Category: Reviews

Review: A Handful of Dust

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Evelyn Waugh, A Handful of Dust

This novel, set mainly among the leisured class of 1930s England, follows a small group of social acquaintances and sheds light on their shallow approach to life. Brenda Last is married to Tony, a traditional English gentleman who is devoted to preserving his estate. Bored and lonely in the country, Brenda decides to spend more time in London. She soon enters into an affair with John Beaver, an idle young man with no job and not much money, whose greatest talent is lunching at other people’s expense. Tony is oblivious to what’s going on until a shocking tragedy forces his failing marriage into the limelight. As the Lasts try to cope with the fallout from Brenda’s infidelity, they both hope that striking out on their own will bring them happiness, but their efforts are ultimately doomed to failure.

I’m the kind of person who tends to enjoy books with happy endings and likable protagonists. I figure, why read a book that’s just going to depress you? But this book is the antithesis of the qualities I just mentioned, and I still thought it was excellent. Most of the main characters are horrible, odious people, but they’re like a train wreck that I couldn’t look away from. I did sympathize with Tony quite a bit, especially because of one truly heinous thing that Brenda said (don’t want to spoil, so unfortunately I can’t be specific). The whole time, I was hoping that things would somehow work out in the end, even though I knew it was extremely unlikely. I’m also a fan of Waugh’s writing style: he mocks his characters mercilessly, but you can’t really fault him for it because they truly deserve it! So I would definitely recommend this book to fans of classic literature, even those who prefer more lighthearted literature.

Review: A Red Herring Without Mustard

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A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan…Alan Bradley, A Red Herring Without Mustard

At the church fête in Bishop’s Lacey, Flavia de Luce is drawn to the fortune-teller’s tent, where a local Gypsy gazes into a crystal ball to see the past or the future — for a price. Flavia impulsively invites the Gypsy woman to camp on the grounds of Buckshaw but is shocked when she finds the woman badly beaten the next morning. Who would want to harm the Gypsy, and could the incident possibly be related to an alleged kidnapping that took place several years ago? As usual, Flavia is excited to be in the thick of a mystery, especially when the body of a poacher is soon afterwards found at Buckshaw. Once again, Flavia is on the case, accompanied by her trusty bicycle Gladys. But will she be able to beat local policeman Inspector Hewitt to the solution?

I don’t have too much to say about this book other than what I already said about The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag. I enjoyed this installment of the series a bit more because the pacing is better. The Gypsy woman is attacked very early in the book, so the mystery kicks off right away. As always, it’s fun to follow Flavia along in her investigations; I especially like when she pretends to be a sweet, innocent little girl. I’m also continuing to enjoy the fraught familial relationships of the de Luce family. Honestly, I get a bit angry with the father sometimes. Why isn’t he paying more attention to his girls? And Ophelia and Daphne are so consistently mean to Flavia that it’s almost unbelievable. There are a few flickers of kindness from them, but mostly they terrorize her — which is fun to read but also a bit one-note. Still, I enjoyed this book a lot and look forward to I Am Half-Sick of Shadows.

Review: The Man in the Queue

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The Man in the Queue by Josephine TeyJosephine Tey, The Man in the Queue

When an unidentified man is stabbed to death while waiting in line outside a theater, the crime becomes an immediate sensation in London. Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is assigned to the case, which at first seems impossible. The people standing closest to the dead man noticed nothing, and the murderer seems to have left no trace behind. However, eventually one witness mentions that he saw the dead man arguing with someone in the queue — someone who afterwards left in a hurry. With the help of this statement, Grant is soon on the trail of the man who argued with the victim. However, the more evidence Grant obtains, the more complicated the case seems to grow.

My experience so far with Josephine Tey has been very hit-or-miss: I was disappointed by The Daughter of Time, I really liked Brat Farrar, and now I find myself underwhelmed by this book. I read in the introduction that Tey didn’t like to use the standard conventions of the mystery genre, and that’s certainly evident in this novel. A lot of the book takes place inside Grant’s head, as he immediately begins to theorize about what sort of man might have committed this crime. Thus, much of the novel is Grant jumping to conclusions and then being proved wrong as more evidence is uncovered — which may be true to life but isn’t a lot of fun to read about. The mystery is also technically not “fair,” as the solution comes out of nowhere with no clues given in advance. So I wasn’t a huge fan of this book, but I think I will try some more Josephine Tey in hopes of finding something better.

