Ersatz TLS discussion

note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
47 views
Weekly TLS > What are we reading? 19 December 2022

Comments Showing 51-100 of 385 (385 new)    post a comment »

message 51: by Andy (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments By chance, two of the novels I have recently commented on, Animal Life by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir and (the excellent) Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan are discussed on BBC Radio 4s Open Book this week..


message 52: by Andy (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments AB76 wrote: "Gothic Tales by Arthur Conan Doyle Gothic Tales by Arthur Conan Doyle is an excellent collection of stories from OUP

I've read six of the stories and they all are brilliant, well written, pieces of..."


I'm going to push you AB.. can you say a favourite one?
With which I'll begin, by inserting into one of my own anthologies.

(Thanks for this..)


message 53: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments MK wrote: "Update - Mick Herron books - The newest is a compilation of 5 Slough House Novellas - Standing by the Wall The Collected Slough House Novellas by Mick Herron. The novellas included are: The ..."

Thanks for that - oddly, the collection doesn't show up on Amazon UK, just the separate novellas - which I definitely won't buy. I might well fork out for the collection if/when it appears!


message 54: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments Andy wrote: "and, The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

This was Hammett's last novel, published in 1934, and no surprise in that there is plenty to en..."


I have to say that I disagree about this one - I wasn't impressed, and wrote a review to say so a few months ago. Everyone seemed to be drunk all the time... amazing that any detecting got done! Best thing about the book is the cover - which I like.

Comparing this to Chandler's 'The Big Sleep' is a bit like comparing Hawks' fluid and skilful direction of that book to the plodding, theatrical version of 'The Maltese Falcon' by John Huston - no contest!


message 55: by scarletnoir (last edited Dec 22, 2022 08:38AM) (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments I should have said - thanks, Gpfr for the excellent introduction - and the Season's greetings to everyone!

As for books, I haven't finished one since my last review - I'm currently reading the long but entertaining Che Committed Suicide by Petros Markaris by Petros Markaris, recommended by someone - Andy, maybe?

It starts really well - I LOLed several times in the opening chapters - then settles down somewhat, with rather too much repetition on street directions, how hot, sweaty and polluted Athens is in summer etc. Still, an enjoyable enough read - will say more when I finish.


message 56: by AB76 (last edited Dec 22, 2022 09:20AM) (new)

AB76 | 6948 comments Andy wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Gothic Tales by Arthur Conan Doyle Gothic Tales by Arthur Conan Doyle is an excellent collection of stories from OUP

I've read six of the stories and they all are brilliant, well writt..."


ooh, tough one Andy, i think Machen hovers a little higher as i had no knowledge of him school or university and was hence a real suprise, plus his mastery of small details and then utter horror, nothing much scares me but his novella The Three Imposters was chilling.. With James, i just felt part of lost world of Edwardia, it was like a warm room, with a nice roaring fire and something in the corner(lol)....i think, if i am going to pick one, in this season of short days and long nights, it will be MR James (unless i have got the wrong end and you meant which of the six stories by Conan Doyle i have already read..lol- that would be The Captain of the Polestar(1883)

also i think you were reading some Ross Macdonald well he is probably next to read,first novel of 2023, i chose a later lew archer novel. thanks for recommendation on that

i'm off home in about 20 mins, so have a great xmas y'all and heres to 2023!


message 57: by AB76 (new)

AB76 | 6948 comments scarletnoir wrote: "Andy wrote: "and, The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

This was Hammett's last novel, published in 1934, and no surprise in that there is..."


i've read more Chandler than Hammett so far, i must go back to Hammett and his novel related to Butte,Montana Red Harvest might be my next pick.

Ross Macdonald noir lined up for first week of 2023 and i have a Chandler short story selection on the pile


message 58: by Gpfr (new)

Gpfr | -2220 comments Mod
scarletnoir wrote: "Petros Markaris, recommended by someone - Andy, maybe?..."

