Fionnuala’s review of Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead (Claire DeWitt Mysteries #1) > Likes and Comments

Glad you feel better now! I too want to be energized, so am adding this book to my TBR (which already has plenty of other detective series). And it's a miracle!!!:) The first two audio books are currently free for me due to my audible.com subscription.

How about that, Irena! Miracles do happen and mysteries do get solved.

Such good news that you are out of the woods, Fionnuala! Whatever was the magic cure, the main thing it worked:-). You’ve made me smile with your sample Odyssey. I sometimes think just to read the sample after sample of those newly published books and safe a lot of money protecting myself from impulsive buys that after the fact end up collecting digital dust on my kindle:-). I think a collection of samples is more satisfying that any of those novels individually creating that post-modern vibe and beating any possible expectations:-) Talking of which, you’ve managed totally to beat mine as I was expecting from you a review of that fantasy novel. Was it called Mastodon or something? And you are coming with a detective instead!

I wish you good health, and for that nasty flue fade in the memory leaving only mysteries of book choices behind! I am very happy that you kept your wit and sense of humour considering!

This is a delight of a review. I'm glad you recovered so stupendously. I'm battling off the last little bit of some crud myself. We have reading to do!

An amazing mystery, Fionnuala! Such things never happen to me, maybe because I still read only paper books!😉

Katia wrote: "...I sometimes think just to read the sample after sample of those newly published books and safe a lot of money protecting myself from impulsive buys that after the fact end up collecting digital dust on my kindle..."

Digital dust:-)
Sampling samples is a great way to fulfill the need we sometimes feel to read certain books, especially prize winners like Orbital, Katia. I think I've satisfied my curiosity about that one with the sample. But I did download the rest of the Lea Ypi book and am nearly finished it now. More anon...

Mysteries like plastic. I think I am going to remember that one. Glad you are better and no, I don’t think there is anything wrong with a good mystery. There was a time when I was a big fan of the genre. I believe I even managed to read the entire Dalziel and Pascoe-series by Reginald Hill AND all of the Rouletabille novels by Gaston Leroux in a single year. Karl Marx, Sigfried Kracauer and Ludwig Wittgenstein were also big fans (not of Dalziel and Pascoe or Rouletabille per se) but of the detective novel as a genre.

Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "This is a delight of a review. I'm glad you recovered so stupendously. I'm battling off the last little bit of some crud myself. We have reading to do!"

Great to see you here, Amy, but sorry to hear you've been knocked out too. Yes, let's get back to the important reading work we do as soon as possible!

Noam wrote: "An amazing mystery, Fionnuala! Such things never happen to me, maybe because I still read only paper books!😉"

I used to be like you, Noam, but then I succumbed. I hope you manage to stay safe from the ebook virus;-)

Ah, mysterious ways the books get to us :-) Good to hear you are on the rebound, Fionnuala. Wishing you a speedy recovery. I spent most of my sick days last year watching movies (and have a long list of recommendations). I admire your ability to concentrate on reading despite that icky virus. Take good care and stay well.

P.S. Oh, not to forget about the goats. Lovely! Au hasard Balthazar I watched for the nth time last year made me fall in love with donkeys all over again.

Jeroen wrote: "Mysteries like plastic. I think I am going to remember that one. Glad you are better and no, I don’t think there is anything wrong with a good mystery. There was a time when I was a big fan of the genre..."

Thanks for the good wishes, Jeroen, and it's good to hear about your own history with mystery. I don't think there was ever a time when I read a lot of mysteries—not that I thought there was anything wrong with them, it's just that anytime I've tried, it seems I hit on the wrong mystery and then I just begrudged the time I'd spent. I remember trying a Fred Vargas mystery, L'homme aux cercles bleus, and it was very well written but the blue circles at the heart of the mystery seemed like a very ridiculous premise to me. I didn't try another Vargas. Then there was a Canadian mystery writer I heard good things about when I first joined Goodreads but after the first book in her series I kind of felt I'd read them all. Later there was another mystery book everyone was talking about so I read it. Gone Girl cured me from trying mysteries for a long long time—I had thought forever but I was wrong;-)

Vesna wrote: "Ah, mysterious ways the books get to us :-) Good to hear you are on the rebound, Fionnuala. Wishing you a speedy recovery. I spent most of my sick days last year watching movies..."