Review: Light Boxes

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Light Boxes: A Novel by Shane JonesShane Jones, Light Boxes

This slight novel is set in an unnamed town that’s experiencing perpetual winter. The townspeople know that this is caused by a godlike being named February, who has also banned all forms of flight. Birds fall from the sky, kites don’t work, and hot-air balloonist Thaddeus Lowe can no longer take to the sky. The town’s children begin to go missing, and adults commit suicide out of their desperation and despair. Eventually Thaddeus and some of the townspeople decide to fight back, but how can their pitiful efforts outmatch the might of February?

I should say right up front that I don’t think I’m the right audience for this book. I loved the concept, and the cover blurb made me think that it would be sort of a magical fable. But ultimately I just didn’t get the point of the book; in fact, I’m not entirely sure it has one. The writing style is lyrical, almost like poetry — and maybe I’d have liked the book more if I’d approached it as poetry rather than a novel. The plot is interesting, but it’s only outlined as the merest sketch. I felt like a lot more could have been done with the ballooning/flying idea, for example. That said, I don’t think this is a bad book at all, and I’m sure there are many people who would absolutely love it. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me.

Review: The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag

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The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by…Alan Bradley, The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag

In  this second Flavia de Luce novel, the town of Bishop’s Lacey plays host to some prestigious guests from the BBC. Rupert Porson, puppeteer and creator of the popular TV show “The Magic Kingdom,” has arrived in town with his entourage and plans to put on a show. Naturally, Flavia is in the thick of things, helping to set up the show and making friends with Rupert’s beautiful companion, Nialla. Being an exceptionally observant child, Flavia notices that there is some tension between Rupert and Nialla, and also that Rupert seems to have a surprising number of acquaintances in Bishop’s Lacey. When Rupert is murdered during the climactic moment of his show, Flavia is on the case, using her intelligence and passion for chemistry to discover the killer and uncover new information about a years-old tragedy.

How you feel about this series will largely depend on how you feel about its narrator and protagonist, Flavia de Luce. She’s an incredibly precocious 11-year-old girl who has an encyclopedic knowledge of poisons and can’t keep her nose out of a mystery. Personally, I don’t find her remotely believable, or even very likable, but she is extremely entertaining. This book moves fairly slowly, with lots of top-heavy exposition as the main players are introduced. For this reason, I was less interested in the mystery than in the de Luce family dynamics, which are both fascinating and a little disturbing. But fans of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie will undoubtedly enjoy this second installment of the series, and I’ve already borrowed the next two books from the library.

Review: Jamaica Inn

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Jamaica Inn by Daphne du MaurierDaphne Du Maurier, Jamaica Inn

Mary Yellan is a young woman who finds herself alone in the world when her mother dies. She decides to seek out her Aunt Patience, who lives not far away at Jamaica Inn. But as Mary travels to her new home, the coachman warns her that it’s not a respectable place and that it could be dangerous for a young woman like her. Nonetheless, Mary continues her journey, but she soon finds that the coachman was right. Her uncle, Joss Merlyn, is a brutish drunkard who completely dominates Aunt Patience with violence. Joss is also involved in some extremely unsavory business activities, which Mary does her best to ignore for her aunt’s sake. But eventually, Joss and his sinister confederates perpetrate an outrage that is too shocking to ignore, and Mary must decide whom she can trust to ask for help.

I’ve read several books by Daphne Du Maurier, and this is the first one that I really didn’t like. Honestly, my overall reaction was simply meh. The prose is too flowery, the plot is too melodramatic, and the whole thing is entirely too drawn-out and predictable. I knew immediately what Joss Merlyn’s mysterious business was, I knew whom Mary would end up with, and I knew who the bad guy was — all before the book was half over. In such a slow-paced book whose main entertainment value is the suspense, this much predictability just made the whole thing dull, in my opinion. So all in all, I wasn’t a fan. It’s one of Du Maurier’s earlier works, though, so presumably her writing style matured over the years. I would definitely recommend Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel or Frenchman’s Creek instead!

Review: Death at Wentwater Court

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Carola Dunn, Death at Wentwater Court

The Honorable Daisy Dalrymple doesn’t need to work for a living, but she’d rather be independent than live with her disagreeable relatives. She works as a journalist, writing about English country houses for the society columns. Her latest assignment is at Wentwater Court; since Daisy knows the family slightly, it shouldn’t be difficult for her to get some good interviews. Daisy arrives in the midst of a small house party and soon notices tension within the group. When one of the guests is found dead, everyone assumes it’s an accident, but Daisy finds evidence that points to murder. Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard arrives to take charge of the case, and Daisy is eager to assist the investigation. But what if the murderer is someone she knows and cares about?

