assassination of margaret thatcher

I assume that because Margaret Thatcher has been dead for some time, the title of this post, and the title of the book--The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher--won't get me put on an FBI (or MI6) watchlist. Here's hoping! I picked this book up at the library book sale. I'm pretty sure it was in Littleton, because I purchased some books at the book sale at my local library as well, and they label their books with a rubber stamp; this one doesn't have that, and its definitely a library book that has been withdrawn, or weeded, from the library's collection. yep, just did a search for the on the interwebs, definitely on a watchlist

This collection of short stories is from the author of Wolf Hall, and its follow-up; Bring Up the Bodies. I haven't read either of them, but it says so right on the cover. Wolf Hall won the Man Booker Prize in 2009, and is apparently based on Thomas Cromwell, as is the follow-up,* and I understand that the third in a trilogy is forthcoming. The reason I mention this is that I presume that is why this collection was published: to take advantage of the acclaim Hilary Mantel has garnered with her two popular historical novels. That isn't to say these short stories aren't any good, on the contrary they were very good.

If this collection had a theme I'd say that they reflect the darker side of human feelings. These stories are filled with anguish, fear, anxiety, hatred, loss, sadness, sickness, politics and racism. There are also comedic breaks, that are both funny and in some cases awkward, or a bit sad, such as in the first story: "Sorry to Disturb," a young British woman living in Saudi who spends her time at home while her husband works, allows a Pakistani man into her apartment to use the telephone in an emergency, who then returns to thank her and strikes up a friendship she doesn't want but is somehow unable to extract herself from. According to one review I read, this story was originally part of a memoir, and is based on the author's own time in Saudi Arabia.

Mantel's writing is beautiful, almost to a fault. Take a look at this example from the last story, from which the book takes its title: 

"Once more I am reminded of something priestly. A wasp dawdles over the sill. The scent of the garden is watery, green. The tepid sunshine wobbles in, polishes his shabby brogues, moves shyly across the surface of the dressing table."

Things are dawdling and wobbling all over. And I'm hoping the brogues metaphor is intentional and isn't something that just popped into her head while writing about an IRA assassination plot. 

The Wikipedia article about Mantel indicates that this short story title also got her into a bit of trouble, when she said in an 2014 interview with The Guardian that she fantasized about the assassination of Thatcher, which Thatcher supporters responded to by calling for a police investigation. Guess we're both on the watchlist. and so are the 6 people who will ever read this I enjoyed this collection, even if some of it was horrifying. 

That's the last book for 2021 folks! Lets hope 2022 is better than this year. Happy New Year!

* The follow-up: Bring Up the Bodies won the Man Booker prize as well, in 2012.

 

 

 

near dark

If you're looking for the guy that's read all 42 Scott Harvath books in order, and is blogging about the latest installment, you've got the wrong place; that's three doors down, on the right. 

I did, however, go look this up and its apparently number 19 in the Harvath series, and Scot is spelled with one T. I've also read at least one of the other 18 books in this series,* and according to my review I thought that one was pretty good too. Brad Thor is doing a pretty good job here.

Harvath is your standard super secret agent man, who doesn't work for the CIA, or the NSA, or NPR, or STP, or anyone else who's going gonna' try and hold a good man down. Harvath works for a private company that Uncle Sam calls upon when they need to get crap done, and maybe eliminate some baddies with extreme prejudice and still have some plausible deniability. Licensed-to-kill paired with license for some politician to say 'who me?'

In this venture, its a little more personal, and Harvath's taking out the trash trip isn't exactly sanctioned. I'm not even sure anyone even knows about it, but I guess they hold him in pretty high regard because if he determines that you need some killin', thar's gonna' be some killin'! So for those of you who wish we had someone who could just get rid of these bad guys around the world, this fella seems like he's going to push all the right buttons for you. We don't read these things without being ready to suspend our disbelief. Thankfully, Thor doesn't take advantage of that tolerance, as some others in this genre often do. This one tide me over until Christmas came along and filled my figurative stocking with literal books. see what I did there

Happy New Year!

* Its apparently 19 others, for a total of 20 as of this writing Black Ice is currently for sale. Number 21, Rising Tiger is due next Summer.**

** For you nerds out there, Thor has also released some bonus material for a few of these. At least three novellas, or additional chapters, that fill in some of the time between, or expand upon, some of the novels.

night fire

The Night Fire is a recent Michael Connelly novel in the Harry Bosch series that has more recently evolved to include another LAPD detective named Renée Ballard. I get the feeling we’ll be seeing the two of these characters for a while and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of Ballard, perhaps in a novel of her own. 

Bosch and Ballard make a pretty good team but it's clear that they aren’t partners in the traditional police detective mold and that gives them more flexibility to pursue things on their own when they need to. That aspect of their relationship, along with the fact that they are often working on different cases, is what makes me think we may see Ballard on her own at some point, much the way we saw the Lincoln Lawyer step out. Do I have that right? Was the Lincoln Lawyer a spin off of Bosch, or vice versa? so i checked According to this site, the Bosch books began in 1992, and Mickey Haller, the aforementioned enLincolned lawyer, showed up in 2005.*

This was the last book I had around so I’ll have to venture back out to the library to find some other things to read.** This was a good installment in the series but by no means the best. There were a couple of plot points that made me say really? I not sure they could pull that off. But Connelly had the answers for the most egregious of those things and only the fiddly stuff got by, so good on you Mike. Can I call you Mike? Seems like I’ve known you for years. 

I assume Bosch fans are all aware of the Amazon TV series about Bosch. While I was rabbit-holeing why does that sound off-color? around on the internets, I learned that a new Bosch series, as well as a Lincoln Lawyer series are both in the works, and Michael Connelly is reportedly involved in both. And on a related note, I'll leave you with this tidbit, which I thought was charming. Michael Connelly dedicated The Night Fire to Titus Welliver, and thanked him for bringing Bosch to live.

* I read The Lincoln Laywer, but it doesn't show up on this blog, which only dates back to 2009. For the record, it was pretty good. I enjoyed it enough that I also watched the movie, which was also pretty good.

** UPDATE: I found a Brad Thor book called Near Dark in the house that I'm going to read.

identical

Identical is a novel written by Ellen Hopkins--in verse--for the teen lit market, based on the labeling from the library (weeded and discarded by my local library) the tone of the blab on the back cover, and the front matter, the subject matter, and feedback from my oldest. Some of that feedback included a summary of books chosen by school departments for students, usually being centered on teen suicide, drug use, Nazis, or all of the above.

No Nazis in this one. but just about every other horror

I picked this up from the library book sale for two reasons. The first, and most import reason is that I needed something to read. The second reason is because a quick flip through this told me it was a novel written in poetry. I mean, come on, sign me up for the crazy stuff. What's this, Beowulf up in here? hwæt!

I can imagine middle school kids reading this for English class, thinking: Why do I have to read this? That's not to say this isn't any good, just seems a little grim for the young adult market. Now, will the harsh realities and horrors described in this story help some kids who have to deal with things like this to feel better, or at least better understood? I guess so. Will it help some dealing with the things described here--or knows someone who is--to get up the strength to ask for help? I guess that may be true as well. But is it worth it to expose the rest of the young population to this, I'm not sure. But, is any kind of discussion about these awful realities which helps to drag them out of the shame and silence that typically surrounds them, and into the light, better than the traditional response of ignoring them. I think the answer to that is a clear yes.

This is an interesting way to spin a tale, and the twists and turns this story takes because of that, makes it worth the read alone. The layering and symmetrical construction of the verse in this story adds to the charm and depth of of the story, in spite of the subject matter.