*Girl in a Blue Dress, by Gaynor Arnold

and voila, the last book in the Booker longlist. See, I knew I could do it! I realize it's the last minute on the last day of September when I had pledged to be done with the list, but I've finally finished the entire longlist. And what a list of books it was! I think I actually liked every single book on the list; some more than others, but each one had its own merits. Were there any surprises for me? Yes. 1) Salman Rushdie's Enchantress of Florence did not make it to the shortlist, and I thought given the man's past history it would be a shoe-in. 2) Hanif's Case of Exploding Mangoes didn't make it to the shortlist. Sad, a true pity. But then again, I can only go again once more to last year when a book that most readers rated very low sailed past Tan Twan Eng's book (which also didn't make the shortlist, what a ripoff), Mister Pip and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (both simply incredible, if you want my opinion) to take the prize. Sometimes you just have to wonder any more what the judges think constitutes good literature, and I've given up since last year. Anyway, the 3rd thing I didn't expect this year was the appearance of Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith; that was a total out-of-nowhere surprise. If you've read this book journal's older posts, you'll note that I actually liked that book, and so did a LOT of readers, but many of those literary snobs-cum-reviewers that I call in my head the "sanctimonious twits" thought it was crap. Well, I suppose you could argue that it's not really literature, but a mystery novel (which doesn't often fall into the literary category), but my thing about books is that either the author's done his or her job or he or she hasn't. And if I'm paying $30 for a book (more from those directly from the UK), I want to be really entertained and given something to think about and I definitely got my money's worth from Child 44. And finally, 4) Where the hell is Netherland?

I think that this year even winnowing these books to create a shortlist must have been really tough. I think I would have left out Clothes on Their Backs and Northern Clemency, and put in Case of Exploding Mangoes and Netherland instead.

But that's just me. So now, moving right along, let me throw in my two cents about Girl in a Blue Dress, and then I'll be done.

As the story (set squarely in the Victorian era) opens, a woman is sitting at home, unable to go to her husband's funeral. Thousands of other people went, but she is at home in a small apartment. She can only hear the details from her daughter. The woman in question is Dorothea, nicknamed Dodo; the dead man is Alfred Gibson, known also as the One and Only, a famous British writer whose works were read even by the queen. Dorothea did not go to the funeral because no one wanted her there; it turns out after Dodo had borne several children, and suffered from being overtired, nervous, etc., and was basically no longer her younger self, her husband had publicly turned her out of her home, and had separated her from her children. Oh yes, I forgot...it seems that he had also taken on a mistress.

Now, if all of this sounds familiar, it's because Girl in a Blue Dress is based on the life of Catherine Dickens, the wife of Charles Dickens. Here, Dorothea Gibson (the Catherine substitute) is the narrator, and through weaving the past into her present, we manage to get a feel for a much younger Alfred Gibson, a much younger Dodo, and the growing heaviness that weighed not only upon her as the wife of Alfred, and mother of several children, but as a woman constantly made insecure by the adoration of her husband by his Public. Alfred is a rather complex individual, having to control everything and everyone, having to put on both public and private faces, and the whole book is Dorothea's look back at their life together in an effort to try to understand her situation. But although Alfred is painted sometimes rather negatively, there are indeed passages where the author shows that Dodo isn't exactly the perfect example of the Victorian wife. After all, the danger of reading a novel from the narrator's point of view is that you're not really going to get both sides, but the author does manage to overcome this problem.

The title "Girl in a Blue Dress," refers to an episode in Dodo's life when she was actively seeking the attention of Alfred as a suitor, but as you continue to read, there's another aspect to this title altogether. And at that point, everything you need to know about Alfred and Dodo sort of clicks into place.

It is a fine book, one I am most happy to have read. The characters are convincing with the exception of Dorothea at the end of the novel. I thought this was problematic because it comes on quite suddenly, and I was scratching my head going "huh?" at that point. The author sort of throws some new stuff in that I thought was singularly out of character for Dodo at that time.