Claire DeWitt sure snuck her way into my reading life, Vesna! I think it's possible that I downloaded her book partly because she has the same last name as a very versatile writer I admire a lot: Helen DeWitt. And if Helen DeWitt ever turned her hand to writing detective stories (something I wouldn't rule out), the result might not be that far from this Claire DeWitt mystery, I reckon.

Interesting that film is your go-to when you're unwell. My attention focuses more easily on print than on images somehow.

I hadn't the energy to... explain to my husband where to find it

:D This must be a universal thing. My partner always starts to explain where I can find something before stopping midway and exclaiming in exasperation, "Ugh, don't worry about it, I'll get it!" :D
I'd always believed that books had the ability to remedy ailments of the heart and mind but physical symptoms, that's a pleasant surprise! :)

Jonathan wrote: ""I hadn't the energy to... explain to my husband where to find it"

:D This must be a universal thing. My partner always starts to explain where I can find something before stopping midway and exclaiming in exasperation..."

I think it definitely is. I've had this conversation with women friends more than once and they all agree. But what's unusual here is that you're so aware of it yourself, Jonathan! That's maybe not the typical situation:-)

Fionnuala wrote: "Noam wrote: "An amazing mystery, Fionnuala! Such things never happen to me, maybe because I still read only paper books!😉"

I used to be like you, Noam, but then I succumbed. I hope you manage to s..."

Thank you, Fionnuala! I'm doing my best, even though it means I must be very careful moving around my house: There are piles of books everywhere! 😉📚

Hope you’re over your flu now, Fionnuala. Reading samples is a great idea and one I’ll bear in mind. Try before you buy!

Noam wrote: "..Thank you, Fionnuala! I'm doing my best, even though it means I must be very careful moving around my house: There are piles of books everywhere!."

Typical pre-ebook symptoms, Noam. Sooner or later, your living space will become so restricted that it will be impossible to add another book. I've been there, I can bear witness!
But seriously, ebooks are great for titles you're not sure you will want to make shelf space for—or even read to the end. On the other hand, there are certain writers I would always buy in paper and ink because I want to see their books in my home, to never forget they are there. At this stage I almost have an unfailing instinct as to what to download and what to buy in physical form. When I'm wrong, and get an ebook I'd rather have as a real book, I simply buy it again. I know it's mad! Jeannette Winterson comforts me in my madness: "Book collecting is an obsession, an occupation, a disease, an addiction, a fascination, an absurdity, a fate. It is not a hobby. Those who do it must do it. Those who do not do it, think of it as a cousin of stamp collecting, a sister of the trophy cabinet, bastard of a sound bank account and a weak mind."

Fiona wrote: "Hope you’re over your flu now, Fionnuala. Reading samples is a great idea and one I’ll bear in mind. Try before you buy!"

Thanks, Fiona. Glad to spread the subversive word about reading free samples. I was initially surprised to see the possibility existed as it certainly hasn't meant more purchases in my case. When I look back at my early ebook history—apart from the free classics I'd downloaded just to easily search a reference—it's full of titles I bought in some flurry of enthusiasm but never bothered to read. Now I probably never will as their moment has passed. The only positive there is that they are not taking up physical space in my home...

Glad that sampling and getting engrossed in mystery helped you to get through that nasty flu and that you are better now, Fionnuala. I loved reading the Fionnualian essay 'on being ill', which is delightfully timely because I am currently re-reading the Woolfian one and pondering on how illness might change our reading (light volumes instead of doorstoppers, in Woolf's case poetry rather than novels...). I remember taking some paper samples from books home from bookshops, which I thought useful to look up the book in the library later, but cannot remember ever reading them - with e-books I seem to cling to the same habits as with paper ones: the ones of the library or ARC's that are temporary (LibraryCloud/NetGalley) get priority over the ones that I 'own', which means the piles at home simply staying unread and getting more dusty with the years.

