Books I Listened To/Read In October

Fiction
'Full Dark House' by Christopher Fowler
I realised once I had started this novel, that almost twenty years ago I had read three magic realist books by Fowler: 'Spanky' (1994) - far less lurid than the title and cover make out; 'Soho Black' (1998) and the best of these, 'Calabash' (2000). I was given a lot of the books from his Bryant and May series (I have no idea how he got to use the name of a match company). This one, published in 2004, was the first in the series which up to 2018 has so run through 15 novels and a short story anthology. I was disappointed by even the premise of the book. It features Arthur Bryant and John May part of the Peculiar Crimes Unit of the Metropolitan Police and madly employed from 1940 until 2004 when they are in their 80s. However, that is as far as the fantastical goes. The crime they investigate is at a theatre during wartime, with May looking back on the crime from some seventy years later. I have no idea why crime authors feel readers like to have so many mysteries set in theatres. I guess it is somewhat to do with the confined space in which to operate. However, it is now such a common trope, and especially with me having recently read Donna Leon's very similar 'Death At La Fenice' (1992), I found this pretty uninspiring.

There is mystery and conspiracy. However, a lot of it feels very laboured even when confined to the wartime. The abrupt jumps back and forth from the 2000s are confusing as it will often take a few sentences to know what time period the narrative has flitted onto. Too much simply seems odd but without adding spark. Both Bryant and decades later, May make use of mediums, but this adds little. In many ways it is too peculiar to be acceptable as a straight forward crime story and yet insufficiently uncanny to fit with what one would have expected from Fowler. I would have liked an outcome closer to 'Calabash'. I do have a lot of these books to read and can only hope, as with Leon, 3-4 books into the series Fowler will have found his feet with the characters and settings resulting in a step up to something with more life than this first entry in the series.

'The Windup Girl' by Paolo Bacigarlupi
This book reminded me of the books by Ian McDonald set in a cyberpunk future India: http://rooksmoor.blogspot.com/2019/08/books-i-listened-toread-in-august.html and http://rooksmoor.blogspot.com/2019/03/books-i-listened-toread-in-march.html  Bacigarlupi's novel is also a kind of cyberpunk but set in Thailand in mid-21st Century. Through genetic modification by various mega-companies a lot of the world's food plants have been destroyed by subsequently released diseases many of which have proven fatal to humans as well. The climate crisis has continued despite the running out of oil, with sea levels rising and the return of sailing ships and some vehicles run on liquefied coal that remains. There has been mass migrations and conflicts.  There has also been genetic modification of humans and animals to create the vast megodont elephants and the hazardous cheshire cats. The 'windup' girl of the title is a Japanese bred personal assistant modified to resemble a clockwork doll in her skin and her motions, largely for sexual purposes.

Like McDonald, Bacigarlupi has a pretty frantic story seen from a number of perspectives, though fortunately he kills a few off along the way to reduce the complexity which was a real difficulty with McDonald's novels. Like McDonald he puts in both local language words and future jargon, but I feel, for most of the time he keeps a better control of these so you are not left with something which is incomprehensible to an English-language reader of today. Much of the story revolves around different parts of the Thai government trying to gain power and either keep out or welcome in neo-colonial efforts notably by US corporations.

The book balances all the different pretty well, though it need not have been so long. The coup at the end seems to over-long. However, throughout, there are interesting ideas and believable characters in a future version of the world that seems feasible. This is a good step in the 21st Century move from the US-centric cyberpunk of the 1980s and buries it in South Asian culture without this seeming, to me at least, as cultural appropriation. Notably the behaviour of the characters, influenced by Buddhism and to some extent Islam, is different to if they had all been American or European characters, so this shows us how the different culture would react to this changed world. I have no idea how accurate Bacigarlupi's details are but he seems to have taken a lot of appropriate guidance. While on the same lines as McDonald, Bacigarlupi is more in control of his novel and so while challenging readers it is no surprise it has been multi-award winning.

