Off Topic Art & Literature

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." - Thorin Oakenshield, The Hobbit.



Simple message, but nicely worded.

 

I have just finished William Boyd's "The Blue afternoon." For my money, he is one of our best authors. This book was set in the Philippines in 1902 at a time when the islands had been "liberated" from the Spanish by the Americans who promptly occupied the islands themselves. i found this really difficult to but down, the novel dealing with improvements in medical science, an illicit love affair, a series of grizzly murders and an attempt to build the first feasible flying machine. All these elements eventually combine to reach a very exciting conclusion which ultimately proves to have been recounted by someone who was not totally reliable. I have read quite of few of Boyd's books now but, for my money, this is up there with the thriller "Love is blind."

 

Just thought I would do some lighter reading for a change after yet again listening to the Robert Galbraith books which were excellent. I saw Vera Stanhope return to the tele so thought I would try a few Ann Cleeves books

 

Beddy

My Mum loved the "Shetland" books which she thinks are superior to the "Vera" series also written by Ann Cleeves, albeit she did find them difficult to put down too. I loved the "Shetland" TV programme and read two of the "Shetland" books several years ago as my interest was piqued. I would be interested in reading what your take on this writer is as I was really shocked at the difference between the "Shetland" series and the books themsleves. The TV series introduces a female character who is not in the book and I think they have changed the tone of the novels too which havce enhanced the stories no end. Jimmy Perez is also very different from his incarnation in the books. Usually the books are better than the TV series. In my opinion, the BBC production is immeasurably superior.

I read one "Shetland" novel and was underwhelmed. It was about a ghost and reminded me somehwat of Scooby-doo! The only reason I read the second one was because I thought I might have picked up a duff story but this was even more pointless. The thing I felt with Ann Cleeves was that the build up of the characters and the interplay amongst them was intriguing yet the denouements seemed to have been bolted on once she had become bored of setting the scene. there are no real clues to assist the reader. Reading reviews online, a lot of other people seem to make the same point, about her writing. As a consequence, my perception of this writer is very negative whereas my Mum thinks her books are excellent. In comparison with someone like the late Reginald Hill, Ann Cleeves is inferior even f the books do read well. I think she is let down by her plots.

At the moment I have been reading Kate Atkinson's "Started early, took the dog" which feaures her put upon detective Jackson Brodie. I feel it is not really a "detective story" as he is always just one amongst a whole ensmeble of characters even if there is a "whodunnit" element about it in fact, her writing always makes me think of her assmelbing loads of pieces of a jigsaw puzzle which ultimately produces a picture which is totallyu different from the one you had imagined.. This book started slowly but Atkinson's writing is always entertaining, not least because of the dialogue she gives her characters. For my money, she is an exceptional writer but the Jackson Brodie series is almost a side project for her. Her other stuff is better. This book takes about 120 pages before the story starts taking hold and you need to be halfway through the 470-odd pages before everything starts to coalesce. From then on in, the book becomes hugely compellimg. Again, I think that Atkinson is a writer that may divide readers as the dark humour and cutting observations may not be for everyone. Personally, I find her writing amusing - almost the kind of detective novel Victoria Wood might have writen had she been funny. What is odd is that, as a female writer, the women in Jackson Brodie's life are seen as treating him extremely poorly and she is definately on his side.

Good luck with the Ann Cleeves .

Cheers

Ian

PS : Have you tried Philip Kerr's "Bernie Gunther" series, yet ? A bit darker yet a character for which you end up having a lot of empathy. Fascinating, too, if you like history.

 

Ian
Not sure about Ann Cleeves at moment. The crow trap is supposed to be a Vera Stanhope novel. I’m actually on chapter 28 and she has yet to enter the story!!! I will persevere but I am really not sure

 

My Mum read that book for her book group and enjoyed it. I remember her saying there are 3 women featured as protagonists - Vera is essentially the third and her investigation drives the 2/3 of the book.

 

I think the problem with a lot of crime books is that I am never convinced by the motives revelaed in the plots. The best "crime" novelists strike me as those producing books where the characters are more important than the crime. i was always sceptical of this genre until I read some of Reginald Hill's books which are not too gory and rely on excellent dialogue. Nowadays I am more openminded about crime novels than I was twenty years ago. I still prefer literary writers like Ian McEwan or William Boyd but someone like Kate Atkinson is more appealing because of her style of writing than the plotting. She just seems to be tuned in to how life is in 21st century but I do wonder if this limits the lifespan of the book. Picking up on some of Hill's books, the lack of mobile phones is one element where I think you find the plots date as this would solve so many issues!