Ah, I remember Woolf's On Being ill—and her mother's 19th century chapter about the problem of toast crumbs in bed! Some things never change!
I didn't know paper samples existed, Ilse.
And I can easily see how ebooks that are on loan would muscle themselves to the front of the queue. Let's hope they sometimes prove to be worth their priority status.
I pulled out all my unread paper books this morning, (well nearly all (let's say the fairly recently purchased anyway)) and made them into interesting-looking piles in the hope I'll be seduced to start reducing them—I mean reading them!
I don't know what I'd do if I also had library piles to deal with. I lost the library habit when I was living in a place where the library only stocked English books such as Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. I've never been tempted to read a Sherlock Holmes. I did read some Agatha Christie when I was a teenager but they were so very English—butlers and majors and afternoon tea with the vicar in the library—I was turned off completely! I've such a peasant mentality;-)

So, I loved your intro about why you read this book at this moment. Claire DeWitt has a way of slinking into your brain and not letting go. I love the fact that you really have no choice when reading those books but to just let them wash over you. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Fionnuala!

See, the problem is you went to NYC instead of New Orleans, which is a place where stuff makes sense that wouldn't make sense anyplace else.

But now that you've solved the mystery of how you came to read this book, I think we need to put you on the cover of International Detection.

Oh, and if you're ever in the mood for another detective adventure that's far outside the norm, try Five Decembers, which is less weird than Ms. Gran but every bit as engrossing.

Glad to hear you're enjoying better health and Lea Ypi.

Barbara K wrote: "So, I loved your intro about why you read this book at this moment. Claire DeWitt has a way of slinking into your brain and not letting go. I love the fact that you really have no choice when reading those books but to just let them wash over you..."

Thanks, Barbara. You're right, Claire DeWitt camped in my fevered brain like she was at home there! No wonder—her own brain is a fairly fevered place!

Left Coast Justin wrote: "See, the problem is you went to NYC instead of New Orleans, which is a place where stuff makes sense that wouldn't make sense anyplace else.
But now that you've solved the mystery of how you came to read this book, I think we need to put you on the cover of International Detection..."

What you say about New Orleans makes sense, Justin, I think...
But I'll gladly feature on the International Detection cover—especially if it covers literary detection. That's my speciality:-)

Thanks for the tip about the next detective story to read. Five Decembers looks perfect.

Karen· wrote: "Glad to hear you're enjoying better health and Lea Ypi."

Thanks, Karen.

Lovely rambling review, Fionnuala!

Great you enjoyed it, Peter!

Cured by a savage detective story? Wild. Glad you are better, Fionnuala

Fi, there are several cures for the notification bug that has plagued GR for months. I have performed a digital version of a hot-lemon-brandy-honey style cure and found your review in the morning's feeds. So, if your flu is persisting, suggest favourite home brew, or take the empty history-cache cure going around the place.

Regarding such books, for a while I was enjoying reading Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther books. But they were more like how to survive in times of insane dictatorships and wartime. Something we might all need one day.

All so Clear and Witty. No mystery in this, really, if it comes from Fio.

Fionnuala wrote: "Noam wrote: "..Thank you, Fionnuala! I'm doing my best, even though it means I must be very careful moving around my house: There are piles of books everywhere!."

Typical pre-ebook symptoms, Noam...."