This is a fun little cozy mystery set in the 1920s. Daisy Dalrymple is a likable heroine — cheerful, intelligent, modern but not unbelievably so. I often get annoyed with amateur detectives in mystery novels, because they always seem to do stupid things (not tell the police everything, go off to hunt the killer on their own, etc.). But here, Daisy works with the police, and her motives are pretty plausible: she wants to help prove her friends’ innocence if possible, and she’s attracted to Inspector Fletcher. And from Alec’s point of view, it makes sense to ask for Daisy’s help because she knows the people involved but is still a somewhat impartial observer. The actual plot is somewhat unoriginal and forgettable, but the book is still a pleasant read. I wouldn’t mind reading more in the Daisy Dalrymple series.

Review: Year Zero

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Year Zero: A Novel by Rob ReidRob Reid, Year Zero

Nick Carter is a midlevel associate at an intellectual property law firm. His biggest problems are lack of job security — if he doesn’t get on the partner track soon, he’ll most likely be fired — and his crush on the hot girl in his apartment building. But things get a whole lot worse for Nick when two aliens suddenly appear in his office and announce that Earth is in serious trouble. The aliens explain that Earth’s music is the most popular in the universe and that various alien species have been pirating the music at an alarming rate. Due to Earth’s copyright laws, the aliens owe us a whole lot of money — and they’re not happy about it. Can Nick use his legal knowledge and bluffing ability to save the world?

This is an extremely clever sci-fi novel whose success really depends on its premise. If the idea of aliens getting all worked up over copyright infringement appeals to you, you’ll most likely enjoy this book. Personally, I thought it was a funny and entertaining read. The satire of U.S. copyright laws and their total inability to deal with the Internet is pretty spot-on, but the book mostly focuses on silliness rather than social commentary. I loved the musical in-jokes, which mostly focus on classic rock (“year zero” to the aliens is 1977, the year in which they were first exposed to Earth music). Gotta love a universe where aliens will be reduced to a state of quivering ecstasy by hearing a Simply Red song! Anyway, as I said, if you like the premise, this one is worth a read.

Review: Death in Zanzibar

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Death in Zanzibar by M. M. KayeM.M. Kaye, Death in Zanzibar

Dany Ashton has lived a fairly sheltered life with her Aunt Henrietta in rural England, but she dreams of travel and adventure. So when she has the opportunity to visit her mother and stepfather in Zanzibar, she jumps at the chance. However, before she even gets on the plane to leave England, mysterious events conspire to throw obstacles in her path. Her room is searched, her passport is stolen — and the family solicitor, whom Dany had visited earlier in the day to pick up a document for her stepfather, is murdered. Dany nevertheless manages to get to Zanzibar, but more sinister occurrences follow her. When a member of her stepfather’s house party dies, seemingly by accident, Dany can’t help suspecting that it might be murder — and that her own life may also be in danger.

I have really enjoyed all the “Death in…” books, but I think this one is my new favorite. I liked that there isn’t a lot of tedious exposition at the beginning of the story; rather, Dany is immediately plunged into a mystery and a possible romance, so I was paying attention right away. It was also interesting to read about 1950s Zanzibar from a British perspective. Kaye describes it as an idyllic region fairly removed from politics, yet communism and Cold War ideology are beginning to creep into the area. Kaye is also fairly evenhanded in her portrayal of the native Africans, though certain turns of phrase are harsh on 21st-century ears. If you like the basic premise of “girl travels to exotic location and becomes embroiled in danger and romance,” you’ll probably enjoy this book. Recommended, especially for armchair travelers!

Review: Gone Girl

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Gone Girl by Gillian FlynnGillian Flynn, Gone Girl

Nick and Amy Dunne are attractive thirty-somethings living in a large house in Missouri, right by the Mississippi River. From the outside, they seem to have a charmed life, but in fact they’ve been having increasingly severe marital problems. Then, on their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy goes missing. Suspicion naturally falls on Nick, since in these situations it’s usually the husband who is guilty. Did Nick kill Amy, and if not, what happened to her? As the narrative slowly unfolds, the truth becomes ever more complex and more elusive.

This is the kind of book that’s really hard to discuss without major spoilers, but I’ll do my best not to give anything away! For starters, this is not my usual genre; I hardly ever read thrillers, but this one is so popular that I decided to see what all the fuss was about. Overall I think I enjoyed the book, or at any rate I found it compelling. I got sucked into the story and had to keep turning the pages to find out what would happen next. Neither Nick nor Amy is entirely likable, and they both get more unpleasant as the book goes on. But it was fun to chase all the plot twists and try to stay one step ahead of the narrators. (Nick and Amy take turns narrating, him from the time of the disappearance and her from diary entries written beforehand.) I didn’t like the ending, though obviously I can’t be more specific. Still, this is a good read for what it is, and I’d recommend it for planes or beaches (but definitely not on your honeymoon!).