One Man, One Murder by Jakob Arjouni

In a nutshell… A private investigator on the hunt for a missing woman runs into all sorts of issues.

Strengths: Great voice (sounds just like a private investigator is speaking)

Weaknesses: Not the best ebook galley (probably fixed in the final), lost track of some of the names.

Why I read it: Asked to review by the publisher.

Pages: 192

Published: 2011

Publisher: Melville House Publishing

Setting: Frankfurt, Germany

Rating: 7 out of 10

If you liked this, try: Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell

One Man, One Murder was another ebook I was asked to review by the kind folks at Melville House Publishing (the same publishing house that published the excellent Death and the Penguin). This book is translated from the German and is the third in a series starring Kemal Kayankaya. (It works perfectly as a standalone book though.) Kemal is a private investigator in Frankfurt, Germany and his latest case is to find out who kidnapped Sri Dao, a Thai girl whose visa has run out.

Kemal, who is of Turkish origin, runs into all sorts of trouble when he investigates this case. Racism from immigration officials, his own friends being involved and the twists and turns of the case exposes an even bigger problem than he first thought.

The author (and the translator) have done an excellent job in getting the voice of Kemal just right. The story is told in the first person and Kemal sounds just like what you’d expect a private investigator to sound like – hard bitten, world weary and cynical. He has a dry sense of humour and a knack for working out the idiosyncrasies at each step of the case. His office even sounds like a private investigator’s – one room, dreary and with ‘the scent of spilled Scotch’.

The only problem I had with this book was being able to keep up with the German names to work out who was who. Perhaps this was because I’ve never studied German or visited Germany; I couldn’t make them stick in my head. I eventually wrote myself a little note as a reminder, which worked very well. I also had some trouble with the format of this galley on my Sony Reader – as it’s a PDF, the size of the font I could see and the size of the PDF page didn’t match well. This meant that each page was actually a page and a bit, which meant I had to flick pages some more. I’m sure this is fixed with the final ebook though.

In summary, this is a tight thriller/detective story that’s gritty and exciting. Another great crime translation.

Mailbox Monday 25/7/11

Yet another Monday – it’s still raining and it’s still busy. Gwendolyn from A Sea of Books is hosting this meme this month – do take the time to drop in!

My mailbox received two very special packages this week, prizes I won from last month’s Literary Blog Hop.

I received:

The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz from Sabrina of Thinking About Loud! This has great ratings on Goodreads and also won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

 

 

 

 

 

From Amy at The House of the Seven Tails  , I received Felicia’s Journey by William Trevor. This looks like it has some unexpected twists and turns, which will be a cosy thriller for winter.

Thank you both so much!

 

What Women Want by Fanny Blake

In a nutshell… three older women dealing with a range of problems – will their friendship hold them together?

Strengths: Well written characters with backbone.

Weaknesses: The three stories don’t come together until the very end.

Why I read it: Given to me for review by PR (thank you).

Pages: 432

Published: 2011

Publisher: Blue Door

Setting: London, England

Rating: 8 out of 10

If you liked this, try: Someone Like You by Cathy Kelly

 

I was asked to review this book by a PR company in England, who kindly sent the book to me all the way to Australia. On the back, this looked like the type of book I read for my chick lit fix – three women, all friends who each have different problems but get through it. The cover also had a quote from one of my favourite writers, Penny Vincenzi (as an aside, her new book is released in Australia in September). However, the women in this book were older than your usual chick lit (perhaps I should call it mummy lit?) – late 40s or early 50s. Never mind, it was still interesting even though I’m nowhere near that stage of my life!

Although this book subscribed to the usual setting of three friends, very different in nature but who have a strong bond, there were differences that made the book stronger for me. Each of the women has a strong career, something I usually find lacking in chick lit. (Kate is a GP, Bea works in publishing and Ellen runs an art gallery). Even though they are of similar ages, each is facing a different problem: Bea, newly divorced, is looking for love while controlling a teenage son; Kate is worried that her husband is becoming increasingly distant; and Ellen has found love in the shape of Oliver – but how will her children react? Each of these stories is told with gentleness and humour. The strength of the trio’s friendship is exemplified by Bea’s determination to find out exactly what Oliver is hiding in order to protect Ellen. Although Bea’s detective work is intense and well-researched (she is a publisher after all), the climax where Ellen finds out about Oliver is not that powerful. The epilogue is probably more powerful as it again demonstrates the strength of their friendship and doesn’t tie up everything neatly, making this book more true to life.

