I could never seriously dump on Alexander McCall Smith, author of the recently released Trains and Lovers, and creator of one of the most beloved book series, The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Any writer who imagines such benevolent and wise characters ( first Botswana female sleuth Precious Ramotswe, for example, and her intrepid assistant Grace Makutsi) and then inserts them into a uniquely beautiful African location can only be a man of playful good humor and tender passions. His characters' flaws are compassionately rendered, the mysteries are gentle, and the life lessons present in each novel are easy to swallow. He seems absolutely grandfatherly and adorable and until I learn otherwise that's what I'm going to believe.
So how do you tell grandpa you're a bit disappointed with his latest gift to you? You don't.
Instead, you offer, "How nice of you." "Thanks for thinking of me." "You're too kind."
And all of that is appropriate commentary for Smith's last effort. The highly portable book (small enough to carry in a coat pocket, purse or backpack) is not without its charms. I like the idea of listening in to the chatter between strangers leaving Edinburgh by train destined for London. I imagined the rocking train car, the green landscapes flying by their window, and Scottish, British and Australian-tinged accents going back and forth across the miles. But the events that I hoped would occur on that train never materialized. There were no love connections en route, just talk. And the stories exchanged weren't as interesting or compelling as the plot lines that Smith brought to life with his legendary detective series.
Trains and Lovers has a simple premise. It's set in a train compartment with three men and one woman whose conversation starts as slowly as a train engine gathering steam. Once underway, however, they grow more comfortable with each other and begin to reveal tales about their lives, families and loves, all remarkably affected by trains. An art history intern spies an unlikely train in an old painting; a train carried one of the rider's parents to a new life in the desolate Australian Outback; another gets off at the wrong train stop but finds a new friend, and finally, a sighting of two friends parting while one of our passengers waits to board rekindles memories of a lost love.
And all that was good. It just wasn't as great as usual. For a varying point of view, watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTWoUjVpeVY.
The book was a very quick read, and you could do it in one sitting, especially if you were on a train or plane and had a few hours to kill. That's if you don't strike up conversation with somebody along the way.
The Push from the Book: This time around, I'm passing. I spent one summer day on this book. It was a pleasant ride, but no lasting memories or changes of heart.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Gone Girl--A Visit to the Dark Side
Darkness unnerves me. Whether it's rooms, basements, starless nights or stories, darkness makes me jumpy. Cowardly lion jumpy. And when surrounded by it, I want to fix it or escape it. Maybe that's why I read Gone Girl so quickly. It was a dark, deceptive and unsettling novel, and I was eager to get out of the scary shadows.
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, is pitch black in terms of its themes of murder, treachery, revenge and retribution. Yet, it's wickedly good, and I couldn't stop reading it. I heard about the book last year, and its advance praise was lavish. Every review was enthusiastic, full of stars. I read the gist of the story--and yes, it sounded dark--but it was a book I needed to read.
Here's the lowdown--Nick and Amy, a perfectly beautiful couple, meet in New York City, marry and when both lose their jobs, move back to Nick's hometown in Missouri. His mother is dying from cancer and his estranged father has Alzheimer's. Nick taps into Amy's trust fund to buy a bar, and the couple starts over. Then, on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy is gone. Vanished after an apparent scuffle in the couple's living room.
The novel has three parts. It begins with Boy Loses Girl and sets the pattern of alternating Nick and Amy chapters. Nick's first commentary, "The Day Of," offers a look at the couple's present life and events surrounding Amy's disappearance. Amy's chapters are in the form of diary entries that begin when the couple first met, seven years before her disappearance. Her chapters give us the background we need to understand the couple's perfect romance, courtship and decline. Nick, Amy, Nick, Amy. Back and forth, present and past. The story flies by.
By the conclusion of Part One, seven days have passed since Amy's disappearance. Meanwhile, Amy's diary entries have moved us into 2012. Flynn started the book with the characters' voices being years apart and by the half way point the timelines converge. The big take-away here is that during their brief marriage, Nick and Amy have fallen on tough times personally and professionally and now live inside a marriage that is circling the drain. Someone has to pay.
And while you read these early chapters you have strong hunches about the source of evil. Flynn gives the reader just enough information to form theories and make educated guesses, but then the police make discoveries or Amy reveals something new in her diary or Nick finally divulges something nasty he's been hiding.
Gillian Flynn writes like someone who has dominated the suspense genre for decades, but judging by the book jacket photo, she's a thirty-something. Her writing is slick and clever, and she's got one very devious imagination. Gone Girl, Flynn's third book, has catapulted her onto my must-read-author radar, and I believe I'll need to go back and catch up with Sharp Objects and Dark Places---when I'm feeling brave.
Even Hollywood is on board with Flynn's work. Gone Girl is destined for the big screen, and recent media reports say that Ben Affleck has been cast as Nick. A-list actresses Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron and Emily Blunt are in the running for the part of Amy.
Push From the Book: I married after knowing my significant other for less than a year, but after reading this book, I'd advise others to invest some time and really get to know your future mate. Sometimes you have to dig deep to find the flaws. And once you find them, what are you prepared to do?
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, is pitch black in terms of its themes of murder, treachery, revenge and retribution. Yet, it's wickedly good, and I couldn't stop reading it. I heard about the book last year, and its advance praise was lavish. Every review was enthusiastic, full of stars. I read the gist of the story--and yes, it sounded dark--but it was a book I needed to read.
Here's the lowdown--Nick and Amy, a perfectly beautiful couple, meet in New York City, marry and when both lose their jobs, move back to Nick's hometown in Missouri. His mother is dying from cancer and his estranged father has Alzheimer's. Nick taps into Amy's trust fund to buy a bar, and the couple starts over. Then, on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy is gone. Vanished after an apparent scuffle in the couple's living room.
The novel has three parts. It begins with Boy Loses Girl and sets the pattern of alternating Nick and Amy chapters. Nick's first commentary, "The Day Of," offers a look at the couple's present life and events surrounding Amy's disappearance. Amy's chapters are in the form of diary entries that begin when the couple first met, seven years before her disappearance. Her chapters give us the background we need to understand the couple's perfect romance, courtship and decline. Nick, Amy, Nick, Amy. Back and forth, present and past. The story flies by.
By the conclusion of Part One, seven days have passed since Amy's disappearance. Meanwhile, Amy's diary entries have moved us into 2012. Flynn started the book with the characters' voices being years apart and by the half way point the timelines converge. The big take-away here is that during their brief marriage, Nick and Amy have fallen on tough times personally and professionally and now live inside a marriage that is circling the drain. Someone has to pay.
And while you read these early chapters you have strong hunches about the source of evil. Flynn gives the reader just enough information to form theories and make educated guesses, but then the police make discoveries or Amy reveals something new in her diary or Nick finally divulges something nasty he's been hiding.
Gillian Flynn writes like someone who has dominated the suspense genre for decades, but judging by the book jacket photo, she's a thirty-something. Her writing is slick and clever, and she's got one very devious imagination. Gone Girl, Flynn's third book, has catapulted her onto my must-read-author radar, and I believe I'll need to go back and catch up with Sharp Objects and Dark Places---when I'm feeling brave.
Even Hollywood is on board with Flynn's work. Gone Girl is destined for the big screen, and recent media reports say that Ben Affleck has been cast as Nick. A-list actresses Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron and Emily Blunt are in the running for the part of Amy.
Push From the Book: I married after knowing my significant other for less than a year, but after reading this book, I'd advise others to invest some time and really get to know your future mate. Sometimes you have to dig deep to find the flaws. And once you find them, what are you prepared to do?
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