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Content by Mary Whipple
Reviewer Rank: 5
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Reviews Written by
Mary Whipple (New England)
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"Let's transform Baghdad into another Paris. Let's make it a second Paris, the capital of existentialism.", 18 Nov 2009
When an unnamed speaker is contacted by a gravedigger and his "depraved friend" to write a biography of the recently deceased philsopher Abd al-Rahman, "the existentialist of Baghdad," he is told that the biography will be financed by a wealthy merchant and that they have documents to give him for his research. Though the writer knows that these people are scoundrels, he is so destitute that he agrees to accept the job. Constantly looking for valuable information which will eliminate the possibility of distortion, the speaker begins his research. Ultimately, one of his financial backers, a trader in art and antiques, tells him just to "present him with some endings, and he will choose one."
Part II, "The Writing Journey," consists of biographical snippets by the writer/biographer, though the presentation of information is not chronological. Flashing back to the life of Abd al-Rahman in the 1960s, the story unfolds, a challenging story in which the philosophy of Sartre becomes irrevocably intertwined with the pleasure-seeking desires of the well-off Abd-al-Rahman, who is always seeking the goal of "nausea" through wine, women, and self-indulgence. Whenever he is invited to write an article for publication, he turns it down with the excuse that "Whoever writes finds something worthwhile, a meaningful life. How can I then go on believing in a meaningless world?" They believe in constant talk, not writing--conveniently rationalizing their behavior in terms of their search for "nausea."
As the intellectual pretentions of Abd al-Rahman and his friends become more and more obvious to the reader, the satire becomes more pointed, and as Abd al-Rahman's family wealth begins to decline, he does not care or change his way of life. The nature of his death is a mystery--did he shoot himself as an existential act, or was he shot by someone with more mundane reasons for his death? "He liked depravity, which he felt was close to his soul." As the writer reveals more and more information about Abd al-Rahman's life (and then re-enters the story in the final few pages), the action and the surprises increase.
Iraqi author Ali Bader, now living in Jordan, has written a novel which is fascinating for the glimpses it offers of the cultural life of Baghdad in the 1960s, even though some aspects of this life are satirized for their pretentions. The contrast between Sartre's true despair and hopelessness (leading to his feeling of "nausea") and the hedonism with which Abd al-Rahman tries to achieve "nausea," which he usually looks for in alcohol and sex, is dramatic. And when Sartre finds the reality of existence in objects and begins to relate that to his "nausea," we see the ultimate absurdity--Abd al-Rahman finds significance in a hot dog roll. Winner of many prizes and author of nine novels, Ali Bader has been described as one of the Arab world's most significant authors. Mary Whipple
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A Good Year
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by Peter Mayle
Edition: Paperback |
| Price: £5.29 |
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| Availability: In stock |
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
"You'll come to see that a man learns nothing from winning [except] how much more enjoyable it is to win.", 15 Nov 2009
(3.5 stars) Though this delightful novel does not precede the rich and heady memories, adventures, and interesting characters which one finds in A YEAR IN PROVENCE, Mayle's earlier story of Provence, it does pique the reader's imagination with its romantic story of a chateau and a vineyard and a wine scam in which a case of great wine may sell for one hundred thousand dollars. Max Skinner, a down-on-his-luck London investment banker, learns on the day that he is dismissed from his job that his uncle Henry has died in Provence. Max, the son of a British diplomat, had spent many happy summers with his childless uncle, and though he had not seen him recently, he discovers that he is the heir to Uncle Henry's farmhouse/chateau and its vineyards.
With money advanced to him by his former brother-in-law Charlie, a London real estate "baron," Max goes to Provence to see the estate and vineyards, which have been managed for years by Claude Roussel, a local farmer responsible for the vines. Max quickly discovers, however, that the wine produced on the estate is the equivalent of "pipi du chat," undrinkable. The locals in the town have their own priorities, and Max learns in short order that he cannot take people--or what they say--at face value. Though he hires an "oenologue" to visit the chateau to look at the vines, the soil, and the wine the vineyard produces, he suspects that this man may have ulterior motives. Max is soon joined by his wine-loving friend/ex-brother-in-law Charlie and a young woman from California who may have a closer claim to Uncle Henry's estate than Max.