If you are into the Victorian period, then you're really going to enjoy this one. Arnold's writing is beyond good and she manages to capture the feel of a Victorian writer so at times you're so caught up in the story that you don't realize you're reading a modern author. Highly recommended.


so there you have it, and now, I plan to spend the next month reading stuff I don't have to think about. The stack of mysteries, horror and other stuff is sitting here staring at me, calling out "read me....read me...read m -- e---" so I'd better get cracking.

Walking Across Egypt, by Clyde Edgerton

(I'm still working on Girl in a Blue Dress, don't worry! I had to read this one for my book group or I'd have the other done by now).

from the tbr pile:

Walking Across Egypt was this month's selection for our little neighborhood book group. We've tackled Mister Pip, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, The Story of Lucy Gault among others. So it was time for a break -- hence this book. And what a book it is.

Mattie is the main character here, and she lives in rural North Carolina by herself, although her two children come every so often to visit. At 78, she does fine for herself, although in her words, she's "slowing down" a bit. And she's getting a little senile...cleaning the toilet with Listerine by mistake, putting chili powder on the potato salad in place of paprika; well, these may not be critical errors, but it's enough to make Mattie think she's slowing down. And then there's the forgetting that her chair seat is out for repair and getting stuck in the chair frame while trying to watch All My Children. But that's where the story really begins...because the local dogcatcher happens by and helps her out, and she learns that he has a teenaged nephew in a juvenile facility. Being an upstanding Christian, Mattie takes it upon herself to visit said nephew, and things go kind of haywire from there. I won't reveal the rest, so as not to wreck it for others.

What I will say is that I felt for a while that I was a kid again, sitting at my grandmother's table, eating chicken, mashed potatoes, butter beans and pie. I don't know if you have to have been connected to a Southern household to really appreciate this book, but if you were, you'll appreciate this book even more. The writing is really good, and the humor in the story will make you laugh out loud at times.

Some people have criticized the ending for its ambiguity, but life is like that.

Overall, a fine read, one I'm glad I spent some time with. Highly recommended, especially for people who want a feel-good kind of read and those who want to read something set in the American South.

Three Layers of Guilt, by Jeffrey Ashford

...from the tbr pile:

I have sooo many books to read that once again I'm going on a buying moratorium. This time, my goal is to read 20 books already in my library (okay, so I bought a few this past week but I swear that's all I'm buying until I meet that goal) before buying a new one. Last time I made it 15, but then went absolutely bonkers on a book-buying spree when that was over. Luckily I have a very understanding spouse who doesn't mind feeding my book monkey. Of course, he has his own toys: 2 pinball machines, a real refurbished Vegas slot machine, original jukebox, and did I mention his airplane? So financing a few books here and there isn't a major outlay.

On to the book:
The story begins during WWII, with main character Harry Miles serving in the Merchant Navy. The ship is torpedoed; he escapes and is able to save one of the crew, a Geoffrey Pattison, from drowning. Years later, Harry needs a job, so he goes to Pattison, for a job on his farm. But a chain of events previously set into motion leads to terrible tragedy, and Harry finds himself a chief suspect.

The book is really quite good, and Ashford sets up a fine tale of suspense that will keep you reading until the story's done. I would recommend it to people who like British mysteries, or people looking for an author off the beaten path. The end may let you down if you're looking for things sewn up neatly, but it's still a very worthwhile read.

Untimely Guest, by Marion Babson

from the TBR pile:
England's convents are suffering from economic cutbacks like everyone else, and nuns are either being moved or sent home. It is this fact that brings Bridget (known as Bridie) home to her rather large Irish-Catholic family. However, no one's told her mother (known only as "Mam") yet that she's back; it seems that Mam has her hands full with daughter Dee-Dee, who's also returned to the fold. Dee-Dee has brought home her fiance, but living at Mam's house as a lodger is Dee-Dee's ex-husband, Terence. According to the Catholic Church, Dee-Dee and Terence are still married, so the other family members decide to keep the news of Bridie's return a secret for now, and she goes to stay with her brother Kevin and his family until such time as Kevin's sister Veronica (who is taking care of Mam) feels that Mam is strong enough to take the news. However, Bridie's presence is unsettling at best, and when she finally does go home to Mam, the result is murder.