 

To be honest Ian just in the last hour of The crow trap. Have to admit am not impressed. Not sure if I will be listening to another Ann Cleeves.

 

Beddy

It is funny how some writers dont resonate. I had a copy of Louis De Berniere's "The dust that falls from dreams" on my shelf for about three years. I bought it on a whim to read on holiday but there always seemed something else that appeared to be more appealing. In the end I picked it up and could not get past the first fifty pages. I found it really irritating and when I discovered that it was the first part of a trilogy, I gave up and gave it to my aunt. I found it completely flat . Usually i persevere with books but this is one of the few I could not force myself to continue with. It is nice taking risks and discovering new authors and there are not many that I find myself actively disliking. About thirty years ago I read a book by Tom Clancy for the first time and I felt that he was a woeful writer and not at all credbile. This put me off American writers although I have read a few as varied as Scot Fitzgerald, Jeffrey Deaver, Colson Whitehead and Dan Simmonds since - the latter two I have enjoyed. On the other hand, I have also gone "highbrow" and read one book by both Satre and Proust , each of which I found deadly dull and pretentious.

I have two more fiction books on my shelf to read. One of these is Ian Rankin who is often raved about but who I have never tried. The other is William Boyd's "Any human heart" which is alleged to be his best although it will have to be good to be better than "The blue afternoon" or "Love is blind." Boyd is another writer who automatically hooks me as soon as I start reading his books. Even his "James Bond" book is a cut above the others who have picked up the batton from Fleming and quite imaginative putting Bond in London's "Swinging sixties" and a coup in West Africa whereby he is completely out of sorts. I thought that that approach was refreshing and original.

 

Ian
I have read or listened to a few Ian Rankin books and enjoyed them. I tend to keep away from American Authors when listening as I find the narrators accent a little dry and non appealing.
The final conclusion in the Ann Cleeves book “The Crow Trap” was unbelievable. I am convinced she just went “enny meeny miny mo”…. To chose the murderer. I could not make head nor tail of her reasoning.

edit
I am trying some Helen Fields Novels based in Edinburgh. They are about a Scottish born frenchman DI. So far interesting listening…..

 

Beddy

I would reallyrecommend Philip Kerr's books. They are very noirish and well written. Best fictional detective in my opinion. "The Berlin Triology" is a good set of 3 novels. The plot that impressed me was "The one from the other"which was about a Nazi escape line from Austria and false identities. It starts with a woman employing the private detective to confirm that her husband is dead but the plot is especially good. Loads of different strands which do not seem to be related but it all comes together in the end. Like most of the plots, it is based on a genuine incident. there are 13 books in the series and only one of them is a let down.

 

Just downloaded "March violets" by Phillip Kerr. Will give him a go in my next batch of listening.

 

Still listening to the Helen Field books. I find she has a unique way of bringing the murders to justice. I also like the way she make her characters bond. For me a very good listen, I would recommend others to try her books.

 

Officially into autumn now, so here’s a poem by Emily Brontë to cheer you all up:


Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.

I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a drearier day.

 

Quick recommendation for you readers -

Beartown by Fredrik Backman - one of my top three books I've read.

 

Can't match the venerated Emily Bronte but this amuses me

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I’m right on that. Sounds just up my street.

 

It's just fabulous (and has a lot to say about sport and sports coaching too!) Is also based around Ice Hockey (though it's not an ice hockey book at all, though it is, though it's not), so definitely one for @Schad

 

I finished my first Ian Rankin book last week which was "Rather be the devil." I believe that this is ne of the latest in the series and may not necessarily be reprsentative as the cebtral Rebus character is now retired and no longer working for the police. I think the premise was not realistic but the dialogue and office politics of the story seem really well captured in my opinion. Although there was not too much action, the book was hugely compelling in the way in which the clues were gradually revealed. Rebus is a great character - not exactly a maverick but lacking in the kind of social skills which could jeopardise an investigation. I was very impressed.

Beddy

How did you get along with Bernie Gunther ?

 

Sadly not my taste I'm sad t say. I did try to give it a go but sadly decided to give up.
I then listened to an American series by Jennifer chase. I can recommend this lass. The narrator made good use of the English language for a change.