Thursday 23 May 2024

I have been reading...

 Again, I meant to post a bit sooner than this but I'm still not quite back in the swing of things and suspect that might continue for some time. The oddness of it all is very hard to shake. I have been reading though and thought I would a do brief rundown of the books I've been reading this month.

I finished this BLCC collection, Guilty Creatures, edited of course by Martin Edwards. The theme in this one is 'animals', each story has a connection to wildlife or pets. So we have a chap with a fear of earthworms, a yarn about nobbling racehorses, there're gorillas, parakeets, slugs, all life is here. Authors include G.K. Chesterton, Christiana Brand, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Josephine Bell, Edgar Wallace and so on. Overall, I thought this was a better than average collection, only a few failed to please and the rest were top notch. I didn't jot down my usual notes so I can't name any favourites, other than remembering that the Father Brown was good and so was the Christiana Brand. And what a glorious cover!




The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White is a novel published in 1936, and subsequently made into a Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes. I'd seen that years ago, so the plot was slightly familiar, but I couldn't remember the outcome, so it was fine. Socialite, Iris Carr, is travelling back by train from a holiday somewhere mountainous (they don't say exactly where but I think northern Italy) in Europe. An English governess, Miss Froy, takes her under her wing, but the next day the woman has disappeared and no one in the carriage can remember her being there. Is Iris suffering the results of sunstroke  or is there a conspiracy of silence. Excellent read this one, a little too heavy on the surreal, 'am I going crazy?' aspect but nevertheless, a real pageturner and not a little creepy, to my mind anyway.

 


The Man by the Sea by Jack Benton is book one in his 'Slim Harding' series. Slim is a private detective, ex-army and an alcoholic. He's hired by a woman who thinks her husband is having an affair. Slim duly sets about following the husband only to discover that what he's actually doing is driving to an isolated cove and reading something aloud to the incoming tide. Slim thinks the man might be mad. Delving a bit deeper, the case ends up being connected to a woman who went missing just before her wedding. Is she dead and haunting this part of the wild Lake District coast? And what does she have to do with a man reading to the waves? I liked this a lot despite not being all that enamoured of the detective, Slim Hardy. As is the nature of the beast, his alcoholism rules and that was hard for me to identify with. That said, the story has a huge sense of place and is really atmospheric. I also found the plot intriguing enough to carry me through the book without any wish to abandon it. I will probably, at some stage, continue on with the series.


So, my most recent book, I finished it yesterday, is Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge. Lady Grace Kilmichael  is leaving her husband and grown-up children behind and going off on a European trip. Only they don't know. She thinks her husband might be having an affair and the children are not really interested in her nowadays. She does leave a letter to her husband however, telling him she's off to Greece to paint as Grace has recently become quite a well-known artist. She doesn't go to Greece. She starts in Paris and then on to Venice where she comes across Nicholas, aged 23, half Grace's age, who wants to be a painter but whose parents won't hear of it, they want him to be an architect. She takes him on to mentor him, and the pair travel together along the Dalmatian (present day Croatia) coast, not just painting but learning a lot about life from each other. So this sounds like a fairly simple plot and indeed it is. If I'm honest the whole thing is more of a travelogue and homage to the Dalmation coast and, in fact, I read that the impact of this book when it was first published in 1935 was to up tourism in the area and even Edward and Mrs. Simpson took a cruise down the coast to see what all the fuss was about. Fascinating. 'And' I have no problem understanding it because that was exactly what the book made me want to do... pack my bags and set off! It has quite an introspective sort of narrative and this might not be everyone's cup of tea. I was reminded of Absent in the Spring by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott, or Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim, they too have older ladies looking for a break from humdrum life or difficult relatives and trying to find a way to make life work for them now they're older. It's not often I finish a book and find myself wanting to go back to the beginning and start again but I did with this. A five star read and certainly a book that will be in my top ten for this year.

So, that's me, up to date. I hope you're all well and finding lots of good book to read this spring.


21 comments:

Sue in Suffolk said...

Some of the short stories in the BLCC collections are often very weird - I just skip them!
Not sure about an alcoholic detective - doesn't appeal.

I'm just hoping that the library van arrives next week as there are 15 books - at least- for me to collect - should keep me quiet for a while.

Margot Kinberg said...

I completely agree with you, Cath, about The Wheel Spins. To me, it's so atmospheric and yes, very creepy. I really like the gaslighting effect in the story. And in my opinion, any collection edited by Martin Edwards is worth reading. His own crime fiction is excellent, too.

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Wow! This is a real mixed bag of goodies, so much so that I am only really certain about adding one of them to my reading list, that one being 'The Wheel Spins'. If I have seen the film of the book, I certainly don't remember it, but anything 'Hitchcockian' is always intriguing!

I like the sound of 'The Man By The Sea', although looking at the rather 'dark' cover suite for this nine book series to date, the stories are probably quite disturbing? I find that many of the fictional PI's are rather 'off the wall' and I do sometimes wonder how they ever manage to solve a case, let alone get the assignments in the first place!!

Pleased that you are still finding comfort in your reading :)

FictionFan said...

I enjoyed The Wheel Spins, though I must admit I think the Hitchcock film is better - but then I nearly always think that about Hitchcock films! I agree that Guilty Creatures was one of the better of these BL anthologies.

Kathy's Corner said...

Thanks so much Cath for this wonderful collection of books and the plots are all so engaging. I might have trouble getting my hands on a copy of Illyrian Spring so I decided to go with The Man by the Sea. I like the atmospheric aspect of the book and who is that missing woman who disappeared before her wedding and why is the man that Slim is following making visits to the sea? What connection does he have with the missing woman? Sorry that Slim Is maybe not the best detective for this series. That could be a problem for future novels in this series because the lead detective matters.