On the surface, the mystery is okay, the characters are fun and are described well. However, there's way too much theologizing and pontificating on the Catholic Church which tends to divert the reader's attention. This I found really dull, even though the author tried to lighten things up.

It's a cozy-type mystery and it will definitely keep you reading until the end. I'd recommend it to people who've read some of Babson's books, and to people who like cozy mysteries. I'm not a huge cat-in-the-story kind of person, but I know those sell well so those readers may enjoy the book as well.

*The Clothes on Their Backs, by Linda Grant

Number 12 of 13 of the Booker Longlist which has comprised the bulk of my last two months of reading. Once I finish these, I have a stack of mystery novels that are my reward for sticking with the longlist. So here's the part where I say that yeah, this book was good, but considering both The Northern Clemency and this one, I have to also say that A Case of Exploding Mangoes was SO much better than both of these. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed reading both Grant and Hensher; they are incredible authors, but Hanif's book definitely should have been on that shortlist. He was definitely robbed. This is like last year, when Tan Twan Eng's book didn't even make the shortlist and The Gathering, which imho was like really awful actually blew past Mister Pip (which was so good I'm still thinking about it a year later). They (whoever "they" are) might consider letting members of the reading public pick the winners. Oh, but wait. Then the sanctimonious twits who consider themselves literary snobs will be running the show so maybe that's not a good idea either. Okay. I'll shut myself up now and move it along.

Here's the deal: I liked it, but I didn't love it. I thought it was good, but not great.

The narrator of this story is Vivien Kovaks, the only child of two refugees who left Hungary when the tide of anti-Semitism began to rise and make itself obvious. Ervin and Berta (her parents) as described by Vivien, were "mice-people", who laid low in an apartment, never caused any trouble, didn't get involved in anything outside the apartment which other than Ervin's work, seemed to be their entire world. Vivien knows nothing about her parents' past: has no clue about grandparents, or much about her parents' life before coming to London. What she does know is that her father has a brother, one Sandor Kovacs, who Vivien sees first at a young age. That meeting did not last long, since Ervin throws him out of the house. It turns out that Sandor is the proverbial black sheep of the family, and for Vivien's sake, Ervin and Berta never discussed him. However, television news reports painted him as a heinous criminal, and so Vivien knows something's up. It is only years later that she learns about the unspoken past, but the price of learning comes at a cost. I absolutely will not say more about the plot, because it will spoil it for anyone who decides to read this book, and because it needs to be unfolded in bits and pieces to really understand the story. There are several themes explored in this book, especially the notion that morality is relative, depending on perspective. Also, there is the question of what our clothes tell others, but also what our clothes say about us to ourselves. The idea of the importance of the past in our present is also explored.

As I said, I liked it and would definitely recommend it. The author's writing is very good, the characters are well drawn, and the story is good enough to keep you turning pages (in my case, pretty much through the night).

Murder on the Eiffel Tower, by Claude Izner

my thanks to LibraryThing for the advance copy. The Early Reviewer program there is phenomenal!

from the tbr pile, more head-clearing material before I get to the last 2 books on the Booker Prize longlist. I needed a break after Northern Clemency.

It's really tough sometimes to read the opening novel of a proposed mystery series. What I've found is that in general, the first novels are not as well-honed or finely developed as the rest of the series. I think it's because the author is really just getting to know his or her characters, and I would also guess that after he/she receives feedback on the first endeavor, things start to tighten up. So having made this statement, I have to say that I think the series that begins with this book has some good potential. I liked the main character Victor; he's not really a professional sleuth but finds himself a bit over his head. He seemed like somewhat of a bumbler to me, and I think that this trait made him stick out as an unlikely hero.

