Northern Book Review

Modern Irish Mystery, Stay Tuned!

In The Woods
by Tana French
2007

I'm only on page 155, and already feel I must share. This is some book. It's a mystery, it's a character study, it's a thriller and best of all, it reaches far above the genre of mystery with its prose. Set in modern Ireland, the author fulfills the heavy shoes of the Irish authors before her with writing that is beautiful, precise, humorous and surprising. Her website states that Tana French grew up in Ireland, Italy, the US and Malawi, and has lived in Dublin since 1990. It doesn't say that she was born in Ireland. Whether she was or was not, it doesn't matter. The moods of Ireland, its words and authors can be felt like ghosts standing behind the pages, in the trees of In The Woods.

The protagonist is a man who may be the sole survivor of a mystery. His two childhood friends vanished in the woods near his home, and he was found covered in blood and clinging to a tree. Small surprise that twenty years later he's a Murder Squad detective. When another murder occurs in his old home town, he catches the case.

I want very much to find out how all the pieces fit together, but more than anything, I look forward to roughly another 300 pages of wonderful writing. Stay tuned.

Sander's Book

by Connie J. Burnet
www.cinnamondog.com

There is an anecdote concerning the fact that our best friends, our dogs, don’t live as long as we do. It’s credited to at least two different veterinarians, but the gist is this: a sick wolfhound has to be euthanized, and the family opts to let their four-year-old son be part of the event, which is occurring at their home. The vet arrives, the drugs are administered, and the parents sadly remark about how short a dog’s life is compared to a human’s. The little boy then tells them he knows why they don’t live as long.

"Everybody is born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody and being nice, right?" The four-year- old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Dogs are all about love. They teach us how to be good people. This is one of their many “jobs.”

Being a longtime dog owner myself, and having helped several to the Rainbow Bridge, I can’t help but think that this child is correct. What we learn from our best friends is invaluable. That is, if you are open to learning, if you are paying attention. A dog tied in the backyard 24/7 isn’t going to teach you much. Even then, if you looked, you’d learn about patience, devotion and forgiveness. You only have to look.

Sander’s Book is at once a mystery novel, personal growth journal, and filled with what she found out about handling cancer in her dog, Sander. Diagnosed with a potentially invasive cancer, Sander went on to live not for six months, not for a year, not for two years but for seven and a half years, not passing away until he was 14 years old!

How Sander beat the odds, and how the author learned to think clearly about solving Sander’s problems is a riveting story. If  I had read this book before I found cancer in my dog, Stevie, he might have lived a far more comfortable life before passing on.

Even though I still grieve deeply for my heart dog, Stevie, I didn’t feel that wound reopening while reading Sander’s story. It is, above all, a story of the joy of living with a wonderful dog. It is not a story of a dying dog, rather, it is the story of a living dog, doing the things that make him happy, and thus, make his owner happy. It’s a story of life, not a story of inevitable death.

Let’s face it, it’s not the fact that we die that is important. Nor is it how we die. We all die, and that’s a fact we can’t get away from. It’s how we live our lives that makes the difference. Sander’s Book is a lovely example of one woman focusing on life. This is one of the many lessons taught by Sander.

All profits from the sales of Sander’s Book are being donated by the author to dog causes and charities. Please contact Ms. Burnet at www.cinnamondog.com to buy Sander’s Book.

Waltz With Me, Alaska

Donna Blasor-Bernhardt

Read this book for the story. This is the story of some of the most intense perseverance I've ever read. The sheer insanity of living in an Army tent during the winter of 1977 in Tok, Alaska, is compelling. Dick and Donna Bernhardt packed up their two kids and moved from the big city of Anchorage, for all intents and purposes a city just like any other in the US, to the tiny blit on the road called Tok, population at that time: 215. They were unprepared financially to begin with, got settled extremely late in the season, and had no idea what to expect from the winter that ultimately reached -70°F (and stayed that temperature for a while).

To say these folks did it the hard way is an understatement. Sheer dumb luck, bullheadedness (and I say that in a positive sense!), hard work and belief and love in each other is the only reason I can see that they survived. These are strong people, Alaskans.

The thing is, while their story is unique, this kind of experience isn't all that uncommon in Alaska. The stories of old-timers are rife with crazy stuff like this. Alaskans reading this book may shake their heads and say "Why didn't they just drag the log with the pickup truck?" Or "Why couldn't Dick find work on the pipeline?"  Older Alaskans may smile and say, "Oh yeah, that reminds me of the time we had to back up the Elliot Highway in a Model T in freezing rain..." It doesn't matter. This is how it happened, good luck, bad luck, heartbreak and joy.

