Bigger Than Life

If only her Dad was here to enjoy this but I am glad I am (and you are)!

First Wedneday Book Review: OLIVE AGAIN, Elizabeth Strout

This continues the story of Olive Kitteridge, an aging, former math teacher in Maine. She is as annoying and lovable as she was in the first volume, OLIVE KITTERIDGE. She marries a second time, which is a success, makes new friends, ages into an assisted living facility, endures health and family problems. It sounds depressing and it is at times, but her strength and eccentricities make it work. A good writer can make any character interesting, I think.

For more reviews, see Barrie Summy's blog.

Things That Are Making Me Happy

A lovely five days in New York, where I saw two great plays (Scotland, PA and Betrayal) got to visit with the Meyersons (thanks for getting me off on the right foot) , some other friends from Brooklyn, and Megan and lots of good meals, two okay movies. It was challenging, and there were one or two scares, but it was well worth it. And I was really lucky with the weather.

Reading OLIVE, AGAIN and NINETY GLIMPSES OF PRINCESS MARGARET. Watching THE CROWN. Love Harold Wilson, what a great actor and great historical figure. There is a great podcast on THE CROWN. And listening to Peter Morgan describing what a showrunner does, I am in awe that Megan has done this. If he is terrified waiting for the series to start, what must Megan be enduring.

And also found a fun series on you tube, "Technique Critique", where experts critique various things they find in movies: like accents, crime scene stuff, hospital scenes, etc.

What about you?

Happy Thanksgiving 2019

                                  Taking a week off here. Hope you all have a good one.

Friday's Forgotten Books, November 22, 2019

TRAP FOR CINDERELLA, Sebastien Japrisot (Patti Abbott)

This is one of those books whose success depends on taking you by surprise and it is difficult to review it without divulging details that will detract from that pleasure. A girl wakes up in a hospital. She has just undergone plastic surgery to fix the burns she sustained in a fire at her house in a French resort. Her friend has died in the blaze. Or is she the friend? She can't remember much, including who she is. A third woman seems to play a role in both scenarios.

The book plays with this idea--who died and who survived. It is a moody, atmospheric
book--reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith. The book won France's most prestigious fiction award. It is short and dark. Read it when you are fully awake and not drowsing in bed or you won't know who is who either.

DARE ME: Trailer 2

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I caught feelings! Chills to be exact!!

A post shared by Alison Quinn (@quinn_manuel_miranda) on Nov 19, 2019 at 2:14pm PST

Things That Are Making Me Happy

In the next week or so, FROM SEA TO STORMY SEA (Lawrence Block) should be available. My story used this painting by Harvey Dunn for inspiration. Can't wait to see the other stories.

Saw MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN and SOUTH PACIFIC this week. The second was at the historic Redford Theater, which plays classics on the weekend.

Couldn't help but wonder how many people in the huge audience at the Redford Theater was getting the message as well as the music of SOUTH PACIFIC.

If Norton was going to change MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN, he needed to explain Robert Moses better and not just in one long speech by him (Alec Baldwin). These were important issues (and still are) and if addressed would be better in a tv series rather than a movie. I am sure the typical movie-goer would not know Jane Jacobson or Moses.

Trying to get into THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 by Ruth Ware.

Watching LINE OF DUTY on Acorn. VG. Finished the first season of SLINGS AND ARROWS and waiting for the second. Have given up on the three network shows I thought might be watchable. EVIL got too woo woo for me.Started THE CROWN. Thought it was a seamless transition to new cast. Wish Phil was here to give me the synopsis on Harold Wilson, Anthony Blunt. Thank goodness I have an iphone.

Hoping it warms up soon. This is too cold for November.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Friday's Forgotten Books

From the archives: Randy Johnson

THE BIG KISSOFF OF 1944, Andrew Bergman

originally posted on 13 Friday Dec 2013

Jacob “Jack” Levine is not your regular fictional private eye. He’s Jewish, middle aged, and bald. He has a lady friend with a “friends with benefits” arrangement. The line goes : “I even took my socks off. In my circles, that’s class.”

Still, he’s not immune to the fairer sex.

