Finished Sa 12/29/18
This is a hardback novel that Janny lent to me. It's most definitely a Romance Novel, but it's beautifully written and the story is fantastically engaging.
Set in 1899 thru the first decade of the 20th century.
Fortune's Rocks- a beach area in New Hampshire near the border with Maine. This is just a few miles from Ely Falls which was a mill down filled with poor workers and foreigners.
A love affair between fifteen year old Olympia Biddeford and John Haskell, 41 yrs. old with four children and married to Catherine.
Haskell is a doctor and has written a collection of essays. This is why Olympia's father has invited him to Fortune's Rocks. This is their vacation home and Olympia's family lives on Beacon Hill near Boston.
They meet on the first day of the summer solstice in June, 1944; Fourth of July there is a party and John and Olympia go to the hospital in Ely Falls.
The affair is discovered on August 10, 1899. The party for Olympia's birthday. The house used to be a Catholic nunnery and John and Olympia were making love in the chapel area. Her father had given Olympia a telescope and a poet who was at the party suspected the affair, and he dislikes Olympia. He aims the telescope at the chapel window and asks Catherine, John's wife, to take a look. This is the last time that John and Olympia see each other for four years.
Olympia is sent to The Hastings Seminary For Females when she learns that she's pregnant. She is sent to a family with four young men and a widow. This man comes on to Olympia and she leaves and decides to return to Fortune's Rocks and live in the house that has been vacant since the day of the party.
Rufus Philbrick is a wealthy hotel owner and friend to Olympia. She contacts him (he was at the first party when she met John Haskell) with her plan to sue for custody of the child that was taken from her at birth. She maintains that she was given laundnum and was unable to make a real decision. The court will later agree.
She decides to try and keep her son. She learns that his name is Pierre Haskell and has been in foster care with a French couple. They work in the mills.
She engages the legal service of Payson Tucker. She wins the suit because the woman tells the court that the boy will be working in the mills when he is only ten. She sees nothing wrong with this and then the court believes that Olympia and her family could provide a much better future for the child.
At the end of the novel John and Olympia are married and John has a practice among the poor of Ely Falls and the house has been changed into a house for pregnant unwed girls. They can stay and receive services as long as they agree to keep their babies.
As kind of an epilogue, Olympia learns that the French woman and foster mother to Pierre is dying and her husband is on death's door. Since Olympia is already the legal guardian of the child she agrees to take ten year old Pierre. He is brought to the house and is fascinated with the telescope. Rufus Philbrick sets this up.
From the book's page on wikipedia-
"Fortune's Rocks is a 1999 romance novel by bestselling author Anita Shreve. It is chronologically the first novel in Shreve's tetralogy to be set in a large beach house on the New Hampshire coast that used to be a convent. It is followed by Sea Glass, The Pilot's Wife and Body Surfing.
In the summer of 1899, Olympia Biddeford, a privileged, intelligent and confident 15-year-old who is vacationing with her family at Fortune's Rocks, falls in love with a married 41-year-old doctor and journalist, John Haskell. Their passionate affair, and subsequent discovery, produces a son and leads to far-reaching consequences that span several decades.
The novel is loosely based on the seaside neighborhood of Fortunes Rocks, located in Biddeford, Maine."
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Monday, December 24, 2018
A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES by Lawrence Block
Finished Su 12/23/18
This is an old paperback that I bought at the west branch of the library back on Sa 10/25/08. It was one of the first Mathew Scudder series that I had read and there was a notation that I get some of the other Scudder books.
Plot Summary:
Scudder is contacted by the Khoury brothers when Francine Khoury, Kenan's wife, fails to return from a shopping trip. They pay a $400,000 ransome, yet she's returned in pieces in the trunk of an abandoned car.
Kenan spreads the word among his dealer friends that they also might be the targets of kidnapping. A Russian criminal near Coney Island has his fourteen year old daughter taken from her private school. They get her back alive but she has been raped and two of her fingers had been cut off.
They trace the killers to Albert's house in Brooklyn. Ray has garroted Albert in the basement. Scudder leaves and Kenan takes off Ray's feet, hands, ears, and penis. Kenan uses tourniquets and Ray survives but later dies in the hospital. He cannot communicate to authorities.
Matthew Scudder
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Elaine- Art Historian; call girl. A Final Twist- in the end Matthew admits that he loves Elaine and he doesn't want her to continue to be a call girl. She has actually stopped taking clients for many months.
Francine Khoury
Kenan Khoury
Peter Khoury- recovering heroin/ alcohol addict. He jumps off of the Brooklyn bridge at the end of the novel. He feels responsible for Francine's death. At an AA meeting he let slip that his brother, Kenan, was a mid-level drug dealer. This is how Ray and Albert targeted Kenan.
The Kongs- two teenagers who are hackers. One from Hong Kong and one is Jewish; last names 'King' and 'Kong'.
T.J.
Raymond Callandar
Albert
Brighton Beach
Yuri
This is an old paperback that I bought at the west branch of the library back on Sa 10/25/08. It was one of the first Mathew Scudder series that I had read and there was a notation that I get some of the other Scudder books.
Plot Summary:
Scudder is contacted by the Khoury brothers when Francine Khoury, Kenan's wife, fails to return from a shopping trip. They pay a $400,000 ransome, yet she's returned in pieces in the trunk of an abandoned car.
Kenan spreads the word among his dealer friends that they also might be the targets of kidnapping. A Russian criminal near Coney Island has his fourteen year old daughter taken from her private school. They get her back alive but she has been raped and two of her fingers had been cut off.
They trace the killers to Albert's house in Brooklyn. Ray has garroted Albert in the basement. Scudder leaves and Kenan takes off Ray's feet, hands, ears, and penis. Kenan uses tourniquets and Ray survives but later dies in the hospital. He cannot communicate to authorities.
Matthew Scudder
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Elaine- Art Historian; call girl. A Final Twist- in the end Matthew admits that he loves Elaine and he doesn't want her to continue to be a call girl. She has actually stopped taking clients for many months.
Francine Khoury
Kenan Khoury
Peter Khoury- recovering heroin/ alcohol addict. He jumps off of the Brooklyn bridge at the end of the novel. He feels responsible for Francine's death. At an AA meeting he let slip that his brother, Kenan, was a mid-level drug dealer. This is how Ray and Albert targeted Kenan.
The Kongs- two teenagers who are hackers. One from Hong Kong and one is Jewish; last names 'King' and 'Kong'.
T.J.
Raymond Callandar
Albert
Brighton Beach
Yuri
Friday, December 21, 2018
GO SET A WATCHMAN by Harper Lee
Finished Th 12/20/18
This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me. She was a big fan of 'TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD'.
Jean Louise "Scout" Finch returns to Maycomb, Alabama on her annual two week vacation with her father and aunt, Alexandria.
She meets her old boyfriend Hank Clinton who now works for her father- both men are lawyers.
The best part of the novel is when Scout learns of her father's true beliefs. He is trying to slow down the incursion of the federal government regarding integration. Scout witnesses him in action at a Citizens' Council meeting which is a thinly veiled racist organization.
From the book's page on wikipedia-
"During a discussion with his daughter, Atticus argues that the blacks of the South are not ready for full civil rights, and the Supreme Court's decision was unconstitutional and irresponsible. Although Jean Louise agrees that the South is not ready to be fully integrated, she says the court was pushed into a corner by the NAACP and had to act. She is confused and devastated by her father's positions as they are contrary to everything he has ever taught her. She returns to the family home furious and packs her things. As she is about to leave town, her uncle comes home. She angrily complains to him, and her uncle slaps her across the face. He tells her to think of all the things that have happened over the past two days and how she has processed them. When she says she can now stand them, he tells her it is bearable because she is her own person. He says that at one point she had fastened her conscience to her father's, assuming that her answers would always be his answers. Her uncle tells her that Atticus was letting her break her idols so that she could reduce him to the status of a human being.
Jean Louise returns to the office and makes a date with Henry for the evening. She reflects that Maycomb has taught him things she had never known and rendered her useless to him except as his oldest friend. She goes to apologize to Atticus, but he tells her how proud of her he is. He hoped that she would stand for what she thinks is right. She reflects that she didn't want her world disturbed but that she tried to crush the man who is trying to preserve it for her. She tells him that she thinks she loves him very much. As she follows him to the car, she silently welcomes him to the human race, seeing him as just a man for the first time."
I'm not that familiar with Lee's Pulitzer winning novel, but I somewhat liked this book. It's kind of a defence of the racist policies of the American South. I suppose that this would make a good novel to read in a book club- lots of divergent positions to discuss.
Also, the idea that a child can be so in love with a parent that they refuse to acknowledge the parent's faults.
I thought that the book was written in a 'Young Adult' style. I think that there are better writers that could handle this theme. The defense of racist policy is something that is quite popular these days- the Alt-Right Agenda.
This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me. She was a big fan of 'TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD'.
Jean Louise "Scout" Finch returns to Maycomb, Alabama on her annual two week vacation with her father and aunt, Alexandria.
She meets her old boyfriend Hank Clinton who now works for her father- both men are lawyers.
The best part of the novel is when Scout learns of her father's true beliefs. He is trying to slow down the incursion of the federal government regarding integration. Scout witnesses him in action at a Citizens' Council meeting which is a thinly veiled racist organization.
From the book's page on wikipedia-
"During a discussion with his daughter, Atticus argues that the blacks of the South are not ready for full civil rights, and the Supreme Court's decision was unconstitutional and irresponsible. Although Jean Louise agrees that the South is not ready to be fully integrated, she says the court was pushed into a corner by the NAACP and had to act. She is confused and devastated by her father's positions as they are contrary to everything he has ever taught her. She returns to the family home furious and packs her things. As she is about to leave town, her uncle comes home. She angrily complains to him, and her uncle slaps her across the face. He tells her to think of all the things that have happened over the past two days and how she has processed them. When she says she can now stand them, he tells her it is bearable because she is her own person. He says that at one point she had fastened her conscience to her father's, assuming that her answers would always be his answers. Her uncle tells her that Atticus was letting her break her idols so that she could reduce him to the status of a human being.
Jean Louise returns to the office and makes a date with Henry for the evening. She reflects that Maycomb has taught him things she had never known and rendered her useless to him except as his oldest friend. She goes to apologize to Atticus, but he tells her how proud of her he is. He hoped that she would stand for what she thinks is right. She reflects that she didn't want her world disturbed but that she tried to crush the man who is trying to preserve it for her. She tells him that she thinks she loves him very much. As she follows him to the car, she silently welcomes him to the human race, seeing him as just a man for the first time."
I'm not that familiar with Lee's Pulitzer winning novel, but I somewhat liked this book. It's kind of a defence of the racist policies of the American South. I suppose that this would make a good novel to read in a book club- lots of divergent positions to discuss.
Also, the idea that a child can be so in love with a parent that they refuse to acknowledge the parent's faults.
I thought that the book was written in a 'Young Adult' style. I think that there are better writers that could handle this theme. The defense of racist policy is something that is quite popular these days- the Alt-Right Agenda.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
ANATOMY OF A MIRACLE by Jonathan Miles
Finished Sa 12/15/18
October, 2018 selection for the Contemporary Book Club
'Tongue in Cheek' style (sections of the book are hilarious), but I was kind of confused that the author maintained that it was a 'true' story to the very end. Why was this necessary? His first novel, 'DEAR AMERICAN AIRLINES' was a book written in the form of a complaint letter.
Cameron Harris- Lost the use of his legs in Afghanistan and in August of 2014 he rose from his wheelchair on the parking lot of the Biz-E-Bee Convenience store. 4 years in the chair; injury occurred when his sargent stepped on a landmine in 2010. This man, Damarkus, was even more injured; lost part of both legs and major upper body damage. He was a black man originally from the back hills of Georgia.
Lost his legs. lost his mother, and Katrina within a matter of months.
Tanya Harris- His older sister. She was always protective of Cameron. A bit of a hardass; drink and drugs.
Quynh and Hat- owners of the Biz-E-Bee; Like a 'Cracker Barrel at Lourdes'
Dr. Janice Lorimar-Cuevas- Cameron's doctor. She cannot reconcile the fact that his spine was healed. It's impossible, but it happened.
Nap (Napoleon) Cuevas- Janice's husband; a lawyer who tries to add his view to the 'miracle'.
Mrs. Dooley- The 90 year old woman who lives on Tanya and Cameron's street. She wanted Cameron to pray for her nephew in Chicago. This man was shot and killed and she blames Cameron because he either forgot to pray for her son or he facked his miracle because he doesn't have any power.
Scott T. Griffin- Independent reality-television producer; tries to make Cameron's dilemma a reality TV series- MIRACLE MAN..
Landry- the football player who 'outs' Cameron in high school. Christy/ Chris on his texts; no calls. He did it just for spite. Cameron attacks him viciously. Cameron cannot stand to be laughed at. It wasn't the gay slur, but the fact that he laughed at him.
Dr. Fahey- this was an old radio preacher who was mentioned on Facebook by an old woman. She said that you should pray to Dr. Fahey for Cameron's miracle. Dr. Fahey is the one who made the miracle because he 'interceded' so that it could occur.
Euclide Abbsscia- Hired by the Vatican to research the veracity of 'the miracle'. He drives a Maserati.
Bronya- abandoned Russian tank in Afghanistan where Cameron and Damarkus hook up.
MORE NOTES- We 12/19/18
Miracle- exclusively attributed to divine power
Beyond the power of created nature
PROTESTANT REFORMERS REJECTED THE IDEA THAT MIRACLES CONTINUED BEYOND THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Two miracles needed to be canonized as a saint
Usually five years after death . Canonization requires the documentation of a miracle resulting from the intercession of a prospective saint.
Mother Teresa- healed stomach tumor of an Indian woman after application of a locket with her picture. Second miracle- Brazilian man with multiple brain tumors.
LEFT SHARK/ CONFEFE
Dre. Janice/ Eurclide (Maserati)
TRUTH IS MESSY, COMPLEX, NOT EASILY FIT INTO A NARRATIVE
Winston Lorimar- Janice's Father
HYPOTHESIS IS A STORY TOLD A DIFFERENT WAY
People Shouting The Loudest On the Internet!!!!!
Novelist/writer creates a miracle when he composes his characters.
p.44- "O'Bummer Run Veterans Administration'
p.63 Unidentified Walking Object
p.24 A Novel!!
p. 83 'The lord works in mysterious ways- NO!! the lord works in very predictable ways. Dr. Turnbull VS, Dr. Janice.
'Stop investigating...VA Miracle turns out to be a VA Mistake???
p,111 A lot of things happened in Afghanistan
p115 Father Fahey
p.115 What is a miracle
p. 131' Hit the spiritual lottery'.
NO LONGER NEEDS MEDS- HE CAN WALK SO HE'S SANE
Gil Poleman- the cross man
p. 165 Tom Landry Thing
Norton Skag- magnate who wants Father Fahey canonized.
p. 181 Facebook post
p.217- "FAGGOT'"!!!!
p. 314- Damarkus tells Cameron to forget it happened.
p. 332 "Frame it as coming out of the closet". No! makes Gayness into something wrong.
October, 2018 selection for the Contemporary Book Club
'Tongue in Cheek' style (sections of the book are hilarious), but I was kind of confused that the author maintained that it was a 'true' story to the very end. Why was this necessary? His first novel, 'DEAR AMERICAN AIRLINES' was a book written in the form of a complaint letter.
Cameron Harris- Lost the use of his legs in Afghanistan and in August of 2014 he rose from his wheelchair on the parking lot of the Biz-E-Bee Convenience store. 4 years in the chair; injury occurred when his sargent stepped on a landmine in 2010. This man, Damarkus, was even more injured; lost part of both legs and major upper body damage. He was a black man originally from the back hills of Georgia.
Lost his legs. lost his mother, and Katrina within a matter of months.
Tanya Harris- His older sister. She was always protective of Cameron. A bit of a hardass; drink and drugs.
Quynh and Hat- owners of the Biz-E-Bee; Like a 'Cracker Barrel at Lourdes'
Dr. Janice Lorimar-Cuevas- Cameron's doctor. She cannot reconcile the fact that his spine was healed. It's impossible, but it happened.
Nap (Napoleon) Cuevas- Janice's husband; a lawyer who tries to add his view to the 'miracle'.
Mrs. Dooley- The 90 year old woman who lives on Tanya and Cameron's street. She wanted Cameron to pray for her nephew in Chicago. This man was shot and killed and she blames Cameron because he either forgot to pray for her son or he facked his miracle because he doesn't have any power.
Scott T. Griffin- Independent reality-television producer; tries to make Cameron's dilemma a reality TV series- MIRACLE MAN..
Landry- the football player who 'outs' Cameron in high school. Christy/ Chris on his texts; no calls. He did it just for spite. Cameron attacks him viciously. Cameron cannot stand to be laughed at. It wasn't the gay slur, but the fact that he laughed at him.
Dr. Fahey- this was an old radio preacher who was mentioned on Facebook by an old woman. She said that you should pray to Dr. Fahey for Cameron's miracle. Dr. Fahey is the one who made the miracle because he 'interceded' so that it could occur.
Euclide Abbsscia- Hired by the Vatican to research the veracity of 'the miracle'. He drives a Maserati.
Bronya- abandoned Russian tank in Afghanistan where Cameron and Damarkus hook up.
MORE NOTES- We 12/19/18
Miracle- exclusively attributed to divine power
Beyond the power of created nature
PROTESTANT REFORMERS REJECTED THE IDEA THAT MIRACLES CONTINUED BEYOND THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Two miracles needed to be canonized as a saint
Usually five years after death . Canonization requires the documentation of a miracle resulting from the intercession of a prospective saint.
Mother Teresa- healed stomach tumor of an Indian woman after application of a locket with her picture. Second miracle- Brazilian man with multiple brain tumors.
