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Justin Tan stood at the main junction of the old hutong, a neighbourhood of old courtyards dating from Imperial times, and stared down narrow alleys that disappeared quickly into darkness. It was after midnight and the steet lighting was limited in such a poor neighbourhood. The lanes were too narrow for cars so no headlightslit up the gloom.
He thought he caught sight of a shadow in the darkness and he shouted, "Is there anyone? can you call for help?" The three men started towards him with a calculated, deliberate step.
"What do you want? Why are you following me? Do you want money?"
The front man slapped the truncheon into his palm. "When the dog chases the mouse, there are always consequences. "
Title: A Calamitous Chinese Killing
Author: Shamini Flint
ISBN-13: 9780749957797
Publisher: Piatkus/2013
Pages: 320
Justin Tan is the son of a Singapore Diplomat. He is murdered in a back alley of Beijing. His murder is made to look like a robbery gone wrong. His mother asks for Inspector Singh to investigate. He travels from Singapore to Beijing and is none to happy for it.
Susan Tan wants Inspector Singh to get to the bottom of it. Her husband Anthony Tan thinks it was robbery gone wrong but her daughter Jemima knows something about her brother. He along with his professor Luo have been collecting evidence of the hutongs being destroyed for new constructions to come up.
Li Jun a retired local policeman is at the beck and call of Inspector Singh. Deputy mayor Dai Wei and the chief of police Fu Xinghua do not want the truth to come out. They try to falsify and hide the truth.
The story is told from the viewpoint of almost each and every character in the book, showing a wide range of perspectives. This help in developing the case and also reflects about modern Chinese society. With bribes, kickbacks, corruption and murder, this novel has it all. Inspector Singh is a likable character and does make the novel move forward. I found a few loopholes but I would say, go for it if you want to know about China. I learnt a lot....
"You saw her that afternoon - the day she disappeared - you picked her up in the car."
The Dilated irises would have been evidences enough that there were secrets here. "Well?"
"Maybe I just want to know you again," Ryan said finally. "You're my father. I'm your son. It seems as if we should be closer than we are."
Title: Ryan's Return
Author: Barbara Freethy
ISBN: 978-0380785315
Publisher: Avon/2006
Pages: 374
It is return of the prodigal son to Serenity Spring. A famous photo-journalist now, Ryan Hunter is invited for the Centennial Celebration. He had left behind his father and a brother he had betrayed. Now when he returns, he finds his father still the same, his brother who detests him and a young boy who looks like him.
With no love lost between them, Ryan knows he has to somehow face his past if he wants to moves in present and future. His father,who never stopped loving him, that young daughter of Kara has so much faith on him. So he just can't leave it all behind.
The interaction between father and son, between the two brothers and that of the young girl with Ryan and also a love affair of Andrew, his brother. These all make the book very readable. It is in no way a heavy book, but it does make us sad at many levels. It has those comic moments, especially when the two brothers are locked up in jail.
I found this novel utterly sweet and extremely readable. The romance element is sweet and doesn't take over the story. That is how it should be, in a novel that speaks of family relations.
You can download the kindle edition for FREE here!
I have read too many romances in the form of e-books. And none of those need a full review. So I thought I would do Mini Reviews! All these novels can be found free! From Amazon. I read those with the help of a Kindle For PC, which can be downloaded for free from there. Try it! Works GREAT!!
Once a Cowboy by Linda Warren
Alex is a private investigator who works with her dad, and she is hired by a woman who has seen a photo in a newspaper of Brodie Hayes,a former rodeo star. And thinks that he is her long lost son stolen from the hospital forty years ago. Alex tracks him down and unknown to him takes something from for a DNA sample. Initially Alex is skeptical about the whole thing but somehow it is not really closed case at all. She starts to empathize with Brodie. It is not really a superficial romance although the does does suggest that. It has depth and the characterization is good even of those who have grey shades. The love story is only secondary to the story of stolen child..that is Brodie...