So when the leggy blonde came in one morning with a problem, Jack was more than ready to help. She had a bit role in a play on Broadway, just having moved from the chorus line, and her problem was blackmail!

It seems when she was on the west coast trying to make it in the movies and in need of money, she’d had a moment of indiscretion and had made a couple of stag films. Now someone was demanding money and promising to tell the show’s producer and she needed the job so bad!

Jack got a twenty dollar retainer from her and said he’d see what he could do.

He soon finds himself in over his head.

 A dead body turns up, the producer calls and is being blackmailed as well. He knows there’s a girl in the show who’s made stag films, but not who, and wants Jack to make the pay-off, twenty thousand.  Another dead body, his first client disappears and Jack figures out she’s more than she seemed(he knew she’d not told him everything), someone is taking shots at him and sending goons by his home, and politics enter the picture, going all the way to the highest office in the land.

I liked this P.I novel. 

Things That Are Making Me Happy

Went to a lovely Japanese Patisserie this week. Delightful sandwiches as well as pastry but what are all the millennial doing: playing with the laptops and drinking dull coffee. Remember when coffee shops used to be for talking.

Saw PARASITE twice and although I thought it funny, clever and scary, I don't quite get why it is getting so much adulation. Also saw THE LIGHTHOUSE, which was beautiful to look at and well acted but too over the top bonkers for me in the end. How long would it take you to go crazy from cabin fever if there were two of you? More than five weeks, I think.

This is my new favorite thing. There are quite a few episodes, all about 10 minutes. So restful and set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is on adult swim but I just googled it. Try it if you need a rest from the world. Because the UP is another world.

Enjoying SLINGS AND ARROWS on Acorn. It is a three season Canaidan show from the early 2000s about a Shakespeare troupe. But more about the off-stage antics than on. Luke Kirby and Rachel McAdams are so young.

Well, I did it. I gave my car to my daughter-in-law. I am now the proud owner of an empty garage.

What about you guys?

12/29/19: DARE ME

FFB: THE ODDS, Stewart O'Nan

Another brilliant novel by the master.

A middle-aged couple, headed for divorce, decides to spend their final weekend together (Valentine's Day) at Niagara Falls, where they spent their first one.

They also decide to take the money left in the bank after some disastrous decisions and see if they can solve some of their troubles at the casino tables. This is not a travelogue of Niagara Falls but one that winds through their past a bit. They seldom leave the hotel, restaurants and casino in this book.

Sad, lovely, romantic, despairing, hopeful--all of these in this portrait of a marriage and what can go wrong and right with it. Just great stuff. There are few better writers for me.

First Wednesday Book Review: THE BODY IN QUESTION, Jill Ciment

 THE BODY IN QUESTION tells the story of two jurors on a murder trial, sequestered for a three-week period, who begin an affair almost at once.Both jurors are only identified by their jury number (C-2; F-17) during the course of the trial. Although the testimony they hear each day in the jury room is given some attention, the author is more interested in their affair, how it affects the eventual verdict of the jury and how it affects the elderly husband the female juror has left behind. There is a significant age gap between C-2 and her husband, perhaps making it easier to leap into an affair. 

This is a very well-written book. The reader is anxious to see how this affair will impact on the jury decision or if it even will. The jury is small-only six jurors and an alternate and secrets are hard to keep with unlocked doors. We know far less about F-17 because the story is from C-2's pov. I am anxious to look for Jill Ciments previous books after reading this one.

For more reviews, go to Barrie Summy's place, right here.

Things That Are Making Me Happy

Pretty much all about Bouchercon this week. I did a panel with George on the birth of the paperbacks and another one on Writing Short Fiction. I love doing panels, especially if I can ask rather than answer questions. I also attended two of Megan's. One on unlikable women and I don't think a lot of the audience understand a complex character is usually not likable all that much of the time. And if you are not writing a series, this is not a problem.
I enjoyed lots of good food, some a bit spicy for me but delicious. Typically I did not do a good job in meeting new people. I never do. There were a lot of tributes to Bill. And his daughter, Angela had a party for him. Very nice. Bill did himself proud with that one. And her husband is a great guy too.
I attended about ten panels of varying quality. The best ones pick a real subject rather than just allowing the writers to talk about their work.
Very good work by the organizers, especially in having films of early Bouchercons, old posters, book bags, programs. Always something to look at. 
Went to the Book Depository. It was very moving to stand where LHO stood. I still don't quite believe he did it alone. And why didn't he have a place to escape to after the shots. He just seem to run wildly around.
Went to the art district, mostly to eat pie but it looked like a fun area. Dallas was lovely at night with many buildings outlined in various colors. I was impressed. On to Sacramento--but not me probably.

