Weekly book report

Posted by Sari

Huh, back to English...

Been reading again:

Anne Perry is a prolific mystery novelist whose books usually take place in Victorian London. Death of a Stranger is one in a series featuring a private detective William Monk and his wife Hester solving mysteries. I read around four or five of these in States, but though they were well enough written and I liked the "Law and Order" like structure which followed the cases through all the way to the courts, they were more than usually repetetive. I picked up this one mainly because the blurb at the back promised me that Monk who has been suffering from amnesia from the beginning of the series, would finally get his memory back. And it was on sale.  Unfortunately, the novel seemed a bit plodding, and the unremitting focus on the immorality and duplicity of Victorian morals was rather heavy-handed. So I think this will be the last Perry novel for me.

(And I did not know this when I started reading her few years ago, but there is a six-degrees type rather morbid link to Tolkien. Do you know what? And googling is cheating...)

I also finished another mystery, Liza Marklund's superhit Sprängaren (The Bomber), her first novel about crime journalist Annika Bengzon. This I liked quite a bit. It was fast moving, well plotted and interesting mystery.  And compared to Perry, the feminist issues were much better handled. Defenitely a keeper.

Which is something I can't say about Michael Moore's rant against the Republican America, Stupid White Men.  I can see why it was a hit, there is something liberating about just reading a moderately clever rant against something you are also against. Just lock away all critical faculties and enjoy the feeling of outrage for a bit. I mean, the other side has had their populists, so people like Franken and Moore are doing nothing new. But honestly, as an analysis it leaves a lot to be desired and the relentless partinsanship gets a bit tiresome at some point.

Next up, Russo, more Arden and Ranulph Fiennes writing about Captain Scott.

Oh, and Jukka has his first check-up since January on monday, bloodtests, CT-scan, the works. Fingers crossed...

Comments

[Anna]

Fingers crossed, fingarna krossad, varpaatkin ristissä.

Ja mielellään sitten uutisia mahd. pikaisesti, vaikkapa uutukaiseen kännykkääni, kauniiseen grafiitin harmaaseen nokialaiseeni 2300, jonka soittoäänenä heläjää two Towers.

Mistäs sais kivoja logoja kännyyn? Ja mikä on ehdottomasti soittoääni, jota et halua kuulla ruuhkabussissa?

[Teemu]

Logoja ja soittoääniä? Jumalatonta meininkiä.
Itse leikin uudella teknologialla ja nyt kännykkääni koristaa kuva eräästä naisihmisestä ja hevosesta... ;) Mutta logoja saa helpoiten ihan netistä tai jos tyytyy yleisimpiin niin ihan ilmaisjakelulehdissäkin niitä kaupataan. Ja on sivuja, jolla voi itse piirtää.
Soittoääntäkin yritin hakea netistä, mutta puhelinpahalaiseni ei tue kovinkaan monimutkaista musiikkia. tyydyin púhelimen tarjoamaan.
Mutta joo: uutisia ottaa vastaan mielellään myös Pekingin toimisto!

[Veriveli]

Hampaatkin ristissä. Kyl mar ny jotta uutissi tai tiatoi sit tihku kans Turkku?

[jukkahoo]

I read some three Anne Perry's in Princeton and though I liked the way she handled the time and place, and the characters weren't half bad, I was soon disgusted by the way the author was using the main characters as her own mouth piece. My main beef with her was the incredibly out-of-place "modern" way of thinking the main characters had. Victorian era was slightly different from the 1990's. It's all evident from the very first book, but as it got progressively worse, I just couldn't keep up that required sense of wonder in order to cintinue with the series.

Ja lisää uutisia terveydentilasta HETI kun saan niitä itse, eli oletettavastikin torstaina. Ja eikö kaikilla ole soittoäänenä Brasilian kansallislaulua?

[fionna]

If you're looking for left-wing political ranting in digestable form, you'd do much better with Greg Palast - just as outraged, but a much better writer and researcher than Moore, with more political savvy.

[jukkahoo]

"Hampaatkin ristissä." Sanoo veriveli.

Kiitoksia, kiitoksia. Ja hyvää maaliskuun idusta kiduksillenne. Näin jälkikäteenkin jopa.