The Bride's Baby by Liz Fielding
Tom and Sylvie have an one-night stand and as a consequence Sylvie gets pregnant. When Tom sees Sylvie after a few months, he thinks she is having a baby by some other man and also thinks Sylvie is going to marry that man. Both are in love with each other but they don't say it. This novel is all about misunderstanding. And it kind of finishes fast. The characters are too proud to talk about their feeling. Made a fast and easy read.
A Very Special Delivery by Linda Goodnight
In a stormy night, the reclusive Ethan Hunter leaves his infant daughter in Molly's care. She is terrified but does care for the little girl. And when he returns to get his daughter back, Molly and Ethan are stuck in the farmhouse during the snowstorm, but when they're back in the real world that their relationship starts. Molly, who has withdrawn from society after being part of a horrific tragedy, is forced to get and it seems she can't Ethan. Both Molly and Ethan have histories and troubled pasts but they do deal with that to find happiness with each other.
Click on the titles to get all those downloaded for free!!
To be continued, next Sunday.......
"The blood was definitely female."
"Female...What age?"
~Page 125
Title: Therapy
Author: Sebastian Fitzek
ISBN: 9780330453158
Publisher: Pan Books/2008
Pages: 293
It is as if 12 year old Josephine did not exist. She disappears without a trace from her doctor's clinic without a trace. Her father, a well known psychiatrist Viktor Larenz, searches for her and leaves his practice, goes to live in a remote North Sea Island. It is the only way he can deal with his loss. And he is also drifting apart from his wife.
A beautiful woman, Anna Glass, a writer of children's fiction, come to visit him and wants him treat her for her rare form of schizophrenia. Her characters in her novel come to life for her and she does not understand that. Dr Larenz finds her story intriguing and reluctantly agrees to treat her as he somehow finds resemblance between one of her characters with Josie. He has to know more, and only by knowing the ending of her story, he might get to know about her disappearance.
Viktor's grief, his obsession to know more, keeps us hooked to this novel. The enigmatic Anna, we want to know more about her. She appears real and yet unreal. Viktor is warned against her but he can't let her go as he can't let go off Josie. Listening to her story, he believes Anna is somehow responsible for her disappearance.
The reader feels for Viktor, his desperation to find anything about his much loved daughter. The interaction between Anna and Viktor keeps the reader wanting more. And when we finally get to the end, it leaves us completely blown out of our mind. Therapy is a novel one can't put down without finishing from start to finish. I would definitely recommend this and look forward to read more by the author.
"He could feel blows all over his body but he went numb. Pierce beat the shit out of him with a small wooden billy club."
Title:Blood Over Badge
Author: Wayne Farquhar
ISBN: 9780615359113
Publisher: 3L publishing/2010
Pages: 250
It starts with the trial of Kyle, who is barely 17 years old. He has murdered a man and is sentenced for life and sent to Angola Penitentiary, which is a hell hole. 16 years later, we see that his body, mind and soul slowly dissolving away.
In San Francisco, the Mayor's daughter is kidnapped and murdered. The killer is a rapist too. Jack Paige and Casey Ford are investigating it. They are in look out for the murderer.
These two are unrelated crimes and unrelated murderers. And suddenly there is a link. And what is that link? The characters have not much in common, not with the victim, the convicts or anyone else. Yet, there is a relationship. And such a one which takes the reader over the edge. With well etched characters, family issues, a revolting correctional officer, and very plausible detailing, intense emotions, great dialogues, this a good crime fiction debut. The ending is such that it hits the reader hard. And we are left with mixed feelings.
No murderer deserves sympathy, no crime is greater than killing. Yet, there are questions on is it what we want our system to be? Don't prisoners deserve a decent life in prison? How does one deal with crooked correctional officers? As a murder mystery, it works well and Wayne Farquhar can deliver.
Leonard Hout choked back a cry; and vomit bubbled up his throat. A man lay crumpled on the back seat, his dead eyes staring at the roof.
