Consider the Evidence, by Jeffrey Ashford

from the tbr pile and page 6 of my librarything library:

A very different kind of mystery novel, in which a somewhat hardened criminal leads a group of his compatriots into pulling off an armored car robbery. The cops eventually figure out who the culprit is, but proving it is a different matter. One cop makes a mistake which may set the head thief free, but which may put himself behind bars.

I must say this books was very refreshing in its solution. It's not so much of a mystery, actually, but rather a suspense story, because the author tells you everything along the line and you are left to wonder how the good guy is going to get out of his predicament. The solution was a fine one, one I haven't seen duplicated since. And I read a lot of mystery novels!

I'd definitely recommend it for people who enjoy British crime fiction. Don't write it off because it's older...it's still very good!

*From A to X: A Story in Letters, by John Berger

I think I started this book twice before deciding to finish it -- I was a bit disoriented at the beginning because I had no idea where the action was taking place and it was a little off-putting. Then after I delved more deeply into the book, I realized that it could really be set in any one of many troubled places in the world where the locals face some type of military oppression, or where, as the cover blurb notes, "a faceless power inexorably encroaches from outside." Once I cleared that hurdle, the beauty of this book came shining through. It's very small, only 197 pages, but there's a lot of depth here.

The premise is that the last occupant of cell #73 in the old prison of Suse (prior to the opening of a new one) left behind some letters, arranged in three bundles. The prisoner, Xavier, was serving two life sentences because he was found guilty of being a "founder member of a terrorist network." The letters came from his lover, A'ida, who herself is still an activist, and are gathered in three separate bundles. Over a period of time (and we don't know what this time period is, because the letters are not in any chronological order), A'ida tries to communicate life and love onto paper and through the bars of Xavier's cell.

I have to admit to trying to figure out if she was passing along info in some kind of cryptographic way through these letters, but even that got a little old and eventually I got so caught up with A'ida and what she was saying to Xavier that I forgot all about the possibility of hidden messages and just let that all go.

This is another one of those books that really gets to you some time after you've read it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys good literature and likes a challenge in their reading. It's not really story-ish or narrative in nature, but it is quite worth the time you put into it. It's also appropriate for the political climate of today's world.

I'm not a professional book reviewer by any means; I'm just a reader. I'm not even an English or Literature major. I don't write flowery prose in describing a book. But I do know what I like and I don't like. And I like this one. The more I think about it, the more it grows on me. I can't really do justice to this book in a review, so I'll direct you to a professional who says what I would say if I were a professional reviewer: http://living.scotsman.com/bookr...

Straight to Darkness, by Ken Asamatsu (ed.)

from the tbr pile (how does this keep growing????)

Here we are at Volume III of this four-volume series. I've already read half of Volume IV and I must say, I'll be quite sad to see this series end. Once again, it's an anthology, and once again, when you pick up one of these books, you have to kind of take what you get -- the great, the good, the not so hot. Luckily, most of the stories in here are really really good, so it is an enjoyable and often hackle-raising reading experience. Definitely one not to miss, and even better during a storm!

Here's the contents list, with a brief blurb about each story (don't worry, definitely no spoilers):

1. The Secret Memoir of the Missionary, by Tanaka Hirofumi -- an awesome story about the first missionaries to Japan, with a twist that will definitely give you the willies.

2. Keepsake of the Grandfather, by Kida Jun'ichiro -- A man's fiancee inherits a souvenir of her grandfather's time in the south seas, and things begin to go bump in the night. Very well done and definitely a creepfest.

3. Horror Special, by Sano Shiro -- Always trying to up the ratings, an actor insists on a tv show based on the work of HP Lovecraft and gets more than he bargained for. Another one that was well written and that sucks you deep into the mythos.

4.The Road, by Aramata Hiroshi -- One of my favorite stories in this book. A Japanese businessman is traveling in the US with his companions, and decides to step out of the train at Providence to soak up some of the HP Lovecraft atmosphere for the very few minutes the train is stopping there en route to Boston. But he misses the train, and spends a wild night on a tour of HPL's old haunts. Very well done, and definitely a no-miss.

5. She Flows, by Takeuchi Yoshikazu -- Not one of my favorites, but still well written. Actually, there seemed to be very little to do with the mythos in this story of a girl whose parents were beastly to her as a child, and the horrors that followed her ever since.

