ITALIAN SHOES by Henning Mankell

This is a compact sonata of a novel, composed in four “movements.” The title of the last, “Winter Solstice,” might have been a better title for the whole book, set mainly on a small frozen island off the coast of Sweden. It is certainly an appropriate image: the solstice is the darkest part of the year; after it, the days will get longer, but it will still be winter for a long time. This is a book about resurrection, thaw, the slow flowering of the frozen spirit, but it promises few miracles, and even at the end there are setbacks and reversals — a feeling Nordic people must know well in their long wait for Spring.

July 31, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , , , ,  · Posted in: 2011 Favorites, Award Winning Author, Life's Moments, Sweden, Swedish Crime Writer, World Literature

DECEPTIONS by Rebecca Frayn

Julian Poulter, the first-person narrator of Rebecca Frayn’s DECEPTIONS, is a somewhat priggish individual who says things like, “I’ve always believed one must strive to put painful episodes behind one with the minimum of fuss and bother.” He is a master of denial who, in flashback, tells how he and Annie Wray, a teacher, tried to forge a permanent relationship when he moved in with her and her two children by her late husband. Annie is flightier and far more spontaneous than Julian; each provides a quality that the other lacks.

May 20, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , , ,  · Posted in: Motherhood, Mystery/Suspense, Psychological Suspense, Reading Guide, United Kingdom

GAME CHANGE by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

If Hollywood Central Casting were asked to put together a group of actors with the most monstrous egos on the face of the planet, they could not have done a better job than the two national parties did in the last election.

January 25, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , , ,  · Posted in: Non-fiction, Political

PAGANINI’S GHOST by Paul Adam

Cremona, Italy. On the eve of an important performance, local luthier Gianni Castiglione is called on to examine Il Cannone, the violin once played by Niccolò Paganini, which would be played that night by competition winner Yevgeny Ivanov. A minor adjustment is made and at the recital both violin and musician perform flawlessly. The next day, however, a concert attendee, a French art dealer, is found dead in his Cremona hotel. Two items are noted among his possessions: a locked golden box and a torn corner of a music score from the night’s previous performance. Gianni’s police detective friend, Antonio Guastafeste, enlists his help and the two soon find themselves on an international chase, on the trail of not just a murderer but of a priceless historical treasure, one worth killing for.

January 5, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , , , , , ,  · Posted in: 2011 Favorites, France, italy, Mystery/Suspense, Sleuths Series, United Kingdom

SERIOUS MEN by Manu Joseph

Manu Joseph’s debut book is seriously good – a wickedly funny, surprisingly warm and stunningly stylish satire that strikes its target over and over again, taking the reader along for a rollicking ride.

The book SERIOUS MEN introduces us to two equally willful men with runaway egos: Arvind Acharya, a bigger-than-life astrophysicist at the prestigious Institute of Theory and Research, a would-be Nobel candidate who is rumored to have been banned from the Vatican for whispering something untoward in the pope’s ear. The other is his personal assistant, Ayyan Mani, a Dalit (or “untouchable”) who is “smarter than the average bear” (in this case, the average Dalit) with an IQ of 148.

January 2, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , ,  · Posted in: Award Winning Author, Class - Race - Gender, Debut Novel, Humorous, India-Pakistan, Satire, World Literature

DARK ROAD TO DARJEELING by Deanna Raybourn

Sometimes, marriage is the kiss of death for a series in which a man and woman quarrel incessantly but finally realize that they are essential to one another’s happiness. Fortunately, the union of Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane enhances rather than detracts from Deanna Raybourn’s DARK ROAD TO DARJEELING. The author keeps us engrossed by removing her characters from their comfort zone and placing them in a lovely Indian tea garden amid scenic mountains and valleys; making it clear that although Julia and Brisbane remain passionately in love (as we are reminded incessantly every time they repair to their bedchamber), they still have issues about Julia’s habit of courting danger; and providing supporting roles for Julia’s sarcastic siblings, Portia and Plum, Julia’s grumpy maid, Morag, and Portia’s sweet-natured friend, Jane, who is widowed and expecting her first child.

December 26, 2010 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , , , ,  · Posted in: Facing History, India-Pakistan, Sleuths Series, Time Period Fiction