~Page 8
Title: Silent Kill
Author: David Fingerman
ISBN: 9781603182300
Publisher: L & L Dreamspell/2010
In Silent Kill the reader is aware of what is going on and by whom but the police are not aware of anything. And the killings and kidnappings do not appear to be connected either.
A cop is found missing, his body is found in a lake. As he was a friend of hers, Minneapolis police officer Louisa Miller, while investigating finds something common, a very big guy seen in the vicinity of all the crimes committed. Her brother Andrew, a fresh recruit, tells that to his mentor officer, when they get a call for more murders. All these seem to revolve around a Rottweiler.
What makes the killer go on a rampage is a voice in head. A voice from his past. Why?
The kidnappings are related in a way. The murderers are related to that Rottweiler. And all these are somehow connected. Louise Miller has to find the reason and also nab the killer. And in midst of all this something happens, and it becomes very personal for her.
I liked the pace of the novel. And the search for that killer keeps us in our toes although we know who is he. The characters have depth and Louise has attitude. Andrew is too eager to learn. The kidnapped persons too fight to get free. I liked their dialogue and their interaction with each other. Dr. Gillespy seems to have an interesting past. The author kept that open as he did with the psychopath killer. But I loved that Dog, who had gone through so much. Yes, he is a dog, with a past. He remains lovable for us.
It might be gritty, and definitely not an easy thriller, rough at places with plots, sub plots. A few resolved, some left intact. Maybe for another novel. All in all, I recommend this for Crime Fiction readers.
He hasn't been arrested," Abby said automatically. She dropped back into the chair and ran her hands over her face, blew out a long breath. "I keep telling you, they need evidence to arrest someone. He's fine. Lexie, sit down.
~Page 394
Title: The Likeness
Author: Tana French
ISBN: 978-0143115625
Publisher: Penguin/2009
Pages: 512
Detective Cassie Maddox gets a call from Detective Sam O'Neill, who is also her boyfriend, to visit a murder scene in a small town of Glenskehy. She is not very keen to go as she has opted out from the Dublin's Murder Squad. But she does go and is surprised to see the body of a girl, who is exactly her double. That is, has a ID as Alexandra Madison, the same identity Cassie had used while working undercover. No one knows who is that girl and who is the murderer.
When Frank Mackey, Cassie's former undercover boss asks Cassie to impersonate Lexie and take her place as one of the housemates in the Whitethorn House, Cassie and Sam are not very keen about the idea. But Cassie does take Lexie's place. She is pulled into Lexie's life and has to know all about her.
Now who is Lexie really? Why did she have so many identities. What ailed her? And how are the housemates involved in her murder, if they are? Cassie, while living with them, slowly gets embroiled in their lives. And her instincts of investigation comes forth.
Here we see Cassie's life changing in the company of the housemates, who are a close-knit University friends. They are as diverse as they can be yet are bonded well with each other. Cassie's interest in their lives is filled with intrigue and interest. She too can't stay detached for long. She instantly relates with them. We can feel her sadness when the time comes for her to get away from them.
Despite being a long novel, it doesn't deter us from reading it. Tana French has weaved a great story, with well etched out characters. Nowhere we hate the housemates. Even when we know all about them. This novel is supposed to start from In the Woods. I haven't read In The Woods. The Likeness has some background of that novel. However, it works well as a stand alone book too.
Also reviewed by:
Title: A Summer Secret
Author: Kathleen Fuller
ISBN: 9781400315932
Publisher: Tommy Nelson/2010
Pages: 268
A Summer Secret is targeted for young adults and is the first in a series called The Mysteries of Middlefield. It is based in Middlefield. Ohio and focusses on an Amish family. Mary Beth is a 13-year-old Amish girl, who is sick of her three brothers. She hates their pranks and the way they thrust their responsibilities on her. She also has a lot of chores which includes babysitting her youngest brother, Micah. To escape from all this, she has a hiding place in a dilapidated old barn, where she also writes a journal in the form of sketches and words.