6. C-City, by Kobayashi Yasumi -- A winner of a story; set in the future, the world knows that it must protect itself against the awakening of Cthulhu, and leaves its fate in the hands of two competing camps of scientists. A fantastic story, one you won't forget for a while. One of my favorites.

7. Straight to Darkness, by Tomono Sho --the world alters in a minute as two people are stranded on the subway. Emerging from their underground prison, they find that life as they knew it no longer exists. Not one of my favorites, but very well written.

there's also a section of "Cthulhu metal" at the end, featuring lists of musical artists whose music was inspired by Lovecraftian themes (sorry, no Erich Zann).

Definitely a must-have if you're a collector; recommended for anyone who wants more of the mythos, or for those who enjoy Japanese horror writing. Overall, very good.

*Sea of Poppies, by Amitav Ghosh

From what I've read so far from this year's Booker Prize longlist, the judges are going to have their work cut out for them. What a tough choice these people are going to have to make!

Very broad in scope, Sea of Poppies is nonetheless an enchanting read, one that had me stopping normal routine so as to get back to it every time I had to put it down. Before you read this, however, you should know that it is designed as the first entry of what will eventually be a trilogy based on the ship Ibis and a group of people who, for whatever reason, found themselves aboard her. I say this because without understanding this point, you may feel a bit cheated by the ending of the novel.

This was the first book I've read by Amitav Ghosh, and while he's writing his second book in the trilogy, I'm going to backtrack and read some of his other work. In Sea of Poppies, the story is divided into three sections: Land, River, Sea, moving the story along from the introduction to all of these very colorful characters to their assembly and journey on the Ibis (which used to carry slaves and now transports workers and convicts to Mauritius). The characters range from a young widow whose fate would have been to join her husband in death in sati, or throwing herself into his funeral pyre, which would elevate the status of her husband's family, to a group of lascars who will crew the Ibis, headed by a chief who seems to have his own agenda as regards the second mate, one Zachary Reid, a freedman from Baltimore. There are also a group of people being transported to work in Mauritius, many of whom were caught up in the cycle of being forced to grow poppies for the British opium trade with China. There is also a raja who has been brought down via a cocked-up set of false charges, and a half-Chinese opium addict who is the raja's cell mate in the brig. Others rounding out the list are the daughter of a French botanist who came late to colonial propriety, and one Baboo Nob Kissin, who feels that he has another's soul inside of him. Each one of these people has his or her own story, and these are woven into the fabric of the novel as the tale progresses. Underlying most of their stories is the hard and fast fact of British colonialism in India -- and all of its accompanying hypocrisy and self-imposed superiority.

Sea of Poppies is a wonderful tale on a grand scale and I can recommend it very highly. Don't get frustrated with the ending, though; look at it as the start of an epic adventure.

*A Fraction of the Whole, by Steve Toltz

Oh dear God. Sometimes a book comes along that you don't want to see end, and this is one of them. Especially today. I'm sitting smack in the middle of tropical storm Fay's backlash, hoping that the coconuts on my palm trees don't fly off and become ballistic missiles that may smash into my any of my neighbors' homes. It's dark and stormy and the wind is making this incredible noise -- in short... a perfect reading day. I finished this book at breakfast this morning and was actually bummed when I read the last words, wishing that it could go on just like this storm.

Don't take offense if you read this and find yourself here, but a lot of people have complained about the length of this book and to them I say, well, you either bought it or got it at the library, so why didn't you leave it on the shelf after you noticed it had more than 500 pages? And truthfully, you don't know what you missed. It is truly a book you're not going to forget because it is that good.

my humble review in brief:
I am simply blown away by the fact that this is Steve Toltz's first novel. This is one book where size doesn't matter: the 500 + pages literally flew in no time. I just started this the day before yesterday, and if silly things like sleep and family (not to mention preparing for a tropical storm) didn't get in the way, I'm sure I would have finished it yesterday.

I cannot, absolutely cannot do this book justice so I won't go into plot details, etc, but suffice it to say that this is undeniably one of the best books I have read this year. It is a nonstop ride that makes forays (in a most politically incorrect way (yay!) ) into pretty much all areas of life in one of the most creative sessions of writing I've ever experienced. It begins as a tale of good intentions gone very very badly, and then you're hooked because you absolutely must stay with it to find out how it's all going to end.

I predict only great things for this author. He looks at life from a fresh perspective and his writing is simply exquisite. I loved this book, and can very highly recommend it. I know I'm going to want to reread it at some point -- it's that good.

