Review: Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng

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A tough read but one I can recommend. I almost DNFed it but came to my senses and realized what the author was saying.

This Is the sort of horror I prefer, i.e. where horror is used to frame social, personal, and political issues. Ring Shout, of which I will post a review later also does this well.

This is the story of a half-white American born Chinese woman living in New York City during the covid pandemic and having to deal with the suspicion and hostility toward Asians as if they are responsible for and carriers of the “Chinese disease”. She witnesses the horrific murder of her sister on a NY subway platform by a masked man who utters the words “bat eater” before shoving her in front of a train.

Bat Eater is a layered horror story; the horrors take several forms. She is a crime scene cleaner dealing with the gross, messy aftermath of murders which would be a horror to most of us. She observes that Asian women have been all the victims lately and bats found around the crime scene. Is there a racially motivated serial killer at work in the city? The authorities don’t seem to pick up on it.

Horror takes another form in the month-long Hungry Ghost Festival which takes place during the course of the story. During the festival, rituals are performed to placate wrathful ghosts. This includes feeding the ravenously hungry ghosts. Here, a cultural celebration becomes an actual threat to Vera’s life and sanity. It is fascinating the way the author weaves this traditional, important cultural celebration into the story.

The bigger horror is what Cora faces in herself. She lives between worlds, Asian and white, and doesn’t fit into either. She’s desperately lonely, has no real friends, and is almost debilitatingly fearful. The author makes Cora’s pain, trauma, and fear real as she faces racial hatred toward Asians which a serial killer may be acting upon and the hungry ghosts.

It’s difficult to describe how Cora’s first person narrative pulled me into her state of mind and created real empathy for Cora.

Review:Kobo Sage Review

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Rating: A

I’ve had my Kobo Sage for 100 days and read 20 books: books purchased from Kobo, books downloaded from a library via Overdrive, books downloaded from a library and sideloaded, and a book purchased from Google and sideloaded. I also have the stylus and PowerCover. I chose the Sage because I don’t need color.

TLDR: I enjoy the reading experience on the Sage and don’t miss my Kindle Oasis.

MINOR CONS

• It sometimes gets stuck in Sleep or Power Off mode requiring a hard restart but not often

• You need to make sure the device is powered off when you are done reading for a while or the battery will drain, especially overnight. I recommend the “Automatically Power Off After:” settings.

• It’s too heavy to comfortably read one-handed with the PowerCover.

• Only 1 library can be setup in the Sage’s Overdrive settings

• Overdrive options at your library are limited. You can see Holds but not your library Wish List. Also, the Sage gives me a network error when trying to view New eBooks. Maybe it’s a memory limitation.

Pros

• I like the 8”screen which makes it suitable to use horizontally.

• It has forward and back buttons. It comes with the Back button on top and forward on bottom but this can be switched if desired.

• As long as I make sure the Sage is powered off when not in use, I can go several days without charging.

• It doesn’t have the same range of font faces as my Kindle Oasis but I didn't have trouble finding one I like (Kobo UD Kakugo).

• It has a nice selection of options for reading: font face, font size, line spacing, margins, and justification. You can also select a header and footer. I have mine set for a page in chapter header and page in book footer.

• When you connect the Sage to a computer via USB-C you  have the option to Connect the Sage as a device which is important for sideloading

• You can download a library book directly to the Sage via Overdrivw.

•  I have access to 2 libraries but can only set up one. I download the ebook from the library and sideload it via Adobe Digital Editions. I register the Sage within ADE and it shows up as a device. I also do this with non-Kobo books I have purchased. Easy peasy and it takes less than a minute.

• For epubs without DRM, I download and put in Calibre where tthe Sage will be recognized as a device. Even more easy peasy.

• The stylus works well with the Sage both for annotating a book and writing in a notebook.

• The Sage has Bluetooth, web browser, DropBox and Google Drive options but I haven’t tried yet.

Review: Ring Shout by P Djèlí Clark

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Ring Shout is horror mixed with magical realism and historical events. To me, it’s a perfect horror story: it uses horror to frame something bigger. It’s set in 1922 in Macon, Georgia and follows Black female monster hunters as they confront the evil and horror of racial hatred embodied in the KKK. They face the everyday racism of the Klan but fight what they call Ku Kluxes, demons from another dimension who feed off hatred.Only some people can see the demons for what they are. These demon Ku Kluxes were responsible for the Tulsa race massacre in 1921, a real event. In this world, D. W. Griffith’s 1915 film, the Birth of a Nation, carries a magic that expands its influence over the second rise of the KKK. In our world it was used as Klan propaganda.

Several things come together to make it a perfect horror:

The characters — the women in this story are fully realized, three dimensional characters with both strength and flaws. They show courage, heroism, self-sacrifice and strong bonds of friendship. There isn’t one I wouldn’t want to know.

Emotions — Ring Shout engenders heightened emotions as the women battle evil and face loss and defeat. There are others to affect the reader: the sensual atmosphere in a night club and the ecstatic power of music in the religious ring shout dance.

Language — the language used isn’t forced but a natural part of the characters. Spoken Gullah and Gullah culture are also used effectively.

Story — This isn’t a long book(192 pages) and I read it in one sitting but from the strong opening chapter through to the end it has a flowing narrative that pulled me into the story. The way it blends fact and fiction contributes significantly to the story.

Horror — There is intense visceral gore so beware but it is necessary to the story and well written

Clark is a terrific writer. If you can handle some gore I recommend this book for its story telling and the story it tells and the characters in the story.

Review: Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

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This is billed as a romantic comedy which is way outside my usual reading but it’s much more than that. It follows the life of Nina Dean, a single woman in her 30s living in North London and published author. The story is described on Goodreads and Amazon so I’m going to focus on how I feel about the book.