It was me!
Like with David Downing, I see you feel there's too much on street directions. It's funny how differently people react, I just haven't noticed it in either of these writers.
Anyway, glad you're enjoying it well enough.


message 59: by Andy (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments scarletnoir wrote: "Andy wrote: "and, The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

This was Hammett's last novel, published in 1934, and no surprise in that there is..."


The amount of drinking did cross my mind SN, as to why it was so stressed.
In itself, it’s not a big enough issue to deter from the piece for me.

I’m not highlighting it as a favourite by any means, but it was an important building block in the genre.

When approaching these 1930s / 40s novels, my expectation is never high, which I think helps as well.


message 60: by Andy (last edited Dec 22, 2022 03:32PM) (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments AB76 wrote: "Andy wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Gothic Tales by Arthur Conan Doyle Gothic Tales by Arthur Conan Doyle is an excellent collection of stories from OUP

I've read six of the stories and they all are brillian..."


I meant from the Conan-Doyle AB, so cheers.. I’ll get on to it. I just didn’t express myself very well.
Thanks for those others also.


message 61: by Andy (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments scarletnoir wrote: "I should have said - thanks, Gpfr for the excellent introduction - and the Season's greetings to everyone!

As for books, I haven't finished one since my last review - I'm currently reading the lon..."


Not me Scarlet.
Keen to hear how it goes though..


message 62: by Berkley (new)

Berkley | 1015 comments scarletnoir wrote: "I have to say that I disagree about this one - I wasn't impressed, and wrote a review to say so a few months ago. Everyone seemed to be drunk all the time... amazing that any detecting got done! Best thing about the book is the cover - which I like.

Comparing this to Chandler's 'The Big Sleep' is a bit like comparing Hawks' fluid and skilful direction of that book to the plodding, theatrical version of 'The Maltese Falcon' by John Huston - no contest!"


I prefer Chandler over Hammett myself but for me it's more a matter of my love of Chandler's style taking precedence over my more clinical appreciation of Hammett's skill. I think it's been a bit of a false trail that critics have continued to focus on the comparison: yes, they worked within the same genre, but that was an accident of history. From every other perspective, they wrote with very different intentions, different motives (apart from the financial), and most of all different sensibilities.

Back to Hammett himself, I'm very much with what I understand is the consensus that he wrote big four or five novels that are classics of the genre and that The Thin Man is one of them, the others being The Glass Key, The Maltese Falcon, Red Harvest (have I missed one?). It's been many years since I read any of them but I found them all first rate, especially within the genre.

I'm especially curious now to re-read The Thin Man because I just watched the movie not long ago for the first time and it seemed to me that Nick was a very different character in the book. Still, great entertainment and Myrna Loy was so good.

I don't get the worries over the drinking (in the context of criticising the book for it; I understand the : it was a different era, a different culture.


message 63: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments Gpfr wrote: "Like with David Downing, I see you feel there's too much on street directions. It's funny how differently people react, I just haven't noticed it in either of these writers.
Anyway, glad you're enjoying it well enough."


Well, thank you!

I mentioned the issue in Downing myself... he seems to do it a bit less in the later books and/or comments on other aspects which make the whole thing more digestible.

As for Markaris - I looked at some Amazon reviews before buying the book, and this was a negative point mentioned, so I was 'pre-sensitised', I guess... but there is very little in the early chapters, then as you go through it there are a lot of street names & directions, traffic jams, sweating, change of shirts, problems breathing in the pollution, is 'this route better than that route?' etc. So - it does get repetitive, the book could have been better with decent editing and a blue pencil.

I still like it, though.


message 64: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments Andy wrote: "it was an important building block in the genre.

When approaching these 1930s / 40s novels, my expectation is never high, which I think helps as well."


Fair enough - my expectations are always high-ish, and this didn't come up to the mark. I don't think I'll read any more Hammett.

