Well, as Cherie says in her comment to the post before this one - the Books We Like site does seem to be having problems. I have notified them about it; we'll see if I get any answer. It's a beta site, so they're working out kinks as they go. It's such a great idea - I really hope they stick with it and get it up and going.
In the weeks of vacation I have read: The Huntsman's Tale (by Margaret Frazer), the latest in the series of medieval mysteries with a nun, Dame Frevisse, as sleuth. The Dame is Chaucer's niece, and was raised by him, so she saw a good deal of the world before she went into the cloister. These are wonderful books, full of historical detail, rich as tapestries in their settings of place, people, food, life in a convent, a manor, a castle, a peasant's hovel. This one was perhaps the 13th in the series, and I actually think it may have been one of the best. I don't know how she continues to write these with so much enthusiasm - it's never the same story twice. There is another one coming out this month, according to this one's jacket. AND she has started another medieval series with a player in a troupe of traveling performers, Joliffe, assuming the role of sleuth. He has appeared in the Dame Frevisse books, so is not a total stranger. It's an entire world that Frazer has created in these books, and if you love the medieval period as I do, I can't recommend them too highly.
I also read the horrible Running with Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs, on the plane going to and coming from Dallas at the start of the winter break. Much has been written about this book, and everyone else has seemed quite taken with it. I, however, really hated it. I can identify with a memor of a childhood with a crazy mother, you bet, but this one was written in such a way (others found it "humorous") that I found it held at a distance, unbelievable, totally phony. Okay, that's me, and that's really the extant of my desire to talk about this book. Feelfree to differ.
Next came Smoke and Mirrors, by my current favorite writer, Neil Gaiman. I thought I had read everything of his except the graphic novels, but in a Borders in Dallas I found this on the shelf. It was like manna from heaven. Pretty soon I really will have read all his books and then life will become waiting periods for his next efforts. This one was short stories, I guess. It's hard at times to put a genre name on his work. "Short pieces" is better. Some are poems, some are rewrites (beware!) of folk or fairy stories. They are mostly all wonderful, though I confess to liking some more than others. What could it be like to live inside this man's mind? Strange and wonderful, in equal proportions, I guess.
Last night I finished the latest Tony Hillerman, Skeleton Man. If you read his southwestern mysteries with the Navajo detectives, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, you will want to grab this one right away. Joe features in it quite a bit, called from his retirement by a pal still in law enforcement, to help with a case that seems to tie a past cold case into a present robbery/homicide. There is some new territory covered here (literally), as the heart of the mystery takes everyone into the Grand Canyon in Arizona - out of the usual Navajo lands. I loved the part in the Grand Canyon, not your usual tourist view of the Canyon. Some of these novels have been made into PBS Mystery episodes, are available on DVD too. Robert Redford directed them, and he did quite a good job at capturing the soul of both characters and setting. As a huge fan of the southwest landscape, I have been reading these novels from the very first one, which I discovered in The Tattered Cover in Dever.
Not sure what I'm going to read next - I've got a nice pile from the library, and some I bought while giftshopping for others over the holidays. It's an embarras de richesse, and I love it.
5 comments:
Oh, I LOVE the Margaret Frazer books. I have even had my world history students read portions of them to better understand medieval life. Did you know that Margaret Frazer is really a pen name for 2 women? Although as I recall, the later books are the work of just one of them.
yes, Robin, i do know that there's a Margaret half and a Frazer half to the writing team. or, rather, there was. they split the partnership several books ago - which i personally think has improved the writing. you can read all about it on the link i've put in this entry - it goes to the Margaret Frazer site, although it's badly in need of an updating.
My dear friend, I am glad to see you have had the chance to be kind to yourself and escape into a venue that you know I also love. It's always a pleasure reading your thoughts on the books that you've read. In the past few months since the election I also found myself indulging in varied reads which I will be talking about in Amused.
The first one I'll review is American Gods. Gaiman is indeed an excellent novelist, but somehow I found A.G. fell flat towards the end. It was an exciting premise and a fantastical world that had numerous possibilities but I found it wandering midway to its conclusion.
Interestingly, I found Running With Scissors a very good read. The writer's voice which you found distant, I found curiously sad.
You've got to read Gaiman's The Sandman...I know you said you haven't yet but please do so now! You said it exactly right, strange and wonderful...especially if you're experiencing the "i can't wait 'til his next work" feelings... All you have to do is get through the first book and midway through the second and you won't be able to stop.
A used bookstore by my house is going out of business and is selling everything for 75% off...I've already been by there twice and came back home both times with a huge sack of books. So now I have a really nice pile to read, too.
Just wanted to let you know I am home, sick and miserable, and reading The Huntsman's Tale thanks to you (when I'm not asleep).
Post a Comment