LEFT SHARK/ CONFEFE
Dre. Janice/ Eurclide (Maserati)
TRUTH IS MESSY, COMPLEX, NOT EASILY FIT INTO A NARRATIVE
Winston Lorimar- Janice's Father
HYPOTHESIS IS A STORY TOLD A DIFFERENT WAY
People Shouting The Loudest On the Internet!!!!!
Novelist/writer creates a miracle when he composes his characters.
p.44- "O'Bummer Run Veterans Administration'
p.63 Unidentified Walking Object
p.24 A Novel!!
p. 83 'The lord works in mysterious ways- NO!! the lord works in very predictable ways. Dr. Turnbull VS, Dr. Janice.
'Stop investigating...VA Miracle turns out to be a VA Mistake???
p,111 A lot of things happened in Afghanistan
p115 Father Fahey
p.115 What is a miracle
p. 131' Hit the spiritual lottery'.
NO LONGER NEEDS MEDS- HE CAN WALK SO HE'S SANE
Gil Poleman- the cross man
p. 165 Tom Landry Thing
Norton Skag- magnate who wants Father Fahey canonized.
p. 181 Facebook post
p.217- "FAGGOT'"!!!!
p. 314- Damarkus tells Cameron to forget it happened.
p. 332 "Frame it as coming out of the closet". No! makes Gayness into something wrong.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
A MILLION LITTLE PIECES by James Frey
Finished Tu 12/11/18
I reread this book because of a discussion at last months book club meeting. 'The Church Lady' attacked the book and brought up all the controversy between James Frey and Oprah. I didn't say anything, but I remembered how much that I liked the book. This is my third time through the book since Feb., 2006.
Originally, Frey tried to sell the book as fiction, but his publisher said that they couldn't sell it, so they changed it to a memoir. Some of the details were faked, but the thrust of the work is still very compelling. He embellished his criminal history and that his girlfriend at Hazelton committed suicide.
He has written several more novels, and I am getting his book about the second coming of the messiah, 'THE FINAL TESTAMENT OF THE HOLY BIBLE'. Directly after 'A MILLION LITTLE PIECES' he wrote a book about Leonard, one of his friends that he met at Hazelton.
Notes On The Book-
The opening pages of the book are absolutely riveting. James awakes in the back of a commercial airline missing all of his front teeth, a hole through his cheek, and covered in blood. He has no memory of what happened, how he got on the plane, or where he is headed.
Soon after he gets into the rehab center he has four root canals done without any form of anesthetic. I will never feel the same about a dental visit again.
'The Fury' is what he calls his overpowering need for drugs and alcohol- "Anything to Stop The Fury".
When his mother and father join him for family therapy, it's revealed that when he was a young child he was always screaming and crying. The family had little money and it wasn't for a few years that they were able to afford a competent doctor and he found that James had severe ear infections and this was causing excruciating pain. Had the infections been addressed sooner, would James be addiction free?
The book is a refutation of the philosophy of AA. The program is only 17% successful, and this is only one year after leaving the program. Many people might relapse after one year or two years. AA believes that 'There Is No Other Way' to combat addiction, and when someone suggests that we tweak 'the plan' or try something else, the response is always 'There Is No Other Way'.
James Frey combats his addiction by fiercely facing his desires and just refusing to give in to them. This approach is judged impossible by AA, but Frey is able to do it. I would imagine that an adherent of AA would just say that his addiction is just waiting to reassert, and even if he lives to be 110 and never takes another drink or drug, they would say that that he still hadn't beaten his disease because it was still there, waiting to come back. This point of view is absurd.
Link to James Frey's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Frey
The book's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Million_Little_Pieces
I reread this book because of a discussion at last months book club meeting. 'The Church Lady' attacked the book and brought up all the controversy between James Frey and Oprah. I didn't say anything, but I remembered how much that I liked the book. This is my third time through the book since Feb., 2006.
Originally, Frey tried to sell the book as fiction, but his publisher said that they couldn't sell it, so they changed it to a memoir. Some of the details were faked, but the thrust of the work is still very compelling. He embellished his criminal history and that his girlfriend at Hazelton committed suicide.
He has written several more novels, and I am getting his book about the second coming of the messiah, 'THE FINAL TESTAMENT OF THE HOLY BIBLE'. Directly after 'A MILLION LITTLE PIECES' he wrote a book about Leonard, one of his friends that he met at Hazelton.
Notes On The Book-
The opening pages of the book are absolutely riveting. James awakes in the back of a commercial airline missing all of his front teeth, a hole through his cheek, and covered in blood. He has no memory of what happened, how he got on the plane, or where he is headed.
Soon after he gets into the rehab center he has four root canals done without any form of anesthetic. I will never feel the same about a dental visit again.
'The Fury' is what he calls his overpowering need for drugs and alcohol- "Anything to Stop The Fury".
When his mother and father join him for family therapy, it's revealed that when he was a young child he was always screaming and crying. The family had little money and it wasn't for a few years that they were able to afford a competent doctor and he found that James had severe ear infections and this was causing excruciating pain. Had the infections been addressed sooner, would James be addiction free?
The book is a refutation of the philosophy of AA. The program is only 17% successful, and this is only one year after leaving the program. Many people might relapse after one year or two years. AA believes that 'There Is No Other Way' to combat addiction, and when someone suggests that we tweak 'the plan' or try something else, the response is always 'There Is No Other Way'.
James Frey combats his addiction by fiercely facing his desires and just refusing to give in to them. This approach is judged impossible by AA, but Frey is able to do it. I would imagine that an adherent of AA would just say that his addiction is just waiting to reassert, and even if he lives to be 110 and never takes another drink or drug, they would say that that he still hadn't beaten his disease because it was still there, waiting to come back. This point of view is absurd.
Link to James Frey's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Frey
The book's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Million_Little_Pieces
Saturday, December 8, 2018
'FEAR' by Bob Woodward
Finished Fr 12/7/18
From the author's page at wikipedia-
"Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He has worked for The Washington Post since 1971 as a reporter and is now an associate editor there.
While a young reporter for The Washington Post in 1972, Woodward teamed up with Carl Bernstein; the two did much of the original news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon. The work of Woodward and Bernstein was called "maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time" by longtime journalism figure Gene Roberts.
Woodward continued to work for The Washington Post after his reporting on Watergate. He has since written 18 books on American politics, 13 of which topped best-seller lists."
My notes for the write up of - 'Fear':
The book reveals Trump to be a narcissistic, headstrong, bully who suffers from low self esteem, although it's not a complete hatchet job. And, the 'Fear' in the title, I think, refers to the complete disarray of the West Wing at the White House. There is no real leadership 'at the top' and how can the most powerful country in the world exist in this manner?
Trump has about the same worldview as the average American fifth grader.
Although he is a major fan of Tweeting, he does not use a computer keyboard and cannot touch type. I thought that this was very weird- prefers 'thumb typing' and obviously very good at it.
He actually believes that he hasn't made a single mistake in all of his 71 years, and he will never admit that he's been wrong. If anyone who dares to call him on a misstep, he violently pushes back. 'Never Admit, Always Deny'
Kellyanne Conway- He's an idiot. Crazy Town. Worse job ever.
Dowd; lawyer- couldn't get Trump coached to testify. Had to resign. 'What do you do for a living' turned into a sixteen page answer. This is the hallmark of a very bad witness: 'You are a liar'.
Several staffers taking papers off of Trump's desk to keep the country from falling apart. They do this because Trump's ideas are so obviously wrong and if implemented would cause worldwide disruptions.
Won't listen if his mind is already made up.
What about the Ukrainians interfering to help Hillary? Why aren't they investigating that? The intelligence services knew that this was a Russian bot, but Trump refused to believe it.
Melania's job is to raise their twelve year old son, Baron. She did pitch in to try to stop his position on The Dreamers because she's from a 'shit hole country'. What's that mean that her main job is to raise her son....doesn't he go to school all day.
After Trump's 'Twitter War' with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he wanted to evacuate all American civilians from South Korean. Had no idea what kind of a panic this would cause.
Trump is incapable of empathy
Only thinks in terms of how much it costs. and has no idea about diplomacy, alliances, or pledges and agreements that have been signed by former American leaders.
Likes hot dogs and hamburgers
Watches six to eight hours of TV a day and even devotes time to the 'D List' political discussions on Sunday Morning CNN.
The kind of guy that wouldn't study, but on the night before the test, would borrow his fraternity brothers' notes, study all night, and get a 'C'. He felt he only needed to pass because he was going to become a billionaire.
He has declared bankruptcy six times...THIS ALONE SHOULD HAVE BARRED HIM FROM BECOMING PRESIDENT.
Tillerson, ex-CEO of Exxon/Mobil called him a fucking moron because of his views on Importing more than we Export- (Trade Deficit). 'We can buy excellent TV's for $250 and if they were made here, they would be much more expensive. Consumers can invest this saving into other products, so it's an actual boost to he economy.'
Had an incredibly short attention span. Staffers must pitch accordingly and they seem to spend an inordinate amount of time crafting their positions because of this deficit.
From the author's page at wikipedia-
"Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He has worked for The Washington Post since 1971 as a reporter and is now an associate editor there.
While a young reporter for The Washington Post in 1972, Woodward teamed up with Carl Bernstein; the two did much of the original news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon. The work of Woodward and Bernstein was called "maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time" by longtime journalism figure Gene Roberts.
Woodward continued to work for The Washington Post after his reporting on Watergate. He has since written 18 books on American politics, 13 of which topped best-seller lists."
My notes for the write up of - 'Fear':
The book reveals Trump to be a narcissistic, headstrong, bully who suffers from low self esteem, although it's not a complete hatchet job. And, the 'Fear' in the title, I think, refers to the complete disarray of the West Wing at the White House. There is no real leadership 'at the top' and how can the most powerful country in the world exist in this manner?
Trump has about the same worldview as the average American fifth grader.
Although he is a major fan of Tweeting, he does not use a computer keyboard and cannot touch type. I thought that this was very weird- prefers 'thumb typing' and obviously very good at it.
He actually believes that he hasn't made a single mistake in all of his 71 years, and he will never admit that he's been wrong. If anyone who dares to call him on a misstep, he violently pushes back. 'Never Admit, Always Deny'
Kellyanne Conway- He's an idiot. Crazy Town. Worse job ever.
Dowd; lawyer- couldn't get Trump coached to testify. Had to resign. 'What do you do for a living' turned into a sixteen page answer. This is the hallmark of a very bad witness: 'You are a liar'.
Several staffers taking papers off of Trump's desk to keep the country from falling apart. They do this because Trump's ideas are so obviously wrong and if implemented would cause worldwide disruptions.
Won't listen if his mind is already made up.
What about the Ukrainians interfering to help Hillary? Why aren't they investigating that? The intelligence services knew that this was a Russian bot, but Trump refused to believe it.
Melania's job is to raise their twelve year old son, Baron. She did pitch in to try to stop his position on The Dreamers because she's from a 'shit hole country'. What's that mean that her main job is to raise her son....doesn't he go to school all day.
After Trump's 'Twitter War' with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he wanted to evacuate all American civilians from South Korean. Had no idea what kind of a panic this would cause.
Trump is incapable of empathy
Only thinks in terms of how much it costs. and has no idea about diplomacy, alliances, or pledges and agreements that have been signed by former American leaders.
Likes hot dogs and hamburgers
Watches six to eight hours of TV a day and even devotes time to the 'D List' political discussions on Sunday Morning CNN.
The kind of guy that wouldn't study, but on the night before the test, would borrow his fraternity brothers' notes, study all night, and get a 'C'. He felt he only needed to pass because he was going to become a billionaire.
He has declared bankruptcy six times...THIS ALONE SHOULD HAVE BARRED HIM FROM BECOMING PRESIDENT.
Tillerson, ex-CEO of Exxon/Mobil called him a fucking moron because of his views on Importing more than we Export- (Trade Deficit). 'We can buy excellent TV's for $250 and if they were made here, they would be much more expensive. Consumers can invest this saving into other products, so it's an actual boost to he economy.'
Had an incredibly short attention span. Staffers must pitch accordingly and they seem to spend an inordinate amount of time crafting their positions because of this deficit.
Saturday, December 1, 2018
LET IT BLEED by Ian Rankin
Finished Fr 11/30/18
This is one of my paperbacks that I had read before. The reason I came back to this novel was that I was looking for some 'better' material to loan to Janny. When I read the recent John Grisham novel that she lent me I felt that, although I liked the book, Grisham is more of a 'story teller', not a 'writer'. You can have both, a rich story-line and a higher level of writing, and I think Ian Rankin more than fills the bill.
The novel's title refers to the Stones album, 'Let It Bleed'.
The novel begins with a wild car chase on the Forth Road Bridge. This is located a little north and west of the city of Edinburgh. John Rebus is a passenger in the car and his boss is driving. Rebus's boss goes through the windshield and Rebus is injured. The two teenagers driving the car that they were chasing get out of their vehicle, hug, and then fall of the side of the bridge.
The two teens were part of a kidnapping hoax. A Scottish politician's daughter claimed to be kidnapped. She wasn't. She ran away from home, became a junkie and was at odds with her family because she learned that her father and his politics were completely corrupt.
There's another suicide in the novel. A man recently released from prison goes into a school where a local politician was having a meeting with his constituents. The man had a shotgun and blew his head off in front of the politician.
The whole book is about political corruption and can it really be beneficial if some 'broken eggs are caused during the making of an omlet'.
Scotland stood to benefit mightily from economic growth, but in order to achieve the outcome, lies would be told and people would be murdered to keep the truth from coming out.
Siobhan Clarke plays a minor role in the book. She is one of Rebus's partners. She's much younger, left-leaning, and English. Kind of his polar opposite. They are not romantically involved, but they sure could be.
Her name is pronounced- "Shiv- onne". It's Irish for 'Joan'.
Can an evil plan result in a common good?
Of course, John Rebus cannot abide with this.
I would read anything by Ian Rankin.
This is one of my paperbacks that I had read before. The reason I came back to this novel was that I was looking for some 'better' material to loan to Janny. When I read the recent John Grisham novel that she lent me I felt that, although I liked the book, Grisham is more of a 'story teller', not a 'writer'. You can have both, a rich story-line and a higher level of writing, and I think Ian Rankin more than fills the bill.
The novel's title refers to the Stones album, 'Let It Bleed'.
The novel begins with a wild car chase on the Forth Road Bridge. This is located a little north and west of the city of Edinburgh. John Rebus is a passenger in the car and his boss is driving. Rebus's boss goes through the windshield and Rebus is injured. The two teenagers driving the car that they were chasing get out of their vehicle, hug, and then fall of the side of the bridge.
The two teens were part of a kidnapping hoax. A Scottish politician's daughter claimed to be kidnapped. She wasn't. She ran away from home, became a junkie and was at odds with her family because she learned that her father and his politics were completely corrupt.
There's another suicide in the novel. A man recently released from prison goes into a school where a local politician was having a meeting with his constituents. The man had a shotgun and blew his head off in front of the politician.
The whole book is about political corruption and can it really be beneficial if some 'broken eggs are caused during the making of an omlet'.
Scotland stood to benefit mightily from economic growth, but in order to achieve the outcome, lies would be told and people would be murdered to keep the truth from coming out.
Siobhan Clarke plays a minor role in the book. She is one of Rebus's partners. She's much younger, left-leaning, and English. Kind of his polar opposite. They are not romantically involved, but they sure could be.
Her name is pronounced- "Shiv- onne". It's Irish for 'Joan'.
Can an evil plan result in a common good?
Of course, John Rebus cannot abide with this.
I would read anything by Ian Rankin.
Monday, November 26, 2018
THE WHISTLER by John Grisham
Finished Su 11/25/18
This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me, and right off the bat, I realized that I'd read it before, but it's such an intricate story that it was just as good the second time around.
A 'deep-cover' informant contacts The Board On Judicial Contact to expose the most corrupt judge in American history, Claudia McDover.
A secret organized crime mob is skimming money from an Indian casino in Florida. Because the casino is on Indian land, the Indians are completely in charge of 'the count'. The is no accountability and millions were stolen.
Lacey and Hugo are two agents for the BJC. They are not agents- only lawyers. Hugo and Lacey are lured to the reservation and Hugo is killed in a truck/ car accident. Lacey is driving and the seat belts and airbag on the passenger side were disabled. Hugo was killed instantly- he went through the window and Lacey was badly injured.
Because of Hugo's murder, they were able to engage the FBI in the investigation.
The informants made a percentage of the money that was skimmed and this was their motivation. They ended up with a fortune- years later.
Plot from the novel's page at wikipedia-
"A mysterious source contacts the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct (BJC) promising information that will reveal the identity and crimes of the most corrupt judge in the history of the United States. Investigator Lacy Stoltz is assigned to the case, and takes her sometimes-partner Hugo Hatch with her to St. Augustine to meet the source in person. The source is revealed to be a disgraced lawyer from Pensacola named Ramsey Mix, now calling himself Greg Myers, who lives on a boat named The Conspirator.
In this and subsequent meetings Mix/Meyers reveals that the judge in question is Claudia McDover of Florida's 24th Circuit, who resides in the fictional Brunswick County, in the panhandle of Florida between Tallahassee and Pensacola. Over the course of almost two decades of corruption, Judge McDover has aided the Coast Mafia in their scheme to build the Treasure Key casino in partnership with the Tappacola Indian Nation. Aside from skimming money from the casino itself, the Coast Mafia has also been responsible for many lucrative real estate developments in the vicinity of the casino, with any legal problems or challenges smoothed over by Judge McDover, who has been well paid in cash and condominiums.
In addition, the Coast Mafia stages the murder of Son Razko, a prominent anti-casino member of the Tappacola Nation, and with the help of Judge McDover makes sure that his right-hand man Junior Mace is falsely convicted of the crime. Mix/Meyers has been given this information by an intermediary representing an unknown "mole" close to Judge McDover.
