Whodunit?

leisure time: two movies, two novels

Leisure Time: 2 movies, 2 novels

 

two of the good movies I've seen recently are adaptations of well known works of fiction, which is about all they have in common. in fact, they seem to have come from different worlds: one from the future, one from the past, 'the martian' and 'otello.'

 

'the martian' starts in the future with the premise that astronaut/botanist mark watney has died on mars. but mark (matt damon, who turns out to be a terrific actor) surprises everyone by being very much alive. this story of how he survives, enlivened by his sense of humor, makes a surprisingly fascinating tale.

 

'otello' is Verdi's 1887 adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Othello,'  produced by the metropolitan opera. I had a slight problem getting used to a rather chunky iago, a villain I had always pictured as skinny.  Look at the name 'Iago.' if Shakespeare wanted him to be fat, he would have named him Iagissimo or something like that.

also the set of glass blocks/walls that confined the characters in their fatal flaws, I suppose, left something to be desired. but the story remains powerful as did the voices that told it. the met's movies of its productions are super.

 

now in the present, we come to adam Johnson's 'the orphan master's son.' this is an astounding novel that takes place in the casual and deliberate cruelty that Johnson shows us is the every day life of north korea.

jun do is the narrator of a world that has been invented by its dictators. sometimes I found myself wondering which worlds were real. as potential readers, you should know that the novel won the Pulitzer prize and that it ends with more, unknown, and worse tortures.

 

I end with a science fiction thriller 'zeroes' by chuck wendig.  the novel starts with the detainment of five low level hackers. they are forced to work as white hat hackers for an  initialed agency of the u.s. government. even though I often had no idea what the characters were up to in their games of cyber espionage, I enjoyed the wars of wits. you'll enjoy it more if you are a science fiction fan.

'look who's back' / i'll tell you. it's adolph hitler !

timur vermes' 'look who's back' is not an easy novel to review, though a quick read. in some ways it is reminiscent of 'springtime for hitler,' the main song from mel brooks' 1968 show, 'the producers.' some of the lines from that song are 'the thing you gotta know is/ev'ry thing is show biz.' what brooks and vermes also have in common is treating hitler as a joke. the book has been a best seller in germany, but has also been highly controversial. because, as we know all too well, hitler was no joke.

 

jamie bulloch is the translator and has done an excellent job. i say this without having read the original in german, but the translation doesn't strike any false notes.

 

this is a rip van winkle story. hitler awakens in full nazi regalia. he is in a meadow in germany in 2011. we are never told how he got there. the book is in the first person and adolph talks like adolph throughout the story, which many people find hard to swallow, even though the sub-title on the cover is 'a merciless satire.' he becomes a huge t.v. and you-tube success because he never does step out of character, but also because many people like his message. when the book satirizes manifestations of pop culture as seen by hitler after all of those years asleep, it really is funny and clever.

 

however, it ends with the slogan, 'it wasn't all bad.' is this commentary or is it again a satire on what many germans want to believe. either way, it's more than a tad frightening, but then so is eating babies to avoid the food shortage in ireland.

 

the satire is 365 pages and is published by maclehose press. the copy i have was $24.95, but i'm pretty sure you can find he book for less on the internet.

 

standing down from the horrors of war and what to do next

 

some books are made for reading and treasuring to oneself. some seem to be made for reading and immediately  calling ones friends to talk about or immediately rushing to the computer to write about in a blog. some are written or anthologized for the purposes of discussion.

 

it's one of the latter that I am now reading.

 

'standing down from warrior to civilian' is an anthology of short works directed to veterans, their families, and those of us who want on some small level to share their experiences. it is prepared by the great books foundation. I have read only a few selections of the 489 pages that comprise this volume.

 

starting at the beginning with a discussion group I/we read the first nine cuttings. they range from 'iliad' to de Tocqueville to walt Whitman. the compilers of the book also group the selections under related headings. we are going to try to read for more cohesion that way. under the sub-title, 'telling stories' are pieces by  mc cormick, hemingway, wolff, O'Brien, and gyokeres.

 

are there any pro-war stories out there? will someone reading this let me know, please?

 

i'm afraid we are going to read and read and come to the conclusion that war is hell. not that anything is wrong with reading short works by famous people and maybe we will have a deeper understanding of why war is hell.