'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini
I usually try to avoid this kind of novel. The closest thing I came to it was 'The Bridge Across Forever' (1984) by Richard Bach which a friend urged on me and I read over 30 years ago. I had two friends who read particularly pretentious books and it was a challenge to try to dodge what they pressed on me. I am not sure how much of this book is based on Hosseini's life and how much is fictional. There are some scenes, especially the way he escapes so easily from the Taliban, which seems unfeasible. In that situation he would have simply been shot and dumped by the road. Despite the fictional elements, overall this comes off like a 'misery memoir'. There is so much misery in this book from mothers dying in childbirth to childlessness to crippling illnesses to child sexual abuse to brutal executions; even the kite flying cuts the children's fingers on the glass-coated wires. Erratically it covers the first person narrator's life in 1970s Afghanistan and his interaction with his father's servant and that man's son. This is reasonably interesting, showing a society richly, including the eponymous kite running.

The narrator flees the country on the invasion of the Soviets and then the book jumps decades ahead showing him living in the USA and doing very little to advance the story before returning to Afghanistan to rescue the son of the servant's son in Afghanistan now controlled and terrorised by the Taliban. Not only do we get long tracts of misery throughout the latter part of the book including executions by stoning; even in the supposed 'golden age' sections of earlier in the book, the narrator witnesses the homosexual rape of his friend and for much of the book perceives himself as a terrible being, even decades later, for not having intervened. Even minor characters like a friend of the narrator's father and the narrator's wife are compelled to suffer. The book is fragmented and very laboured. Even among the grim scenes portrayed the narrator keeps on flogging himself mentally about his failings. The book is interesting in the insights it gives to Afghanistan over two decades and what it experienced. However, the book is so fragmentary as at times to be incoherent and is too contrived to even be convincing as realistic fiction let alone as semi-autobiographical. I will certainly take more care to stay away from such books in future as twice in 30 years is too frequent to have to wade through such material.

'A Venetian Reckoning' by Donna Leon
This is the fourth book in Leon's Brunetti series and as I noted with the previous one, 'The Anonymous Venetian' (1994) the author appears to have got into her stride. The novel revolves around the killing of three leading businessmen in various locales out from Venice. The reader, though not the detectives, from the start know this is connected with the death of women being trafficked in a Romanian lorry. While she has referenced how corruption inhibits investigations in Italy and how the privileged are protected, that aspect comes to the fore in this novel and it is actually an exploration of how an individual seeking some kind of justice may act in that context and how even the compromised may have certain standards of their own. This novel feels tighter than the first two books and while Leon still slips in references to the geography of Venice and various locations, there is less of the detailed description of Brunetti making his way down various alleys, on particular boats and stopping at bars for coffees and drinks. Leon seems able now to be in control of her material while still providing the flavour of the places she sets the stories that I imagine that some readers really relish. I found myself pleased to recall places around the Rialto Bridge that Brunetti passes near where I stayed in Venice in 2003. I got through this book quickly and while it has very brutal scenes, I found it a satisfying read and thought the reveal was both unexpected and handled well. I have less apprehension about reading the other books in this series that I have been given compared to when I read the first in the series 'Death at La Fenice' (1992) back in March of this year.

Non-Fiction
'Out of Town' by Jack Hargreaves
Hargreaves was a former vet who presented a television programme called 'Out of Town' on ITV 1965-81. I remember seeing episodes of it on Sunday afternoons in the 1970s. It was a nostalgic look at rural life. He was a popular celebrity and so well known in British culture that 'The Fast Show' (1994-7; 2000; 2014) gently spoofed the series with their character Bob Fleming and his programme 'Country Matters', you had to be of my generation or older to know what they were ridiculing.

This book covering Hargreaves's childhood on a dairy farm in Yorkshire up to 1929 and referring back to memories of his parents and grandparents. Each chapter takes a different aspect whether it be horses or dogs going to market or hunting. The text meanders between memories and is a very gentle read. It brings up names for things and skills that have often been forgotten and is a fascinating read. Only occasionally does the modern world intrude. Hargreaves though from a richer family than his neighbours and going on to study at veterinary school, was very dismissive of social class and indeed, ironically, social mobility. His attitudes to race are painfully dated. He adheres very much to the concept of 'station' and people remaining in what they had been born to. Writing the book in 1987 he believed that there would never be a Labour government in Britain ever again. He is very supportive of the Roma community but scathing of New Age Travellers. He seems ambivalent towards fox hunting seeing it as ineffective way of controlling foxes but wanting it to continue as part of country culture.