To make a comparison - it was like a wine I'd sip politely at a party rather than decant into the aspidistra, but I would not buy it to drink at home!


message 65: by scarletnoir (last edited Dec 23, 2022 07:36AM) (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments Berkley wrote: "I'm very much with what I understand is the consensus that he wrote big four or five novels that are classics of the genre."

If you have read my comments over the last while, you'll know that I don't much respect 'the accepted opinion', but express my own which is purely personal, subjective and non-expert (I stopped my studies of Eng.Lit. at age 15).

Whereas some books from the past stand the test of time - IMO, of course - others do not. This (for me) was one of them. If I had read it in 1935, I might have felt differently.

As for the film version - I enjoyed it a lot probably 50 years ago or more, and might well do so if I was to see it again; I was hoping to like the book, but it was rather a let-down.

The summary of the plot in Wikipedia tends to support my own:

The story is set in New York City in December 1932, in the last days of Prohibition in the United States. The main characters are Nick Charles, a former private detective, and Nora, his clever young wife. Nick, the son of a Greek immigrant, has given up his career since marrying Nora, a wealthy socialite, and he spends most of his time cheerfully getting drunk in hotel rooms and speakeasies. Nick and Nora have no children but they own a female Schnauzer named Asta. (In the film adaptation, Asta is a male Wire Fox Terrier.) Charles is drawn, mostly against his will, into investigating a murder. The case brings them in contact with the Wynants, a rather grotesque family, and with various policemen and lowlifes. As they attempt to solve the case, Nick and Nora share a great deal of banter and witty dialogue, along with copious amounts of alcohol.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thi...

(I meant to say - I don't have 'worries' about drinking - I do a fair amount myself, though far less than in my young day. My point was that if Nick was almost permanently pissed as a rat, I didn't see how he could possibly have solved the murder... in fact, the solution was pretty obvious to (sober) me from the get-go.)


message 66: by Andy (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments Mixed fortunes with my Christmas-themed reading..

Twelve Nights by Urs Faes translated from the German (Swiss) by Jamie Lee Searle. Twelve Nights by Urs Faes

Set in a snow-laden valley in the Swiss Jura, this is a dark meditation of a man's return home to his younger brother in search of peace and reconciliation, forty years after he left.
There is a gradual reveal as to the circumstances that resulted in his hastened departure, but it isn't the powerful closing pages until the shocking revelation of why seperation was the only option.

It joins Maupassant's The Mountain Inn, and Stifter's Rock Crystal as being so evocative of winter, and perfect reading for this particular time of the season.


message 67: by Andy (last edited Dec 23, 2022 08:21AM) (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments You think I would know better after making the same error last year, turning to a highly promoted and new collection of Christmas-themed short stories..

The Shrieking Skull & Other Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories by James Skipp Borlase The Shrieking Skull & Other Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories by James Skipp Borlase

Borlase is billed by one media promotion as being the 'best Victorian ghost author you've never heard of'; the cynic in me says.. well.. there might be a reason why is so unknown..

There is humour in most of the tales, often to the destruction of any atmosphere previously created. I was reminded at times of the Hammer horrors of the 80s. If I hadn't been told, I certainly wouldn't have guessed they were written in Victorian times..


Rather than sign off for the day on a negative note, I thought a couple of short story recommendations would be in order..

As I’ve mentioned before, I have put my own anthology together, just for times like these, when there’s that unpleasant taste in the mouth from some previous rubbish.

The two stories are at the opposite ends of the entertaining spectrum, both very much so, but in completely different ways.


Where Is The Voice Coming From? by Eudora Welty

Welty learnt of the murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers in Mississippi in 1963 on the night on which it occurred. Shocked and angered, she wrote this piece, that portrays the racially fuelled friction she witnessed so often in her lifetime. Narrated by the killer, a white, under-privileged and jealous man, Welty suggests the motive, and in doing so, the reader gets caught in the trap, and some level of sympathy sneaks out.
Her narrator believes he has committed the crime for personal reasons, repeating often, “I done what I done for my own pure-D satisfaction” - refusing to recognise that he did not act solely out of personal choice.
A South politician preaches to the poor white man
“You got more than than the blacks, don’t complain
You’re better than them, you been born with white skin,” they explain


So Welty gets her way, and the reader questions the racial bias in society. Sixty years on and not a whole lot has changed.
All this in six pages.
Dylan says it in less (Only A Pawn In Their Game), but together the two great works stand as monuments in the ongoing battle against racism.

