October 26, 2022
3-stars for "N is for Noose" by Sue Grafton
N is for Noose by Sue Grafton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Until this book, I’ve been a huge fan of Grafton’s Alphabet series of Kinsey Millhone detective mysteries, most of which involve murders. N is for Noose involves murders, but I’m not a fan of it. I’ve been reading her books in the series in order and this is my first disappointment. After reading the top reviews on Amazon, it’s clear I’m not alone. The first reviewer summarized, and I agree, “I Love Sue Grafton, But This Is My Least Favorite Thus Far.” I’ve been a novelist, and a fan of all sorts of fiction, so I know a lousy plot when I read one. As the Amazon reviewer complained, “There were parts of this story that really did not make sense to me. I also felt there were certain questions concerning the mystery aspect of this novel that went unaddressed. … there are gaps in this case that I could drive a bus through.” I considered writing a paragraph of spoiler alerts to all the plot holes, red herrings, and ignored clues, but decided not to do that to future readers.
October 18, 2022
4-stars for "My Name is Anton"
My Name is Anton by Catherine Ryan Hyde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
After finishing Hyde's Have You Seen Luis Velez? I had to read another of Catherine Ryan Hyde's novels. No surprise to anyone reading this, I couldn't pass up a book called My Name Is Anton. I was shell-shocked by the emotions that ricocheted through me reading this novel; there are so many subtexts involved. On the surface we have the basic romance where love triumphs over all kinds of adversities, where kindness and generosity overcome meanness and cruelty. But underneath there’s how (not why) people, family members in particular, are unable to acknowledge mental illness and therefore can’t/won’t seek help or treatment—a dynamic still prevalent in society today. Also unexamined is how/why one spouse abuses the other, or parents abuse/neglect children. All these are things people are ashamed of and keep hidden. I didn’t see even a hint as to why Anton’s parents kept his deceased brother’s room just like before, when one would expect for them to move to a different apartment asap. Or what the mother’s absent parents were like to have produced such a daughter—as Anton himself describes her—neither helpful nor kind. But all in all, an excellent read.
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October 14, 2022
5-star review of "Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World"
Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World by Philip Matyszak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A very well-written book that is a pleasure to read. Non-archaeologists will appreciate it just as much, and maybe more, than professionals in the field. I learned a lot about ancient societies in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, but despite the misleading title, unfortunately not much about Asia, and nothing about the Americas. But that's not why I'm reading it. Author Philip Matyszak has a background in Western Classical Antiquity and appears to have purposefully limited Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World to "give a picture of the busy, brawling, multicultural mass of humanity which occupied the ancient Middle East, Mediterranean and parts of Europe." While this clearly omits the rest of the world, it is in keeping with his academic background and his own stated intent. View all my reviews
October 11, 2022
The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts by Israel Finkelstein
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts is over 20 years old and some of its archaeology is already outdated. The authors clearly have an agenda to challenge the Biblical legends, but I wish they weren't so obvious about it. We don't even have evidence that Jesus or the Talmudic rabbis actually existed, so why would anyone think we'd know more about Moses? Other scholars also criticize Tel Aviv University archaeologist Israel Finkelstein as known largely for his minimalist views. But once I took his prejudices into account, that left plenty to learn from this book.
October 03, 2022
5-star review of "Have You Seen Luis Velez?" by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Have You Seen Luis Velez? by Catherine Ryan Hyde
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What can I say - I loved Have You Seen Luis Velez?. It was the perfect book to read in the days approaching Yom Kippur. I'd never heard of this novel until I saw it recommended by the Jewish Book Group on Goodreads, although I quickly learned that author Catherine Ryan Hyde had also written Pay It Forward.
I was astounded to find a book that begins with an actual "save the cat moment." *And from a NY Times bestselling author. Yet it's a wonderful beginning and I knew our protagonist Raymond would meet some interesting, though incorrect, other Luis Velezs before finding out about the one is searching for. But I didn't expect such a lovely, heartwarming (and heartbreaking) story as teenage Raymond experiences the tribalism in our society today. I don't think it's a spoiler alert to say that this story shows how kindness and friendship can help overcome the unfairness in every day life. And gives us hope that in the end, justice will be served.
*The Save The Cat template was first published in Blake Snyder's best-selling Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need, a guide to plotting dramatic structure. Its name from the movie “Aliens” (1986). In the film, the audience is incited emotionally, when Ripley's cat disappears. The audience anticipates that the cat may be the prey of a vicious extraterrestrial that is aboard her spaceship. It plays with the idea that if you show your character doing something that makes the audience root for them (such as saving a cat), then the audience will be immediately more invested in those characters.
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October 01, 2022
4-star of "M is for Malice" by Sue Grafton
M is for Malice by Sue Grafton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Over the Rosh Hashana break, I read M is for Malice, the 13th of Sue Grafton’s alphabet murder mystery series. That should mean I’m halfway through them, except that Grafton died after finishing Y is for Yesterday I appreciated how Kinsey grows and changes with each novel, and also how Grafton keeps turning out great, yet different, plots. One would think the stories would become repetitive after a time, but they don’t, even if the characters spill over from one novel to the next. On that note, I really liked that Robert Dietz was back, and though Kinsey has mixed feelings (to put it mildly) about him, I hope he’ll be a recurring character. Both of their efforts were needed to solve the mystery. I would have given this volume 5 stars, but the ending was too sudden and unexpected. Also I found it sad; I felt sorry for both the murderer and the victim, yet it looked like the actual criminals wouldn’t face justice. So much family dysfunction and suffering. But definitely worth reading
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