Bookends

Two thrillers by Tom Robb Smith: Child 44 and The Secret Speech

Tom Robb Smith is a brilliant freaking genius. The setting for his thrillers Child 44 and The Secret Speech is post-Stalinist Russia, a world of justified paranoia for everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, from powerless citizens to KGB officers and back again (sometimes within the course of an hour). 

Child 44 takes place in a world where the State claims murders don't happen; thus, a serial killer can thrive. Leo Demidov, a former state security officer, puts himself and his loved ones in grave danger just for suggesting there's a killer out there, much less trying to gather evidence and put an end to the crimes. (A confession: I am a bit weak of heart when it comes to stories of children in danger. Child 44, which early on contains a riveting scene of a family near starvation, was almost too much for me. But you'll enjoy the second book more if you read this one first.) 

The Secret Speech, which hinges on a real life document by Krushchev apologizing for Russia's past mistakes, is mind-blowingly good. Leo now has infinitely more to lose; you will gasp at the lengths he goes to to protect his family. Honestly, my heart beat so fast during some of these chapters that I had to get up and walk around the room to calm down. Each character is complicated; good and evil people and deeds mix and match throughout. Yes, it's a popcorn book, but a hell of a good one.

Child 44: PR6119.M586 C48 2008
The Secret Speech: PR6119.M586 S43 2009

The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind is both lush and spellbinding.  I rushed through its pages with wide eyes, slowing only to savor a particularly tasty bit of dialogue or description.  The story begins in post-WWII Barcelona, when Daniel Sempere's father swears him to secrecy before introducing him to the mysterious and delightful Cemetery of Forgotten Books.  The novel he brings home from this magical place leads him down a complex and sometimes shocking path as he attempts to discover the life story of its author while protecting the book itself from destruction.  The characters and situations can be over-the-top, but that only adds to the story as a whole - the humor gracefully leavens a story that does not flinch from the gothic or the grotesque.  Highly recommended, and I'm very happy to report that the author's second novel, The Angel's Game, will be available in English this June.

TIGER link: PQ6668.U49 S6613 2004 

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People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Because I work in Special Collections, people often recommend books to me about archivists, rare books, and the like. Usually I read a few pages and put these books right back where I found them. Not so with Geraldine Brooks's amazing People of the Book, which tells, in its roundabout, fragmented way, the imagined adventures of a particular actual book -- the Sarajevo Haggadah, a 14th century illuminated manuscript used at Passover, housed at the Sarajevo Museum for the past 100 years or so.

The overarching story is of a present-day book conservator and the clues she finds in the book about its past: a bit of butterfly wing, sea salt, wine, blood, a white hair. Brooks weaves together the known facts about the book with amazing made-up tales of those who made the book, those who owned it, those who protected it and preserved it, and those who tried to do it harm over the past 600 years. 

But you know, whatever actually happened to the book may have been just as amazing or even MORE amazing; we'll never know. 

Tiger link:  PR9619.3.B7153 P46 2008

The Magician's Book by Laura Miller

In The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia, Laura Miller explores her childhood love of and belief in the imaginary world of Narnia, and her subsequent feeling of betrayal when she learns that C.S. Lewis's stories are full of hidden (well, not very well hidden, but hidden to children) Christian themes. Along the way she embeds relevant background information on Lewis's works and his life, including his friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien.

Anyone who read the Chronicles of Narnia as a kid will get a lot out of this book, I think. It's a very rare book indeed that makes me wish I belonged to a book club so I could talk about a book with other people -- mostly I just like to read read read and never talk about it at all -- but this is a book that brings up so much about reading, the act of reading, the way our reading habits and abilities change over time, the way the meaning of a particular book can change over time ... oh it's just marvelous. I'll be thinking about this book for a long, long time (though I know I'll never be able to remember it, and the way I felt reading it, the way I remember books and feelings from childhood, like the Narnia books themselves).

Tiger link: PR6023.E926 C53627 2008
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Duma Key by Stephen King

"Duma Key" is another enjoyable horror novel by prolific author Stephen King. This book is much more enjoyable not knowing where the plot will ultimately head, so I won't ruin it for potential readers. It's safe to describe the beginning: we find a self-made millionaire recovering from a severe injury. After his marriage falls apart, he decides to convalesce in the Florida Keys, in a charming pink house overlooking the sea. Phantom limbs and red rages aside, the book starts out rather prosaically and gradually picks up steam. A newly discovered artistic talent blossoms, but our hero soon realizes not all is well on this idyllic island.

Readers who stick with the book will be rewarded with plenty of mystery and several doses of the heebie-jeebies. There are some frightening and graphic scenes later on, one of which made me afraid to sleep in the dark after reading it. The various revelations that come thick and fast at the end are quite satisfying, and the "villain" is one of King's best to date.

Beyond the supernatural stuff, King explores themes of recovery from injury, artistic talent and the art world, and the politics of relationships in families. I found it particularly interesting to consider the question of a Muse's motives. That is, where does the source of artistic inspiration come from, and are the sources and the results of art unquestionably good?

Stephen King fans will pick up on similarities from previous books. In terms of writing quality, this is probably on the level of "Lisey's Story"; not a work of literary genius but definitely better than works like "Cell." I would recommend "Duma Key" to anybody who enjoys the horror genre, but has sufficient patience for the horror to develop slowly.

On the Current Books shelf next to the Circulation Desk.

TIGER link: PS3561.I483 D86 2008 
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