And what about you?

Things That Are Making Me Happy

A nice week. Went to an event at the best comic book store I have ever seen (Green Brain). (They even had copies of Megan's NORMANDY GOLD) The event included music, an artist with slides of her origami, a poetry and a prose reading. How nice to spend a rainy night with such talent.
Had a friend over to watch BILLY LIAR on Criterion, which did not hold up at all for me. I am doubtful I ever saw it before although I thought I had
Saw the movie PAIN AND GLORY, which was gorgeous to look at and Banderas was terrific. I have often found Almodovar difficult-a lot of subtitles to read quickly and not always clear what he's saying, but this one was pretty easy to follow. And ultimately extremely touching.
Reading NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney, which is very good. Did not finish 1222 by Anne Holt. About 75% through I realized I just didn't care about anything other than the protagonist, who was a great character. It was probably me but a hotel full of characters who were never drawn out enough to be real for me sunk it. 
Watched WATCHMEN a second time and am now up to speed.
Looking forward to Bouchercon although sad that I will be going alone for the first time.
So happy though to see some of you there. 

WHAT ABOUT YOU? 

FFB-THE WIDOWER, Georges Simenon

THE WIDOWER tells the story of a  designer named Bernard Jeantet who returns to his home in Paris from work one day to discover that his wife, Jeanne, is missing.  They met eight years earlier when he rescued her from her abusive pimp. They’ve lived a quiet life since then. A life that, at least in Bernard’s mind, was one of happiness until she wasn't home to greet him one day. When Bernard learns what has become of his wife, his entire life is turned upside down. When he learns of how she has spent the eight years, he is astounded.

 The Widower is a character study.  We grow more and more astounded at how a man could know so little about his wife, seemingly never interested in any life beyond their own. Does he love her or his idea of her? And what are her feelings toward this rescuer or perhaps imprisoner?

The Widower is a  pageturner. Only 143 pages and not a page of that is wasted. It begins with a mystery,but then opens up to answer the real questions that Simeon is concerned with. How little we know each other.

Things That Are Making Me Happy

Glad to have last week behind me. I managed to keep busy enough to have it go by. I saw DOWNTON ABBEY again with a friend looking forward to it. And she made a lovely dinner to thank me for going for the second time. Another friend went with me to see FIRST LOVE, a Japanese film. We walked out. Just too violent for us but we had a very nice Lebanese dinner. That is the great thing about Detroit. We have the best Arab restaurants in the country. Had lunch with Josh. Read THE WIDOWER by Simenon, which was terrific. Boy, how could he spin these stories in a matter of weeks. Also liked THE BODY IN QUESTION by Jill Ciment.
Watched the last episode of SUCCESSION (HBO), which was pretty amazing. These are not nice people but they are interesting.

How about you?

FFB: APRIL EVE, John D. Mcdonald

April Evil, John D. MacDonald

I think this is the first novel, other than those in the Travis McGee series that I have read in many years by John D. MacDonald. I had truly forgotten what a great writer he was. There is not a page of this book when things don't happen, when the story isn't speeding along, when you will want to put it down. It is truly a manual for how to write a crime story.

Three men, one newly out of jail, and a woman converge on Flamingo, a Florida town. Their plan is to rob an old man who keeps all of his money in a safe in his house. There are at least a dozen other players who make things hard for this trio for various reasons. This story has three critical female characters. And a kid who noses around too much. It is vicious in spots, but also tender, observant, and clever. The atmosphere is excellent. I can't think of one good reason not to read this book.

