More on Historical Fiction

It's interesting that David would have recently made a post that came about through people expressing their interest in Historical Fiction. For the last few weeks, I've been working with a Dalhousie Library School student named Lara who is completing her summer work term here at the public library. When I asked her if she was interested in writing a post for The Reader - guess what? - she also chose to write about Historical Fiction.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I really enjoy stories and characters from other times and places. (Perhaps that's why I also read a lot of science fiction and fantasy.) An author gets bonus points for presenting an authentically antiquated setting, as well as for careful treatment of racism, sexism and cultural clashes. Clever conversation and quality descriptions of exotic locales are also important ingredients.

Ariana Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death (2007) is a very well written work of historical fiction. It is also a first class page-turning murder mystery, but not in the popular sense, with a classic detective figure calling the shots and following a trail of clues until he can neatly wrap up the investigation. Franklin's protagonist is a trained doctor imported to England from Sicily in 1171 after four children are killed in medieval Cambridge.

King Henry has asked for a master of the art of death, a doctor who can speak to the dead and find out who killed them. Mysterious as this all sounds, what the doctor in question really does is reason out the likely cause of death from the physical indications of violence, and try to puzzle together the pieces to find the killer. The doctor's task is made much more difficult, however, when she is a woman and must disguise her abilities and quest to avoid being labeled a witch.

Franklin doesn't shy away from shocking violence; this story is not meant for those who enjoy historical fiction merely to imagine themselves in another era and location, perhaps the object of devotion of some (conveniently handsome and wealthy) member of the local upper class. Mistress of the Art of Death is fast-paced, gritty, and mesmerizing. I got completely caught up in the human relationships that Franklin explores as well as her portrayals of cultural differences centering around faith and customs.

Franklin's Mistress is a smart, courageous character I would be happy to read more about. Luckily for those of us who enjoy quality period fiction, the sequel to Mistress, The Serpent's Tale (2008) is available, as well as the third in what has rapidly become a series, Grave Goods, released in March 2009. I'll be placing the former on hold and as for the latter, it is currently on order at Halifax Public Libraries.

In addition to her library work, Lara blogs on a regular basis for Re:Print, a books blog at PopMatters.com, an international magazine of cultural criticism. This post is adapted from a Re:Print posting dated 18 May 2009.

Historical fiction - what's the appeal?

I recently had two readers express a strong preference for historical fiction. 

When asked what it was that appealed to them about historical fiction, they each revealed that they love to read stories based on significant historical events and that having a story woven around the facts allowed them to better understand the human emotions and motivations surrounding the historical event. The readers felt that their reading experience was so much richer than would be the case from reading non-fiction.

A wonderful recent example of this literary approach comes from a local author Jon Tattrie, who has just released Black Snow: a story of love and destruction.   While many of us are familiar with the details of the Halifax Explosion from various history books, the mindset of the survivors is near impossible to convey just with the facts and statistics.

Jon's novels tackles this psychological aspect of the Halifax Explosion. The story draws the reader into the thoughts and emotions of the survivors, as told through the voice of fictional character Tommy Joyce, who must search through the devastation to find his true love. (btw, Jon will be reading at the Keshen Goodman Library on June 10th)

I have to say that these readers make a convincing case for me to try some historical fiction.

I asked a few fans of this sub-genre of historical fiction to provide me with a few reading suggestions:

Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett

A story of passion and idealism, which describes a group of men and women in the Middle Ages whose destinies are fatefully linked with the building of a cathedral.In a country torn by civil war, two generations struggle to rise above their primitive circumstances and create something beautiful. -- Publisher

A Respectable Trade, by Philippa Gregory

"This moral spellbinder, set in Bristol, England, in the slave-trading 1780s...the book brilliantly shocks the conscience with its intimate and unsparing portrait of slavery. It's a romance, but not a sentimental one, built around the impossible love between white slave owner Frances Scott Cole and the black African Mehuru" 

