Reading the 20th Century discussion

I finished Off-White by Astrid H. Roemer, which looks like a family saga set in Suriname but turns out to be doing more interesting things with the concept of family in a postcolonial world:

www.goodreads.com/review/show/6729370607

Continuing with women in translation, I'm just starting All Yours by Claudia Piñeiro, a prequel to her new Time of the Flies. I like the way she merges the tropes of crime fiction with a literary sensibility and a dark sense of humor.

Alwynne wrote: "Bryan wrote: "Reading Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese"

I loved the Mani when I visited, incredibly beautiful and all those towers left over from feuds where quite bizarre."

It's the fifth of his travelogues I have read, and I enjoyed each. I knew nothing of the region before this book, and the towers were certainly strange and fascinating.

Great review, RC. I just finished Off-White too, along with another book, Thieving Sun by Monica Datta. Even if Thieving Sun isn't the best debut I've read this year, it's an interesting experiment in form, Oulipian-like in the way that it's strucutred.

Next up for me is a WiT read, Mammoth by Eva Baltasar.

I finished an unconventional memoir by Susanna Crossman Home Is Where We Start: Growing Up in the Fallout of the Utopian Dream A fascinating portrait of a particular group experiment in living in 1970s and 80s Britain. I didn't always agree with Crossman's conclusions, and I thought this was overly detailed in places, but still found it fairly fascinating. Think it would make an interesting companion piece to some of the history of the 1970s/80s being read elsewhere in this group.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Those Patrick Leigh Fermor books are wonderful

I raced through Claudia Piñeiro's All Yours and now I understand why she used to be described as the Argentinian Patricia Highsmith. This book is partly narrated by one of those deliciously unhinged female narrators I can't resist:

www.goodreads.com/review/show/6747376724

Sounds fab ❤️‍🔥

Is there any reason why a review wouldn't show up on the book page for it? The Crossman review isn't showing just the rating...

Alwynne wrote: "Is there any reason why a review wouldn't show up on the book page for it? The Crossman review isn't showing just the rating..."

It shows for me. By the way, the link doesn't work on my phone app, but does on my laptop.

Thanks G, the link works but if I go to the page for the book independently there's no review listed. It just says one rating, 0 reviews. I wondered if it's because it mentions child sexual abuse? But then again that's a key part of her story so hard not to! And I didn't go into detail.

I wonder if GR has started moderating reviews with trigger words as Amazon does?

I read a short ARC (lots of train travel at the moment) The Trunk by Kim Ryeo-ryeong. The blurb describes it as a 'feminist thriller', a label I didn't agree with at all - it's actually far more interesting:

www.goodreads.com/review/show/6752323866

Alwynne wrote: "Thanks G, the link works but if I go to the page for the book independently there's no review listed. It just says one rating, 0 reviews. I wondered if it's because it mentions child sexual abuse? ..."

Well, this is bizarre. When I looked both last night and this morning once by searching for the author, and once by searching for the title, but not using your link, your review was right there. And now it's not visible to me either. I wonder if GR is having some technical issues.

Alwynne wrote: "Is there any reason why a review wouldn't show up on the book page for it? The Crossman review isn't showing just the rating..."

Very strange. I had a couple of semi-technical ideas about why it wouldn't appear but neither of them panned out. I hope RC's censorship idea isn't right.

I recently completed a book which I think might appeal to some others here: The Umbrella Murder: The Hunt for the Cold War's Most Notorious Killer

It is about the investigation into the murder of a Bulgarian dissident on Waterloo Bridge in 1979 with a poison tipped umbrella. Straight out of James Bond - Mick Herron would never let any of his characters loose with a dangerous item like that. They would undoubtedly kill the wrong person.

Thanks for the review, Susan - I saw that book advertised somewhere and thought it looks fascinating. Yeah, the slow horses would have had a field day, not least Jackson Lamb!

Ben wrote: "I hope RC's censorship idea isn't right"

It was just speculation but Amazon do moderate reviews with trigger words such as making sure that e.g. 'Nazi' is within the context of the book not inflammatory rhetoric - that can cause a delay before the review is publicly available.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Thanks for the review, Susan - I saw that book advertised somewhere and thought it looks fascinating. Yeah, the slow horses would have had a field day, not least Jackson Lamb!"

I was thinking more of Shirley, but yes, him too!

Ha, yes, Shirley can't be trusted with a normal umbrella, let alone a poisoned one. With Lamb it would be deliberate!

I'm reading my latest book group choice....



The Buddha of Suburbia (1990)

by

Hanif Kureishi



Like many, I read it when it came out in the early 90s. I don't remember much about it except that I really enjoyed it. Second time round, and only 50 pages in, I'm loving it all over again

It's very evocative and feels rooted in personal experience

Some amusing moments too

Anyone else read it recently?

Another other Hanif Kureishi books you'd recommend?