As an aside, the Booker judges are going to have their work cut out for them this year...kudos to them for putting it on the longlist.

Inverted Kingdom, by Asamatsu Ken (ed)

from the tbr pile:

This stuff is totally pulpy and silly but I can't help myself.

Definitely a freaky collection of mythos-type stories from Japanese "disciples" of HP Lovecraft. Very well written and a must if you're a collector such as myself. My rule of thumb is generally that when you pick up an anthology, you have to take the good with the bad, but there weren't any bad stories in this group.

Here's the contents list:

1. Ashibe Taku - The Horror in the Kabuki Theater: a novella-length story set in historical Japan in which writers of Kabuki horror have a lot more power than they realize and must use that power for good when the visitors from the angles of time and space begin to appear. Maybe a bit long, but still good.

2. Matsudono Rio - Taste of Snake's Honey: another somewhat lengthy offering, featuring a young man with some bizarre tastes in life and how his penchant for things strange came to be. This one will definitely hold your interest, keeping you turning pages until the very last word.

3. Matsuo Mirai - Inverted Kingdom: This one was a bit confusing, but still terrifying, in which a young woman fears she is losing her sanity when different events trigger her memories.

4. Konaka Chiaki - Terror Rate: IMHO, the scariest story in this book. A young woman, needing an extra job answers an ad -- and finds out exactly what the meaning of terror can be. Very creepy; this one raised the hackles on my neck.

5. Takana Fumio - Secrets of the Abyss - In which a man will do anything to save his dying wife, and pays the price.

6. Nanjo Takenori - A Night at Yuan-su - Stepping out of his home, a man meets up with modernity, while the modern world meets up with him. Very well written.

7. Hirayama Yumeaki - Summoned by the Shadows - Another quality story complete with creepy atmosphere and page-turning terror. Extremely well written; I hope to find more in translation by this author. Another one of my favorite stories in this volume.

There's also a section on Mythos gaming at the end of the story collection.

Overall...a fine read, recommended for anyone even remotely interested in mythos-based fiction.

*The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry

Well, just duh. Here I am talking about this book and realized I forgot to put it in my book journal. I'm not surprised...my brain is a bit of a mish-mash these days. Here goes:

Sebastian Barry has done it again. I love his work and this one is no exception. I couldn't even talk after I finished this book (which is rare...I always have something to say, just ask my husband!), and I was a wee bit choked up. So...you may want to have a tissue at the ready. I read this in just about 3 hours and couldn't stop reading it except to fetch cookies I was baking out of the oven every 12 minutes. A beautiful book and one that really made me a bit angry when I think about it...the treatment of this young woman by a Catholic priest was just sad.

Basic plot: Roseanne Clear McNulty is probably a hundred years old, and lives in a mental institution which is about to be torn down. She is being assessed by the head of the place, a Dr. Grene, who has to decide if she's able to make it on her own on the outside. She in turn, has been writing a record of her life and keeps the thing hidden in her room under the floorboard. In this diary she tells of not only her life, but indirectly of the politics and troubles of Ireland. She loses her father at a young age, has a troubled mother, and has to take on life completely unprepared. Her life is ultimately ruined (I won't say how) by an Irish priest named Father Gaunt -- who obviously hates & mistrusts women and takes it upon himself to turn her life completely upside down at a time when she was happy. At that time, the priests of the church wielded a lot of power, so much so that they held the lives of people in their hands. But ... no matter how badly things were for Roseanne, and although her memory may fail her at times, she tries so hard above all else to be fair in her memories ...even to those who were less than kind to her. But Roseanne's story is one of two in this book -- Dr. Grene has his own demons with which he must grapple.

An amazing story; it's easy to see why Sebastian Barry's work keeps getting nominated for literary awards. He's an incredible writer, and his glimpses into Ireland's upheavals and the human costs of the troubled times are staples in his books. I can most highly recommend this book to anyone familiar with Barry's writing, or to anyone interested in Irish fiction, or to those who want to put a human face on Ireland's suffering, or to anyone interested in the (as the book cover blurb puts it) "stranglehold" of the Catholic Church on the Irish people. Although maybe a tad melodramatic toward the end (hence the hanky) I loved this book and I won't soon forget it.