--Publishers Weekly

Suite Francais, by Irene Nemirovsky

"Suite Francaise chronicles life in France during the World War II Nazi invasion and occupation. Intended to be told in five parts, only the first two were completed before the author’s death. The novel has been praised as a window into the lives of everyday people living through tumultuous times, and as a sensitive depiction of a major historical event. "An extraordinary novel of life under Nazi occupation - recently discovered and published 64 years after the author's death in Auschwitz.”"--Publisher

When Christ and His Saints Slept, By SharonKay Penman

"Set in 12th-century England and the early civil war between Stephen and his cousin, the Empress Maude, this story tells of a long fight to win the English throne. Stephen was handsome and unreliable; Maude was courageous, beautiful and arrogant. They fought for twenty years and devasted England."--Publisher

 

Haiku Hijinks

I just stumbled upon a fun story in the press about a contest being run at London's King's Cross and St. Pancras train station.

If you don't have time to click the link, here's a summary:
British train station

organizes neat contest:

haiku on Twitter.

Haiku is an ancient form of Japanese poetry that demands that complete poems be written in three lines of 5-7-5 syllables. Though traditionally Haiku are used to create mental images, touch on nature and are philosophical, the form has become a pop culture favourite and modern day (particularly English language) - versions of the poems can be found on almost any topic.

Here's a selection of titles from the library collection - both traditional and more tongue-in-cheek - that feature or are about Haiku:

Born of a Dream: 50 Haiku by various authors

Gay Haiku by Joel Derfner

Global Haiku: twenty-five poets world-wide edited by George Swede and Randy Brooks

The Haiku Apprentice: memoirs of writing poetry in Japan by Abigail Friedman

Haiku Mama: (because 17 syllables is all you have time to read) by Kari Ann Roy

Haiku U: from Aristotle to Zola, 100 great books in 17 syllables by David M. Bader

Honku: the zen antidote to road rage by Aaron Naparstek

Knit one, Haiku too: poems and stories by Maria Fire

Snowflakes on Old Pines by Art Aeon

Books into Film

Did you know that many of the most recent and popular movies began life as books? Do you like going to a movie if you've already read the book? Will you read the book if you've already seen the movie? 

As a lover of both books and movies, I maintain that you do both. Remember... The film is only one person's interpretation of the original work. The movie has a constricted time frame and couldn't possible include all the content of the novel. Sometimes they tell the whole story well in two hours, and sometimes they miss the mark.

I prefer to read the book first, then view the film.

Some examples of recent hit movies that are based on books:

310 to Yuma by Elmore Leonard
Q & A by Vikas Swarup was made into the movie "Slumdog Millionaire".
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

Little Children by Tom Perrotta
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Way of the Peaceful Warrior: a book that changes lives, by Dan Millman
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Marley and Me by John Grogan

FYI: 

A nice list of books made into films from Mid-Continent Libraries in Missouri:

http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/movies/

The Guardian published an interesting list in 2006 of the best film adaptations:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/apr/19/film.books

5 more reads for Asian Heritage Month

As the month of May wanes and we come to the end of our Asian Heritage Month celebrations, I want to make note of my 5 last recommended titles for reading. These ones are a bit different: they’re not ones I’ve already read, rather they are on my “to read’ list. Maybe they’ll end up on yours too!

Climbing the Mango Trees by Madhur Jaffrey - I haven’t talked much about nonfiction in this series of posts, but this is a biography that I’ve been wanting to read since its release last year. Madhur Jaffrey is a well-known (okay, I guess a celebrity) chef who has turned a lot of people onto cooking Indian cuisine. This is the story of her childhood in India - specifically in Delhi and Kampur and is filled, alongside other biographical details, with descriptions of the cuisine of her family and region. The biography also includes some recipes, or you may want to check out one of Jaffrey’s cookbooks as a companion.