Aside from these jarring moments, I enjoyed the book and found it both an easy read and informative. It is certainly a useful resource if you want to set a novel in late 19th century/early 20th century rural England, especially as he compares what he knew in Yorkshire with examples from other regions that he learned of through presenting his programme. If you have right-wing attitudes to British society then even what intruded for me will probably be unnoticed by you as anything wrong.

Audio Book - Fiction
'You Only Live Twice' by Ian Fleming; read by Martin Jarvis
In sharp contrast to the movie version of the previous James Bond book I listened to back in July, 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (1963), the movie for this one was utterly different. It would actually be hard/tedious to make a movie close to the book as for much of the story, James Bond is primarily a tourist in Japan and the action is contained entirely in the last fifth or sixth of the book. Unlike his movie persona, but building on the troubles he has suffered in preceding books, Bond is depressed following the murder of his wife at the end of the previous book and is contemplating resignation. He is sent on a supposedly hard mission to Japan to win co-operation of the Japanese intelligence services so that they will provide Soviet messages broken by their Magic 44 decryption system to Britain directly rather than via the CIA. Bond spends much time with 'Tiger' Tanaka, head of the Japanese intelligence service, trying to prove the British are worthy of such provision.

Fleming never conceals his feelings about countries in his books. He loves Jamaica and is very scathing of the bloated, tawdry nature of the USA. With Japan, he much prefers the samurai and Second World War kamikaze traditions over Japanese society and culture as they were in 1964 when the book is set; the year of the Tokyo Olympics. In part, this is because he is highly conscious of how much the US occupation has impacted on Japan. It is an alternate 1964 because USA President John F. Kennedy is still alive with the publication of the book in March 1964, Fleming presumably having delivered the manuscript ahead of his assassination in December 1963. As Jarvis outlines in the interview that follows his reading, Japan in 1964 would be a fascinating place for British readers. Fleming does not hold back from his criticisms of an enfeebled Britain, a problem he lays at the feet of the trade unions who he sees as demanding ever rising pay for lowering productivity, though he has Bond emphasise some positive points. Given Fleming's social background it is perhaps no surprise and you can imagine him shuddering in October 1964 when the first Labour government for 13 years came to power.

We see Bond going around various traditional Japanese locations in Tokyo and on the Kyushu. Ninja are introduced, a novelty for English-speaking readers of the time. While Bond at times ridicules Japanese manners, there is a respect for the old ways. Finally he is dispatched to eliminate Dr. Guntram Shatterhand who has set up a castle on Kyushu with grounds full of poisonous plants and deadly creatures as well as making use of volcanic fumaroles, to provide a location for those Japanese wishing to do so, to commit suicide. Despite the Japanese view of suicide the government is becoming concerned about the numbers making use of the facilities and in return for Magic 44 decrypts ask Bond to kill Shatterhand, who turns out to be Ernst Blofeld, the man who murdered Bond's wife in the previous novel. This all seems a little contrived. However, the closing section of the book is brisk and while successful Bond is left injured and without more than fragmentary memory of his previous life. This is not really an action book, it is more a travelogue giving a conservative writer of the mid-1960s a chance to reflect on various countries and how the modern world was erasing the values he felt were important, if bloody, to cling to.

At first, realising Jarvis would be providing Japanese accents I worried it would be a caricature. However, he does provide voices that sound like genuine Japanese people speaking in English. He decent Australian and Swiss accented English too. As he notes in the interview in no other context than an audio book would he have the chance to play such a range of male and female characters and I think his acting experience shows through.

Against the Devil's Men: 'What If?' Novel of Greater Success of the Mongols in Europe in the 13th Century

 

This is my first book published via Sea Lion Press: https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/ I approached them in the summer of 2017 with 'Eve of the Globe's War' (2017): https://rooksmoor.blogspot.com/2017/09/eve-of-globes-war-what-if-novel-of.html but very foolishly pulled out of the arrangement, I am not certain now why I did that. However, I was glad that Tom Black, head of Sea Lion, gave me a second chance with this book. I had always been interested in having a story about what if, in 1242, the Mongols had not simply turned back from Europe following the death of their great khan, Ögedei Khan. This had been stimulated, as had the title, by the non-fiction book, 'The Devil's Horsemen' (1979; revised 2003) by James Chambers. I had picked up a copy remaindered in the mid-1980s though it was not until many years later that I read it, as is often the case with non-fiction books I buy.