Things That Are Making Me Happy

Mostly taking a break this week as I try to get by what would have been Phil's 75th birthday on the 18th. I did go and march with the UAW strikers and I enjoyed MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER. Also enjoyed COME AND AWAY. So it isn't all bad. But pretty hard indeed. And I have dental surgery on Wednesday. Yes, damn bad week.

Tell me what you're up to.

FFB-RULES OF CIVILITY, Amor Towles

Amor Towles wrote this book back in 2011, before he wrote A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW. It is set entirely during the year of 1938 and mostly takes place in Manhattan. Katie Kontent, formerly Katya, is in her twenties and making her way in the city. Her close friend, Evie (Evelyn) and Katie are out on the town for New Year's Eve when they meet the glamorous and  mysterious, Tinker Grey. An automobile accident ensues, which takes them all on different paths than they might have imagined.

This novel is sometimes as frivolous as this setup sounds. A lot of the time is given over to the pursuits of the wealthy or wannabe weathy. But like Gatsby, it has other ambitions. Perhaps life is not as
glib and glamorous as it seems. Certainly our characters do not find bliss as they inch up on the war.

The writing is gorgeous. Towles can really put you in a club or a car or a country house. I think A GENTLEMAN was the better book but this was quite a first novel. Towles had already had a career in finance when he wrote it and his maturity works to his advantage. Good but not great for me.

Things That Are Making Me Happy

Lots of cloudy weather and rain this week. Enjoyed RULES FOR VISITING although the protagonist remained enigmatic to me. Do you mind that in a book? Does it bother you if you never quite understand why a character's life is like it is and what their motivations are? Also enjoying MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER.It tales place in Nigeria, which makes it all the more interesting.
I am watching PRIME SUSPECT from the nineties. It holds up so well. Mirren creates an indelible character. Also enjoying DERRY GIRLS although I really need closed captions to understand this one.
Had lunch with my son on Tuesday. Nice to have him to myself. Really wished I had a bigger family.
Saw JUDY. Renee Z was excellent but the movie dragged and was flat in many sections. Such a sad life. Her years at MGM amounted to child abuse.

What about you guys?

Friday's Forgotten Books, THE IMPERFECTIONISTS, Tom Rachman

THE IMPERFECTIONISTS, Tom Rachman

THE IMPERFECTIONISTS is a debut novel that reads like the work of an experienced master of the genre. Is it me or are first novels growing stronger all the time? Perhaps since Mr. Rachman is himself a journalist and editor he is following that sage advice to write about what you know.

More like a series of short stories than a traditional novel, THE IMPERFECTIONISTS tells the stories of some of the personnel at a small newspaper in Rome. Here we have the story of the copy editor, a reporter, a stringer, the editor in chief and various other personnel including a devoted reader. A sort of Canterbury Tales.

In between these delightful, insightful, humorous and sometimes painful personal and intersecting stories, we also get the story of the Ott family, the newspaper's founders and how the family eventually slid into obscurity and the newspaper folded.

It is hard not to swoon over such a elegant writer. Each story is original and very much written with its own tone. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

THE MALTESE FALCON

Of course, you all have seen this one. I never saw it on the big screen before and consequently never paid such close attention to it. Some observations: it was a lot funnier than I remembered, Bogart sure had a lot of tics, Mary Astor was very good and very beautiful, Lorre and Greenstreet were quite a team. I can see why they used them again in CASABLANCA. Hard to understand why Sam Spade was so attracted to a woman who was clearly up to no good. But I have never understood that about men, in general. The story is an exercise in how to tell a story with no let-up in tension. Was there ever a more minimal use of sets?  Amazing how little back story was necessary.

