(hb; 1992, 1996: translated by Alfred Birmbaum)
From the inside flap:
"Police detective Shunsuke Honma should be at the peak of his career, but can't stop the world from closing in around him. Alone with his small son, he's on an extended leave of absence since a car accident killed his wife and a stray bullet left him with a limp. His self-imposed exile is interrupted by a visit from a young nephew. It seems a routine credit card application turned up a bankruptcy in his fiancée's past, and she disappeared without a word.
"Honma visits the office where she last worked and checks into her resumé, only to find that all the previous employers listed are invented and that she owes massive debts to loan sharks. How well had his nephew ever known her?
"What would it take to cut through the elaborate red tape Japan uses to keep tabs on its citizens and become a different person? Maybe murder?"
Review:
Plotwise, this is more routine than The Devil's Whisper and Crossfire -- as in: no supernatural or subliminal elements are woven into the storyline.
Characterwise, it's masterfully complex, plot-twisty and character-true, with each character -- even the elusive Shoko Sekine -- shown as a realistic being with good and bad points. The characters are a big part of the glue that holds this quietly intriguing story together.
That is not to say that the storyline is staid; Miyabe subtly increases the tension, character by character, clue by clue, to an emotionally-charged open ending that reminded me of John le Carré's novel, Smiley's People (one of my all-time favorite book finishes).
Another entertaining, excellent novel from Miyabe, a bestselling author in Japan -- and rightfully so, judging by the three books I've read by her.
Worth owning, this, if you have space for a large personal library and must own what you love; worth checking out from the library, and recommending, if you're like me -- as in: you prefer a compacted "all-time favorites" book collection, and have little space to store books.
Either way, Miyabe's consistently distinctive works are worth your time and money.
Showing posts with label favorite reads 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label favorite reads 2009. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Little Birds, by Anaïs Nin
(pb; 1979: erotica anthology)
Overall review:
This is one of my all-time favorite erotic anthologies. I've read this three times, but I don't recall reviewing it.
Nin's influence on my own story writing is immeasurable.
Nin favors mood and character exploration over overt plots, which, when I subconsciously conjure up her influence in my writing, helps -- has helped -- me balance my preference for penning quick-minded plots/action over character development/mood.
Organically erotic and sometimes disturbing, even her slighter stories are written in an assured and consistently reader-hooking manner; in this collection, only a couple of so-so stories are on display: "The Chanchiquito" (which is flat-out strange); "Two Sisters" (which reads like a flitting, if restrained, soap opera early on).
Standout stories:
"Little Birds": A married man (Manuel) who enjoys watching school girls at innocent public play builds an exotic birdhouse to fascinate them, bring them into viewing range. Disturbing, sharp, with a sublime exit line (despite its repellant subject).
"The Woman on the Dunes": Steamy entry about a young man (Louis) who is seduced by a mysterious woman; the woman tells him about a recent, macabre -- and joyous -- sexual encounter. One of the most memorable 'life in the midst of death'-themed short works I've ever read.
"Sirocco": A woman recounts a scandalous travel experience to a houseguest. Like "The Woman on the Dunes," this expertly-spun tale effortlessly seduces the reader.
"Saffron": Fay, a poor New Orleans woman, marries a wealthy older man (Albert) whose reticence to end her virginity cloaks a darker truth. Sad, harsh, this story.
"Runaway": Jeanette, a sixteen-year old runaway, becomes -- at different times -- the lover of two roommates (Jean and Pierre), who take different approaches in dealing with her. This story's theme-centric exit line, clichéd in the hands of a lesser writer, is rendered deceptively simple and sublime in Nin's.
Other stories:
"Lina" (a jealous homophobe visits her sexually adventurous female friend in Paris);
"Two Sisters" (longer piece about a group of people around two women, Edna and Dorothy, who are done and undone by repression, passion, deception and infidelity);
"The Maja" (a bourgeois Catholic wife slowly comes to an understanding of her painter husband, and her own sensuality);
"A Model" (one of the longer stories in the collection - a young virgin model engages in international travel and learns about physical love vicariously through others);
"The Queen" (a painter rhapsodizes about his favorite artistic and sexual subject, a "cold" whore named Bijou).
"Hilda and Rango" (a woman, used to the particular sexual demands of one lover, adapts to the varied demands of a new lover).
"The Chanchiquito" (strange entry about a woman [Laura], a legendary pig-like creature, and an amorous painter).
"Mandra" (a bisexual woman New York woman has sexual encounters with a quick succession of upper class lovers. Fleet-footed, blurring-memoried tale, whose plot keeps pace with daily city life).
Overall review:
This is one of my all-time favorite erotic anthologies. I've read this three times, but I don't recall reviewing it.
Nin's influence on my own story writing is immeasurable.
Nin favors mood and character exploration over overt plots, which, when I subconsciously conjure up her influence in my writing, helps -- has helped -- me balance my preference for penning quick-minded plots/action over character development/mood.
Organically erotic and sometimes disturbing, even her slighter stories are written in an assured and consistently reader-hooking manner; in this collection, only a couple of so-so stories are on display: "The Chanchiquito" (which is flat-out strange); "Two Sisters" (which reads like a flitting, if restrained, soap opera early on).
Standout stories:
"Little Birds": A married man (Manuel) who enjoys watching school girls at innocent public play builds an exotic birdhouse to fascinate them, bring them into viewing range. Disturbing, sharp, with a sublime exit line (despite its repellant subject).
"The Woman on the Dunes": Steamy entry about a young man (Louis) who is seduced by a mysterious woman; the woman tells him about a recent, macabre -- and joyous -- sexual encounter. One of the most memorable 'life in the midst of death'-themed short works I've ever read.
"Sirocco": A woman recounts a scandalous travel experience to a houseguest. Like "The Woman on the Dunes," this expertly-spun tale effortlessly seduces the reader.
"Saffron": Fay, a poor New Orleans woman, marries a wealthy older man (Albert) whose reticence to end her virginity cloaks a darker truth. Sad, harsh, this story.
"Runaway": Jeanette, a sixteen-year old runaway, becomes -- at different times -- the lover of two roommates (Jean and Pierre), who take different approaches in dealing with her. This story's theme-centric exit line, clichéd in the hands of a lesser writer, is rendered deceptively simple and sublime in Nin's.