As Max learns about the local wine industry of Provence (even more cut-throat than the investment banking world of London), the reader gets an education and quickly becomes involved in the heady world of wine selling and collecting. The extent to which some growers will go to hide assets and deceive the authorities and the public comes under the microscope here, as Max has to decide whether to become a full-time vineyard owner and lover of (honestly produced) fine wine, or to return to London.
Though Mayle may not be as descriptive or as concerned here with reproducing exact pictures of life as he does in A YEAR IN PROVENCE, he does create an amusing set of circumstances which raise questions about the wine industry. His tone is light and non-judgmental as Max navigates the minefields faced by any stranger to a community governed for generations by the same families. The succession of love stories keeps even the most jaded reader amused and interested, as Max makes his decision about whether to stay in Provence or return to "civilization." Mary Whipple
A Year in Provence
The Vintage Caper
Toujours Provence
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Jar City
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by Arnaldur Indridason
Edition: Paperback |
| Price: £3.33 |
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
"Tragedies, sorrows and death, all carefully classified in computers. A Jar City for the whole nation.", 13 Nov 2009
Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason begins his mystery series starring Detective Inspector Erlendur of the Reykjavik Police in this dark and engrossing novel, first translated into English in 2004. Since then, five more novels in the series have been released, all to enormous acclaim. Erlendur, fiftyish and divorced for twenty years, with almost no contact with his ex-wife, tries to maintain contact with his children, his daughter Eva Lind, an actress and active drug addict, and his son Sindri Snaer, who has recently been released from drug rehab for the third time. Called to investigate the death of a sixty-nine-year-old man named Holberg, who has been murdered, he has few clues, except for the unusual message left on the body which says, "I am him."
Holberg, a truck driver, appears to have been without family, and there are few clues regarding his death. Erlendur, however, discovers the photograph of the headstone of a four-year-old child, who died in 1968, hidden beneath a drawer in Holberg's apartment. The child, Audur, died of an unusual brain tumor, and her devastated mother, Kolbrun, committed suicide three years later. Who took the photo and what, if any, connection it might have had with Holberg is unknown. Additional investigation leads Erlendur to believe that Holberg was a rapist, possibly the father of several children by these rapes, and that he may have been a carrier of a terrible disease.
Erlendur, despite his personal difficulties, is an investigator who cares, and his study of the possible motivation for Holberg's death is engrossing. The murder becomes a study of genetics and of who might have benefitted especially from Holberg's death. Erlender's assistants, also conscientious, investigate with the same sense of purpose as Erlendur, and as they report their findings, much is made of the extent to which these findings represent the "typical" Icelandic murder, described at various points as "clumsy," "not complicated," "squalid, pointless and committed without any attempt to hide it," and as generally not leaving "anything behind but mess."
This mystery contains many fascinating twists and turns, and ultimately provides a satisfying ending. As it progresses, the author reveals a very dark and sometimes bizarre sense of humor (at least I think is supposed to be humor). This adds to the atmosphere of the novel, since the reader is allowed to interpret the scenes and weird ironies as s/he will. Some scenes of horror--the exhumation, after thirty years, of a child; the excavation of the sewer lines under a house; and a tour of "Jar City"--get pretty graphic. Providing many dark and gloomy visions of life in Iceland, the film is a classic of noir writing, which its four successors continue. Mary Whipple
Silence of the Grave
Arctic Chill
Voices (Reykjavik Thriller)
Hypothermia
The Draining Lake
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
"Sullenberger made the right decision. No matter what.", 10 Nov 2009
William Langewiesche's analysis of all the factors which contributed to the "Miracle on the Hudson" is a story that matches the events themselves in terms of excitement. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, pilot of the Airbus A320 which hit a flock of geese, lost both engines, and landed in the Hudson River with no loss of life on January 15, 2009, has rightly been lauded for his performance and has become a popular hero. But he was not alone in the making of this miracle. The plane itself contributed mightily to the successful outcome and the saving of the lives of all one hundred fifty passengers and five crew. Designed to remain stable under the most extraordinary conditions, the European-made Airbus is controlled by computerized systems which can not be over-ridden by pilots as they make split second moves during emergencies. "This marriage between electrical control circuits and digital computer [has become known] as fly-by-wire."
