Three Low Masses by Alphonse Daudet. The first story of the book and already we have something instantly becoming one of my all time favourite storiesThree Low Masses by Alphonse Daudet. The first story of the book and already we have something instantly becoming one of my all time favourite stories. The Devil himself infiltrates a church in an effort to get the oafish priest to sin. The central image of (view spoiler)[a rushed midnight mass, the priest stumbling over his words and the congregation confused as to whether they should sit, stand, or kneel, but no one bothered because they all want to throw themselves on the post-mass feast (hide spoiler)] had me in stitches. And yet the familiarity/solemnity of midnight mass at Christmas combined with the strangeness of the castle chapel on a mountain setting, somehow these elements allow the story to take a serious, haunting turn.
The Tall Woman by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. Liked how it used framing devices to complicate, "Yo, I saw a ghost once." But yeah, pretty straightforward ghost story.
On the River by Maupassant. Another nice, neat ghost story. The river doesn't come off as all that creepy or even atmospheric though, and I don't take him seriously when he says it's scarier than the ocean in its way.
Lazarus by Leonid Andreyev. I remember bugging out as a kid hearing some ghost story on the radio about a dead mother (father?) who woke up during her wake/funeral and resuming life as normal, except she stopped smiling and refused to talk about her experience. Lazarus brilliantly evokes the same terror.
The White Dog by Fyodor Sologub: awwwoooouuu (wolf howl) <-- me when i get a werewolf story
On a Train With a Madman by Pan-Appan. For such a hokey premise it was actually one of the most compelling stories so far. I think it works by interrupting the narrative with exposition, giving your brain time to mull the situation over?
Poems by Baudelaire and Schiller. Feel like there's not a whole lot I can say about poetry, though I guess they are atmospheric. And short.
A Masterpiece of Crime by Jean Richepin. Sort of a reverse Edgar Allan Poe, who is even mentioned in the story, where a criminal goes crazy because no one will believe his confessions to a series of heinous crimes.
The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin. My favourite story yet. Paints a vivid picture of gambling culture in Russia, as Herman the German, an officer in the engineers of the Russian army, hears a rumour about a friend's grandmother who might know three cards secretly guaranteed a win.
The Severed Hand by Wilhelm Hauff. Really loved the pan-Mediterranean setting of this, as the guy is just constantly hopping from one place to another.
The Mystery of the Four Husbands by Gaston LeRoux. The initial premise and framing story are really interesting, as is the murder method, but the reveal of the murderer and the method both left me wanting a little more. The method really comes out of left field, whereas the true murderer's reveal is fitting, but doesn't quite feel earned, somehow? I dunno, didn't really care for this one.
The Long Arm. A guy returns to his hometown in Germany after years away and meets a friend who who confesses to using black magic to off his his father, his first wife, and their former schoolmaster. The guy hearing the story doesn't quite believe it until he realizes he's next.
A Passion in the Desert by Honoré de Balzac. These sort of Beau Geste stories are so out of fashion that I kept imagining it in my head with the one pop culture analogue I have: those old cartoons where Yosemite Sam is chasing Bugs Bunny through the desert. It works because the main story is a really straightforward one about a muttering man and an animal (it wasn't quite clear to me if it was a lion or a panther, although the part where he talks about the rings on its tail made me wonder if it was a actually a cheetah) becoming friends in the desert but also still ready to kill each other at a moment's notice. There's some really beautiful descriptions of the desert, and the otherworldly element is revealed in retrospect when the narrator describes the desert as 'God without mankind.'
Siesta by Alexander L. Kielland. A dinner party of madness.
A Ghost by Guy de Maupassant. The better of the two Maupassant stories, and the one that feels more like a traditional ghost story....more
Spent the whole book mentally shouting at the kid to (view spoiler)[put a damn pair of gloves. (hide spoiler)] How many times did my parents tell me something like that, as a kid? Damn.