Set during the 1889 Universal Exposition, the Eiffel Tower is a new marvel that fascinates nearly everyone. The can venture up in an elevator, see a great view, and as a bonus, they get to be the first to sign their names in the visitors' book. On the day that Victor Legris, bookseller, decides to visit the new structure, he's there as a woman collapses and dies right in front of him. The death is attributed to "killer bees." The thing is, though, that these "killer bees" seem to be randomly picking targets as there are other deaths that follow the same pattern. Several clues lead Legris to believe that his long-time associate, Kenji Mori may be the culprit, or is it the object of his affection, Tasha? Legris begins his own investigation.

Yes, there are problems with character depth and at places the book sort of just rambles, but I liked it, and I can envision reading the entire series. It's just fun, and I like period pieces, especially mysteries. I liked Victor and his sort of bumbling manner, and the Kenji character offsets him well. I especially liked Joseph, the bookshop assistant, who is a murder genius and always has his nose stuck in a murder mystery. He may have been my favorite character.

So overall...I think the series will be a good one, and probably much tighter in plot and more developed character wise. I'd recommend it to people interested in historical mysteries and who want something new in a series.

*The Northern Clemency, by Philip Hensher

When you're ready to start this one, make sure you've got everything done that you need to do, because it's hard to stop reading. At 700+ pages, you need to know what you're getting into. I didn't and have stayed up way too late the last few nights to finish it.

The story centers on two families in Sheffield: The Glovers, who are from the area, and the Sellers, who have at the beginning of the story (1970s) just moved from London. We follow the story through the 1990s. The Sellers don't realize it, but they are moving into the neighborhood at a time when the Glovers are going through a crisis: Mr. Glover has left the home without saying anything, and Katherine's so frustrated that she performs a most senseless act of cruelty right out in front of everyone, none the least of whom are her children, especially her son Tim. This sort of sets the tone and gets the story up and running very quickly. But the Sellers have their own problems; for example, the kids aren't fitting in well at all at school because they're not native to the area. The 1970s leave indelible marks on both families, and their stories weave in and out throughout the years. You can't stop reading, because you really want to know what happens with everyone.

Beyond that, Hensher's writing is very descriptive and quite good. His characterizations are excellent, and should be; this is not really so much plot driven but more character driven. It is a bit long, and I found myself thinking that maybe there could have been less conversation in some parts to move things along. But that's just me.

Would I vote for it to win the Booker? Probably not, but it was still a fine read and one I can recommend.

The Charlemagne Pursuit, by Steve Berry

more dessert for my overtaxed brain.

Cotton Malone was a secret agent for the US, but has now retired. Now that he's retired, he's decided that his next act will be to see if he could find out what happened to his father over some 35 years ago, when his dad was commander of a submarine mission for the US Navy. Malone gets his hands on a report and realizes that everything he and his mother were told by the government was not true, especially the part where the sub was supposed to have had its final mission in European waters. He gets his ex-boss, Stephanie, to help him out by sending him the file on his father's death, and this starts sending alarms all over Washington DC. Of course, with any story featuring Cotton Malone, he's not limited geographically, so he starts a quest for the truth which takes him to Europe and then, of all places, to Antarctica.

I've read a lot of books by this author not featuring Cotton Malone (The Amber Room, The Romanov Prophecy and The Third Secret) and The Templar Legacy, which is the first of the Cotton Malone Books. The Alexandria Link and The Venetian Betrayal are sitting on my shelves ready to be read. I don't feel that not reading the previous two Cotton Malone books caused any problems, so this book can definitely work as a stand-alone entry even though this is a series.