Things That Are Making Me Happy

It looks like the good weather is on its way out after two plus months of terrific days. I actually turned my heat on this morning, which was very self-indulgent. Something tells me the near future will not allow such actions.
Reading I LIKE TO WATCH by Emily Nussbaum, the New Yorker TV critic, which is loads of fun and also RULES OF CIVILITY by Amor Towles, I find the writing odd but can't quite say why. It's like there are two writing styles used. My book group chose it. They really loved A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW last year and were attracted to this  his earlier book.
Saw AD ASTRA, which seemed like an overly elaborate way to tell a withholding father story. I expected to like it more. I didn't expect to like DOWNTON ABBEY and I didn't much. I think I have made my feelings about rich people known more than once on here. Although I have to admit, Fellows used a clever device to tell the story and the downstairs group most got the better story here.
The third and best movie I saw was THE MALTESE FALCON on a big screen. It is part of a series called FLASHBACK CINEMA, which brings old classics to a big screen. It does a pretty poor job of publicizing it though. If you want to see if it's available in your area, it www.FlashbackCinema.net
I finally got Kanopy to work on my TV, which gives me access to what my movies my library has. You might want to check that out too. Quite an array of stuff on there.
And what are you up to this week? 

Forgotten Books, BROOKLYN, Colm Toibin

Brooklyn, Colm Toibin

This is a very fine novel that I was resistant to reading for a long time. It sat on my shelf despite the urging of several friends who loved it. But after seeing the movie, I wanted to read the book. And I am glad that I did. 
There are no jobs to be had in Eilis Lacey's hometown in Ireland. Reluctantly she sets sail for New York where a priest has secured her a job and place to live. She is nearly overwhelmed by homesickness--and I don't think I ever read such a great description of it--but eventually settles into her new life and finds a beau. A sudden death calls her home again and she must decide where her future lies.
What makes this novel work so well is how much inside the head of his character Toibin gets. And I am truly amazed at how well he does a female voice. And how well he seems to understand how a girl feels about a multitude of issues.
Eilis is utterly believable as a very nice girl with very nice friends and a very nice family. The descriptions of Brooklyn life in the fifties are terrific. 
If I found one flaw in the book, it would be there was so little conflict or strife for Eilis. I am sure an immigrant coming here with no friends of family to succor them would find life a lot harder. And the ending is perhaps too swift.
But this is a small flaw in a wonderful novel. 

Things That Are Making Me Happy

But now my garage door will not go down. 

Yay, My new tag and new Michigan registration arrive today. Somebody up there likes me.


Two days ago I wrote a cheerful post that said I was beginning to be happy, at least some of the time. That my fifty years of happiness with Phil had given me muscle memory to revert to happiness. That I was looking forward to new books, movies, TV, dinner and movie with friends, taking walks.

But yesterday a number of problems to be solved sent me back to my earlier state of anxiety. So I took that post down.

Lots of the issues concern the car I don't drive. My plate registration did not yield me the required tab for instance. It is lost in the mail, I guess. And I have to have the car serviced even though I don't drive it. And one credit card is still pulling money from the wrong account And at two in the morning, I woke up thinking I didn't know how to stop payment on a check should I need to.

And how do I feel about going to NY for Thanksgiving and staying at a friend's vacant place. Can I navigate NY on my own? Will I be nervous hailing cabs without a man beside me? Will I be able to handle walking back from the subway alone at night?

 Even though I was the one who always figured out where we were going and how to get there, Phil drove or was by my side in NY or wherever.  This is one of the selfish reasons for missing him. Another one: he looked at the mail and decided what to do with things. Now I must look at every piece of mail and determine what is to be done about it. Now I must open every jar, even if I use a wrench. I have to decide who to call about every problem. Selfish reasons but ones that occur every day.

I won't list the less selfish reasons. You know what they are.

Still it is better than five months ago. Some days. 

What's new with you?

Friday's Forgotten Books: Beautiful Ruins

BEAUTIFUL RUINS by Jesse Walter does a very smooth job of juggling multiple narratives set in multiple time periods. We always know where we are and whom we are with. The prose is elegant, the scenes in Italy inviting. If that small village doesn't exist, it should thanks to the writing here.

The disaster that was CLEOPATRA was being made in the main narrative. A young actress in the film, believing herself to be dying, comes to a remote island where she is tended to by Pasquale, a young Italian hotel owner of a hotel so small that she is the only guest. Other stories intersect with this one.(Richard Burton is a minor player that we never see without a bottle in his hand. Surely we have something else to learn about him).Pasquale is being shaken down for protection money, but this story is also not developed.