Also big shout out to Plain Pleasures for recommending this one. Great newsletter full of good books....more
Better than the movie, which surprised me because I like Kubrick. There's actually two separate sniper scenes in this which get merged to one in the fBetter than the movie, which surprised me because I like Kubrick. There's actually two separate sniper scenes in this which get merged to one in the film, and the training stuff is over relatively quicker in the novel.
The novel, at its best, feels like it has a drumbeat under it, propelling you forward. At its worst it's just a bunch of jarhead dialogue, collections of sayings from psycho-killers and guys just trying to survive the war, not always as pithy as the speakers think. But there's some really great stuff in here, especially how the ethical dilemma of the novel's climax, when the enemy sniper is taking out their friends. I can't remember if the movie has the same resolution or not, but damn, what an ending.
Also, finally, the bit where he's confronted about his peace pin is better in the novel. I don't think they'd be allowed to show what happens onscreen, even though it's not that violent or shocking, but it's subversive in a way that very little in American culture is ever allowed to be....more
This starts as over-the-top as The Short Timers and keeps ramping up until it reaches a sort of CélineaA poetic and action-packed critique of empire.
This starts as over-the-top as The Short Timers and keeps ramping up until it reaches a sort of Célinean hysteria with the Black Confederacy leading a mutiny just as the Vietcong overrun the base. But after that comes the real shock: a sort of softness you would not have expected Gustav Hasford to exhibit. It becomes a non-SF Avatar, literally just Private Joker healing himself with life among the Vietcong. But that peacefulness can't last, and caring about people on both sides of the war is only going to rip you apart....more
An abolitionist history of ancient and early medieval slavery from a Polish count who became a translator for Abraham Lincoln's State Department durinAn abolitionist history of ancient and early medieval slavery from a Polish count who became a translator for Abraham Lincoln's State Department during the American Civil War. I read the Project Gutenberg version, which doesn't seem to be listed on goodreads. Some of the history is a little dated and the prose was a little stilted at times, but I thought it was fun and I loved how almost every chapter ended with a rant against the slave owners of the South....more
Bittersweet, as I believe I've now read all of his novels. Skeletons in the Closet is up there with the best of them. This time Eugene Tarpon is up agBittersweet, as I believe I've now read all of his novels. Skeletons in the Closet is up there with the best of them. This time Eugene Tarpon is up against some kind of New Age cult, Nazis, a money laundering ring, and the conspiracy of cops keeping a lid on everything.
Jean-Patrick Manchette is one of the greatest writers of action I've ever come across, second only to Matthew Woodring Stover. His novels are short but action-packed, and yet they never devolve into something like a bad action film, there's a plausibility over all of this that keeps it going.
Also important to note that this is easily the funniest of his novels....more
Wonderful debut novella about an artist on a strange retreat. I'm really starting to come around on horror, it was always the genre I disliked most asWonderful debut novella about an artist on a strange retreat. I'm really starting to come around on horror, it was always the genre I disliked most as a kid, I guess I just didn't take to some of the movies that everyone else loves. But I'm starting to see it has more potential to examine our lives than other forms of genre writing. I dunno.
The prose is vivid, and the plot refuses all of the easy turns this sort of thing might otherwise take. Lots of fascinating nature imagery, all culminating with the Lichen Woman, such a great character/image that all I can really say is you have to read it for yourself.
Loved the ekphrastic bits at the start of each chapter. Something very tactile about the protagonist's art?