One day she discovers that someone has been coming into her barn. First she thinks it is her twin Johnny but he denies it. So they set out to find out who has been visiting the barn. When they do get to know about that person, they set out to help him in the form of food and clothes. Now both of them are keeping a secret from their Mami and Daed.
Mary Beth and Johnny know that they can't hide the secret for long and have to tell their Mami and Daed. Before they can do that, the barn is struck by lightening and is burnt down. Mary Beth has to tell them the secret. However, the person who had been living there had left it much before the fire as he and Mary Beth had fought before that.
Mary Beth and Johnny are lying to their parents. Even if it was for a good cause, that didn't gel with me. I also found that Mary Beth is given too much chores and she doesn't have any time for herself. But I had all sympathies for the person hiding in the barn. He really had a tough life and had nowhere else to go.
As I have three brothers, I could relate to Mary Beth to a certain extent but truthfully speaking I never had to do so much work in my teenage years. I truly can't comment on the Amish way of life as I don't know much about it. But I do think, kids deserve so much better. Mary Beth and Johnny get closer to each other as twins ought to be and that is a good thing. With simplistic prose, somewhat predictable ending, it is a clean read for young adults.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson for my copy.
"He should crack his little boy's neck as gently as possible. It would be like saving two lives."Right from his birth, Puttnum Douglas Steward, is considered no good by his father. He is ignored and faces antagonism at every step. He always seeks attention ut his father has closed his mind and thinks Puttnam is non-existent for him. The boy struggles to prove himself to his father but for no avail. Then he gets into University of Virginia on an ROTC scholarship. His life changes. There he has a fling with his cadet commandent. He also experiments with cross dressing and finds that it is what he is.
In this novel, Putt has a lot of dilemmas: father/son conflict, homosexuality, transsexuality, war, alcoholism, death, loneliness, friendship, and romantic anguish. This novel wholly embolds its ambitious scope, including the ambiguity and loose ends that are part of any complex personalty. Putt is a complicated yet so very real protagonist with enough emotional courage to bind together the deeply conflicting issues depicted in the novel.
Title: The Emerald Swan
Author: Jane Feather
ISBN: 978-0553575255
Publisher: Bantam/1998
Pages: 448
I picked it up after reading the back cover. It is about twin girls who got separated and grew up differently. Maud grows to womanhood as the frail, somewhat manipulative ward of young earl of Harcourt. The other, Miranda, grows up as an endearing, street-smart urchin who earns her living as a travelling player on the streets of England and France. One day Harcourt runs into Miranda by chance while she is perforoming on the streets. He is amazed to see the resemblance between the two. And a plan forms in his mind. Maud is not ready to marry the King of France who is besotted to her! She would rather commit to a convent.
Harcourt thinks that Miranda can be used to please the King until Maud agrees to marry him! With the right clothes and right training, the plan seems to succeed but no one has envisaged that Harcourt himself might fall for Miranda! From there onwards, things get complicated. And when King arrives, the events turn interesting..
Maud seems like a lifeless character but with the entry of Miranda in her life, she changes. She gets animated and can now think beyondherself. The instant bonding between the twins is unmistakable. And both the sisters too plot to get better of Harcourt, the King of France and many others. Use of the emerald bracelet as a metaphor works well. Slowly the deep dark secrets of the nobilty too is esposed.
With strong characters and intelligent dialogues, this book is much more than a romance novel. At the end, we come to like Maud too, who initially seemed too insipd and cold.
Title: For the Love of St. Nick
Author: Garasamo Maccagnone
ISBN: 9781439227602
Pages: 61
It is a story abpout two boys, whose mother has died and father is trying to cope with the loss and also has to bring them up. When he, a Navy Commander, is transferred to a base in northern Michigan, they are uprooted from their familier surroundings. Mrs. Pennington is hired as their nanny and loves them both as her own. The younger child, Johnny is always sick due to a difficult birth. The doctor has told them that he will never recover fully.
