Syndrome E

by Franck Thilliez (Marc Polizzotti, translator)

Thriller

Viking Adult 2012

384 pages - 28.50 $

Lu en français ici

Why this book

A friend of mine gave me La chambre des morts by Thilliez last year and I really liked it. When I went to Quebec Book Fair last April and came by the Pocket stand, I heard my name "buy us !" the books were begging me. So, you know, I've bought 3 of them (yeah, each passionate reader has already heard the call of the book, right?)

Summary

Already a runaway bestseller in France, Syndrome E tells the story of beleaguered detective Lucie Hennebelle, whose old friend has developed a case of spontaneous blindness after watching an extremely rare - and violent - film from the 1950s. Embedded in the film are subliminal images so unspeakably heinous that Lucie realizes she must get to the bottom of it - especially when nearly everyone who comes into contact with the film starts turning up dead.

Enlisting the help of Inspector Franck Sharko - a brooding, broken analyst for the Paris police who is exploring the film’s connection to five murdered men left in the woods, Lucie begins to strip away the layers of what is perhaps the most disturbing and powerful film ever made. Soon Sharko and Lucie find themselves mired in a darkness that spreads across politics, religion, science, and art while stretching from France to Canada, Egypt to Rwanda, and beyond. And just who is responsible for this darkness will blow readers minds, as Syndrome E forces them to consider: what if the earliest and most brilliant advances and discoveries of neuroscience were not used for good - but for evil.

With this taut U.S. debut, Thilliez explores the origins of violence through cutting-edge and popular science in a breakneck thriller rich with shocking plot twists and profound questions about the nature of humanity.

What I think of it

That's a book you'll read real quickly (less than a week for me). I was taken by its fast-paced rythm, in part due - in my opinion - to the alternating chapters, each one telling the story through one of the two protagonists (Lucie and Franck). I appreciate that form of story which makes a dynamic book. It's like watching a movie, some people like to see the story through the same character and others - like me - like to know more characters. 

The story in itself was not surprising but I enjoy the technical details - yes, for once I enjoyed them - about film and the history of Quebec. Franck did a really good research which makes the story more effective. I did not feel overwhelmed by the amount of information which is good because when I read a thriller, its the story and the interaction I prefer. One must admit Thilliez's talent to popularise. He can introduce complex notions while making them easy to understand. It gives a good basis for reflexion or, at leat, it gives us the feeling of being included in the investigation. 

I picked up a repetition of the same sentence which I've found pleasant and maybe done on purpose. In the French book, page 62, the anthropologist ask Sharko how he should explain the case. The sentence is "on se la fait comment. Simple ou compliquée ?" - which gives in English : how are we doing this? Simple or complicated?" And page 76, the restorer of film asks the same question, using the same sentence, to Lucie. Was it a disguised way of letting us know that this two detectives will share something?

Lovers of conspiracy will love that book. For my part, I was a bit disappointed by the demeanour of the story. I though "rooo... too easy, it could have been better, it's deja-vu" and it's a pity because the story could have been exceptional. Aside from that I grew fond of Lucie and Franck, two tormented souls including a schizophrenic one - which is not common.

I've appreciated Franck's dark side and Lucie's struggle between her daughters and her job. The struggle is already lost by her daughters as we feel her visceral need to hunt the beast - or the killer in that case. I was watching The Killing and Lucie resembles the cop, Sarah Linden, who is so obsessed by her job that she neglects her son and her own life. As for Franck, his Nutty side is new in my case, more accustomed to flawless cops - save for alcohol, women and games of course! So I particularly appreciated his character. 

The epilogue is predictable, you know something is about to happen. My mother's heart shared the same fear than Lucie. And the inevitable happened, it was certain. And yet I shouted "NO, HE CAN'T END HIS BOOK LIKE THAT!" 

Yes he can and he did it. Fortunately, I had bough the sequel (Gattaca) simultaneously. Beware of the cliffhanger!

