The Sadness of the Samurai

by Víctor Del Árbol
Éditeur : Actes sud - 2013
Collection Babel noir
Roman policier
528 pages - 15.90 $

Lu en français ici

Why that book

I took advantage of a gift card to a bookstore to discover new authors. Victor Del Árbol was part of it. I must say that the prize and the fact that it was a "must read" according to the Bookseller helped a lot!

Summary

A betrayal and a murder in pro-Nazi Spain spark a struggle for power that grips a family for generations in this sweeping historical thriller

Fierce, edgy, brisk, and enthralling, this brilliant novel by Victor del Árbol pushes the boundaries of the traditional historical novel and in doing so creates a work of incredible power that resonates long after the last page has been turned.

When Isabel, a Spanish aristocrat living in the pro-Nazi Spain of 1941, becomes involved in a plot to kill her Fascist husband, she finds herself betrayed by her mysterious lover. The effects of her betrayal play out in a violent struggle for power in both family and government over three generations, intertwining her story with that of a young lawyer named Maria forty years later. During the attempted Fascist coup of 1981, Maria is accused of plotting the prison escape of a man she successfully prosecuted for murder. As Maria's and Isabel's narratives unfold they encircle each other, creating a page-turning literary thriller firmly rooted in history.

What I think of it

I really liked this book I read in 10 days, as much for the content that for the form. Del Arbol has a very pleasant way of writing, bringing many reflections without judgment. He really knows how to recreate this dark period in Spain. We understand the fears, the betrayals and the lies experienced by people. We understand why some people fled Spain or the opportunism of others. It is a dark story - as was that time - which reveals a slice of Spain's History that's unworthy, as well as Vichy in France.

History is important to know where we come from or who we are and this book gives it a lot of weight. In this book, it is the story - and History - experienced by some characters that will lead to extreme violence in the next generation. Generation who will tend to repeat the same mistakes by ignorance of their history. We learn therefore a good lesson on the importance of knowing its origins and history, because once the learning is done, the characters are free to choose to stay in the loop of destruction or stop and take another direction. So it's by the parallel with the history of Spain, very well integrated into the story, that the stories of the characters are revealed, allowing us to understand their actions - without excusing them for all that.

As for the plot, it accelerates the pace throughout the book. The relationship between the characters is expertly led and we discover the reason for the violence and injustice of certain situations and we hope that everything works out, but then again, the story takes place in a dark period -1941 and 1981 - and the characters are not always masters of their destiny.

Speaking of story, it is worth noting that it's written in two story, literally, as a key part of the story takes place in 1941 - the origin of the violence - and the second story, which affects the descendants goes to 1981. I also want to emphasize that History is important in the book, but it does not take up too much in the story. There are not whole pages of explanation, this is not an essay on the Franco regime.

Last point - but not least - the detective story is very well done, again probably due to the fact that the author was a police officer. Everything is very realistic, relations between police and the witnesses, the judiciary or some shenanigans. The plot is nervous, hard, but it is done brilliantly, knocking the cards one after the other without downtime.

Let's be brief 

I recommend this book that may be hard, but the reality was, that is nervous, but not irritating, which is historically rich, but not difficult to read. I'm glad I've discovered this author and I will read his other books with pleasure.

Good to know

This book was awarded The Point of European crime fiction in 2012.

The author has studied history, but has worked in the police ... which proves that the two are not incompatible :-)

Crime and Punishment 4/100

by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky

Folio classique - 1995

669 pages - 14,75 $

En français ici

Why this book

Because I'm always curious about the classics, because it makes me look serious, because it makes my library eclectic  ... And what decided me to read this book that waited for me in my library ... is that it's part the 100! So here's my fourth book read from the list.

The summary

"Raskolnikov began to shake his body like a man struck by a terrible blow.

- But ... so ... who... is the murderer? he stammered in a broken voice.

Porphyrius Petrovitch sat back in his chair, like a man stunned by a preposterous question.

- Who is the murderer? he repeated, as if he could not believe his ears, but it is you. "

The story without revealing it

Rodion alias Raskolnikov alias Rodka alias Rodia, etc... killed a pawnbroker, spitfire, shrewish and unloved. Why? While reading the book you will know it, that's enough that you know from the start that he killed (but I will not say how many people...)

What I think of it

It is unconventional as we know from the outset who killed, even if said murder happens after only after about 80 pages. Rodia is the murderer, it is written on the back cover, so why 80 pages before killing? This is the time he takes to resolve to commit the crime after long and multiple questions.