The older boy is the narrator of the story and his love for Johnny shows through. He, at a young age does know what to do when Johnny gets sick. Then their father has to leave on a secret mission few weeks before Christmas, promising to return soon. Meanwhile, Johnny gets sick, with heavy snow all over, no one to turn to, the older brother can only pray and wait. It is a matter of life and death and he can't do a thing.
An unexpected encounter with a stranger changes everything....This book produces positive vibes, reinforces our faith that miracles do happen. For a thin book, it sure makes an impact on us.
The Rumble of the Machines stopped everything cold. No one spoke, but everyone knew what was next.
Title: Baby Shark
Author: Robert Fate
ISBN: 9780977627691
Publisher: Capital Crime Press/2006
Pages: 270
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
to take revenge
she had to be patient
OUR BABY SHARK
rose from the ashes
to kill the biker gang
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forgetting nothing,she relived the hell of that night for days, weeks, and months. Better than anyone else, she learnt it all, defense, pool and how to be street smart. When time was ripe for revenge, she made for the kill, even alone if she had to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The above two verse describe the book in different ways.
Bikers enter a poolroom in the west of Abilene and coolly start a fight. Kristen's father is murdered in front of her and she is brutally raped, beaten and left for dead. With the help of Henry, whose son too was killed in there, she slowly recovers from her ordeal. Only in the physical sense. Even than she has some scars left. All she wants is revenge. The police is not ready to help. Infact they don't want to pursue the case at all even when told of the biker gang's identity. Some big guns are involved. With Henry, Sarge, Albert and Otis's help she learns all the skills ..how to defend herself use of guns and also be good at the pool table.
Kristen at 17, has seen too much which she ought not have. We don't blame her for wanting to take revenge. Infact we want it fast. Henry knows that they must not hurry. But bide their time. He has hired Otis to trace the bikers and he does it too. Kristen is known as Baby Shark for her poolroom skills. She had been turored well by her father's friend.
This is street literature with bikers, street languages and our baby knows how to survive is such a way. She had to learn it the hard way. She is a killer but is one with a purpose. Her character is well etched out and we love the chinese Henry and the PI Otis. Both care for Baby in their own ways wanting no harm come her way.
It made a good fast paced summer read. Thanks Robert, for the book!
"All good first sentences have a kind of energy, wrote Slater Brown in his yellow Notebok as he was being pedaled erratically down Market Street." 
Title: Going to See the Elephant
Author: Rodes Fishburne
ISBN: 9780385342391
Publisher: Delacorte Press/2009
Pages: 293
Twenty-five year old Slater Brown land up in San Francisco one fine day. He wants to be one of the greatest writer ever. He has arrived to SEE THE ELEPHANT. Soon after he realises that the reality is much different from his dreams and aspirations. He is financially streamlined.
Hence he takes up a job at a weekly newspaper known as Morning Trumpet. Suddenly fate changes for everyone. He is somehow able to find scoops each week which helps in the circulation of Morning Trumpet. He becomes one sought after reporter. But everything has a turn around. The corrupt Mayor is after him and also an insane inventor Milo Magnet, who wishes to harness the weather with catastrophic effects.
It is interesting to note the way Slater finds scoops. It is almost unbelievable. When Slater is down and out, the reader sympathises with him and also feels elated when he finds his way around. Fishburne has shown San Ffrancisco with all its quirks. It is extremely redeeming to see a very ordinary person like Slater surving there despite its warts. He accepts the city as it is. Slater thinks he finds love in the form of Callio de Quincy who is as weird as the city. Maybe one Slater is going to be one of the greatest writer there was. Who knows?!
Fishburne did a goob job with the book. It is an easy, fun read. Smart, witty and I must say, it has a great title. GO SEE THE ELEPHANT, folks. You won't be disappointed.
Title: Cold Mountain
Author: Charles Frazier
ISBN: 0375700757
Publisher: Vintage/1998
Pages: 449/Trade Paperback
Rating: 5/5
What led you to pick up this book?
One of my blogger friends sent it to me to read for the Southern Challenge. I had not read it then. It took me a while to pick this book but once I started, I did not stop until I finished it.
