Book 131: Beyond Black Author: Hilary Mantel, 2005
Genre: Contemporary Fiction. Literary. Ghost Story. Black Comedy.
Other Details: Harper Perennial Edition with interview and essay. Paperback. 466 pages

"Other mediums have spirit guides with a bit more about them — dignified impassive medicine men or ancient Persian sages — why does she have to have a grizzled grinning apparition in a book-maker's check jacket, and suede shoes with bald toecaps." - from Beyond Black.

I've tackled a few novels this year dealing with the subject of spiritualism and for the most part they proved a disappointment as they focused on fraudulent practices rather than the real thing. Mantel's pitch-black comedy was the exception as it captured perfectly the day-to-day life of a jobbing medium in which the presence of the recent and long dead are a fact of life.

Alison Hart makes her living as a medium, doing shows in scout halls, psychic fairs and spiritualist churches throughout the suburbs of London and the Home Counties. She channels the dead to pass on messages to their living relations. Alison is the 'real deal' though sometimes even she has to fake it. She is overweight, in constant pain and although on the surface is happy-go-lucky, underneath she is is troubled by memories of a childhood filled with dreadful abuse. As noted above rather than a serene spirit guide she has the seedy Morris, who constantly reminds her of that past.

She is accompanied by her personal assistant Colette. In contrast to Alison, Colette is severe and all-business, a sceptic who does not believe in Alison's gifts. Her concern is to put Alison on a diet and ensure she keeps to her timetable of engagements. Eventually Colette decides that Alison should write a book about her experiences so she can make more money. However, this process stirs up the past causing Morris and his spirit companions to torment Alison more than ever.

I had been looking for a copy of Mantel's latest book, Wolf Hall, when I spotted Beyond Black on the shelf with a quirky cover depicting a figure from the Marseilles Tarot pushing a vacuum cleaner. Even though I opted to buy a different edition for its extra features, including an interview with Mantel and a short essay on her research and writing process, that first cover really sums up the mixture of the extraordinary with the everyday found in its pages.

It is an unusual ghost story with a definite sting in the tale! A novel that is both very dark and very light and I admire Mantel for her skill in finding a balance between the two. I found it a superbly written, intelligent and witty novel and one of my favourites of 2009, though its tone and subject matter is not going to appeal to everyone.

Hilary Mantel on Beyond Black - January 2006 article when Beyond Black was chosen as the Book of the Month for The Guardian's on-line Book Club.
The Dead Speak - Guardian Book Club Q&A with Hilary Mantel. (contains spoilers).

Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.

Another amusing SF reference in the episode of Fringe I am currently watching. The baddie's name (the former frozen head) is Thomas Jerome Newton, which is the name of the protagonist from The Man Who Fell to Earth.

I recently began reading this series of historical mysteries set in Imperial Russia featuring the dashing detective/secret agent Erast Fandorin. Akunin has stated that his intention with the Fandorin series is to explore the various sub-genres of detective fiction and so each of the novels has a different focus. I have to admit this quite intrigued me as so often crime writers find a comfortable niche and then write to formula.

Book 129: The Winter Queen (Erast Fandorin Book 01)
Author: Boris Akunin, 1998. Translated from the Russian by Andrew Bromfield, 2003.
Genre: Historical Detective. Espionage. Conspiracy.
Other Details: Hardback, 249 pages

The first novel in the series is a conspiracy mystery and introduces the 20-year old Erast Fandorin at the start of his career as a detective. His father had recently died bankrupt forcing Fandorin to abandon his studies at Moscow University and take on a clerical role with the police. He is meticulous, well-mannered and highly literate and so soon is being mentored by his kind-hearted supervisor, Xavier Grushin.

The novel opens in May 1876 in a public park as a university student commits suicide in front of a young noblewoman. This apparently open-and-shut case is given to the inexperienced Fandorin. In the course of his investigations Fandorin discovers that the student was engaged in a game of Russian roulette with another student and that he had recently changed his will to leave his considerable fortune to the Moscow chapter of an international network of schools for orphan boys founded by an English noblewoman, Lady Astair. This strikes Fandorin as suspicious and it is not long before he finds himself stumbling into a conspiracy with a chilling agenda complete with a femme fatale, who exerts an almost hypnotic influence over men as femme fatales are expected to do and a white-eyed assassin, who pops up and does what mysterious assassins do for a living.

The novel is well written and has a labyrinthine plot that demands close attention. It also contains a gentle romance as Fandorin falls in love with Elizaveta, the young woman who had witnessed the initial suicide. I loved it and its final pages left me reeling and certainly eager for more! As a result I started immediately upon the next book in the series.

Book 129: The Turkish Gambit (Erast Fandorin Book 02)
Author: Boris Akunin, 1998. Translated from the Russian by Andrew Bromfield, 2005.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Espionage. War.
Other Details: Paperback. 288 pages.

Akunin changes his approach here by giving centre stage to Varvara Suvorova, a young 'Russian woman holding 'progressive" ideas. As the novel opens she is travelling disguised as a boy to meet up with her fiancé who has volunteered to serve in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. When her money and luggage are stolen she finds herself stranded in a rather rough tavern. Fandorin, also in disguise, comes to her rescue though in a rather unorthodox fashion. He is also on his way to the front line having just escaped from Turkish captivity. When they reach the Russian HQ, Varvara finds that her fiancé is too busy with his duties as a cryptographer and so she spends her time at the correspondent's club where she encounters a variety of colourful characters. Meanwhile Fandorin is advised by one of his contacts that a Turkish agent is conducting an intelligence operation against the Russian army and may even be have infiltrated Russian headquarters and so he begins an investigation.