Once the crime commited what happens in the 500 pages left? Lengthy and numerous questions on the act itself and on the idea of turning himself in. Rodion babbles incoherently, becomes in turns aggressive, apathetic, delusional, friendly (he helps people), unpleasant (due to his aggressive disdain), tearful, vituperative ... You guessed it, one goes through a myriad of feelings.

Personally, what I least like in classic literature is what I see as self-centered (who am I, or what am I experiencing, where am I going...) and endless thoughts, here I was spoiled! However, I must recognize the genius of Dostoeyvsky who leads us into this spiral of madness over 600 pages, managing to create moments of extraordinary intensity. Moreover, he manages to make Rodia not to look like the monster he is, since everyone look after him (even the police is trying to help).

About the writing itself, the dialogue can be broken, poured out, confused. It sometimes gave me the impression of reading a play. A play with extravagant and over-acting characters that brings us, strangely, even closer to them. The characters are regularly extreme, they do not speak: they shriek, scream, babble, are moved, wring their hands, shiver with fever. The author uses parentheses very often to add information or emphasize a point, which can destabilize or annoy sometimes because it is not natural in a discussion. Last, the Russian names are not fixed: Rodion can be called in several ways and it's the same for all the characters, which sometimes makes it difficult to know who it is.

Yes, I struggled at times: this is not my kind of reading, I have already state that, but the quality of the writing, the power of story, the characterization, the atmosphere created, all this has largely offset some difficult times. I was immersed in the story like never before among people, often whimsical and certainly on the edge of caricature, but that's what makes it easier to feel close to them.

Let's be brief

This is the story of a criminal whose endless thinking about his possible confession is regularly hampered by multiple encounters and stories lived by other characters. You should know that the story takes place about two weeks ... over 600 pages! Human relationships are indeed very important and particularly well covered in this book. For those who love relationships and human history, this novel is a masterpiece. For those who love action and decision-making ... not sure!

Interesting facts

Priceless : looking for Crime and Punishment on the Renaud-Bray site, the bottom of the page suggestion was... tada: 50 shades of Grey!

More seriously, Nietzsche said that Dostoyevsky was the only one from who he had learned something in psychology ... This gives you an idea of ​​the power of the characters you'll encounter in his books, is not it? Reference

The Wrong Goodbye

de Chris F. Holm

The Collector Book Two

Urban fantasy

Angry Robot - 2012

387 pages - 8.99 $

En français ici

Why this book

After reading the first one (Dead Harvest), I could only read more. I love Holm's writing style that mixes so well thrillers, fantasy, pulp and a humor ... very dark. 

Summary 

Because of his efforts to avert the Apocalypse, Sam Thornton has been given a second chance – provided he can stick to the straight-and-narrow.Which sounds all well and good, but when the soul Sam’s sent to collect goes missing, Sam finds himself off the straight-and-narrow pretty quick.

A small part

My feet cast wild shadows as they scrabbled for puchase, but it wasn't any use. "I didn't -  I swear!"

He slammed me into the rock wall behind me. My head hit so hard I thought I'd puke. Then I did puke, so, you know, yay for being right.

"I think you're lying to me, Sammy," he said, and slammed me into the wall again, so hard my vision swam. Not that I minded much. In the best times, Dumas wasn't much to look at, and these weren't the best of times. 

My opinion

I have not been disappointed, once again, by the quality of the story and the writing of Chris F. Holm. He really has a knack for creating an atmosphere of his own and to make endearing characters, while at the base ... who wants to  befriend a collector?

I love the dark humor he distills throughout the book that enhances the dark side of the book and at the same time makes Sam more human and sympathetic.

I liked to meet up Sam and discover with him his new ​​colorful friends, but also to learn more about two people crucial in his life - his own collector Dumas and Lilith her boss.

Finally, I appreciate the nervous rhythm of the book that does not weaken. The book is packed with action, so you'll never have time to get bored. I wonder what those book would give on screen but I bet that'll blow one away!

Let's be brief

A book and a writer I highly recommend for who loves pulp, fantasy or both! 

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 3/100

by Mark Twain

Aventure
Flammarion - 1994
Collection : Garnier Flammarion / Littérature étrangère
344 pages - 15.95 $

En français ici

Why this book

During my undergraduate degree in international studies and foreign languages, I took courses in English literature. It was one of the mandatory books (the other one was Life of PI). And also, like so many, I followed Tom Sawyer and Huck's adventures on TV when I was a child so it was a pleasure to immerse myself again in their story. And Hey! It's part of the 100!

