It's official: Barbara Nadel is too creepy for me. I finished Harem, and in spite of the appeal of Inspector Ikmen, the weird sexual predilections of the minor characters disturbs me. Plus I feel bad for poor Inspector Ikmen, overwhelmed by the combination of his nine children and his duties on the Istanbul police force. While it's nice to have a detective with a family for once (as opposed to the usual divorced, moody, alchoholic types) I think I'll stick with Donna Leon and Commisario Guido Brunetti when I want a contented detective.
On a non-mystery note, the first book club pick was Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. I think perhaps the reviews I read of this book were a bit inflated. I was certainly expecting more than what it was after reading other reviews. By and large I thought it was pretty good, but it definitely had some strange "schmaltzy" moments, and a few odd plot holes. Since I knew that Nemirovsky died at Auschwitz, and thus was unable to edit or finish the novel, I think I kept reading more into it than was really there, ie "Well this part is a bit far-fetched, but she probably would've fixed it if she'd had a chance."
Speaking of divorced, moody, alchoholic detectives, I finished Ian Rankin's The Naming of The Dead. While I think the end was a bit obvious, and the whole G8 Summit setting dragged a bit, I enjoyed the character of DI John Rebus, and his interaction with DS Siobhan Clarke. I appreciated the fact that not all of the loose ends were tied up at the end, and that although Rebus is rather stereotypical in a lot of ways, he's still funnier than most other alchoholic detectives.
In The Naming of The Dead Rebus and Clarke are working to try and simultaneously solve the murder of a bouncer-turned-rapist that appears to have been killed by a serial killer, a possible suicide of an MP, and an attack on an innocent woman in a protest of the G8 in downtown Edinburgh. The city is in chaos, with thousands of extra cops and special service guys called in to help with the G8 and the ensuing protests. Rebus and Siobhan (pronounced Sha-vonne) have to deal with traffic snarls, secretive special forces, a Chief who wants them to lay low on the murder(s) till the G8 is over, and complications in their own personal lives. It felt a bit like I'd read parts of it before in some other mystery, but parts of it were really funny, and I liked the character of Rebus. I'll definitely give Rankin another shot--but try an earlier book in the hope that it will be a little more original, I'll keep you posted on the results!
On a non-mystery note, the first book club pick was Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. I think perhaps the reviews I read of this book were a bit inflated. I was certainly expecting more than what it was after reading other reviews. By and large I thought it was pretty good, but it definitely had some strange "schmaltzy" moments, and a few odd plot holes. Since I knew that Nemirovsky died at Auschwitz, and thus was unable to edit or finish the novel, I think I kept reading more into it than was really there, ie "Well this part is a bit far-fetched, but she probably would've fixed it if she'd had a chance."Nemirovsky did an excellent job of showing how the German invasion affected many different people, and gave brief evocative glimpses into their lives. The term "Suite Francaise" is, however, misleading--really the book is two short novellas that were published together. The first novella, Storm in June, gives rapid looks at about twenty different characters who are all fleeing Paris into the countryside, trying to stay one step ahead of the Germans. Some of the characters, such as Maurice and Jeanne Michaud are very likeable, some such as Charles Langelet are eminently non-likeable. The confusion brings out the best in some people, and the worst in others.
The second novella, Dolce, gives a more in depth look at the lives of villagers in a German occupied town. Lucile Angellier, a young French wife whose husband is a POW in Germany, finds herself with conflicted feelings for the German officer stationed in the Angellier home. Some other villlagers have much more confrontational reactions with the Germans, while some are content to collaborate. The two books are very different, and in our book club some people preferred the second, but I preferred the first. I liked the short chapters, and the quick glimpses at people that suggested the whole history condensed into just a few paragraphs. The second book was good, but seemed to drag in some spots. All in all I'd give it a B+, I can forgive the weak spots due to Nemirovsky's beautiful prose, and the amazing history behind the book and the survival of the manuscript.
No comments:
Post a Comment