Fiction

Review – The Anatomy of Ghosts

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The Anatomy of Ghosts

By Andrew Taylor

Hyperion

ISBN: 9781401302870

2.5 stars

1786; Cambridge, England; ghosts; a mystery — How could I go wrong? Well, I won’t go and say it was wrong but I will say this one wasn’t my cup of tea. I finished and I’m glad I did but didn’t feel satisfied. There’s nothing specific I can point to but it didn’t come together for me. Wrong book, wrong time?

John Holdworth, a recent widower grieving not only his much loved wife, but his son who was also lost tragically, is called upon by Lady Oldershaw to reestablish her son’s reputation. Frank Oldershaw, a student at Jerusalem College in Cambridge, has been a patient at a mental hospital ever since he saw the ghost of a woman supposedly haunting the college grounds. As John has written a book stating ghosts are mere delusions, Lady Oldershaw believes he’s the best person to investigate her family’s little problem and convince her son that what he saw wasn’t real. What John Holdworth finds at Jerusalem College is much more complicated that he imagined.

John isn’t, for me, a likable character. While his wife is grieving their son, and talking to charlatans in the hopes of hearing her son from the other side, he’s writing a book about how ghosts don’t exist. When she finally succumbs to her grief, his life crumples and he moves along wondering what will happen to him but he’s so drained he can’t even bring himself to feel. Then it happens, he loses everything and ends up working a case of a ghost. Irony there for ya isn’t it?

The whole time I was reading I kept wondering why this guy was doing the investigation. Yes, he was discreet. Yes, he needed a job. Yes, he wrote a book about ghosts. But none of it worked for me. I kept thinking it didn’t make sense. And the mystery; I barely noticed it. Maybe I wasn’t paying close enough attention but I didn’t really care what happened to a group of young, rich men who thought they owned and ran the world and had the privilege of treating everyone around them badly because their money declared they could. Although to not be entirely negative, there were a few interesting plot twists but again I couldn’t bring myself to care much.

I read some good reviews of this several months ago so take what I said cautiously. This was a book that didn’t work for me but that doesn’t mean anything other than I didn’t get into it. In the front of the book I read, there was a list of books by the author and some sound promising. I’m going to try one more book and see how I feel about Andrew Taylor’s writing after the second chance. Sometimes a few bad characters make the difference between loving a book and merely liking it.

Review – After Dark

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After Dark

By Haruki Murakami

Vintage Books

ISBN: 9780307278739

4.5 stars

Told between the hours of midnight and dawn, After Dark follows encounters that take place across the city of Tokyo.  Mari Asai is sitting in a Denny’s when her sister’s friend, Takahashi, recognizes her.  Takahashi’s presence is tolerated by Mari but when he leaves, he’s not missed.  Shortly after, Mari, at the asking of Takahashi, meets Kaoru, a manager of a love hotel, who needs her help with a Chinese prostitute who’s been beaten by a customer.  Acting as interpreter, Mari helps the woman but feels worse for it in the end as she’s left wondering what will happen to her.  We look in on Mari’s sister, Eri, who is in a deep sleep, meet the man who beat up the prostitute, and return to Mari following her throughout the night and the people she meets.

After Dark exposes a raw nerve and at one point I even took a step back wondering where it was all going.  There are dreams, actual sleeping dreams, life dreams, nightmares, sad memories, and happy ones.  It’s an examination of lives, thoughts, friendships, and loves. All seen through the eyes of a woman on the verge of change who is not sure if she wants what she’s worked for.

The writing itself is incredible.  The dialogue is smart, stark, and spare.  No one character says more than needed, especially Mari, who has a secret but doesn’t want to share it.  When she does, it’s with a stranger.  It’s a poignant exchange for these two characters even though the conversation is very short and you know there’s a chance these two will never meet again. Maybe knowing this makes it easier for the two women to confide in each other knowing each of their secrets will stay that way but they get the added benefit of still being able to talk about it.

I came across this book completely by accident but it was so right at the time.  If you come across it, I recommend you pick it up and read it.  It’s truly phenomenal.

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so other participants know what you’re reading.

I started a book yesterday not realizing it involved the Tudors. I’ve nothing against them; but I’m slightly worn out. So today’s teaser comes from a book I downloaded to my Nook late last night when I decided I wanted something different.