When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe: what chiefly interests me about this book is its depiction of an event and a culture which is not much explored in English language literature: he Philippines at the close of of World War II, as America and Japan battle for control of the country. The title refers to a quote the main character’s father speaks “when the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful” and the story tells with insight the experiences of everyday Filipinos caught in this battleground. This is an award winning first novel which Publishers Weekly magazine described as: “Grounded in Philippine myth and culture... filled with beautiful, allegorical stories told by the story's elders, who try to share wisdom and 

inspire their captive audience in the midst of gruesome violence.”

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini: Hosseini’s The Kite Runner was published to critical acclaim in 2003 and became an internationally bestselling novel. Billed by its publisher as “the first Afghan novel to be written in English”, The Kite Runner told the story of two young boys from different  economic backgrounds growing up in Afghanistan. The story is a moving and informative look into a country that is very much in the minds of Canadians, but which Canadians have little first hand knowledge of. Of this much beloved novel, one of the only negative comments I’ve heard relates to the lack of women characters in the novel. A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini’s second novel, serves to counter those criticisms as the story of two women in Afghanistan, through 30 years of personal and political strife. Publishers Weekly called it: “a powerful, harrowing depiction of Afghanistan, but also a lyrical evocation of the lives and enduring hopes of its resilient characters.”

Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong: this happens to me sometimes, I know the reputation of a book without knowing much about the plot and the reputation alone makes me want to read it. That’s the case with Wolf Totem, which was a hugely popular in China and which won the first ever Man Asia Literary Prize (popularly referred to as the Asian Booker) in 2007. And that is kind of all I know about it. But to give you a bit more of a taste, here’s summary from the book jacket:
"An epic Chinese tale in the vein of The Last Emperor, Wolf Totem depicts the dying culture of the Mongols - the ancestors of the Mongol hordes who at one time terrorized the world - and the parallel extinction of the animal they believe to be sacred: the fierce and otherworldly Mongolian wolf." 

(The library also has the book in our collection in Chinese - under the title Lang tu teng)

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga: Last year’s Man Booker Prize winner is the story of Balram Halwai and how he rises from poverty in modern day India. “Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger. And with a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that religion doesn't create virtue, and money doesn't solve every problem -- but decency can still be found in a corrupt world, and you can get what you want out of life if you eavesdrop on the right conversations.” (Publishers description)

Alternate Histories

As I was perusing through reading related websites I came across Uchronia - a site specializing in Alternate Histories. It contains a database of over 2900 novels and stories which focus on the "what if's". Usually alternate histories take a major event in history and speculate what might have happened had the outcome been different. What if the Nazi's had won WWII or what if the American Civil war had ended differently.

One book I've read this past year was Alfred and Emily, by Doris Lessing. Lessing addresses the idea of an alternate history in her latest book Alfred and Emily. Like countless others, Alfred Lessing and Emily McVeagh’s lives were changed by events in World War One. Lessing lost a leg and was nursed back to health by McVeagh who had lost a fiancee. Had this not happened and had they not married, what would their individual lives have been like? Lessing creates two worlds based on her intimate knowledge of her parents and at the same time portrays a prosperous and complacent England unaffected by war. The second half of this book is a series of essays describing Lessing’s actual childhood in Rhodesia and her complex relationships with her family.

All's fair in love and war:
Maelstrom, by Taylor Anderson [WWII]
Half A Crown by Jo Walton [WWII]
The Man With the Iron Heart by Harry Turtledove [WWII]
Resistance: A Novel by Owen Sheers [WWII]
MacArthur's War: A Novel Of the Invasion of Japan by Douglas Niles [WWII]
Final Impact by John Birmingham [WWII]
In War Times by Kathleen Ann Goonan [WWII]
1635: The Dreeson Incident by Eric Flint [Thirty Year's War]
Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik [Napoleonic Wars]
Land of Mist and Snow by Debra Doyle [American Civil War]