(It’s available for free on The NewYorker website, in whose magazine it originally appeared)


And, on a much lighter note, is The Russian Doll by Adolfo Bioy Caseres, translated by Suzanne Jill Levine, set in Aix-en-Provence, in which the narrator meets on old school friend who tells him of his rise to prominence.

He fell for a girl, and connives to impress her. Her businessman father, through his mining activities, has caused serious pollution in a lake. In response, his daughter has become an environmental activist, threatening to take her father to court. Her would be beau, offers to dive to the bottom of the lake, supposedly hundreds of metres deep, to collect samples as evidence. Once at the bottom, he encounters a colossal caterpillar, and mayhem ensues.

These crazy Argentinians.. Borges, and his offshoots, Caseres and Aira, are an absolute pleasure to read.


message 68: by Berkley (new)

Berkley | 1015 comments Speaking of Borges, I was looking at his wikipedia article the other day for some reason and was struck that two of the writers cited there as both favourites and influences of his, Alfonso Reyes and Fritz Mauthner, have little (in the case of Reyes) or nothing (Mauthner) available in English translation. I find this surprising.


message 69: by Berkley (last edited Dec 23, 2022 01:55PM) (new)

Berkley | 1015 comments scarletnoir wrote: "If you have read my comments over the last while, you'll know that I don't much respect 'the accepted opinion', but express my own which is purely personal, subjective and non-expert ."

Of course, I do the same thing myself. I mentioned 'the accepted opinion' above only to acknowledge that my opinion in this case was boringly unoriginal.


message 70: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments I'm listening to (library download) Act of Oblivion. If one is not an atheist, agnostic, whatever - before encountering this book, it surely should turn some that way. I really dislike people who are so sure that their religion is the only acceptable one and are willing to hunt down and slaughter those who believe differently.


message 71: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments Berkley wrote: "I mentioned 'the accepted opinion' above only to acknowledge that my opinion in this case was boringly unoriginal."

Fair enough.

Some books I approach rather doubting that I'll like them ( for reasons of subject matter, social class described, whatever) - but am always willing to be converted; others I start with an optimistic and positive attitude, because they sound 'up my street'. Hammett belonged in this latter category, but I found the book to be a significant disappointment. Such is life.


message 72: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments Andy wrote: "Dylan says it in less (Only A Pawn In Their Game), but together the two great works stand as monuments in the ongoing battle against racism."

I was about to mention this, but see you were well aware of it!

As for These crazy Argentinians..., I haven't read much by authors from that country but certainly one of the most bonkers (and entertaining) films I've ever seen was the black comedy 'Wild Tales' from that country. I'll link to the Wikipedia entry, but if that is a style you enjoy please DON'T read it as it contains the plot until after seeing the movie!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Ta...


message 73: by Greenfairy (new)

Greenfairy | 830 comments A Happy Christmas TLS ! or whatever you celebrate at this time :⁠-⁠)


message 74: by Greenfairy (new)

Greenfairy | 830 comments Nadolig Llawen Scarlet


message 75: by giveusaclue (new)

giveusaclue | 1896 comments Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 one and all.


message 76: by Bill (new)

Bill FromPA (bill_from_pa) | 1708 comments description
Merry Christmas to all, "God bless us every one!"


message 77: by Robert (new)

Robert | 1018 comments Anne wrote: "Goodness, I've just seen the predicted weather for the US this week. Stay safe, everyone. (And as warm as possible.)"