From The Castle of Wolfenbach by Eliza Parsons:

“This the good woman promised, and, wishing her a good sleep, returned to the kitchen. ‘God bless the poor lady,’ said she, ‘why she is as weak as a child; sure you must have come a great way from home.’” (page 3 of 187 on my Nook)

Review – Fiction Noir: Thirteen Stories, An Anthology

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Fiction Noir: Thirteen Stories, An Anthology

Edited by Rick Tannenbaum

Hen House Press

ISBN: 9780983460466

4 stars

This year I’ve been making an effort to read more short stories. When I was contacted by Hen House Press to review the Fiction Noir anthology I said yes. It was short stories but fiction noir which I enjoy —- dark stories always capture my attention. And this collection was really good.

I don’t want to give too much away so I thought a short sentence (question to entice?) about each would suffice.

Loser’s Ledge by Eve Gael — When you lose everything you thought important, what’s left?

Hey, Girlie by Joanne Dobson — A young girl is spooked by a neighbor but is there a reason to be scared?

Everyone’s a Critic by A.R. Philips — As a movie director, what lengths would you go to to ensure your movie gets the best reviews?

Dangerous Appetites by Amy Beth Arkawy — After marrying for money, a former caterer begins to see her life from a whole new perspective.

Johnny Passe by Scott Fivelson and Tim Cleavenger — An old fashioned private eye gets caught in a trap while looking for some Sinatra records.

Anvil by Steven Fried — A meditation, if you will, on the life and death process.

The Vinegar of the Seven Thieves by Dennis Brock — In wartime, a former soldier running from the law finds himself in a bad place while trying to survive.

Wrongful Death by Isaac Grimm — A lawyer with a needy wife comes across the perfect solution when a client visits.

Murder Brokers by Jennifer Leeper — A small town reporter’s curiosity gets the better of her, or does it?

The Village Idiot by Roberto Gottardello and Rivka Tadjer — A washed up FBI agent’s past comes back to haunt her.

When the Man Comes Around by Bernard Schaffer — How far would you go to protect a child?

High Stakes Graf by Semyon White — Vegas calls but the lure is sometimes more dangerous than one might know.

Love Noir by Ivan Jensen — A short poem, quite unique.

There are several gems here among them: Hey, Girlie, Everyone’s a Critic, Dangerous Appetites, Johnny Passe, The Vinegar of the Seven Thieves, Wrongful Death, Murder Brokers, and Love Noir. I have to say though, I really enjoyed them all. Usually when I’m reading short stories, especially a collection of several different authors, I take a break between stories. I didn’t do that with these stories. I jumped into the next story without a break eager to see what would be next. This might actually be the first time that’s ever happened to me. If you’re looking for some short stories, take a look, this collection is worth your time.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book for review.

Today’s Book – 1Q84

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I stumbled upon Haruki Murakami’s After Dark one day. I picked it up intrigued by the cover (yep, sucker for a cover right here). With little interesting me in my stack of books, I went for the new one and barely left the couch until it was finished. Spellbound would be a good word. Am I excited about his new book, 1Q84? Umm, yeah, like hell I’m excited.

Review – Persuasion

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Persuasion from The Complete Works of Jane Austen

By Jane Austen

Douglas Editions

ISBN: 2940000816981

4 stars

Anne Elliot is a thoughtful, helpful, and all around likable person, unless of course you’re one of her family members. Her father thinks nothing of her, her oldest sister, Elizabeth, prefers to ignore her, and her sister Mary likes having her around so she can complain to her about how no one appreciates her. Her mother died when Anne was young and since her death, she has become close to her mother’s friend, Mrs. Russell, who loves her like a daughter.

Anne’s father, Sir Elliot, is a man with a title but not a man of great means. Due to his lack of being able to manage any money at all, the family is forced to rent their large home and move to live more within their small means. For Elizabeth, this means only finding a place that will be suitable to her and her father’s needs. Mary, who is married with young children, only finds their father’s problem an inconvenience to her. Anne, well, she only does as she’s told. Although unhappy with the move, she understands the reason and is willing to do what is necessary. When a long, lost love returns to the picture in the course of renting out the family’s home, Anne finds herself in a precarious situation. When the stars begin to align for Anne, things become even more complicated and one can only hope she will finally find the life she deserves.

