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I keep picking books at (nearly) random off shelves, with not particularly outstanding results. The books I've reserved have all been much better but have had to be returned before I've had a chance to write them up, so will be appearing later.
Rustication, by Charles Palliser. Enthusiastic comparisons to Wilkie Collins on blurb. Victorian historical gothic in which Richard Shenstone is sent down from Cambridge after various dodgy dealings involving opium and suicide (not, alas, his own) to a ramshackle house on the coast where his mother and sister (Euphemia) are now living after the death of his father. Noone tells anyone anything straight out but hints etc are dropped frequently, Richard writes extensively in his diary (lapsing into Greek for his sexual fantasies about the servants), the neighbourhood reveals itself to be a hotbed of gossip and scandal, and someone is writing sexually explicit anonymous letters and mutilating farm animals. Richard staggers from assumption to assumption, flirts with unreliable narrative, and then disappears off through the marshes without a trace (there is an annoying frame narrative), which is possibly his only good decision. Everyone in this book is deeply unpleasant, although somehow the female characters seem worse; I think because they are given less justification for their unpleasantness (although the male characters' motives are tissue-thin, they're still there). It has not inspired in me a desire to read any of Palliser's other works.
Whistling in the Dark, by Shirley Hughes. Yes, the British illustrator. This has the tagline "In the hardship of war, everything is rationed - except true friendship", which is rather nice but reflects a more shaped narrative than this one. The elements are there - a Polish refugee whose uncle has deserted and is trying to find her and black marketeers are the main threads - but it's more of a slice of life story and most of the important plot points are given to other characters or off-stage. It was a perfectly pleasant read that hasn't stayed with me; mostly what I have is the desire to re-read Helen Forrester's memoirs, which overlap somewhat in time and place.
The Darkest Evening of the Year, by Dean Koontz. Dean Koontz's 70s and early 80s books under his own and pennames had a kind of wild enthusiasm that carried me through some fairly ridiculous plots (I am still fond of the Nazi time travellers book), but then it all became about Meaning and Feelings, and The Inherent Goodness of Some Things (especially golden retrievers) and I stopped bothering. This has not changed my mind. Amy Redwing runs a golden retriever rescue organisation. She has a Dark Past due to an Evil Husband, who, coincidentally, has now hooked up with the Evil Former Girlfriend of Amy's current boyfriend (an architect who draws dogs). Evil Exes do Evil things and have Amy's boyfriend's daughter, a ten year old girl with Down Syndrome, captive. I did start to write out the plot but basically a) dogs are good b) children with Down Syndrome or other divergences from the typical are in touch with forces beyond our comprehension c) these forces plus the dogs can heal fatal injuries, regrow teeth, etc etc, but for some reason not stop all the original Evil in the first place. Hmm. Bizarrely, this has made me want to re-read his Watchers or possibly even something even more cheerfully over the top like The House of Thunder to see they still work 20 or so years down the track.
Anyway. The next two books are better (I am saving the Peter Wimsey til I feel strong enough).
Rustication, by Charles Palliser. Enthusiastic comparisons to Wilkie Collins on blurb. Victorian historical gothic in which Richard Shenstone is sent down from Cambridge after various dodgy dealings involving opium and suicide (not, alas, his own) to a ramshackle house on the coast where his mother and sister (Euphemia) are now living after the death of his father. Noone tells anyone anything straight out but hints etc are dropped frequently, Richard writes extensively in his diary (lapsing into Greek for his sexual fantasies about the servants), the neighbourhood reveals itself to be a hotbed of gossip and scandal, and someone is writing sexually explicit anonymous letters and mutilating farm animals. Richard staggers from assumption to assumption, flirts with unreliable narrative, and then disappears off through the marshes without a trace (there is an annoying frame narrative), which is possibly his only good decision. Everyone in this book is deeply unpleasant, although somehow the female characters seem worse; I think because they are given less justification for their unpleasantness (although the male characters' motives are tissue-thin, they're still there). It has not inspired in me a desire to read any of Palliser's other works.
Whistling in the Dark, by Shirley Hughes. Yes, the British illustrator. This has the tagline "In the hardship of war, everything is rationed - except true friendship", which is rather nice but reflects a more shaped narrative than this one. The elements are there - a Polish refugee whose uncle has deserted and is trying to find her and black marketeers are the main threads - but it's more of a slice of life story and most of the important plot points are given to other characters or off-stage. It was a perfectly pleasant read that hasn't stayed with me; mostly what I have is the desire to re-read Helen Forrester's memoirs, which overlap somewhat in time and place.
The Darkest Evening of the Year, by Dean Koontz. Dean Koontz's 70s and early 80s books under his own and pennames had a kind of wild enthusiasm that carried me through some fairly ridiculous plots (I am still fond of the Nazi time travellers book), but then it all became about Meaning and Feelings, and The Inherent Goodness of Some Things (especially golden retrievers) and I stopped bothering. This has not changed my mind. Amy Redwing runs a golden retriever rescue organisation. She has a Dark Past due to an Evil Husband, who, coincidentally, has now hooked up with the Evil Former Girlfriend of Amy's current boyfriend (an architect who draws dogs). Evil Exes do Evil things and have Amy's boyfriend's daughter, a ten year old girl with Down Syndrome, captive. I did start to write out the plot but basically a) dogs are good b) children with Down Syndrome or other divergences from the typical are in touch with forces beyond our comprehension c) these forces plus the dogs can heal fatal injuries, regrow teeth, etc etc, but for some reason not stop all the original Evil in the first place. Hmm. Bizarrely, this has made me want to re-read his Watchers or possibly even something even more cheerfully over the top like The House of Thunder to see they still work 20 or so years down the track.
Anyway. The next two books are better (I am saving the Peter Wimsey til I feel strong enough).