Winter's icy touch got us three days ago. Here in the Great Northwest, we've followed ice and snow with the more familiar pouring rain.


message 78: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments Robert wrote: "Anne wrote: "Goodness, I've just seen the predicted weather for the US this week. Stay safe, everyone. (And as warm as possible.)"

Winter's icy touch got us three days ago. Here in the Great North..."


Here are a few photos. I think it was #19 that I liked best. Click to see the complete quote - it shows some have their priorities 😉

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-...


message 79: by CCCubbon (new)

CCCubbon | 1254 comments Wishing everyone a loving peaceful Christmas Day


message 80: by Georg (new)

Georg Elser | 932 comments I wish everybody "ein friedvolles, glückliches Weihnachtsfest".


message 81: by giveusaclue (new)

giveusaclue | 1896 comments MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Anne wrote: "Goodness, I've just seen the predicted weather for the US this week. Stay safe, everyone. (And as warm as possible.)"

Winter's icy touch got us three days ago. Here in ..."


My goodness, that looks horrible. Do be careful everyone, we don't want any broken bones.

It is a lovely sunny day here in S. Derbyshire, after a horrible rainy week. I've just had my usual Christmas breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast with smoked salmon. I await my "carriage" at 12.15 to take me over to my god daughter's for the day.

Enjoy yourselves folks. Merry Christmas.


message 82: by Veufveuve (new)

Veufveuve | 229 comments Happy Christmas, one and all.


message 83: by Gpfr (new)

Gpfr | -2220 comments Mod
Meilleurs voeux et bonnes fêtes, everybody! I hope you're having a splendid day.


message 84: by Andy (last edited Dec 25, 2022 06:24AM) (new)

Andy Weston (andyweston) | 1473 comments scarletnoir wrote: "Andy wrote: "Dylan says it in less (Only A Pawn In Their Game), but together the two great works stand as monuments in the ongoing battle against racism."

I was about to mention this, but see you ..."


Thanks for the recommendation and the warning…both heeded.


message 85: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments Greenfairy wrote: "Nadolig Llawen Scarlet"

Diolch yn fawr - a Nadolig Llawen i chithau hefyd...

Joyeux Nöel....

Merry Christmas to all!


message 86: by scarletnoir (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Anne wrote: "Goodness, I've just seen the predicted weather for the US this week. Stay safe, everyone. (And as warm as possible.)"

Winter's icy touch got us three days ago. Here in ..."


Lovely pictures... Is it that icy conditions are rare in Seattle and thereabouts, as they are around our way in West Wales? I know that the Scandinavians use winter tyres with studs (we drove a hire car with those in Iceland), but as you don't usually need them in the UK, most people don't bother.

We've had some bad days for ice on the windscreen recently, but nothing compared to the US in the last few days - but this morning was bright and sunny - lovely for walking the dog on the beach, with huge waves from an Atlantic swell.

Our house is on the corner at the top of a steep and narrow hill, with trees... one bad winter we enjoyed a bit of schadenfreude as a number of cars came around the bend much too fast (say 10mph) and slid gently into the tree just a bit downhill - one car came just after another, and rear-ended it harder against the tree. Another 4x4 parked opposite a few hours previously just started to slide spontaneously downhill, and ended up sideways, blocking the road.

Fortunately, such conditions are exceedingly rare around our way!


message 87: by Bill (new)

Bill FromPA (bill_from_pa) | 1708 comments For Christmas, the daily NYRB email featured a brief interview with Marilynne Robinson about her recent article on religion and science. Of course, I could not prevent myself from reading it.

https://www.nybooks.com/online/2022/1...

(I believe this is not behind the NYRB paywall.)

On the whole, the interview, and Robinson’s original article, impressed upon me how odd it seems, especially for someone who is widely read, to have a single text which is reserved as sacred. A youthful reading of the Bible pretty much immunized me against such a belief.