Half way through reading Persuasion, I realized I had read this book before. That didn’t stop me from enjoying it though. Austen takes a family situation, adds a few oddball characters, some really annoying ones as well, and allows you the means to fall in love with her characters. You want Anne, who seems to be able to see the good in all, to find the love she fully deserves. Everyone around her is full of concern for how things will look and their place in society that they have no time for anything important. As for Elizabeth and Mary, you want to shake both of them. They’re two pompous nutcases but they do bring a slight case of amusement especially where Mary is concerned.

In the end, it’s a simple, straight forward love story and ends the same way as a few of her other books. It’s on the short side and not nearly as rich as Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility but still a wonderful read. I believe it may make it into my Austen reread stack.

I still have Emma and Lady Susan to get to in my collection and Lady Susan is the next Austen book I have to look forward to.

Update: I wrote this review several months ago and forgot I had written it. I found it this weekend while working on several other reviews and thought it was time to post it.

 

Teaser Tuesdays – Neverwhere

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so other participants know what you’re reading.

Today’s teaser comes from Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

“Anaesthesia’s hand sought Richard’s. He held it tightly, her tiny hand in his.” (page 102)

Review – The Revisionists

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The Revisionists

By Matthew Mullen

Mulholland Books

ISBN: 9780316176729

3.5 stars

Time travel can be an iffy subject. How much can you mess with the timeline and keep readers stretching their grasp on reality before it snaps. In The Revisionists, Mullen asks both the reader and his main character to do just that.

Zed is an agent sent back to present day Washington, DC by the Department of Historical Integrity to ensure an event, a catastrophic event involving the death of millions of people, takes place and guarantees his society’s existence and way of life. In his timeframe, all of society’s problems have been solved — there is no hunger, no war, just a happy peace. Or that’s what the leaders in his time want him to believe. He begins questioning the need for his so-called mission wondering if letting people die will in fact lead to the perfect society he lives in.

Lonely and convincing himself it’s research, Zed begins interacting with contemporary individuals finding their lives and problems are not far from his own. Part of his mission is to leave as small a trace as possible of his existence. Zed’s footprint is huge and continues to grow. There are too many openings and far too many people involved for him to walk away unnoticed. Another problem — it seems the Department didn’t do a very good job with his cover identity since individuals keep recognizing him. He wonders if it could be a coincidence or if there is something mentally wrong with him. He knows he should break off all contact with the people he’s now interested in — especially a young Washington lawyer, Tasha, reeling from the death of her brother in Iraq — but he can’t. The circle widens and Zed can’t step back and soon ends up on the CIA, FBI, and a covert intelligence group’s radar.

Mullen plays with the concepts of history and time making for one confusing story but not in a bad way. In a few areas, I had no idea why things were happening, and while some things are tied up neatly, I was left wondering where all this was going but wasn’t that the point? This is a book about a time traveler with questions about his future and how the past plays into it but he has no real answers because he doesn’t understand the implications of his mission anymore than you do. Mullen plays with you. Dangles clues in front of you and doesn’t give you the answers you want. From the perspective of the time traveler, Zed, it’s brilliantly done. You agonize over his questions too with no answers or solutions forthcoming.

Zed’s mission involves stopping people from the future — he calls them hags — who are trying to impede the great conflagration from taking place and hopefully save lives in the process. He wrestles with whether or not it’s right to let these people die so individuals in his time can live as they do. But he also wonders about his time and if it is as truly perfect as he’s been led to believe. Has he been lied to? Zed can’t forget the questions he has and this uncertainty takes a toll on him mentally and physically. Every character in this book struggles with right and wrong and where those lines intersect. While there’s no predicting how someone will react, or what will actually happen if someone who was supposed to die lives, Zed starts taking chances. It’s interesting to see where it leads him and several of the characters.

Mullen creates a captivating theme throughout — do the decisions we make really change anything but our own fate? What you’ll find is that there are no answers but an interesting story full of questions along the way.

In addition to this blog, I also do reviews for The Book Reporter website. The above review was done for the Book Reporter which can be found here. The book was provided to me by the publisher.