Review: The Name of the Rose

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT YET?! PER MONTH 09 / 12

5 stars. I'm reminded of a quote from the film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, of all things: "who is God, who is man? How many have been murdered over this question?"

[I am NOT comparing the two - they exist on different planets. Maybe in the same galaxy, though.]

The Name of the Rose is not an easy read. I might actually suggest a perusal of the Wikipedia page upon finishing just to tighten any loose knots. I had no trouble comprehending the basics, but the details - and in some cases the dialogue - were difficult to grasp. I have no shame in admitting I needed a dictionary! The details are really what makes this incredible, though.

As soon as William of Baskerville, a Franciscan friar, and his novice Adso arrive at a Benedictine abbey in Italy, they are greeted with trouble. A monk has been found dead under mysterious circumstances, and the abbot asks William to investigate. Through Adso's eyes we watch the mystery deepen and the bodies pile up.

This is not your typical cut-and-dry crime novel, though. William, an obvious Sherlock Holmes type, soon discovers that his basic investigation will have a broader and more complicated impact than he could ever imagine. And the more he pulls on threads, the higher the stakes climb.

I'm not a religious person, but I am deeply interested in religion. After all, it inspires so much good, and so much evil, and I so totally understand the power and the comfort of its rituals. I truly enjoyed Eco's wordy explorations of holy motivations and sin and religious priorities and heresy and belief. He ardently admires and carefully exposes the church with stunning dexterity and poise. The arguments, and the what-ifs, are fascinating.

Don’t worry, there's "cool stuff" here too: a literal library labyrinth, brutal murders, intense courtroom drama, sex, poison, and more. Despite being so challenging, I would describe this as a pageturner - I couldn't wait to pick it back up when I put it down.

But it's certainly not for everyone and it's certainly not a beach read. This is for those in a contemplative, studious mood. There are passages that are, quite honestly, Extra AF. I, Kelly, give you permission to skim these (as well as the Latin), because NOBODY WILL DIE and your reading experience won't suffer. I learned this reading Henry James - stop trying so hard, let the words wash over you, and ride the wave to the end.

The Name of the Rose on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Witch Elm

3 stars. WELL FUCK. I should've loved this. This is my fourth French, and I love her, love her still, even though this didn't hit quite right. Allow me to explain:

1) I'm starting to detect a pattern in French's writing, and certain familiar motifs. This felt similar to Faithful Place in a couple of ways: the well-written and cringe-y Awkward Family Event(s); the Awkward Family Dynamics among siblings I mean cousins; a protagonist who is completely blind about people he's known his whole life; the morality crisis... I could go on. I love that French writes about these things so deftly, it just didn't feel fresh this time.

2) I figured it out way too early! Like less than halfway through! Damn it!

The Witch Elm is about a young, easygoing guy named Toby who on one random and horrifying night is brutally attacked by a couple of burglars. It is nearly impossible for him to adjust to his new body, his new life, the new challenges - he is essentially handicapped. He decides to move to an idyllic childhood holiday home to care for his dying uncle and continue his recovery, but all is interrupted when a skull is discovered in the backyard garden.

It's kind of a weird premise. All the way through I kept wondering whether or not this would be about Toby's injury, his recovery, the burglary itself or whatnot, and it sort of turns into a mishmash of several mysteries orbiting this struggling guy. It takes awhile. I understand French is trying to do a lot here: she's picking apart the concept of luck, exploring victimhood and morality, measuring the weight of choices both small and large... all themes I typically enjoy. It just wasn't enjoyable, here, for me. I should've felt so satisfied watching Toby - who is essentially a golden fuckboy I'd resent so hard IRL - spiral into oblivion after experiencing loss and hardship for the first time. But I didn't. And I almost didn't even care.

That being said, it's unputdownable. French's writing is as delightfully colloquial as ever, and I love her use of detail. I didn't even mind the questionable plot, and that's bothered me somewhat in her other mysteries. It's not that I wouldn't recommend this, I would - it's a solid, deeply philosophical literary thriller - but it doesn't sparkle the way her Dublin Squad books do.

