December
A Train Of Powder by Rebecca West, Viking 1946
description and analysis of the Nuremberg Trials with a few additional essays on notable post-war criminal trials; she was a remarkable stylist
November
Pursuit by Luis Alfredo Garcia-Roza, translated from the Portuguese by Benjamin Moser; (c2003) Henry Holt 2006
intriguing ambiguous psychological mystery
The Murderers by Fredric Brown, (c1961) Library of America Crime Novels: Five Classic Thrillers 1961-1964 2023
smoothly told story of unattractive characters on fringes of Hollywood and the Beat culture
The Name of the Game Is Death by Dan J. Marlowe, (c1962) Library of America Crime Novels: Five Classic Thrillers 1961-1964 2023
compelling amoral protagonist; driving, intense first person narrative
The Expendable Man by Dorothy B. Hughes, (c1963) Library of America Crime Novels: Five Classic Thrillers 1961-1964 2023
beautifully written, sharply observant of locale and social issues
Herbie’s Game by Timothy Hallinan, Soho 2014
Junior Bender, burglar and detective in either order, is always a good time
The Score by Richard Stark, (c1964) Library of America Crime Novels: Five Classic Thrillers 1961-1964 2023
very polished style, his popular character Parker robs a whole town
A Killer in King’s Cove by Iona Whishaw, TouchWood 2016
very enjoyable mystery with appealing female sleuth; start of a series set in late ’40s in a small BC town
October
Pompeii by Robert Harris, Random House 2003
a terrifically entertaining historical thriller that also carries lots of interesting information on volcanology and Roman engineering techniques
My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor, Europa Editions 2023
from the neutral Vatican City, an Irish priest and allies organize the rescue and escape of prisoners from the Nazi controlled Rome
Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky; (c2015) New Directions edition 2017
thoughtful, compassionate story of migration; retired professor is drawn into the struggles of a group of African refugees in Berlin; prose is understated and intense and lyrical, a very fluent translation
Disaster at the Vendome Theater by M. L. Longworth, Penguin 2022
smooth agreeable read, death in a Provence theater
Random Acts Of Medicine: The Hidden Forces That Sway Doctors, Impact Patients, And Shape Our Health by A. Jena,MD and C. Worsham,MD; Doubleday 2023
thought-provoking and lively accounts of the authors’ natural experiments that examine the ways unconscious biases, assumptions, and habits impact health care
Waiting to Be Arrested at Night, A Uyghur Poet’s Memoir of China’s Genocide by Tahir Hamut Izgil, translated by Joshua Freeman; Penguin Press 2023
the large scale horror of Uyghur oppression made intimate and personal in this quiet, deeply moving memoir
A Chess Story by Stefan Zweig, translated by Alexander Starritt;(c1941) Pushkin Press 2013
an Austrian man enduring psychological torture in Nazi prison finds first salvation in chess, then obsession to near madness
September
The Acid Test by Elmer Mendoza, translated from the Spanish by Mark Fried; (c2011) MacLehose Press 2016
Mendoza wrings some very black humor from the outbreak of the Mexican drug wars; things have only gotten worse for Detective Lefty Mendieta since we met him and his colleagues in Silver Bullets
Linger Awhile by Russell Hoban, Bloomsbury Publishing 2006
Hoban (author of the beloved/cult children’s novel A Mouse and His Child) is a marvelous singular imagination; an elderly fan obsessed with a 1950s B Western star brings her to life from a soup of video particles and alchemical ingredients blended in “a suspension of disbelief”
The Hanged Man Of Conakry by Jean-Christophe Rufin, translated from the French by Alison Anderson; (c2018) Europa edition 2022
unusual setting in a small African port city and an endearing odd duck detective
August
Summer Lightning by P. G. Wodehouse, read by Martin Jarvis; (c1929) AudioGO 2011
a brilliant reading/performance of one of the Blandings Castle stories
The Order Of The Day by Eric Vuillard, translated from the French by Mark Pollizotti; (c2017) Other Press 2018; 2017 winner of Prix Goncourt
Vuillar uses the Nazi annexation of Austria as a prism to reveal the facets of greed, cowardice, and self-delusion that drive history; it has the “can’t look away” quality of a horror story, I read it one sitting
“We never fall twice into the same abyss. But we always fall the same way, in a mixture of ridicule and dread.”