This was a light read, easy to pick up and put down (I tested this to the nth degree, as I was on call 24/7 while reading this book). The characters are engaging and strong (I’d love to see Bea in her own book) and defies many of the chick lit stereotypes. There’s no Manolos and cocktails, these women really could be the friends of a real person. Enjoyable.

The Gruen Transfer by Jon Casimir

In a nutshell… the TV in book format – or, how they try to sell us stuff.

Strengths: You may not be as hooked by advertising.

Weaknesses: Even though you know the advertising principles, you’ll still buy the stuff.

Why I read it: my Dad’s Christmas present. From me.

Pages: 288

Published: 2010

Publisher: ABC Books

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

If you liked this, try: The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It
by Marcia Angell

For those who are unaware, The Gruen Transfer is an Australian TV show about advertising – particularly ironic, as it’s shown on a non-commercial station. The show tells us about all the tips and tricks advertisers use to get the unsuspecting public to buy things they don’t really need. It also consists of trying to advertise difficult things (eg. Australian invasion of New Zealand) and weird ads from around the world.

As my family enjoyed the TV show, I bought this book for my dad for Christmas. When he still hadn’t read it halfway through 2011, I decided to borrow it. (He would like it if he opened it. He’s more likely to use this book as something to lean on at present). This book is just as interesting as the TV show – although I think they may overlap on ideas in some places, I think I recall some discussion on some topics. Set in the course of a normal working day, this book takes the reader through the types of advertising you’re likely to see when getting up, eating, working and relaxing. The average person will see thousands of brand names in any given day. (Look around you now if you don’t believe me – look at your monitor’s brand, phone brand, tablet brand – and the list grows). The book explains how advertisers try to sell you things – from banks (yes, they know they’re a boring necessity) to food (glue is a common substitute for milk in cereal ads) to weight loss (the before and after pictures contain several extra differences). It also contains a section on anti-advertising as well as interviews with various ‘ad people’.

I found this book very interesting and I did try not to be sucked in by advertising, but I think it’s very, very difficult in this day and age. (Although, I will never be taken in by a delicious looking ice cream – it’s probably mashed potato). While I read this book cover to cover, it could also be read in any order as each time period of the day contains an unrelated topic. A good read for those interested in advertising and how it’s sold to the consumer.

Mailbox Monday 18/7/11

Another working Monday over! Fortunately, I have a few new books to tide me over:

 

These three books were some of my more recent purchases:

Last Man in Tower by Avarind Adiga – set in India, this is about a building, the people who live in it and the need to redevelop into a dazzling new skyscraper.

White Tiger also by Avarind Adiga – this was free with Last Man in Tower. I thought it was a good deal as I haven’t read this book. This is also set in India and involves a confession of a murderer.

Hello Dubai  by Joe Bennett – I’ve already started this. It’s non-fiction, about Joe going to Dubai simply because he doesn’t know very much about it. It describes parties, business and the varying lifestyles. It’s quite detached at times.

What books have you come into possession of lately?

 

Yes Sister, No Sister by Jennifer Craig

In a nutshell… The story of a trainee nurse in the 1950s.

Strengths: It’s true, it’s funny, it’s happy, it’s sad.

Weaknesses: Ending seems a bit rushed.

Why I read it: Serendipitous find on Kobo.

Pages: 352

Published: 2010 

Publisher: Ebury Digital

Setting: Leeds, Britain

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

If you liked this, try: the Sue Barton books by Helen Dore Boylston

Ever since I read the Sue Barton: Nurse books as a girl, I’ve been interested in reading books about nursing, particularly in the ‘olden’ days when there were Sisters and Matrons and nurses wore caps. (I’m sure some of my nurse friends would be horrified with my thoughts). This book appeared on Kobo and I had to have it. It tells the story of Jennifer’s training as a nurse at the Leeds General Infirmary in the 1950s – the highs, the lows and the friends. This book is very funny in places (eg. climbing up a rope ladder after being locked out of the nurses’ home) and very sad in others (eg. death of a baby, a colleague being diagnosed with schizophrenia).