Stoltz and Hatch begin to investigate the allegations before bringing any formal charges against Judge McDover. The leader of the Coast Mafia, Vonn Dubose, gets wind of the investigation and decides to retaliate. Stoltz and Hatch are lured to a rural part of the Tappacola Reservation by a member of the Tappacola Nation claiming to be an employee of the casino with important information. Driving away from the uneventful meeting, Hatch and Stoltz are deliberately struck head-on by a truck. Hugo Hatch is killed and Lacy Stoltz is badly injured.
The escalation of danger involved with the case convinces the director of the BJC, Michael Geismar, to call in the aid of the FBI. The heavy-handed intimidation tactic that killed Hugo Hatch ends up being the undoing of the Coast Mafia, as the up-and-coming lieutenant tasked with its execution was inexperienced in such matters and left behind evidence at the scene of the crime and was also subsequently caught on video at a nearby all-night convenience store. Following this evidence, and helped by the former Tappacola Nation constable, BJC and FBI investigators find the Coast Mafia henchmen directly responsible for Hatch's murder and offer them reduced sentences in exchange for information and future testimony against those higher up in the Coast Mafia organization.
As their operation begins to unravel, Vonn Dubose and Judge McDover realize that information must have been leaked from someone close to one of them, and suspicion lands on Judge McDover's court recorder of seven years, Jo Hellen Hooper, who is in fact "The Whistler." Realizing her danger, Jo Hellen flees her job and home in Brunswick County to hide in a cheap hotel on Panama City Beach, but she is tracked there by a Coast Mafia hitman. With the help of Lacy Stoltz, Hooper manages to evade the hitman and the two drive to Valdosta, Georgia where they are met at the airport by Lacy's brother Gunther Stoltz, a real estate developer from Atlanta. Gunther flies the two women to western North Carolina in a private plane. There they hide in a lakeside cabin in the mountains while the FBI punishes Vonn Dubose and his partners in crime. Judge McDover is sentenced to 25 years in prison".
I liked the novel, but John Grisham and David Baldacci are more 'story teller's, and 'writers' are more like Ian Rankin and Lawrence Block. I began 'LET IT BLEED' by Ian Rankin Sunday evening after I finished 'THE WHISTLER'. I think that I've been referring to 'THE WHISTLER' on the blog as 'THE WHISPERER'- in error.
This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me, and right off the bat, I realized that I'd read it before, but it's such an intricate story that it was just as good the second time around.
A 'deep-cover' informant contacts The Board On Judicial Contact to expose the most corrupt judge in American history, Claudia McDover.
A secret organized crime mob is skimming money from an Indian casino in Florida. Because the casino is on Indian land, the Indians are completely in charge of 'the count'. The is no accountability and millions were stolen.
Lacey and Hugo are two agents for the BJC. They are not agents- only lawyers. Hugo and Lacey are lured to the reservation and Hugo is killed in a truck/ car accident. Lacey is driving and the seat belts and airbag on the passenger side were disabled. Hugo was killed instantly- he went through the window and Lacey was badly injured.
Because of Hugo's murder, they were able to engage the FBI in the investigation.
The informants made a percentage of the money that was skimmed and this was their motivation. They ended up with a fortune- years later.
Plot from the novel's page at wikipedia-
"A mysterious source contacts the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct (BJC) promising information that will reveal the identity and crimes of the most corrupt judge in the history of the United States. Investigator Lacy Stoltz is assigned to the case, and takes her sometimes-partner Hugo Hatch with her to St. Augustine to meet the source in person. The source is revealed to be a disgraced lawyer from Pensacola named Ramsey Mix, now calling himself Greg Myers, who lives on a boat named The Conspirator.
In this and subsequent meetings Mix/Meyers reveals that the judge in question is Claudia McDover of Florida's 24th Circuit, who resides in the fictional Brunswick County, in the panhandle of Florida between Tallahassee and Pensacola. Over the course of almost two decades of corruption, Judge McDover has aided the Coast Mafia in their scheme to build the Treasure Key casino in partnership with the Tappacola Indian Nation. Aside from skimming money from the casino itself, the Coast Mafia has also been responsible for many lucrative real estate developments in the vicinity of the casino, with any legal problems or challenges smoothed over by Judge McDover, who has been well paid in cash and condominiums.
In addition, the Coast Mafia stages the murder of Son Razko, a prominent anti-casino member of the Tappacola Nation, and with the help of Judge McDover makes sure that his right-hand man Junior Mace is falsely convicted of the crime. Mix/Meyers has been given this information by an intermediary representing an unknown "mole" close to Judge McDover.
Stoltz and Hatch begin to investigate the allegations before bringing any formal charges against Judge McDover. The leader of the Coast Mafia, Vonn Dubose, gets wind of the investigation and decides to retaliate. Stoltz and Hatch are lured to a rural part of the Tappacola Reservation by a member of the Tappacola Nation claiming to be an employee of the casino with important information. Driving away from the uneventful meeting, Hatch and Stoltz are deliberately struck head-on by a truck. Hugo Hatch is killed and Lacy Stoltz is badly injured.
The escalation of danger involved with the case convinces the director of the BJC, Michael Geismar, to call in the aid of the FBI. The heavy-handed intimidation tactic that killed Hugo Hatch ends up being the undoing of the Coast Mafia, as the up-and-coming lieutenant tasked with its execution was inexperienced in such matters and left behind evidence at the scene of the crime and was also subsequently caught on video at a nearby all-night convenience store. Following this evidence, and helped by the former Tappacola Nation constable, BJC and FBI investigators find the Coast Mafia henchmen directly responsible for Hatch's murder and offer them reduced sentences in exchange for information and future testimony against those higher up in the Coast Mafia organization.
As their operation begins to unravel, Vonn Dubose and Judge McDover realize that information must have been leaked from someone close to one of them, and suspicion lands on Judge McDover's court recorder of seven years, Jo Hellen Hooper, who is in fact "The Whistler." Realizing her danger, Jo Hellen flees her job and home in Brunswick County to hide in a cheap hotel on Panama City Beach, but she is tracked there by a Coast Mafia hitman. With the help of Lacy Stoltz, Hooper manages to evade the hitman and the two drive to Valdosta, Georgia where they are met at the airport by Lacy's brother Gunther Stoltz, a real estate developer from Atlanta. Gunther flies the two women to western North Carolina in a private plane. There they hide in a lakeside cabin in the mountains while the FBI punishes Vonn Dubose and his partners in crime. Judge McDover is sentenced to 25 years in prison".
I liked the novel, but John Grisham and David Baldacci are more 'story teller's, and 'writers' are more like Ian Rankin and Lawrence Block. I began 'LET IT BLEED' by Ian Rankin Sunday evening after I finished 'THE WHISTLER'. I think that I've been referring to 'THE WHISTLER' on the blog as 'THE WHISPERER'- in error.
Saturday, November 24, 2018
A SPOOL OF BLUE THREAD by Anne Tyler
Finished Fr 11/23/18
The November, 2018 selection for the Contemporary Book Club
Anne Tyler's 20th novel
Roland Park, MD- oldest planned community in the US; 1890-1920. Bouton St., where the Whitshanks live is named for one of the founders. Oldest strip-mall. Six stores under one roof; Tudor looking; fire station on one end.
6.7 miles south of Coldbrook Rd./ Lutherville Timonium Elementary. About six miles to Baltimore city.
THE WHITSHANKS
J.R. (Junior) built the house for The Brill's. The house is a character in the novel.
Linnie Mae- He was 14 and he was 26. Insisted the the house had some 'blue'. Low class but tenacious.
Red- father that inherited the house on Bouton. When he met Abby is one of the 'family stories'. Merrick is his sister and she married into wealth, Trey. He's an alcoholic and kind of ignores her. They also have a house in Sarasota Fl.
Abby- The Mother Figure. A social worker, but her work is never mentioned in the book. I wonder why? Micromanages Denny
Amanda- lawyer; married a 'Hugh'. Upper income family
Jeannie- works as a carpenter in Red's construction company, founded by JR. 3 little boys.Married to 'another Hugh'.
Denny- On the scale? no goals, French horn, no long term relationships. The Prodigal Son
'Stem' (because of his beautiful neck), Douglas. He was 'adopted' by Abby and Red. His father was 'Trouble' the carpenter that gave JR his start when he came to Baltimore from the South. Stem's mother was one of Abby's 'orphans' and saw the family occasionally on holidays. She had an irritating laugh and the family thought that this woman was a kind of joke.
The book's page in wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Spool_of_Blue_Thread
The November, 2018 selection for the Contemporary Book Club
Anne Tyler's 20th novel
Roland Park, MD- oldest planned community in the US; 1890-1920. Bouton St., where the Whitshanks live is named for one of the founders. Oldest strip-mall. Six stores under one roof; Tudor looking; fire station on one end.
6.7 miles south of Coldbrook Rd./ Lutherville Timonium Elementary. About six miles to Baltimore city.
THE WHITSHANKS
J.R. (Junior) built the house for The Brill's. The house is a character in the novel.
Linnie Mae- He was 14 and he was 26. Insisted the the house had some 'blue'. Low class but tenacious.
Red- father that inherited the house on Bouton. When he met Abby is one of the 'family stories'. Merrick is his sister and she married into wealth, Trey. He's an alcoholic and kind of ignores her. They also have a house in Sarasota Fl.
Abby- The Mother Figure. A social worker, but her work is never mentioned in the book. I wonder why? Micromanages Denny
Amanda- lawyer; married a 'Hugh'. Upper income family
Jeannie- works as a carpenter in Red's construction company, founded by JR. 3 little boys.Married to 'another Hugh'.
Denny- On the scale? no goals, French horn, no long term relationships. The Prodigal Son
'Stem' (because of his beautiful neck), Douglas. He was 'adopted' by Abby and Red. His father was 'Trouble' the carpenter that gave JR his start when he came to Baltimore from the South. Stem's mother was one of Abby's 'orphans' and saw the family occasionally on holidays. She had an irritating laugh and the family thought that this woman was a kind of joke.
The book's page in wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Spool_of_Blue_Thread
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
ZAP GUN by Philip K. Dick
Finished Tu 11/20/18
One of my paperbacks that I had never read.
A very difficult read, and even PKD admits that the first part of the book is almost unreadable. However, the ideas are outstanding.
Asimov and Heinlein appear today almost quaint and outdated. The idea that technology will have no downside in the future is completely out of fashion. And, Dick's utopian vision is far more reasonable.
The book is a kind of black comedy of the Arms Race of the fifties and early sixties. Mutually Assured Destruction.
In the book, the world is divided into two sides; 'Peeps-East and The Western Bloc' or pretty much like East and West of the 20th century.
Psychics 'dream up' the weapons, and they are not even real.
Lars Powderdry for the West, and Lilo Topchev (a young woman) for the East
From the book's page on wikipedia-
"This novel is set in a then-future 2004. There is still a (theoretical) Cold War between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies. At the elite governmental level, however, both "sides" have secretly come to an agreement. They have decided that, instead of continuing the ecologically and economically crippling nuclear and conventional arms race, they will pretend to be constantly developing new weapons, which are then "plowshared." This means that these items are transformed into novel but baroque consumer products. Most of these weapon designers are mediums, who create their new designs in trance states. Design of weapons are extracted telepathically from a motion comic book, The Blue Cephalopod Man from Titan, created by mad Italian artist Oral Giacomini.
One Wes-Bloc weapons designer, Lars Powderdry (Mr. Lars of Mr. Lars Incorporated) is the central character. He is depressed that his industry is little more than a fraud, as none of his "weapons" are functional, having become fashion items instead. The plowshared guidance system of Item 202, a telepathic featureless brazen head named Ol' Orville, explains that this depression is merely a projection of his own fears of professional and physical impotence. His female Peep-East counterpart is Lilo Topchev, whom he knows nothing about, but whom Ol' Orville advises him to seduce. He also has a mistress, Maren Faine, head of his company's Parisian branch.
Apart from the comic overtones of this deception, there is a subplot related to alien invasion. Sirian aliens invade Earth, and are determined to enslave its populace. The aliens' first target is New Orleans, which is enshrouded in a "gray curtain of death." Earth has a problem, given the deceptive nature of its arms race and the absence of functional weapons technology. Lilo immediately tries to kill Lars, despite the intentions of their blocs otherwise, but eventually they collaborate. Neither can design functional weapons, however.
There is a further subplot about a conspiracy theorist, Surley G. Febbs, who is elected as an "average man" to the governing body of Wes-Bloc. The conclusion involves an eclectic mixture of time travel, androids, drugs, toys, and comic books."
The book was very difficult to follow because of the clunky writing style. I watched a number of Youtube videos about Dick and learned that during this period he was writing nonstop and was up for days on cheap Mexican speed. He had already been married a few times and was basically writing to support his wives and children.
Although he is regarded as the 'Preeminent LSD Author', he only tripped one time, and it was a very bad bummer. He went to the 'black place of death'.
A little of Dick goes a long way, but his vision and ideas are priceless.
Sometimes the idea of a PK Dick novel is better than the book itself.
ZAP GUN might have worked better as a graphic novel.
One of my paperbacks that I had never read.
A very difficult read, and even PKD admits that the first part of the book is almost unreadable. However, the ideas are outstanding.
Asimov and Heinlein appear today almost quaint and outdated. The idea that technology will have no downside in the future is completely out of fashion. And, Dick's utopian vision is far more reasonable.
The book is a kind of black comedy of the Arms Race of the fifties and early sixties. Mutually Assured Destruction.
In the book, the world is divided into two sides; 'Peeps-East and The Western Bloc' or pretty much like East and West of the 20th century.
Psychics 'dream up' the weapons, and they are not even real.
Lars Powderdry for the West, and Lilo Topchev (a young woman) for the East
From the book's page on wikipedia-
"This novel is set in a then-future 2004. There is still a (theoretical) Cold War between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies. At the elite governmental level, however, both "sides" have secretly come to an agreement. They have decided that, instead of continuing the ecologically and economically crippling nuclear and conventional arms race, they will pretend to be constantly developing new weapons, which are then "plowshared." This means that these items are transformed into novel but baroque consumer products. Most of these weapon designers are mediums, who create their new designs in trance states. Design of weapons are extracted telepathically from a motion comic book, The Blue Cephalopod Man from Titan, created by mad Italian artist Oral Giacomini.
One Wes-Bloc weapons designer, Lars Powderdry (Mr. Lars of Mr. Lars Incorporated) is the central character. He is depressed that his industry is little more than a fraud, as none of his "weapons" are functional, having become fashion items instead. The plowshared guidance system of Item 202, a telepathic featureless brazen head named Ol' Orville, explains that this depression is merely a projection of his own fears of professional and physical impotence. His female Peep-East counterpart is Lilo Topchev, whom he knows nothing about, but whom Ol' Orville advises him to seduce. He also has a mistress, Maren Faine, head of his company's Parisian branch.
Apart from the comic overtones of this deception, there is a subplot related to alien invasion. Sirian aliens invade Earth, and are determined to enslave its populace. The aliens' first target is New Orleans, which is enshrouded in a "gray curtain of death." Earth has a problem, given the deceptive nature of its arms race and the absence of functional weapons technology. Lilo immediately tries to kill Lars, despite the intentions of their blocs otherwise, but eventually they collaborate. Neither can design functional weapons, however.
There is a further subplot about a conspiracy theorist, Surley G. Febbs, who is elected as an "average man" to the governing body of Wes-Bloc. The conclusion involves an eclectic mixture of time travel, androids, drugs, toys, and comic books."
The book was very difficult to follow because of the clunky writing style. I watched a number of Youtube videos about Dick and learned that during this period he was writing nonstop and was up for days on cheap Mexican speed. He had already been married a few times and was basically writing to support his wives and children.
Although he is regarded as the 'Preeminent LSD Author', he only tripped one time, and it was a very bad bummer. He went to the 'black place of death'.
A little of Dick goes a long way, but his vision and ideas are priceless.
Sometimes the idea of a PK Dick novel is better than the book itself.
ZAP GUN might have worked better as a graphic novel.
Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free by Linda Kay Klein
I borrowed this book from the library and forgot to write it up. Probably finished the first or second week of November.
I loved the book and was most surprised (outraged!) that 'Purity' was funded by taxes as a viable 'birth control message'. This foolishness is the, " Just Say No' of the 90's and early 2000's. And, studies prove that people that use the 'Purity' method (abstinence) have no discernable difference between people who don't use any kind of birth control.
I was also pleased to see that although kids are exposed to far more about sex than people of other eras, however they know absolutely nothing more about the actual facts of sex and babies than people who were not exposed to Internet sex.
From a woman who has been there and back, the first inside look at the devastating effects evangelical Christianity’s purity culture has had on a generation of young women—in a potent combination of journalism, cultural commentary, and memoir.
In the 1990s, a “purity industry” emerged out of the white evangelical Christian culture. Purity rings, purity pledges, and purity balls came with a dangerous message: girls are potential sexual “stumbling blocks” for boys and men, and any expression of a girl’s sexuality could reflect the corruption of her character. This message traumatized many girls—resulting in anxiety, fear, and experiences that mimicked the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—and trapped them in a cycle of shame.
From the book's page at amazon-
"This is the sex education Linda Kay Klein grew up with.
Fearing being marked a Jezebel, Klein broke up with her high school boyfriend because she thought God told her to, and took pregnancy tests though she was a virgin, terrified that any sexual activity would be punished with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. When the youth pastor of her church was convicted of sexual enticement of a twelve-year-old girl, Klein began to question the purity-based sexual ethic. She contacted young women she knew, asking if they were coping with the same shame-induced issues she was. These intimate conversations developed into a twelve-year quest that took her across the country and into the lives of women raised in similar religious communities—a journey that facilitated her own healing and led her to churches that are seeking a new way to reconcile sexuality and spirituality.
Sexual shame is by no means confined to evangelical culture; Pure is a powerful wake-up call about our society’s subjugation of women."
Also, these people believe that 'Christian woman cannot be raped'. If she is raped, this proves that she really wasn't a very good Christian. How was she dressed? Why was she there? Why did she not conceal her sexuality? or Why did she flaunt it?