There is definitely a lot of nonstop action both abroad and simultaneously on the home front. If you've read anything by Steve Berry before, you know that this is one of the hallmarks of his stories, along with a very twisted plot involving several players. I happen to like this kind of never-a-dull-moment action and I really enjoy books where the hero has to solve some kind of puzzle or decode some sort of cypher. I also enjoy books where actions in the past have a great deal to do with what's going on now. That's why I keep buying Steve Berry's books when they are first released. When I want some good escape reading, he's generally at the top of my list. In the Charlemagne Pursuit, his characters are not deep, but they're generally good, bad, or you're not sure. Just when you have someone figured out, things change, and the plot twists are many to keep the reader guessing. Berry's plot in this one is a bit over the top, but it's all good -- it's a great bit of escape reading fun and I really enjoyed it.

I would definitely recommend it to those who are following Cotton Malone's exploits, and to those who are fans of Steve Berry in general. I would also recommend it to others who are maybe looking for something in the escape-reading genre. It's not literature, but it's fun and will provide you with several hours of reading entertainment. Don't let the size fool you...the action goes so fast you'll be amazed at how soon you're getting toward the end.

ps/thank you, LibraryThing!

The Orpheus Deception, by David Stone

With only two more to go on the Booker Longlist for 2008, I just had to take a mind break. It's tough to read literature all of the time (although it's been a marvelous experience, believe me), and sometimes my brain just needs stuff it doesn't need to think about. The Orpheus Deception was an audiobook that I listened to in my car, and once again I found myself on bogus outings just to finish a chapter or something. Considering the price of gas, that says a lot about this book.

David Stone is an incredible author. He is good at characterizations, he's good at plot, he's good at plot twist, he's good at setting the atmosphere and he's good at keeping the reader in suspense. His first book featuring Micah Dalton, The Echelon Vendetta, was superb, and so is this one.

Orpheus Deception picks up where Echelon Vendetta leaves off. I won't go into detail in case someone reads this and hasn't read the first book (but you do really really want to read it). It begins with another attempt on Dalton's life, again in Italy, which is thwarted in the nick of time. From there, an agent from London comes to him with an assignment: he is to somehow release an ex-agent, a Brendan Fitch, who is rotting away in a prison in Singapore. Fitch had signed on as a member of the crew for a tanker called the Mingo Dubai, which was boarded and taken by pirates. However, the Singapore government insists that it sunk, and that Brendan was drunk at the time it happened, thereby causing it. But what's worse for poor Fitch is that his jailers have discovered that he's an agent -- and he has to be retrieved before they can torture any info from him. If this was the entire story, it would still be good, but it's not, by a long shot! This is just the very beginning of an incredible adventure.

Never a dull moment, lots of cliffhanging, and action, action action. I loved this book, I love this author, and I absolutely cannot wait until he comes out with another one. Recommended for those who enjoy a bit of intrigue and some incredible action

Falling Angel, by WIlliam Hjortsberg

....from the tbr pile
(I'm desperately in need of escape fiction right now)


I'm a huge fan of noir crime fiction, and someone recommended this book as one I'd like in that genre. And sure enough, it held up as a fine noir novel. There's the private detective, Harold Angel, working out of a crappy little office, dressed sloppily, with stains on his tie; places that people wouldn't go to after dark; a private hospital in the country, characters involved in the dark world of voodoo and black magic etc. etc. And Angel's been hired by someone to find a missing singer who's been in said hospital but has disappeared. With only a few leads, he's off. But the closer I came towards the end, the more I realized that there's something just a wee bit off kilter here and then I got the surprise of my life. Talk about plot twist!

So I won't spoil the book for others by going into any further detail here, but I will say that if you like a touch of the supernatural in your fiction, then you've got to add this to your reading stack.

Very well done.

*the shortlist is in and well, okay.

Out of all of these, I'm happiest that Fraction of the Whole made it. I loved that book...it's so quirky that it totally appeals to me.