The Witch Elm on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Death of Mrs. Westaway

2 stars. Hmm. This is not what I expected. I didn't enjoy my first Ware read, but this had such glowing, trustworthy reviews I went in hoping for the best. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. It's not HORRIBLE - and I highly recommend this for the beach or on a plane - but I think I fell victim to the hype.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway zooms in on a young, struggling woman named Hal, who receives a letter stating her as a beneficiary of her grandmother's estate. One problem: she doesn't have a grandmother, or any family at all. Needing the money, she decides to answer the lawyer's invitation and see if she can take advantage of the legacy regardless.

She travels to an old, cold mansion and meets the family: her "uncles" Harding, Abel and Ezra, plus Mrs. Danvers I mean Warren and some feisty "cousins" that she resents for being rich and carefree. Her deception begins to weigh on her, until she begins to understand exactly how many secrets the family is hiding. Then it becomes a race of sorts: a race for answers, a race for the truth, and eventually, a race for her life.

As exciting as that sounds, there's a lot of thinking in this book. A lot of thinking and analyzing and agonizing and worrying and freaking out. With a little bit of conversation and action thrown in. There are a lot of questions in the prose: literally - we are privy to every question Hal asks herself about her situation. It's a bit weird, a bit annoying, like asking the questions for the audience instead of letting the audience just ... think them.

I also guessed the twist(s) 35% in. Yay me.

I also really wanted something spooky and haunting, but I got a lot of family drama. Ugh, I don't know. It's a page-turner, for sure. It's sort of flaccidly gothic in tone and atmosphere. But there are also a lot of loose ends ... sigh. I'm sorry, I'll probably keep trying with this author, but so far she somehow manages to write stories that are implausible and predictable for me. I look forward to seeing her mature out of her pattern...? Hopefully one day! I will say that Hal was a pretty great character - even when the others were bland and one-sided.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: The Alienist

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

4 stars. I read this years ago and picked it up again to prepare for the miniseries. I just love it. Carr magically incorporates a ton of historical detail without bogging the story down - in fact, he elevates it. It’s incredible.

The sense of realism is, actually, its distinguishing factor for me. The authenticity is what makes this different from your run-of-the-mill historical mystery novel. It has everything typically found in crime fiction: horrific murders, exciting chase scenes, a theatrical climax ... but this does not feel like a novel written decades after the action - it feels like a novel written by someone who was actually there. 

Docked a star for melodrama and for the implausible open-mindedness of the main characters. But The Alienist is a spectacular accomplishment and a classic. Don't shy away from the length or the occasionally dry language because the story is worth your investment. It feels academic and scholarly but it's highly entertaining. I recommend for fans of New York, for fans of history, and for fans of good old-fashioned detective work.

The Alienist on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: The Dry

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

4 stars. You’ve heard the story a thousand times: detective with a dark past returns to his small hometown and ends up solving a murder. The usual. Oh, and don’t forget secrets. Secrets are revealed. 

This is exceptional, though. It’s a neat little thriller with strong characters and a transporting atmosphere. It’s bleak and brutal but well-balanced by the protagonist’s determined good intentions. Harper also captures an overly done setting - suffering small town - in a way that lends to the story rather than drowning it in tropes and archetypes. And beyond that, The Dry is a true page-turner - I almost wish I hadn’t correctly identified the killer before the big reveal. It’s super satisfying and intense.

I don’t know why, but I expected something amateur-ish and rambling from this book. I was truly and pleasantly surprised and am impressed with the writing as a whole. It did remind me of Sharp Objects and Into the Water and Sycamore and other similar books, but this one really crackled on its own. It was concise, well-paced, dark and fresh. I will absolutely and quite happily read on to the next book.

The Dry on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Faithful Place

4 stars. I was in the mood for something immersive, detailed and adult. Tana French always delivers. Faithful Place centers on Frank Mackey, a successful undercover detective called home when a suitcase is unearthed. The suitcase belongs to his first love, Rose Daly, who had ditched him for London twenty years ago. Thrown into his past among the people he swore to forget, Frank becomes determined to find out why Rose left without her possessions and broke his heart. Nothing is as it appears to be in this twisty mystery.

Compared to the first two books in this series, Faithful Place is the shortest, most predictable, most traditional mystery. It also threads more clearly the brisk Irishness only faintly felt in the other two. It's more focused on family, and class, and forgiveness. It's a slightly - only slightly - more believable premise. Frank is as deeply characterized as you'd expect, though much more charming and less mopey (sorry, Rob and Cassie!). It's all-around excellent.