Typical pre-ebook symptoms? Should I see my doctor? 😉

It’s interesting to read how you buy books, Fionnuala. When I’m searching for a certain book I always read its first page to feel if it is a book for me. Many online bookshops offer reading samples which makes things easier. If I want to read further, I seriously consider buying the book… on paper. Once I start reading a book I have the foolish habit of reading it till the last page, even if I have doubts about it. Books I didn’t like after all I donate to the local charity shop. Obviously every now and then I must give away books I don’t want to keep anymore; otherwise I might find myself sleeping in the garden one day… 🤣

Anyway: Jeannette Winterson was absolutely right!!!

David wrote: "Cured by a savage detective story? Wild. Glad you are better, Fionnuala"

Thanks, David! I'm not sure if reading The Savage Detectives itself would have got me through……

Nick wrote: "Fi, there are several cures for the notification bug that has plagued GR for months. I have performed a digital version of a hot-lemon-brandy-honey style cure and found your review in the morning's feed..."

Glad I'm in your updates again, Nick. I've played around with various treatments myself and am now happy my feed has 90% of my favourite reviewers in it. And the browser history purge works for me if I take it regularly—just need to be sure I keep all my passwords where I can find them;-)

You've reminded me that I have a Philip Kerr book somewhere. Maybe you were the reviewer who caused me to buy it? I still haven't read it though…

Kalliope wrote: "All so Clear and Witty. No mystery in this, really, if it comes from Fio."

Nearly didn't see what you were doing there!

Versatility is a wonderful quality, Fionnuala. I am glad you are feeling better.

Noam wrote: "...Once I start reading a book I have the foolish habit of reading it till the last page, even if I have doubts about it. Books I didn’t like after all I donate to the local charity shop. Obviously every now and then I must give away books I don’t want to keep anymore; otherwise I might find myself sleeping in the garden one day...."

I recognise that foolish habit, Noam. I too find it very difficult to abandon paper books once I've begun them and they are sitting around on a side-table with a pencil stuck between their pages, haunting me... That's where the ebook samples give me their best excuse for existing: in order to carry on reading them, I have to leave the ebook reader and actively search for the book again online in order to access the rest of it. There are many reasons why I can leave that step undone:-)
I'm sure there are people who've ended up sleeping in their gardens over too many books! Did you ever read Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal? As I remeber it, the main character had so many books he had to crawl through a tunnel to get to the bathroom or climb into bed!

Daniel wrote: "Versatility is a wonderful quality, Fionnuala. I am glad you are feeling better."

That will be my 2025 resolution, Daniel! Cultivate this little shoot of versatility that sprung to life in December when I found myself reading a fantasy novel!

Fionnuala wrote: "Noam wrote: "...Once I start reading a book I have the foolish habit of reading it till the last page, even if I have doubts about it. Books I didn’t like after all I donate to the local charity sh..."

It’s good to hear I’m not the only one who has complex reading habits. Maybe we should set up a new organisation called Readers Anonymous? People could meet once a week and talk to about books. I guess the first important step is to admit to tell all our friends that we have a book problem…

I never heard of ‘Too Loud a Solitude’ and it sounds wonderful. I guess I should read it as a warning concerning my possible future. The problem is that now there’s yet another book I want to read! Oh my goodness…

Cheers! 😁

Ha! Enjoyed this. Your year seems to have begun much as has mine, with an atypical sojourn in bed (with little inclination to move beyond it), at the behest of a feeble enflued state dictating my reading. Had me reading books which I might not otherwise have ( though one - Orphan X- was for a book group, so would have got there at some point, despite it not being my thing). They turned out to be just the thing - readable though the soggy filter of a groggy brain. Rather enjoyed my foray back in time to a piece of children's literature; less likely to have Gregg Hurwitz's character back in my sights any time soon. Claire Dewitt sounds as though she may be fun to meet, though....

I love a good mystery but I was unaware of this series. It definitely sounds intriguing.

Noam wrote: "...I never heard of ‘Too Loud a Solitude’ and it sounds wonderful..."

It is a little gem of a book, quite slim but delivers a powerful punch!

Nicky wrote: "Ha! Enjoyed this. Your year seems to have begun much as has mine, with an atypical sojourn in bed (with little inclination to move beyond it), at the behest of a feeble enflued state dictating my reading..."