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Del Rey 2023
clever and entertaining story set in the remnants of the film industry in ’90s Mexico City; delightful characters, the plot and tone of a classic ’30s horror film
Some Prefer Nettles by TANIZAKI Junichiro, translated from the Japanese by Edward G. Seidensticker; Knopf 1955
subtle study of the strains and conflicts of modernity and tradition in postwar Japan
Gentleman of Leisure by P. G. Wodehouse, read by Frederick Davidson; (c1915) Blackstone Audio 20
delightful “Gentleman Burglar” story; wish I could have seen Douglas Fairbanks in the stage adaptation
The Two-Pound Tram by William Newton, Bloomsbury 2003
a seemingly artless, delightful tale of two young brothers in England 1937
Maude Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks, Harper and Row 1953
glimpses into the life of a young Black woman in Chicago; from girlhood when she saw herself as a dandelion, beautiful in everydayness, to maturity when she shows the resilience of the dandelion which blooms again no matter how harsh the winter (book group)
The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, Sort Of Books 2022
2022 Booker Prize a story of remarkable energy and imagination, a veritable torrent of words – comic, angry, satiric, tender – critiques the Sri Lanka civil war
Flowers Over The Inferno by Ilaria Tuti, translated from the Italian by Ekin Oklap; (c2018) Soho Press 2019
intriguing mystery with an unusual and sympathetic 60ish woman police detective
Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing as We Age by Mary Pipher, Bloomsbury 2019
calm and encouraging observations on living well into old age
Beton Rouge by Simone Buchholz, translated from the German by Rachel Ward; (c2017) Orenda Books 2019
a really well written noir set in Hamburg; Buchholz is a very distinctive stylist creating vivid characters and scenes with exceptional economy
July
Lying Awake by Mark Salzman, Vintage 2000
a beautiful novel, a restrained and insightful exploration of the interplay of Grace and self-doubt in spiritual life
To The Lake, A Balkan Journey Of War And Peace by Kapka Kassabova; Graywolf Press 2020
a unique blend of memoir/travelogue/history; the author’s search for her family’s stories builds a rich multi-layered portrait of the cultural and natural history of the Balkans; exceptionally beautiful prose, a memorable book
Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra, Hogarth 2023
bittersweet comic novel centering on the cast of a poverty-row Hollywood studio; it felt overstuffed and overwritten sometimes, but I really enjoyed some of the stories; funny and heartfelt
The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane, FSG 2022
deceptively simple Australia 1883 outback story of a lost child; like the title, which is a Swedish not aboriginal phrase for sunset, the human and natural landscapes are complex and full of unexpected connections (book group)
The Shape Of Water by Andrea Camilleri, translated from the Italian by Stephen Sartarelli; (c1994) Penguin 2002
first of long-running series with Inspector Montalbano in Sicily
Kafka on the Shore by MURAKAMI Haruki, translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel; (c2003) Vintage 2005
interesting mix of the magical and the mundane, of philosophy and (tedious) Freudian psychology, of the culturally hip and the mysterious natural world
Travelers to Unimaginable Lands: Stories Of Dementia, The Caregiver, And The Human Brain by Dasha Kiper, Random House 2023
skillful blend of case histories and research into brain function; the author’s unique and valuable perspective illuminates the ways our brains shape the interactions between ‘patient’ and caregiver
June
Claiming Ground by Laura Bell, Vintage 2011
a memoir of a woman who makes a life in the remote Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming; laconic in the best western way; spare honed language carries deeply felt reflections on her own experience and the mountain community
The Mystery of Hunting’s End by Mignon G. Eberhart, (c1930) Univ. of Nebraska 1991
the 2023 “One Book One Nebraska” selection; Eberhart was a major contributor to the “Golden Age” of mystery writing; this is an entertaining story in the Country House category with the guests trapped in a blizzard in a remote Sand Hills hunting lodge
Cold Hearted River by Keith McCafferty, Penguin Books 2017
a particularly enjoyable entry in the Sean Stranahan series set in Montana fly-fishing country; the plot revolves around the possible reappearance of Ernest Hemingway’s lost case of fishing gear
Mirror, Sword And Jewel, The Geometry of Japanese Life by Kurt Singer; Kodansha 1973
probing, insightful analysis of Japanese culture and history
A View by the Sea by YASUOKA Shotaro, translated from the Japanese by Karen Wigen Lewis; (c1958) Columbia University Press 1984
a cool, unsentimental examination of the post-war family in prose precise and filled with images
May
How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, Currency 2023
might have been titled “get done so badly”; eye-opening analysis of those mega-projects that seem always to be over-budget and over-schedule
Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair, (c1922) Penguin Books/ViragoPress 1980
well crafted psychological novel prompted good discussion (book group)
I Will Have Vengeance: The Winter Of Commissario Ricciardi by Maurizio De Giovanni, translated from the Italian by Anne Milano Appel; (c2007) Europa ed 2012
it’s 1931 in Naples, the first story of the Commissario set at the opera; distinctive delightful noir
Making the Cut by Jim Lusby, Orion 1995