Other stories:
"Lina" (a jealous homophobe visits her sexually adventurous female friend in Paris);
"Two Sisters" (longer piece about a group of people around two women, Edna and Dorothy, who are done and undone by repression, passion, deception and infidelity);
"The Maja" (a bourgeois Catholic wife slowly comes to an understanding of her painter husband, and her own sensuality);
"A Model" (one of the longer stories in the collection - a young virgin model engages in international travel and learns about physical love vicariously through others);
"The Queen" (a painter rhapsodizes about his favorite artistic and sexual subject, a "cold" whore named Bijou).
"Hilda and Rango" (a woman, used to the particular sexual demands of one lover, adapts to the varied demands of a new lover).
"The Chanchiquito" (strange entry about a woman [Laura], a legendary pig-like creature, and an amorous painter).
"Mandra" (a bisexual woman New York woman has sexual encounters with a quick succession of upper class lovers. Fleet-footed, blurring-memoried tale, whose plot keeps pace with daily city life).
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
SuperFreakonomics, by Steven D.Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
(hb; 2009: non-fiction. Follow-up work to Freakonomics; precedent work to Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain)
From the inside flap:
"Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What's more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunk? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it's so ineffective? Can a sex change boost your salary?
"SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as:
"How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
"Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
"What's the best way to catch a terrorist?
"Did TV cause a rise in crime?
"What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?
"Are people hardwired for altruism or selfishness?
"Can eating kangaroo save the planet?
"Who adds more value: a pimp or a realtor?
"Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling. . . whether investigating a solution to global warming or explaining why the price of oral sex has fallen so drastically. By examining how people respond to incentives, they show the world for what it is -- good, bad, ugly, and in the final analysis, superfreaky."
Review:
Another off-beat, real-world smart, logical and compelling read from Dubner and Levitt.
As in Freakonomics, the authors back up their eye-catching chapter titles with solid, economist-minded reasoning -- much of controversial on multiple levels -- that makes practical sense.
Own this, if you're willing to set aside your preconceptions of how people, society, morality, etc., work, and entertain a cooler (as in: more rational) view of how things work.
From the inside flap:
"Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What's more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunk? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it's so ineffective? Can a sex change boost your salary?
"SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as:
"How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
"Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
"What's the best way to catch a terrorist?
"Did TV cause a rise in crime?
"What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?
"Are people hardwired for altruism or selfishness?
"Can eating kangaroo save the planet?
"Who adds more value: a pimp or a realtor?
"Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling. . . whether investigating a solution to global warming or explaining why the price of oral sex has fallen so drastically. By examining how people respond to incentives, they show the world for what it is -- good, bad, ugly, and in the final analysis, superfreaky."
Review:
Another off-beat, real-world smart, logical and compelling read from Dubner and Levitt.
As in Freakonomics, the authors back up their eye-catching chapter titles with solid, economist-minded reasoning -- much of controversial on multiple levels -- that makes practical sense.
Own this, if you're willing to set aside your preconceptions of how people, society, morality, etc., work, and entertain a cooler (as in: more rational) view of how things work.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
The Devil's Whisper, by Miyuki Miyabe
(hb; 1989, 2007: translated by Deborah Stuhr Iwabuchi)
From the inside flap:
"The three deaths come in quick succession: one girl jumps from the roof of a six-story building; another falls in front of a train; and the third is hit by a late-night taxi. But how are they related? And are they accidents, suicides or murders?
"Slowly, the answers are uncovered by sixteen-year-old Mamoru, the nephew of the taxi driver currently being held by the police on charges of manslaughter for the death of the third victim.
"Determined to help his uncle, Mamoru discovers that the girl killed by his uncle's taxi had participated in a devious scam to separate vulnerable men from their money, and that three of the four girls involved in the ploy are now dead.
"A powerful businessman comes forward with new evidence in favor of Mamoru's uncle and also to reveal the truth about Mamoru's long-lost father, who disappeared when the boy was only four.
"But in the meantime, Mamoru must go out if he is to save the last of the four girls being targeted by the real killer.
"And then the killer contacts him. . ."
Review:
Masterful, sublime, plot-twisty and tightly-executed work, with occasional touches of humor to lighten the suspenseful proceedings. The denouement is character-true, off-kilter and curiously humane, its tone distinctly Japanese (keeping with the down-played tone of the Japanese novels I've read in the past few months).
Perfect, this: worth purchasing and keeping.
From the inside flap:
"The three deaths come in quick succession: one girl jumps from the roof of a six-story building; another falls in front of a train; and the third is hit by a late-night taxi. But how are they related? And are they accidents, suicides or murders?
"Slowly, the answers are uncovered by sixteen-year-old Mamoru, the nephew of the taxi driver currently being held by the police on charges of manslaughter for the death of the third victim.
"Determined to help his uncle, Mamoru discovers that the girl killed by his uncle's taxi had participated in a devious scam to separate vulnerable men from their money, and that three of the four girls involved in the ploy are now dead.
"A powerful businessman comes forward with new evidence in favor of Mamoru's uncle and also to reveal the truth about Mamoru's long-lost father, who disappeared when the boy was only four.
"But in the meantime, Mamoru must go out if he is to save the last of the four girls being targeted by the real killer.
"And then the killer contacts him. . ."
Review:
Masterful, sublime, plot-twisty and tightly-executed work, with occasional touches of humor to lighten the suspenseful proceedings. The denouement is character-true, off-kilter and curiously humane, its tone distinctly Japanese (keeping with the down-played tone of the Japanese novels I've read in the past few months).
Perfect, this: worth purchasing and keeping.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
(hb; 2005: non-fiction; precedent work to SuperFreakonomics)
From the inside flap:
"What is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents eally matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?
"These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.
" . . What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter."
Review:
Entertaining, off-beat, real-world smart, logical and compelling read, with eye-catching chapter titles: "What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?"; "How Is The Klu Klux Klan Like a Group of Real Estate Agents?"; "Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms?", etc.
The authors back up their flashy chapter titles with solid, economist-minded reasoning -- some of controversial on multiple levels -- that, for this reader, ultimately rings true, and has made this already-wary reader even more wary (but not in a negative way)... even the darkest truths contained in Freakonomics are presented with a skilled, deft hand.
Own this, if you're willing to set aside your preconceptions of how people, society, morality, etc., work, and entertain a cooler (as in: more rational) view of how things work.
From the inside flap:
"What is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents eally matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?
"These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.
" . . What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter."