Let's be brief

A fast-paced book you'll devour. An easy reading thanks to the fluidity of the text. 

Good to know

Franck Thilliez  is the author of several bestselling novels in his native France. This is his first novel to be translated into English in the United States.

Mark Polizzotti is the translator of more than thirty books from the French. His articles and reviews have appeared in The Wall Street Journal  and The Nation. 

The Burning Soul

by John Connolly

A Charlie Parker thriller

Thriller

Pocket Books Fiction - 2012

474 pages - 9,99 $

En français ici

Why that book

Another book I've bought at the QuebeCrime festival last October, where I met John Connolly but was not able to get his autograph! 

Summary

There are some truths so terrible that they should not be spoken aloud. Here is one of those truths: after three hours, the abduction of a child is routinely treated as a homicide.

When a girl disappears from a small Maine town, her neighbor - a recluse named Randall Haight - starts receiving anonymous letters that contain tormenting references to a different teenage girl, murdered long ago. For many years, Randall has kept a secret: when he was fourteen, he was convicted of killing that girl. Now, his former life has returned to haunt him, and he hires private detective Charlie Parker to make it go away. But in a town built on blood and shadowed by old ghosts, where too many of the living are hiding secrets, the past cannot be dismissed so easily. As Parker unravels a twisted, violent history involving a doomed mobster and his enemies, the police, and the FBI, his search returns again and again to Randall Haight. Because Randall is still telling lies. . . .

What I think of it

I read other readers's opinion about that book in Goodreads after reading a few pages which were, to my taste, to much filled with descriptions about the weather, the landscape and with too much writing about crows - and when you know my love for description, you understand my hesitations. People were saying that it was not the best book of the series but were so rave about the series by itself and about John Connolly that I decided to give it a try... Best decision ever made!

Yes, there are descriptions - but mostly in the beginning - and I havec to say that John Connolly knows how to make it really lively, often funny, even ironic and really spirited. The characters are well portrayed, even if I sometimes found that the two gangster's henchmen resembled the two Charlie Parker's henchmen. Personally, I fell for Charlie, his methods and his humour - cynic sometimes - even if the police or the FBI don't share my opinion... I find him endearing. This is the kind of character you'll love to follow, which is a good thing as Connolly has writen many books about him.

The story in itself is well thought: you think you know who kidnapped the girl before you realise you were lead by the nose by a author who has fun by spreading turnarounds, twists and other puzzles. Honestly, the end was not predictable and that's what I love in a thriller : not being able to guess  who did it!

I was surprised by the length of some sentences - knowing that English-speaking people generally write shorter sentences than French-speaking people. I think that's what give off the fast-paced rythm in thrillers. In the extract below, the sentence is five lines long. Nevertheless, John Connolly's style is often ironic, humourous, lively and the rythm never breaks.

One distinctive feature I love about that book: the mixing of thriller and supernatural (my two favourite kind of reading actually). Charlie can see ghost, which is not common in thriller right? But it does bring a plus in a thriller notably when it's well done like in that book.

One extract (that's show that a description can be as lively as funny, thus not boring)

The Wanderer's décor was neutral, mainly because it didn't really have any décor, unless you counted a single cracked Budweiser mirror. Its chairs were mismatched and rested unevenly on the floor. Its tables were black and red, with faux-marble surfaces. The stools along the bar were dull steel with black vinyl seats that were last upholstered when John McNamara was still managing the Red Sox and they were bumbling along at .500, right before Joe Morgan replaced him and the team went on to win nineteen of twenty to take the AL East title, an achievement that went relatively unnoticed in the Wanderer, as it didn't have a television at the time, and still didn't have one now. 

Let's be brief

I really liked that book I highly recommend. If it's truly the less paced book to the series - mainly due to the weather descriptions at the beginning - I'm looking forward to read the others books! An author who is worth reading ! 

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