Recent reading
I read three non-work-related, fiction books since I last posted! I try not to spoil them in my reviews, but there may be spoilers in comments. (I'm happy to discuss them with anyone who has read them-or even anyone who hasn't!-but one might alert to spoilers in your comment title.)
The Black Cat by Martha Grimes
I have a long and complicated relationship with Martha Grimes. I started reading her Richard Jury mysteries when I was in high school, at the same time my mother discovered them. I fell in love with Melrose Plant very quickly, and I'm very, very fond of Richard. I came to love the denizens of Long Pidd, and I thought the first several mysteries were brilliant.
I really think Grimes passed her peak a while back. I'm still quite fond of most of the characters, but some of their antics have become a little tiresome (especially the minor characters'). Now the mysteries seem more convoluted than brilliant. The same themes and devices keep recurring.
A body turns up fairly early on in The Black Cat, as we might expect, but identification proves surprisingly difficult. Jury is called to help outside of his usual bailiwick, and for once the local police don't seem at all unhappy to have the help of a Scotland Yard DI. When the body is identified, the case becomes stranger still.
The Black Cat is certainly better than one or two before it, though it could use more Melrose. The mystery did keep me guessing but didn't leave me feeling cheated. I was a little irritated at the unnaturally clever animals, including the cat of the title. When they psychically conversed, I got annoyed. On the whole, though, I enjoyed it. I'm sure I'll read the next one, too!
If you haven't read Martha Grimes, though, start with the first one: The Man with a Load of Mischief.
The Lost Island by Paul Kearney
Everyone at primeval_denial seemed to love this, and I ended up reading epilogues there to a book I hadn't read. I discovered I could buy it from an Amazon reseller for a few bucks with shipping, so I bought it when I was buying some other things (that's how Amazon gets you, isn't it?) I got the library hardcover binding, too, for my few bucks.
The Lost Island starts with the crew of a small boat coming home to Ireland from a fishing run when they experience simultaneous storms and equipment failures. They don't realize an anomaly has opened nearby. Soon after, Connor experiments with extending the reach of the Anomaly Detection Device and discovers multiple anomalies in the vicinity of Guns Island. Political tensions add to the mix while Cutter & Co. set off to Gun's Island.
My feelings are a little mixed. I think I expected too much because everyone liked it so much. I felt it was oddly paced and structured, but I'm hard put to word it better than that. I did like some of the character interactions. To say that I didn't like the ending would be oversimplifying a bit, but it's about as close as I can come without giving spoilers.
I like some of the fan-written epilogues to the book better than I liked the ending of the book!
Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis
Is it a spoiler if I tell you not to read this to cheer yourself up? I figured that out early on, so I hope it's not much of one.
Once again, Willis does with her first-person narrator something I admire (and wish I could do better myself): she gives you a sense that the narrator is off, and exactly how, without the character realizing it all the time. Jeff is a sympathetic young man, and I really felt for him, even as I could see from the start how his judgment was failing him. He does realize at some points that he has made mistakes, and how.
Jeff works as a researcher for an historical novelist named Broun who is completing one novel and starting another. At least, Broun is supposed to be-but he keeps making changes while having Jeff research dreams for the next book. Broun has become obsessed with Lincoln's dreams. Meanwhile, Jeff's college roommate has tried to contact him while he was out, so Broun invites the roommate and his girlfriend to the book reception. Annie, Jeff learns at once, is having strange dreams herself-and ones deeply involved in the Civil War.
Frankly, my biggest surprise was that the book made me feel some sympathy for Robert E. Lee. I've never had the slightest stirrings of any before. Remember, I'm not from the South: I'm from the North, and from a large city with a large African-American population. When you learn about the Civil War in a high school where whites are in the minority, it's easy to have no sympathies for the South at all.
I found Lincoln's Dreams very powerful and moving, but most of my emotion wasn't for Lee. It was for the characters in the twentieth century, and a bit for the young men who signed up on both sides with no clear idea of why. I very much recommend it if you like Willis at all. If you don't like Willis, you may not like this book. It isn't silly as To Say Nothing of the Dog sometimes is, but it has some of Willis's quirks, including smart characters making mistakes and creating complications when one really wants to shake them.