Taking liberties with historical figures:
The James Boys: A Novel Account of Four Desperate Brothers by Richard Liebman-Smith
The Betrayal: The Lost Life of Jesus: A Novel by Kathleen O'Neal Gear
Eleanor Vs Ike by Robin Gerber
The Accident Man by Tom Cain [Princess Diana]
Magdelan Rising: The Beginning by Elizabeth Cunningham
Jamestown: A Novel by Matthew Sharpe [John Smith]
In Secret Service by Mitch Silver [Duke of Windsor]
The Secret Trial of Robert E. Lee by Thomas Fleming
Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant, the Final Victory by Newt Gingrich
Darkwitch Rising by Sara Douglass [King Charles II]

Author Reading - David Bergen

Awarding winning Canadian author David Bergen is scheduled to read at the Spring Garden Road branch of the Halifax Public Libraries on Tuesday May 26th, 7:00 p.m.  

All are welcome.

David will be reading from his latest novel, The Retreat, which has just won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year award.

His publisher describes the novel as:

"...a finely nuanced, deeply felt novel that tells the story of the complicated love between a white girl and a native boy, and of a family on the verge of splintering forever. It is also a story of the bond between two brothers who were separated in childhood, and whose lives and fates intertwine ten years later. A brilliant portrait of a time and a place, The Retreat confirms Bergen’s reputation as one of the country’s most gifted and compelling writers."

Please drop by and enjoy one of Canada's top writers as he shares his craft and insights.

Special thanks to Canada Council for the Arts for generously supporting this event.

Popular Music - Biographies

As a longtime fan of popular music, I almost always enjoy reading about pop music history, especially biographies. 

I love getting the inside information about backstage shenanigans, studio trickery and assorted personality conflicts. The Al Kooper book title sums it up rather nicely for me.

The Library has received quite a number of intriguing titles in the last year that will appeal to many fans of popular music.

Here are just a few titles to whet the appetites of all the rock n roll groupies out there (you know who you are !_!):

Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards : memoirs of a rock 'n' roll survivor, by Al Kooper.

Willie Nelson : an epic life, by Joe Nick Patoski.

Say it Loud: my memories of James Brown, soul brother no.1, by Don Rhodes

Girls Like Us : Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon--and the journey of a generation, by Sheila Weller

Tell the Truth Until they Bleed : coming clean in the dirty world of blues and rock 'n' roll, by Josh Alan Friedman

The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash : my life, my beats, by Grandmaster Flash 

My Chemical Romance : this band will save your life, by Reinhardt Haydn

Heaven and Hell : my life in the Eagles (1974-2001), byDon Felder

Stripped : Depeche Mode, by Jonathan Miller

Off the rails : aboard the crazy train in the Blizzard of Ozz, by by Rudy Sarzo

W.A.R. : the unauthorized biography of William Axl Rose, by Mick Wall

In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead - film adaptation

Mystery author James Lee Burke's series character Dave Robicheaux is for many readers, the quintessential tough nosed, hard drinking, self destructive detective.  A policeman who sometimes plays a little outside the rules in order to bring justice to his world, to right the wrongs inflicted on the vulnerable and innocent.   This character obviously resonates with readers as the series is now up to 17 titles.

Fans of Dave Robicheaux should be excited to learn that their is a new film version of their favourite detective, to be played by Tommy Lee Jones.  

Interestingly, there was a previous screen version of Dave Robicheaux, played by Alec Baldwin, in the film Heaven's Prisoner.  Consensus among readers and watchers alike was that Alec Baldwin was not believable as the gritty Robicheux. Tommy Lee Jones should fare much better.

The motion picture adaptation of In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead, book six in the series, has been released on dvd and is now available to be borrowed.

"Unspoken" by Sam Hayes

As a person who has a book on the go literally ALL THE TIME (my favorite genres are suspense/mystery/thriller), I encounter many quite good ones and many duds. Once in a while I find a gem. 