It also highlights the differences in nursing today and back then – in Jennifer’s days, nurses did some of the cooking for the patients, cleaned the ward (including dusting) and were expected to be subservient to the ward sister and Matron. These days, nurses don’t cook generally (that’s why there’s kitchen staff) or clean (orderlies and cleaners are employed) and everyone’s pretty much on first name terms. I’m not a nurse, but being called ‘Sister’ in my hospital is a term that you’re one of the gang, rather than a sign of authority.

It was interesting to read that about 30% of the other students Jennifer (or Jenny) started with actually completed the course. Nursing seems like hard work – long day shifts, split shifts, night shifts – and then study as well. There was bullying of nurses and restrictions on dress, code of conduct etc. It was heartening though to read about the strong friendships made during her time at LGI.

Easy to read and well written, this is a good read for an insight into those times. Although it wraps up rather quickly and abruptly, it is still an interesting one.

Villain by Shuichi Yoshida

In a nutshell… The discovery of who murdered a young woman in Japan.

Strengths: Characters, how the characters interact

Weaknesses: Some may find it difficult to keep up with the names

Why I read it: Bought with gift voucher

Pages: 304

Published: 2010 

Publisher: Harvill Secker

Setting: Japan

Rating: 9 out of 10

If you liked this, try: Real World by Natsuo Kirino

Villain was one of the books I bought with a Christmas gift voucher. I am interested in Japanese fiction translated into English, enjoying Natsuo Kirino and Haruki Murakami to name a few. So when I saw another Japanese translated work on the shelf, I jumped on it immediately.

Villain does not disappoint. It is a tightly woven thriller, linking together many disparate characters who are all somehow involved in the murder of a young lady on the creepy Mitsue Pass. It involves her friends, her (imagined) boyfriend, a boy she met on a dating website and various family members. One of these people is her murderer – but which one? Why was she killed?

As I’ve found with other Japanese thrillers, this is exquisitely detailed. We have background into the characters and their settings, which are translated very well into English by Philip Gabriel. We know of Yuichi’s past, his grandmother’s problems and the girls he’s been seeing. We also know about his car and what he’s eaten for snacks. This may sound superfluous, but it’s not. We warm to Yuichi and the other characters, simply because we know so much about them. Yoshida paints a very clear picture of each scene – so much so that you can picture the characters and the setting in detail. The blurb on the inside cover of the book states that it’s part police procedural, but in my opinion it’s definitely not! There is little police involvement, and it is all from the characters’ viewpoint.

The identity of the murderer also creeps up slowly on the reader. It’s very subtle, and I wondered how I could have missed the signs of who did it. Even more interesting, is the reasons why the murder was committed. One thing I won’t be doing is using any online dating sites any time soon! (A lot of the young characters use a particular online dating site, to try for romance in between work and family life. Is this a comment on the pressures of the Japanese youth of today, especially with the frequent use of love hotels in the narrative?) As is often the case with Japanese books, not everything is resolved but you can make a fairly educated guess as to what happens to some of the characters whose threads are left hanging.

I really enjoyed this book as it had all the elements of a great thriller – taut and exciting. The insight into the young Japanese was an added bonus. I’ll be looking forward to reading more of Shuichi Yomada’s work.

 I read this book as part of the Japanese Literature Challenge 5, which I am taking part in for the second year running.

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

In a nutshell… It’s a book of short stories connected loosely by characters, told in a variety of styles.

Strengths: It’s original.

Weaknesses: It doesn’t always work.

Why I read it: Part of the Goodreads Book Club

Pages: 274

Published: 2010 

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday

Setting: America

Rating: 6 out of 10

If you liked this, try: I’m really not sure…this is not my kind of book.