The Black Cat by Martha Grimes
I have a long and complicated relationship with Martha Grimes. I started reading her Richard Jury mysteries when I was in high school, at the same time my mother discovered them. I fell in love with Melrose Plant very quickly, and I'm very, very fond of Richard. I came to love the denizens of Long Pidd, and I thought the first several mysteries were brilliant.
I really think Grimes passed her peak a while back. I'm still quite fond of most of the characters, but some of their antics have become a little tiresome (especially the minor characters'). Now the mysteries seem more convoluted than brilliant. The same themes and devices keep recurring.
A body turns up fairly early on in The Black Cat, as we might expect, but identification proves surprisingly difficult. Jury is called to help outside of his usual bailiwick, and for once the local police don't seem at all unhappy to have the help of a Scotland Yard DI. When the body is identified, the case becomes stranger still.
The Black Cat is certainly better than one or two before it, though it could use more Melrose. The mystery did keep me guessing but didn't leave me feeling cheated. I was a little irritated at the unnaturally clever animals, including the cat of the title. When they psychically conversed, I got annoyed. On the whole, though, I enjoyed it. I'm sure I'll read the next one, too!
If you haven't read Martha Grimes, though, start with the first one: The Man with a Load of Mischief.
The Lost Island by Paul Kearney
Everyone at primeval_denial seemed to love this, and I ended up reading epilogues there to a book I hadn't read. I discovered I could buy it from an Amazon reseller for a few bucks with shipping, so I bought it when I was buying some other things (that's how Amazon gets you, isn't it?) I got the library hardcover binding, too, for my few bucks.
The Lost Island starts with the crew of a small boat coming home to Ireland from a fishing run when they experience simultaneous storms and equipment failures. They don't realize an anomaly has opened nearby. Soon after, Connor experiments with extending the reach of the Anomaly Detection Device and discovers multiple anomalies in the vicinity of Guns Island. Political tensions add to the mix while Cutter & Co. set off to Gun's Island.
My feelings are a little mixed. I think I expected too much because everyone liked it so much. I felt it was oddly paced and structured, but I'm hard put to word it better than that. I did like some of the character interactions. To say that I didn't like the ending would be oversimplifying a bit, but it's about as close as I can come without giving spoilers.
I like some of the fan-written epilogues to the book better than I liked the ending of the book!
Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis
Is it a spoiler if I tell you not to read this to cheer yourself up? I figured that out early on, so I hope it's not much of one.
Once again, Willis does with her first-person narrator something I admire (and wish I could do better myself): she gives you a sense that the narrator is off, and exactly how, without the character realizing it all the time. Jeff is a sympathetic young man, and I really felt for him, even as I could see from the start how his judgment was failing him. He does realize at some points that he has made mistakes, and how.
Jeff works as a researcher for an historical novelist named Broun who is completing one novel and starting another. At least, Broun is supposed to be-but he keeps making changes while having Jeff research dreams for the next book. Broun has become obsessed with Lincoln's dreams. Meanwhile, Jeff's college roommate has tried to contact him while he was out, so Broun invites the roommate and his girlfriend to the book reception. Annie, Jeff learns at once, is having strange dreams herself-and ones deeply involved in the Civil War.
Frankly, my biggest surprise was that the book made me feel some sympathy for Robert E. Lee. I've never had the slightest stirrings of any before. Remember, I'm not from the South: I'm from the North, and from a large city with a large African-American population. When you learn about the Civil War in a high school where whites are in the minority, it's easy to have no sympathies for the South at all.
I found Lincoln's Dreams very powerful and moving, but most of my emotion wasn't for Lee. It was for the characters in the twentieth century, and a bit for the young men who signed up on both sides with no clear idea of why. I very much recommend it if you like Willis at all. If you don't like Willis, you may not like this book. It isn't silly as To Say Nothing of the Dog sometimes is, but it has some of Willis's quirks, including smart characters making mistakes and creating complications when one really wants to shake them.