Men are not part of the 'rape equation'. Women are responsible for controlling their sexual wiles, and if this turns on men to the point that the men can't control themselves, then this is the fault of the women.
Also, women are expected to put on a 'happy face', regardless of how they really feel. 24/7 they are kind of like ambassadors of the Christian Faith, and it is extremely bad form to appear to be 'down' or depressed.
The author was suffering from Crohn's disease and it wasn't until she relocated to Australia did she receive a proper diagnosis. She just kept a 'happy face' during all of her very real pain.
Young girls are expected to have absolutely No Physical Contact with their boyfriends until after they are married.
"A lamb during the daytime, and a tiger at night (ind bed)". Obviously, there is no switch that can be turned on, and this is a ridiculously in-human view of sexuality.
The book was completely absorbing and compelling and I wish I owned a copy.
I loved the book and was most surprised (outraged!) that 'Purity' was funded by taxes as a viable 'birth control message'. This foolishness is the, " Just Say No' of the 90's and early 2000's. And, studies prove that people that use the 'Purity' method (abstinence) have no discernable difference between people who don't use any kind of birth control.
I was also pleased to see that although kids are exposed to far more about sex than people of other eras, however they know absolutely nothing more about the actual facts of sex and babies than people who were not exposed to Internet sex.
From a woman who has been there and back, the first inside look at the devastating effects evangelical Christianity’s purity culture has had on a generation of young women—in a potent combination of journalism, cultural commentary, and memoir.
In the 1990s, a “purity industry” emerged out of the white evangelical Christian culture. Purity rings, purity pledges, and purity balls came with a dangerous message: girls are potential sexual “stumbling blocks” for boys and men, and any expression of a girl’s sexuality could reflect the corruption of her character. This message traumatized many girls—resulting in anxiety, fear, and experiences that mimicked the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—and trapped them in a cycle of shame.
From the book's page at amazon-
"This is the sex education Linda Kay Klein grew up with.
Fearing being marked a Jezebel, Klein broke up with her high school boyfriend because she thought God told her to, and took pregnancy tests though she was a virgin, terrified that any sexual activity would be punished with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. When the youth pastor of her church was convicted of sexual enticement of a twelve-year-old girl, Klein began to question the purity-based sexual ethic. She contacted young women she knew, asking if they were coping with the same shame-induced issues she was. These intimate conversations developed into a twelve-year quest that took her across the country and into the lives of women raised in similar religious communities—a journey that facilitated her own healing and led her to churches that are seeking a new way to reconcile sexuality and spirituality.
Sexual shame is by no means confined to evangelical culture; Pure is a powerful wake-up call about our society’s subjugation of women."
Also, these people believe that 'Christian woman cannot be raped'. If she is raped, this proves that she really wasn't a very good Christian. How was she dressed? Why was she there? Why did she not conceal her sexuality? or Why did she flaunt it?
Men are not part of the 'rape equation'. Women are responsible for controlling their sexual wiles, and if this turns on men to the point that the men can't control themselves, then this is the fault of the women.
Also, women are expected to put on a 'happy face', regardless of how they really feel. 24/7 they are kind of like ambassadors of the Christian Faith, and it is extremely bad form to appear to be 'down' or depressed.
The author was suffering from Crohn's disease and it wasn't until she relocated to Australia did she receive a proper diagnosis. She just kept a 'happy face' during all of her very real pain.
Young girls are expected to have absolutely No Physical Contact with their boyfriends until after they are married.
"A lamb during the daytime, and a tiger at night (ind bed)". Obviously, there is no switch that can be turned on, and this is a ridiculously in-human view of sexuality.
The book was completely absorbing and compelling and I wish I owned a copy.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
I AM ALIVE AND YOU ARE DEAD- A Journey Into The Mind Of Philip K. Dick by Emmanuel Carrere
Finished Fr 11/16/18
The author's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_Carr%C3%A8re
I remembered how much I loved his film 'La Moustache', and it was most definitely a 'phildickian' movie.
His mother sounds like a real piece of work. She got caught up in the beginning of the pharmaceutical industry. Trading her pills and theories with her friends and family as if they were baseball cards.
Phil was in therapy (because of his mother) since the age of fourteen. He was savy in taking the tests and answering the questions and he could manipulate most counselors.
I wonder how much his dead twin, Jane, really had on his makeup, or was he just using this to create 'a character'.
His drug rehabilitation in Vancouver, CA 'X-KALAY, was really a harsh environment. Started in 1967 and the guy is still alive and is now a talk show host on the radio. Maybe Phil craved the hard-line discipline since he had been spending so much time with shiftless and aimless people.
"VAST ACTIVE LIVING INTELLIGENCE" came during the writing of Ubik
FEBRUARY 3, 1974
From Dick's page on wikipedia-
"Throughout February and March 1974, Dick experienced a series of hallucinations, which he referred to as "2-3-74", shorthand for February–March 1974. Aside from the "pink beam", Dick described the initial hallucinations as geometric patterns, and, occasionally, brief pictures of Jesus and ancient Rome. As the hallucinations increased in length and frequency, Dick claimed he began to live two parallel lives, one as himself, "Philip K. Dick", and one as "Thomas", a Christian persecuted by Romans in the first century AD. He referred to the "transcendentally rational mind" as "Zebra", "God" and "VALIS". Dick wrote about the experiences, first in the semi-autobiographical novel Radio Free Albemuth and then in VALIS, The Divine Invasion and the unfinished The Owl in Daylight (the VALIS trilogy)."
This is the link to the excellent Youtube interview and many of the incidents that he mentions in the book are covered in this discussion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=YEohNAXLSOE
He had an amazing number of women in his life and it wasn't that he was a Casanova as much as that he was just terrified to be alone. His real view of woman was very 1950-ish and not 'modern' at all. Women were there to serve and console him, and they should just fade into the background when he didn't need them. Even though they lived in squalor, he refused to let any of them work although some of them did anyway.
For most of his life he lived in houses, but in the end he lived in an apartment complex. Here is where he met KW Jeter and Tim Powers. He was also living with his wife Doris who was dying of cancer. This woman later moved into the apartment next to his and recovered.
No explanation is given as to how Phil was able to correctly diagnose his son Christopher's hernia. Maybe it really was a divine manifestation.
The breakin that shattered his life is revealed to be a pretty much normal occurrence that was fairly common during the time that he lived in that area. He ties it from everything to the Black Panthers to aliens from outer space, but he was convinced that the American federal government (FBI) was keeping close tabs on him his entire life. After the Freedom of Information Act he saw that there was only a single page in his file, but this 'proved' that the surveillance was real because they obviously had redacted his file- He makes the negative prove the positive.
The author's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_Carr%C3%A8re
I remembered how much I loved his film 'La Moustache', and it was most definitely a 'phildickian' movie.
His mother sounds like a real piece of work. She got caught up in the beginning of the pharmaceutical industry. Trading her pills and theories with her friends and family as if they were baseball cards.
Phil was in therapy (because of his mother) since the age of fourteen. He was savy in taking the tests and answering the questions and he could manipulate most counselors.
I wonder how much his dead twin, Jane, really had on his makeup, or was he just using this to create 'a character'.
His drug rehabilitation in Vancouver, CA 'X-KALAY, was really a harsh environment. Started in 1967 and the guy is still alive and is now a talk show host on the radio. Maybe Phil craved the hard-line discipline since he had been spending so much time with shiftless and aimless people.
"VAST ACTIVE LIVING INTELLIGENCE" came during the writing of Ubik
FEBRUARY 3, 1974
From Dick's page on wikipedia-
"Throughout February and March 1974, Dick experienced a series of hallucinations, which he referred to as "2-3-74", shorthand for February–March 1974. Aside from the "pink beam", Dick described the initial hallucinations as geometric patterns, and, occasionally, brief pictures of Jesus and ancient Rome. As the hallucinations increased in length and frequency, Dick claimed he began to live two parallel lives, one as himself, "Philip K. Dick", and one as "Thomas", a Christian persecuted by Romans in the first century AD. He referred to the "transcendentally rational mind" as "Zebra", "God" and "VALIS". Dick wrote about the experiences, first in the semi-autobiographical novel Radio Free Albemuth and then in VALIS, The Divine Invasion and the unfinished The Owl in Daylight (the VALIS trilogy)."
This is the link to the excellent Youtube interview and many of the incidents that he mentions in the book are covered in this discussion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=YEohNAXLSOE
He had an amazing number of women in his life and it wasn't that he was a Casanova as much as that he was just terrified to be alone. His real view of woman was very 1950-ish and not 'modern' at all. Women were there to serve and console him, and they should just fade into the background when he didn't need them. Even though they lived in squalor, he refused to let any of them work although some of them did anyway.
For most of his life he lived in houses, but in the end he lived in an apartment complex. Here is where he met KW Jeter and Tim Powers. He was also living with his wife Doris who was dying of cancer. This woman later moved into the apartment next to his and recovered.
No explanation is given as to how Phil was able to correctly diagnose his son Christopher's hernia. Maybe it really was a divine manifestation.
The breakin that shattered his life is revealed to be a pretty much normal occurrence that was fairly common during the time that he lived in that area. He ties it from everything to the Black Panthers to aliens from outer space, but he was convinced that the American federal government (FBI) was keeping close tabs on him his entire life. After the Freedom of Information Act he saw that there was only a single page in his file, but this 'proved' that the surveillance was real because they obviously had redacted his file- He makes the negative prove the positive.
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
NATCHEZ BURNING by Greg Iles
Finished Su 11/11/18
This is the first book in the 'MISSISSIPPI BURNING' trilogy and I bought all three books late last month.
I've read a couple of other books by Iles and I wanted to read the entire trilogy. The central character in this book is Penn Cage and he was also in the 'stand-alone' novels that I've read.
Penn is a novelist, ex-lawyer, and former mayor of the town of Natchez where the story is set.
Dr. Tom Cage is Penn's father and this man is the epitome of 'the kindly, small-town physician'. A friend and hero to rich and poor, black and white.
The story revolves around a series of civil rights murders that happened in the late sixties and also Dr. Cage's relationship with a beautiful black nurse, Viola. She worked in Cage's office and he had a sexual affair with her, but she left the town in 1968 for Chicago.
Viola Turner was gang raped by klansman and told to never come back. She doesn't, and has a son who's father is one of the rapists. Dr. Tom also might be the father (he isn't).
A music store owner was murdered by the klan. This man would allow blacks and whites to sleep together in his store. For a 'mixed' couple even to be seen on the streets was a big deal and this man was really taking a risk to allow them to have sex in his store.
The young black man was having sex with a white girl who was the daughter of a prominent white man and klansman.
The owner and two young black men are murdered. A flamethrower was used in the commission of the killing.
Two other young black men are killed and their bodies are hidden in the swamp by 'the bone tree'. This is the title of another novel in the series.
'THE DOUBLE EAGLES' is a radical branch of the KKK that has been active in the town since the 60's. Prominent white men and hardcore white trash as in the group. One of the white members is a high ranking officer in the Louisiana state police.
Henry Sexton is a local reporter who has been gathering information about 'the Double Eagles' and the KKK for almost forty years.
Caitlin is Penn's girlfriend and she is also a reporter and she works with Sexton to 'get the story out'.
Lots of bombings, shootings, kidnappings, and violent mayhem occur.
It's a great read, but I devoted almost ten days to get through it- almost 800 pages of fairly dense prose.
From the book's page at Amazon-
"Raised in the southern splendor of Natchez, Mississippi, Penn Cage learned all he knows of duty from his father, Dr. Tom Cage. But now the beloved family doctor has been accused of murdering the African American nurse with whom he worked in the dark days of the 1960s. Once a crusading prosecutor, Penn is determined to save his father, but Tom, stubbornly invoking doctor-patient privilege, refuses even to speak in his own defense.
Penn's quest for the truth sends him deep into his father's past, where a sexually charged secret lies. More chilling, this long-buried sin is only one thread in a conspiracy of greed and murder involving the vicious Double Eagles, an offshoot of the KKK controlled by some of the most powerful men in the state. Aided by a dedicated reporter privy to Natchez's oldest secrets and by his fiancée, Caitlin Masters, Penn uncovers a trail of corruption and brutality that places his family squarely in the Double Eagles' crosshairs.
With every step costing blood and faith, Penn is forced to confront the most wrenching dilemma of his life: Does a man of honor choose his father or the truth?"
This is the first book in the 'MISSISSIPPI BURNING' trilogy and I bought all three books late last month.
I've read a couple of other books by Iles and I wanted to read the entire trilogy. The central character in this book is Penn Cage and he was also in the 'stand-alone' novels that I've read.
Penn is a novelist, ex-lawyer, and former mayor of the town of Natchez where the story is set.
Dr. Tom Cage is Penn's father and this man is the epitome of 'the kindly, small-town physician'. A friend and hero to rich and poor, black and white.
The story revolves around a series of civil rights murders that happened in the late sixties and also Dr. Cage's relationship with a beautiful black nurse, Viola. She worked in Cage's office and he had a sexual affair with her, but she left the town in 1968 for Chicago.
Viola Turner was gang raped by klansman and told to never come back. She doesn't, and has a son who's father is one of the rapists. Dr. Tom also might be the father (he isn't).
A music store owner was murdered by the klan. This man would allow blacks and whites to sleep together in his store. For a 'mixed' couple even to be seen on the streets was a big deal and this man was really taking a risk to allow them to have sex in his store.
The young black man was having sex with a white girl who was the daughter of a prominent white man and klansman.
The owner and two young black men are murdered. A flamethrower was used in the commission of the killing.
Two other young black men are killed and their bodies are hidden in the swamp by 'the bone tree'. This is the title of another novel in the series.
'THE DOUBLE EAGLES' is a radical branch of the KKK that has been active in the town since the 60's. Prominent white men and hardcore white trash as in the group. One of the white members is a high ranking officer in the Louisiana state police.
Henry Sexton is a local reporter who has been gathering information about 'the Double Eagles' and the KKK for almost forty years.
Caitlin is Penn's girlfriend and she is also a reporter and she works with Sexton to 'get the story out'.
Lots of bombings, shootings, kidnappings, and violent mayhem occur.
It's a great read, but I devoted almost ten days to get through it- almost 800 pages of fairly dense prose.
From the book's page at Amazon-
"Raised in the southern splendor of Natchez, Mississippi, Penn Cage learned all he knows of duty from his father, Dr. Tom Cage. But now the beloved family doctor has been accused of murdering the African American nurse with whom he worked in the dark days of the 1960s. Once a crusading prosecutor, Penn is determined to save his father, but Tom, stubbornly invoking doctor-patient privilege, refuses even to speak in his own defense.
Penn's quest for the truth sends him deep into his father's past, where a sexually charged secret lies. More chilling, this long-buried sin is only one thread in a conspiracy of greed and murder involving the vicious Double Eagles, an offshoot of the KKK controlled by some of the most powerful men in the state. Aided by a dedicated reporter privy to Natchez's oldest secrets and by his fiancée, Caitlin Masters, Penn uncovers a trail of corruption and brutality that places his family squarely in the Double Eagles' crosshairs.
With every step costing blood and faith, Penn is forced to confront the most wrenching dilemma of his life: Does a man of honor choose his father or the truth?"
Friday, November 2, 2018
THE STRANGER by Harlan Coben
Finished Th 11/2/18
This was a paperback that Cindy gave me from Chris's collection in late September.
OVERALL PREMISE-
A small group of people is traveling the country revealing people's deepest and darkest equipment. They have an almost religious intensity because they believe that only when the secret is revealed, can healing begin. Usually it's a man and a woman, and the man identifies himself as 'the stranger'.
Adam Price learns that his wife faked a pregnancy. 'The stranger' contacts Adam at his son's lacrosse practice (sons; Tom- 16 yrs. old, Ryan- 12 yrs. old). Corine is Adam's wife.
Later we find that the reason that Corine 'faked' the pregnancy several years before was that she had tracking device on all of her family's phones. One day she noticed that Adam had visited the home of one of his female legal assistants- Adam's a lawyer. She thought that he was having an affair- he wasn't, but the pregnancy angle was Corine's way of bringing Adam and her back together.
Adam confronts Corine. 'The stranger' told him to check out an online website and he learned that this site specialized in selling things so that a woman could fake a pregnancy. Adam receives a text from Corine and it tells him that 'it's not what you think, and I need a few days; take care of the kids'.
SUBPLOT-
Two other women have been murdered and seem to be linked to Corine's disappearance. A middle aged woman in Ohio, Heidi, is shot in the knee and shot in the head.
Heidi's daughter was going to college in NYC and has become involved in an online escort service to make extra money. This is 'the secret' that 'the stranger' told Heidi.
Police chief Johanna Griffin was friends with Heidi and she becomes involved in the case. The county authorities focus on Heidi's husband, but Johanna knows that isn't possible. She teams up with Adam and they share all their info.
Corine is the treasurer of the lacrosse league and it's learned that when Corine leaves there is also thousands of dollars missing from the lacrosse league.
Tripp Evans was also an officer of the lacrosse league and he's the one who has stolen the money and murdered Corine. In the end he shows Adam where he buried Corine and sets it up so that Adam will shot and kill him. He wants his family to get the insurance money because he's lost all of his money. He used to be a high powered lawyer, but no longer.
Tripp hired an outside security agency to find info on Corine so that she could be framed for the money that he had stolen.
When Adam shots and kills Tripp Johanna is there (but Adam didn't know) and she arranges the murder scene to look like self defense.
This novel is similar to the writing style of David Baldacci- simple style with a dynamite story-line.
After this book I'm beginning Greg Iles's Mississippi Trilogy, and the writing is miles above Coben or Baldacci and also has a dynamite story-line. It ain't Either/ Or, it can be both.
This was a paperback that Cindy gave me from Chris's collection in late September.