Part of discussion had to do with translations of the Bible.
I have used commentaries and concordances to compensate for my lack of biblical Hebrew and Greek. Even if I had these languages, as I wish I did, I would defer to the great scholars and translators who have carried on this work for centuries. Biblical Hebrew had largely died out as a spoken or written language long before the time of Christ, which means no one really knows it—cognates, parallelisms, and etymologies are always used to arrive at translations of difficult words and passages.

Another complication is that the meanings of words in English have changed over time. An important example is the word jealous. Jealous and zealous come from the same Greek word. The Hebrew word traditionally translated as jealous in the Christian Bible is translated as passionate in the Jewish Publication Society Tanakh. Apparently the root has something to do with reddening. Once jealous meant “passionate” or “zealous.” Now it names a bitter emotion we are ashamed to find in ourselves—despite its long association with God, its modern sense is ungodly, inappropriate to Him. Presumably tradition accounts for its persistence. This is regrettable because it encourages the idea that there is a mean, punitive “God of the Old Testament,” and this alienates many people from most of the Bible. Differences between translations are sometimes denominational, as in the cases of priest or elder, debt or trespass . The issue here is not how to translate the Greek as much as it is which translation is consistent with one doctrine or another. Overall, the various versions are harmonious enough to make their differences simply interesting.
This caused me to reflect that, as far as I know Christianity is the only world religion whose adherents, pretty much universally (with the exception of a small minority of scholars), access their sacred book exclusively through translation. (I note that the sacred book of Mormonism is, reputedly, a translation of a text which only its translator ever saw.)

If anyone more versed than I in world religion knows of other examples, I’d be interested in knowing about them.


message 88: by Robert (new)

Robert | 1018 comments scarletnoir wrote: "MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Anne wrote: "Goodness, I've just seen the predicted weather for the US this week. Stay safe, everyone. (And as warm as possible.)"

Winter's icy touch got us three days ag..."


Warmer air and a weekend of rain disposed of the ice and snow, Today we had what my mother called "smist"-- not quite rain, and not quite fog, either. A good Christmas, anyway.


message 89: by scarletnoir (last edited Dec 25, 2022 09:27PM) (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments This is a sweet article from yesterday's Guardian, in which the writer explains how she and her husband bonded over a love of books: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...

I wonder if this is common or rare as an experience? Certainly, although I was immediately attracted to my wife when we first met (love at first sight?), it wasn't until a few weeks later when we had already discussed a number of favourite authors* and books that we properly got together. I do like the closing sentence, too:
Finally, I had come home.
Yes - that's certainly what it felt like for me, and I've used very similar words to describe the feeling.

We will celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary on Thursday; we still discuss and exchange books - the overlap in taste is not 100% - how could it be? - but we are in agreement far more often than not.
It feels good.

*At that time, we certainly compared notes on Camus and Sartre, and probably some others I have forgotten. Since, there have been too many to mention, but Simenon and Anne Tyler are favourites. She is currently reading my copy of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, having bought one herself by mistake, not realising I had it! (returned for refund). I'll certainly give her copies of Annie Ernaux a try in 2023.


message 90: by Berkley (new)

Berkley | 1015 comments Bill wrote: " This caused me to reflect that, as far as I know Christianity is the only world religion whose adherents, pretty much universally (with the exception of a small minority of scholars), access their sacred book exclusively through translation. (I note that the sacred book of Mormonism is, reputedly, a translation of a text which only its translator ever saw.)

If anyone more versed than I in world religion knows of other examples, I’d be interested in knowing about them."


Perhaps Buddhism, since it spread so widely throughout different Asian cultures and languages? But thn again, perhaps they can't be said to have a single sacred text or set of texts in the sense that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam do.


message 91: by scarletnoir (last edited Dec 26, 2022 05:18AM) (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments Probably the last book I'll complete in 2022 will be Che Committed Suicide by Petros Markaris (trans. David Connolly)

First of all - I enjoyed this book and am sorry to see that others by the author seem to be out of print and only available second hand at absurd prices. It's not perfect, though.

