The light reading continues. . .
I very much enjoyed both of Susie Steiner's Manon Bradshaw's mysteries, recommended by Sue at High Heels in the Wilderness. Don't you love her bookposts?! (and if you don't know about them, oooh, you have a lot of titles just waiting to be added to your To Be Read list). Intriguing, well-plotted mysteries with interesting and likeable characters (a few very unlikeable ones as well -- I mean, they're murder mysteries). I love visiting England via the deftly drawn settings and I have a soft spot for Manon in all her impulsive and crusty vulnerability.
I also enjoyed, almost against my will, Ann Mah's The Lost Vintage which I picked up at the library because I so much enjoyed her Mastering the Art of French Eating. Her novel is a very elegant version of a classic romance, with the added intrigue of travel (France!), some exposure to the world of wine-making, wine-tasting, and wine-collecting. The book is structure daround a secret, a family history mired in the complex politics and moral dilemmas (and, bien sûr, the crimes against humanity) of Occupied France during WWII and of the decades-long, post-war repercussions, the rift ripped between those who collaborated and those who resisted. Why was it "almost against my will" to read this book? Well, this combination of historical setting and genre always makes me uncomfortable, resistant to any resolutions the narrative finds, uneasy at any catharsis or entertainment value I draw from the sufferings of this period. I felt the same way about Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key. . .
So I'd recommend The Lost Vintage if you don't share my discomfort (which I attribute primarily to twinned year-long courses in German History and German Literature!). It's well-written, credibly researched, effectively structured, and it reflects Mah's own considerable immersion in French culture.
One more title from my light reading, but this one I read in French, Georges Simenon's L'Affaire Saint-Fiacre. Apparently, it's been made into a movie several times. Has any of you seen one of these film renditions? or read the book, in whatever language? In it, Maigret returns to his boyhood home, so there's considerable parsing of his emotions. . . and the crime is unusual, the plot full of twists and intrigue with a thoroughly dramatic final section, high tension, an explosive and supposedly revelatory action, and then an odd sense of something a bit different than anti-climax, an acceptance, rather of not being sure, a disequilibrium. . . .
As usual, I'd love to hear from you, whether you want to tell us your thoughts about either of the books I mention here, or about whatever you're currently reading. I've just finished Michael Ondaatje's Warlight and hope to post about it next week -- highly recommended! -- and I'm currently engrossed in Guillaume Musso's Un Appartement à Paris (also recommended if you read French; it doesn't seem to be translated into English yet, but I'm sure it won't be long -- so good!).
I very much enjoyed both of Susie Steiner's Manon Bradshaw's mysteries, recommended by Sue at High Heels in the Wilderness. Don't you love her bookposts?! (and if you don't know about them, oooh, you have a lot of titles just waiting to be added to your To Be Read list). Intriguing, well-plotted mysteries with interesting and likeable characters (a few very unlikeable ones as well -- I mean, they're murder mysteries). I love visiting England via the deftly drawn settings and I have a soft spot for Manon in all her impulsive and crusty vulnerability.
I also enjoyed, almost against my will, Ann Mah's The Lost Vintage which I picked up at the library because I so much enjoyed her Mastering the Art of French Eating. Her novel is a very elegant version of a classic romance, with the added intrigue of travel (France!), some exposure to the world of wine-making, wine-tasting, and wine-collecting. The book is structure daround a secret, a family history mired in the complex politics and moral dilemmas (and, bien sûr, the crimes against humanity) of Occupied France during WWII and of the decades-long, post-war repercussions, the rift ripped between those who collaborated and those who resisted. Why was it "almost against my will" to read this book? Well, this combination of historical setting and genre always makes me uncomfortable, resistant to any resolutions the narrative finds, uneasy at any catharsis or entertainment value I draw from the sufferings of this period. I felt the same way about Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key. . .
So I'd recommend The Lost Vintage if you don't share my discomfort (which I attribute primarily to twinned year-long courses in German History and German Literature!). It's well-written, credibly researched, effectively structured, and it reflects Mah's own considerable immersion in French culture.
One more title from my light reading, but this one I read in French, Georges Simenon's L'Affaire Saint-Fiacre. Apparently, it's been made into a movie several times. Has any of you seen one of these film renditions? or read the book, in whatever language? In it, Maigret returns to his boyhood home, so there's considerable parsing of his emotions. . . and the crime is unusual, the plot full of twists and intrigue with a thoroughly dramatic final section, high tension, an explosive and supposedly revelatory action, and then an odd sense of something a bit different than anti-climax, an acceptance, rather of not being sure, a disequilibrium. . . .
As usual, I'd love to hear from you, whether you want to tell us your thoughts about either of the books I mention here, or about whatever you're currently reading. I've just finished Michael Ondaatje's Warlight and hope to post about it next week -- highly recommended! -- and I'm currently engrossed in Guillaume Musso's Un Appartement à Paris (also recommended if you read French; it doesn't seem to be translated into English yet, but I'm sure it won't be long -- so good!).