 

'standing down' can be purchased from the great books foundation for $25.

a peculiar review for martha grimes and a thumbs up for higashino

i've always enjoyed the richard jury mystery novels by martha grimes. what i have particularly enjoyed is the delightfully eccentric characters who make up grimes's england. maybe they aren't all delightful. some are murderers, after all. but they comprise an english landscape that we readers admire. englishmen are supposed to be charmingly peculiar, own large estates, have wealthy aunts, etc. my crowd. i like to mix with them.

 

but i got off track with martha grimes's 'vertigo 42.' i was so busy checking off her literary references that I didn't notice much else! kurtz in the congo ('heart of darkness') had a few messages for vertigo's reader, 'tess of the d'urbervilles and 'jude the obscure' some more. well, this is an english novel, so it shouldn't be a surprise to find them and e.m. forster, inspector morse, and 'murder on the orient express.' but what about 'call me ishmael,'  'the wixard of oz' and oxbow? i have lists! poetry and movies too.

 

i think you'll enjoy the story, but wear your literary blindfold while reading it.

scribner is the publisher of this 326 page novel. cost in u.s. is $26.00

 

after my complaints in this column about struggling with foreign translations, i am pleased to announce that keigo higashino's 'malice, 'translated from the japanese, is a pleasure to read. my plan for today is to go to the library and take out some more of higashino's wodunits. 'malice' is written as a 'he said/he said' novel. we hear the suspect's story. he is nonoguchi, best friend of the murdered novelist. then we hear

 police detective kaga's interpretation. at first i thought the novel was going to be another 'gone girl,' but higashino is an original.

minotaur books is the publisher of this 206 page novel, alexander o. smith is the translator, and $24.99 is the u.s. price.

betty stoll halbreich, peter lovesey, kate white: whodunits & more

COMMENTS: 

The 9th annual Women Writers Winter Retreat is open for registration.

 

All the details are right here:

http://www.deannaadams.com/retreat.htm

 

BOOKS: 

 

betty halbreich's 'i'll drink to that' is sad, funny, and uplifting. readers should know that betty and i were high school friends at hyde pork high in chicago. i don't remember when we met. it could have been sunday school as she references two mutual friends who went to sinai temple's religious school. it could have been in seventh or eight grade when i transferred to kenwood from north beach elementary (fl.). i scarcely remember those years. however we got there, we were good friends during high school and have reconnected in n.y. during the past few years. of course, the part of the book i liked best was her description of her/our early years. readers though will happily find that the book is full of names and sketches of famous people betty helped dress as personal shopper (director of solutions) at bergdorf goodman forever. my total reaction was the wish to fly to n.y., gather up betty, and bring her to canton for thanksgiving to be part of a genuine loving family. sure we quibble, experience heartbreaks, job losses like anyone else, but at the center is love.

 

co-writer of the 272 page book is rebecca paley. it is published by the penguin press and sells for $27.95.

 

'the stone wife' is chaucer's wife of bath carved into a slab of stone being auctioned in present day england. the highest bidder is murdered at the auction.. we readers then follow peter diamond and his team to find the killers. meanwhile, the slab disappears from diamond's office. and on we go. this is lovesey's fourteenth mystery novel, not his best, but for all of us who have studied chaucer at one school or the other, his frequent historical and literary references enliven the whodunit.

 

the book is published by soho crime and sells for $26.95. it is 354 pages.

 

'eyes on you' by kate white is a quick, quick read, a chick flick in the making. we have a contemporary  media star whose career

  is being purposefully undermined, whose love life is tangled, and who can't tell friend from enemy. also, the book ends and ms. white continues with a few pages more about her heroine, robin trainer.

you'll enjoy the behind the scenes look at t.v.

 

harper is the publisher. 306 are the number of pages. and $25.99 is the cost.

randisi and kellerman/ two old pros miss their mark

COMMENTS:

cuyahoga county public library announces: 'The Big Library Read is back, and this time our eBook title is Laurien Berenson's murder-mystery  A Pedigree to Die For.'

the c.c. library has also published an eccentric list of 100 books to read before you die. books on it range from 'don quixote' by cervantes (which i never did finish), to 'the hunger games' ( embarrassed to admit, i did finish this) by collins, to winnie-the-pooh (and who hasn't read 'winnie'?) by milne. check the website.