A Visit from the Goon Squad seems to be appearing everywhere at the moment. When the Goodreads Book Club announced it as their original book, I thought I would take part and see what the hype was about. This book has won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. While the book is innovative, telling each story in a variety of styles (hello, chapter told entirely in PowerPoint), it just didn’t really work well enough for me.

The first chapter is straightforward enough, telling the story of Sasha, who is a compulsive kleptomaniac. She also has a bath in the kitchen of her apartment (that’s odd to me). Sasha then disappears into the background for the rest of the book. It is unusual to have a character introduced in the first chapter, then only see fleeting glimpses of them, but hey, I’ll roll with it for now…

Chapter Two introduces Bennie, Sasha’s boss. He’s old, trying to restore vitality by eating gold flakes. He also tries to come on to Sasha. I didn’t feel any sympathy for Bernie here.

Chapter Three is told by Rhea, Bernie’s childhood friend. (See how we’re drifting away from Sasha, but loosely linked?) Rhea uses the word ‘goes’ far too much in this chapter for my liking. Is it to demonstrate her youth despite her presence on the punk rock scene? This read awkwardly for me, perhaps it was trying to represent the teenage years.

Chapter Four involves the use of a ‘time telescope’. It takes place on an African safari and introduces some new characters, namely Rolph and Mindy. We also find out in this chapter what will happen to each of these characters in the future. Killing the suspense or just dispensing with minor characters? I found this one of the better written chapters.

Chapter Five deals with age and Jocelyn returns as the main voice. We see the aging of Lou, Bennie’s original manager/guru and compare it to Jocelyn and Rhea’s aging. Were they successful or failures? Who are we to judge? I felt this chapter focused on regret, although I note that others felt it was more about redemption.

Chapter Six brings one of Bennie’s teenage friends, Scotty to the fore. He’s a flawed but likeable character. He gives Bernie, who seems wildly successful, a freshly caught fish for a present. I didn’t try to understand the symbolism of this, nor of his compulsive dry cleaning of his jacket.

Chapter Seven represents the B side (or second half) the book – that’s in record terms, kids. This was another enjoyable chapter for me, revolving around Bennie’s wife of the time, Stephanie. She’s trapped in a wealthy, conservative suburb and feels stifled. Bennie is also out of his depth here but copes with it differently. I saw some of Betty Draper in Stephanie here.

Chapter Eight brings two briefly mentioned characters to the fore – La Doll and Kitty. This was a quirky chapter and I enjoyed the moving away from some of the recurring characters. It was also more humorous and desperate than previous chapters.

Chapter Nine is written as an article by Jules, another character mentioned briefly prior to this chapter. The subject is an uncomfortable one – about how he attacks a film star (Kitty from the previous chapter), but we know that he’s unwell mentally. The article read like a long stream of consciousness and did very well I thought about catching the state of Jules’ manic mind. The footnotes are especially troubled and show his lack of insight.

I can’t say that I enjoyed Chapter 10. This deals with Sasha’s (remember her?) friend Rob and how he meets his death. (We knew he was dead from the first chapter). It uses second person narration, which I can’t say I’m fond of.

In Chapter 11, we finally see Sasha again, but in the past. Her uncle has been sent to find her, but is quite lazy about the whole process and meets her at random. This was about finding something you don’t expect.

Chapter 12 is The Great Powerpoint Chapter. Told entirely in slides, it makes more sense than you think. I thought it was good (I got the gist of the story with very few words). We see Sasha again – this time in the future – which probably endears the reader some more. Some have criticised the ability to read this on eReaders, but I had no problems with my Sony (I use it for lectures anyway).

Chapter 13, the final chapter, was a letdown for me. Set again in the future, it involves people being so reliant on technology that they find it embarrassing to speak face to face. We see more recurring characters – some in odd situations and the introduction of text speak. This was one of my least liked chapters.

While it uses interesting devices, this book requires you to be vigilant in regards to remembering characters and details. I think I’ve understood as best as I’m going to by reading this review. This is one for the English class to study.