It was interesting to have Fandorin assigned to a main supporting role and to see him and his actions mainly through Varvara's perspective. She thoroughly dislikes him at the start though this view is softened over time as she begins to understand his personality. This viewpoint also strengthens the sense of Fandorin's isolation in his role as an intelligence officer and highlights the changes that have taken place since his introduction in The Winter Queen.

Again, Akunin delivers a strong, complex plot with a range of well developed characters. I really should have made a note of some of the names and backgrounds when they were first introduced as I struggled a bit later on. He weaves into the narrative historical details of this war. I felt it was also a strength to forefront Varvara's experience of the horrors of war such as when the dead and wounded are brought back to camp.

These both are multi-layered, thought provoking narratives that not only convey an exciting story but address historical and political aspects of the period. It marks them out as much more than the kind of 'easy reads' associated with many detective novels. I also smiled when reading one newspaper review that likened Fandorin to an 'anti-James Bond' in terms of his relationships with women, which he keeps very formal. This thought had crossed my mind as well.

Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.

Wishing my beloved adopted daughter padfoot_uk a very Happy Birthday!!

Love you darling.

Book 127: Engleby: a Novel
Author: Sebastian Faulks, 2007.
Genre: General Fiction with Psychological Themes. Black Comedy. Mystery.
Other Details: Large Print Edition, 481 pages.

“My name is Mike Engleby, and I’m in my second year at an ancient university.”

This was one of the most stunning novels I have read this year. I don't want to say too much about the plot because it is one of those novels where it is important to let its narrator peel away the levels of his psyche at his own pace. It opens in 1973 with Engleby at university and concludes in 2006. Engleby is a poor working class boy who managed to win a scholarship to a posh boarding school and later to this prestigious university, which he declines to identify though it is obviously Cambridge. Engleby does dip back in time to recount his experiences at the boarding school where he had attracted the attention of bullies. It makes painful reading in places. Engleby is a loner, fairly troubled and odd though how odd only becomes obvious as his story unfolds.

Engleby's narration is rambling and colloquial, full of contemporary references. He is a cynical, detached observer of culture, pedantic at times to a fault. It's an amazing novel and very different to Faulks' other works of period fiction. Aside from its psychological aspects it delivers a biting social satire on British culture of the 1970s and 80s. There also is a mystery at its heart involving one of Engleby's fellow students. While I often find unreliable narrators frustrating, there are those such as Patrick Ripley, Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) and Eva Khatchadourian (We Need to Talk About Kevin) where I find myself drawn into their reality despite an awareness that all is not as it seems. I now add Mike Engleby to that short list.

Book 128: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore, 2008.
Genre: Fantasy. Young Adult.
Other Details: Trade Paperback. 352 pages.

On rare occasions a child is born in the seven kingdoms with special, extreme skills. These people are termed as 'Graced' and are often feared. The protagonist of this fantasy novel is Katsa and her 'Grace' is that she has been able to kill people with her bare hands since she was a child. This skill is exploited by her uncle, King Randa, who expects her to do his dirty work in terms acting as his enforcer, dealing out torture and punishments. She is unable to stand up to him directly though she does work with a clandestine organisation to promote justice. On one such mission for this group she meets Po, another Graced fighter, who is the first person ever to challenge her in a fight. Over time they form a bond and undertake a quest essential to the future of the seven kingdoms.

I found this a very satisfying fantasy with characters and storyline that engaged my attention from its opening pages. It reminded me a little of Marie V. Synder's Study series as both have have strong female leads, just enough romance without it being cloying and are set in worlds that come alive very quickly. I thought it was a very promising début novel and I look forward to reading more of Ms. Cashore's work.

Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.

I had to pop into town this morning to get my sunglasses repaired. One of the lenses fell out and a tiny screw. Went for breakfast after at Costa Coffee treating myself to a yummy muffin and a very indulgent minty hot chocolate.

I also visited the library as well and picked up a selection of interesting teas. I realised that my peppermint tea was out of date and I had an offer voucher for something very yummy called Mint and Spices and also more peppermint and a lemon & ginger one. I do enjoy these type of teas I just get very lazy sometimes.

Anyway, there was such a thick fog that it was almost impossible to see and other cars just shapes in the mist. Very eerie and very, very cold. I need to find my gloves and scarves and stuff.

Hoping to get back into posting habit now that November is behind me. Part of this is not letting things build up.

Anyway, headed out very early this morning to Walsgrave Hospital for my ultrasound. Having had such bad experiences there with parking and traffic issues, I left at 8am for 9am appointment and indeed it did take 40mins for the relatively short journey. I noted on the map they sent me that there was disabled parking and indeed close to the hotel entrance there is one parking area with a huge amount of spaces for blue badge holders. Even when I left there were plenty of free ones.

Anyway, I was impressed that exactly at 9:00am I was called by the technician. The process was a little messy, ultrasound goo all over my neck and the pressure from the gadget a little uncomfortable after a while. I got to hear my pulse at ultra-high whooshing. Anyway, the results should be sent through before Christmas and my doctor assured me yesterday that if anything was found that needed urgent attention it would be acted on.