Langewiesche, an award-winning journalist and pilot, is at home with his subject, and he has interviewed virtually everyone who could give input into this story, creating a vibrant, lively, and thoughtful analysis of all the individual elements--including luck--which contributed to this happy ending. At the same time, he also analyzes some of the elements which may have led to the accident, including the issue of bird strikes throughout aviation history and why they happen. In his attempt to give the complete picture, Langewiesche also considers the financial problems of the airlines, the power of the pilots' unions, the comfortable relationship between the NTSB and the airlines and unions, and the competition between Airbus and Boeing. He includes a number of case studies of major accidents, many of which will be familiar to readers, and one of which is the disappearance into the Atlantic of the Air France flight from Brazil to Paris in June, 2009.
As Langewiesche describes the flight from takeoff to landing in the Hudson a mere five minutes later, he really hits his stride, creating a fast-paced narrative full of tension and human drama. Co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles, air traffic controller Patrick Harten, and the flight attendants, are praised. Ultimately, Langewiesche grants enormous credit to Sullenberger for his decisions, including the decision to head for the Hudson when many thought he might have made it to an airport. He also made a few original decisions based on his feel for the plane and his intense concentration during the emergency, despite the fact that these moves have never been included in any operations manual. One of these decisions helped prevent a more catastrophic loss. A serious study which nevertheless has moments of humor, Fly by Wire is a thoroughly absorbing account of a great moment in aviation history and the people and the plane which made this moment a "miracle." Mary Whipple
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
"Spring has arrived, impregnated by the retreating frost. He can almost hear the earth heaving and groaning beneath his feet.", 9 Nov 2009
The Great Plains around Willow Creek, Alberta, burgeon with new life in this dramatic family saga set in 1938. Two Ukrainian families who have escaped starvation during Stalin's "Ukrainian Holocaust" have made their way to Alberta, where they can, for ten dollars, gain the rights to 160 acres of virgin land. In the background leading to the main story here, Theo Mykolayenko, his wife, and four children (later five) have been swindled of their land by opportunists who made Theo sign a contract that he could not read, and his desperate actions after being evicted result in his arrest and imprisonment for two years. His devastated family moves into a small room attached to his sister Anna's cottage, staying alive by helping her. Anna's husband Stefan, who had been a dashing military officer in the Ukraine, has essentially abandoned his wife and two children for a life of drinking and carousing in town.
The action of the novel begins with the return of Theo from jail, weakened, shrunken, and nearly frozen. Now responsible for his family of six, plus his sister and her two children, Theo is a driven farmer, working tirelessly, regardless of wind or weather. Because of Theo's "criminal record," he is prohibited from purchasing land, but his sympathetic sister Anna signs for the plot adjacent to her own on his behalf, and he assumes all the responsibilities for it. The decision of Anna's irresponsible husband Stefan to return home and take advantage of the "thriving" enterprise he sees developing there leads to family conflicts and resentments, which escalate and lead to the climax of the novel.
Shandi Mitchell has created a novel which gives the term "melodrama" a good name. Though the heroic characters are extremely heroic and the villains are extremely villainous, her main characters are well drawn, their behavior understandable within the context of their lives. Her depiction of the children is especially true-to-life, providing delightful, lighter moments in the often bleak landscape of the novel. Through terrible fire dangers in the summer, and blizzards which begin in the early fall, the families persist, though issues arise which test each member to the breaking point.