Review:
Entertaining, off-beat, real-world smart, logical and compelling read, with eye-catching chapter titles: "What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?"; "How Is The Klu Klux Klan Like a Group of Real Estate Agents?"; "Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms?", etc.
The authors back up their flashy chapter titles with solid, economist-minded reasoning -- some of controversial on multiple levels -- that, for this reader, ultimately rings true, and has made this already-wary reader even more wary (but not in a negative way)... even the darkest truths contained in Freakonomics are presented with a skilled, deft hand.
Own this, if you're willing to set aside your preconceptions of how people, society, morality, etc., work, and entertain a cooler (as in: more rational) view of how things work.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The Man In The High Castle, by Philip K. Dick
(pb; 1962)
From the back cover:
"It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war -- and now is jointly occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan. This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel is the work that established Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. . ."
Review:
Dick's surreal swirl of a first novel is a stunner. In it, marijuana is packaged like cigarettes. The Nazis, still engaged in political internecenic warfare, keep things running, but only barely when the current head of government, Bormann (yes, that Bormann), dies. (Hitler, suffering from syphilis of the brrain, has been institutionalized.)
The Japanese, who hold sovereignty in other, more humane parts of the United States, are wary of their Teutonic counterparts, with good reason -- another war may be imminent, brought about by Nazi intrigue.
Not only that, there's a popular author, Hawthorne Abendsen, who's written a novel, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, which imagines what might've happened, had the Allies won World War II: a call for revolution? Some of his readers think so.
The multi-viewpoint writing is straightforward, with little -- if any -- filler, each new sentence drawing responses that run the gamut of human emotion. (In particular, the sections about Abendsen's "imagined future" inspire disturbing and comforting bouts of laughter -- in this reader, at least.)
Satirical and unpredictable, this excellent first novel only hints at the genius of Dick's later novels.
From the back cover:
"It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war -- and now is jointly occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan. This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel is the work that established Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. . ."
Review:
Dick's surreal swirl of a first novel is a stunner. In it, marijuana is packaged like cigarettes. The Nazis, still engaged in political internecenic warfare, keep things running, but only barely when the current head of government, Bormann (yes, that Bormann), dies. (Hitler, suffering from syphilis of the brrain, has been institutionalized.)
The Japanese, who hold sovereignty in other, more humane parts of the United States, are wary of their Teutonic counterparts, with good reason -- another war may be imminent, brought about by Nazi intrigue.
Not only that, there's a popular author, Hawthorne Abendsen, who's written a novel, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, which imagines what might've happened, had the Allies won World War II: a call for revolution? Some of his readers think so.
The multi-viewpoint writing is straightforward, with little -- if any -- filler, each new sentence drawing responses that run the gamut of human emotion. (In particular, the sections about Abendsen's "imagined future" inspire disturbing and comforting bouts of laughter -- in this reader, at least.)
Satirical and unpredictable, this excellent first novel only hints at the genius of Dick's later novels.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Psycho by Robert Bloch
From the back cover
"When the Bates Motel loomed up out of the storm, Mary Craine thought it was her salvation. The rooms were musty but clean, and the manager, Norman Bates, seemed like a nice enough fellow, if a little strange. . .
"Then Mary met Norman's mother. And the butcher knife.
"The nightmare had just begun. . ."
Review
Pulp-style writing, crisp prose, succinct characterizations, macabre puns and shocking violence form this familiar landmark work. This, easily, is one of the best pulp novels I've ever read.
Own it!
Followed by Psycho II.
#
Psycho resulted in two film versions.
The first version was released stateside on August 25, 1960. Helmed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock and scripted by Joseph Stefano, it starred Anthony Perkins in his career-defining role of Norman Bates.
Janet Leigh played Marion Crane (cinematic stand-in for Mary Craine). Vera Miles played Lila Craine. John Gavin played Sam Loomis. Martin Balsam played Milton Arbogast. Simon Oakland played Dr. Fred Richmond. Patricia "Pat" Hitchcock (daughter of Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville) played Caroline.
An uncredited Virginia Gregg played the voice-role of Norma Bates, Norman's mother.
#
The second version, directed and produced by Gus Van Sant, was released stateside on December 4, 1998. Joseph Stefano's screenplay for the original version was used for this almost shot-for-shot remake.
Vince Vaughn played Norman Bates. Anne Heche played Marion Crane. Julianne Moore played Lila Crane. Viggo Mortensen played Samuel "Sam" Loomis. William H. Macy played Milton Arbogast. Robert Forster played Dr. Fred Richmond. Phillip Baker Hall played Sheriff Al Chambers. James Remar played "Patrolman". Rita Wilson played Caroline. James LeGros played "Charlie the Car Dealer".
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Dahlia Season, by Myriam Gurba
(pb; 2007: story/novella anthology)
From the back cover:
"Chicana. Goth. Dykling. Desiree Garcia knows she's weird and a weirdo magnet. To extinguish her strangeness, her parents ship her to Saint Michael's Catholic High School, then to Mexico, but neurology can't be snuffed out so easily: screwy brain chemistry holds the key to Desiree's madness. As fellow crazies sense a kinship with her, Desiree attracts a coterie of both wanted and unwanted admirers, including a pair of racist deathrock sisters, a pretty Hispanic girl who did time in California's most infamous mental asylum, and a transnational stalker with a pronounced limp.
". . . Dahlia Season contains not only the title novella, but also several of Gurba's acclaimed short stories."
Overall review:
Beneath the distinctive blend-veneer of literary fringe-work -- read: Mexican-American/dyke/BDSM/goth -- elements lies a level-headed, sweet-natured, true-to-the-author's-roots anthology that celebrates borderline-spiritual diversity, be it dark, innocent, or both.
This is an assured, measured, sometimes-intense, tri-lingual work that flows hard, fast and true. Worth owning, this.
Descriptions, piece by piece:
"Cruising": A cross-dressing woman cruises gay guys on the Long Beach boardwalk.
"Just Drift": A high school junior (Roberto Cassidy Moran) has a memorably bad day. Dramatic, vivid finish to this one.
"White Girl": A Mexican-American goth girl fall in love for the first time, with another goth girl.
"Primera Communión": Esperanza (aka Angel Malo), a take-it-easy homegirl, finds a way to exit her childhood barrio, via an unexpected source.
"Dahlia Season"(novella): See the back cover description.
