A curmudgeon writes.
Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The War on Drugs has been in existence for decades. Thousands of people – if not millions – have died as a result of the prosecution of this war. But we’re never allowed, really, to question the success or the basic justice of such an event: drugs are bad, right?
Well now. Continue reading “Book review: Chasing the Scream”
Wind/Pinball: Two Novels by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
So, here we have two of Murakami’s earliest books placed back in print after thirty years. This reprint helps those outside Japan compare the gnomic author’s beginnings to his current work, without resorting to organ-sale prices for the original Kodansha English Library printing.
I was excited to read these, I must admit, largely because what’s presented are until-now missing parts of the author’s series of Rat novels. The problem is that they seem to offer not much more than a basic introduction to the characters, and a collection of random observations. There’s a lack of focus that’s frustrating (even by Murakami standards) and I assume this is why the books were out of English circulation for so long – apparently the author felt them unworthy of translation after the initial in-Japan run. Continue reading “Book review: Wind/Pinball: Two Novels”
I have always liked Edgar Allan Poe, though I will freely admit that I have never really understood him as well as I would like.
Oh, I get the stories well enough. I know where they’re going. I can see the shadows they cast, the histories they reference, and even – on my better days – the jokes and knowing winks that he peppers throughout for observant readers to pick up. But I think, more than his now slightly wordy and archaic writing style, there’s a distance between Ed and I that can’t be crossed.
And I’m kind of OK with that. He’s been a sort of uneasy hero of mine for many years, now, and though I have always tempered my thumbs-ups with an acknowledgement of the problems of having him as a role-model (less for the cousin-marrying alcoholic part and more for the proud hack with ghosts to get out part) I feel it’s the fact that there’s something about him and his work that doesn’t click fully with me, that feels off, that aids his stature for me. The fact that something doesn’t fit, that something is weird: it’s a boon rather than a cause for pause. Continue reading “The power of Poe”
Death in Brunswick by Boyd Oxlade
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Boyd Oxlade’s a one-hit wonder, as far as writing is concerned. He recently died, having almost completed his second novel, and it’s a shame it won’t see the light of day, because this one is a ripper.
Imagine something close to an examination of the outsider, a meditation on friendship, a crime story and a kitchen-sink recounting of the life of a chef and a gravedigger (both jobs the author had held, tellingly) and you’re getting close. Continue reading “Book review: Death in Brunswick”
The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Leonora Carrington is a deeply strange writer. Given that a biography of the author features how
“Subjected to horrifying treatment in a Madrid asylum, she was rescued by her nanny who arrived in a submarine.”
this is probably unsurprising. Continue reading “Book review: The Hearing Trumpet”
My Lovely Ghost KANA, Volume 3 by Yutaka Tanaka
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This review is brief, as there’s not really all that much I can add to my previous two reviews of this manga. This, the third volume, brings to a close the supernatural romance’s run, and leaves us with little more knowledge than when we began.
The problem with My Lovely Ghost KANA is that there’s not much of an overarching story. Guy meets ghostgirl, they drink beer and shag, and the background of neither is explained very well. Continue reading “Book review: My Lovely Ghost KANA, Volume 3”
The Book of the Dead: Lives of the Justly Famous and the Undeservedly Obscure by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received this for a birthday present, and have only just completed it. I don’t know why it took so long for me to pull it off the shelf, but I’m glad I did. It’s full of wry humour and life lessons, though it imparts these without being preachy. Plus, it has a boss front cover. I mean, a skeleton wearing a dunce cap? Nice.
This book is a Who’s Who of dead people. Except rather than being an alphabetical collection, it’s thematic – the corpses are bundled together by theme rather than surname, which means you get to have a section where Epicurus rubs shoulders with Benjamin Franklin and Moll Cutpurse (because they were all happy-go-lucky), as well as a section where the dead are united by monkeys. Continue reading “Book review: The Book of the Dead: Lives of the Justly Famous and the Undeservedly Obscure”
Amnesia by Peter Carey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve long been a fan of Peter Carey’s work, so I was pleased to be given Amnesia as a birthday present. I was further pleased to discover that, though the work is flawed, he’s created here one of his more memorable characters – Felix Moore, a weakling, a drinker, a leftie and crucially, a journalist.
Having worked in the industry for years, the portraiture is remarkably accurate. There’s a quote in it,
“I had a lifetime of hard-won technical ability but was my heart sufficient… Did I have the courage for something more than a five-column smash and grab?”
which pretty much encapsules the mind of the jobbing journo in a few scant lines. Continue reading “Book review: Amnesia (2014)”
The Six Messiahs by Mark Frost
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The second (and so far final) in Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost’s series of books featuring a fictionalised Arthur Conan Doyle as a character isn’t a great departure from the first. Once more, our trusty author – now thoroughly jack of Holmes – is caught up in world-changing events of a supernatural nature and must fight with Jack Sparks (Holmes’ inspiration in this world) to prevent catastrophe, and a universal loss of stiff upper lip.
On this outing, Doyle embarks on a tour of the US to escape his failing wife (and marriage). The trip to the land of the Yankee provides plenty of space for period detail, and also ensures Frost can add a fairly big dose of cowboy-and-religion imagery to the creeping Lovecraftian grimness featured in the first volume. Continue reading “Book review: The Six Messiahs”
My Lovely Ghost KANA, Volume 2 by Yutaka Tanaka
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It’s a little difficult to review this volume of the tale of Dai and Kana as it’s largely the same as that which came before: regular life interspersed with some well-shielded sex.
My feelings for it remain the same as they were when I wrote my review of the first volume: it’s nothing earthshattering, but it is pretty enjoyable, and seems a very true-to-life observation of how relationships change. There’s hints of greater darkness here – and the introduction of other characters to the apartment complex, though this hasn’t (yet) created any untoward drama – but it’s still pretty lighthearted. Continue reading “Book review: My Lovely Ghost KANA, Volume 2”
Yeah nah. 