Adam Gidwitz imagines the further adventures of the familiar Hansel and Gretel, but returns them to the dark, bloody Grimm source instead of the saferAdam Gidwitz imagines the further adventures of the familiar Hansel and Gretel, but returns them to the dark, bloody Grimm source instead of the safer, prettier versions most of us grew up with. Gidwitz advocates for exposing children to this darker side of life and literature, and I have to agree with him, but what makes these stories compelling is the vibrancy and compelling action with which he tells them, plus a little philosophizing about bravery and the benefits of fear. The stories are told with knowing, cynical authorial asides that are extremely reminiscent of Lemony Snicket and a little too cute for my taste but my resident 9 year old was quite taken with it....more
Pretty compelling gothic potboiler set in the frozen winter of 1907 in Wisconsin. A woman with a racy past has answered a rich widowed industrialist'sPretty compelling gothic potboiler set in the frozen winter of 1907 in Wisconsin. A woman with a racy past has answered a rich widowed industrialist's advertisement for a wife, and she is determined to present herself as the perfect demure candidate. But all is not as it appears, and more than one character is playing a longer game.
A little overwritten, but still fun to read....more
An excellent collection of stories, told from the point of view of a defense lawyer, of various crimes and criminals. The crimes ranges from violent cAn excellent collection of stories, told from the point of view of a defense lawyer, of various crimes and criminals. The crimes ranges from violent crimes of passion, to gangland enforcement, to mercy killings, to compulsions. Each is told with a clean, dispassionate voice, but which allows some glimpse at the messiness of the human condition to seep through....more
Another top-notch procedural/historical fiction by Tom Bradby, this set during January 1917 in St. Petersburg, with Russia on the verge of cataclysm. Another top-notch procedural/historical fiction by Tom Bradby, this set during January 1917 in St. Petersburg, with Russia on the verge of cataclysm.
Sandro Ruzsky is the chief inspector of the city police, just returned from serving time in Siberia, after taking responsibility for an act committed by his partner. He received a relatively lenient sentence because of his position as eldest son of a prominent family, albeit one of which he is the black sheep.
Now returned, Sandro is living in a cheap apartment while his unfaithful wife and his son live in opulence with Sandro's widowed father and his brother. Early on New Year's Day, a couple is found brutally murdered in the center of the city, spurring an investigation that will take Sandro to Yalta, to his ancestral home where family tragedies and secrets remain, and to the palace of the Tsar and Tsarina themselves, uncovering revolutionary plots and corruption.
As with The Master of Rain, which explores 1920s Shanghai, Bradby creates a completely realized world, meticulously researched, that sets the scene for events both personal and world-changing. Plus, some ripping good mysteries....more
When we meet Jack, he is celebrating his fifth birthday. His Ma has gifted him with a portrait and a cake decorated with five chocolate candies she haWhen we meet Jack, he is celebrating his fifth birthday. His Ma has gifted him with a portrait and a cake decorated with five chocolate candies she has hoarded from their meager rations. Jack has never been outside Room, the eleven foot square soundproof shed in which he was born after his mother was kidnapped at 19 by the man Jack calls Old Nick, who visits Ma each night while Jack hides in the wardrobe.
Referring to their few possessions as Bed, Meltedy Spoon, Rug and so forth, Jack's entire universe is contained in these walls, the sunny face of God and fantastic TV images belonging to Outside. Ma, despite the deprivation, fear, and abuse she has endured, manages to create a childhood for Jack in which he feels secure and happy.
Ultimately, Ma and Jack will have to confront their situation, and the degree to which their prison has also been a home.
As a ripped-from-the-headlines-inspired story, Room is fascinating and plausible. As an extreme portrait of the love between a mother and son, it is unforgettable. Notable is the author's ability to write in the voice of an odd and precocious child without tweeness, and to tell a story like this without prurience. ...more
Enjoyable stories of the people making up the Rome-based staff of a Herald Tribune-like international newspaper on its last legs. Some humor, some patEnjoyable stories of the people making up the Rome-based staff of a Herald Tribune-like international newspaper on its last legs. Some humor, some pathos, plenty of insider detail of life at a slowly dying newspaper. ...more
I'd probably give this 3 1/2 if we had half stars because, while a good read, it wasn't anywhere near the achievement of Thomas's The End of Mr. Y.
In I'd probably give this 3 1/2 if we had half stars because, while a good read, it wasn't anywhere near the achievement of Thomas's The End of Mr. Y.