I just finished reading “Unspoken” by Sam Hayes. Wow! It was one of those books that made you neglect everything you were supposed to be doing. I couldn’t put it down until the last page was turned.

The dust jacket blurb reads:

"Mary Marshall would do anything for her daughter Julia. A devoted grandmother to Julia’s children, she’s always been the rock her family can rely on. Until now. Mary has a past Julia knows nothing about, and it’s come back to haunt her – Murray French is walking a tightrope. A solicitor struggling with an alcohol problem, he’s about to lose his wife Julia and his children to another man: someone successful, someone they deserve. Someone who’s everything he’s not. Can he ever get his family back? Just when Julia Marshall thinks life is starting to turn around, she stumbles upon the brutalised body of a girl she teaches. And as the terrible present starts to shed light on her mother’s past, Julia realises her family’s nightmare is only just beginning…"

How much do we really know about those we love? When a family's dynamic is threatened, how would we react? Written with understanding and emotional acuity, the novel is one I’ll remember for quite some time.

For more novels of this genre search the library catalogue under the subject "Psychological thriller".

Readalikes - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer was a book a lifetime in the making. Shaffer, who passed away in 2008, was a passionate reader who spent her life working in libraries and publishing. A visit to the Channel Islands in the 1970's introduced her to their literature and their history. Of especial interest was the German occupation of the Channel Islands.

In the late 1990's Shaffer was encouraged by friends and family to fulfill her dream and write her long percolating story. Unfortunately during the writing Shaffer's health deteriorated and her niece assisted her in finishing the book.
So the story:

During World War II the Germans occupied the island of Guernsey. The residents caught breaking curfew manufactured the excuse that they were attending a literary society meeting. When the Germans wanted to attend the meetings the society quickly formed discovering their mutual love of books. Evidence of this society was discovered by Juliet Ashton a writer in London in 1946, just as the country was emerging from the shadow of war. A correspondence is struck between Juliet and a residence of the island. Entranced by their stories, Juliet travels to Guernsey, and as they say, life was forever altered.

It is a history, a romance and the experience of reading about reading. And now you are reading about reading about reading.

84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff has a similar feel. It is the true story of a correspondence across the Atlantic between two bibliophiles which leads to romance. While not told in letter format, there is also The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, which introduces us to the reading tastes of no less than the Queen Elizabeth II herself when she stumbles upon a bookmobile parked at Buckingham Palace.

Speaking of books told in letter format, if you tend to look at library catalogue records, you will have noticed the subject heading Epistolary Fiction attached to the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Epistolary fiction is book written in document format, rather than as straight prose. It is usually in the form of letters, but can be in diary, newspaper clipping etcetera. Follow the link to see a list of other books in the collection that are written in this style.

2009 Edgar Awards announced

Mystery Writers of America is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre. They are the sponsors of the prestigious Edgar Award. 

First awarded in 1955, and named after Edgar Allan Poe, these awards are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America to honour the best in mystery fiction published in the past year.

The Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in the mystery writing field. This prestigious and highly coveted award was established to recognize those authors who have consistently created important and high quality contributions to the mystery field. 

The 2009 Grand Masters were announced to be James Lee Burke and Sue Grafton.

The winner for best novel was “Blue Heaven” by C.J. Box.

The winner for best first novel was “The Foreigner” by Francie Lin.

For previous Edgar Award winners search the library catalogue under subject 'Edgar Award'.

Steampunk

What the heck is Steampunk?    

The first time I encountered the term I had no idea what it meant, but I had to find out. It sounded very exotic and hip. 

Steampunk is sub genre of fantasy, a sort of spin off of cyberpunk.  Read On... Fantasy Fiction: reading lists for every taste, defines steampunk as :"Set in the Victorian era in early industrial times, steampunk places magic alongside the dawn of technology. Anti-authority, anti-class-structure punk attitude is also on display."

Not exactly what I had expected, but intriguing none the less.