The Bernhardts may have not done things the way you would have done them, but the story of how they survived is surprising and riveting.  You won't be able to put this book down. Enjoy the great story.

Upcoming Reviews

Having continued to read, but not to write reviews, I'm about to catch up by adding reviews of several books over the next week. The list so far looks like this:

KPAX, by Gene Brewer
KPAX, the movie
Is he an alien or not?

The Dreamthief's Daughter, by Michael Moorcock
Stunning and insightful analysis of WWII combined with warrior fantasy.

The Elvenbane, by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey
Absorbing and fun.

Afterlife, by Rhian Ellis
Quirky and well-written. Imagine growing up in a "medium coloney." Medium as in clairvoyant, not as in a size designation.

Waltz With Me Alaska, by Donna Bernhardt
It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature, especially if She's an Arctic spirit!

Shadows and Light, by Anne Bishop
Elves, witches and bad guys.

Prince of Ayodhya, by Ashok K. Banker
A retelling of the Ramayana. Very well-done and lovely to read.

I may have more to say about Janet Evanovich, and I'm sure there are some I've forgotten. Keep checking back for additions.

Book List

This list was begun March 16, 2004 and lists only what I've recently read. Actually, not all of what I've recently read, but some have been returned to the library already and there were so many of them that I've forgotten the authors. From now on I'll make a note of each!

I have to add some of my favorite books, though.

Children of Men, PD James.
PD James usually writes mysteries, which I read and enjoy greatly for their moodiness and Old World slowness. This is something very different, a speculative fiction work that was wonderfully satisfying all the way through.

Animal Doctor, By P. C. Jersild Translated by David Mel Paul and Margareta Paul from the Swedish.
This reminded me a bit of Stanislaw Lem and those others who write of endless bureaucracies and how an emotional human being fits into such a thing. Great characters, thoughtful writing, and a clean, cold Northern essence.

Glyph, Percival Everett.
This book varies from snobby pretentiousness to very amusing social satire. A sort of reverse Forrest Gump, the protagonist Ralph is a baby who has an IQ of 450 and who writes erudite notes and reads voraciously between diaper changes. Ultimately it was a disappointment because the author relied too much on austere philosophical meanderings.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, JK Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, JK Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, JK Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling.
The odd thing about the Harry Potter books is that for hundreds of pages you are convinced that nothing at all is really happening, and then things suddenly come together. Rowling is quite good at this!

All of the Stephanie Plum novels, the latest two I recently read.
Hard Eight, Janet Evanovich.
To The Nines, Janet Evanovich.

Dhalgren, Samuel Delaney.
I read everything that I find by Samual Delany. This book goes right to my gut.

Solaris, Stansilaw Lem.
The Cyberiad, Stansilaw Lem.
Also every other book he has written. Read him.

Hackers, Steven Levy.
How we all ended up with computers on our desktops, and the personalities and events involved. I could barely put it down to eat.

Any books that I can find written by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky.

Tripmaster Monkey, Maxine Hong Kingston.

The Tin Drum, G�nter Grass.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, JRR Tolkien.

The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck.
This is my favorite book of all time. I have read every book Steinbeck has written, many of them numerous times.

All books written by Margaret Atwood, author of A Handmaid's Tale.

All books written by Marge Piercy, author of Woman on the Edge of Time.

2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke.

Diana Gabaldon Books
Outlander
Dragonfly in Amber
Voyager
Drums of Autumn
The Fiery Cross

James Joyce
Ulysses
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Dubliners

Connie Willis
Water Witch (with Cynthia Felice)
Lincoln's Dreams
Doomsday Book
Remake
Bellwether
Promised Land (with Cynthia Felice)
To Say Nothing of the Dog This is one of those incredibly enjoyable books that I recommend to everyone.
Passage Brain death and the Titanic meet. I couldn't stop reading it, though it disturbed me to find out there was so much detail available about the Titanic. The ultimate mystery novel.

The Forest, Edward Rutherfurd. A long history of England with intertwining families throughout the centuries.

The Starry Child
Circle of Time, both by Lynn Hanna. She's trying to be Diana Gabaldon but isn't putting the time and effort into it. By the second book it's so contrived as to be boring.

Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland, W.B. Yeats. I read this as a child and it scared me so bad I didn't reread it until now. Why the little people/fairies/etc. make mortals cart around corpses is something I'm still figuring out. Could be they are saying, "Hey STUPID, you are MORTAL! Get your act together NOW!" Besides those types of stories, there are lots of others, and many written in Irish/English dialect. If you haven't read this, and you are into Irish lore, you have missed a classic.

The Silence of the Lambs, by Thomas Harris. I finally read this book from which the famous movie was made. Even knowing how things turn out didn't make it any less fascinating, and it is well-written, an added and required bonus if I am to finish a book. I like Clarice Starling because she embodies the person in me that is real, who has both feminine and masculine traits, not just some author's idea of what "woman" is. I get the idea that as a kid she also considered herself a person before she considered herself male or female.

Liz Evans
Don't Mess With Mrs. In-Between
JFK is Missing!
Who Killed Marilyn Monroe?
Barking!
Almost any blurb you read will describe Liz Evans' Grace Smith books as "England's answer to Janet Evanovich." I suppose it is a good way to sell books, and there is a slight resemblence but some nice differences, too. For one thing, these plots are a lot more involved, and the books are more detailed and longer than any Stephanie Plum novel. For another thing, Grace Smith is more my cup of tea. She's less concerned with men than Stephanie is, doesn't do the makeup thing, the clothes thing (in the four books I've read, she's still wearing the same three outfits!) and she's somewhat tactless. The thing she has in common is that she's out there being active, doing stuff, getting into a mess and many of the situations are quite funny, no doubt about it! These aren't just fluff, and the definitely aren't romances, and they are well-written.

The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque

Jeffrey Ford
2002

One of my favorite authors writes in one of my favorite periods, the Victorian. While the story takes place in New York City (afficionados of that town will be charmed by the historical details) the Victorian period is in full swing, with hansom cabs, fireplaces for warmth, men with walking sticks and candles. I'm sure he mentioned an apidistra somewhere as well.

Mrs. Charbuque has commissioned Piero Piambo (who is known to one an all simply as "Piambo"), up and coming painter, to do her portrait. However there is one hitch: he is never to see her, but simply to talk to her while she sits behind a screen. He will be handsomely rewarded regardless of what he paints, but should he be able to paint her exact likeness, the reward becomes a fortune.

We then begin two stories: one, of Piambo and his struggle to paint the portrait, and two, the story that Mrs. Charbuque relates from behind the screen. Both are extraordinary.

From heavenly snowflakes to earthy defecations, Ford once again creates pseudo-sciences that intrigue and entertain. The art scene in Manhattan is delightful, and the agony of Piambo as he wrestles with his conscience is riveting. He's just like us, a fool who cares.

The Victorian language is genuine and unforced. Most authors attempting a "Victorian" novel do not succeed in the creation of sentences that sound and read true to period. The writing is fluid and excellent and as beautiful as ever. Ford once again shows what a virtuoso he is.

The Iron Lance

Steven Lawhead
1998

Part of the Celtic Crusades series, The Iron Lance begins with people so far apart from each other in time and space that it immediately becomes interesting to find out how in the heck they are all going to come together, and in what way.

We have a member of a secret society in 1899, Murdo, youngest son of a Laird in the Orkney Islands, and Alexius Comnenus, Emperor of All Christendom, God's Co-Regent on Earth. And no, the latter is not the Pope. Pope Urban is a player in this game of "take the city," but he never makes an appearance in the story.

The main action takes place after the Pope declares war upon "the infidel," that is, the Moslems currently holding the city of Jerusalem. Thousands upon thousands of ignorant but well-meaning men and boys descend upon Constantinople, throne of the Emperor Alexius, in order to head on to Jerusalem to retake the Holy City. Murdo stays home to help his mother, because he's not old enough to have taken lessons in sword and weapons, being only fourteen.

The reality of dealing with large numbers of untrained and under-supplied "soldiers" is brought to light, along with the politics of dealing with the leaders thereof. How Murdo manages to get entangled, the betrayl of the churchmen back in the Orkneys, and the flavors, smells and dirt of 1095 are rich enough to be instructive, but not intense enough to sicken. The horrors of war and the mob mentality are the strongest, and occasioned me to put the book aside to regain my composure. Still, they must have been mild as described, compared to the reality.