OVERALL PREMISE-
A small group of people is traveling the country revealing people's deepest and darkest equipment. They have an almost religious intensity because they believe that only when the secret is revealed, can healing begin. Usually it's a man and a woman, and the man identifies himself as 'the stranger'.
Adam Price learns that his wife faked a pregnancy. 'The stranger' contacts Adam at his son's lacrosse practice (sons; Tom- 16 yrs. old, Ryan- 12 yrs. old). Corine is Adam's wife.
Later we find that the reason that Corine 'faked' the pregnancy several years before was that she had tracking device on all of her family's phones. One day she noticed that Adam had visited the home of one of his female legal assistants- Adam's a lawyer. She thought that he was having an affair- he wasn't, but the pregnancy angle was Corine's way of bringing Adam and her back together.
Adam confronts Corine. 'The stranger' told him to check out an online website and he learned that this site specialized in selling things so that a woman could fake a pregnancy. Adam receives a text from Corine and it tells him that 'it's not what you think, and I need a few days; take care of the kids'.
SUBPLOT-
Two other women have been murdered and seem to be linked to Corine's disappearance. A middle aged woman in Ohio, Heidi, is shot in the knee and shot in the head.
Heidi's daughter was going to college in NYC and has become involved in an online escort service to make extra money. This is 'the secret' that 'the stranger' told Heidi.
Police chief Johanna Griffin was friends with Heidi and she becomes involved in the case. The county authorities focus on Heidi's husband, but Johanna knows that isn't possible. She teams up with Adam and they share all their info.
Corine is the treasurer of the lacrosse league and it's learned that when Corine leaves there is also thousands of dollars missing from the lacrosse league.
Tripp Evans was also an officer of the lacrosse league and he's the one who has stolen the money and murdered Corine. In the end he shows Adam where he buried Corine and sets it up so that Adam will shot and kill him. He wants his family to get the insurance money because he's lost all of his money. He used to be a high powered lawyer, but no longer.
Tripp hired an outside security agency to find info on Corine so that she could be framed for the money that he had stolen.
When Adam shots and kills Tripp Johanna is there (but Adam didn't know) and she arranges the murder scene to look like self defense.
This novel is similar to the writing style of David Baldacci- simple style with a dynamite story-line.
After this book I'm beginning Greg Iles's Mississippi Trilogy, and the writing is miles above Coben or Baldacci and also has a dynamite story-line. It ain't Either/ Or, it can be both.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
STILL LIFE WITH BREAD CRUMBS by Anna Quindlen
Finished Tu 10/30/18
This is a hardback that I bought at last June's library sidewalk book sale.
I just flat-out loved the story-line and her writing style, and I wished that the book wouldn't end. And that's a rare thing for me.
The author's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Quindlen
IN BROAD STROKES-
Rebecca Winter is a sixty year old divorced woman now living in a run-down cabin in rural NY state. She had an apartment on West 67th in NYC and she's rented this out to try to make money to pay her financial obligations. She has a mother in an old age home- this woman was a concert pianist and continues to play on tables, chairs, etc- she's suffering from dementia. Her ex- husband is a womanizer and has remarried several times- no contact with him except through her son. Ben, her son, is a college graduate and has been having a hard time getting established. He is working as a production assistant on a small film.
Rebecca links up with a roofer. The book opens with a raccoon that's trapped in her attic. The roofer, Jim Bates, traps the animal and shoots it. He's twenty years her junior- big blonde- headed muscular man.
Sarah- runs the coffee shop 'Tea For Two (and more)'
Kevin- her husband. Rips off people selling green firewood; an elderly slacker, lay-about, chiseler.
The title refers to one of her award winning photos. It was a shot of a sink full of dirty dishes. She was kind of a feminist "Kitchen Photographer/ Artist".
Intense close-ups of Ben
Close- ups of dogs Jack (Polly's dog) who Rebecca just calls 'Dog'.
Polly is Jim's sister. This woman has always had mental issues; Bipolar or schizophrenic. Jim was married and he and his wife lived with Polly. Jim's wife left for warmer weather. She has a rich husband and many children.
Rebecca learns to walk around her property and discovers small crosses with strange things. These are Polly's 'farewell to life' pieces. Basically they are one long suicide note.
On the night of a huge snowstorm Jim and Rebecca have slept together for the first time. He leaves and promises to come back with lasagna for the next day's supper. He doesn't return because Polly has committed suicide. She walked up on the roof of her trailer and just went to sleep in a drift of snow.
When Jim sees the pictures of the crosses at Rebecca's exhibit Jim is pissed. He hasn't talked to Rebecca in months and finally he confronts her and explained the real story behind the crosses. Rebecca understands and says she will not sell them.
In the end, they marry. Sarah divorces and finds 'The Other Jim"- her new husband's name is Jim. Ben marries and has a kid, Oliver. Jim and Rebecca build a new house on the property and use the old cabin as her studio.
This is a hardback that I bought at last June's library sidewalk book sale.
I just flat-out loved the story-line and her writing style, and I wished that the book wouldn't end. And that's a rare thing for me.
The author's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Quindlen
IN BROAD STROKES-
Rebecca Winter is a sixty year old divorced woman now living in a run-down cabin in rural NY state. She had an apartment on West 67th in NYC and she's rented this out to try to make money to pay her financial obligations. She has a mother in an old age home- this woman was a concert pianist and continues to play on tables, chairs, etc- she's suffering from dementia. Her ex- husband is a womanizer and has remarried several times- no contact with him except through her son. Ben, her son, is a college graduate and has been having a hard time getting established. He is working as a production assistant on a small film.
Rebecca links up with a roofer. The book opens with a raccoon that's trapped in her attic. The roofer, Jim Bates, traps the animal and shoots it. He's twenty years her junior- big blonde- headed muscular man.
Sarah- runs the coffee shop 'Tea For Two (and more)'
Kevin- her husband. Rips off people selling green firewood; an elderly slacker, lay-about, chiseler.
The title refers to one of her award winning photos. It was a shot of a sink full of dirty dishes. She was kind of a feminist "Kitchen Photographer/ Artist".
Intense close-ups of Ben
Close- ups of dogs Jack (Polly's dog) who Rebecca just calls 'Dog'.
Polly is Jim's sister. This woman has always had mental issues; Bipolar or schizophrenic. Jim was married and he and his wife lived with Polly. Jim's wife left for warmer weather. She has a rich husband and many children.
Rebecca learns to walk around her property and discovers small crosses with strange things. These are Polly's 'farewell to life' pieces. Basically they are one long suicide note.
On the night of a huge snowstorm Jim and Rebecca have slept together for the first time. He leaves and promises to come back with lasagna for the next day's supper. He doesn't return because Polly has committed suicide. She walked up on the roof of her trailer and just went to sleep in a drift of snow.
When Jim sees the pictures of the crosses at Rebecca's exhibit Jim is pissed. He hasn't talked to Rebecca in months and finally he confronts her and explained the real story behind the crosses. Rebecca understands and says she will not sell them.
In the end, they marry. Sarah divorces and finds 'The Other Jim"- her new husband's name is Jim. Ben marries and has a kid, Oliver. Jim and Rebecca build a new house on the property and use the old cabin as her studio.
Monday, October 29, 2018
THE FORGOTTEN by David Baldacci
Finished Su 10/28/18
This is a paperback that Janny loaned to me the last time that Joe and Janny visited Westview for pizza.
A crackling plot-line, and the writing is better than Lee Child, but not as good as Michael Connelly or Greg Iles.
The title refers to the abject poor of the world. The central theme of the novel is the smuggling of people. They are even color-coded; 'Green' for future prostitutes, 'Red' for common laborers, 'Blue' for drug mules. Obviously, 'Labor' is a major cost to business and slave labor is very enticing to their bottom line. Modern day slavers might be the next illegal Big Business that will become more lucrative than the drugs or that it will become a major part of the business; smuggle drugs AND smuggle people.
John Puller is on leave from a major case that he has solved for the Army, CID. The details of this case are not in the novel, and Puller is probably a character in a Baldacci series.
NOTE: There are four books in the Puller series. 'THE FORGOTTEN' is book #2.
Puller's father is a retired three star general who is suffering from the initial stages of dementia. He has received a strange letter from his sister. John Puller was basically raised by his father's sister. Nothing is mentioned about what happened to his real mother.
John Puller travels to Paradise, FL. to contact his Aunt Betsy, his father's sister. She has drowned in her reflecting pool. It's called an accident, but Puller thinks it might be murder.
A parallel plot involves Mecho, a giant of a man from Bulgaria. Late in the novel it's revealed that his sister had been kidnapped by these modern day slavers.
The slaves are imprisoned on an abandoned drilling platform in the Gulf. Mecho was rounded up by the slavers, but he easily swims to the Florida shore. He witnesses two people, a couple, shot in the head and pulled back into the bay.
The reason that this couple, Puller's aunt, and her neighbor were murdered is that these people witnessed the staging area on the beach where the slaves were brought in from the off-shore drilling stations.
Mr. Lampert is the richest man in the area and lives in the largest mansion. He is the brains behind the entire smuggling operation. His partner is a ruthless man from Columbia, Rojas. This man is not caught, but he's always been in the sights of the authorities.
Murdoch is a woman living on Lampert's compound. She is his mistress, but also is a south american agent working to stop the slaving operation.
Landry is a female cop from Paradise. She is actually working for Lampert, but in the beginning she is presented as a possible love interest for Puller.
Carson is a female one star general and a close friend of Puller's. He contacts her on the phone for information about his aunt, and Carson soon comes to Florida to help him. She's on leave or vacation.
THE BIG SHOOT-OUT- Landry, Puller, Carson, and Landry take a Rigid Inflatable Rubber Boat (RIB boat) to the drilling station (during a hurricane) to free the slaves. It's a big military style operation, and they win.
The Big Reveal is that Landry is shown to be working for the bad guys, and Puller had loaded her gun with blanks so that she wouldn't work against-kill- the good guys.
Although Mecho never finds his sister, he does convince Puller that Lampert can be smuggled back to Bulgaria and face charges there. He will be worked like a slave for the rest of his life.
There were various fights at Puller's hotel with a local gang. Puller is always able to take out a half dozen of them with little or no effort. In one case, Mecho is his next door neighbor (they didn't know each other) and Mecho took out two gang members that Puller hadn't counted on.
This is a paperback that Janny loaned to me the last time that Joe and Janny visited Westview for pizza.
A crackling plot-line, and the writing is better than Lee Child, but not as good as Michael Connelly or Greg Iles.
The title refers to the abject poor of the world. The central theme of the novel is the smuggling of people. They are even color-coded; 'Green' for future prostitutes, 'Red' for common laborers, 'Blue' for drug mules. Obviously, 'Labor' is a major cost to business and slave labor is very enticing to their bottom line. Modern day slavers might be the next illegal Big Business that will become more lucrative than the drugs or that it will become a major part of the business; smuggle drugs AND smuggle people.
John Puller is on leave from a major case that he has solved for the Army, CID. The details of this case are not in the novel, and Puller is probably a character in a Baldacci series.
NOTE: There are four books in the Puller series. 'THE FORGOTTEN' is book #2.
Puller's father is a retired three star general who is suffering from the initial stages of dementia. He has received a strange letter from his sister. John Puller was basically raised by his father's sister. Nothing is mentioned about what happened to his real mother.
John Puller travels to Paradise, FL. to contact his Aunt Betsy, his father's sister. She has drowned in her reflecting pool. It's called an accident, but Puller thinks it might be murder.
A parallel plot involves Mecho, a giant of a man from Bulgaria. Late in the novel it's revealed that his sister had been kidnapped by these modern day slavers.
The slaves are imprisoned on an abandoned drilling platform in the Gulf. Mecho was rounded up by the slavers, but he easily swims to the Florida shore. He witnesses two people, a couple, shot in the head and pulled back into the bay.
The reason that this couple, Puller's aunt, and her neighbor were murdered is that these people witnessed the staging area on the beach where the slaves were brought in from the off-shore drilling stations.
Mr. Lampert is the richest man in the area and lives in the largest mansion. He is the brains behind the entire smuggling operation. His partner is a ruthless man from Columbia, Rojas. This man is not caught, but he's always been in the sights of the authorities.
Murdoch is a woman living on Lampert's compound. She is his mistress, but also is a south american agent working to stop the slaving operation.
Landry is a female cop from Paradise. She is actually working for Lampert, but in the beginning she is presented as a possible love interest for Puller.
Carson is a female one star general and a close friend of Puller's. He contacts her on the phone for information about his aunt, and Carson soon comes to Florida to help him. She's on leave or vacation.
THE BIG SHOOT-OUT- Landry, Puller, Carson, and Landry take a Rigid Inflatable Rubber Boat (RIB boat) to the drilling station (during a hurricane) to free the slaves. It's a big military style operation, and they win.
The Big Reveal is that Landry is shown to be working for the bad guys, and Puller had loaded her gun with blanks so that she wouldn't work against-kill- the good guys.
Although Mecho never finds his sister, he does convince Puller that Lampert can be smuggled back to Bulgaria and face charges there. He will be worked like a slave for the rest of his life.
There were various fights at Puller's hotel with a local gang. Puller is always able to take out a half dozen of them with little or no effort. In one case, Mecho is his next door neighbor (they didn't know each other) and Mecho took out two gang members that Puller hadn't counted on.
Friday, October 26, 2018
THE CROCODILE BIRD by Ruth Rendell
Finished Th 10/25/18
This is one of my very old hardbacks that I pulled because Janny lent me a copy of 'A SEVERED HEAD' by Iris Murdoch. This was an English social satire from 1961, I didn't read it, but it made me think of Rendell. And, several days later I stumbled upon 'THE CROCODILE BIRD'- very glad that I did.
The author's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Rendell
I didn't realize she had written so many books, and that she also wrote under the name, 'Barbara Vine'. 'THE CROCODILE BIRD' is a stand-alone novel.
Plot summary from wikipedia-
"When her mother, Eve, tells Liza that she must leave their remote home, the gatehouse of a country mansion, Liza is terrified. Although sixteen years of age, she has never been on a bus or a train, has never played with a child of her own age. She has almost no knowledge of a world described by her mother as evil and destructive. Their strange, enclosed life together is over because Eve has killed a man. And he is not the first. With 1,000£ in cash, Liza is cast adrift. However, she is not alone. There is one particular secret she has kept from her mother - her love affair with a young man who worked in the gardens of the big house. With him, gradually Liza learns about the world, about herself, and must come to terms with the possibility that the murderous violence of her mother may be present in her".
The novel is set near Coventry, England in the late 80's and early 1990's. Coventry is near Manchester, England in the very central part of the country.
Eve is not exactly a 'female version of Blue Beard'. She grew up with Jonathan Tobias and his family owned Shrove House and he led her to believe that someday it would belong to her. In fact, years earlier a will was made in which Eve's mother and family would get the house. She kills three men and the first man tried to rape her, although this doesn't excuse her behavior. She set two doberman pincers on the man. The next murder is Bruno. This man was an artist and he probably wanted her to leave Liza and move away with him. Eve would never leave Liza or Shrove House, so this man had to go. And, finally she kills Jonathan when she finally realizes that she'll never get Shrove House and he never had any intention of marrying her,
Police are notified for the original murder- Trevor Hughes (she knew him as 'Hugh'). Matt the groundskeeper, the man who looked after the dogs probably alerted the police. The dogs were digging in the area where Eve had buried the body on the morning after the murder, and although they didn't find anything, but it seemed suspicious. Although many years had passed, Matt always remembered this incident. He never liked Eve because she despised him.
The novel begins with the police raid on Shrove House. Eve is preparing Liza to leave the gatehouse. She wants Eve to travel to London and live with Eve's college friend, Heather. Liza had only met this woman one time. And, to say that this would be ridiculously overwhelming for someone who had lived such a sheltered life would be seriously understating the obvious.
However, sixteen year old Liza had been having a secret affair with Sean, the gardener. Instead of going to London to live with Heather, Liza leaves with Sean in his camper van.
Sean is basically a good guy, but you can see that this could possibly grow into an abusive relationship. He wanted to be the man of the house and Liza (although she really hadn't grown into it) was infinitely smarter than Sean.
Basically, the novel is a big flashback in which Liza tells Sean the truly odd story of her life with Eve at the gatekeepers cottage at Shrove House.
The strange ending is that Liza realizes that she doesn't have the murderous impulses that her mother found so appealing. After Sean and Liza have been together for a couple of months, Sean gets a promotion and an opportunity to go to Scotland and train to become a manager in the chain that he is employed.
Liza is all set to sedate Sean with sleeping pills, and somehow murder him. She gets them from the house that she works as a house cleaner for Mrs. Spurdell. This old woman is a skinflint and hates to pay Liza anything at all, but here is where Liza meets her savior. Mrs. Spurdell's daughter, Jane Spurdell who lives on 76 Shrove Road ( Liza was born in 1976 and, of course, lived at Shrove House).
Instead of killing Sean and striking out on her own, she goes to Jane's house and asks Jane to help her get into school. She knows that she can live in the camper and if the authorities evict her, they are forced to provide her with housing. Also, Jane helps her arrange to contact Eve who is in jail for the murders of her lovers (or lover?)
It's really a trun-around to learn that Liza doesn't resort to killing. She's such an odd person, that this would seem to be logical to her, but I guess the point of the novel is that Eve didn't do such a bad job raising the girl, and maybe the isolated existence really did 'save' Liza from the ugliness of life.
This is one of my very old hardbacks that I pulled because Janny lent me a copy of 'A SEVERED HEAD' by Iris Murdoch. This was an English social satire from 1961, I didn't read it, but it made me think of Rendell. And, several days later I stumbled upon 'THE CROCODILE BIRD'- very glad that I did.
The author's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Rendell
I didn't realize she had written so many books, and that she also wrote under the name, 'Barbara Vine'. 'THE CROCODILE BIRD' is a stand-alone novel.