Some suggested examples of steampunk are:

The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, by Gordon Dahlquist

The Light Ages, by Ian R. Macleod

The List of Seven, by Mark Frost

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, by Alan Moore

All about Romance - Reading Suggestions

I'm still enjoying the wide variety of chick lit available at our library. So much to read, so little time! Right now, I'm on a Rachel Gibson reading frenzy. But, what happens when I've finished reading all of Ms. Gibson's books?

Well, like you, I'm always on the lookout for new reading suggestions or similar reads. So, while searching for chick lit similar in style to Rachel Gibson's, I happened to stumble across this great romance site. It's called All About Romance and gives lots of "If you like... (author/genre)" suggestions.

...and of course, there is also NoveList, another super source for leisure reading suggestions.

Enjoy!

Read Your Way Around Nova Scotia - Part 2 - Halifax

Halifax has a long literary tradition. The library website hosts a Literary Walking Tour which guides the reader around Halifax's literary monuments. From our Roots to the Past website:

"Dickens and Wilde, Howe and Montgomery-Halifax's literary history comes alive in this virtual walking tour highlighting famous authors, publishers, bookstores and libraries. Discover love and madness in Grafton Park. Gossip about infidelity, slander and political ambition in colonial Halifax. Hear about innovative ways journalists succeeded in the cut-throat competitive world of publishing newspapers. See Halifax as never before, through the eyes of Canada’s celebrated authors and world literary greats.

Are you wearing proper walking shoes?"

If you are not inclined to lace up your sneakers, you might prefer to explore Halifax with a few contemporary authors.

Barrington Street Blues by Anne Emery is third in the series of Monty Collins mysteries. Emery, a lawyer herself, has created Monty Collins, a bluesman lawyer. Collins finds himself in seedy bars in downtown Halifax investigating what he suspects to be a double murder. Barrington Street Blues was given a starred review in Library Journal. The reviewer praises her saying, "...is a master at creating a sense of place (in this case, her hometown of Halifax, N.S.) and developing characters—talents that place her in the same rarefied circle as Margaret Maron, Marcia Muller, and Sara Paretsky."

More than any other event in the 20th century, Halifax was defined by the 1917 Explosion. In Glass Voices by Carol Bruneau Lucy Caines and her husband were one of thousands of victims of the Explosion, losing their young daughter. Now, as a woman of 71 years, Lucy has time to reflect on her life as she sits with her husband who has suffered a stroke. Never truly getting past her daughter's loss, she invested much emotion in her young son. Harry, her husband, proved to be a disappointment as he chose gambling and other illegal activities as a way of life. The novel spans from 1917 to the 1960's giving the reader the opportunity to see changes in both the world and in Lucy as she comes to terms with her difficult life.

Going back in time to the early 1860's we have The Halifax Connection by Marie Jakober. It is the story of a romance between a working class girl and an aristocratic boy set against the backdrop of pre-confederation Canada. Erryn Shaw has been banished from his comfortable home in England to Canada where he is convinced to act as a spy for the British against the Southern Confederates. Jakober brings to life a lesser known connection between Halifax and the American Civil War.

Growing up in a boxing centred family inspired Elaine McCluskey's first novel Going Fast. Ownie Flanagan, an old-time trainer, yearns for the day when Halifax was a boxing town. Before he retires, he hopes to find that one last great boxer. Perhaps he has found it in Trinidadian Turmoil Davis. Davis and Flanagan are the glue that hold her motley crew of characters together. McCluskey launched her book at the Ultimate Dojo in Dartmouth last March.

Staff Picks - Execution Dock by Anne Perry

Rather than begin with the crime, the investigation, the trial and then the resolution, Execution Dock by Anne Perry, opens with the trial of thoroughly repellent Jericho Phillips accused of child pornography and prostitution.

Inspector Monk had resumed pursuing Phillips after Durban's (formerly of the Thames River Police) death. Has Monk been blinded by his loyalty to and admiration of Durban. Did he do less than his usually thorough investigation? Did the abhorrent nature of the the crime shake the normally unflappable detective? And what about Rathbone? Why did Oliver Rathbone agree to represent Phillips on behalf on an anonymous patron?