From the back cover:
"Chicana. Goth. Dykling. Desiree Garcia knows she's weird and a weirdo magnet. To extinguish her strangeness, her parents ship her to Saint Michael's Catholic High School, then to Mexico, but neurology can't be snuffed out so easily: screwy brain chemistry holds the key to Desiree's madness. As fellow crazies sense a kinship with her, Desiree attracts a coterie of both wanted and unwanted admirers, including a pair of racist deathrock sisters, a pretty Hispanic girl who did time in California's most infamous mental asylum, and a transnational stalker with a pronounced limp.
". . . Dahlia Season contains not only the title novella, but also several of Gurba's acclaimed short stories."
Overall review:
Beneath the distinctive blend-veneer of literary fringe-work -- read: Mexican-American/dyke/BDSM/goth -- elements lies a level-headed, sweet-natured, true-to-the-author's-roots anthology that celebrates borderline-spiritual diversity, be it dark, innocent, or both.
This is an assured, measured, sometimes-intense, tri-lingual work that flows hard, fast and true. Worth owning, this.
Descriptions, piece by piece:
"Cruising": A cross-dressing woman cruises gay guys on the Long Beach boardwalk.
"Just Drift": A high school junior (Roberto Cassidy Moran) has a memorably bad day. Dramatic, vivid finish to this one.
"White Girl": A Mexican-American goth girl fall in love for the first time, with another goth girl.
"Primera Communión": Esperanza (aka Angel Malo), a take-it-easy homegirl, finds a way to exit her childhood barrio, via an unexpected source.
"Dahlia Season"(novella): See the back cover description.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Fire in the Blood, by Irène Némirovsky
(hb; 1941, 2007: translated by Sandra Smith)
From the inside flap:
"Written in 1941, the manuscript for Fire in the Blood was entrusted in pieces to family and a friend when the author was sent to her death in Auschwitz. The novel -- only now assembled in its entirety -- teems with the intertwined lives of an insular French village in the years before the war, when 'peace' was less important as a political state than as a coveted personal condition: the untroubled pinnacle of happiness.
"At the center of the tale is Silvio: in his younger years he fled the boredom of the village and made a life of travel and adventure. Now he's returned, living in a farmer's hovel in the middle of the woods, and, much to his family's chagrin, perfectly content with his solitude.
"But when he attends the wedding of his favorite young cousin -- 'she has the thing that, when I was young, I used to value most in women: she has fire' -- Silvio begins to be drawn back into the complicated life of this small town. As his narration unfolds, we are given an intimate picture of the loves and infidelities, the scandals, the youthful ardor and regrets of age that tie Silvio to the long-unguarded secrets of the past."
Review:
Nuanced, intimate work, narrated by an old man (Silvio), whose youthful wandering ways still haunt him, even as decades-old secrets begin surfacing amongst his fellow villagers.
Excellent read, worth owning, perfect.
From the inside flap:
"Written in 1941, the manuscript for Fire in the Blood was entrusted in pieces to family and a friend when the author was sent to her death in Auschwitz. The novel -- only now assembled in its entirety -- teems with the intertwined lives of an insular French village in the years before the war, when 'peace' was less important as a political state than as a coveted personal condition: the untroubled pinnacle of happiness.
"At the center of the tale is Silvio: in his younger years he fled the boredom of the village and made a life of travel and adventure. Now he's returned, living in a farmer's hovel in the middle of the woods, and, much to his family's chagrin, perfectly content with his solitude.
"But when he attends the wedding of his favorite young cousin -- 'she has the thing that, when I was young, I used to value most in women: she has fire' -- Silvio begins to be drawn back into the complicated life of this small town. As his narration unfolds, we are given an intimate picture of the loves and infidelities, the scandals, the youthful ardor and regrets of age that tie Silvio to the long-unguarded secrets of the past."
Review:
Nuanced, intimate work, narrated by an old man (Silvio), whose youthful wandering ways still haunt him, even as decades-old secrets begin surfacing amongst his fellow villagers.
Excellent read, worth owning, perfect.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Bukowski And The Beats, by Jean-François Duval
(pb; 1998, 2002: non-fiction)
From the back cover:
"There are several reasons for this book. The principle one is pleasure -- the pure joy of returning to Charles Bukowski and to the Beats, by dipping into their legend -- particularly since the Beat movement is now enjoying a lively revival of attention through new editions, appearances of previously unpublished material, exhibitions, and other events.
"There is also the pleasure of rediscovering Charles Bukowski, cult author whose reputation continues to grow steadily all over the world. The full drama of his humor, fits of anger, memories, frustrations, and distinctive grace come to life during Dvual's long interview with Buk -- An Evening at Buk's Place. In February 1986, drinks in hand, the two hit it off with unusual rapport, providing a dialogue that is an essential part of Bukowski's canon.
"The pleasure also consists of having a close look at the links and contradictions between Bukowski and the Beat constellation -- a subject on which the enfant terribles of American literature have variously reacted with hatred, resentment, and, at times, actual admiration.
"Jean-François Duval, novelist, essayist and journalist, gives us an inspired commentary, plus a bibliography, a Who's Who, some never-before-seen photos, and much more."
Review:
Entertaining, informative read about Charles "Buk" Bukowski's relationship with the Beat writers and the rest of the world, on and off the page.
First, an abbreviated Beat-related history.
According to Duval:
"Originally 'Beat' was an imprecise term created in Times Square, New York by the poet and thief Herbert Hunke. Kerouac took the term and gave it it content. At the beginning the expression was quite meaningless -- 'Man, I'm beat,' Hunke would say. He hadn't a cent to his name, he slept in the Underground, it didn't really bother him that nothing ever went right. Straight away, seeing the light in Hunke's eyes, the light that radiated from him, Kerouac understood that 'beat' didn't simply mean worn out, but also blessed -- blessed because he was worn out. This light contradicted the apparent state of degeneration that the expression entailed.
"In 1948, John Clellon Holmes (future chronicler of the movement) asked how Kerouac would characterize the term, and conscious of Hunke's words [Kerouac] replied: 'I guess you might say we're a beat generation.' Holmes used the expression for the first time in a famous article in The Sunday Times on November 16, 1952, and also in his novel Go in which he used Kerouac's material. . . [Kerouac's] On The Road appeared only five years afterwards in 1957." (p. 38)
In the year prior to On The Road's publication, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, founder of the publishing house City Lights (now City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco), had published Allen Ginsberg's politically provocative poem Howl. Publication of this poem cemented Ginsberg's celebrity in the literary world, and earned Ferlinghetti a court conviction: when he published the poem, Ferlinghetti had violated obscenity laws.