Plot summary:
Inman is an injured soldier who is disillusioned with the war after fighting in Petersburgh. One day he simply walks out of the hospital he is in, to go to the woman he loves who lives in Blue Ridge Mountains. Meanwhile Ada is trying to survive in the farm left to her by her impractical father. She does not know how to cope up. And help comes in the form of Ruby who refuses to be a servant. Both Ada and Inman's story goes parallel and the highlight is when they finally meet. Inmam meets various kinds of people on his way, prostitutes, slaves, marauders, witches, hunters and many who are so very kind. Despite its starkness and brutality, the novel can be acclaimed as a great piece of work.
What did you like most about the book?
I loved the practical Ruby very much who does not let Ada wallow in self pity. She makes sure that Ada can survive in any circumstances.
What did you think of the main character?
Inmam is not a man of many words. He know what he is doing. Like any soldier, he keeps up his spirit at every point. He does not give in to despair. He knows he has to go to Ada and he does so..
How do you think he feels?
He feels strongly about Ada. He hates the war. He is compassionate too, for the weakest of the weaks. He is ever helpul.
What strengths does Ada has that help her cope?
Initially, Ada has no clue how to cope in the derelict farm after her father dies leaving her alone. But she does not leave the Blue Mountain. That way, she is a fighter although Ruby helps her to make her strong.
What effect do the people in the book have on one another?
Ada and Ruby make a great pair. They have a no nonsense air about them and are very good friends for eah other.
Any other particularly interesting characters?
Ruby's father, Stobred, who is a real bastard but still redeems himself somewhat.
Do you recommend this book?
Yes, I recommend this book for all those who like serious reading. It is not a feel good book. It is stark, brutal, hitting you on the guts kind of book. The sombre feelings lasts long after one finishes it. The writing is very good and that is one good reason to read it. It also has a timeless feel to it. A classic in the making. It somewhat made me remind of The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
Title: The i Tetralogy
Title: Adventures of Spirou and Fantasio----The Robot Blueprints and other Stories
Author: André Franquin
ISBN: 9788128614804
Publisher: Euro Books 2007
Pages: 67/Graphic Novel
Spirou and Fantasio is a Franco-Belgian comic strip whih was first written in 1938. The series has many common elements with humorous adventure comics like Tintin and Asterix. It is one of the most popular classic Belgian comic strips and, unlike Tintin, new Spirou books continue to be published to this day. Spirou and Fantasio are the series' main characters, two adventurous journalists who run into fantastic adventures, aided by Spirou's pet squirrel, Spip.
I had read a lot of Spirou books and forgotten all about those, as I did not own any. I picked this book last Sunday when I bought 4 other books. Looking at these graphic novels made me nostalgic and I had to buy it. I will pass it on to my nephew as I did with my Tintin and Astrix books.
This book contains four stories: The Robot Blueprints, Spirou in the Ring, Spirou goes Riding and Spirou with the Pygmies.
The Robot Blueprints is the usual kind of story where certain bad elemments want to lay their hands on a bluepring of a Robot. It has been made by a mad scientist to help the mankind but those bad elements have other plans. Spirou, along wioth his friend, Fantasio foils their plan. Frankly it had nothing much new in this. However, the visual was good. The chase, the hiding, the beating, everything.
In Spirou in the Ring, Spirou is challenged by a well known boxer to fight with him. The other boxer is a bully and over-confident of his winning. Spirou takes the help of his friend Fantasio and starts practising for the Big fight which is the talk of the town. Meanwhile, Bert tries to stop him on his tracks. However, despite heating, Spirou wins and also wins over Bert.
Spirou goes Riding is funny where our dear friend goes riding on a eccentric horse. Read it and find out how! I adored this story! And fell in love with the horse!
And finally Spirou and the Pygmies has him and Fantasio visit a place called Rangapanga in Africa. There are two tribes, Browns and Backs there who are eternal enemies. A chance discovery leads to the fact that the blaks ar infact browns. The age old war is resolved! This story starts with a Leopard following Spirou!