Beach Babylon by Imogen Edwards-Jones & Anonymous

Beach Babylon is yet another of the Babylon series that contains Hospital, Hotel, Fashion, Wedding etc. Each book, with the help of several anonymous insiders, provides an insider’s look into the world of hotels, hospitals etc. As I found Hospital Babylon amusing with some truth to it, I decided to try some more Babylon books. Not to mention that they also appear on discount piles and are exceptionally easy reads that can be read during busy working periods.

Beach Babylon is somewhat similar to Hotel Babylon in that it’s set in the hotel industry. However, this time the setting is an idyllic beach resort that seems to be situated on a private island somewhere in South East Asia. None of this five star rubbish, this resort is six stars for the serious high flyers and high spenders. Decadence reigns at this resort, from personal villa attendants, yachts at the disposal of guests, barbeques on sandbars dripping with food and alcohol. A crisis is when the Cristal shipment fails to arrive or there’s a Sheikh Attack (unexpected arrival of a sheikh).

But behind the glamour and the luxurious lifestyle, there’s the staff toiling away to meet every whim and need. The story is told in the first person by the manager, who is running his own little kingdom – with worker riots, a promiscuous chef, no water and huts next to the power generator. There’s no way of getting away from work – it’s 24/7, and takes its toll on both him (drinking every night with guests can be difficult) and causes his relationship to suffer. This book shows the extremes of human behaviour – from extreme selfishness and stupidity to full-blown generosity.

Light hearted and somewhat similar to Hotel Babylon, this was good escapist fare. It reminded me of resorts situated in isolated conditions and the fact that being unable to escape from paradise can be hell. A fast read, but a good one.

Read this if: you’ll never get to a six star resort anytime soon.

7 out of 10.

Jumping out of June and into July

I’m almost certainly going to run out of alliteration for months soon! J is a difficult letter for month summaries.

I’m a bit behind in my reviews, so I only managed to post six reviews. Half of these were ebooks and half were non-fiction, surprisingly! I was also introduced to the works of Andrey Kurkov through Melville House Publishing. I celebrated a blog birthday and took part in the fantastic Literary Giveaway Blog Hop though! Unfortunately, Australia lost its final Borders stores this month and I’ll show you my pickings in stages over July (there’s quite a few of them).

My favourite read of the month was a tie – Death and the Penguin by Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov for its irony and penguin and Hospital Babylon for its hilarity combined with sadness.

Now onto the challenges…

2011 Aussie Author Challenge

My challenge: Tourist level (3 books by 3 different authors)

No Aussie authors read this month – shame! I have read five books this year though.

Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2011

My challenge: Hajime (one book)

Still haven’t gotten any further yet – must read one soon – perhaps when my work schedule is a bit quieter ( the worst will be over in a fortnight). Should I choose Sputnik Sweetheart  or The Elephant Vanishes?

The Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Challenge 2011

My challenge: Neophyte (read the original)

Completed! My review is here.

Historical Fiction Challenge 2011

My challenge: Struggling the Addiction (10 books).

Now up to 14 – only book that counted this month was Small Island – a great read of post-war Britain.

2011 Reading From My Shelves Project

My challenge: 20 paper books (am excluding ebooks).

I’ve hit 32 for the year…but have bought way too many books in June (see forthcoming posts). I can’t cram any more into my bookshelves!

In terms of the blog, I had a very busy month due to the blog hop. This didn’t stop the strange search terms coming, I had some great ones, including:

• stewardess 60s, stewardess birthday
• richard hammond visits a diving pool
• nissan x trail fuel lift pump
• australian breakfast singapore borders
• food mentioned in the immortal life of henrietta lacks
• gear for teen boys
• you are not that old swedish book written by doctor from stockholm published october 2011
• sense and sensibility is a horrible book
• singapore grand hyatt club cocktail hours
• erline jenschke
• preincarnation and chosing a time period to live in

Michael Palin was the most popular search term and most of you were interested in the literary Giveaway Blog Hop (mine was won by Mae). Fortune Cookie by Bryce Courtenay  is still very popular and rightly so – it’s an excellent book, combining Mad Men-style advertising with Singapore and a mystery.

Did you get much reading done in June?