These two events started a literary firestorm that inflamed society -- especially pop culture.
According to Duval, "soon it was everywhere, the new look, the 'twisted' slouchy look; finally it began to appear in movies (James Dean) and on television. . . the bop visions became common property. . . carried over to the new rock n' roll youth via Montgomery Clift (leather jacket), Marlon Brando (T-shirt) and Elvis Presley (long sideburns). . ." (p. 48)
Bukowski began getting published in the mid-Fifties, and his raw (a word usually associated with Bukowski), crude-language style inevitably got him compared to the Beats, who, in their own distinctive ways, eschewed the narrative rules: Kerouac loved his rambly, poetic, nostalgic descriptions; William S. Burroughs was hygenically stark and/or hallucinogenic, depending on which novel you read; Ginsberg was political, provocative, with his crazy word flights; Ken Kesey's love of psilocybine, mescaline and LSD impelled him to write the novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest; there are others, but I don't want to belabor the point.
The truth of it was that Bukowski (born Henry Bukowski) didn't get on with most of the Beat writers -- e.g., the cold, "disturbing" (Duval's word) Burroughs had no interest in meeting Bukowski (the feeling was mutual); Ginsberg was too "silly" (Bukowski's word) and shrill in his political posturings, on and off the page; Kerouac was off on his own trip, as was Bukowski.
And so it goes.
Given the scope of these authors' popularity, an inevitable cross-pollination of influence seeped into some of these writers' works and lives (sometimes, years later, as was the case with Bukowski).
However, for the most part, Bukowski and the Beats were separate entities, born of similar societal and literary dynamics.
This excellent, reader-friendly study is, appropriately, published with Duval's February 1986 interview with Bukowski. Titled "An Evening At Buk's," Bukowski's grace, humor and warmth, usually glimpsed between the lines of his sex- and booze-drenched works, shines through.
At heart, Bukowski comes off as a honest guy who understands all too well that everyone has their own store of bullsh*t that they have to sort through, and that one's walk should gibe with his talk. For the most part, Bukowski seems to accomplish the latter, as well.
Exemplary, fascinating book, this. Check it out. For Bukowski fans, it's (probably) worth owning.
From the back cover:
"There are several reasons for this book. The principle one is pleasure -- the pure joy of returning to Charles Bukowski and to the Beats, by dipping into their legend -- particularly since the Beat movement is now enjoying a lively revival of attention through new editions, appearances of previously unpublished material, exhibitions, and other events.
"There is also the pleasure of rediscovering Charles Bukowski, cult author whose reputation continues to grow steadily all over the world. The full drama of his humor, fits of anger, memories, frustrations, and distinctive grace come to life during Dvual's long interview with Buk -- An Evening at Buk's Place. In February 1986, drinks in hand, the two hit it off with unusual rapport, providing a dialogue that is an essential part of Bukowski's canon.
"The pleasure also consists of having a close look at the links and contradictions between Bukowski and the Beat constellation -- a subject on which the enfant terribles of American literature have variously reacted with hatred, resentment, and, at times, actual admiration.
"Jean-François Duval, novelist, essayist and journalist, gives us an inspired commentary, plus a bibliography, a Who's Who, some never-before-seen photos, and much more."
Review:
Entertaining, informative read about Charles "Buk" Bukowski's relationship with the Beat writers and the rest of the world, on and off the page.
First, an abbreviated Beat-related history.
According to Duval:
"Originally 'Beat' was an imprecise term created in Times Square, New York by the poet and thief Herbert Hunke. Kerouac took the term and gave it it content. At the beginning the expression was quite meaningless -- 'Man, I'm beat,' Hunke would say. He hadn't a cent to his name, he slept in the Underground, it didn't really bother him that nothing ever went right. Straight away, seeing the light in Hunke's eyes, the light that radiated from him, Kerouac understood that 'beat' didn't simply mean worn out, but also blessed -- blessed because he was worn out. This light contradicted the apparent state of degeneration that the expression entailed.
"In 1948, John Clellon Holmes (future chronicler of the movement) asked how Kerouac would characterize the term, and conscious of Hunke's words [Kerouac] replied: 'I guess you might say we're a beat generation.' Holmes used the expression for the first time in a famous article in The Sunday Times on November 16, 1952, and also in his novel Go in which he used Kerouac's material. . . [Kerouac's] On The Road appeared only five years afterwards in 1957." (p. 38)
In the year prior to On The Road's publication, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, founder of the publishing house City Lights (now City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco), had published Allen Ginsberg's politically provocative poem Howl. Publication of this poem cemented Ginsberg's celebrity in the literary world, and earned Ferlinghetti a court conviction: when he published the poem, Ferlinghetti had violated obscenity laws.
These two events started a literary firestorm that inflamed society -- especially pop culture.
According to Duval, "soon it was everywhere, the new look, the 'twisted' slouchy look; finally it began to appear in movies (James Dean) and on television. . . the bop visions became common property. . . carried over to the new rock n' roll youth via Montgomery Clift (leather jacket), Marlon Brando (T-shirt) and Elvis Presley (long sideburns). . ." (p. 48)
Bukowski began getting published in the mid-Fifties, and his raw (a word usually associated with Bukowski), crude-language style inevitably got him compared to the Beats, who, in their own distinctive ways, eschewed the narrative rules: Kerouac loved his rambly, poetic, nostalgic descriptions; William S. Burroughs was hygenically stark and/or hallucinogenic, depending on which novel you read; Ginsberg was political, provocative, with his crazy word flights; Ken Kesey's love of psilocybine, mescaline and LSD impelled him to write the novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest; there are others, but I don't want to belabor the point.
The truth of it was that Bukowski (born Henry Bukowski) didn't get on with most of the Beat writers -- e.g., the cold, "disturbing" (Duval's word) Burroughs had no interest in meeting Bukowski (the feeling was mutual); Ginsberg was too "silly" (Bukowski's word) and shrill in his political posturings, on and off the page; Kerouac was off on his own trip, as was Bukowski.
And so it goes.
Given the scope of these authors' popularity, an inevitable cross-pollination of influence seeped into some of these writers' works and lives (sometimes, years later, as was the case with Bukowski).