How the fellow in 1899 fits in I'll leave for the reader to enjoy. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Groucho Marx, Secret Agent

Ron Goulart
2002

Here we go for another round of perilous puns and raucous racketeers. You have Hollywood, Nazis (again), to say nothing of Dorgan, the bloodhound. A famous English director is found dead, and Groucho and Frank go to work, while Jane holds the fort.

Groucho Marx and the Broadway Murders
2001

I like this one the best because we get to take a vintage train or two and get a change of scenery: New York City and the World's Fair. This is also the best mystery of the bunch.

My only criticism is that Groucho is a cartoon of himself. He never shuts up, he never has a serious moment. (However he is extremely funny.) I recently bought Arthur Marx's (Groucho's son) book of photographs of his father, and it shows a thoughtful, fun-loving, silly, but also very serious and sensitive man. Celebrate the silly side with these mysteries, but remember that he was so much more.

Jumper

Steven C. Gould
1992

When my son was little, he promised me that was he was going to do for mankind was invent a teleporter machine, so that there would be no more pollution from gas and diesel engines. He's grown up, and still hasn't made me my teleporting machine, darn it!

Davy, the hero of Jumper, discovers that he can teleport without any machine at all. He's a highschool student living with his alcoholic father. During a particularly bad beating Davy suddenly finds himself in a place he feels safe: the public library.

I approve.

This leads him to experiment and learn how to control his unique power. Gould must have either been very young when he wrote this, or been in excellent touch with his teenaged self. Davy's voice is so authentic that I would think some of the libraries would shelve this in the Young Adult section.

Davy is smart, caring and resourceful. He is also ignorant of how things work in the bureaucracies of the world. He is caught in a very hard life and makes some bad decisions and some good decisions in order to survive. He moves to NY City to get away from the abusive father, which gets him into a pretty big mess. With no ID, no birth certificate, no social security number, his options are limited and it's only a matter of time until some authorities, either IRS, military, school or others, start to hunt him down.

The book sidesteps the hard questions about being the son of an alcoholic. I found this disappointing. Instead, there is a long and involved (albeit exciting and interesting) section where Davy decides to go after some terrorists. While this is the way the author brings Davy back to his home issues, I found the book very interesting in that it dealt with terrorists PRE-9/11. At one point Davy meets with a State department official, who briefs him on terrorism.

"'One of the problems with American public policy on terrorism is that our government insists on blurring the line between armed insurgence against the military forces and installations, and attacks on uninvolved civilians. Now, obviously attacking unarmed civilians who have no involvement with a particular political issue is terrorism. But an attack on an armed military force occupying one's homeland? That's not terrorism...'

'Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that the proportion of American dead from terrorism is wayou out of proportion to the response it generates. We did nothing to stop the Iran-Iraq war because we perceived it in our interests that damage be done to both of those countries.'"

There is more to this conversation, which I found to be the most interesting in the entire book, as it relates to the way our country used to treat terrorism, pre-Bush. Quite enlightening, and it points out the huge spin machine that the government currently uses to twist the meaning of even the word terrorism.

Of course Gould didn't have this in mind, he was just putting out what was happening back in 1992. Sometimes hindsight is a good thing.

Where to Buy Books

I do not condone adding links to Amazon.com simply because they might pay me a pittance if hundreds of people end up clicking on my book links and buy books from them. They are the WalMart of the book world.

Instead, I would ask all of you who love books to patronize your locally-owned bookstore. These stores are run by people who read and love books. Who know what to put in front of you, who care about what books are in each section. They order these books themselves, not simply receive them from a central processing center.

Yes, it's fun to browse Barnes & Noble. At least they have a real storefront. If you know how to find what you want, and you know what is quality, you can find things on your own. But Barnes & Noble and other chain bookstores are full of people, often teenagers, marking time until they get better jobs. Local bookstore owners who care about the quality of the books they carry and the service you receive, and enter into active relationships with authors and customers.

There are many wonderful, locally-owned, independent bookstores to be found. Here are a few I have enjoyed greatly.

Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon: Proof that an independant bookstore can be gigantic and still quality-oriented.

Title Wave Books in Anchorage, Alaska.

Birdsong Used Books, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

There are plenty more bookstores of course. Birdsong will find you those hard-to-find out of print editions, or check their stock for that one Stanislaw Lem paperback that was never returned by your friend.

Support your local economy, support intelligence in book selling.