Fanda Classiclit said...

I am currently reading - well, listening, really - The Wheel Spins, so I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Halfway through your review of Illyrian Spring, The Enchanted April popped in my mind. Then I knew I would love this one too. Thanks for your lovely review, Cath!

Cath said...

Sue: I know what you mean about alcoholic detetives, I'm very bored with that too, but the mystery was good enough to keep me reading.

Fifteen books! Wonderful!

Cath said...

Margot: Yes, I was quite creeped out by the attitudes of Iris's fellow passengers. But I loved how thoughts of Miss Froy's parents and the dog kept Iris on her path of finding out what happened to her, despite it not really being in her nature to do it.

Cath said...

Yvonne: I wasn't sure whether or not I'd seen the film but as I read I realised I had, I could remember Iris's disbelief than no one professed to remember Miss Froy. Luckily, I couldn't remember the outcome so it wasn't spoilt.

The Man By the Sea wasn't disturbing but I don't know about subsequent books of course. I am tired of alcoholic detectives I have to say and like you wonder how they even get cases let alone solve them!

Thank you, it's unknown territory I find myself in but books are helping to keep things a bit more normal.

Cath said...

FictionFan: It's such a long time since I saw the film that it's impossible for me to compare really. Next time I spot it scheduled for TV I'll be sure to record it to watch. Yes, the BLCC collections can be a bit hit and miss so it was nice that Guilty Creatures was quite good.

Cath said...

Kathy: I don't know if you have a Kindle but Illyrian Spring is available for that and of all the books here, is the best in my opinion, although they were all good. It will be interesting to see how many of the Slim Hardy books I can tolerate as a friend has read 5 and still doesn't like him! We'll see.

Cath said...

Fanda: Oh, how odd that you're reading The Wheel Spins too! I highly recommend Illyrian Spring if you liked Enchanted April, it has that same dreamy atmosphere with a lot of introspective, thoughtful narrative. It's also strong on history and art. I loved it.

Lark said...

The Lady Vanishes is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies. I think it would be fun to read The Wheel Spins just to see how similar they are. And Illyrian Spring sounds like a book I would love, especially if it's similar in feel to Enchanted April. I love that book (and movie). :D

Judith said...

Cath,
I am so stunned to learn of your loss of Peter. I'm sorry that I did not know at the time it happened. I'm so sorry and can fathom how it must be to lose a life partner of 50 years. I offer my deepest condolences. I know from having followed your blog for many years just how close the two of you were. That is a rare love, that not many people have the opportunity to know.
I wish you and your family the very best in what must be a difficult time.
Judith

Sam said...

That's quite a varied selection of books, Cath. Your enthusiasm for Illyrian Spring really has me curious about that one. I'll take a look at the Kindle version soon. Like Lark, I really like the Hitchcock version of The Lady Vanishes a lot but I've never even seen a copy of the novel. Another one for the list.

I hope you are doing well, Cath. Thanks for the book leads.

Cath said...

Lark: I could see you absolutely loving Illyrian Spring, the sense of place and atmosphere is just gorgeous.

Cath said...

Judith: Thank you for your kind and thoughtful words, they're so much appreciated. It's been about two months now, nothing really and yet it feels like years... so much has happened. 50 years is a long time to be with one person, a lifetime, and it will take me a long time to get used to Peter not being here. As you gathered we were quite a close-knit team and when that is snatched from you in the space of an hour it is so traumatic. Thank goodness I have two wonderful daughters and their families to support me, others are not so lucky. Nice to see you around again.

Cath said...

Hi Sam! I'm doing ok, thanks so much for asking. My family is supplying huge support but at the same time I'm also doing my best to stand on my own two feet. It's tough after 50 years of being part of a couple/team but I am getting there.

I didn't even know the Hitchcock film was based on a book so that was news to me! LOL! But it was very good and just as suspenseful as the movie I felt. I'm not sure if Illyrian Spring would be your kind of thing but I would never discourage anyone from trying any book!

TracyK said...

That is a good set of books you have been reading. I am glad you found Guilty Creatures to be a good collection and I do love that cover. I enjoyed The Wheel Spins when I read it, and the film adaptation also. I liked your description of The Man by the Sea (minus the alcoholism) and the description at Goodreads, so I bought a Kindle version because it was a good price. So I can check that out someday. I saw on Goodreads that you were reading Illyrian Spring, which was new to me. Sounds interesting and I will have to look into Ann Bridge's books.

I can only imagine how difficult it is for you living alone now and I am glad to hear how much support you are getting from your family. You are in my thoughts every day.

CLM said...

Reading is a good distraction. I know you must feel sad and it is probably hard to focus on anything. Are you much of a television person? I have been watching Line of Duty, which I like very much but I could access the first four seasons on television and the fifth only on my iPad, which is a nuisance.

I remember my mother used to read Ann Bridge's books. I suspect they must be all gone from the library because I have not thought about her for years!

The Lady Vanishes is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies. I only learned relatively recently that it was based on this book, which I have been meaning to read.

It is a three day weekend here so I had plans to get lots of things done but have been very sleepy. I did manage to mow the lawn yesterday and purchase some of my favorite plants. I even transplanted two of them before I ran out of steam!

Harvee said...

I'd love the armchair travel in Illyrian Spring.
Hope you are feeling better. I often watch K dramas on tv to get my mind on other things. And it works!