"'Inspector Drewitt, you see, is really an intelligent man.  But a mediocre amount of intelligence is sometimes most dangerous.  It does not take one far enough.'"  Miss Marple, The Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie.

I've been reveling in some good old mystery reading lately.  Doesn't September, with the skies and temperatures changing, seem like a good time to cozy up with a good, formulaic puzzle of will and intention?  I think so.  The kind of month during which a good, crisp apple and a warm, snuggly blanket are pleasurable requirements. Maybe some Bach playing in the background (if one doesn't become too distracted and just sit and listen, that is)?  


But what are the mysteries I've been cozying up with? Georgette Heyer's They Found Him Dead -- with the irrepressible, meticulously well-drawn character, young Timothy Harte -- and Anna Katharine Green's The Leavenworth Case and now Agatha Christie's The Tuesday Club Murders.  All three have surprised me by being much different and much better than I expected.  Not that I thought Christie's would be a dud, but I was concerned when I discovered it was a series of short, self-contained puzzlers rather than one, big mystery because I've never been much of a short story fan.  But Christie knows how to weave a narrative, short or long, that hauls you in.


I've just recently stumbled across 19th c/early 20th c author Anna Katharine Green.  For those of you who, like me, didn't know what a great influence she was on the mystery genre, I will merely mention that she was supposedly admired by both Wilkie Collins and Agatha Christie. So that'll give you some idea, I suspect.  At any rate, The Leavenworth Case is a wonderful whodunnit with unsavoury characters and desperate heroines, a singularly fascinating detective who sees much and only seems to do little, and a narrator who reminds me of a more intelligent Watson.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and I've definitely added Green to my list of must-read-alls.

• Currently Listening To:  

Dinah Washington. Specifically, September In the Rain.  

• Currently Looking Forward To:  

1. Just in time for the (hopeful) arrival of the littlest Inkslinger is this fascinating-looking volume for youngsters penned and illustrated by Emily Martin.  Oddfellow's Orphanage!  I'll be grabbing up a copy, that's for sure.


2.  More A.S.Byatt!!! Yay!  Ragnarok: The End of the Gods. I'll probably need to wait a bit before I purchase and read it, though.  It sounds intense and I'm trying to keep my reading relatively light at the moment. But temptation may overcome.


3.  And more Russell and Holmes!!! Yay again!  Pirate King by Laurie R. King.


4.  And more Flavia Da Luce!!! Yay a third time!  I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley.


(note the yays are prioritized, however. :) ).


Oh, and I'm also very excited about a new novel coming out by Trudy Morgan-Cole (having enjoyed everything I've read of hers so far):  That Forgetful Shore.

• Currently Reading: 

Helen Humphreys' new novel The Reinvention of Love.  Set in 19th century Paris and involving Victor Hugo.  I've just begun it, really, and I'm having a hard time putting it down (the opening scene is a duel!).  Not surprising that it engages and involves immediately. It is Helen Humphreys, after all.  I've also begun a little more Heyer, this time a mystery called They Found Him Dead.  And, finally, I'm still making my slow way through Paris, 1919.  I shall finish it. I shall!

• Recently Watched:

There are two films I've watched recently that I rather enjoyed. Neither was unabashedly brilliant, but both were funny and provided some food for thought, especially the first.  And what was the first?  It was The Girl In the Cafe starring Bill Nighy. Now I'll watch just about anything with Bill Nighy in it and this had the added attraction of being written by Richard Curtis.  It did not disappoint.  A quirky film about a middle-aged civil servant who befriends and falls for a girl he meets by chance in a cafe, it's much more than a love story.  Or, perhaps, it's more fully a love story than most love stories adapted to film because it focusses on how her passionate response to certain ideas changes him . . . and those around him.  Some critics have unfairly (in my opinion) called it a naive rendering of certain global issues, but I think it just streamlines those issues to afford a better view of the humane.  


The second film watched recently was Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story.  And, to be perfectly frank, I have no idea how to talk about this film.  In all fairness, I'm not sure I'd do any better talking about the novel.  It's funny.  It's satire.  It's very Coogan.  If you don't like Steve Coogan, you might not like the film.  But if you do enjoy Coogan's comedic approach, then it's good for a diverting evening. (The rest of the cast is wonderful, of course, but I mention the Coogan caveat as he is the main focus.)