*Netherland, by Joseph O'Neill

Well, I've read three books on the Booker longlist so far (The Secret Scripture, the Lost Dog and now this one), and I can honestly say that it seems that the judges have done a fine job in their choices. I love when the longlist comes out, because I know I'm going to have one or two months of fine reading. Once Larry and I were going on a cruise out of Tampa and we ate at this restaurant called Mangroves, and I ordered this appetizer of shrimp infused with Grand Marnier. It was so good that I remember closing my eyes and savoring every second that the taste lasted. The feeling I've had after finishing these three books is along that same line.

Netherland was truly one of the finest books I've read this year. O'Neill's writing is incredible, offering the reader a look at how one man tries to find his way and carve out a new life for himself after he is basically left alone in exile in New York City just after the events of 9/11. Without going into plot details (others have done it so well in many places), the book is simply beautiful. It's sad but at the same time funny, depicting at times what a nightmare it must be to be an immigrant (the scenes at the DMV had me laughing out loud) in this country, and the disconnection people often endure until they can find their own place or discover how to find meaning or recreate themselves by whatever means possible.

I would highly recommend this book; it's definitely something you won't forget after you've read it. I read this about a week ago and still find myself thinking about it off and on. I don't think you need to live in New York City to appreciate it, either -- we're all kind of adrift in some aspect.

* The Lost Dog, by Michelle de Kretser

I noticed once again on Amazon (why I keep going there to look at reviews I'm not sure ... I rarely match what everyone else is thinking) that a lot of people were less than thrilled with this book. The thing about this book (and many others) is that it's really one of those that you have to think about for a while after you've read it to really appreciate it. I think that there are lots of people who read a book but afterward, it's out of sight, out of mind. That's a pity, especially in this case.

Without going into plot, etc, The Lost Dog appealed to me on many levels, especially de Kretser's exploration of aging and modernity. On page 116, Nelly notes ..."doesn't setting out to reject the past guarantee you'll never be free of it? It's like being modern means walking with a built-in limp." I found this statement to be very perceptive. The author's use of imagery, especially that of the neon "Skipping Girl Pure Malt Vinegar" sitting there, alone, blacked out, unappreciated really hit me, and summed up something I've been feeling for a long time. The author states (on page 226)re the vinegar girl: "In acquiring mythic status she had become more and less than the product she embodied: a servant of the market who exceeded the commodity that bore her name. Once an emblem of modernity, she had fallen out of fashion and into a life of her own." For some reason, the truth built around this image resonated with me. Modernity is truly an ambivalent state (and state of mind as well) , and it seemed to me that this is one of the points de Kretser was trying to make. I also found her understanding of Iris's aging and the effects it had on Iris and Tom very engaging and thought provoking.

There is a lot more to this book that I won't go into here, certainly, and it is very much worth reading and pondering. The writing is incredibly good and this was definitely a character-driven novel which holds the reader through the end. I couldn't put it down once started, and I'd definitely recommend it.

it's my birthday!

Yes, it's that time of year again when I get to be the queena-queena for the day. This year my big gift was a first-edition Arkham House copy of Hounds of Tindalos, by Frank Belknap Long. To most people, getting a book on your birthday isn't such a big deal, but I've had my eye on this one for a couple of years now -- it's very rare, and it's a big deal to me. I couldn't believe it. Along with that came a stuffed Hound of Tindalos from the Toy Vault...I love that company and have several types of stuffed Cthulhus from there in my office upstairs where I keep all of the Cthulhu-type books. And along with that...an ipod...once again you're thinking, bfd, everyone has an ipod. Well, Larry is a sworn enemy to all Apple products, so this was a huge deal. The one he got is the best of them all...it does everything but mop the floor. Along with all of this ... a book-buying trip this afternoon, grilled shrimp scampi tonight and who knows what else. And I woke up to balloons on my front door this morning from my friends.

I like my birthdays, even though they keep increasing my age.

August: The Booker Prize Longlist

Every year for I don't know how long now I've chosen August and September to read as many of the books as possible on the longlist for the Booker Prize. I mean, I will send to the UK and pay through the nose if I have to just to read these books. I've already got 6 stacked up, ready to read. This is sort of my self-imposed task for the next two months so that I can yay or nay the judges' choice for a) the shortlist and b) the final prize. I haven't matched yet -- last year I was pissed because The Gift of Rain didn't make it even on to the shortlist and The Gathering won. I didn't see that one coming...and what about Mister Pip? Jeez! At that time I decided I'd never read the longlist again but well, here I am again, I guess. So for August, I'll be posting my thoughts about these books here.