Made me think a lot about my grandmother, who died a little over a year ago now, and who I associate strongly with the pond near her place back home in Nova Scotia (one that can be upgraded/downgraded to swamp or lake depending on what sort of dignity you're trying to lend it)....more
Dogshit. And I say that as a fan of John Williams' Stoner and Butcher's Crossing. It's only a hundred or so pages but still I started zoning out afterDogshit. And I say that as a fan of John Williams' Stoner and Butcher's Crossing. It's only a hundred or so pages but still I started zoning out after the part where the gay guy tries hitting him up for money, a part that was at least a little memorable, and I really just skimmed the back half of the book, if that. Apparently he wrote this in a tent in Burma while waiting to be discharged after his plane was shot down in WW2, so I guess that's cool. And also to be fair he himself personally disowned it in later years. That trivia comes from the interview with his widow at the back of the book, which is more interesting than the novel itself....more
A sweeping history of Nova Scotia. Manages to cover more ground and answer more questions than what I remembered of high school history. Also manages A sweeping history of Nova Scotia. Manages to cover more ground and answer more questions than what I remembered of high school history. Also manages a broader scope, including Nova Scotia's prehistory, the idea of a Greater Nova Scotia and the area's role in the wider region, and a larger focus on Acadians, Blacks, the Mi'kmaq, and a sectarian breakdown of settlers. That said, just as in high school history, the Mi'kmaq tend to disappear from the narrative once Nova Scotia becomes decidedly British in terms of demographics, with just a few remarks about their increasing isolation, poverty, etc. The stuff on Confederation is boring, with too many capsule biographies, but it's hard to fault the author for that (that drunken brawl in Ottawa did sound interesting).
I appreciated the way the author broke down different groups of settlers by their demographics and when they arrived. Most histories tend to elide these things but there was a world of difference in the experiences people had in coming to Nova Scotia. Some groups were supported, some weren't, and it's not always the ones you would think. There's a good look at Nova Scotia's history of and with slavery, something that until recently has been completely ignored. And something that really surprised was the look at the creation of Nova Scotia's school system, something people take for granted today. But the author really manages to convey what a progressive idea it was at the time and also how petty sectarian squabbling managed to continually sabotage the project.
There's a nice afterword that left me longing for a second volume, looking at Nova Scotia's role in Canada. We got ripped off federally, it's true, and our capitalist class sold us out and turned Nova Scotia into a 'branch plant economy,' but the briefest of counterfactual exercises suggests the province would probably be in the same position today whether it had joined the United States, formed a Maritime Union, or stayed dependant on Britain.
The author does tend to make sweeping statements that left me wondering how she could justify certain claims, particularly in the early chapter on Mi'kma'ki before European arrival. But then, this is a sweeping history and there's not a whole lot of space to dive into things. A couple of minor errors bothered me: 'the sixteenth century' is used once to refer to the 1600s, and the author claims that Sydney, Nova Scotia, is 'named, like the capital of Australia, after Lord Sydney,' except that Canberra is the capital of Australia, not Sydney. But don't get me wrong, this is a well-researched book and not one of those cheap things you sometimes see put out by regional presses....more
Truly appreciated this book, even if it is very barebones and only begins to cover the topic.
A popular history of Nova Scotia's premiers. There's a gTruly appreciated this book, even if it is very barebones and only begins to cover the topic.
A popular history of Nova Scotia's premiers. There's a good deal on Macdonald and Stanfield, our first postwar Liberal and Conservative premiers and probably the most important. For everyone else, it's a few very brief pages on their political rise, what they did in office (if anything), and their downfall. The interim premiers are lucky even to get a mention.
If there's an ideological difference to be found, you might say one side is the Macdonald approach (public works, mostly building and maintaining roads) and the Stanfield approach (attracting outside businesses to set up shop in Nova Scotia with things like tax breaks and anti-union legislation). But every premier uses both approaches. The downside of the public works approach is that it led to a wide scale petty corruption in the form of patronage jobs. The downside of the Stanfield approach is that millions are spent on businesses that don't take off, don't employ as many people as they say they will (and because of anti-union legislation, the jobs end up paying less), and in the end the government is on the hook for cleaning up pollution (as at the Pictou pulp mill) or takes over a failing business and keeps it running just to keep people employed (the Sydney steel mill). Ironically, as Steele points out, the economy stays about the same either way: Nova Scotia can usually be expected to do a little bit better than the rest of Atlantic Canada, and a little bit worse than the rest of the country.