Our hero and narrator is Inspector Costas Haritos of the Homicide Squad in Athens. He is a month into a 3-month sick leave after getting himself shot. Time is beginning to hang heavy, as his wife's excessive control freakery is getting on his nerves - she is overprotective and uses some novel arguments to clip Haritos' wings. When he threatens to cut short his sick leave, she argues as follows:

‘Costas, for heaven’s sake, let’s not make any hasty decisions!’ On the one hand she was beseeching me out of fear and on the other she was reminding me that it wasn’t my decision alone but that we would make the decision together. ‘And when all’s said and done, you pay a fortune for health insurance. Now that you’ve an opportunity to get back some of what they’ve been taking from you all these years, are you going to pass up the chance?’ She smiled at me triumphantly because she had found the argument that no Greek can counter. Any Greek who doesn’t believe that the state is stealing from him and doesn’t feel the need to get his own back is either mad or a communist.

This is one of the book's great strengths: the characters are believable and come alive, and their behaviours are portrayed with both humour and affection. Haritos has developed the habit of spending a few hours sitting on a bench in the park, where he is observed by a cat who spends its time on the bench opposite - which leads to this delicious sentence:

I had gathered momentum following my historic sortie and was flirting with the idea of cancelling my afternoon appointment with the cat.

Once the story starts to unfold - a prominent Greek businessman commits suicide for no apparent reason, and Haritos is given the opportunity to escape from his wife's house arrest to make discreet inquiries - the tale settles down with more workmanlike writing. We get many descriptions involving: road directions; the car is like an oven; there are traffic jams; it is difficult to breathe in the polluted air; and if he is headed home, Haritos has to change his shirt. A bit of blue pencil to eliminate or shorten some of these passages would have been welcome.

So, in short - the author is excellent at creating a number of three-dimensional characters - not just the Inspector, but his wife, daughter, prospective son-in-law, boss and assistant; they interact with convincing dialogue and motivations. For this reason, although the plot is fairly preposterous, the reader can go along with it - and the tale does end in a most satisfying manner. The book could have been better if it had been edited more ruthlessly.
The translation flows well; there are very occasional errors in proofreading.

As for the historical aspect: the story is set in the 1990s or very early 2000s, where it seems that Greece society contained a number of individuals who had survived the military Junta (1967-74). Athens is preparing for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, and there are many immigrant workers on the building sites (sound familiar?) This leads to hostility from the more racist and xenophobic elements in the country, using arguments very similar to those used by the right-wing press and by supporters of Brexit in the UK some years later:

The reason, according to Vakirtzis, why unemployment was not falling even though the number of job opportunities was rising was because the new positions were going to the immigrants. The result was that Greek workers were being done out of their rights. The immigrants were preferred because they worked longer hours for below the minimum wage.
Are you proposing, then, that we keep all the Albanians, Bulgarians, Romanians and Serbs here and send our own people to Albania, Bulgaria and Romania to find work?

The more carefully worded points made by politicians are then amplified and expressed more crudely by people on phone-in radio programmes:
The phone calls came one after the other from idlers of both sexes with streams of abuse about the foreigners who were stealing their jobs and ruining their wonderful country.

So - nothing new under the sun. Blame the foreigners, ask people 'where they are really from', and send them back - or to Rwanda, maybe.


message 92: by Gpfr (new)

Gpfr | -2220 comments Mod
scarletnoir wrote: Petros Markaris

First of all - I enjoyed this book and am sorry to see that others by the author seem to be out of print and only available second hand at absurd prices...."


You could read them in French, scarlet!


message 93: by scarletnoir (last edited Dec 26, 2022 05:14AM) (new)

scarletnoir | 4272 comments Gpfr wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: Petros Markaris

First of all - I enjoyed this book and am sorry to see that others by the author seem to be out of print and only available second hand at absurd prices...."


You could read them in French, scarlet!.."


Well, yes - but it takes more effort to read in French and it would slow me up a lot - especially as (if 'Che committed suicide' is anything to go by) his books are very long!