It is very funny with that dry, wry, cynical observational humor often found in British novels. For example:” …and happy that big arses had come back in fashion. So much so that I had observed with pride that we now occupied more than two categories on any given porn streaming platform.” Her observations on navigating a dating app are a hoot. She finds humor in even the most mundane things in everyday life.

I found it sad and poignant within the humor.There is Nina’s loneliness at being single in a world where everyone is married with children. She wants to be in a relationship and thinks she’s found it in Max. She and Lola, the only other single woman in her friend group, often find themselves several bottles deep into wondering where their lives have gone. Much of this book will/should make male readers uncomfortable but I saw it as a glimpse into another world and giving some understanding of that world. We see the strength of female friendship.

One aspect hit especially close to home for me. Nina’s father has Alzheimer's and the author really captures the pain of watching a loved one slipping away, the man he was disappearing as she watches.I went through that myself and I appreciate how the author is able to bring out the rawness of the experience,

As for the title, there are a couple of ways it relates to the story. You’ll see.

Ghosts is a remarkable five star read for me and not what I was expecting in a “romantic comedy”. Highly recommended.

Trigger warning for misogynists and incels: they will hate this book and rant about it on subreddits.

For He Can Creep by Siobhan Carroll

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IFor He Can Creep by Siobhan Carroll

I tend to review dark books but now I want to recommend this short (54 pages on Kobo) 5 star fantasy where the main characters are cats. This isn't a cozy, the stakes are much higher, it’s a battle of good vs evil. It is only available as an ebook as of this date. And is not that  cover fantastic.

In 1757, the poet Christopher Smart was confined in St. Luke’s Hospital for Lunatics and he was accompanied by his cat Jeoffry. Smart was a real 18th Century poet, who was sent to a lunatic asylum, and had a cat named Jeoffry. The rest is fantasy…perhaps.

Smart led a dwild early life and Satan helped him out. Now the devil has come to collect: Smart is to write a poem that will bring about armageddon. The great Jeoffry, ruler of the asylum, a  warrior cat who fights  the imps that torture the inmates, has no intention of letting Satan interfer with his human. After losing a fierce, bloody battle with Satan, Jeoffry asks Black Tom, Polly, and Nighthunter Moppet to help him save his human.

For He Can Creep is funny, heroic, and poignant. It is a story of loyalty and courage, taking a stand against evil. NO cats die in case you were worrying. Carroll wonderfully describes the smug, superior attitude of the great Jeoffry. In the poem “For I will consider my cat Jeoffry”, Smart describes Jeoffry and Carroll brings the poem to vibrant life to create this fantasy:

From the poem:

For he keeps the lord’s watch in the night against the adversary

For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electric skin and glaring eyes

For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.

Booktuber @ChanelChapters reviewed this book, on her YT channel and, like her, “I would follow Jeoffry into a battle, into a sunbeam, into hell itself.” Look for the “haunted housewives & heroic cats” post on her channel. Here's a link — haunted housewives & heroic cats | short books reading vlog | all under 200pgs

I’m sure even non-cat people will admire Jeoffry but as a cat person I was like “hell yeah Jeoffry I want a cat like you looking after me”. I recommend reading Smart’s poem, he really knows his cat. 

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

The Dream Hotel is a work of speculative fiction set in the near future in a society that abandoned privacy for security. After a mass shooting at a Super Bowl half time, people allowed mass data collection that a crime prediction algorithm will use to identify citizens likely to commit crimes. Everything digital is harvested and used by the algorithm.This includes dreams. Someone you haven’t seen for 20 years did something, it will be linked to you by the algorithm.

Sara Hussein, a Moroccan‑American wife and mother is flagged at the airport upon returning to the US. Her risk score is above 500 and the algorithm reports that she is likely to murder her husband. People flagged as a risk are shunted off to retention centers for a two week (supposedly) quarantine to make sure they aren’t a danger. The center is ironically referred to as a hotel and a nightmare can have a disastrous effect. Sara finds herself in a bureaucratic Kafkaesque nightmare that appears rigged to keep her at the retention center as long as possible.You see the retention centers are privately run and it’s to the company’s advantage to keep retainees and monetize everything it can.

Sara is not able to keep her head down and her two weeks quarantine becomes months as points are arbitrarily added to her score.

Obvious themes here are the dangers of sacrificing privacy for security and privatizing detention facilities. But within this bureaucratic structure is the real core of the novel, the relationships among the women in the center. There is a real Orange is the New Black vibe here as the women find a collective strength with Sara at the heart. Apologies if you haven’t seen Orange…, but there is a character that made me think of Pornstache striding through the dormitory handing out demerits.

This is a beautifully written story of resilience, friendship, and strength. The reader cares about the characters who are all treated as individuals.

Highly recommended.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

 

Science fiction and horror

Seven years ago, a ship filming a mockumentary about mermaids over the Mariana Trench was found abandoned, with no sign of the crew. Horrific found footage shows the ship being attacked by creatures from the sea. The footage is generally written off as fake but some people believe it was real, among them Victoria Stewart, now a marine scientist, whose sister was on the previous expedition. Now the Imagine Network is sending a second ship to the area, not for entertainment, but a legitimate scientific expedition. This time the ship is armored and has armed security that includes a husband/wife team of lethal and remorseless bug game hunters. The ship arrives on station and the scientists find what they are looking for but these mermaids ain’t Ariel. Teeth, lots of teeth.

I read this 438 page book in one day, so yeah, it pulled me in hard. Besides being fast paced and thrilling with characters you’re invested in, the story is founded on hard science. The author avoids the pitfalls of the info dump while showing the reader how science is done. There are multiple POVs but the MFC specializes in interpreting sonar signals, i.e. she interprets signals returned from beneath the surface.