Plot summary from wikipedia-
"When her mother, Eve, tells Liza that she must leave their remote home, the gatehouse of a country mansion, Liza is terrified. Although sixteen years of age, she has never been on a bus or a train, has never played with a child of her own age. She has almost no knowledge of a world described by her mother as evil and destructive. Their strange, enclosed life together is over because Eve has killed a man. And he is not the first. With 1,000£ in cash, Liza is cast adrift. However, she is not alone. There is one particular secret she has kept from her mother - her love affair with a young man who worked in the gardens of the big house. With him, gradually Liza learns about the world, about herself, and must come to terms with the possibility that the murderous violence of her mother may be present in her".
The novel is set near Coventry, England in the late 80's and early 1990's. Coventry is near Manchester, England in the very central part of the country.
Eve is not exactly a 'female version of Blue Beard'. She grew up with Jonathan Tobias and his family owned Shrove House and he led her to believe that someday it would belong to her. In fact, years earlier a will was made in which Eve's mother and family would get the house. She kills three men and the first man tried to rape her, although this doesn't excuse her behavior. She set two doberman pincers on the man. The next murder is Bruno. This man was an artist and he probably wanted her to leave Liza and move away with him. Eve would never leave Liza or Shrove House, so this man had to go. And, finally she kills Jonathan when she finally realizes that she'll never get Shrove House and he never had any intention of marrying her,
Police are notified for the original murder- Trevor Hughes (she knew him as 'Hugh'). Matt the groundskeeper, the man who looked after the dogs probably alerted the police. The dogs were digging in the area where Eve had buried the body on the morning after the murder, and although they didn't find anything, but it seemed suspicious. Although many years had passed, Matt always remembered this incident. He never liked Eve because she despised him.
The novel begins with the police raid on Shrove House. Eve is preparing Liza to leave the gatehouse. She wants Eve to travel to London and live with Eve's college friend, Heather. Liza had only met this woman one time. And, to say that this would be ridiculously overwhelming for someone who had lived such a sheltered life would be seriously understating the obvious.
However, sixteen year old Liza had been having a secret affair with Sean, the gardener. Instead of going to London to live with Heather, Liza leaves with Sean in his camper van.
Sean is basically a good guy, but you can see that this could possibly grow into an abusive relationship. He wanted to be the man of the house and Liza (although she really hadn't grown into it) was infinitely smarter than Sean.
Basically, the novel is a big flashback in which Liza tells Sean the truly odd story of her life with Eve at the gatekeepers cottage at Shrove House.
The strange ending is that Liza realizes that she doesn't have the murderous impulses that her mother found so appealing. After Sean and Liza have been together for a couple of months, Sean gets a promotion and an opportunity to go to Scotland and train to become a manager in the chain that he is employed.
Liza is all set to sedate Sean with sleeping pills, and somehow murder him. She gets them from the house that she works as a house cleaner for Mrs. Spurdell. This old woman is a skinflint and hates to pay Liza anything at all, but here is where Liza meets her savior. Mrs. Spurdell's daughter, Jane Spurdell who lives on 76 Shrove Road ( Liza was born in 1976 and, of course, lived at Shrove House).
Instead of killing Sean and striking out on her own, she goes to Jane's house and asks Jane to help her get into school. She knows that she can live in the camper and if the authorities evict her, they are forced to provide her with housing. Also, Jane helps her arrange to contact Eve who is in jail for the murders of her lovers (or lover?)
It's really a trun-around to learn that Liza doesn't resort to killing. She's such an odd person, that this would seem to be logical to her, but I guess the point of the novel is that Eve didn't do such a bad job raising the girl, and maybe the isolated existence really did 'save' Liza from the ugliness of life.
Monday, October 22, 2018
THE ROUND HOUSE by Louise Erdrich
Finished Su 10/21/18
The October, 2018 selection for The Contemporary Book Club
Ojibwe Indians; North Dakota
In broad strokes, an Indian woman is raped on the Indian Reservation. Although she recovers from the attack, she is emotionally destroyed and becomes a recluse. Her 13 year old son and three of his friends try to right this injustice. The book is meant as a 'cautionary tale' about 'Maze of Injustice'. One in three Indian women are raped at some time during their lives, and the perpetrators are overwhelmingly non-Native men. Vote- YES- for the Tribal Law and Order Act.
Link to the act-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribal_Law_and_Order_Act_of_2010
Amnesty International MAZE OF INJUSTICE-
https://www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/mazeofinjustice.pdf
Joe- Father is a lawyer/ judge; expert on Indian matters. Mother- Geraldine
Cappy- Joe's closet friend. His father was Doe Lafournais was tribal chairman. Randall- Cap's brother was an Indian dancer and knowledgeable of Indian mysticism.
Zack- father a musician and always on tour. Mother ran the tribal newspaper. His stepdad, Vince Madwesin was the tribal police officer.
Angus- He's from the poorest part of the Reservation.
Clemence and Edward- Joe's aunt and uncle; they live close to Joe and are like second parents when Geraldine has her breakdown.
Pearl- Joe's dog; named after Janis Joplin.
Linden Lark/ twin brother of Linda Wishkob (Lark). She works at the post office and was born very damaged. Her parents wanted to let her die.
Father Travis- Catholic priest; covered with scars from an explosion when he was a Marine. Handsome and very fit and cares about his congregation.
Mooshum- lives with Clemence and Edward; Joe's grandfather. Expert on The Indian Life- tells tales while he is asleep and Joe listens.
Sonja- a retired stripper and lives with Whitey. They run the local gas station/ store. The Lark family hates them because Sonja and Whitey got Lark's store and they lost everything.
Joe finds $40,000 in cash in a doll in a pond. The doll belonged to the baby that was abducted when Linden kidnapped the governor's girlfriend, Wolfskin. Linden did it to gain influence over the governor, Curtis Yeltow.
The only negative about the book is that it seems a little too much 'Young Adult', but still a very compelling read.
The October, 2018 selection for The Contemporary Book Club
Ojibwe Indians; North Dakota
In broad strokes, an Indian woman is raped on the Indian Reservation. Although she recovers from the attack, she is emotionally destroyed and becomes a recluse. Her 13 year old son and three of his friends try to right this injustice. The book is meant as a 'cautionary tale' about 'Maze of Injustice'. One in three Indian women are raped at some time during their lives, and the perpetrators are overwhelmingly non-Native men. Vote- YES- for the Tribal Law and Order Act.
Link to the act-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribal_Law_and_Order_Act_of_2010
Amnesty International MAZE OF INJUSTICE-
https://www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/mazeofinjustice.pdf
Joe- Father is a lawyer/ judge; expert on Indian matters. Mother- Geraldine
Cappy- Joe's closet friend. His father was Doe Lafournais was tribal chairman. Randall- Cap's brother was an Indian dancer and knowledgeable of Indian mysticism.
Zack- father a musician and always on tour. Mother ran the tribal newspaper. His stepdad, Vince Madwesin was the tribal police officer.
Angus- He's from the poorest part of the Reservation.
Clemence and Edward- Joe's aunt and uncle; they live close to Joe and are like second parents when Geraldine has her breakdown.
Pearl- Joe's dog; named after Janis Joplin.
Linden Lark/ twin brother of Linda Wishkob (Lark). She works at the post office and was born very damaged. Her parents wanted to let her die.
Father Travis- Catholic priest; covered with scars from an explosion when he was a Marine. Handsome and very fit and cares about his congregation.
Mooshum- lives with Clemence and Edward; Joe's grandfather. Expert on The Indian Life- tells tales while he is asleep and Joe listens.
Sonja- a retired stripper and lives with Whitey. They run the local gas station/ store. The Lark family hates them because Sonja and Whitey got Lark's store and they lost everything.
Joe finds $40,000 in cash in a doll in a pond. The doll belonged to the baby that was abducted when Linden kidnapped the governor's girlfriend, Wolfskin. Linden did it to gain influence over the governor, Curtis Yeltow.
The only negative about the book is that it seems a little too much 'Young Adult', but still a very compelling read.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
THE CAMEL CLUB by David Baldacci
Finished Tu 10/16/18
This is the first book in 'The Camel Club' series by Baldacci. I got this as an e-book from the library.
Plot-
A CIA agent is found dead on a river near Washington DC. The killing was made to look like a suicide. This man was trading identities with dead terrorists.
There is a huge plot to kill the president. But, not to kill him, but to kidnap him. Brennan, the president, goes back to his home town. They are re-naming the town after him. At the ceremony, a veteran with a prosthetic hand is working with the terrorists. He has a nerve agent on the hand, and when he shakes the president's hand, he transfers the poison. The president goes down as if he had a heart attack, and the terrorists open fire, but using drug darts- not bullets.
A terrorist group takes credit and says that the president has been taken to Medina. He has, but not Medina in the middle east, but Medina, Ohio.
The Vice President, now in command, threatens a nuclear strike against Syria unless the president is not returned unharmed.
The Camel Club saves the day.
THE CLUB-
Oliver Stone- works as a caretaker in a cemetery and looks homeless- long hair/ beard
Milton Farb- dresses preppy. round eye glasses. Can remember any document that he's read one time- regardless of how complex. Crippled with OCD.
Reuben Rhodes- hulking hippie. Several tours of Vietnam and veteran of various spy agencies.
Caleb Shaw- a collector of rare books and works at the Library of Congress. dresses in 19th century garb.
Alex Ford- Secret Service Agent assigned to protect the president
All Baldacci's books are good, but the writing is pedestrian, but the story-lines are compelling.
This is the first book in 'The Camel Club' series by Baldacci. I got this as an e-book from the library.
Plot-
A CIA agent is found dead on a river near Washington DC. The killing was made to look like a suicide. This man was trading identities with dead terrorists.
There is a huge plot to kill the president. But, not to kill him, but to kidnap him. Brennan, the president, goes back to his home town. They are re-naming the town after him. At the ceremony, a veteran with a prosthetic hand is working with the terrorists. He has a nerve agent on the hand, and when he shakes the president's hand, he transfers the poison. The president goes down as if he had a heart attack, and the terrorists open fire, but using drug darts- not bullets.
A terrorist group takes credit and says that the president has been taken to Medina. He has, but not Medina in the middle east, but Medina, Ohio.
The Vice President, now in command, threatens a nuclear strike against Syria unless the president is not returned unharmed.
The Camel Club saves the day.
THE CLUB-
Oliver Stone- works as a caretaker in a cemetery and looks homeless- long hair/ beard
Milton Farb- dresses preppy. round eye glasses. Can remember any document that he's read one time- regardless of how complex. Crippled with OCD.
Reuben Rhodes- hulking hippie. Several tours of Vietnam and veteran of various spy agencies.
Caleb Shaw- a collector of rare books and works at the Library of Congress. dresses in 19th century garb.
Alex Ford- Secret Service Agent assigned to protect the president
All Baldacci's books are good, but the writing is pedestrian, but the story-lines are compelling.
Saturday, October 6, 2018
STONE COLD by David Baldacci
Finished Fr 10/5/18
This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me. She is a Baldacci Fan...and so am I. He is most definitely a 'heavy hitter' among the Usual Suspects- Lee Child, Michael Connelly, and Greg Ils.
However, I felt that there were a few too many moving parts in this novel. It is the third in a series by Baldacci concerning, 'The Camel Club- which is a small group of Washington DC mercenaries working under an ex-CIA hit-man, called 'Oliver Stone'.
Oliver Stone- works as a caretaker in a cemetery and looks homeless- long hair/ beard
Milton Farb- dresses preppy. round eye glasses. Can remember any document that he's read one time- regardless of how complex. Crippled with OCD.
Reuben Rhodes- hulking hippie. Several tours of Vietnam and veteran of various spy agencies.
Caleb Shaw- a collector of rare books and works at the Library of Congress. dresses in 19th century garb.
Although STONE COLD is a stand-alone novel I felt a little confused with all the characters since I wasn't aware of their past relationships.
PLOT-
Harry Finn works for US Security. He is to infiltrate American installations (airports/ dams/ US Congress/ nuclear facilities) to test their security systems. This was the most interesting part of the novel and it's revealed that Americans are probably not as safe as they believe.
Decades ago Finn's father was a major player in the CIA and was murdered by the agency to cover-up his involvement in a successful plan to kill two Russian heads of state so that Gorbachev could run the country. Finn's mother is alive and in hiding. She was believed to be a Russian spy and she is 'running' Harry to assassinate all of the agents that were responsible for her husband's death. Harry's work life is secret from his suburban wife and children.
Annabelle Conroy is one of the world's greatest con artists. She has recently conned Jerry Bagger, an Atlantic City casino owner/ mobster out of $40,000,000. She is at odds with her father, Paddy. She believes that he abandoned the family when her mother died. Later it's learned that he was in jail at the time and loved her mother dearly.
A major sub-plot is how Bagger tries to capture and kill Annabelle. Annabelle is kind of a member of The Camel Club (still don't know why it's called this name).
Alex Ford is an agent with the Secret Service and is helping Annabelle and the Camel Club.
Carter Gray is the evil head of all US intelligence services and he is trying to kill just about every other person in the novel and then keep it covered up. He has had a past relationship with Stone and this is not exactly clear.
When I finished STONE COLD I checked THE CAMEL CLUB out of the library on Kindle. This is the first in the series, STONE COLD is the third of five, and I think this will help my understanding greatly.
I liked the book, but I should have been more familiar with the series.
This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me. She is a Baldacci Fan...and so am I. He is most definitely a 'heavy hitter' among the Usual Suspects- Lee Child, Michael Connelly, and Greg Ils.
However, I felt that there were a few too many moving parts in this novel. It is the third in a series by Baldacci concerning, 'The Camel Club- which is a small group of Washington DC mercenaries working under an ex-CIA hit-man, called 'Oliver Stone'.
Oliver Stone- works as a caretaker in a cemetery and looks homeless- long hair/ beard
Milton Farb- dresses preppy. round eye glasses. Can remember any document that he's read one time- regardless of how complex. Crippled with OCD.
Reuben Rhodes- hulking hippie. Several tours of Vietnam and veteran of various spy agencies.
Caleb Shaw- a collector of rare books and works at the Library of Congress. dresses in 19th century garb.
Although STONE COLD is a stand-alone novel I felt a little confused with all the characters since I wasn't aware of their past relationships.
PLOT-
Harry Finn works for US Security. He is to infiltrate American installations (airports/ dams/ US Congress/ nuclear facilities) to test their security systems. This was the most interesting part of the novel and it's revealed that Americans are probably not as safe as they believe.
Decades ago Finn's father was a major player in the CIA and was murdered by the agency to cover-up his involvement in a successful plan to kill two Russian heads of state so that Gorbachev could run the country. Finn's mother is alive and in hiding. She was believed to be a Russian spy and she is 'running' Harry to assassinate all of the agents that were responsible for her husband's death. Harry's work life is secret from his suburban wife and children.
Annabelle Conroy is one of the world's greatest con artists. She has recently conned Jerry Bagger, an Atlantic City casino owner/ mobster out of $40,000,000. She is at odds with her father, Paddy. She believes that he abandoned the family when her mother died. Later it's learned that he was in jail at the time and loved her mother dearly.
A major sub-plot is how Bagger tries to capture and kill Annabelle. Annabelle is kind of a member of The Camel Club (still don't know why it's called this name).
Alex Ford is an agent with the Secret Service and is helping Annabelle and the Camel Club.
Carter Gray is the evil head of all US intelligence services and he is trying to kill just about every other person in the novel and then keep it covered up. He has had a past relationship with Stone and this is not exactly clear.
When I finished STONE COLD I checked THE CAMEL CLUB out of the library on Kindle. This is the first in the series, STONE COLD is the third of five, and I think this will help my understanding greatly.
I liked the book, but I should have been more familiar with the series.
Friday, October 5, 2018
THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD by Margaret Atwood
Finished Th 10/4/18
I read this book to about page 342, PREDATOR DAY, and then I skimmed to the end. At first I really enjoyed the book, but as I read farther it got more confusing, and it became far too apparent that a poet was at the controls. The compelling narrative seemed to become overwhelmed by an overweening sense of the environment of the book. I was hooked on the story, but puzzled and disoriented by the setting. That's why I skimmed to the end. When the delightful and pleasant details become more important than the story-line, I have to go with something else. In this case, a David Baldacci novel was just what I needed.
From the novel's page at wikipedia-
"The plot follows two characters, Toby and Ren, whose stories intertwine with each other and, at points, with major characters from Oryx and Crake. Much of the story is told through flashbacks with the two main characters separately surviving the apocalypse described in the previous novel, each reminiscing about their time in the God's Gardeners religious movement and the events that led to their current situations.
Toby is a young woman who loses her parents under tragic circumstances that may or may not be due to the corporations, and is forced to live off of the grid in a shady meat burger joint (SecretBurgers- the 'secret' is that you don't know what kind of meat you are eating). She soon encounters the unwelcome attentions of Blanco, the psychopathic manager of the chain who has a reputation for sexually assaulting and murdering the women in his employ. The leader of God's Gardeners, Adam One, is looked up to as a charismatic holy man but perceived by outsiders as a cult leader. He saves Toby from Blanco and takes her to the sanctuary of his rooftop garden. Toby becomes an influential member of the gardeners and encounters Ren, a child member of the gardeners.
Ren eventually grows up to become a prostitute and trapeze dancer in the sex-club Scales and Tails (this seems to be more of a 'fetish bar' than a traditional strip club), and happens to be locked in a bio-containment unit in the club when the pandemic occurs. Similarly, Toby is barricaded within a luxury spa where she has begun to work following a raid on the gardeners by Blanco and his brutish pals."
The book's page at wikipedia does an excellent job of listing the various characters, organizations, events, locations, and a glossary of terms for the novel.
Three simple paragraphs clearly outline the plot, yet it requires a rather tedious list of extraneous detail to provide information to fully understand the novel.
I honestly can say that I liked the novel because I could very much get caught up and lost in many sections of the book, but in the end it just became too tiresome because it seemed that Toby and Ren's dire predicaments got lost in the massive setting of the novel.