 

BOOK:

or should I head this section 'DISAPPOINTMENTS'?

doesn't 'the way you die tonight,' subtitled a 'rat pack mystery' sound like fun? well, maybe you're smarter than i am, but it sounded like fun to me. to clinch it, the cover claims 'with edward g. robinson and frank sinatra.' the author, robert j. randisi, packs the novel with hollywood lore, which to be fair, might be news to young readers. i grew up on movie magazines, so it is no surprise to me that tough guy eddy robinson is a serious art collector and that frankie has favorite restaurants in las vegas, where thenovel takes place. to be honest, I wouldn't object to a little sleeze and some real gossip, but not here. this is the ninth novel in the series, so randisi is doing something right!

severn house is the publisher of this 196 page book. it sells for $27.95,

 

jonathan kellerman is a real pro and i usually like any and all of his psychological thrillers. i probably haven't read all thirty-five of them, but have enjoyed all the fast paced stories i have read. i can't say the same about his latest, 'killer.' and it stars alex delaware, one of his best amateur detectives, working again with his friend milo sturgis. i think milo has changed over the years, which probably reflects changes in society. for those of you who are new to the series, dr. delaware is a super smart psychologist and police consultant in l.a. in this novel, he gets involved in a family lawsuit with a little girl at the center of this vicious dispute. but it is not Kellerman at his best.

 

the publisher is Ballantine. the novel is 335 pages, and it sells for $28.00

maria semple, bela fleck, and the dallas buyers club

SHOUT OUTS:

for bela fleck and his performance with the canton symphony. his banjo playing was a joy as was the audience reaction. even his well-practiced flirtation with the audience was applauded. it's wonderful to be part of an audience that is all fired up. we were a living metaphor for e.m. forster's descriptions of the difference between the opera audience of the english and the italians. good to be on the expressive italian side for once. the canton symphony seemed stimulated, too.

 

another shout out for the film 'the dallas buyer's club.' yes, it was ten minutes too long. everything is. producers want to give members of the audience their money's worth, but, all in all, a super movie. all awards and nominations for awards well earned. AND we saw it at movies 10 in north canton, where we paid all of $1.00 per ticket.

 

see, canton is the center of the world. 

 

BOOKS:

it's so seldom that I read a genuinely funny book. and 'where'd you, go, bernadette' is. author maria semple goes a little off the tracks at the end in antartica (how'd we get there?), but a minor slip can be forgiven for the joy the book brings. kirkus review says, 'A fun beach read for urban sophisticates or those who think they are.' there you have me, pinned down by a snide reviewer. most of the novel takes place in seattle, which I loved the one time I visited. now I know I was wrong. if you don't have enough crunch to your granola, you don't belong in seattle and Bernadette and her adoring daughter bee don't.  as he finds out, either does the equally adoring husband elgie.

 

the novel is 326 pages. read the four page short story at the end for more laughs. it sells for $14.99. worth it.

gifts: jance and cleeves

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Every year in the month of November, hundreds of thousands of writers take the NaNoWriMo challenge – to finish a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. here's the url: http://nanowrimo.org/sign_up  I've known people in the past who have done this. this year the only person i know of is catherine p. in akron. so with admiration, i say lots of luck! readers, let me know if you're involved.

 

COMMENTS:

kudos to the palace theater in canton oh. for showing the 1920s era flick, 'nosferatu.' it played to a packed house and ended with a standing ovation for the organist. i think it was for the movie, too. the movie is based on the bram stoker novel, but his family wouldn't give or sell the rights to the movie company, so they couldn't call it 'Dracula.' the beginning is very much straight from the novel. then it veers off a bit, maybe more than a bit. still worth seeing. i had read the novel for the first time a couple of months ago. and what made it even more fun is the fact that I taught at the university of transylvania in brasov, romania, and, good tourists that my husband and I are, we visited the castle of vlad the impaler. see the film if you have a chance.

 

BOOKS:

hostess gifts for hallowe'en or thanksgiving dinners or put away gifts for hannakah or christmas. these two will do it:

ann cleves' novel 'silent voices' is subtitled 'a vera stanhope mystery.' but since i am unfamiliar with the series, that didn't mean much and the whocunnit? came as a pleasant surprise. for those of you in the know on the subject of contemporary television, the novel is also advertised as 'the basis for the hit public television series 'vera.' the beginning of the novel is particularly interesting to me as I have started my fourth eloquent  story. you don't have to stat to save your money now as it takes me a good two years to write a novel.  in cleeves' novel the first body is found in a gym, good contemporary setting. in mine (don't tell anyone) the first body is found in the whirl pool. similar?

close to being a traditional murder mystery, makes 'silent voices' a pleasure to read.

it is 314 pages, published by macmillan, and sells for $24.99.

