TIM O'BRIEN - THE NUCLEAR AGE (1985)

Synopsis/blurb...

1995: William Cowling, at forty-nine, is digging a hole in the garden of his ranch home. A hole for shelter, for solutions. After years of pent-up terror, he has finally found the courage of a fighting man, the courage to laugh in the face of his certain knowledge that the weapons of destruction massed all around us, and against us, must one day be unleashed. His story - including the lives of his friends and family, his lover Sarah and his wife Bobbi - is our own. His defiance of the insane intentions of our leaders could also be ours.

THE NUCLEAR AGE takes on our supreme unacknowledged terror, finds its lunatic core and transforms it into a moving and courageous story that speaks of, and to, an entire age: our own, our nuclear age. It is a fiercely inventive comic fable for our time. 

A re-read maybe 30 years after I initially read this one. I first discovered Tim O'Brien's work when in my Vietnam War reading phase. I read a couple of fantastic books by him - If I Die in a Combat Zone and Going After Cacciato. Ergo, hoover up everything he ever wrote and keep an eye out for new books from him. Well that's what I did.

The Nuclear Age has at its heart a subject that if I'm honest I think about now a lot less than I did during my teenager years of the 70s and early 80s ...... the threat of nuclear war. 

William Cowling at various times through the book ... is troubled by the thoughts of missiles flying over his head and world annihilation, makes a protective bunker in the basement of his parent's house comprised of an upturned table and graphite pencils, gets therapy at his parent's insistence, starts a high school/college protest movement against the bomb, snags the high school beauty, goes on the run when drafted for Vietnam, with his school friends and increasingly radical girlfriend joins a violent anarchist cell, receiving weapon's and military training while remaining non-violent himself, watches his father's funeral through binoculars while still a fugitive, works as a courier/messenger for the movement, falls in love with an elusive poetry writing air hostess who he pursues around the globe on and off until he eventually marries her, buys a mountain, sells a uranium rich mountain for a fortune (oh, the irony), and has a middle aged breakdown resulting in him incarcerating his wife and daughter under house arrest, while building a nuclear shelter in his front garden (or at least digging a big f-off hole).

It sounds weird as anything. The prose flicks backwards and forwards in time..... events of childhood, arguments with his daughter, college days, therapy, poems/notes from his wife, Vietnam dodging...

I think I liked it more second time around, maybe because I read it in a leisurely fashion - limiting myself to a chapter a day over the course of a month. 

I enjoyed some parts of the book more than others, particularly the period concerning the draft dodging and the involvement in a counter culture movement while still remaining non-violent. I can't quite decide whether William was brave or cowardly. 

Quite a thought provoking book which I liked overall. Not my favourite of his books but one which made me think about an important subject. One which I think I have become blasé about over the years, more so in the pre-Trump in the White House years. 

My two favourites of his remain in the collection for re-reads at some point, as well as a few others of his that came after this one .

3.5 from 5

Read - January, 2021

Published - 1985

Page count - 320

Source - owned copy

Format - Paperback

YUKITO AYATSUJI - THE DECAGON HOUSE MURDERS (2015)

 

Synopsis/blurb.....

The Japanese cult classic mystery

'Ayatsuji's brilliant and richly atmospheric puzzle will appeal to fans of golden age whodunits... Every word counts, leading up to a jaw-dropping but logical reveal' Publishers Weekly

The lonely, rockbound island of Tsunojima is notorious as the site of a series of bloody unsolved murders. Some even say it's haunted. One thing is for sure: it's the perfect destination for the K-University Mystery Club's annual trip.

But when the first club member turns up dead, the remaining amateur sleuths realise they will need all of their murder-mystery expertise to get off the island alive.

As the party are picked off one by one, the survivors grow desperate and paranoid, turning on each other. Will anyone be able to untangle the murderer's fiendish plan before it's too late?

Another read which reminded me of the Agatha Christie book, And Then There Were None, despite not having read it. Last month it was An Old-fashioned Mystery by Runa Fairleigh (aka L A Morse). This time we have a Japanese setting for Yukito Ayatsuji's The Decagon House Murders.

A group of friends, part of a mystery readers club, depart for a week long trip to an island, which was the scene of a tragedy a year ago, when four people perished. The details of the incident are murky. The popular theories concerning the event are; the gardener who is still missing murdered four people, set a fire and vanished, or alternately, the owner of the house murdered the gardener, passed his corpse off as himself and then fled.