All the four adventures are well depicted. One is pulled into the stories and comes to love the characters. I am definitely going for more Spirou books!
Title: Down to a Sunless Sea---Short Stories
Author: Mathias B. Freese
ISBN: 9781587367335
Publisher: Wheatmark/2007
Pages: 134
Mathias B. Freese offered me this book for reviewing and I gladly accepted it. It is a collection of 15 stories and fairly a thin book. I wouldn't call it an easy read. One needs to concentrate while reading. The mind deviates and one has to go back.
The stories border on the dark side of human nature. The lonely, melancholic side of it. Not the violent. Freese worked as a clinical social worker and psychotherapist for 25 years and that comes through in those stories. One can see the empathy for the troubled human beings who are taken to be deviants. His understanding and compassion for those comes through very well in the stories. He is insightful and not preachy at all.
His story telling is matter of fact without being sentimental at all. Nowhere I felt it bordering on mushiness. Maybe that is one reason, I felt connected to a few of the characters. As I teach so-called lower class, I can somewhat empathise despite the cultural differences. His stories are meant to make us think. Beyond ourselves.
Down to a Sunless Sea, the title story is about Adam, who has been pampered initially by his mother and after she dies and his father remarries, is ignored by his step mother. His internal thoughts speak of confusion and finally acceptance. I' ll Make It, I Think is about a boy who is physically deformed and has names for each part of his body. As he does not have friends, his body parts are very much his real friends. He is not at all emotional about his loneliness. He just takes it as a part of his life. In fact, he is glad that nothing is going to change. Freese has made use of symbolism in both the stories and that made me think of Marquez for a while. In a way, here it is easier to understand unlike Marquez whose work churn out ones brains.
The Chatham Bear is interesting. Here the sighting of the bear is more interesting than what really goes on in the town. More violent happenings are taken to be part of life. An harmless bear is talk of the town. Diesn't it speak for the human mind which tends to brush aside the unpleasant thoughts out of his mind and concentrates on trivialities?
Another story which made an instant impact is Herbie, a boy who is taught to shine shoes by his abusive father. When he wants to take it as a profession, his father objects. He cannot understand why. In Alabaster, a young boy meets a mother and a daughter and finds that the older woman has a number on her arm. He does not know yet that he has met a holocaust victim. The older woman, despite suffering, sees hope in the boy's eyes. This particular story touched me.
Juan Peron's Hands is somewhat macabre. Those are cut off and at the end shown to be just something which are of no value, after being taken away from Peron. Is it not symbolic? This goes deeper than just a pair of hands. Just Errands is a story I could wholly relate. The narrater keeps on thinking if he posted the two letters he wrote when he is outside of his home. One can understand his almost paranoid feeling about it. Most of us have gone through such thoughts at one time or the other, about certain things. We keep asking ourselves, did we or did we not?
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Father Was a Nazi is one of the stories which is not dark. Infact it is a tongue in cheek account written in 1991, much before Arnold became famous. Nicholas is about a boy of the same name who has huge problem with his teacher. He is not afraid to answer back. He speaks his mind and walks out. In my line of teaching, I have met such students.
Not going into details of the other stories, which are equally thoughtful, I say that this book is a good read. The short stories hold interest despite being dark. The darkness depicted here is not despair. It is that we chose to set aside by our own ignorance. One gets a deeper understanding of those human beings which are virtually neglected by us. In a way, this book might make us take a lenient view towards those by making us thing of them. That is one good reason to read the short stories.
I am going to look out for his other book The i'Tetrology. Mathias B Freese is one author to watch out for. He truly gets insides his characters and brings those to us. I for one, am very glad I read this book. A must read for serious readers. However, for light readers, I would say stay away from it.
Down to a Sunless Sea won Allbooks Reviews Editor's Choice Awards and was an Indie Excellence Book Awards Finalist.Check out these reviews too: Books Love Me
Bogorman
Reader Views
Curled Up
Breeni Books
Tanabata