I know this has been said every which way, but Tana French really is So Damn Good. Her colloquialisms and sharp turns are like disgustingly amazing. She somehow takes "shouldn't-investigate-but-investigates-anyway" to a whole new level. The layers of commentary about family and socioeconomic class are intricate and compelling. I feel like I learned a TON about Ireland - and about people. Seeing the world through Frank's eyes provided a unique, unforgettable reading experience.

This one is also surprisingly romantic - I suppose all of her books sparkle in a certain romantic way. I found it to be a bit melodramatic here (I don't really believe in "teen love"), and yet somehow charming. But it's also fucking brutal. It's not a feel-good book, it's just sort of darkly satisfying. And while I guessed the twist early on, I enjoyed feeling French dig her heels in with certain characters. She's smack dab on top of what makes a good novel and I ate up every word. Also, I think she may have nailed the 80's.

It's hard to make recommendations for these books, because there aren't many to compare. They're all just psychologically beautiful; quintessentially and delightfully Tana French. I want to study why they work so well.

Faithful Place on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: If We Were Villains

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

3 stars. I have mixed feelings about this book. There’s so much Shakespeare, which I absolutely loved. It compares quite adequately to The Secret History and its other lookalikes, which I also loved. It’s fast-paced, well-rounded and well-written. But it isn’t perfect and, I’m sorry to say, I was left unsatisfied. 

First issue - can anyone explain Richard’s escalating behavior in Act I? In my experience, people don’t change quite that dramatically without some sort of catalyst - drug abuse, adult onset bipolar disorder, SOMETHING. From the beginning, Richard felt like a plot device, his tantrums ultimately unexplained. It just didn’t feel natural, to me.

Second issue - one of the fantastic elements of The Secret History is its believability. Donna Tartt took pages and pages and pages to build a sturdy foundation so by the time we get to the murder, it feels like an act within the realm of what we’d expect from our characters. And listen, I’m happy to suspend realism for the sake of a good story. But the fact that six people completely readjusted their moral compasses on exactly the same night after a man demonstrated mentally ill - antagonistic, aggressive, scary, but mentally ill nonetheless - behavior for, what, several weeks? After years of friendship? Does not compute. For me, at least.

Third issue - about ¾ of the way through the book I shut it and whispered “first world problems.” This has been noted in other reviews, but these characters are privileged, ignorant and exhibit totally skewed perspectives. This may be explained by the whole “blame everything on Shakespeare” theme, and I actually buy that, in away. I’m certain that the school formed a bubble in which these people lived and perceived things and made decisions. But it really did seem … beyond dramatic. Melodramatic.

Fourth issue - all of this could’ve been solved had people just slept with whom they were attracted. Yeah, this is all basically just a giant case of romantic self-sabotage. Everybody’s cockblocking each other and using each other for sex and everything could’ve been prevented had the characters been honest with themselves. And look, truthfully, I don’t think I’m looking at this objectively. These people’s approach to courtship and sex and love don’t match my experiences at all. I don’t know anything about anything that transcends lust - transcends love even - enough to believe Oliver’s actions. I guess the characters felt like teenagers saturated with hormones (not unlike Romeo and Juliet?) rather than 20-something college students. 

WAIT, IS THAT THE POINT?! Did I just stumble on the whole damn point? These people spent so much time playing Shakespeare’s exaggerated, overemotional characters that they became exaggerated and overemotional themselves? HMMMM.

Alright, well, I feel bad now. I enjoyed this. I really did. M.L. Rio is incredibly talented and I have a huge crush on her. I want to learn from her - I want to learn how she thinks and what she knows and how she writes. I want to bond with her on things like Shakespeare and drama and Big Themes. But, as always, to thine own self be true, and If We Were Villains just felt a little empty, to me.

If We Were Villains on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Lost Man

5 stars. This was GREAT, as expected. Jane Harper is becoming one of my must-read authors. If you enjoy quick, well-plotted, atmospheric mysteries (with a distinctly Australian flavor!), Harper's for you. 

This particular book is a low stakes mystery about a man who returns home - to a broken family in a town from which he was exiled - to deal with his brother's death. As he tries to reconcile and recover from the shock, he realizes he has to face some difficult truths about his past, his present, and his future. It's a story about human nature, denial, abuse, and resilience under harsh conditions. And it's incredibly enjoyable.

