The Tailor of Panama by John le Carré

"For a tailor, Harry Pendel is unexpectedly physical. Perhaps he is aware of this, because he walks with an air of power restrained."

Normally, I would expect to be waxing lyrical about how much I enjoyed my latest foray into Le Carré's literary body of work. This, however, really isn't the case here. There was something all a little too distant with this particular novel. I didn't loathe it, nor am I compelled to overwhelmingly recommend it.

I think the mention of Graham Greene's   Our Man in Havana in the author's acknowledgement really was the straw the broke the camel's back. In this case a clear comparison with that far superior work, cast this one in a poor light.

As usual with these kinds of spy novels there are a lot of plots and intrigues, but I couldn't help but see what was going to occur from the get go and that made it a trifle unsatisfactory.
3 out of 5 great tailoring but better works on the runway.

Stargazer by Claudia Gray

"I went through it all: the crackling sound of ice, the unearthly green-blue glow, the frost man's face and his final, shattered glass warning."

It has been quite some time since I read the first Evernight novel and I just had an inclination for some more YA supernatural fiction. It hits me at the oddest times.

In any case, it was time to travel back to the strange private school where vampires and humans attend side by side. The humans completely oblivious to the different species of their classmates.

There's more drama, a continuing love triangle hinted at in the first book and a new source of terror. Throw in terrorist style vampire killers and you might get a hint of what you are in for. An easy read with a steady pace, the requisite number of thrills and spills and a driving urge to see what transpires in the next volume.  4 out of 5 fangs for the memories.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler

"Every sort of trouble I can think of, we've tried it out- become expert at some of it, even, so much so that I've come to wonder whether artists in particular seek out hard times the way flowers turn their faces to the sun."

The shining lights of the golden couple's heyday are beautifully transposed against the reality of a troubled marriage in Fowler's re-imagining of the world of the Fitzgeralds. A captivating read,  perfectly timed to coincide with my visit to the cinema to see The Great Gatsby.

I was fortunate to be able to read a copy of this novel that had caught my Aunt's eye in a bookstore on a weekend trip to Bowral, and finish reading it on a flight to Adelaide - yes this book has done some mileage.

The spirit of Zelda's novel Save Me The Waltz  is clearly captured here and whilst the tale is, as anyone familiar with their story knows, sad, this is a beautifully executed work which I enthusiastically enjoyed. 5 out of 5 crazy lifestyles can lead to a bitter end.

An Imaginary Life by David Malouf

“We are creating the lineaments of some final man, for whose delight we have prepared a landscape, and who can only be god.” 

Sometimes it is  possible to have a deep appreciation for a work of art, without any sense of attachment or engagement with it. Reading this short work of fiction was akin to looking at a painting in an art gallery. The genius of the artist is clear and yet the image leaves you cold.

In some ways , the subject matter, the poet Ovid’s encounter with the wild boy, perfectly describes my sense of attraction yet distance from the text. I was draw in by the beautiful cacophony of words, expertly weaved together in a harmonious tapestry, and yet I longed for more of a story.

It recalled a dreamlike state, where images floated by without a solid anchor to  a more plot centric device. I wanted to dislike the book, frustrated as I was with the sense of displacement, and yet I still hold it in high regard for it encompassed a real sense of beauty and perfectly encapsulated the notion of exile. Such economy of words, reminiscent of poetry, which is so apt given the character of Ovid. I am perplexed by this odd interaction with the text, yet entertained.  4 out of 5, thanks again to Nicki for the lend of this one.

Vertigo by Pierre Boileau & Thomas Narcejac

 

" He could smell her perfume. A complicated smell, which had affinities with rich earth and dead flowers."

 

Yet another in my attempts to visit the source material of the films of Alfred Hitchcock, completing Vertigo, originally published as The Living and the Dead,  was a pleasure. There are some considerable differences between the movie and the novel, not the least of which is the finale.

 

I'm not about to give the whole game away, but differences emerge right from the get go. There's no adorable Midge for starters. Having said that, one could expect some differences, the original novel was French, and the timing differs, naturally so do the locales.

 

No jumping into San Francisco bay, no Mission San Juan Bautista - this time the tower resides in the Chateau St-Germain and the backdrop is the war. Otherwise, it is fairly familiar territory up until the finale, which one can't imagine playing particularly well with Jimmy Stewart at the helm. Oh did I mention there are no blondes in this book? A very speedy read that makes for  captivating translation - it would be interesting to read the original novel in French.

5 out of 5 suicidal re-incarnations can't be wrong.

 

 

 

 

Indecent Exposure by David McClintock

 

"The allocation of credit for a movie's success, therefore, is inherently imprecise, elusive,  and subject to elaborate manipulation, particularly among people in the positions of David Begelman and Alan Hirschfield'.

 

They say that truth is stranger than fiction and nowhere is that more evident than in this particular work. Yes, I know, I've diverted into the realms of non fiction again, but trust me this was the perfect antidote to the last book I read. In this case  I tore through more than 500 pages in one night.

 

 

I was particularly amazed that a non fiction story  from the eighties about embezzlement and board room antics could grab my attention so unrelentingly. Big egos clash. rules get broken and lives get destroyed - this tale is epic. Throw in the odd legendary name and you'll be hooked too.

The action takes place around the time when Columbia was coming out with one of my favourite sci-fi films, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

 

 

 

Weirdly, because I really hadn't anticipated being so enthralled, I'm giving this one a big score.  5 out of 5 moguls get manic.

 

Inferno by Dan Brown

"As they neared the end of the alley, Langdon stumbled again."

It was on special, yes that is my excuse for revisiting the world of Robert Langdon. That, combined with a weekend at my parent's farm and the thought that my father might fancy another Dan Brown tome. Both of us read the novel in a day. Was this because it was an amazing work of fiction? Not really.

In truth the pace of this novel derives, as it seems from all Brown's work, from the never-ending running - down alleyways, through secret passageways, oh and through more hidden paths. It seems whenever he runs out of potential mazes in one famous building, he moves the action to another and when the city yields no further landmarks for exploitation, it is time to move city.

I, perhaps stupidly, kept reading, waiting for something new and elucidating to occur. The denouement was so anticlimactic that I nearly threw the book on the floor in disgust. Had I really traversed more than 400 pages for that? Thank god for the large print!

There are some aspects of Brown's success that I admire a) at least people are reading... something and b) they are buying books - even if they are predictable and staunchly formulaic. I can't be too critical, I bought the darn thing.

After completing a horrendous university take home exam, I somewhat appreciated a mindless escape, but it felt like every move was so telegraphed that the whole novel could have been condensed considerably. Was it thrilling? Not so much. Also, does Langdon, who continually laments that he's not as young as he used to be, ever get tired of running?

So much prose is given over to the description of Langdon's sartorial splendour, yet his chief accessory is a Mickey Mouse watch - come on!

If you're seeking a novel that is reminiscent of a B/C grade thriller then this is definitely your thing.  2 out of 5 sinister shadowy organisations might agree.