In this novel, Thomas explores, rather cleverly, the notion of the "storyless story." Meg is a novelist, broke, living with a boyfriend she no longer loves in a miserable, damp house, and consumed with ennui -- she can't quite start an affair with an intriguing older man, she keeps deleting huge sections of her novel, now long overdue, and isn't terribly motivated by her ongoing gig ghostwriting sci fi novels or reviewing books for a newspaper. There are lots of long conversations with Meg's friends about various metaphysical and literary theories, but unlike in The End of Mr. Y, these don't manifest in captivating alternate worlds. What's actually going on here is that Thomas is writing an actual storyless story, and it's more interesting to read than the rather dull precis above would suggest. Meg is a pleasant character (with a lovely dog) who knows interesting people and does enjoyable things like learning to knit socks and read Tarot cards. Dramatic tension manages to insert itself -- will Meg leave her boyfriend? Will her friend Libby leave her husband? Is there really a Beast at large? How did a ship in a bottle find Meg on the beach? Did Meg's childhood friend the movie star really kill herself? Are socks really all that hard to knit? And will she write that book?...more
Dr. Charlie Flint is having a bad time. She refused to help wrongly convict a man who went on to kill four women and her medical license is under reviDr. Charlie Flint is having a bad time. She refused to help wrongly convict a man who went on to kill four women and her medical license is under review. She loves her wife, a dentist, but feels tempted by the attentions of a flirtatious self-help expert. When her former Oxford tutor asks her to investigate her daughter's lover, Jay, a wealthy entrepreneur the professor suspects may have had a hand in the murder of her daughter's husband as well as other business rivals, Charlie takes the case, hoping it will bring her closer to her lust interest.
The characters and their backstories are compelling, but the mystery doesn't add up to very much, relying on some fairly predictable late-breaking twists. Excerpts from Jay's second memoir, paired with her manipulative musings, are rather fun, but a little calculated. I prefer McDermid's gorier Tony Hill mysteries, with their sharp edges....more
I would have given this 2 1/2 stars if half stars were available. Good points for blending the historical Arthur Conan Doyle and his circle (includingI would have given this 2 1/2 stars if half stars were available. Good points for blending the historical Arthur Conan Doyle and his circle (including Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde) and a serial killer of his time (based on the Brides in the Bath murders) with contemporary Sherlock Holmes fanciers also in pursuit of the answer to a mystery, all laboring in the shadow of the fictional (a fact often forgotten by many) Holmes. On the downside, the characterizations are very one-note, especially with respect to the protagonist Harold, who rather unbelievably works as a speed-reader/literary expert for a Hollywood studio and is so milquetoast as to make Walter Mitty look dashing. Worse, the mysteries, such as they are, aren't terribly mysterious and turn out to matter little, and the serial killer plot has an especially disappointing resolution. I thought for sure it was heading somewhere more dramatic when cross-dressing entered the plot, but it was not to be. ...more
Ian Minot is a novelist/barista, struggling to make it in the New York publishing world. When he suspects that a blockbuster new memoir is really a paIan Minot is a novelist/barista, struggling to make it in the New York publishing world. When he suspects that a blockbuster new memoir is really a pack of lies, and his exotic Romanian girlfriend not only gets a book deal for her memoir but leaves him for the fake memoirist, Ian joins forces with a mysterious man with a plan to undermine the publishing industry by publishing an adventure novel in the guise of Ian's own memoir. But as he gets deeper into the plot, Ian suspects that all may not be as it appears to be, and finds himself living the adventure himself.
There's a lot of fun meta-novel playfulness here, but nothing terribly innovative or unpredictable. Also, Langer plays with a truly annoying quirk, where he substitutes a glossary of literary-inspired terms for ordinary language -- so a woman wearing a sexy cocktail dress is wearing a "golightly," characters order "fitzgeralds" in bars, and handguns are called "caninos." It's pretentious and unnecessary.
Some great blurbs on this one, especially from Carl Hiassen. Which is as it should be, really, in a book partly about collecting good blurbs for marketing purposes....more
Part nostalgic backstage drama, part taut coming-of-age story, Bainbridge packs a great deal into this 200 page novel. Stella is 16, being raised by hPart nostalgic backstage drama, part taut coming-of-age story, Bainbridge packs a great deal into this 200 page novel. Stella is 16, being raised by her aunt and uncle in a run-down Liverpool boarding house in 1950. Through a connection of her uncle's, Stella obtains a position as a backstage lackey and small-role player in a repertory company, where she promptly falls in love with the company's director, Meredith Potter. Only Stella, with her mix of 16 year old naivete and no small amount of self-delusion, is unable to see exactly why Meredith is entirely unsuitable for her. As the season progresses with heartbreaks, breakdowns, and all the big and small dramas of a theater company, a Christmas production of Peter Pan starring a returning actor ultimately takes a turn out of classical tragedy.
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