The leisurely pace of the narrative allows the author to create scenes of tenderness and beauty, but it also allows for scenes of dramatic and terrible import. Here Mitchell, a film-maker and screenwriter, captures the sights, sounds, and smells of the prairie, creating an atmosphere which even those who have never experienced farm life will understand and appreciate. The novel is not subtle, and it is often melodramatic, but it is undeniably moving, and it makes the reader empathize with those who have given so much of themselves to the tilling of the land and providing the food and crops on which life itself depends. Mary Whipple
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Chronic City
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by Jonathan Lethem
Edition: Hardcover |
| Availability: Currently unavailable |
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
"To whom does New York belong?", 3 Nov 2009
Jonathan Lethem's ability to create a reality on the page is undeniable, whether it be the mind of a young man with Tourette's Syndrome in Motherless Brooklyn or the vibrant life of street kids on Brooklyn's Dean Street in the 1970s in The Fortress of Solitude. With an eye for unique observations and an ear for the perfect words to describe them, he allows the reader to share his often unusual visions of people, places, and events. His characters, always quirky and often asocial, offer new perspectives on contemporary life. Often considered a "genre-bending" author, Lethem rejects pigeon-holing and confinement to a set of formulaic expectations. Instead, he lets his vibrant, energetic characters take him where they will, in the process forming new story patterns while providing new insights into old themes.
While this freedom for his characters has been effective and successful in previous novels, the characters in Chronic City are, unfortunately, generally weak and self-indulgent human beings, and letting them loose to explore their limited worlds does not translate into the evolution of grand themes and new perspectives. Stuck in their own worlds, often fueled by alcohol and pot, they dither and quake, avoiding responsibility and concerted action, as if their own lives are the center of the universe.
Chase Insteadman, the main character, is a former child actor, now living on residuals, which gives him entree into elegant social circles. He is the fiance of Janice Trumbull, an American astronaut trapped in orbit on an international space ship, who writes him long and sad letters, relayed by NASA. Chase has befriended Perkus Tooth, a "cultural critic" and devoted fan of Marlon Brando who lives in an unkempt Upper East Side flat from which he lowers food and gourmet varieties of pot to a homeless man, who, in turn, steals and sells his books. Oona Laszlo, a ghostwriter currently working on a book for avant-garde exile Laird Noteless, who creates "abysmal spectacles," is attracted to Chase Insteadman. Richard Abneg, an assistant to Mayor Arnheim, is working to undo rent control while making moves on a wealthy woman so that he will have a place to live.
As these characters interact at parties, conduct an intervention for Perkus, read the "war free" edition of the New York Times, and work to save the eagles at Abneg's apartment building, Lethem creates a broad satire of life in the city. Because the characters themselves are self-centered and lacking the aggressive, hard edges which make good satire come alive, however, the overall effect of the satire remains generalized, without a grand scheme to keep the the reader engaged and active in the characters' lives and caring about their outcomes. The novel lacks a clear thematic focus for its frenetic ideas, and the "cute" names throughout suggest a straining for effect. Mary Whipple
Motherless Brooklyn
The Fortress of Solitude
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For Grace Received
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by Valeria Parrella
Edition: Hardcover |
| Price: £7.19 |
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| Availability: In stock |
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
"To understand that a love has consumed itself and come to an end is...an admission that you are not the person you once were.", 29 Oct 2009
Valeria Parrella has only recently turned thirty-five, yet she is already one of Italy's most honored and exciting contemporary writers, writing in a mature and sophisticated style which is as lively and full of passion as is her native community of Naples itself. For Grace Received, a compelling collection of four stories, smoothly translated by Anthony Shugaar, recreates contemporary everyday life among different groups of people within what might arguably be considered Italy's most raucous city.
A kind of sly disrespect for the law pervades these stories, though the pragmatic characters do not recognize the disrespect as wrong. Life is a challenge to them, and they all live according to "what works." Some characters are involved with drugs, and some commit crimes on the job, though they are basically good people. Marina, a gallery publicist, is dishonest with her husband and daughter, eventually committing the ultimate selfish act. Other characters tolerate dishonesty around them knowing that they have nothing to gain by complaining.
Parrella's witty style suits these stories perfectly. Writing in a staccato style, often without transitions, she creates scenes in which the reader becomes a voyeur--listening in on conversations among people s/he does not know, sharing the intimacies of everyday life with strangers, and observing and judging life-changing interactions among characters at no personal cost to the reader. The overall effect is so realistic that there is no sense that these are "characters" and not real people.