The visitors from the club aren't seeking to investigate the tragedy per se, just spend some time on the island, have a snoop around, do some writing and agree on their next magazine. They have a week before they are due to be picked up. 

Inevitably, the members of the club start getting killed in the Decagon House, one by one, and as the number of victims increases, the number of suspects diminish, until eventually we are left with one.

On the mainland we have a couple of club members, not on the trip discussing the original events on the island and the untimely accidental death of a fellow club member which also happened in the past year or so. These members have received anonymous letters which are interpreted as threats. The belief is the other club members on the island have also received them. An amateur investigation of sorts starts, with the two guys travelling around interviewing family members connected to the original tragedy..... the gardener's wife and the brother of the guy who died on the island or who faked his death. Theories are constructed for the events of the past. 

It's quite a quick read, with chapters alternating between events on the mainland and happenings on the island. 

It's quite a clever book and I was taken by surprise at the outcome. So I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the book and also the rationale behind the crime. The motive was plausible and the manner and method of events believable for the most part.

I think for a book to elevate itself above and beyond - it was okay, I enjoyed it, I wasn't bored - status, it has to do several things for me. There needs to be an interesting story getting told. The writing needs to flow - no stilted, stunted, incomprehensible sentences that interrupt me and stop me turning the pages. The characters need to be interesting and I need to feel an emotional connection to several of them for the story to matter, be they victims or villains. The initial criterias were met, but as far as the characters were concerned, I just didn't feel anything for them. I didn't weep for any of the victims and neither did I share the killer's outrage and desire for revenge. On that level, I think it failed. 

Overall, more to like than dislike. The assertion at the top advertising its appeal to GA mystery fans is one I would agree with. 

3.5 from 5

Read - March, 2021

Published - 2015 

Page count - 288

Source - review copy from Edelweiss - Above the Treeline website

Format - Kindle

BRADY UDALL - THE MIRACLE LIFE OF EDGAR MINT (2001)

Synopsis/blurb....

Half-Apache and mostly orphaned, the adventures of Edgar Presley Mint begin on an Arizona reservation at the age of seven when the mailman's jeep accidently runs over his head. Shunted from the hospital to a reform school to a Mormon foster family, comedy and trouble accompany Edgar -  the irresistible innocent who never truly loses heart, and whose quest for the mailman eventually leads him to an unexpected home.

A bit of literary fiction for a change and a book that I bought new when it came out 20 years ago. It's just taken me a while to get around to it. I had planned on reading it back in 2014 as part of a still unfiinshed reading challenge I signed up for. It was book 11 of 14, so I'm nearly there seven years after the event!

Elements of John Irving, as we follow the eventful life of young Edgar Mint from the moment a mailman runs over his head with a truck. A kind of absurd start, which is followed by more incidents of a similar ilk. 

Hospitalisation, survival, recovery, fleeting connections, relocation, school, loneliness, rejection, abandonment, outsider status, bullying, more trauma, on the move again, family life experienced but in a far from normal environment, bereavement, depression, disruption, adoloscence, a continuation of a quest, finally a home and a sense of being wanted.

There's a lot of sadness and trauma in Edgar's life, which is met with bewilderment, but also acceptance and resilience.  I shared his despair and disappointment, but instead of souring him on life, there's a stoicism about him. His over-riding obsession is to track down the mailman who fled, blood soaked from his accident to reassure him that he survived. When he eventually receives a location for the man, towards the end of the book, there is a surprising twist to the tale.  

Humour blends with the sadness and the book does have more than a few comedy moments. It's a difficult read in places. You wonder how much misery one person can endure. I suppose it's a testament to the unfairness of life and the vagaries of fate.

A slow steady read during the month. I set myself a target of a certain number of pages to read a day and stuck to the goal, which I think enhanced my enjoyment as I wasn't rushing the read and instead savoured it.

Overall I really enjoyed it.

4 from 5

Letting Loose the Hounds, a short story collection by the author was read back in 2012, before I started blogging.

Read - February, 2021

Published - 2001

Page count - 432

Source - purchased copy

Format - paperback

RICHARD GODWIN - THE PURE AND THE HATED (2016)

 

Synopsis/blurb....

A mourning father takes a troubled man into his home only to lead a deranged lunatic to his door in this noir thriller from the author of Savage Highway.