Here it is (and the ones I've read are marked with a *):

A Fraction of the Whole* -- probably the one I would choose out of all of them as the best (but I'm weird and like quirky stuff)
White Tiger* -- Very, very good; I liked this one
Sea of Poppies* -- Yes! I loved this one, and can't wait for the rest of the trilogy to be published
Secret Scripture* -- I love Sebastian Barry's work, so yes.
The Northern Clemency -- Currently reading this one as we speak
The Clothes on Their Backs -- next in line after Northern Clemency

I have to say that I really enjoyed A Case of Exploding Mangoes as well. I'll decide if the author was robbed after I finish the last two books.

*The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga

This was book 10 of 13 on the Booker Prize longlist.

Another fine entry on the Booker Prize longlist for 2008, and I must say, this is the first year that I've been reading the longlist where I've really enjoyed every book I've read. With only three more of these books to go I'm simply amazed at how well the judges chose this year. What's even more amazing is that White Tiger is Adiga's first novel. He will definitely be on my list of authors to watch in the future.

At some point the main character Balram Halwai recounts a story about the Buddha in which a Brahmin tries to trick the Buddha by asking him if he considers himself man or god. The Buddha answered saying "Neither. I am just one who has woken up while the rest of you are still sleeping." (270) Balram Halwai has certainly woken up in this story, in which he moves from a boy who broke coal in a tea shop to a driver and servant to a wealthy family, and then to self-made "entrepreneur." How he did it and why is the stuff of this book, which describes his awakening into the realities of the various levels of Indian society, and his understanding of the system that keeps servants in their place. His conclusion is that within the span of a couple of decades, the white men will no longer have a place in India, but at the same time, the system will continue to remain the same, due to the corruption and injustice that is so embedded within.

An easy read, I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in India and its politics, social system and beliefs. It's interesting to watch Balram and his metamorphosis, although I can't say I could entirely sympathize with him throughout the story. Funny that, because I tend to like books where the underdog has his day, but this time I just didn't think that the costs were worth it. Although I suppose in some sense that to him, or to others in his predicament, they were.

Overall, a very good novel.

*A *Case of Exploding Mangoes, by Mohammed Hanif

Another awesome entry in the 2008 Booker Prize longlist. The judges are really going to have a tough time this year, because the books have been really good.

Before I read this book, I'd never even heard of Zia ul-Haq, the president of Pakistan who was killed in the crash of a C-130 airplane, along with the American ambassador Arnold Raphel and others. Hanif's wonderful book presents some theories (albeit some needed to be taken tongue-in-cheek) as to what may have actually caused the death of the president. They range from tapeworms to a crow; deadly gas, snake venom given to the main character by a laundry worker named Starchy, a blind woman in prison for being sexually assaulted or even a case of mangoes put on the plane for all to enjoy. Here's the thing: after I finished this novel, I looked up Zia ul-Haq on various sources on the internet and found the following in an article in the Times online (http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wor...), which noted that

"Phosphorus-covered mango seeds amid the wreckage sparked the theory that the CIA had spiked the fruit with VX gas to eliminate Zia because of his unstable commitment to a more democratic government and his loyalty to Afghan extremists."

And now, it seems, according to this article of August, 2008, that lots of interest has been sparked in exactly what did cause the president's death.

Hanif, a former air force officer for Pakistan, has got a winner of a book here. Some of it is actually funny, and you may find yourself laughing out loud in some parts. At the very beginning of the book we find out that the president dies in an airplane crash; the rest of the book looks back at part of his tenure in office and the people surrounding him, as well as people who see him as an enemy who not only needs ousting, but needs to be dead. Set during the time of the Soviet-Afghan conflict, there's even a visit from a shady character who goes by the initials of OBL, the head of Laden Construction Company during the course of a somewhat garish barbeque party given by the Americans for a fourth of July.

A Case of Exploding Mangoes is a wonderful book and it will definitely keep you reading. The characters are true to life (even the shadier ones), the prose is amazing and the story itself is fantastic. The fact that it has a basis in fact adds another element to the reader's enjoyment.

Definitely recommended, and recommended highly.