Unfortunately many of the other minor characters in BEAUTIFUL RUINS didn't capture my interest and I was anxious to get back to the primary story rather than these less interesting ones.The book I would have loved would have focused on the young actress, the young hotel owner, and the circumstances of 1962. Of course it was not my story to tell.

We see the actress at various points in her life, but because they are not chronological it is often hard to invest in them. We also come to know her son, an producer's assistant, a writer trying to pitch a story, the producer himself who meddles again and again to disastrous consequences. Flash forward into the future and the romanticism of that small island in Italy is lost. If Hollywood is supposed to come alive, it never does. We know just how venal Hollywood is from so many other examinations. And the scenes in Spokane are even less involving.

This was certainly far from a bad book. But the pages didn't turn effortlessly.
I listened to this on audio. Perhaps that distanced me. Reading a print book always works best for me.

THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

Had a great week in DC visiting my brother and his wife in Virginia and old friends in Maryland. Loved both movies, liked the play (Sondheim) had several great meals, went to an exhibit at the National Geographic Museum on the Queens of Egypt, saw two old friends from my childhood (separately) went to Leesburg (mostly restaurants now) and got lost in a park. All great fun.

What about you if you are not tired of telling it?

See You Next Week

FFB-THE NAME OF THE GAME IS DEATH, Dan J. Marlow

I had to do a little work to get myself a copy of Dan J. Marlowe's THE NAME OF THE GAME IS DEATH (from the archives).  I just want to list what made it such a perfect book to me.

1) the complexity of the protagonist

2) the writing-lucid, tense, succinct

3) the way Marlow integrates a necessary back story into the plot. Now a lot of writers today would say, we don't need to know all of this about him. I disagree. Without this info, he's just a psycho. Now he's a psycho, yes, but with grounding.

4) the length of the book. Truly you couldn't take much more of this degree of excitement.

5) the atmosphere, which is just exactly right for the plot, character, etc.

6) the integration of the violent aspects with the prosaic ones

7) the motivation for what happens. Because of the back story, we get it.

8) the ending.

I could go on and on. What did you like about this book if you've read it? If not, what book would you nominate for a perfect little gem? And I guess what "little" means is under 250 pages.

WHAT THE EYES DON'T SEE, Mona Hanna Attisha

In 2014, virtually with no one looking or investigating the safeness of the switch, the state of Michigan shifted the source of Flint's water from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Almost immediately citizens complained about the color or the water, the taste, but they went unheard.

Dr. Mona Hanna Attisha took the officials at their word initially and told her pediatric patients' parents that the water was safe. But over a brief period of time, children were getting sicker and early studies began to trouble the doctor.

This book details her fight to obtain undeniable truth that the water was full of lead and to get city and state officials to admit it and do something about it. Time after time, people who should be on the side of the citizens, turned a deaf hear, preferring to either ignore or uphold the lies being bandied about.

This is a very disheartening book because you know similar problems exist in other cities (Newark) and are especially prevalent in black areas. When this was first noticed in Flint, GM and state offices received water that was not from the Flint River. So even here distinctions were made by state officials.

The dire nature of the story is somewhat lightened by Attisha's story of her own family and their trip to the US from Iraq. They are a family of activists indeed.

For more book reviews, go to Barrie Summy's blog. 

Things That are Making Me Happy

Happy Labor Day!

Enjoying HUNTING GAME by Helene Tursten. I am always amazed when a writer is able to present a milieu as successfully as she does with a hunting lodge and hunting itself in Sweden. Of course, maybe it is her scene. Will have to try her other series.

I am sad to be finished MINDHUNTER, where I liked the personal stories as much as the Atlanta Child Killer plot. Although it was pretty brilliant all around. Also enjoying TRAPPED on Prime. Thanks, Jeff.  Still enjoying SUCCESSION on HBO.

Had a nice family dinner Friday night. Kevin is getting taller by the minute. He is going to play hockey, soccer, cross-country and tennis this fall. As well as begin to learn the bass guitar along with the one he's been playing for years. The music teacher says most guitar players can play more than one thing. Today's parents, at least ones that can afford it because no school sports are free nowadays) are so busy getting their kids to various events.

What about you?