Perry fans will not be disappointed by the 16th book in the Inspector Monk series. Her careful attention to historical detail make the mysteries a pleasure to read. The characters continue to develop overtime, not losing their individual depth or the complexity of the relationships.

Admirable after 16 books and 19 years.

Another book I've read that felt quite similar to Perrys' Inspector Monk and her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt books is The Thief Taker by T.F. Banks. Henry Morton is a Bow Street Runner in the early years of the 19th century. The atmosphere and the attention to detail is quite like Perry.

Unfortunately there were only two books published in this series. Sometimes the appeal of a series like this is not only the mystery, but also the development of the characters over time. Both Hester and Monk of the Inspector Monk series have complex backgrounds. The minor characters have a life of their own and have also developed over time adding complexity to the story.

Another mystery series with an interesting premise and engaging characters are the Sir John Fielding mysteries by Bruce Alexander. Fielding was the real life 18th century blind magistrate who created the Bow Street Runners. He was also half brother to novelist Henry Fielding. The stories are told by Jeremy Proctor, a young lad taken up by Fielding. While satisfyingly researched, Alexander stated in an interview that he wouldn't let a mere fact stand in the way of a good story. Unfortunately for us, Alexander died in 2003 leaving the series unfinished.

High Fidelity Reading

Someone mentioned to me recently that they’d seen a rash of books with titles that refer to pop songs. Is this the latest trend? I dunno but I dug up a few.

More Than This by Margo Candela: The book that started the conversation. The title of this contemporary romance story refers to the song by Roxy Music (although I think my friend knew the 10 000 Maniacs cover better). Back in 2007, Candela did a guest post on a romance fiction blog and mentioned it’s a title she’s pitched to her editor a few times for her books. I guess her editor finally gave in!

It’s always hard to tell if a book with a title that is also the title of a pop song is an allusion or just a co-incidence.

Is Peter Robinson’s novel Piece of My Heart a reference to the Janice Joplin song? What about Joe King’s  Heart-Shaped Box and the song by Nirvana of the same name? Was Rick Bletcha thinking of Joni Mitchell when he named his crime novel set in the jazz world A Case of You? The answer in all cases is yes - although the degree to which the song or artist features in the novel varies. In the case of the above, I think Robinson’s plot and title have the strongest connections: Piece of My Heart revolves around the discovery of a body after an outdoor rock festival in 1969.

Beatles titles are popular for novel titles - probably because they so widely recognized. With Norwegian Wood by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, English readers are given something familiar off right of the bat in a book that otherwise might be a bit of a culture shock (and the song does factor in the story). Canadian author Douglas Coupland named his 2004 novel about lonely souls Eleanor Rigby - a fitting title and one that probably got him a bit more notice outside of Canada. Coupland likes song title names for his books: 1998's Girlfriend in a Coma is a reference to the Smiths.

If some authors use Beatles titles to create a link to a wide audience - I would put forward that others use more obscure references to find their audience. Brendan Halpin probably got a lot more attention from indie music fans than he otherwise would have when he named his 2006 novel Dear Catastrophe Waitress after the Belle and Sebastian song.

Finally - back to 80s pop songs where this all began. If you’re really into the pop song vibe in fiction you’ll want to check out a first novel from Sara Rainone. Named after a Joy Division song, Love Will Tear Us Apart is “a bittersweet, darkly comic novel [that]... tells the story of six childhood friends reunited at a wedding where secrets are revealed, hearts are broken... By turns a Nick Hornby–esque ode to the way music shapes our memories and an elegy to lost youth in the manner of Bret Easton Ellis...” (Amazon.ca product description)

(oh yeah, and the title of this post is an homage - of course - to the ultimate music nerd novel High Fidelity by Nick Hornby)