The Dreaming God, by Ken Asamatsu (Vol IV: Lairs of the Hidden Gods)

Pulp-o-rama! This book is the last entry of the 4-volume set of the mythos gone Japanese. The entire set is called Lairs of the Hidden Gods, all edited by Ken Asamatsu and also by Robert M. Price, a well-known name in Cthulhu-land. All four were incredible and well worth the price of ownership as well as the reading time.

I can't really say what there is about this stuff that makes me love it so much -- it's pulpy, shlocky at times, sometimes a bit overmelodramatic, but god help me, I can't get enough of it. It's so creepy sometimes that I start thinking about the incredible imagination of HP Lovecraft and how if even one iota of this stuff was real, the world as we know it would be in deep doo-doo. Then I laugh at myself.

Anyway, here's Volume Four, The Dreaming God:

Sadly, this is the 4th book of the four-volume series entitled "Lairs of the Hidden Gods," meaning that I've come to the end. But it was a great ride. If you are interested in gaining another perspective on Lovecraft's work and legacy, then you must indeed make these four volumes part of your reading experience. I can definitely recommend all four very highly.

As to volume four, overall a very fine collection...some were a bit weird even for my taste (which can be way out there)...a bit more graphic than in the other three at times. However, it's a mixed bag, and all are well written and will get your blood racing.

Contents of Volume Four (The Dreaming God) are:

"Quest of the Nameless City," by Tachihara Toya: done in three parts -- you may want to be familiar with "Journey to the West" prior to reading this (at least go read something about that work) because the characters in this story come right out of that work. But here we find our characters in a redo of "Trail of Cthulhu" by August Derleth, with a twist. Very well written and one of the highlights of this volume.

"A Night in Exham Lodge," by Kurasaka Kiichiro: set in the indomitable English countryside, an American politician goes to spend time with an actress in her home, and gets a lesson on the true meaning of life. I left this story with a big "uh-oh" resounding in my head -- a kind of "be warned" alarm going off. I know it's just fiction, but sheesh...scary stuff.

"...Which Art in Heaven", by Azuchi Moe: This one was a wee bit bizarre, and hackle raising. A young woman who spent her childhood in an orphanage often wonders about a strange scar. The nuns in the orphanage aren't talking. Later, when the truth emerges, it's enough to make you gasp.

"Inside Out," by Tomonari Jun'ichi: A Japanese writer named Daisuke spends his days trying to be creative, only to be disrupted by "one of his closest friends" named Chau-chan. Whenever she's around, his writing time is disrupted. But he can't get rid of her. "Inside Out" is the story of how she came to live in his apartment, going back to the time he took a trip to Fiji. I won't say more, but you may want to go easy on your cups of kava.

"Quagmire," by Iino Fumikiko: A man who ultimately ends up going mad, set off by a newspaper item that tells of a man's death, leaves behind a record of how he got on the road to madness. It seems it all started when he went to visit his aunt in a hotel, then meets a beautiful woman. Very well written, and it was enough to send a shiver or two up my spine.

"Rshanabi Street," by Fushimi Kenji: A young man works for a company where a fellow worker has just been fired after thirty years of service. He wants to track him down, and remembers that his friend spoke a lot about Rshanabi Street, so he goes to find him. But it's one of those places that is off the map, so to speak, and it took some doing to find it. Once there, it is equally difficult for the narrator to find his way out. This one was very good -- another back of the neck hair raiser.

"City of the Dreaming God," by Yufuko Senowo: a man lives with his wife and daughter in a strange village by the ocean. His father-in-law is dying, but he still manages to open his home to a young writer who is doing research in the area. As he and his houseguest begin talking, his houseguest comes to some startling conclusions that lay bare the man's choices in life. Think of Innsmouth as being along the Japanese coast and you'll get the drift. Very very good, a fitting end to a brilliant series of books.

There are also two essays at the end of the book, one dealing with Lovecraft and Modern Occultism, and another is a look at Cthulhu and his friends on the silver screen.

Very highly recommended for any reader of Lovecraft's work, or that of his imitators or his devotees. It is an honor to have the collection in my library.