After Shepherd Butler finds Maxwell Heed freezing in the forest in Vermont, he takes him into his home with his wife, his nieces, and his sister. They instantly take to Maxwell. He’s a sincere, religious man, seeking to understand the nature of forgiveness. He feels like just another member of the family.

Then he opens up to Shepherd and his wife about the man who killed his fiancée…

Temple Jones is a dangerous psychopath who preys on women. He has escaped justice, and Maxwell fears he has followed him to Vermont. Shepherd tries to ease Maxwell’s fears, but Maxwell soon vanishes…

And Temple Jones shows up….

“Godwin writes intelligent noir from a unique psychological perspective, delving deep into the nobler motives and emotions of his engaging characters while examining the darkest corners of the human heart. The faceless villain in this chiller is as real as a razor cut….Before you sit down on a cool dark night to enjoy this one, make sure the doors and windows are locked.”—Phil Bowie, author of the John Hardin series

An intense, gripping, graphic and as a consequence sometimes difficult read as Richard Godwin's The Pure and The Hated illustrates the damage that can occur, when kind, generous and trusting people display too much humanity, leaving themselves wide open to destruction at the hands of a disturbed psychopath. 

Shepherd Butler and his wife already feel as if they have lost nearly everything there is to lose. Their son died in a hunting accident and they are struggling both as individuals and as a couple. Shepherd Butler and his wife are wrong.

Charity towards a homeless man, results in a horrifying chain of events which wreaks havoc and terror on an already bereft married couple and their extended family. In truth events have already begun to play out, even before Shephard's meeting with a homeless man in a snowy Vermont wood.

Family secrets, best hidden and buried are ruthlessly exposed and exploited, connections, histories, crossed paths, mental health issues, abuse, violence, sexual assault, rape, death and lots more besides.

Not a book for the faint of heart. The detail of the inhumanity on display, contrasts vividly with the descriptions of a wintery Vermont. Not a book I'm likely to forget in a hurry. Some powerful writing from Richard Godwin.

4 from 5

Richard Godwin has been read and enjoyed before - Ersatz World in 2019. 

Read - (listened to) January, 2021

Published - 2016

Page count - 129 (3 hrs 2 mins)

Source - Audible purchase

Format - Audible

DAVID PUTNAM - THE HEARTLESS (2020)

 

Synopsis/blurb....

Perfect for fans of Robert Crais and John Sandford

Former LA County Deputy Bruno Johnson is now a bailiff in the courts having stepped down from his role on the Violent Crimes Team to spend more time with his daughter, Olivia. Bruno fears his job decision may have come too late when he gets a frantic call to extricate Olivia from a gunpoint situation in a LA gang-infested neighborhood. His desperation escalates when he realizes Louis Barkow, a stone-cold killer awaiting trial, had orchestrated that deadly tableau.

When Barkow and three other criminals break out of jail and hit the streets, Bruno is plunged back into violent crime mode. Now, the agenda is personal - Olivia has become a pawn in the desperate chase of this sinister murderer. The walls are caving in on Bruno as violence escalates in his hunt for Barkow and his heart strings are stretched to the breaking point as he struggles to protect his daughter not only from the criminal violence swirling around them, but from Olivia's own impetuous life choices.

Another enjoyable Bruno Johnson outing, with The Heartless, the seventh in the series blasted through in a couple of days intense reading. It's been a while since I read one of the series and I'd forgotten how much I enjoy them.

LA setting, an imperfect main character trying to do right by his family, and despite the best intentions not always getting it right. Here Bruno gets caught up in the hunt for a violent escaped convict. Unfortunately so does his daughter, Olivia.

Fast-paced, exciting, violent, a touch of romance, family, collateral damage, a manhunt, confrontation and a resolution.

It's kind of hard to articulate what makes these books work for me. There's a familiarity with certain characters - Bruno's dad and Robbie Wicks, a former partner and mentor in law enforcement. There's an always welcome LA setting. And there's always a problem or two to be solved, usually involving some measure of heavy physicality as well as street smarts and an ability to detect and chase down an assailant. All served up in short tight chapters, which kind of keep you sucked in and turning pages.

My kind of reading.

4 from 5

The earlier books in the series which have all been enjoyed are....

1. The Disposables (2014)
2. The Replacements (2015)
3. The Squandered (2016)
4. The Vanquished (2017)
5. The Innocents (2018) 

6. The Reckless (2019)

Roll on book 8 - The Ruthless!