I'm a bit embarrassed to say I've never read any Kureishi - I have seen My Beautiful Laundrette. I should correct that so also interested in any recommendations.

Roman Clodia wrote: "I read a short ARC (lots of train travel at the moment) The Trunk by Kim Ryeo-ryeong. The blurb describes it as a 'feminist thriller', a label I didn't agree with..."

The genre conventions in South Korean fiction overlap with western ones but never quite match up, genre mash-ups far more common, so the labels don't fit either. I'm saving this one, it's being released to coincide with the arrival of the kdrama version on Netflix and can't decide whether to watch the show first or not!

Nigeyb wrote: "I'm reading my latest book group choice....



The Buddha of Suburbia (1990)

by

Hanif Kureishi



Like many, I read it when it came out in the early 90s. I don't reme..."

I love that novel but never liked anything else of his. Although his book about his father was quite interesting. I think this was one of the first British novels I read where I felt seen on various levels so it had quite a profound impact at the time. I think it did for a number of readers, there's a really nice article about that by Nikesh Shukla you may not have come across:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

For my comfort read I just started Death of an Author my second book by mystery author E.C.R. Lorac. In March, I read her Post After Post-Mortem from 1936 and found her work intriguing enough to try another. I had chosen that one to start reading Lorac because, although it was #11 featuring detective Macdonald, it the first one to get read by more than a handful.
.
I'm more of a fair-weather mystery fan and have pretty much limited myself these days to reading in order Christie's Poirots (finished #11, Three Act Tragedy) and Cadfaels (finished #17, The Potter's Field). But as my Cadfaels are nearing completion, I realize I could stand adding at least one more mystery author.

I've tried some, such as Dorothy Sayers, that have failed to engage me, but E.C.R. Lorac intrigues me with her literary and educated characters and references. For instance, Death of an Author involves authors (surprise!) and publishing houses and opens with characters discussing the merits of Hemingway and Galsworthy. I'm a sucker for that stuff.

As so many in the RTTC group are mystery aficionados, with some belonging to the Reading the Detectives group, I thought that some of you may have some knowledge of and thoughts or opinions about an author that is new to me.
If I decide to try a 3rd Lorac, I had thought of trying Bats in the Belfry

I do like the British Library Crime Classics series books and bookcovers:

Great article - thanks Alwynne

Last night/early this morning I finished The Duke of York's Steps by Henry Wade. An inventive sort of mystery from between the wars.

Lorac is a definite favourite on Reading the Detectives, Brian.

Brian, do you have any favorite mystery writers who haven't been on our radar in this group?

Brian E wrote: "If I decide to try a 3rd Lorac, I had thought of trying Bats in the Belfry"

Oh do, I adored that - it really is batty! (That's a Brian joke!)

Susan wrote: "Lorac is a definite favourite on Reading the Detectives, Brian."

That's good to know, Susan. Thanks.

David wrote: "Brian, do you have any favorite mystery writers who haven't been on our radar in this group?"

Not really. As a self-identified fair-weather mystery fan, I've limited myself to Agatha Christie and Ellis Peters but have liked Lorac so far too. My only "favorite mystery writer" not "on our radar in this group" is the bevy of individuals, especially Leslie McFarlane, who were ghostwriting the Hardy Boys mysteries under the pseudonym of Franklin W. Dixon. I read and loved them all in my youth, reading all of them at least once, up until #46 The Secret Agent on Flight 101.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Brian E wrote: "If I decide to try a 3rd Lorac, I had thought of trying Bats in the Belfry"

Oh do, I adored that - it really is batty! (That's a Brian joke!)"

I'm flattered that you wish to emulate my humor. But be forewarned that if you take this humor out in public you will find people suddenly looking at their watches and heading off to some meeting they just realized they're late for whenever they run into you. Funny thing.

Brian E wrote: "My only "favorite mystery writer" not "on our radar in this group" is the bevy of individuals, especially Leslie McFarlane, who were ghostwriting the Hardy Boys mysteries under the pseudonym of Franklin W. Dixon."

I have fond memories of the Hardy Boys books, which I read with my dad. They were probably editions from his childhood. While the Clock Ticked is the first hardcover book with chapters I remember reading.

I've finished another short novel translated from Japanese: May You Have Delicious Meals by Junko Takase - an interesting take on the role food plays in office life in terms of social rituals and power play:

www.goodreads.com/review/show/6754534112

David wrote: "... the first hardcover book with chapters I remember reading."

I remember being confused by the first book with chapters that I read as I couldn't be sure whether each chapter was a story or whether the whole thing was one long story!

Roman Clodia wrote: "Ben wrote: "I hope RC's censorship idea isn't right"

It was just speculation but Amazon do moderate reviews with trigger words such as making sure that e.g. 'Nazi' is within the context of the boo..."

Definitely something odd, noticed that one of the other GR members - listed solely as having rated the book - has also written a review that's not showing up on the book page.