When the story cranks up it is a heart racing thriller but it’s the science that pulls it together. What is the biology that allows the “mermaids” to exist at the crushing depths in the Trench? What kind of society do they have? How do they communicate? The story also has fun with scientists’ egos and how graduate students are treated. The two big game hunters are blatant caricatures but that didn’t bother me, they are mostly fun to watch. I did think the ship security was pretty bad but I think that was deliberate since they were hired by an entertainment company. I would have been looking for combat veterans myself.

I recommend this if you want a solid, fast paced horror story, grounded in science, with scientists doing science stuff, and awash in a significant amount of splatter gore. It was a fun read for me.

Coup de Grâce by Sofia Ajram

 

This is a tough book to write about and I would recommend it only to someone I know well. It deals with suicide ideation which will be a red flag for many. This short (135 pages) novella is compelling and beautifully, even lyrically, written. I can’t use the word “enjoy” to describe the reading experience but I do appreciate it.

Vicken is on the Montreal Metro to Saint Lawrence River where he plans to drown himself. He has battled depression and anxiety since adolescence and having only “The withering ember of dreams” left he decides this is the time and place to end things.

He falls asleep and wakes when the train reaches what he thinks is the terminus of the line and, indeed, it is a terminus, just not what he expects. At the top of the stairs he passes through a formidable turnstile gate that grants “permission to exit only”. He finds himself alone in a dull grey brutalist concrete station. There is no exit to an outbound train, only a labyrinth of halls. He meets a caustic and dismissive woman and together they explore. Unfortunately they aren’t together long.

Vicken finds himself “...denied a destination, caught in a transitional environment, a space between beginning and an end”. What is this place? My thought was that this is a form of purgatory, that Vicken could find a way out by sifting through his memories, searching for meaning, exploring what it means to be himself. Instead is alone, isolated from any community, experiencing an existential, often surreal horror. I took the labyrinthine halls as a metaphor for endless despair, no way out. Would Vicken have the courage to leave if presented with a possible exit or is he doomed to remain trapped within himself?

Coup de Grâce is a remarkable book that challenges the reader. This is the most difficult book I’ve read in a while. Read through to the; the author makes a stylistic shift that is pretty neat.

Piransi by Susanna Clark

Piranesi lives in the House, a labyrinthine structure with seemingly endless halls each with statues of different size and theme. He can remember the 7,678 he has visited. He spends his days fishing in the Drowned Halls and cataloging the statues and performing research for the Other, a well-dressed man who visits once a week and gives him tasks in pursuit of the Great and Secret Knowledge . The Other gave him the name Piransi though he is certain that isn’t his real name. In fact, Piransi remembers nothing of his past including how he got there. He is content with his life, innocently marveling at the halls and statues. There is a religious aspect to the way Piransi sees the House, it is the giver. 

Then things start to happen and Piransi begins to doubt the Other. To the reader, he is being gaslit with the Other manipulating his memories. The story then takes on a different tone. 

The first third of the book describes Piransi’s daily life and interactions with the Other. This is where I might have given up if the book wasn’t only 158 pages on my Kobo. Once Piransi begins to put bits of information together the story picks up and gets more intriguing.

Memory is a major theme in Piransi and how important it is to a person’s identity. As the Other gaslights Piranisi, he begins to question himself. I was much interested in what memories and the lack of memories can have on one’s sense of self.

The nature of reality is another consideration. To the reader, the House is unreal but to Piranisi it is his whole reality, he doesn’t question it, or even find a way out. He has nothing to compare the house to so his whole perception is shaped by the House.

I enjoyed Piranisi. I don’t think the story could sustain a longer book and it works quite well as a novella. Once you get into the rhythm, the story flows along and begins to pick up momentum. Plus, I really like mazes, labyrinths, and the no way out story.

Note: Piransi probably refers to Giovanni Battista Piranesi, a 16th century architect and artist who made a series of prints of imaginary prisons.

 

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okoraf

This novel didn't grab me at first. I read 100 pages then let the library loan expire. When it became available again I flew through it..

There is so much I’d like to write about Death of the Author but can’t for spoilers. The reader needs to experience it themselves. When I finished, I just sat there thinking, “wow”. 

So, the basics: Zelu is the American born, second daughter to Nigerian parents, a legitimate princess through her mother, paraplegic since an early age, failed author, and recently fired adjunct professor of creative writing. Feeling especially down and self-pitying after the wedding of a sister, Zelu opens her laptop and rather than writing about normal people having normal problems, begins to write about something not human, rusted robots.

This is a story within a story. Zelu’s novel, Rusted Robots is narrated by Ankara, a Hume robot, i.e. has the shape of the human. In this world, the human race is no more. Ankara is a scholar and collects stories, something the Humes love since they can’t create any of their own.

The other half of the novel is Zelu’s personal story. Her life changes dramatically when Rusted Robots is embraced worldwide and she is suddenly worth millions and can finally become independent. But there is a price to fame, her family doesn’t approve and her fans think they own her. And her sudden rise to fame naturally leads to cancellation when an ill-advised comment on a talk show brings a backlish.  

Death of the Author is a deep exploration of Nigerian culture and the place of some like Zelu within that culture. Zelu is loved by her family but because of her disability they see her as broken, someone who needs to be protected. Her success isn’t celebrated by her family who resist her attempts at independence and are frustrated by Zelu’s defiance and obstinacy.

For me, the themes are the power of stories, the need for stories, treatment of people with disabilities, generational communication, relationships, family, conflict between traditional culture and the generation one step removed from the culture,

Zelu isn’t particularly likeable and the reader might want to smack some sense in her but we still empathize and root for her. Likewise her family would drive me crazy but we see where her parents and siblings are coming from and can empathize with them as well. 