The chapters on petty corruption and road politics were fascinating and far too brief.
Steele was a minister in Darrell Dexter's NDP government, but the book isn't partisan at all. If anything he's too fair and sympathetic to the premiers. There's a tendency to gloss over scandals with technical aspects as simply being controversial, and I would argue with his assertion that there are few or no political multigenerational political dynasties in Nova Scotia (part of this is that he's only counting MLAs who are related to other MLAs--but there are dynasties at the federal level as well as various business families--essentially oligarchs--whose members don't seek elected office but who end up playing a role in our political fate all the same).
Still, these are small quibbles. The book is straightforward and readable and, given how underserved Canadian history is, much-needed. I plan to seek our Steele's previous books and I hope he's able to write about Nova Scotia again in the future.
Oh, and I did a twitter thread of interesting bits here....more
Four stories. Trouble Is My Business and Finger Man are both top notch hardboiled pulp fiction. Goldfish is about pearls and goldfish, and it comes ofFour stories. Trouble Is My Business and Finger Man are both top notch hardboiled pulp fiction. Goldfish is about pearls and goldfish, and it comes off a little Dick Tracey-ish, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's a nice switch in tone for Chandler.
I was in Fort McMurray in 2016 when the fire happened and he captures the moment-by-moment of it quite well, to the point that wheQuite enjoyed this.
I was in Fort McMurray in 2016 when the fire happened and he captures the moment-by-moment of it quite well, to the point that when I doubted him I went back and checked my the journal I'd kept throughout the fire and realized he'd got it dead on more often than not. Interesting to go back to that time and revisit it from different angles.
The science and environmental aspects are a good fit and much-needed, given how, as he points out, talk of climate change during the disaster became verboten, on the misguided notion that it was 'punching down.' That said, sometimes the poetic license he takes is a bit much. Don't get me wrong, I like Beowulf or whatever just fine but it's not really relevant to the topic. I've heard good things about his other book, The Golden Spruce, so I'll probably check that out eventually....more
I really want to understand the Muslim polities in this time period as well as I understand the Carolingians and their Euro neighbours. It's still a fI really want to understand the Muslim polities in this time period as well as I understand the Carolingians and their Euro neighbours. It's still a fog but this book helped. There's some good stuff on Carolingian diplomacy in general, which I'd love to read more of. And does a good job of going beyond what kings were doing to show a more complex picture, which is something I really appreciate in Carolingian histories. Gave a more granular picture on stuff I sort of already knew about (Charlemagne sending money/support to Christians in the Abbasid Caliphate, the complex coalitions along the border marches between the Carolingians and Ummayyads).
Also it's funny how Charlemagne is seen as this crusading figure fighting Muslims on behalf of Christians, but that's not the case at all. He clearly sought friendship and alliances with Harun al-Rashid in the east, and in Spain the situation was so complex that it never narrowed down to a fight between one religion against another. I mean, Charlemagne's army fought one major battle in Spain, the biggest loss of his career, and it didn't involve Muslims on either side but rather Basques or proto-Basques who probably weren't Christian either! Charlemagne is such a weird character that way, its hard to pin him down: he probably deeply believed in Christianity but he was also using the church for his own ends and ignoring the parts that didn't work for him. He was both loved and resented for it (think about that monk's prophetic dreams of Charlemagne's genitals being gnawed by demons in hell). I dunno. Weird, fascinating guy....more
The strength of local, cellular, politics, plus the extension of literate practices to ever-wider social groups, plus a continuing high-equilibrium ecThe strength of local, cellular, politics, plus the extension of literate practices to ever-wider social groups, plus a continuing high-equilibrium economic system, plus a newly intrusive state, made possible by taxation, communications and, once again, literacy, helped to create political systems across Europe which allowed engagement, nearly everywhere. This marks the last century of the middle ages, not the supposedly late medieval features which mark so many textbooks: crisis, or anxiety, or the Renaissance, or a sense that the continent was, somehow, waiting for the Reformation and European global conquest. And it is one of the main elements that the medieval period handed on to future generations.