I first started reading The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim about eleven years ago, on a trip to London with my family. It turns out, however, that reading about Italy when you're travelling to and around London, England doesn't ultimately captivate. At least, it didn't captivate me. I'd long loved the film version of the novel (one of my all-time favourites) and vowed to eventually give the novel another try when I was in the 'right' mood.  


Well I gave it another try and needless to say I enjoyed it immensely.  I prefer the film version, if I'm being honest, because I thought the changes made for the film ended up making a better story, but, really, there weren't many changes.  The only particularly significant difference between the novel and the film were the changes to Mr. Briggs' character. I preferred the myopic Mr. Briggs of the film because it made more sense within the context of Caroline's dislike of 'grabbers.'  The novel version (apologies to Ms. von Arnim) wherein Lady Caroline seems to fall for him without a really satisfying explanation, rings a tad false to me.   Some of the other changes (the hair colour of certain characters) is relatively insignificant in comparison.


The novel, like the film, primarily focusses on a month in the lives of four different women brought together by a passionate desire to get away from their respective cages in England. Lady Caroline is trapped by the expectations and disappointments of her beauty, status, and wealth. Rose Arbuthnot is enmeshed in what seems to be a loveless, disappointing marriage to a man who doesn't respect her religious leanings.  Lottie Wilkins is at the whim of her husband's ambitions and economic strictures.  And the elderly Mrs. Fisher is trapped by her own memories.  Relative strangers, they decide to share a 'holiday' in Italy at a castle that is being let by the charming Mr. Briggs.  How the setting works on each of the women, and eventually the men in their lives, is surprisingly humorous, definitely charming and often moving.  


I'm glad it was so much like the film. Since I saw and loved the film version well before trying the novel, I was hesitant to tarnish the joy with a less than satisfactory reading experience. But it didn't disappoint. Now I want to try some more Elizabeth von Arnim novels.

Swans, Lovers, Artists, Thieves

I'm not really sure what I expected from Kostova's The Swan Thieves.  I knew it would be different from The Historian.  I just wasn't prepared for how different.  The pacing of story, the exposition of character, all felt different as I was reading.  There was the same lovely prose, but because the voice telling the story was different the style of the writing felt different as well.  I'm impressed yet again with Kostova's skill as a writer.  And I really loved this novel.

It took me awhile to get into the story as I wasn't sure I liked Marlow's voice.  There was something restrained and unwelcoming about him.  As the story progressed, however, I became captivated by the other characters, the descriptions of art and artists, and even Marlow began to grow on me. (It isn't a coincidence that he is named Marlow. Though I immediately thought Heart of Darkness and stubbornly continued to do so even after references to Lord Jim popped up).  


Such a richly layered novel, really. One short post isn't going to do it justice, that's for sure.  I guess I'll just quickly share a few things I found particularly enjoyable . . . what I'll be thinking about even though I've left the beautifully realized, painterly world of Marlow, Kate, Mary, Robert, et al.   I loved all the talk about art. Way back in my undergrad days, I filled up my electives with art history courses.  After those glorious days  I wasn't really been able to indulge much in my love of art (thanks to the focussed approach of grad thinking).  This novel with its meticulous descriptions reminded me that perhaps I needed to get back to some indulging.  Although, that having been said, I'm not sure the indulging will involve many Impressionists (aside from a few exceptions, not my favourites).


I was also taken with the pacing of this narrative.  It started very slow, mysterious but not suspenseful, just slightly odd.  And it remained more mysterious than suspenseful throughout (I guess I'm comparing it, yet again, to The Historian which operated rather successfully with a good deal of suspense) and yet I still felt compelled to keep turning those pages.  Not necessarily because I 'had to find out what happens', but rather because I'd fallen under the spell of some really good writing and was gobbling up mouthful upon mouthful of delicious prose.  Was the pacing balanced? Well, not really. But does it have to be? I don't think so.  When I closed the book last night, turning the last page, enjoying the framing effect of the last few pages, I felt like I'd just finished an enjoyable, satisfying meal of words and ideas.  


And don't you just love books that look lovely?  (Another thing I miss when using the Kindle).