The author captures and conveys the private language and gestures of characters who know each other well, thereby enhancing the reader's understanding and appreciation of them and providing insights which go beyond the superficial. Parrella's stories feel like one-act plays--vibrant, full of emotion, and memorable. One can only hope that the author's two novels, The White Space (2008) and The Verdict (2007) will also be translated into English so that this author can find a bigger spotlight on the world-wide stage she richly deserves. Mary Whipple
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
"Oh, stuff it, Edward."--Betty, 27 Oct 2009
Esteemed novelist Jane Gardam follows up on the success of Old Filth, her highly successful 2005 novel about the life and marriage of Sir Edward Feathers, with the companion story of Sir Edward's wife, Betty. Each novel benefits from the other, the sum being significantly greater than the combination of the parts, and together they are a stunning study of a marriage--not ideal, but "workable." Feathers grew up unloved in Hong Kong, where his father was stationed. A Raj orphan by the age of six, he was sent back to England, where he went on to school, began a law career, and lived up to the old adage: "Failed in London, Tried Hong Kong," hence his nickname of "Filth." He never knew what it was like to be loved and cherished for who he was, and he always felt that he was an "outsider."
Betty, someone we really see for the first time in this novel, is also a product of the same time, place, and class. Living in Hong Kong, she sees Edward as "So pure...[though] there's something missing." More importantly, however, she believes, "He's very nice. And he needs me." Her friends all argue against her engagement to him, at least at this point, and even Betty has some doubts. After considering the possibility of real passion with someone more exciting, she concludes that marriage to Edward "will not be romantic, but who wants that," a compromise which she believes will result in an overall improvement in her life.
Though neither Edward nor Betty is "in love" when they get married, they manage to form a good relationship and strong bond, considering the limitations of each. Betty demands a great deal of freedom within the marriage to pursue interests of her own, and Edward is so busy with his career that he hardly misses her--or the opportunities for happiness that have vanished from their lives with their separations. The parallels between the end of the British Empire, with its withdrawal from Hong Kong, and issues in the marriage between Edward and Betty are obvious.The Queen of the TambourineThe Queen of the Tambourine
The sophisticated and subtle style of Old Filth, appropriate for a novel about Edward, yields here to a more down-to-earth and overtly emotional style, more typical of Betty, with coincidence and fateful intervention playing a part. Edward's friend Albert Ross, sometimes referred to as "Abatross," symbolizes the stunted love and the guilt Edward feels about his life and inability to love fully, and the reader is constantly reminded of a line from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,"--"Alone, alone, alone on a wide, wide sea/," which could be Edward's mantra. The use of the supernatural, signs, and portents broaden the scope, while Betty's firm grounding in reality put these other-worldly motifs into perspective. The often hilarious (and ironic) dialogue combines with a wry satiric sense to produce a conclusion which is everything that such a novel deserves. Gardam's true brilliance is best seen if this is read following Old Filth, a novel which, itself, becomes more "human" if it is read as the prequel to The Man with the Wooden Hat. Mary Whipple
Old Filth
The Queen of the Tambourine
The People on Privilege Hill and Other Stories
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Lowboy
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by John Wray
Edition: Paperback |
| Price: £8.55 |
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| Availability: In stock |
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
"They're not afraid for Will at all. It's everyone else they're afraid for.", 17 Oct 2009
Will Heller, a paranoid schizophrenic known as Lowboy, reveals in the opening sentences of Wray's latest novel that he is overly sensitive to sense impressions, hearing the closing of the door of a subway car as "C# first, then A. Sharp against both ears, like the tip of a pencil." He has escaped from the "school" he has been attending for two years, believing that "the world's going to die in ten hours, by fire," and he is determined to do whatever he can to prevent this--and to lose his virginity as a way to stop global warming. He seems almost logical, though odd, as he first begins to move through the subway system, gradually yielding to more and more bizarre behavior as time passes and his medications wear off.
Ali Lateef, a New York City detective whose area of expertise is "Special Category Missing," is hoping that Will's mother, "Miss Heller," sometimes known as Violet, can provide enough information to allow him to find Will in the seven or eight hours before his lack of medication pushes him into violence, but she, too, has her problems. As Will travels the subways, he recalls stories his grandfather told him about an underground city beside the Musaquantas River, and, in fact, he finds a whole "city" beneath the streets, when he follows a homeless woman named "Heather Covington," through the tunnels and into a "room" beneath a grate on the street. He then tries to find "Emily," outside the subway, the only young woman he has ever been close to, and who seemed fond of him two years ago. The seriousness of Will's psychosis is obvious, however, from the fact that he has been committed to his special "school" because he pushed Emily onto the tracks of the subway just two years past, narrowly missing the third rail.