This isn’t hammered but Zulu is clear that there are different rules for black authors. This ties in with a book I’m reading called How to Read Now by Elaine Costillo which explores, among other issues, that there is the expectation that writers of color are expected to educate white readers. I recommend Costillo’s book.

This is a well written and moving story that I enjoyed and I want to read more by the author. I also had a tear in my eye at the end.

On a lighter note, food plays a big role in the story and I really want to find a Nigerian restaurant and try jollof rice and pounded yam.

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica trans. by Sarah Moses

Bazterrica writes horror that can be enjoyed by fans of horror as well as readers who don’t think they like horror. The writing and themes are just that beautiful. Sarah Moses also translated Tender is the Flesh and she delivers a smooth, fluid translation.

The Sacred Sisterhood is a “religious” order in a world where ecological collapse has destroyed civilization. Within the walls of a former monastery, the sisters practice a debased faith that rejects the tenets of Christianity and dehumanizes the sisters . Most of the sisters fall among the group known as the Unworthy and are ruled with total life-and-death control by the Superior Sister who is more like the commandant of a concentration camp than a religious leader. There is only one male, He, never seen, and the "spiritual" leader.

The story is told in the form of illicit journal entries by an Unworthy. She shows the reader the depths to which an extreme religious cult can be taken. The Unworthy are so conditioned that they vie to be the one to devise horrible punishments for other sisters.

When a new and charismatic sister is accepted, the power dynamic within the Unworthy is upset. I imagine this society is like that of a prison where guards control the prisoners and the prisoners create their own hierarchy to give themselves some semblance of control of their lives. The brutalized pass that brutality on to the weaker.

The Unworthy is a story of survival in the face of brutal rituals and punishments in the name of faith that are more akin to torture than atoenment. It is especially chilling because the extreme conditioning  it shows is all too possible. 

This is a compelling, thought-provoking, and well written story that explores power using faith to exercise that power and strip away the humanity of those within that faith.

Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn —Three Versions of my review

I thought it would be fun to play around with AI using Microsoft Copilot. Here are three versions. First is my original review. Second is Copilot's improved/edited version. Third is Copilot's generated review. In this case, it's pretty obvious that AI needs specific prompts to be effective.

1. Original Review

Retired assassins Helen, Billie, Natalie, Mary Alice are back after the events in Killers of a Certain Age. This time, someone within The Museum has sold their names to people with a grudge and they find themselves targets. Being who they are, they assemble their gear and go on the attack. Their pursuit begins in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia and sees the team traverse multiple countries to eliminate the threat.

This is an enjoyable fast-paced action thriller with a respectable body count. I like the way the author has built the characters. They are unrepentant at having killed many times at the direction of The Museum. They are “necessary monsters”, removing the worst of humanity and making the world a better place. They aren’t reluctant assassins and in fact miss the thrill of being on active duty.

For me this is an often darkly humorous character driven story that doesn’t stint on the action. The action itself is well choreographed and I would say cinegraphic which is not a negative, it’s very visual. As I read I imagined how the story would look on the screen. The ladies have distinct personalities—two of them squabble almost continuously—but form a lethal team.

This story has what I wanted: likeable characters, interesting plot (you will learn a bit about stolen artwork), and excellent action set pieces to get your pulse racing. All-in-all, a most enjoyable read that I hope gets picked up as a miniseries by one of the streamers. Make that both books.

2. My Review improved by Copilot

Retired assassins Helen, Billie, Natalie, and Mary Alice return after the thrilling events of "Killers of a Certain Age." This time, they find themselves targeted by individuals with a grudge, thanks to someone within The Museum who has sold their names. True to their nature, they gear up and go on the offensive, starting their pursuit in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, and traversing multiple countries to eliminate the threat.

This novel is a fast-paced action thriller with a respectable body count. Raybourn excels in character development, portraying the assassins as unapologetic and unrepentant for their past actions. They are "necessary monsters," eliminating the worst of humanity to make the world a better place. Far from reluctant, they miss the thrill of active duty.

The story is often darkly humorous and driven by its well-crafted characters. The action sequences are meticulously choreographed and visually striking, making it easy to imagine the story on screen. Each assassin has a distinct personality, with two of them engaging in continuous squabbles, yet they form a lethal team.

The novel delivers everything one could want: likable characters, an intriguing plot (including insights into stolen artwork), and excellent action set pieces that get your pulse racing. Overall, "Kills Well with Others" is a highly enjoyable read that deserves to be adapted into a miniseries. Both books in the series would make fantastic viewing.

3. Copilot Generated Review (pretty bad IMHO)

"Kills Well with Others" by Deanna Raybourn is a delightful and engaging read that masterfully blends mystery, humor, and historical fiction. Raybourn's writing is both witty and captivating, drawing readers into a world filled with intriguing characters and unexpected twists.

The protagonist is a breath of fresh air, with a sharp mind and a knack for getting into and out of trouble in the most entertaining ways. The plot is well-paced, keeping you hooked from the first page to the last, with plenty of surprises along the way.

Raybourn's attention to historical detail adds depth and authenticity to the story, making it not just a thrilling mystery but also a fascinating glimpse into the past. The dialogue is sharp and often laugh-out-loud funny, adding a layer of charm to the already compelling narrative.

Overall, "Kills Well with Others" is a must-read for fans of historical mysteries and anyone looking for a book that is both smart and fun. Deanna Raybourn has once again proven herself to be a master storyteller, and this novel is a testament to her talent. Highly recommended!

Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Australia. Remote ski resort. No cell phone reception. Snow storm. Dysfunctional family reunion. Everyone has secrets. Pretty much all the elements you need for a Golden Age mystery (1920s-’50s. Ernest (Ern) Cunningham is the 1st person reliable (self-professed) narrator and black sheep of the family after testifying against his brother at a murder trial. Awkward especially as his brother has just been released from prison and is on his way to join the reunion.

This is a mystery thriller with a body count so not a cozy but Ern has a chatty way of addressing the reader directly that is engaging and often delightfully snarky and darkly humorous. He also writes books about how to write mystery books.Throughout the story, He applies the Golden Age of Detective Fiction rules for writing mystery novels (e.g.Ronald Knox’s “Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction,1929” and the membership oath of the Detection Club, 1930). The rules boil down to play fair with the reader and Ern promises to play fair in describing the events.

I confess a lot of my enjoyment comes from the author incorporating aspects of Golden Age detective fiction in which at one time I immersed myself. But above all it has a good cast of characters, an entertaining narrator, and a fine plot that unfolds at a good pace. I plan to continue with the series.The next one is Everyone On This Train is a Suspect and I’m a sucker for train mysteries.

If you think the rules for writing detective fiction are fun, check out S.S. Van Dine's Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

So you need a break from epic fantasy and the dark stuff? Well this cozy fantasy might be the palate cleanser you’re looking for. Viv the orc scores one last victory that gives her what she needs to finally fulfill her dream to hang up her sword and open a coffee shop. She settles in the city of Thune and sets about the process of finding a location, hiring staff, and ordering what’s needed to start her business.

Honestly, you know how the story’s going to go but the fun is in watching it unfold. There are stumbles, disaster, bonding, developing relationships, colorful characters, bad guys, and a feel-good ending. Oh, and a cat, a cozy fantasy needs a cat.

I enjoyed the story and the way the author pulled the story elements together and gave the reader well drawn characters, Viv’s inner circle and nasty baddies. Viv goes against expectations as a sword wielding, blood soaked warrior (retired) turned awkward, often uncertain, small business owner.

I found this a fun read but you really need to be in the mood for a cozy or a devoted reader of cozies. I think it avoided descending into tweeness but your mileage may vary. This is the third cozy fantasy I’ve read this year and I’ve reached my saturation point and will stop for a while before my noir self rebels

Command Performance by Jean Echenoz trans. by Mark Polizzotti

Gerard Fulmard, is a former flight attendant who was fired after an unspecified incident on a Paris-Zurich flight that also left him blacklisted and required to attend twice weekly therapy sessions. He tries his hand at the private detective trade but reality doesn’t match the dream and disaster ensues.Then in a turn hopefully for the better, his therapist brings him into a minor French political party in crises, the IPF (Independent Popular Federation), as a special operative, with even worse results.

I enjoyed this book and found it delightful. Fulmard is not hero material— he’s rather selfish, self centered and delusional— but still engaging as a character and the internal squabbling within the IPF is fun to watch unfold.

I saw this book described as very French. Though I don’t know what this means, I might have an inkling based on its quirky style.

It’s easy to focus only on the style of the writing, which I loved, but it isn’t a case of form over substance. Rather the style pulls it all together. It has elements of satire and parody of the amateur PI, the roman policier (detective story), and politics which are playfully presented. The story switches between the 1st person narration of Fulmard and an omniscient observer commenting on and speculating about what’s happening when Fulmard isn’t around. Fulmard and the observer often branch off into digressions such as Fulmard considering the options when only one sock has a hole in the toe; and the observer delivering mini biographies. All of this is done with a droll style that made me smile. The translator’s choice of words adds to the style and fun of reading. I have to believe that the use of uncommon words is deliberate and intended to add literary flourishes. For example:

"Franck Terrail’s mustache is not assertoric but apodictic:"

assertoric = something that can be proven as a fact

apodictic = beyond dispute

[About a character on the beach] “Her outfit is not particularly balneal”

balneal = of or relating to a bath or bathing

The author has a fun way of describing things like Fulard’s self-deprecating observation about himself, “I look like anyone else, only less so” and another character who “Stared at the bare walls as if they weren’t”. Clever, amusing, and you know what he is conveying.

Story and style are both great fun.

The Convenience Story Woman by Sayaka Murata trans. by Ginny Tapley Takemor

Keiko Furukura is a 36 year old Japanese woman who has been an employee of the same convenience store for 18 years. This has been her only job. Keiko is neurodivergent who learns at an early age not to say or act on what’s in her mind; she scares people. She has bits of Molly the maid in Nita Prose’s The Maid, and Patric Gagne in her memoir, Sociopath. She knows she has to appear normal in society and with the aid of her sister has developed responses to common situations. Her family still hopes she will be “cured” and find a husband and have children.

The book is told in first person by Keiko who relates her life in the store and her marginal home life and considers her place in society. She observes:

“I’m a convenience store worker, a cog in society. This is the only way I can be normal.”

“My present self is formed almost completely of the people around me”

”The normal world has no room for exceptions and always quietly eliminates foreign objects.”

I like the character of Keiko and don’t find her sad or pathetic. The author does well in portraying a neurodivergent person in a “normal” world faced with pressures from family and friends who don’t understand how she can stay in a dead-end job.

In the end this is an affirming story of someone marginalized by society but not by herself and I cheered Keiko on. It’s a good story and has interesting and relatable characters and I learned something from reading it.

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turto

This is a wild one and I suspect the gimmick won't be for everyone. I think it's great. The narrator wakes up not knowing who he is or where he is or what he's doing there. Someone in a plague doctor outfit tells him he’s at Blackheath where Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11PM. He can’t escape until Evelyn’s murder is solved. He has 8 days and 8 hosts to solve it. He will have a full day in each host but if he doesn’t succeed his memories will be wiped and the cycle will repeat as has been going on for decades.