ATM, my French reading for 2023 should certainly include Évariste by Désérable, probably Les Années by Ernaux, maybe a Maigret or diverse Simenons; I doubt that I'll have the concentration for more than that!
I'd like to read Civilisations by Binet in French, but it's long and (likely) complex; could I cope? I don't know... Madame has read it and has a copy.

Edit: as for Markaris, I forgot to say that I was able to source a copy of Deadline in Athens for a reasonable price, so that should arrive in a few days (second hand). I look forward to it.


message 94: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments For Patrick Leigh Fermor fans - https://hiddeneurope.eu/a-christmas-j...

PS - This is a great magazine, especially if you are into European byways and perhaps a dash of history.


message 95: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments I am at a 'save me from religion' point having finished listening to Act of Oblivion. It was only Robert Harris's ability as a writer that kept me going to the end.

Save me from zealots to matter their point of view.


message 96: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments And finally, today was a 'don't pay for parking' day which warms the cockles of my heart. (I have a rule that says - don't pay to park.) I was able to stop in a a lovely, local used bookshop where I found Snapshot (Inspector Challis, #3) by Garry Disher by Garry Disher whom I believe has been mentioned here previously. Also an Arthur Upfield (what is this, Australia day?) I didn't have - The Mountains Have a Secret (Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte #12) by Arthur W. Upfield .

I also finished listening to The Right Sort of Man (Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery #1) by Allison Montclair which I recommend as a 'light' mystery read/listen. Two quite different women open a marriage bureau in London in 1946, and of course murder ensues.

While typing this I came across a new book from the University of South Carolina Press - What the Eyes Can't See Ralph Northam, Black Resolve, and a Racial Reckoning in Virginia by Margaret Edds . I've signed up for their newsletter so I can purchase it when there is a paperback available. Having lived in Virginia during desegregationg times and having visited that long promenade in Richmond of Confederate Heroes (now all pulled down), I have seen much hate there. I hope it will one day die out.


message 97: by MK (new)

MK (emmakaye) | 1771 comments scarletnoir wrote: "MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Anne wrote: "Goodness, I've just seen the predicted weather for the US this week. Stay safe, everyone. (And as warm as possible.)"

Winter's icy touch got us three days ag..."


Our temperatures here tend on the 'not too hot, not too cold' side so this ice storm was something that happens, but not very often. The problem for Seattle is - we do hills! That's thanks to the Ice Age. In my neighborhood, you can get to the water (Elliott Bay, part of Puget Sound) and then travel up to 28th Avenue which is about 500 feet above sea level. At the top and bottom of several streets the city puts out 'Street Closed' signs each fall - just in case we get some snow or ice. You should have heard the people grousing on our local chat place - NextDoor. I just shook my head and stayed inside.


message 98: by CCCubbon (new)

CCCubbon | 1254 comments Paul

Gpfr has posted some great slime mould photos over on archaeology - remembered that you like them too.


message 99: by Greenfairy (new)

Greenfairy | 830 comments On Christmas Eve I was in search of ghost stories, and downloaded a collection of Henry James supernatural tales, a little disappointed as they were so very wordy.Anyway, Recommendations came flooding in- as they do -and I was surprised at how many 19th and early 20th century authors tried their hand at them. I had no idea that Elizabeth Gaskell had written any for instance, it must have been quite a fashion at the time.
M.R James remains the master of course. Can anyone recommend modern ghostly tales? spooky, but not horror please?


message 100: by AB76 (new)

AB76 | 6948 comments Happy Xmas all, just back from my folks for a few days and then back for a kids party on NYE!!!

Mild in the parental shires, sadly both of the ancient folk suffering from a nasty cough but gamely carrying on and keeping calm

I hope you all had a good festive season and to all our Ersatzers accross the pond, i hope you managed to avoid the incredible chill. Even weathermen in UK were getting their C and Farehenheit confused as it was forecast so cold. I saw Miami getting a 63farenheit forecast, they got off lightly!


back to top
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.