Summary

Wild child Huck has to get away. His violent drunk of a father is back in town again, raising Cain. He won't rest until he has Huck's money. So the enterprising boy fakes his own death and sets out in search of adventure and freedom. Teaming up with Jim, an escaped slave with a price on his head, the two fugitives go on the run, travelling down the wide Mississippi River. But Huck finds himself wrestling with his conscience. Should he save Jim, or turn his friend over to a terrible fate? 

What I think of it 

I've read it in English and it was quite difficult. Mark Twain wrote in languages spoken by the different social classes of the time which  makes the book more authentic, certainly, but also quite difficult to understand. However, I can't blame him for the linguistic details that make the book so interesting.

The tone of the book is still quite light, it is written in an autobiographical point of view and the narrator, Huck is a young boy uneducated and quite candid, but also very clever. That said, his candidly description of the people he encounters makes an even more cynical portrait of the society that Mark Twain criticizes. This is a pessimistic and realistic  novel and it puts us in the presence of samples of different social classes (bourgeois, bandit, trapper, etc..) all more cunning or hypocrites than the others.

I liked less how the book treats Black people and the endless questioning of Huck as to whether or not he will return Jim to his life as a slave. After all that Jim had done for him, I did not like that he can still ponder. However, I understand that this is a painting of the society at that time and that such questioning could actually arise.

This book was the precursor of American literary style that uses dialects spoken during the period. The theme of good and evil is very present, but distilled humor makes the book enjoyable to read. This is a realistic and fierce critic of Southern society before the Civil War and that it is very interesting. Just as it is interesting to see how the notion of good and evil could be reversed for the interests of the wealthy (eg, slavery is good).

Let's be brief

A book less known than Tom Sawyer, but very nice to read. A book I recommend for those who want an overview of the society at the time and the evils of slavery. If you like Charles Dickens, you should like Mark Twain.

Ru

by Kim Thúy

Random House Of Canada | September 6, 2012 | Trade Paperback

160 pages - 18.95 $

En français ici

Why this book

For its cover (I know it's lame!) For the poetry it exuded even before you open it. For the originality of the narrative form ... which I must say was a good point because I thought ... after all, even if it is not terrible,I will finish it quickly!

Summary

At ten years old, Kim Thúy fled Vietnam on a boat with her family, leaving behind a grand house and the many less tangible riches of their home country: the ponds of lotus blossoms, the songs of soup-vendors. The family arrived in Quebec, where they found clothes at the flea market, and mattresses with actual fleas. Kim learned French and English, and as she grew older, seized what opportunities an immigrant could; she put herself through school picking vegetables and sewing clothes, worked as a lawyer and interpreter, and later as a restaurateur. She was married and a mother when the urge to write struck her, and she found herself scribbling words at every opportunity - pulling out her notebook at stoplights and missing the change to green. The story emerging was one of a Vietnamese émigré on a boat to an unknown future: her own story fictionalized and crafted into a stunning novel.

The novel's title, Ru, has meaning in both Kim's native and adoptive languages: in Vietnamese, ru is a lullaby; in French, a stream. And it provides the perfect name for this slim yet potent novel. With prose that soothes and sings, Ru weaves through time, flows and transports: a river of sensuous memories gathering power. It's a classic immigrant story told in a breathtaking new way.

What I think about it

This is the story of Kim, a young  boat People, arrived in Canada and who builts her identity : a mixture of her native Vietnam and her new homeland. She gives us a series of stories about her, her family or her knowledge, and through anecdotes we understand what was life in Vietnam after the departure of Western and what is the life of refugees..

I loved it. It reads very quickly (one day only). In fact, I devoured it. I loved her style : poetic and decent despite the horrors told. Never negative, even if it is sometimes nostalgic, the author gives no moral lesson but presents her reality with humor and kindness. Even the style of the book is original: each anecdote or story idea starts on a new page, even if the previous one is only ten lines long. 

This book proves that you can tell the darkness of this world and of life without falling into misery. Proves that life is not pretty but you can tell it beautifully.

Let's be brief

A book to give or to treat yourself to that will delight the most sad souls because at the end of the book they'll know that life if beautiful... nevertheless 

Another thing to fall

by Laura Lippman

Crime fiction

Harper; Reprint edition (February 24, 2009)

352 pages - 7,99$

En français ici

Why this book

Another writer I've met at the QuebeCrime Festival.