Here’s where the story may lose readers. It is non-linear in telling. If a host falls unconscious during the day, the narrator jumps to another host and begins to experience the same day’s events through that host’s eyes and to make things even more interesting, he revisits the same host multiple times. So our narrator is jumping around in time, place, and viewpoints and trying to make sense of what he finds. The personalities of his hosts begin to bleed over which adds further stress the more he inhabits each host.

The author pulls off this conceit admirably. It’s no mean feat to give each host a distinct and sometimes repulsive personality and to manage the discoveries of each host so that they eventually complete the puzzle. It is a beautifully intricate technique which I enjoyed greatly.

This can take its toll on the reader and as the story progressed and more hosts were added I found myself exclaiming “Wait, what!”. I also think having 8 hosts was a good idea. I can’t think of one I would eliminate to make it shorter.

I enjoyed the writing, the flow of the story, and the character development. There is one plot line that annoyed me because of the passive way the hosts react (sorry for being cryptic) but it does advance the story so there you have it.

It’s a fun read and I recommend it.

Review: No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1939) by James Hadley Chase

I'd seen No Orchids for Miss Blandish on lists of noir books but the title made the book seem more cosy-like than my preferred reading (hardboiled, noir, and noirish) so I didn't pursue it. Then I ran across a review of it somewhere—probably one of the blogs posts linked below—and decided that it is my kind of book. I tracked down a copy and I couldn't have been more wrong in judging a book by its title.

At the bottom of this post I link to two blog reviews and two in depth analyses of Miss Blandish. I recommend checking them out.

There are massive plot details in this review so be warned if you read past the synopsis.

Synopsis: After a party where the daughter of the Meat King is presented with the family heirloom pearls worth $50,000, Miss Blandish and her escort Jerry McGovern go to the Golden Slipper club. Unknown to Miss Blandish, the Riley Gang knows about the pearls and, after she and McGovern leave the club, intercept their car on a lonely stretch of road. In a struggle, McGovern is killed. Because she saw the murder, the gang takes her with them as they escape. Unfortunately for the Riley Gang, they are spotted by members of the Grisson Gang who figure out that Miss Blandish is the unconscious girl in the car. They also figure that the Riley Gang will take her to a gang neutral hideout, Johnny's. Members of Ma Grisson's gang, led by her psychotic and depraved son, Slim, snatch Miss Blandish from the Riley Gang. It doesn't end well for Riley and his men.

The Grisson's find themselves in a sweet spot since everyone thinks that the Riley's still have Miss Blandish. They figure on disposing of her once they have collected the ransom but Slim has other plans for the heiress and she is held in brutal and debasing captivity.

The ransom is paid, ostensibly to the Riley Gang, and several months pass with no sign of Miss Blandish, alive or dead. Daddy Blandish approaches Dave Fenner, formerly a reporter and a now private detective, to find his daughter. Mr. blandish has little hope that his daughter will be found alive. Bur Fenner has contacts and methods not available to the police and Blandish figures he might be able to get closure. In an unusual twist, the police are actually okay with the private detective running the case. Fenner does crack the case fairly quickly and it becomes a race to get to Miss Blandish while she still lives.

My Take: James Hadley Chase was one of the pen names of the Englishman René Lodge Brabazon Raymond, who had never been to America. Chase seems an unlikely person to write an American-style gangster/hardboiled detective story. Indeed, there are several versions of how this first novel came to be. Did Chase, who was working as a bookseller for a wholesaler, see a marketing opportunity to exploit interest in American crime stories like The Postman Always Rings Twice or after reading James M. Cain's book, The Postman Always Rings Twice, read about Ma Barker and her gang, steep himself in American gangsters, then sit down with some maps and a slang dictionary and write No Orchids for Miss Blandish (Wikipedia). Did he really knock it off over six weekends? Was he trying to out write James M. Cain? Did William Faulkner's Sanctuary have an influence? John Fraser covers this in his "Sidebar 1: Some Orchids for James Hadley Chase" (link below).

I'd say this is a must-read if you love gangster stories. Chase throws in everything he can imagine about American gangsters and doesn't hold back. There is no ambiguity in the depictions about sex and there is at least one stomach churning act of violence. The characters are mostly vile and that includes the private detective and law enforcement. Slim Grisson stands out for his utter depravity. I mean, he has yellow eyes. The language is a bit stilted by today's standards but if you've read other gangsters stories of the time, not overly so. Chase could also be pretty funny in his descriptions:

She was wearing a cream lace dress which made her look like a stack of unwashed curtains.

The room was richly furnished in bad taste.

Chase continued to write hardcore crime novels—over 90— and was even taken to court over one of his later books, Miss Callaghan Comes to Grief (1947) which was banned in the UK.

However it came to be, No Orchids is pretty tough book that tapped into the public's desire for American style gangsters compared to which the English variety paled. In 1944 it was extensively analysed by George Orwell in his essay, "Raffles and Miss Blandish". Orwell called it "a brilliant piece of writing, with hardly a wasted word or jarring note anywhere". He also said that Chase "seems to have made a complete mental transference to the American underworld." I don't agree with Orwell that No Orchids is aimed at the power-instinct—I think it is greed and lust—but I do agree when he writes:

In a book like No Orchids one is not, as in the old-style crime story, simply escaping from dull reality into an imaginary world of action. One's escape is essentially into cruelty and sexual perversion.

Both the Orwell and Fraser explorations of No Orchids are well worth the read to get a thorough perspective of the book.