I think Aaron Falk is my favorite, so far, but I'm kind of embarrassed with how quickly and deeply I became invested in Nathan Bright's journey. I don't always agree with Harper's protagonists, but I almost always understand them. And her characters are all wonderfully distinct, with clever, strange voices and a hearty mix of good and evil in each. Even the dead ones, portrayed in flashbacks and observational comments, come across brilliantly.

It didn't hurt the book at all, but things wrapped up really neatly here. I actually found that to be quite nice, quite satisfying. I don't think this author is particularly worried about being unpredictable (though the twist was nice). Answers are good but a captivating quest to find them is better. Harper clearly trusts her readers and her writing is better for it.

I am personally in awe of Harper's ability to play with emotions, like shame and determination and forgiveness, and things like memory and intricate family dynamics. I also love the way she makes her setting a character - pushing, pulling, inspiring characters in interesting ways. She consistently paints a really vivid environmental picture; I had no trouble imagining the heat and the dust of the Outback. And she dives headfirst into some important issues here in striking and surprising ways. The way she portrays the nuances of rape and consent - breathtaking. I hope she never stops writing about quiet, complicated humans in complicated situations.

AWESOME BOOK.

The Lost Man on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: In a Dark, Dark Wood

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

3 stars. I didn't really like this. I was seduced by the creepy title and the promise of a dark thriller but all I got was a basic story told in weird increments. It was mediocre and predictable and while it kept me turning pages I just really didn't care.

There were a lot of annoying things about this book but the biggest, for me, had to be the protagonist. I know others have commented on her here and I would agree that she's just damn ridiculous. Consuming a story of any kind requires suspension of belief, and I'm willing to suspend a lot if the action is enjoyable and satisfying in its own way. But I'm really unwilling to believe that a girl was so traumatized by a pretty typical (yeesh, that may be misguided - common? fairly common?) romantic experience that it dictated every action years later. My favorite phrase, used by a reviewer above, is "psychologically improbable." Yeah, that just about covers it.

And it's the plot, too - everything's so campy and melodramatic and twisty in a way that simply isn't creative. It wasn't dark enough, for me. I mean, I was super unsettled by the fact that she even went to the stupid bachelorette party in the first place, but I was unsettled in a "oh, this narrator is really fucking dumb," and "a bachelorette party? I'd rather put a campfire out with my face" sort of way.

I read an interview with Ruth Ware in which she described this book as a combination of Agatha Christie and the Scream movies. Cool! What a fabulous concept. And also an extremely admirable goal. I am into it! I just don't think she got there, though, with this one. Poor execution. I'd like to read some of her other books and try her again, though.

In a Dark, Dark Wood on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: Before the Fall

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

3 stars. I'm a huge Noah Hawley fan. Fargo and Legion are so incredibly creative and engaging and strong, so obviously I opened Before the Fall with high expectations and a side-eye on the hype. And did it get there? Did it do it for me? Well, sort of.

I've been thinking a lot about Goodreads and social media and its impact on the book world, and I would agree with many that Goodreads "reviews" should really be called "reactions." If I were to "review" this book, I'd probably give it a higher score than if I simply "reacted." I mean look, critics loved this book. They raved about it. "Ingeniously nerve-racking" - New York Times. "Terrific thriller" - Washington Post. "Highly entertaining" - AP.

My purpose here is different, though. I just want to chat! I want to provide my opinion in an informal (lazy) manner without feeling the pressure to recommend or not recommend. I want to unpack and extrapolate to a certain degree but keep things firmly in the realm of "response" rather than "review."

Ugh, okay, back to the book: I just don't know. I loved the concept - I like group dissection stories in which a bunch of characters are introduced and we learn about them one-by-one. I liked the mystery and the social commentary and the insights about families and relationships. I liked that it starts with a plane crash and moves backward and forward to build the narrative. I was delighted by the cinematic details and the deep characterization for which Hawley is particularly well-known.

BUT, I didn't like the ending, so much, although it was the type of dark turn I normally really enjoy. I thought the political / entertainment industry satire fell a little flat. Overall, it lacked a spark, I think, for me. It lacked the special flavor that usually keeps me reading something like this. It just wasn't spicy enough! I'm still a huge Hawley fan (his work this season on Legion is triumphant), but as I said, this is just a solid sort of for me.

Before the Fall on: Amazon | Goodreads