Read - February, 2021

Published - 2020

Page count - 336

Source - review copy from author

Format - trade paperback ARC  

OCTOBER 2020 - FILMS (CINEMA)

Well rightly or wrongly our cinema re-opened in October for a short period. 

Rightly or wrongly, we took advantage of that fact and splurged on a few films in the month....

                                                                    Kajillionaire (2020)

Probably my favourite film of the month, just shading it a fraction over The Burnt Orange Heresy. 

We have a small time family of crooks and their daily grifts and petty cons. I was reminded a little bit of another film about grifters - Matchstick Men. I bloody loved that one too. 

I found the film incredibly sad and affecting because of the parent's callousness and disregard for their daughter. Every interaction was viewed as a transaction and valued by whether or not it brought any economic gain to the unequal threesome. I thought Evan Rachel Woods' performance as Old Dolio (the daughter) was outstanding. Ably supported by Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger. Not a film I will forget in a hurry and one for me to track down when released on DVD. Some people just aren't cut out for parenthood.

From Wikipedia....

Kajillionaire is a 2020 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Miranda July. The film stars Evan Rachel Wood, Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins as members of a close-knit petty crime family whose relationship becomes frayed when a stranger played by Gina Rodriguez joins their schemes.

Kajillionaire had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020 and was released in theaters on September 25, 2020, followed by video on demand on October 16, 2020 by Focus Features in the United States and by Universal Pictures internationally.

                                                                  Saint Maud (2020)

A few month's on (5 to be sure) and I can't remember too much about this one. I don't recall hating it, I don't recall loving it. I guess I enjoyed it because it didn't suck and it was a rare night out during 2020.

From Google...

Maud is a reclusive young nurse whose impressionable demeanour causes her to pursue a pious path of Christian devotion after an obscure trauma. Now charged with the hospice care of Amanda, a retired dancer ravaged by cancer, Maud's fervent faith quickly inspires an obsessive conviction that she must save her ward's soul from eternal damnation, whatever the cost.

                                                                  Ammonite (2020)

Once upon a time if I had a choice between watching Kate Winslett or sticking a knitting needle in my eye, I would have unhesitatingly reached for the needle. I must be getting older, and like a good wine am maturing with age. I didn't actually mind this one. 

A bit of a Victorian romance of the unconventional sort. Not amazing and I won't be rushing to watch it again, but it was enjoyable. 

Loneliness, isolation, women under valued in a male world, marriage, neglect, companionship blossoming into friendship, then love and some confusion over how to prolong those feelings.

From Google....

Acclaimed paleontologist Mary Anning works alone selling common fossils to tourists to support her ailing mother, but a chance job offer changes her life when a visitor hires her to care for his wife.

                                                                  All My Life (2020)

Based on a true story and more than a little bit sad. 

Young love between a couple gets de-railed by terminal cancer. The end.

I don't know that you can ever really enjoy films like this, while appreciating them, trying to empathise with all those affected and thanking your own lucky stars.

From Google....

Jennifer Carter and Solomon Chau are a sweet, fun-loving, newly engaged couple who are ready to start their lives together. But when Solomon is diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, their hopes for a summer wedding become impossible. With time running out, their friends and families soon devise an inspirational plan to help Jennifer and Solomon realize their dream wedding.

                                                                        Pixie (2020)

One that I fancied the look of, but my wife wasn't overly keen on. She was more right than me. It was okay. A bit too much of a try hard film ..... over stretching on the need to appear edgy and cool and energetic. It had it's moments and I'm glad I watched it, but I don't need to see it again thanks. 

From Wikipedia.....

Pixie is a 2020 British comedy thriller film directed by Barnaby Thompson. The film stars Olivia Cooke, Ben Hardy, Daryl McCormack, Colm Meaney and Alec Baldwin.

The film was released in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2020 by Paramount Pictures.

Premise

A woman and two men find themselves on the run in the Irish countryside after a heist gone wrong.

                                                     The Burnt Orange Heresy (2019)

One I was anticipating ever since I heard about it and it didn't disappoint. I pretty much loved every minute of it. I read the book of the same name by Charles Willeford maybe 30 years ago. I want to read it again sometime soon. 

Mesmerising. One to seek out on DVD.

From Wikipedia....