The problem with reviewing No Orchids for Miss Blandish is which version are you reviewing. It was published in 1939, revised in 1942, and extensively revised in 1961. If you've read No Orchids, there is a good chance that you have the 1961 version because that seems to be the version most often sold. You'll know for sure which version you've read if you read on. I picked up a used copy only to learn that editions subsequent to the original are very different and much more toned down. It proved a bit difficult to find the original 1939 text. A certain large online seller of books claims to have the unabridged and unexpurgated edition but it isn't. The only copy of the original unexpurgated version I've found readily available is from Stark House Press. There isn't a direct title link but it's on this Stark House Press page. Both print and ebook versions are available. Stark House Press has other Chase titles including the censored Miss Callaghan Comes to Grief.

Here is a quick way to tell if you're reading a revised edition. Look on the first page. If you see Highway 54 in the second paragraph you have the revised edition. Also, the dinner is named Minny's Hash House in the '39 edition  and only referred to as a gas station and lunchroom bar in later editions. I'd say that you're reading a different book if you have the '61 edition. Apparently Chase thought the prohibition setting of the '39 edition was too remote for modern readers prompting his revision.

Chase went all out when he wrote No Orchids and embraced the sex and violence that is implicit in gangster and hardboiled detective stories. At times there seems to be little difference between the gangsters and the authorities led by the private detective, Fenner. The brutal interrogation of Grisson gang member Eddie stands out.

We might chuckle at the dialogue and slang and what we might now see as stereotypical characters but Miss Blandish is still a cracking good read. It is violent with few likable characters but it has power and even pathos as we witness the total destruction of Miss Blandish. Chase's interpretation of the gangster, hardboiled, and genres is very well done. He does occasionally slip up and use British terms and spellings—like Kerb— and at times I had no idea what he meant but those are small things that didn't bother me.

For me, the 1961 revision strips out all the hard-edged power of the original. What remains is shorter, perhaps more palatable, and a smoother read but it does so by sacrificing the impact of the violence and sexuality of the original. In '39, only one of the principle female characters makes it out alive but in '61 several fates are rewritten to soften the story but not for the better. Having lost its blood, I find the revised edition anemic in comparison. Like I said above, it is a different book.

Let's look at some comparisons between editions which will demonstrate why I prefer the original and illustrate how well Chase could present some very bad people, on both side of the law.

The first chapter is a good place to start. Bailey, a member of the Riley Gang, enters Minny's Hash House and sees the waitress.

1939

The blonde, who was leaning over the counter, gave him a smile that made Bailey think of a piano. She had worked on herself until she looked as good as any movie star until you got close to her, then she wasn't so hot. She patted her tight yellow curls and stretched, so that her large breasts poked at Bailey through her thin dress.

Compare this to

1962

The blonde leaning over the counter smiled at him. She had big white teeth that reminded Bailey of piano keys, She was too fat to interest him. He didn't return the smile.

I don't know about you but I can see the blonde in the '39 edition but not really in the '62. The whole scene in Minny's is a more fun in '39 with Bailey and the waitress taking cracks at each other in the way you expect a thug and a blowsy hash house waitress would. This is cut entirely in '62.

Bailey in the hash house contrasts with Bailey during the abduction of Miss Blandish. During the abduction he beats McGovern to the ground then savagely kicks him to death. In '62 he shoots him.

Ma Grisson's son, Slim, is one of the most chilling, degenerate, and psychotic character written, particularly for 1939. He favors the knife which I think engenders more visceral fear than the gun. This is how he takes care of Riley at Johnny's.

1939
"I'm givin' it you there," Slim said, pricking the shuddering flesh with his knife. "Right in the guts, Riley, an' you'll take a mighty long time to croak."
"Listen, mister, you wouldn't do that to me," Riley gasped. "You can't do that to me ... I'm a right guy all right... don't I keep tellin' you ...Slim, you know me ... Riley? For Christ's sake ...don't ... don't do it! ...Don't do it ... Slim!"
Slim, still grinning, held the knife-point just below Riley's naval and put his weight on the handle. The knife went in slowly as if it were going into butter. Riley drew his lips back. His mouth opened. There was a long hiss of expelled breath as he stood there. Slim stepped back, leaving the black hilt of the knife growing out of Riley like a horrible malformation. Riley began to give low, wavering cries. His knees were buckling, but the cord held him.
Slim sat on the grass a few feet away and gave himself a cigarette. He pushed his hat over his eyes and squinted at Riley.
"Take your time, pal."

That last sentence, "Take your time, pal", is all the more striking because of its casualness and what it implies. Compare that to the same scene in '62:

1962
Riley opened his eyes.
"Don't kill me, Slim," he panted. "Gimme a break! Don't kill me!"
Slim grinned. The moving slowly through the patch of sunlight, he approached the cringing man.

Ma Grisson is almost as bad as her son, as cold, dangerous, and ruthless a person as you would never want to cross. The way she protects and enables Slim's perversions is chilling. When she first meets Miss Blandish:

1939

"You're going to stay here until your old man comes across, she said. If you're lucky you won't be here long. It all depends on your pa. If he tries to be smart, I'm goin' to take you apart in bits, and those bits will be sent to your pa every goddam day until he learns to play ball. Before I take you apart, I'll throw you to the boys an' what they'll do to you ain't nobody's business. You're going to behave, and you ain't causin' trouble. Do you get all that?"

1962

"Listen to me," she said, "you may be Blandish's daughter but you mean nothing to me. You're staying here until your old man buys you back. It depends on him how long you do stay here. While you're here, you're going to behave. So long as you do behave, you'll be left alone, but if you start making trouble, you'll have me to reckon with, I promise you. You'll be sorry if you do cross me. Do you understand." 