I finished Louisa Hall's take on Mary Shelley, contemporary America and pregnancy Reproduction I found it incredibly irritating and packed with undercooked theories and conservative assumptions around gender etc...

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Alwynne wrote: "I finished Louisa Hall's take on Mary Shelley, contemporary America and pregnancy Reproduction I found it incredibly irritating and packed with undercooked theories and conservative..."

I love it when you do a take-down review, Alwynne!

Just reviewed Inspector Imanishi Investigates
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
which I thought an excellent read.
Thanks Alwynne for bringing this to my notice

Brian E wrote: "For my comfort read I just started Death of an Author my second book by mystery author E.C.R. Lorac. In March, I read her Post After Post-Mortem fro..."

I have but haven't yet read Bats in the Belfry but most recently I enjoyed Crook o' Lune

Lady Clementina wrote: "Just reviewed Inspector Imanishi Investigates
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
which I thought an excellent read.
Thanks Alwynne for bringing this to my notice"

I'm just relieved you liked it too!

Lady Clementina wrote: "Brian E wrote: "For my comfort read I just started Death of an Author my second book by mystery author E.C.R. Lorac. In March, I read her [book:Post After Post-Mort..."

I keep meaning to try Lorac will have to fit some in later this year.

Roman Clodia wrote: "I've finished another short novel translated from Japanese: May You Have Delicious Meals by Junko Takase - an interesting take on the role food plays in office li..."

I'm looking forward to reading this one, thanks for the review. You might find it interesting to read Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder and compare the take on food culture.

I wonder what would happen if Japanese legislation about the size of workers' waists was introduced here?

https://japaninsides.com/japans-fat-l...

https://theworld.org/stories/2017/03/...

Alwynne wrote: "I wonder what would happen if Japanese legislation about the size of workers' waists was introduced here?"

That's so interesting as the office treats in the book are all western: cream cakes, muffins, cookies - so that adds a whole other layer to the text.

I'm meaning to read Butter, just need to get to it.

Lady Clementina wrote: "Just reviewed Inspector Imanishi Investigates
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
which I thought an excellent read.
Thanks Alwynne for bringing this to my notice"

Glad you enjoyed it too. I read it two years ago.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "I wonder what would happen if Japanese legislation about the size of workers' waists was introduced here?"

That's so interesting as the office treats in the book are all western: c..."

I imagine, if it's anything like HK and Singapore, the portions are much smaller. So people would eat a quarter of a European-style sandwich, for example, and count that as a serving.

Spending a few days catching up on my New Yorker magazines before I launch into books again.

Wonderful story by Annie Proulx in the 8-15 July Fiction issue. “The Hadal Zone” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

There was also a story by Sally Rooney. I just don't understand her popularity!

Roman Clodia wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "I wonder what would happen if Japanese legislation about the size of workers' waists was introduced here?"

That's so interesting as the office treats in the book are all western: c..."
Western baked goodies are certainly very popular it seems both in Japan and South Korea if Instagram and all those gorgeous cakes I keep seeing there are anything to go by.

Alwynne wrote: "Lady Clementina wrote: "Brian E wrote: "For my comfort read I just started Death of an Author my second book by mystery author E.C.R. Lorac. In March, I read her [b..."

Do try her Alwynne, I'm sure you'll enjoy her. The detectives group is reading [book:Murder by Matchlight|25700403]sometime soon.

Alwynne wrote: "I imagine, if it's anything like HK and Singapore, the portions are much smaller. So people would eat a quarter of a European-style sandwich, for example, and count that as a serving."

That may well be the case. I taught English in Japan for a year after my undergrad degree and rarely saw western cakes, certainly not with cream, though you could get US-style cookies in specialist shops. Bread in Tokyo was always white and very soft and spongy. That was twenty years ago though so I'm sure things have changed.

Many Asian diets, of course, don't traditionally have much dairy so I do wonder about the impact on digestion, metabolism and weight management of changing diets. I'm Burmese and my Sri Lankan GP warned me about too much cheese, butter etc. I did feel in Japan I could eat loads without ever putting on weight. So maybe there's something in this idea of ancestral diets regardless of where we've grown up? I find this whole topic of food, culture and biology fascinating.

My mom visited Japan in 1980 for a course and she'd noted the absence of dairy. But these days, many of the Japanese/japan-based recipe pages I follow on instagram use cheese quite liberally and one sees plenty of milk jelly too.

In India, our diets (most parts of the country) are quite dairy heavy I terms of ghee and yoghurt especially, also paneer and in desserts cheese.

Portion sizes are much smaller than the west.

On a side note, if I remember right, even the cat food pouches we get here are smaller sized per pouch than in the West.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "I imagine, if it's anything like HK and Singapore, the portions are much smaller. So people would eat a quarter of a European-style sandwich, for example, and count that as a servin..."

I can understand that, bread, pasta etc all problematic for me. Rice, miso, tofu, veg seems to be what works best for my body.