I read this book to about page 342, PREDATOR DAY, and then I skimmed to the end. At first I really enjoyed the book, but as I read farther it got more confusing, and it became far too apparent that a poet was at the controls. The compelling narrative seemed to become overwhelmed by an overweening sense of the environment of the book. I was hooked on the story, but puzzled and disoriented by the setting. That's why I skimmed to the end. When the delightful and pleasant details become more important than the story-line, I have to go with something else. In this case, a David Baldacci novel was just what I needed.
From the novel's page at wikipedia-
"The plot follows two characters, Toby and Ren, whose stories intertwine with each other and, at points, with major characters from Oryx and Crake. Much of the story is told through flashbacks with the two main characters separately surviving the apocalypse described in the previous novel, each reminiscing about their time in the God's Gardeners religious movement and the events that led to their current situations.
Toby is a young woman who loses her parents under tragic circumstances that may or may not be due to the corporations, and is forced to live off of the grid in a shady meat burger joint (SecretBurgers- the 'secret' is that you don't know what kind of meat you are eating). She soon encounters the unwelcome attentions of Blanco, the psychopathic manager of the chain who has a reputation for sexually assaulting and murdering the women in his employ. The leader of God's Gardeners, Adam One, is looked up to as a charismatic holy man but perceived by outsiders as a cult leader. He saves Toby from Blanco and takes her to the sanctuary of his rooftop garden. Toby becomes an influential member of the gardeners and encounters Ren, a child member of the gardeners.
Ren eventually grows up to become a prostitute and trapeze dancer in the sex-club Scales and Tails (this seems to be more of a 'fetish bar' than a traditional strip club), and happens to be locked in a bio-containment unit in the club when the pandemic occurs. Similarly, Toby is barricaded within a luxury spa where she has begun to work following a raid on the gardeners by Blanco and his brutish pals."
The book's page at wikipedia does an excellent job of listing the various characters, organizations, events, locations, and a glossary of terms for the novel.
Three simple paragraphs clearly outline the plot, yet it requires a rather tedious list of extraneous detail to provide information to fully understand the novel.
I honestly can say that I liked the novel because I could very much get caught up and lost in many sections of the book, but in the end it just became too tiresome because it seemed that Toby and Ren's dire predicaments got lost in the massive setting of the novel.
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
SAVING FAITH by David Baldacci
Finished Tu 9/25/18
This is a hardback that I bought at the library book sale on Saturdy, June 10th, 2017. I lent this one to Janny, and she read it first and said that she loved it. So did I.
The Story:
A sinister conspiracy in nearly all branches of the American government is about to be revealed. Daniel Buchanan, a senior lobbyist is trying to raise money for less fortunate countries. He is bribing government officials to kick-in tax money, but he isn't giving them anything for their influence until they retire from government service, then he is setting them up in cushy, well-paid 'non-jobs'. The scope of this operation is in the millions and millions of dollars.
Faith Lockhard is working with the FBI to uncover this operation. However, she's a close friend of Buchanan and doesn't want to implicate him, she just wants to expose this 'massive cancer' in the federal system.
Lee Adams is a PI who was hired by Buchanan. The lobbyist wanted to make sure that Faith was not going to be killed. One night at the FBI safe-house, while Adams observes, their is a hit on Faith and an FBI agent is killed.
Robert Thornhill is the villain of the piece. He heads the CIA wants to stop Faith and Buchanan from telling the secrets. He wants to retain the information and use this as leverage to force the government officials to do his bidding.
The rest of the novel is 'Faith and Lee On The Run'.
At one point, Faith and Lee flee on a big Honda Gold Wing motorcycle.
In the end, Faith is placed in the witness protection program and might never see Lee again. A sympathetic female FBI agent, Reynolds brings Faith to Lee while he is on a stake out.
Lee and Faith just decide to 'ride off into the sunset'.....and that's what they do.
Once again, not great literature, but the story and plot just take you up and propels you along. About what you would expect from a Jack Reacher novel, or almost anything by Harlan Coben.
This is a hardback that I bought at the library book sale on Saturdy, June 10th, 2017. I lent this one to Janny, and she read it first and said that she loved it. So did I.
The Story:
A sinister conspiracy in nearly all branches of the American government is about to be revealed. Daniel Buchanan, a senior lobbyist is trying to raise money for less fortunate countries. He is bribing government officials to kick-in tax money, but he isn't giving them anything for their influence until they retire from government service, then he is setting them up in cushy, well-paid 'non-jobs'. The scope of this operation is in the millions and millions of dollars.
Faith Lockhard is working with the FBI to uncover this operation. However, she's a close friend of Buchanan and doesn't want to implicate him, she just wants to expose this 'massive cancer' in the federal system.
Lee Adams is a PI who was hired by Buchanan. The lobbyist wanted to make sure that Faith was not going to be killed. One night at the FBI safe-house, while Adams observes, their is a hit on Faith and an FBI agent is killed.
Robert Thornhill is the villain of the piece. He heads the CIA wants to stop Faith and Buchanan from telling the secrets. He wants to retain the information and use this as leverage to force the government officials to do his bidding.
The rest of the novel is 'Faith and Lee On The Run'.
At one point, Faith and Lee flee on a big Honda Gold Wing motorcycle.
In the end, Faith is placed in the witness protection program and might never see Lee again. A sympathetic female FBI agent, Reynolds brings Faith to Lee while he is on a stake out.
Lee and Faith just decide to 'ride off into the sunset'.....and that's what they do.
Once again, not great literature, but the story and plot just take you up and propels you along. About what you would expect from a Jack Reacher novel, or almost anything by Harlan Coben.
Monday, September 24, 2018
LITTLE FIRES EVERWHERE by Celeste Ng
Finished Su 9/24/18
This book is the September selection for The Contemporary Book Club. I got this in hardback from Amazon and I paid $26- couldn't get it any cheaper. I'm glad that I liked the book so much.
Set in Shaker Heights, OH. Ward Cleaver was 'The Pride of Shaker Heights High School'. The Cleaver's home was in Mayfield which is 9 miles northeast of Shaker Heights and Shaker Heights is about 9 miles east of Cleveland. When the city of Shaker Heights was established in 1912 it was the last stop on the new street car system.
The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers
The book has been picked up for a mini-series on Hulu by Reese Witherspoon. She read the book in her book club.
Link to her recommendations at 'Whiskey In A Teacup'
Link to the book's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fires_Everywhere
https://www.bookbub.com/blog/2018/03/21/reese-witherspoon-book-club-list
This book is the September selection for The Contemporary Book Club. I got this in hardback from Amazon and I paid $26- couldn't get it any cheaper. I'm glad that I liked the book so much.
Set in Shaker Heights, OH. Ward Cleaver was 'The Pride of Shaker Heights High School'. The Cleaver's home was in Mayfield which is 9 miles northeast of Shaker Heights and Shaker Heights is about 9 miles east of Cleveland. When the city of Shaker Heights was established in 1912 it was the last stop on the new street car system.
The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers
The book has been picked up for a mini-series on Hulu by Reese Witherspoon. She read the book in her book club.
Link to her recommendations at 'Whiskey In A Teacup'
Link to the book's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fires_Everywhere
https://www.bookbub.com/blog/2018/03/21/reese-witherspoon-book-club-list
The Richardson Family
- Elena Richardson - a 3rd generation resident of Shaker Heights who writes for the local paper
- Bill Richardson - A prominent lawyer
- Lexie Richardson - The oldest Richardson child who is a senior in high school
- Trip Richardson - The second oldest Richardson child who is a jock
- Moody Richardson - A well-meaning and kind person he is the one who introduces Pearl to his family and develops a crush on her
- Izzy Richardson - The black sheep of the family who rejects the Richardsons upper-middle class lifestyle.
The Warrens
- Mia Warren - a photographer who specializes in unique prints. She has lived a transient life-style for Pearl's entire life and refuses to tell her who her father is
- Pearl Warren - Mia's daughter who is the same age as Moody
Bebe Chow
- Mia's co-worker Bebe Chow, who wants her abandoned baby back from the McCulloughs
The McCullough Family
- Linda McCullough - A childhood friend of Elena's
- Mirabelle McCullough/May Ling Chow - Her adopted infant daughter
I loved the book and although it was chock full of characters, it was very easy to follow. I'd most definitely read more by Celeste Ng.
Monday, September 17, 2018
MISSING YOU by Harlan Coben
Finished Su 8/17/18
This was one of the books that Cindy gave me when I visited her place last week; 2015/ paperback.
Coben doesn't provide great literature, but nobody can crank out a thriller the way he does.
Kat Donovan is a NY cop as were her father and grandfather.
Two Story-lines-
1) Kat is single and one of her friends signs her up to a dating site. On the app she reads a post and sees a photo from the love of her life who she hadn't seen or heard from in eighteen years. Where is Jeff and why did he leave her?
2) Her father was killed many years before and a convicted killer is dying. He confessed to the murder, but Kat never felt that this was true.
A young computer hacker, Brandon, contacts Kat. He tells her that his mother, Dana, lives in Connecticut and met a man on this same dating site. She's been gone for days, and he is worried.
It turns out that many men and woman on the site have been lured to a remote farm. When they arrive they are attacked, placed in an underground bunker/coffin, and all of their money is extorted.
Titus is the brains behind this sinister operation, and Renaldo is his chief lieutenant.
Dana briefly escapes her coffin, but not the farm, and Titus goes into NYC to bring Brandon to the farm. He will torture Brandon until Dana returns to the farm house and gives up her money.
Kat has called in the FBI and is in hot pursuit. Just as Titus has shot Brandon in the knee, Kat draws her gun and kills Titus.
Dana has previously killed Dimitry, the farm's computer expert, with an ax, and Renaldo is taken out by the zombie-like hostages. Renaldo was coming back to kill all of the people in their locked underground compartments, but they cling to him so that he's not able to shoot them and pummel him to death.
Later, Kat learns that his father was a closeted gay man and throughout her childhood he had been having an affair with a black male prostitute, Sugar.
Kat's father was conflicted about his sexual identity and he was filled with rage that he had to leave Sugar. One night he was spotted by Jeff and Kat's father's partner, Stagger. Jeff shot her father because he might have beaten Sugar to death. Stagger puts a cover-up in play. Nobody would believe them about how the shooting actually happened, and also they wanted to keep Kat's father's sexual proclivities secret. This is why Jeff had existed her life.
\
In the end, Kat and Jeff live happily ever after.
The novel's title is from a 1984 song by John Waite, 'Missing You'.
This was one of the books that Cindy gave me when I visited her place last week; 2015/ paperback.
Coben doesn't provide great literature, but nobody can crank out a thriller the way he does.
Kat Donovan is a NY cop as were her father and grandfather.
Two Story-lines-
1) Kat is single and one of her friends signs her up to a dating site. On the app she reads a post and sees a photo from the love of her life who she hadn't seen or heard from in eighteen years. Where is Jeff and why did he leave her?
2) Her father was killed many years before and a convicted killer is dying. He confessed to the murder, but Kat never felt that this was true.
A young computer hacker, Brandon, contacts Kat. He tells her that his mother, Dana, lives in Connecticut and met a man on this same dating site. She's been gone for days, and he is worried.
It turns out that many men and woman on the site have been lured to a remote farm. When they arrive they are attacked, placed in an underground bunker/coffin, and all of their money is extorted.
Titus is the brains behind this sinister operation, and Renaldo is his chief lieutenant.
Dana briefly escapes her coffin, but not the farm, and Titus goes into NYC to bring Brandon to the farm. He will torture Brandon until Dana returns to the farm house and gives up her money.
Kat has called in the FBI and is in hot pursuit. Just as Titus has shot Brandon in the knee, Kat draws her gun and kills Titus.
Dana has previously killed Dimitry, the farm's computer expert, with an ax, and Renaldo is taken out by the zombie-like hostages. Renaldo was coming back to kill all of the people in their locked underground compartments, but they cling to him so that he's not able to shoot them and pummel him to death.
Later, Kat learns that his father was a closeted gay man and throughout her childhood he had been having an affair with a black male prostitute, Sugar.
Kat's father was conflicted about his sexual identity and he was filled with rage that he had to leave Sugar. One night he was spotted by Jeff and Kat's father's partner, Stagger. Jeff shot her father because he might have beaten Sugar to death. Stagger puts a cover-up in play. Nobody would believe them about how the shooting actually happened, and also they wanted to keep Kat's father's sexual proclivities secret. This is why Jeff had existed her life.
\
In the end, Kat and Jeff live happily ever after.
The novel's title is from a 1984 song by John Waite, 'Missing You'.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
THE NIGHT MANAGER by John Le Carre
Finished We 9/12/18
This is one of my ancient paperbacks that I found on the shelves after watching the excellent mini-series, 'THE NIGHT MANAGER' on Amazon Prime. I just learned that this series has won numerous awards including three Golden Globes, and I loved it.
Put simply the story-line is;
" The night manager of a Cairo hotel is recruited to infiltrate an arms dealer's inner circle ".
Jonathan Pine is a night manager of an exclusive hotel in Cairo. He falls in love with a woman, Sophie who is the mistress of an Egyptian thug who is involved with international organized crime- especially arms dealing. She has entrusted Pine with documents that implicate a kingpin in the international arms trades, Richard Roper.
Sophie is murdered and Pine flees with the documents. Pine is an orphan who grew up in the British armed services. He's trained as an elite specialist, and has friends in the British intelligence community.
A false history of Pine is created. Pine appears to leave Egypt because he stole money from the hotel. And, he flees to rural Ireland and made to look as if he murders a 'partner in crime'.
In Ireland he seems most at home, and has a relationship with an older woman and her daughter. He rents a house from them.
Years later, Pine is the night manager of a hotel in Switzerland, and Roper and his entourage shows up.
With the help of multinational intelligence services, Pine is able to insinuate himself into Roper's organization.
They fake a kidnapping of Roper's son where Pine appears to 'save the day'.
Pine becomes friends with Roper and gains his confidence in the running of the conglomerate. Pine is also close to Roper's beautiful mistress, Jeds.
The only 'most trusted' lieutenant in the outfit that never buys Pine's legitimacy is 'Corky' Corkoran. This man is portrayed as a vicious, yet effective, homosexual mastermind of the business. He was Roper's 'right hand man'.
In the end (I skimmed the last hundred pages) Pine and Jeds escape the gang and return to Ireland. He grows a beard and his friend insists that he is not Pine, but maybe a relative. Some of the people recognize him.
John LeCarre is not an easy read, and I spent more time on this book than I probably should. Overall, I liked the series better because it was such a perfect fit for a film. And the fact that it was a series that they were able to stretch the story-line across several hours.
This is one of my ancient paperbacks that I found on the shelves after watching the excellent mini-series, 'THE NIGHT MANAGER' on Amazon Prime. I just learned that this series has won numerous awards including three Golden Globes, and I loved it.
Put simply the story-line is;
" The night manager of a Cairo hotel is recruited to infiltrate an arms dealer's inner circle ".
Jonathan Pine is a night manager of an exclusive hotel in Cairo. He falls in love with a woman, Sophie who is the mistress of an Egyptian thug who is involved with international organized crime- especially arms dealing. She has entrusted Pine with documents that implicate a kingpin in the international arms trades, Richard Roper.
Sophie is murdered and Pine flees with the documents. Pine is an orphan who grew up in the British armed services. He's trained as an elite specialist, and has friends in the British intelligence community.
A false history of Pine is created. Pine appears to leave Egypt because he stole money from the hotel. And, he flees to rural Ireland and made to look as if he murders a 'partner in crime'.
In Ireland he seems most at home, and has a relationship with an older woman and her daughter. He rents a house from them.
Years later, Pine is the night manager of a hotel in Switzerland, and Roper and his entourage shows up.
With the help of multinational intelligence services, Pine is able to insinuate himself into Roper's organization.
They fake a kidnapping of Roper's son where Pine appears to 'save the day'.
Pine becomes friends with Roper and gains his confidence in the running of the conglomerate. Pine is also close to Roper's beautiful mistress, Jeds.
The only 'most trusted' lieutenant in the outfit that never buys Pine's legitimacy is 'Corky' Corkoran. This man is portrayed as a vicious, yet effective, homosexual mastermind of the business. He was Roper's 'right hand man'.
In the end (I skimmed the last hundred pages) Pine and Jeds escape the gang and return to Ireland. He grows a beard and his friend insists that he is not Pine, but maybe a relative. Some of the people recognize him.
John LeCarre is not an easy read, and I spent more time on this book than I probably should. Overall, I liked the series better because it was such a perfect fit for a film. And the fact that it was a series that they were able to stretch the story-line across several hours.
Sunday, September 2, 2018
MOHAWK by Richard Russo
Finished Sa 9/1/18
This was a trade paperback that I got at last June's library book sale.
The first novel by Russo, and I remember reading 'EMPIRE FALLS' a few years ago. He won the Pulitzer Prize for literature for literature for this novel.
Mohawk, New York is a fictional town in northwest New York state south of the Adirondacks. The main economic generator are leather factories. Since the early sixties, these companies have relocated overseas.
This is the story of 'the working poor'. Most of the men were employed in these factories. Not only did they leave them with no jobs, but the water table has been poisoned and now they are faced with drastically increased rates of sickness and cancer.
Harry- owner and operator of The Mohawk Diner. This is a central meeting place for the town; coffee and cigarettes and conversation.
Wild Bill- mentally damaged man who is protected by Harry. Bill is the son of Rory. This man was a corrupt, yet powerful figure at the tanneries. Rory stole leather for the mills.
Wild Bill was severely beaten by his father. Bill was in love with Anne and he was always following her around.
Dallas is a kind of 'jock' character. Always a teenager, no real job or prospects. Divorced from Anne, but still friends.
Anne has always been in love with her cousin Diane's husband, Dan. Dan is in a wheelchair from an accident many years before.