This feels like a landmark history of the medieval world, and one that I'll be coming back to for a good long time. A really great, broad survey of the medieval world was from 500-1500 ad, with a lot of retrograde views stripped away. ...more
Heard about this from Sam Wiebe's newsletter, who accurately called it "a pulp classic and a seedy delight." Fairly bleak novel by a former Perry MasoHeard about this from Sam Wiebe's newsletter, who accurately called it "a pulp classic and a seedy delight." Fairly bleak novel by a former Perry Mason writer. Was censored in the States and bowdlerized in England until the 80s.
As a noir, pretty good. Never been a fan of cult plots though, it lets you get away with unmotivated villainous behaviour just because "oh that's what the cult believes" or whatever. Still, the final cult twist was good. And the gun fight at the restaurant was cool.
Some favourite noir-ish lines:
The 'That's Chappie' moment: (view spoiler)[We went by a movie house, turned left where it saidNo Left Turn, and climbed a hill. I saw a gulley with a shallow stream. The water looked stagnant. In the distance there was another hill with four brick buildings and a smaller white one near the top. There were green fields and grape vines on the hill. The white building looked like a temple. I pointed out the hill to the driver. “That's Solomon's Vineyard.” “What?” “You heard of it,” the driver said. “A religious colony. Raise grapes ... and hell.” He looked around to see if I liked the joke. I liked it all right. I laughed. (hide spoiler)]
good description: (view spoiler)[He was short, but his chest and shoulders were powerful. He had mean blue eyes and he needed a shave. He had the longest arms I ever saw on anything more civilized than an orang-outang. He was a towhead and he had a club foot. (hide spoiler)]
another good description: (view spoiler)[I thought Carter Jeliff was a flossy name for a butcher. ... Jeliff looked the way all butchers should look. He was big, almost as big as me, but not so tall, and he had a face like a ham. He was a blond. He was watering some tomato vines. I told him my name and said I was a friend of Oke Johnson's. He said he was glad to see me, and wasn't it too bad about poor Oke? I said it was. (hide spoiler)]
Ice cold at the graveside: (view spoiler)[I took a peek into the grave. Flowers had almost covered the coffin. I thought: there goes $135. It was the first time I'd ever spent that much on a doll without getting something in return. (hide spoiler)]
small town life: (view spoiler)[There wasn't much I could say to that, so I didn't say anything. Ginger let up on the gas. I heard a rumble of thunder. The black clouds covered half the sky. We went by a long field of corn, and then we came to a row of elms. There was a farmhouse and a white fence, and on the lawn two kids were playing with a collie. Temple had two garages, a general store, a drug store, five service stations, a movie with a sign saying:Next Saturday-Clark Gable in San Francisco, and a combination restaurant and pool hall. There were about thirty frame houses in the town. Ginger said: “Now where?” The dashboard clock said eleven-ten. “The cemetery, I guess.” “Where's that?” Two old men were sitting on the porch of the general store. I leaned out the window and asked one of 'em: “Dad where's the cemetery?” One of the old men had a drooping moustache. He spat through it at a post. “Which one?” Ginger said: “Jesus! have you got two?” (hide spoiler)]...more
Fast paced, imaginative, and thoughtful, but what was with all those little references to Trump (orange skin powder, infrastructure week, maybe the maFast paced, imaginative, and thoughtful, but what was with all those little references to Trump (orange skin powder, infrastructure week, maybe the masking stuff)? Does that make the goddess Hilary Clinton? Awful. The more it was its own thing, the better it was. I really liked the owl stuff. And the wizard. The fantasy ecology was great, and prose was stylish and often beautiful.
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