 

even more traditional is j. a. jance's 'second watch.' it is a j. p. beaumont mystery, important for those of you who have grown to know and love beau and the city where he hangs out, seattle. beau is aging a little in this novel and spends the story having and recovering from knee-replacement surgery, both knees! a couple of dreams in the hospital (o.k., a little hokey plot device) take him back to a cold case and to his days in the vietnam war. give jance credit here as she does not try to force the two plots to mingle. mel, j. p's wife is right in there, detecting with him. this is a quick  and enjoyable read.

it is 340 pages, published by william morrow, and sells for $26.99. they all seem to hover around that price in today's market.

whodunits by well-known authors: higgins clark, evanovich, goldberg, and brandreth

BOOKS:

 

today I have three whodunits to briefly discuss with you. they are books you will be tempted to buy and read because of the authors' reputations. basically i'll be saying 'go ahead, you'll enjoy' or 'don't waste your time.' here goes:

  

Mary Higgins Clark 'Daddy's gone a Hunting' gives a little too much away, but is an enjoyable read. ms. clark has not lost her touch with this her 32nd!! novel. sure, she writes formulaic crime fiction, but it is well crafted crime fiction with well delineated characters and, in this case, an enjoyable read. simon and schuster published this  $6.99 book. although the book is 338 pages, it is a quick read.

 

Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg's 'The Heist' doesn't read as well. 'the heist' seems as if it is an attempt to rewrite an 007 book with a female lead. most of the novel is downright silly. i suppose the 007 stories are too, but they are so preposterous that they are fun. this gun slinging, sexy f.b.i. special agent (kate O'hare) is really not all that interesting. bantam books is the publisher of this 295 page book that sells for $28.

 

Gyles Brandreth's 'Oscar Wilde and the murders at Reading Gaol' was an extremely pleasant surprise for me. i haven't read any of the novels in the series (today asked the library about ordering some). alexander mc all smith's review on the back cover pretty well sums up my feelings of this entertaining and well researched novel: 'if oscar wilde had been asked to write this book, he could not have done it any better.' maybe a little over the top for a review, but the book is good.

 

the 301 page whodunit was published by simon&schuster. the paperback sells for $16.00

CONFERENCES:

 

1.

Hines Hill   Conference Center\Cuyahoga Valley   National Park

1403 West Hines Hill Road         Peninsula, Ohio 44264

More details are available online at

www.skylinewriters.wordpress.com 

 

2.  y city writers conference: go to http://seowc.wordpress.com for information on our author guests, registration, planned sessions, and writing contest in october. If you have any questions, please email me or contact our group leader, Rita Smith, at ycitywritersforum@gmail.com  

happy (?) memorial day with haddam and leonardo

BOOKS:

 

 'Flowering Judas' is not Jane Haddam's most entertaining murder mystery. george demarkian still works his magic, but he spends a great deal of time worrying whether his friend, soon to be 100 year old george  tekemanian, will live or, as we all know, will die. is haddam trying to show us george d's more humane side or is she going to find him another father figure? he already has his priest. and he's getting a little old to need a father figure. maybe he is going to become one. a young man is moving into his building. we'll watch and read.

 

the other thing really wrong with the novel is that we don't get the main clues until almost the end. who knew there was a flowering judas tree in the greenhouse of one of the chief suspects? who knew there was a greenhouse? ms. haddam usually plays fairer with her readers.

 

the novel is 362 pages, published by st. martin's paperbacks, and is $7.99.

 

MOVIES:

 

high point of this holiday weekend was going to see 'the great gatsby' in 3d. the 3d glasses are fun, but do nothing to enhance the movie, which desperately needs something.  cutting a half hour from its two and one-half hour length might help. i really like leonardo di caprio, but no one's smile is enough to fill the big screen all by itself for two full minutes while his pal nick describes it. maybe what the film needs is a kind of de-enhancement: the pounding sound track and scenery won't let us make our own conclusions or even judgements. the main symbols of the green light and the eyeglass billboard are in our face, literally, again not as understructure, but as over structure.

 

the movie left me with the determination to re-read fitzgerald's novel to try to remember again what was great about it in the twenties.