Summary

The California dream weavers have invaded Charm City with their cameras, their stars, and their controversy . . .

When Tess Monaghan literally runs into the crew of the fledgling TV series Mann of Steel while sculling, she never expects to be hired to serve as bodyguard/babysitter to the young female lead, Selene Waites. But the company has been plagued by a series of disturbing "mishaps" lately. And the discovery of a corpse surrounded by photos of the beautiful, difficult superstar-in-the-making is causing Mann's creator and Hollywood legend, Flip Tumulty, considerable distress.

Keeping a spoiled movie princess under wraps may be more than Tess can handle, since Selene is less naive and far more devious than she initially appears to be. But murder is an occurrence the fish-out-of-water P.I. is all too familiar with—and a grisly on-set slaying suddenly threatens to topple the wall of secrets surrounding Mann of Steel, leaving lives, dreams, and careers scattered among the ruins.

What I think of it

When I read a thriller, I do not like having to wait half the book for something to happen ... and this was the case. The majority of the book is a credit to the limitless knowledge of the author in film but she lost us in her endless quotes. There is little action and no suspense, because the majority of the book consists of discussion about films or TV shows. The private detective does not investigate the murder, leaving it to the police, even if she eventually finds the culprit in a (very) few pages.

When I read a thriller, I like to read a thriller ... not an encyclopedia about movies, even if it's very interesting. There I found that the author goes a little too far : in the excerpt that I submit to you, the heroine catches red-handed some youngsters into the home of a dead guy as they were about to commit sins of the flesh and spirit (house, she herself is trespassing but that's another story). Tess asked them how they managed to get in there and the answer is such a completely atypical response from a teenager that it becomes detrimental to the credibility of the text! I mean : do you know a lot of teens who would have not  answered "so what! whatever..."

Abstract

He shrugged, almost proudly. He wasn't altogether dimwited. Tess stared him down.

"The first time, I came through the cellar," he admitted. "He has them Wizard of Oz doors."

It took her a second to get that reference, but it made her smile. Some old Baltimore houses did have storm cellar doors, although tornados were rare.

In a nutshell

Lovers of old movies or TV series will surely love this book that allows you to associate thriller and film and I must recognize the knowledge and / or research work of the author. However, I did not get into it, because I had trouble keeping the thread of the plot, drowned as I was in quotes.

The Night Season

by Chelsea Cain

Thrillers

St Martin's Paperbacks - 2011

337 pages - 9, 99 $

En Français ici

Why this book

Again, because I met the author at the QuebeCrime festival. As I had already bought a lot of book form male authors, I wanted to try a feminine approach of the thriller.

Summary

He captured the Beauty Killer, one of the most deranged serial killers in the country. Now, Portland police detective Archie Sheridan faces a different kind of killer—a brutal rain season that has flooded the Willamette River, claiming several lives. As water levels rise, so does the fear. Because some of the victims didn’t drown—they were murdered.

The first body contains a rare poison. Three others prove to be murders as well. And with each gruesome discovery the medical examiner uncovers, Archie begins to realize he has not escaped his nightmares—even with his deadliest enemy behind bars. The flood has washed up old skeletons from the past. And a ruthless new serial killer rules the night…

The story without revealing it

Archie Sheridan, still traumatized from his encounter with The Beauty Killer, tracks another serial killer who takes advantage of the flood of Portland and the incessant rain to sow corpses. He is assisted by Susan Ward, a journalist dedicated to the dead and other creepy weird with a knack for finding herself where she should not be.

What I think of it

Really good! I finished it at 2:00 in the morning, because I have not been able to close it earlier promising me to finish it the next day. I had to know how it would end. It's nervous, it moves all the time, the characters are well drawn. The trap at the end is a little déjà-vu, but that does not stop the stress up a notch. This is also the strength of Chelsea Cain, you know that something will happen and you can not let go of the book!

In addition, the atmosphere is very present throughout the book, without tons of description - which is cool as I usually hate them. Here the flood of Portland brings a landscape and a creepy atmosphere (I've never been so happy to be warm under my duvet while Archie and Susan were drenched in a downpour .. .)

Let's be brief

A writer to discover. It seems that the first three books are in sequence, but this fourth installment can be read without having read the others, although there are some references - that make you want to read the beginning of the series - in the story. A reference that I'll keep for my next purchase and I would definitely recommend for anyone who loves a good captivating thriller.