Hope you're well out of it, Nicky—as I am.
I wonder what you'd make of Claire DeWitt. Are you a rule-breaker at all…?

John wrote: "I love a good mystery but I was unaware of this series. It definitely sounds intriguing."

What I didn't say, John, well, there's a lot I didn't say! Anyway, one of the things I didn't say is that the book is set mostly in New Orleans, two years after what the locals are still calling the flood—which is of course the devastating hurricane of 2005 that was named Katrina by the weather people/somebody or other elsewhere. Things never have neat names when they're happening, do they? They only get labeled after the event. This book prompted me to question a lot of things like that, things I'd often accept as given.

I’m glad you are well now, Fionnuala, and it was very interesting to read about your reading habits – both from the review and the thread. To me, personally, these habits themselves look very sane!

I’m a sick reader myself – disordered, obsessive, with relapses. I suffer from endless rereadings (Bernhard, Kafka, Beckett, Flaubert, Gogol, Chekhov, and a few others). I’m coughing up half-read books and sneezing into oblivion the first few pages of so many others. Lately, I’ve also developed a reviewer compulsion. I confessed about this condition in a review about the first word of the title of a book I didn’t read… the word “human” in Human Acts: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

Sometimes, I’ve read only a few pages of a book, and those few pages were enough to contaminate me (if not inspire me) with the review I felt compelled to write about the book itself. I’ve compulsively had to write the review first, then finish the book (if ever). I had to get the review out of my system to make room for a (calmer) reading – of perhaps an entirely different book... These days, as you know, I wrote a review – and a song! – about a book I didn’t read at all (though, unfortunately, reading the title was unavoidable). Does all that make me mad?

Anyway, I’m not sure if I need a cure. :))

But I do have a reading habit that keeps me healthy – if not mentally, at least physically! In Denmark, where I live, there is a perfect interlibrary system. I can borrow books in any language and as many as I want. They all come to my local library. Now, imagine me carrying all these books back and forth – from the library to home, and from home back to the library! I don’t need to work out, jog, or even do the so-called “Scandinavian walk” to keep myself fit! :))

Vesna wrote: "Ah, mysterious ways the books get to us :-) Good to hear you are on the rebound, Fionnuala. Wishing you a speedy recovery. I spent most of my sick days last year watching movies (and have a long li..."

Vesna, are you also a Bresson fan!? :) Wow, after all the other things I discovered these couple of days that we have in common! I even compared Bove’s prose with Bresson’s signature close-up on hands in a review…

Noam wrote: "Fionnuala wrote: "Noam wrote: "...Once I start reading a book I have the foolish habit of reading it till the last page, even if I have doubts about it. Books I didn’t like after all I donate to th..."

We are already in the comunity Readers Invisibles, Noam... It would indeed be nice to meet, if not once a week to talk about books, than at least once in a great while to talk about anything... :)

Bogdan wrote: "...I’m a sick reader myself – disordered, obsessive, with relapses. I suffer from endless rereadings (Bernhard, Kafka, Beckett, Flaubert, Gogol, Chekhov, and a few others). I’m coughing up half-read books and sneezing into oblivion the first few pages of so many others. Lately, I’ve also developed a reviewer compulsion...Anyway, I’m not sure if I need a cure..."

Love the description of your reading condition, Bogdan! And yes, no cure needed—either for the reading virus or the reviewing virus, no matter that you don't always swallow the entire book but just enough to stimulate your brain cells and get your fingertips moving!

"The mysteries you leave unsolved will last for lifetimes after you are gone."
That makes mysteries sound like plastic, doesn't it? I don't want to leave any such mysteries around so let's settle for the fact that Claire De Witt was so unrestrainedly crazy that she made me smile many times over.

Like plastic, or like books which are mysteries many of us will leave behind us when we are gone. Fortunately, your mysteries are in e-book form and thus easy to delete.