My first shot at a story along these lines had been with a novella which is now encompassed as 'Facing the Devil' within 'Déviation: What If? Stories of the French' (revised 2015): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L45ATYC/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i12 That story covers events later than 'Against the Devil's Men' being set in 1272 and based in northern France. The story was not well received especially by one reviewer who is an advocate of the medieval Mongol expansion and feels that any story of the time which is shown from any perspective that is non-Mongol, must be like a project for primary school children. However, I thought, for myself, it highlighted how western European states might have dealt with the Mongols if they had continued progressing farther west. I envisaged that trying to cling on to the European enclaves in Palestine and Syria would have to be abandoned, but that the various crusading orders would have turned their focus on fighting the Mongols. I also saw that the Papacy, under threat in northern Italy and with southern France at risk too, would have withdrawn to the Iberian Peninsula. Given that the threat would have involved numerous Christian states, and indeed Muslim ones too, I imagined that the Papacy would have 'weaponised' much of western European society with both religious and military orders focused on repelling the existential threat.

Thus, from these ideas, I began to decide how I could make a full novel. I settled on three characters to enable me to give different perspectives on what was happening. I wanted to emphasis just how cruel the Mongols were and how unlike other enemies European soldiers had faced, were so destructive no matter whether their victims were Christian, Muslim or Pagan. Thus, I came to include a Cuman horseman, Captain Braçayda 'Barc' Ulas. The Cumans are interesting people who were pushed westwards by the Mongols and received somewhat of a warm reception in Hungary. The Magyars themselves had been a similar nomadic people who had previously settled on the Hungarian plains and become what we know as Hungarians. I also wanted someone who could fight to give action for the story. I also wanted to show the impact of the Mongols on the people in the areas in which they settled, so this led to Sister Aurea of the Mercedarians. She is a half-Mongol, half-Italian woman born as a result of rape who fled into 'France' from Mongol held northern 'Italy'. The Mercedarians were a bold order that were willing to risk their lives for imprisoned Christians; she also provided a way in for what I saw as an undercover mission among the Mongols. Then, finally, to represent how the weaponised clergy was used, I included Brother Cataldo, a Trinitarian friar originally from Venice. The states of Venice and Genoa were known to be flexible in relations with the Mongols and I saw that as liable to grow as the invaders' power extended.

All that remained was to determine what these Papal agents would do and this led to lots of exploration of diseases among horses and how these could be spread. With all these factors in place, my trio - though the story is primarily seen through the eyes of Cataldo - were ready along with a band of soldiers and later some sickening horses to go on their mission. Their journey allowed me to show the complexity of society at the time, especially the multiple states in what is now southern France. There is room for jealousies of both secular and clerical authorities and to look at some of the stunning towns in the region though those in northern Italy, as happened elsewhere the Mongols went, have been reduced to ruins. Along the way the characters encounter people showing what impact the grim threat of people many genuinely believed to be demonic, would have, so there are heretics and millennial cults arising. The Cathars were strong in the region even in our version of the history and have continued when an even greater threat to Christendom has taken priority.

I hope readers appreciate all the details, of food, clothing, weapons, horses, towns and different groups. I was pleased with what I felt was a rich experience with numerous points of tension and scenes of action as well as reflections on the political and religious developments of the time. Some pressed me to include things like sex between Cataldo and Aurea, despite an 18 year age difference between them and both being sworn to chastity. However, I am glad I resisted this and that one reviewer has picked up on the fact that I have been careful to show characters following the views of the time rather than me including anachronistic attitudes from my own. This includes showing people, whether in religious orders or following a heresy or simply fearful of the Mongols, sincerely believing the views of the time; accepting the supernatural and the reality of the Devil and his agents. As such, I hope that while providing an interesting exercise in alternate history story-telling, readers can also enjoy exploring a rich historical context based on extensive research. Of course, if you spot some error, please let me know first before emblazoning them across Amazon reviews.