Much more menace is conveyed by the 1939 passage.

Later in this chapter and too long to quote, we see just how debased and lacking in humanity mother and son are. She reflects on Slim's impotence and need to revenge himself for his failures with women. At one point Slim asks her to hold Miss Blandish while he rapes her but Ma tells him "You shall have what you want, but not now...When the dough comes you shall have her an' she'll like it." When slim goes to bed Ma takes a rubber hose and beats Miss Blandish telling her what's going to happen to her and that "Slim's been a good boy to me an' he's going to have what he want he wants." She also tells Miss Blandish that she will be drugged into acquiescence and implying that is something she's done before. Unfortunately for Miss Blandish, all this comes to pass. In '62, all this is watered down and conveys none of the gut wrenching terror Miss Blandish must have felt.

After the Grisson gang gets the ransom, they discuss disposing of Miss Blandish. Slim Grisson flies into a rage and claims Miss Blandish for himself. In the 1939 edition, as Slim ascends the stairs to claim his prize, Chase draws out the moment, raising the tension, getting into Slim's mind:

He has gone over and over the details in his mind, and he knew just what he wanted to do. He felt that he could do it now; nothing was going to stop him. It was his moment and he was almost blinded with the pounding of blood in his brain.

But in the 1962 edition this is changed to Slim asserting his power within the gang:

At last he had shown his power. He had scared them all. From now on, he was going to have his rightful place in the gang. Ma was going to take second place. He looked down the passage at Miss Blandish's room. It was time he stopped sitting by her night after night. He must show her he wasn't only master of his mother, but master of her too.

This shifts the motivation from greed and degenerate lust to a power struggle which I do not think works as well.

When Slim enters Miss Blandish's room there is a long passage in the 1939 edition showing Miss Blandish's fear and resignation in agonizing detail:

"You won't come near me until I have a drink?" she said. "I couldn't bear it without a drink"
"Can't you leave me alone? ... keep away just a little longer ... don't touch me ... please don't ..."
She whispered suddenly to him in a small panic-ridden voice: "You're hurting me ... don't you know you ... hurt!"

In 1962 this scene becomes:

Miss Blandish watched him come across the room. She saw his new confidence and she guessed what it was to mean to her.

Shuddering, she shut her eyes.

Yes, it lets you use your imagination and you might prefer it that way but the impact is weakened.

At the end of the '62 edition, Chase give Miss Blandish a long exposition that isn't in '39:

[when asked if she wants her father] "No." She looked up. Her eyes were like holes cut in a white sheet. "He wouldn't be able to help me. He would just be horribly embarrassed and upset. This is something I should be able to work out for myself, but the trouble is I'm not fitted to to cope with any major crises in my life. I have never had any reason to cope with anything. I have never had any sense of values. I've just enjoyed a good time all the time until this happened. I suppose it is a test for me, isn't it? But instead of a test, I feel it is a trap. I don't know if I'm capable of getting out of it. I'm ashamed of myself. I'm a person without any background, any character or any faith. Some people could cope with this because they believe in God. I haven't believed in anything except having a good time." She clenched and un-clenched her fists, then she looked up ; her fixed smile made Fenner feel bad. "Perhaps I had better see the doctor. He will give me something. Then, as you said, in a few days' time I'll be able to to face this thing." She looked away and went on as if speaking to herself. "You see how weak I am. I have to have someone to lean on. I haven't the equipment to rely on myself. It's because I have been brought up to rely on other people but it is my fault. I'm not blaming anyone but myself."

This passage puts the book into the realm of noir but I agree with Fraser that it feels tacked on. I think it retro fits an explanation why Chase doesn't give Miss Blandish a first name. She feels she never really had an identity and doesn't deserve a first name? It does add an existential noir feel to the book so there is that.

In the 1939 edition Miss Blandish says about the now dead Slim:

"No, you're wrong," she said, her voice high-pitched and hysterical. "He's not dead. He's with me now, I know he is—at first I thought I was wrong, but I know I've got him with me. I've got him inside me, he wouldn't leave me alone, ever—and he never will."

The '39 edition gives the impression that Miss Blandish is suffering from a form of Stockholm Syndrome. It is still has an existential feel but I think is more natural.

The end result is the same in both editions, Miss Blandish throws herself from the hotel window. The '39 edition add a a cynical little aside with a wealthy woman miffed that her car is being held up because of the body in the street. This is left out of '62. The indifference at the tragedy is fitting to the tone of the novel and is fitting, Poor Miss Blandish is reduced to an inconvenience.

If you have stuck with me so far, thanks. Miss Blandish is a book that I appreciate more as I re-read it. It was interesting to me to see how different the editions are and how the impact of the story changes. Remember, if you are purchasing from Amazon, use the Look Inside feature and see if Highway 54 is mentioned on page one. I know for certain that this edition from Amazon is a revised one even if the description says otherwise.

Additional Resources
1. Sidebar 1: Some Orchids for James Hadley Chase by John Fraser. This part of a larger work called Found Pages: The Remarkable Harold Ernest ("Darcy Glinto") Kelly, 1899–1969. One of Darcy Glinto's books is Lady—Don't Turn Over which borrowed heavily from No Orchids.

2. Raffles and Miss Blandish (1944), an essay by George Orwell.

3. No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1939) by James Hadley Chase.  A review on the blog Tipping My Fedora, one of my favorite crime blogs.

4. The Book You Have to Read: "No Orchids for Miss Blandish," by James Hadley Chase. A review on the blog The Rap Sheet, another of my favorite blogs.

5. No Orchids for Miss Blandish, Stark House Press. This is the text of the 1939 edition, complete and unexpurgated. This is a page link and not a title link. Scroll down and you'll see find it.