However, for the most part, Bukowski and the Beats were separate entities, born of similar societal and literary dynamics.
This excellent, reader-friendly study is, appropriately, published with Duval's February 1986 interview with Bukowski. Titled "An Evening At Buk's," Bukowski's grace, humor and warmth, usually glimpsed between the lines of his sex- and booze-drenched works, shines through.
At heart, Bukowski comes off as a honest guy who understands all too well that everyone has their own store of bullsh*t that they have to sort through, and that one's walk should gibe with his talk. For the most part, Bukowski seems to accomplish the latter, as well.
Exemplary, fascinating book, this. Check it out. For Bukowski fans, it's (probably) worth owning.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Tales of the City, by Armistead Maupin
(pb; 1978: Book One in the Tales of the City series)
From the back cover:
"Anna: a mystical landlady, an Earth-Space Mother, the kind of woman F. Scott Fitzgerald would have kissed. Mary Ann: a child of Ohio who caught the last dream leaving Cleveland for the coast. Michael: a gay person singular who wanted another person plural with whom he could buy a Christmas tree. And Mona: a writer, a little lonely, a little looney, and a lotta lovable.
"Shooting sentiment and joy straight from the hip, Tales of the City tells what happened to reality when it moved to San Francisco."
Review:
Warm, witty, and occasionally bawdy and sad work, this. The characters come from wildly-varied backgrounds, allowing San Francisco -- which, true to the cliché, is a character itself -- to be seen from many different views.
The year is 1976. The hippie movement has largely burnt out, leaving the more street-savvy or idealistic characters (Anna Madrigal, Mona Ramsey, Michael Tolliver, Brian Hawkins) to deal with its bittersweet ashes. Idealism still abounds in the city, but it's taken a few bruises, and, accordingly, its adherents have become more practical in their attitudes, goals and methods.
Maupin wrote a celebratory, life-affirming work when he penned this. I've read this a couple of times before, and the third time was no less effective in sparking its effervescent, occasionally-shaded moods in me.
Worth owning, this.
Followed by More Tales of the City.
Tales of the City, the PBS television mini-series, aired stateside on January 10, 1994. Richard Kramer wrote the teleplay. Alastair Reid directed.
Laura Linney played Mary Ann Singleton. Olympia Dukakis played Anna Madrigal. Donald Moffat played Edgar Halcyon. Chloe Webb played Mona Ramsey. Cynda Williams played D'orothea/Dorothy Williams. Marcus D'Amico played Michael "Mouse" Tolliver. Bill Campbell (billed as "William Campbell") played Jon Fielding. Paul Gross played Brian Hawkins.
Barbara Garrick played DeDe Day Halcyon. Thomas Gibson played Beauchamp Day. Robert Downey Sr. (father of Robert Downey Jr.) played Edgar's doctor. Parker Posey played Connie Bradshaw.
Mary Kay Place played Prue Giroux. Ian McKellen played Archibald Anson Gidde. Rod Steiger played "Bookstore Owner". An uncredited Janeane Garofalo played "Coppola Woman". Paul Dooley played Herbert "Herb" L. Tolliver. Michael Jeter played Carson Callas. Paul Bartel played Charles Hillary Lord. Karen Black played herself. Country Joe MacDonald played Joaquin.
Book author Armistead Maupin, in an uncredited role, played "Writer in window".
From the back cover:
"Anna: a mystical landlady, an Earth-Space Mother, the kind of woman F. Scott Fitzgerald would have kissed. Mary Ann: a child of Ohio who caught the last dream leaving Cleveland for the coast. Michael: a gay person singular who wanted another person plural with whom he could buy a Christmas tree. And Mona: a writer, a little lonely, a little looney, and a lotta lovable.
"Shooting sentiment and joy straight from the hip, Tales of the City tells what happened to reality when it moved to San Francisco."
Review:
Warm, witty, and occasionally bawdy and sad work, this. The characters come from wildly-varied backgrounds, allowing San Francisco -- which, true to the cliché, is a character itself -- to be seen from many different views.
The year is 1976. The hippie movement has largely burnt out, leaving the more street-savvy or idealistic characters (Anna Madrigal, Mona Ramsey, Michael Tolliver, Brian Hawkins) to deal with its bittersweet ashes. Idealism still abounds in the city, but it's taken a few bruises, and, accordingly, its adherents have become more practical in their attitudes, goals and methods.
Maupin wrote a celebratory, life-affirming work when he penned this. I've read this a couple of times before, and the third time was no less effective in sparking its effervescent, occasionally-shaded moods in me.
Worth owning, this.
Followed by More Tales of the City.
Tales of the City, the PBS television mini-series, aired stateside on January 10, 1994. Richard Kramer wrote the teleplay. Alastair Reid directed.
Laura Linney played Mary Ann Singleton. Olympia Dukakis played Anna Madrigal. Donald Moffat played Edgar Halcyon. Chloe Webb played Mona Ramsey. Cynda Williams played D'orothea/Dorothy Williams. Marcus D'Amico played Michael "Mouse" Tolliver. Bill Campbell (billed as "William Campbell") played Jon Fielding. Paul Gross played Brian Hawkins.
Barbara Garrick played DeDe Day Halcyon. Thomas Gibson played Beauchamp Day. Robert Downey Sr. (father of Robert Downey Jr.) played Edgar's doctor. Parker Posey played Connie Bradshaw.
Mary Kay Place played Prue Giroux. Ian McKellen played Archibald Anson Gidde. Rod Steiger played "Bookstore Owner". An uncredited Janeane Garofalo played "Coppola Woman". Paul Dooley played Herbert "Herb" L. Tolliver. Michael Jeter played Carson Callas. Paul Bartel played Charles Hillary Lord. Karen Black played herself. Country Joe MacDonald played Joaquin.
Book author Armistead Maupin, in an uncredited role, played "Writer in window".
Monday, September 28, 2009
Winter Sleep by Kenzo Kitakata
From the back cover
"Nakagi, an ex-con painter who has sequestered himself in a mountain cabin, is trying to elevate his art. The only thing breaking his solitude are the visits of two women: an art dealer who wants him to produce the sort of paintings that she would like to buy from him, and a young, aspiring, and soulful apprentice. When Nakagi welcomes an escaped felon into the emotionally fraught fold, and begins to teach him to paint as well, Winter Sleep awakens to. . . an incendiary climax."