Dallas is in love with his brother's wife, Lorraine. Dallas's brother, David had died of cancer many years before. Lorraine has a young daughter, Dawn. Dawn contracts a deadly disease later in the novel.
Mather Grouse- Anne's father and 'the patriarch' of the novel. He's moral and stands against the cheating at the leather works. He's dying of breathing problems. His wife objects to the oxygen tanks in the house. She see's it as against how she sees her husband. He's a fine strong man and nothing should be wrong with him.
Many characters, but not too hard to remember. I like these kinds of novels.
This was a trade paperback that I got at last June's library book sale.
The first novel by Russo, and I remember reading 'EMPIRE FALLS' a few years ago. He won the Pulitzer Prize for literature for literature for this novel.
Mohawk, New York is a fictional town in northwest New York state south of the Adirondacks. The main economic generator are leather factories. Since the early sixties, these companies have relocated overseas.
This is the story of 'the working poor'. Most of the men were employed in these factories. Not only did they leave them with no jobs, but the water table has been poisoned and now they are faced with drastically increased rates of sickness and cancer.
Harry- owner and operator of The Mohawk Diner. This is a central meeting place for the town; coffee and cigarettes and conversation.
Wild Bill- mentally damaged man who is protected by Harry. Bill is the son of Rory. This man was a corrupt, yet powerful figure at the tanneries. Rory stole leather for the mills.
Wild Bill was severely beaten by his father. Bill was in love with Anne and he was always following her around.
Dallas is a kind of 'jock' character. Always a teenager, no real job or prospects. Divorced from Anne, but still friends.
Anne has always been in love with her cousin Diane's husband, Dan. Dan is in a wheelchair from an accident many years before.
Dallas is in love with his brother's wife, Lorraine. Dallas's brother, David had died of cancer many years before. Lorraine has a young daughter, Dawn. Dawn contracts a deadly disease later in the novel.
Mather Grouse- Anne's father and 'the patriarch' of the novel. He's moral and stands against the cheating at the leather works. He's dying of breathing problems. His wife objects to the oxygen tanks in the house. She see's it as against how she sees her husband. He's a fine strong man and nothing should be wrong with him.
Many characters, but not too hard to remember. I like these kinds of novels.
Thursday, August 30, 2018
PUNK ROCK BLITZKRIEG- My Life As A Ramone by Marky Ramone
Finished We 8/29/18
This is a hardback that I picked up at the library. I finished a documentary about The Ramones on Amazon Prime and noticed that Marc Bell had written a biography about his years in the group.
Tommy Ramone was the original drummer, but decided to give that up and become the band's full-time producer and 'musical director'. He might be the man most responsible for 'the Ramone's style'.
Bell was a well known and respected drummer before he joined the band. He had a recording career with a heavy metal trio called, 'DUST'. He was only 18 years old when he had his first recording contract. He was also the drummer in RICHARD HELL AND THE VOIDOIDS and he drummed for WAYNE COUNTY'S band.
He was a Ramone from 1978 through the beginning of 1983. Then, he was asked to leave the band due to his alcoholism and was out of the band for four years until 1987. The band hung it up in 1996.
I can't believe that they used to tour in a fifteen seat Econoline van. If at all possible they wanted to sleep at home in their own beds whenever possible. All the Ramones, and their wives and girlfriends would be assigned a seat in the van and they would spent the very long days and nights, feuding, eating at Cracker Barrels, and listening to a Golden Oldie station on the radio.
John Cummings- Johnny Ramone; the authoritarian Right Wing driving force of the band. He took care of the finances and drove them with an unwavering fist. He is not a very pleasant character, and didn't really see himself as a musicain, but more of a 'musical personality' or 'guitar hero'.
Douglas Colvin- Dee Dee Ramone; the poet of the band and human garbage pail for any drug, potion, or liquor that was anytime available. When they visited the home of Stephen King, Dee Dee wrote a song called 'Pet Sematary' that became the title song for the movie. Dee Dee wrote it on the spot and it took less than an hour. Died of a heroin overdose after he had controlled his drug intake to 'pot only' for years. Marc says that, in a way, sobriety killed him because had he not lost his extensive tolerance for the drug, the amount of heroin that killed him would have done little or nothing. It might not have even gotten him off. During the 80's he attempted to become a rapper, Dee Dee King.
Jeffrey Ross Hyman- Joey Ramone; The Resident Hippie- He was probably the soul of the outfit. He was crippled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. Many, many times he had to be brought back to where they had last left so that he could 're-count'. Just getting him to leave his apartment was almost an impossible task.
Joey Ramone had a huge scar on his back. He claimed that it was from a shark attack, but actually he was one of a Siamese twin that was removed at birth.
Thomas Erdelyi- Tommy Ramone; A Hungarian/American and the original drummer. He went on to produce the first few albums and was always an integrel part of the band even when he was not an official member.
Monte was the driver and basically acted as a babysitter for the band.
I love all Rock'n'Roll Memoirs and this was a cut above. Also the last third of the book deals with his addiction to alcohol and his insights are very perceptive.
THE WHITE LIONESS by Henning Mankell
Finished We 8/29/18
This is a trade paperback that I got at last June's library book sale. The author is Swedish and the book is the third in the Kurt Wallender Mystery Series (1998).
From wikipedia-
"The story itself takes place in 1992. The plot follows two parallel patterns, one during late apartheid South Africa where incumbent president F.W. de Klerk, leader of the Afrikaner minority which is on the brink of losing power to the African majority under the leadership of the ANC, about to end 44 years of suppression by the Broederbond rule. Simultaneously, Detective Chief Inspector Kurt Wallander is investigating a case of a missing female Methodist real-estate agent outside Ystad. Upon the eventual recovery of her body, as well as the discovery of a severed black finger at the crime scene, Detective Chief Inspector Wallander realizes the case has deep roots in the history and current development in South Africa, where it appears that an extremist cell of the Broederbond is about to orchestrate the murder of F W de Klerk by an infamous black assassin, wishing to plunge the country into a long and devastating civil war.''
Notes:
Konvovalenko is from the old Russian Secret Service and one of the most vicious killers I've ever encountered. He is working for a secret agency in the South African government. He's living in Sweden and training a hit-man to take out a prominent leader, and the only goal is to create chaos. Either the white leader of the party in power, or Mandela himself- it doesn't make a difference since the aim is to create the maximum of civil unrest.
I thought that it was interesting how the body of the real estate agent is found. A professional thief is contracted to steal three metal water pumps. These were pumps that were common in rural Sweden and they are wanted by Swedes living abroad. The pumps remind them of home.
The character of Wallander is very interesting. He's not the normal, 'in charge' type of lead, but he is riddled with quirks and neurotic tendencies. He loves his college aged daughter, but rarely thinks about his ex-wife.
I really liked the novel and would have finished it much sooner, but I got involved in Mrarky Ramone's biography of his time in The Ramones, 'PUNK ROCK BLITZKRIEG- My Life As A Ramone'.
The BBC made a film of THE WHITE LIONESS in 2016 with Kenneth Branagh as Wallander. I'd like very much to see this when it's available.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
THE NINTH HOUR by Alice McDermott
Finished Sa 8/18/18- The August 2018 selection for The Contemporary Book Club
Meticulously well written- McDermott beautifully creates a horrific exposition of "The Poor".
Set in Brooklyn, NY, probably in the 1920's (mention of a prohibition bottle of whiskey in Mr. Costello's room), and continues to near the present day.
Jim and Annie are Irish and married. He is a motorman but kind of lazy, and Annie is on his back. He commits suicide by pulling out the gas link to the oven. Annie is pregnant. Sister St. Saviour arrives on the scene and tries to allow Jim to be married in consecrated ground. The paper relates that it's a suicide, so they can't use the burial policy that the couple have purchased.
Annie's child is named after Sister St. Saviour and called, Sally.
Annie is given work where the nuns live. She helps Sister Illuminata in the laundry room. Sister Illuminata is an authority of laundry. She learned it from her mother. She is one of the few nuns that speak of her past.
IMPORTANT SECTION-
Sally leaves on a train to become a nun in Chicago. It is a Ride Through Hell. She sits next to an over-weight vulgar woman who talks incessantly about sex to Sally. And in the dining car Sally meets a woman who bilks her out of most of Sally's money. She has a couple of dollars in her shoes and fifty dollars pinned to the lining of her bag.
Before the end of the train ride Sally strikes the old woman.
Sally will not be a nun and immediately returns to NY-
Sally realizes that she will not meet the world with a 'helping hand'. Sally will meet the world with a 'clenched fist'.
Next Section-
When she returns she sees that Annie is having an affair with the milkman, Mr. Costello.
Title of the book-
Nuns are asked to pray at certain times of the day. The 9th Hour is between 2pm and 3pm.
1) The time Jesus died on the cross
2) The time that Annie and Mr. Costello have their affair
Sally becomes a companion for the ugly, insane, and rude, Mrs. Costello. She has lost part of her leg due to diabetes.
Sally is the one that suggested that she watch Mrs. Costello. This is a way to atone for Annie's sexual behavior.
Sally decides to poison Mrs. Costello's tea with alum. This way she will lose her soul to save her mother's life. With the spiritually ugly Mrs. Costello out of the picture, this will allow Annie and Mr. Costello to have a life together.
I think (the ending is unclear) that Sister Leanne is aware of the poisoning, but covers for Sally. Sister Leanne takes this sin upon herself. Sister Leanne will never enter heaven. She uses a metaphor about an unfitting wool coat. Heaven is when the hot, prickly coat is removed. The sister will never be able to remove the stain of the 'attempted murder sin' that Sister Leanne has 'absorbed' from Sally.
Not Covered-
Red Whelan took Patrick's great grandfather's place in the civil war ($300 to serve for another man). Red also lost part of a leg. Two one legged people in the story.
Sally and Patrick Tierney marry, and one of their daughters tells the story.
Meticulously well written- McDermott beautifully creates a horrific exposition of "The Poor".
Set in Brooklyn, NY, probably in the 1920's (mention of a prohibition bottle of whiskey in Mr. Costello's room), and continues to near the present day.
Jim and Annie are Irish and married. He is a motorman but kind of lazy, and Annie is on his back. He commits suicide by pulling out the gas link to the oven. Annie is pregnant. Sister St. Saviour arrives on the scene and tries to allow Jim to be married in consecrated ground. The paper relates that it's a suicide, so they can't use the burial policy that the couple have purchased.
Annie's child is named after Sister St. Saviour and called, Sally.
Annie is given work where the nuns live. She helps Sister Illuminata in the laundry room. Sister Illuminata is an authority of laundry. She learned it from her mother. She is one of the few nuns that speak of her past.
IMPORTANT SECTION-
Sally leaves on a train to become a nun in Chicago. It is a Ride Through Hell. She sits next to an over-weight vulgar woman who talks incessantly about sex to Sally. And in the dining car Sally meets a woman who bilks her out of most of Sally's money. She has a couple of dollars in her shoes and fifty dollars pinned to the lining of her bag.
Before the end of the train ride Sally strikes the old woman.
Sally will not be a nun and immediately returns to NY-
Sally realizes that she will not meet the world with a 'helping hand'. Sally will meet the world with a 'clenched fist'.
Next Section-
When she returns she sees that Annie is having an affair with the milkman, Mr. Costello.
Title of the book-
Nuns are asked to pray at certain times of the day. The 9th Hour is between 2pm and 3pm.
1) The time Jesus died on the cross
2) The time that Annie and Mr. Costello have their affair
Sally becomes a companion for the ugly, insane, and rude, Mrs. Costello. She has lost part of her leg due to diabetes.
Sally is the one that suggested that she watch Mrs. Costello. This is a way to atone for Annie's sexual behavior.
Sally decides to poison Mrs. Costello's tea with alum. This way she will lose her soul to save her mother's life. With the spiritually ugly Mrs. Costello out of the picture, this will allow Annie and Mr. Costello to have a life together.
I think (the ending is unclear) that Sister Leanne is aware of the poisoning, but covers for Sally. Sister Leanne takes this sin upon herself. Sister Leanne will never enter heaven. She uses a metaphor about an unfitting wool coat. Heaven is when the hot, prickly coat is removed. The sister will never be able to remove the stain of the 'attempted murder sin' that Sister Leanne has 'absorbed' from Sally.
Not Covered-
Red Whelan took Patrick's great grandfather's place in the civil war ($300 to serve for another man). Red also lost part of a leg. Two one legged people in the story.
Sally and Patrick Tierney marry, and one of their daughters tells the story.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
A BED BY THE WINDOW- A Novel of Mystery and Redemption by M. Scott Peck, M.D.
Finished Sa 8/11/18
This is one of my old hardback novels that caught my eye. I picked it up for two bucks at the West Branch, and finished it Mo 9/1/97.
The novel was set in a nursing home, Willow Glen, in the rural mid-west in 1988.
A quadriplegic, Steven Solaris is stabbed through the heart with a pair of scissors. He was placed in a mental institution after birth because he was thought to be below an idiot. However, he has an IQ higher than 135. He is universally loved- except by the people that neurotically jealous of him.
Rachel is the murderer. This woman is wheelchair bound- lost both legs to diabetes. Very strong, and filled with hate. She's been in a hateful relationship with her husband. Love can bind us together, but sometimes Hate can bind just as strong, or stronger.
Lieutenant Petri is a young detective from the New York/ New Jersey area. He wants out of the crowded urban space and looks forward to life in a rural area. This is his first murder investigation. During the course of the investigation, he 'remembers' that his mother had sexually abused him as a pre-teen. This is why he was so against Heather. In his mind, her sexual relationship with Steven was a kind of abuse.
Mrs. Simonton- the owner and superintendent of Willow Glen. She's old and savvy, and clashes with Petri, at first.
Dr. Kolnietz- he is the psychiatrist that discovered Stephen. As a student in high school he worked at the institution, Kolnietz learned that Steven was placed in the asylum in error. Stephen was actually a genius and he only needed a way to communicate.
Roberta McAdams- She does the books for the nursing home. Aloof and cold; she is a dominatrix on her 'off time'. She's probably the weakest character, and she really doesn't change.
Heather- the lovable nurse who is first thought to be the killer. She had been having a sexual relationship with Steven. The murder happened quite near the nursing station. Betty, another nurse, was present but deeply involved in a romance novel. Heather had gone for a walk around the building. Kind of odd, since she had never 'walked' around the building before. Odd plot point?
Georgia Bates- the novel opens when her son and daughter-in-law place her back in Willow Glen. Nothing is wrong with Georgia, except that when she lived with her family she was always incontinent. When she was back in the home, this habit disappeared. But, she constantly complained that she was 'forced to be in this concentration camp'.
Mrs. Grochowski- another quadriplegic, and loved by everyone. This woman started out an unhappy 'people-pleaser'. As her multiple sclerosis progressed, she learned acceptance and became almost saintlike and loved by everyone.
Peggy- a nurse who learns to care
Tim O'Hara- a platonic lover of Mrs. Grochowski- almost a storybook romance. He dies of a stroke, but both knew that the next one would be it.
Hank Martin- 'Horny Hank', roams the nursing home trying to grab any female within reach. In the end, he wants to 'court' Mrs. Grochowski after Tim dies.
Peck's philosophy is quite intriguing and the novel expertly blends Christianity and a kind of secular humanism.
The author's page on wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck
This is one of my old hardback novels that caught my eye. I picked it up for two bucks at the West Branch, and finished it Mo 9/1/97.
The novel was set in a nursing home, Willow Glen, in the rural mid-west in 1988.
A quadriplegic, Steven Solaris is stabbed through the heart with a pair of scissors. He was placed in a mental institution after birth because he was thought to be below an idiot. However, he has an IQ higher than 135. He is universally loved- except by the people that neurotically jealous of him.
Rachel is the murderer. This woman is wheelchair bound- lost both legs to diabetes. Very strong, and filled with hate. She's been in a hateful relationship with her husband. Love can bind us together, but sometimes Hate can bind just as strong, or stronger.
Lieutenant Petri is a young detective from the New York/ New Jersey area. He wants out of the crowded urban space and looks forward to life in a rural area. This is his first murder investigation. During the course of the investigation, he 'remembers' that his mother had sexually abused him as a pre-teen. This is why he was so against Heather. In his mind, her sexual relationship with Steven was a kind of abuse.
Mrs. Simonton- the owner and superintendent of Willow Glen. She's old and savvy, and clashes with Petri, at first.
Dr. Kolnietz- he is the psychiatrist that discovered Stephen. As a student in high school he worked at the institution, Kolnietz learned that Steven was placed in the asylum in error. Stephen was actually a genius and he only needed a way to communicate.
Roberta McAdams- She does the books for the nursing home. Aloof and cold; she is a dominatrix on her 'off time'. She's probably the weakest character, and she really doesn't change.
Heather- the lovable nurse who is first thought to be the killer. She had been having a sexual relationship with Steven. The murder happened quite near the nursing station. Betty, another nurse, was present but deeply involved in a romance novel. Heather had gone for a walk around the building. Kind of odd, since she had never 'walked' around the building before. Odd plot point?
Georgia Bates- the novel opens when her son and daughter-in-law place her back in Willow Glen. Nothing is wrong with Georgia, except that when she lived with her family she was always incontinent. When she was back in the home, this habit disappeared. But, she constantly complained that she was 'forced to be in this concentration camp'.
Mrs. Grochowski- another quadriplegic, and loved by everyone. This woman started out an unhappy 'people-pleaser'. As her multiple sclerosis progressed, she learned acceptance and became almost saintlike and loved by everyone.
Peggy- a nurse who learns to care
Tim O'Hara- a platonic lover of Mrs. Grochowski- almost a storybook romance. He dies of a stroke, but both knew that the next one would be it.
Hank Martin- 'Horny Hank', roams the nursing home trying to grab any female within reach. In the end, he wants to 'court' Mrs. Grochowski after Tim dies.
Peck's philosophy is quite intriguing and the novel expertly blends Christianity and a kind of secular humanism.
The author's page on wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck
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