The Burnt Orange Heresy is a 2019 crime thriller film directed by Giuseppe Capotondi and with a screenplay by Scott Smith. The film is based on the book of the same name by Charles Willeford and stars Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Mick Jagger, and Donald Sutherland.

The Burnt Orange Heresy was selected as the closing film at the 76th Venice International Film Festival and was released on March 6, 2020, by Sony Pictures Classics.

Synopsis

Art critic James Figueras is enlisted by a wealthy art dealer to steal a painting from reclusive painter Jerome Debney.

                                                                 Honest Thief  (2020)

Quite like Liam Neeson as a rule...... Taken, Taken 2, (was there a Taken 3?), Love Actually, The Grey, A Walk Among the Tombstones. Not one of his better films TBH. 

Ok overall. I wasn't bored, but neither was I on the edge of my seat.

From IMDB....

Wanting to lead an honest life, a notorious bank robber turns himself in, only to be double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents.

Rankings

1 Kajillionaire

2 The Burnt Orange Heresy

3 Ammonite

4 Pixie

5 All My Life

6 Honest Thief

7 Saint Maud

OCTOBER 2020 - FILMS + TV (HOME VIEWING)

Ha, five months after the event and most definitely more for my own amusement than anyone else's - and before they vanish totally from the memory banks....

                                          Law and Order UK - Series 6 (2011/12) - ITV Drama

Missed this series first time around when it aired which was disappointing. I was a fan of the US show and have enjoyed this one just as much. I like the set up, with the crime, the police and the prosecution case. I like the main man, Bradley Walsh as the ever present detective, which all the other main players having been replaced by fresher faces. There is a season 7 and 8, but I might need to track down a DVD for them as they didn't get a re-run this time.

From IMDB.....

S6, Ep1 - Survivor's Guilt

 

A drive-by shooting outside the Old Bailey leaves one police officer dead and another wounded in what appears to be a targeted attack on a witness giving evidence in an attempted murder trial.

  

ImmuneS6, Ep2 - Immune

 

A bungled robbery leads to a have-a-go hero being shot dead and a hostage seized by two armed gunmen.

  

S6, Ep3 - Haunted

 

The deathbed confession of a petty criminal to the murder of a teenage girl leaves DS Ronnie Brooks shaken to the core as he is forced to reopen a case he thought he had put to bed fourteen years ago.

 

S6, Ep4 - Trial

The murder of an elderly janitor in his home one afternoon is carried out with such precision and planning that the only evidence the killer leaves is designed to lead the detectives a merry dance.

 

S6, Ep5 - Line Up

 

A murder enquiry is launched when a concerned citizen alerts the police to a shocking video spreading like wildfire on the web.

 

S6, Ep6 - Dawn Till Dusk

 

Over one long day, the team work flat-out on three separate cases involving a serial killer, a family dispute turned murderous, and an accusation of police intimidation.

 

S6, Ep7 - Fault Lines

The frenzied stabbing of a police forensic lab technician unsettles our team in a way they never expected when DS Sam Casey falls for the killer’s next intended victim.

                                                    The Paramedic (2020) - Netflix Film

Another tense edge of the seat drama, with a few moments where you find yourself yelling at the screen, imploring a character to get out and get away. It's a Spanish film which we watched dubbed in English. None of the cast was familiar to me, but it didn't stop us enjoying it. Make sure you have a cushion handy to cling on to if you view it.

From IMDB....

Angel works in an ambulance service. After a tragic accident, his personal life begins to deteriorate as he becomes more and more suspicious of his partner Vane.

                                         Ratched - Season 1 (2020) - Netflix TV Drama

One I enjoyed without ever being stunned and amazed. I do like seeing Sarah Paulson on screen. I'm not putting my life on hold waiting for the second series.

From Wikipedia....

Ratched is an American psychological thriller streaming television series created by Evan Romansky, developed by Ryan Murphy and starring Sarah Paulson in the title role. The series, a prequel to Saul Zaentz's 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (based on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel of the same name), depicts the life of Mildred Ratched prior to the events portrayed in the film, albeit in a different state (California as opposed to the film's Oregon). Ratched received a two-season series order; the first season premiered on Netflix on September 18, 2020.

                                                                Jungle (2017) - Film

Very tense and enjoyable, and based on a true story. Daniel Radcliffe proves there is life after Harry Potter.

From IMDB.....

A group of friends join a guide for a trek into the Bolivian jungle, searching for an Indian village. The men soon realize that the jungle is a difficult place to be.