Review
Out of the three Kitakata novels I've read this month this is my favorite. It maintains the underlying edge-intensity of The Cage and Ashes, but there's an enveloping sense of peace throughout most of this work -- a (comparatively) mellow-ish, contagious mood that I got caught up in while reading this.
Technically, this is still a crime-genre work: two of the characters are murderers (quirky murderers, but murderers just the same), and, as a result of those characters, there are cops, as well.
But the heart of this novel lies in the often-lonely characters, and their individual and collective searches for understanding and peace:
Masatake Nakagi, the ex-con painter who narrates this years-long tale, is still restless, but he senses that his peace waits around a nearby corner.
Akiko Tsukada, an eighteen-year old fledgling painter and Nakagi's apprentice-artist, is passive aggressive: sometimes listless and/or accepting, other times a wild animal.
Koichi Oshita, a misfit murderer on the lam and another Nakagi apprentice-artist, is on a similar course as Nakagi and Tsukada, yet his journey -- familiar to Nakagi -- is formed by Oshita's equally-strange personality.
Natsue Kosugi, a proud, successful art agent whores herself to Nakagi just to get close to the artist's evolving, often incomplete paintings.
This, hands down, is one of the best books I've read this year. I wish I'd written this, and I plan to own it.
As excellent, diverse and off-kilter as Ashes and The Cage, Winter Sleep should especially appeal to artistic-minded readers -- painters, writers, etc. -- and crime buffs.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Birthday by Koji Suzuki
(hb; 1999, 2006: story anthology; fourth book in the Ring Cycle; translated by Glynne Walley)
From the inside flap:
"Thirty years before the tragic events of Ring, Sadako Yamamura was an aspiring stage actress on the verge of her theatrical debut. The beautiful and ravishing Sadako was the object of desire of every male at the company including the director. There was one thespian she was interested in, but. . .
"Fast forward past the events of Ring. Ryuji Takayama's distraught lover, Mai Takano, is struggling in the wake of the professor's mysterious demise. Mai visits Ryuji's parents' house to find the missing pages of his soon-to-be-published article. There she is drawn to a curious videotape and a fate more terrifying than Ryuji or Kazuyuki Asakawa's.
"Reiko Sugiura questioned the purpose of bringing a child into a world where there was only death. She had already lost one son, and the father of her unborn child, Kaoru Futami, had disappeared in search of a cure to the deadly disease that threatened all life. Despite Kaoru's promise to meet again in two months, he has not returned. Despondent but driven for answers, Reiko is led to the Loop project, where she will discover the final truths of the Ring virus."
Overall review:
This emotionally-resonant, genre-transmutative anthology of linked stories satisfactorily expands on, and ties up, loose narrative ends relating to the Ring Cycle.
Birthday, like all the Ring Cycle books -- Ring, Spiral and Loop -- is crisply- and gracefully-written, and worth owning.
Review, story by story:
"Coffin in the Sky": Mai Takano, a virgin, wakes up trapped on top of a roof, about to give birth to something not completely human, after viewing Sadako Yamamura's death-virus videotape.
"Lemon Heart": Daily News reporter Kenzo Yoshino, friend/co-worker of Kazuyki Asakawa, contacts Hiroshi Toyama (ex-lover of Sadako Yamamura) about Yamamura's disappearance twenty-four years earlier. In doing so, Yoshino revives a vivid past for the haunted Toyama.
"Happy Birthday": Five months after the conclusion of Loop, Kaoru Futami's Metastatic Human Cancer-infected, pregnant lover (Reiko Sugiura) discovers the heartbreaking, ultimately hopeful, truth about the Loop project and Futami's disappearance.
This is one of the best horror/science fiction series I've read in a long while -- possibly one of my All-Time Favorites (we'll see how I feel a few years, before I make that judgment).
Birthday is the basis for the anthology movie Ring 0: Birthday. Directed by Norio Tsuruta, from a script by Hiroshi Takahashi, it was released in Japan on January 22, 2000. (Hiroshi Takahashi also scripted Ringu and co-scripted Ringu 2.)
Yukie Nakama played Sadako Yamamura. Seiichi Tanabe played Hiroshi Tôyama. Takeshi Yakamatsu played Yûsaku Shigemori. Masako, who played Shizuko Yamamura in Ringu and Ringu 2, reprised this role again.
From the inside flap:
"Thirty years before the tragic events of Ring, Sadako Yamamura was an aspiring stage actress on the verge of her theatrical debut. The beautiful and ravishing Sadako was the object of desire of every male at the company including the director. There was one thespian she was interested in, but. . .
"Fast forward past the events of Ring. Ryuji Takayama's distraught lover, Mai Takano, is struggling in the wake of the professor's mysterious demise. Mai visits Ryuji's parents' house to find the missing pages of his soon-to-be-published article. There she is drawn to a curious videotape and a fate more terrifying than Ryuji or Kazuyuki Asakawa's.
"Reiko Sugiura questioned the purpose of bringing a child into a world where there was only death. She had already lost one son, and the father of her unborn child, Kaoru Futami, had disappeared in search of a cure to the deadly disease that threatened all life. Despite Kaoru's promise to meet again in two months, he has not returned. Despondent but driven for answers, Reiko is led to the Loop project, where she will discover the final truths of the Ring virus."
Overall review:
This emotionally-resonant, genre-transmutative anthology of linked stories satisfactorily expands on, and ties up, loose narrative ends relating to the Ring Cycle.
Birthday, like all the Ring Cycle books -- Ring, Spiral and Loop -- is crisply- and gracefully-written, and worth owning.
Review, story by story:
"Coffin in the Sky": Mai Takano, a virgin, wakes up trapped on top of a roof, about to give birth to something not completely human, after viewing Sadako Yamamura's death-virus videotape.
"Lemon Heart": Daily News reporter Kenzo Yoshino, friend/co-worker of Kazuyki Asakawa, contacts Hiroshi Toyama (ex-lover of Sadako Yamamura) about Yamamura's disappearance twenty-four years earlier. In doing so, Yoshino revives a vivid past for the haunted Toyama.
"Happy Birthday": Five months after the conclusion of Loop, Kaoru Futami's Metastatic Human Cancer-infected, pregnant lover (Reiko Sugiura) discovers the heartbreaking, ultimately hopeful, truth about the Loop project and Futami's disappearance.