Will's complete inability to relate to the real world soon becomes even more obvious in a sad and moving scene in which he goes into a bakery to buy some cupcakes, completely unable to decide exactly what he wants, unable to communicate in any way with the salesperson, and unable to understand how much to pay, even volunteering that he has $640. When he finally gets his cupcakes, he puts down the bag and inspects it, determined to "take out the machinery" which he believes is inside.
Wray writes an intense and moving novel which moves inexorably to its conclusion, one which even the most hopeful reader knows is inevitable. Will's eight-hour decline into obvious psychosis is reflected gradually through Wray's prose style, becoming more and more fragmented, lacking in punctuation and transitions, and less and less predictable. He is completely unable to deal with the real world, yet the reader cares for him, and hopes for him, despite his increasingly distorted "logic" and the reader's own inability to know how much to believe and how much to attribute to his visions and voices. The power of the novel increases exponentially as Will comes closer and closer to violence. Carefully researched (and actually written while the author rode the subway every day), John Wray's Lowboy is another milestone for Wray, a finely structured, beautifully composed novel of extreme psychological illness presented in a way which touches the heart. Mary Whipple
The Right Hand of Sleep
Canaan's Tongue
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Box 21
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by Roslund Hellstrom
Edition: Paperback |
| Availability: Currently unavailable |
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
"Several thousand young women...from Eastern Europe. Hundreds of thousands of lives! The illegal sex trade with the West.", 13 Oct 2009
The grisly lives of innocent, sixteen- and seventeen-year-old Lithuanian girls, tricked into leaving their homeland on the promise of good jobs, unfold in tawdry detail as Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom focus on the sex trade, its clientele, the financial syndicates which profit from it, the enforcers who protect it, and the police and others who allow it to flourish. Lydia Grajauskas, a "pro" with three years of experience by the age of twenty, serves twelve customers a day, earning almost no income except what she can negotiate with her customers for "extras." Living in an apartment which a Russian with a diplomatic passport claims as Lithuanian territory, exempt from Swedish laws, Lydia can expect little help from the local police. Until she is beaten within an inch of her life.
Ewert Grens, a veteran police inspector in charge of the investigation, has several other issues to deal with. Twenty-five years ago, Jochum Lang, a sadistic drug dealer and Mafia hitman, dragged Ewert's partner and lover Anni out of the back of the police van Ewert was driving, and she suffered catastrophic injuries. Lang is about to be released from prison, and Ewert still seeks vengeance against him. The two plot lines converge when Lang appears at the hospital where Lydia is recuperating. Before long, the hospital is in lockdown.
Roslund and Hellstrom humanize this drama by alternating the focus between the two stories, giving background information about all the key characters. Ewert Grens lives the life of a hermit, his only friend being fellow-officer Bengt Nordwall and his wife Lena. Lydia's friend Alena still pines for Janoz, her lover back home, and both girls are hoping to escape their bondage and return to Lithuania. Hilding Oldeus, a drug addict who was protected by Jochum Lang when he was in jail, shares the torments of addiction and its effects on his family members, becoming a focus of the novel when Lang is released from jail. Sven Sundkvist, Ewert Grens's current partner, a truly ethical man, is the conscience of the novel.
Though the novel describes the sadistic sexual practices of the prostitutes' handlers and their customers, it is otherwise a traditional mystery/thriller. The focus is on the drama and the plot, with little attention to deep themes and no suggestion that the issues at the heart of the novel are being addressed in any organized fashion by the government. The problems of witness intimidation, police corruption, and the police bending of the truth to get a conviction, standard complications of most police procedurals, appear here. The novel is sometimes marred by clichés, both in its plot and in its ponderous observations. Statements like "This must never happen again," and "Truth is the only thing people can bear to live with in the long run," state the obvious and add nothing to the drama or to any thematic development. The novel's fully described sexual crimes against minors show the authors' clear empathy with these girls, creating a novel which has the feel of a shocking, journalistic expose. Mary Whipple
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