiday with his fiance Saskia, when she simply disappears. He can't understand it, and years later he's still restlessly [...:]