This is one of the best horror/science fiction series I've read in a long while -- possibly one of my All-Time Favorites (we'll see how I feel a few years, before I make that judgment).
Birthday is the basis for the anthology movie Ring 0: Birthday. Directed by Norio Tsuruta, from a script by Hiroshi Takahashi, it was released in Japan on January 22, 2000. (Hiroshi Takahashi also scripted Ringu and co-scripted Ringu 2.)
Yukie Nakama played Sadako Yamamura. Seiichi Tanabe played Hiroshi Tôyama. Takeshi Yakamatsu played Yûsaku Shigemori. Masako, who played Shizuko Yamamura in Ringu and Ringu 2, reprised this role again.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite
From the back cover
"To serial slayer Andrew Compton, murder is an art, the most intimate art. After feigning his own death to escape from prison, Compton makes his way to the United States with the ambition of bringing his art to new heights. Tortured by his own perverse desires, drawn to possess and destroy young boys, Compton inadvertantly joins forces with Jay Byrne, a dissolute playboy who has pushed his art to limits even Compton hadn't previously imagined. Together, Compton and Byrne set their sights on an exquisite young Vietnamese-American runaway, Tran, whom they deem to be the perfect victim. . ."
Review
Bleak, uncompromising and gory, this shocker isn't for readers who prefer "mainstream" horror.
Brite's homoerotic splatterfest is political, sexual and graphic in its descriptions of New Orleans debauchery, serial killer-style. The writing is edgy, of course (as is all Brite's horror writing) and concise, spiced with poetic bursts of savagery and sex. The characters are fully-realized and -fleshed, with the novel's twists consistently linked to the characters' personalities.
This is one of my all-time favorite horror novels, not only for the able, edgy writing, but for the, uh, guts it took to write this. If you're into true, heart-of-existential-darkness horror, read this; if not, don't.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Let Me In, by John Ajvide Lindqvist
(hb; 2004, 2007: translated by Ebba Segerberg)
From the inside flap:
"It is autumn 1981 when the inconceivable comes to Blackberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenage boy is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. Twelve-year old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last -- revenge for the bullying he endures at school, day after day.
"But the murder is not the most important thing on his mind. A new girl has moved in next door -- a girl who has never seen a Rubik's Cube before, but who can solve it at once. There is something wrong with her, though, something odd. And she only comes out at night. . ."
Review:
Excellent, landmark vampire-horror novel, with sympathetic characters (even Håkan Bengtsson, Eli's aging pedophilic human keeper, initially comes off a somewhat relatable creation) and an impressive narrative scope: it reads like something Stephen King might've written in his prime -- i.e., most of his published work prior to It.
Lindqvist has conceived and delivered a warm, original work that should appeal to fans of King, Clive Barker and Anne Rice. (I realize I'm actually echoing one of the blurbs that graced the cover of the book, but its story, tones and characters constantly reminded me of these writers when I read this fast-paced, character-rich story.)
If you're into vampire fiction, you should read this.
This novel was originally published under the title Let the Right One In (its title references a line from a Morrissey song, "Let The Right One Slip In").
•
As of October 1, 2010, two film versions will have resulted from this novel.
The first film version was released in Sweden on January 26, 2008. The film graced stateside screens on October 24, 2008.
Kåre Hedebrant played Oskar. Lina Leandersson played Eli. Per Ragnar played Håkan. Henrik Dahl played Erik. Karin Bergquist played Yvonne. Peter Carlberg played Lacke. Ika Nord played Virginia. Mikael Rahm played Jocke. Karl-Robert Lindgren played Gösta.
An uncredited Lena Nilsson, who also appeared in Murder at the Savoy and Roseanna, played a "Nurse" (or: "Håkans sjuksköterska").
Tomas Alfredson directed the film, from a script by the book's author, John Ajvide Lindqvist.
•
An American remake, retitled Let Me In, is scheduled for stateside release on October 1, 2010.
Kodi Smit-McPhee played Owen (the Americanized equivalent of Oskar). Chloë Grace Moretz played Abby (the Americanized equivalent of Eli). Richard Jenkins played The Father. Elias Koteas played The Policeman. Cara Buono played Owen's Mother.
Matt Reeves directed and scripted the film.
From the inside flap:
"It is autumn 1981 when the inconceivable comes to Blackberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenage boy is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. Twelve-year old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last -- revenge for the bullying he endures at school, day after day.
"But the murder is not the most important thing on his mind. A new girl has moved in next door -- a girl who has never seen a Rubik's Cube before, but who can solve it at once. There is something wrong with her, though, something odd. And she only comes out at night. . ."
Review:
Excellent, landmark vampire-horror novel, with sympathetic characters (even Håkan Bengtsson, Eli's aging pedophilic human keeper, initially comes off a somewhat relatable creation) and an impressive narrative scope: it reads like something Stephen King might've written in his prime -- i.e., most of his published work prior to It.
Lindqvist has conceived and delivered a warm, original work that should appeal to fans of King, Clive Barker and Anne Rice. (I realize I'm actually echoing one of the blurbs that graced the cover of the book, but its story, tones and characters constantly reminded me of these writers when I read this fast-paced, character-rich story.)
If you're into vampire fiction, you should read this.
This novel was originally published under the title Let the Right One In (its title references a line from a Morrissey song, "Let The Right One Slip In").
•
As of October 1, 2010, two film versions will have resulted from this novel.
The first film version was released in Sweden on January 26, 2008. The film graced stateside screens on October 24, 2008.
Kåre Hedebrant played Oskar. Lina Leandersson played Eli. Per Ragnar played Håkan. Henrik Dahl played Erik. Karin Bergquist played Yvonne. Peter Carlberg played Lacke. Ika Nord played Virginia. Mikael Rahm played Jocke. Karl-Robert Lindgren played Gösta.
An uncredited Lena Nilsson, who also appeared in Murder at the Savoy and Roseanna, played a "Nurse" (or: "Håkans sjuksköterska").
Tomas Alfredson directed the film, from a script by the book's author, John Ajvide Lindqvist.
•
An American remake, retitled Let Me In, is scheduled for stateside release on October 1, 2010.
Kodi Smit-McPhee played Owen (the Americanized equivalent of Oskar). Chloë Grace Moretz played Abby (the Americanized equivalent of Eli). Richard Jenkins played The Father. Elias Koteas played The Policeman. Cara Buono played Owen's Mother.
Matt Reeves directed and scripted the film.
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