Irish mystery, well-drawn characters and an entertainingly twisty story
Like A Sword Wound by Ahmet Altan, translatd from the Turkish by Brendan Freely and Yelda Turedi; (c1997) Europa 2018
marvelous language, an engrossing many-layered story of the last days of the Ottoman empire; first in the Ottoman Quartet
The April Dead by Alan Parks, Europa 2021
one of Europa’s World Noir imprint; Parks is an intelligent and skillful writer but his ’70s Glasgow is a very very dark place
April
The Engagement by Simenon, translated from the French by Anna Moschovakis; (c1933) NYRB 2007
early non-Maigret novel; unsettling, pitiless and cold even for a noir
American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis by Adam Hochschild, Mariner Books 2022
author is a notable writer of popular histories; examines the social hysteria, paranoia, and cruelties triggered and given license with America’s entry into WWI
Cheap Land Colorado: Off-Gridders At America’s Edge by Ted Connover, Knopf 2023
life on the rural margins if not quite off-grid, a close look at the San Luis valley in south central Colorado (includes Great Sand Dune NP)
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey, Soho 2018
ambitious effort to portray the social and cultural complexities of 1920’s India in a mystery story
Fragile Cargo: The World War II Race to Save the Treasures of China’s Forbidden City by Adam Brookes, Atria Books 2022
fascinating and well-told story of the extraordinary efforts made by the museum’s staff to protect the many fragile precious pieces of the collection
Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor, Riverhead Books 2023
sprawling gaudy story of crime and wealth in contemporary India
The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen, translated from the Finnish by David Hackston; Orenda Books 2021
a unique voice in Nordic noir crime fiction; a warm, hilarious, absurdist thriller
Blood Curse: The Springtime of Commissario Ricciardi by Maurizio De Giovanni, translated from the Italian by Antony Shugaar; (c2008) Europa 2018
Naples, 1931 mystery story; beautifully written, wonderfully atmospheric
The Greatest Slump Of All Time by David Carkeet, Harper and Row 1984
an exceptional, insightful comic novel of depression; players on a baseball team struggle with personal “slumps” as the team is mysteriously successful
March
Tokyo Zodiac Murders by SHIMADA Soji, translated from the Japanese by Ross and Shika Mackenzie; (c1981) Pushkin Vertigo ed 2015
complex puzzle story
Killshot by Elmore Leonard, William Morrow 1989
tremendously entertaining, great dialogue leavens the tension
52 Pick-up by Elmore Leonard, Secker and Warburg 1974
first of his crime novels; a blazing fast read because I couldn’t put it down
The Boat of Longing by O.E. Rolvaag, translated from the Norwegian by Nora O. Solum; (c1933) Minnesota Historical Press 1985
a moving story of immigration, its hopes and costs; lovely, lyrical language in the descriptions of the sea and life in Norwegian fishing village (book group)
Picture in the Sand by Peter Blauner, Minotaur Books 2023
pure storytelling pleasure; a young Egyptian man caught up in the political turmoil of post-British Egypt in the 1950’s while working on the deMille production of The Ten Commandments
Nights of Plague by Orhan Pamuk, translated from the Turkish by Ekin Oklap; Knopf 2022
a tremendous novel, expansive in themes and engrossing in character and story; bubonic plague strikes a small island in the waning days of the Ottoman empire
Crashed by Timothy Hallinan, Soho Press 2012
a Hollywood comic crime novel with sharp writing and great characters; if you like this kind of thing, which I do, it’s a delight – I rationed the pages to savor the dialogue
In The Morning I’ll Be Gone by Adrian McKinty, Seventh Street Books 2014
1980’s Belfast, police detective solves a classic locked room mystery to catch an IRA bomber
Counting Sheep, A Celebration of the Pastoral Heritage of Britain by Philip Walling; Profile Books 2014
a remarkably interesting and enjoyable guide to all things sheep in the UK, historically and today; really a delightful book, especially for anyone who has enjoyed the sight of “woolies” dotting the hills and countryside of Britain
China After Mao, The Rise of a Superpower by Frank Dikotter; Bloomsbury 2022
a superbly readable account, dense with economic and historical detail and enlivened with anecdotes and personalities; the consistent repression and economic mismanagement described should finish the foolish expectations of democratic change; the chapter on the Tiananmen Square massacre is masterful and devastating
Iced In Paradise by Naomi Hirahara, Prospect Park Books 2019
another enjoyable, well written story from Hirahara; the mystery has a nice twist but the chief pleasure is in the picture of life on one of the smaller Hawaiian islands
Three Roads Back: How Emerson, Thoreau, and William James Responded To The Greatest Losses Of Their Lives by Robert D. Richardson; Princeton Univ. Press 2023
a slim, thoughtful reflection on the impact grief had on the thought and lives of the three men and how their resilience can be models for each of us
February
Idol, Burning by USAMI Rin, translated from the Japanese by YONEDA Asa; (c2020) Harpervia 2022
sympathetic portrayal of a teenage girl and her obsession with a J-pop idol; winner of Akutagawa Prize
Billie Starr’s Book of Sorries by Deborah E. Kennedy, Flatiron Books 2022
2nd grader Billie collects the “Sorry” excuses and explanations she hears from adults
Second-Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta, George Braziller 1975
strongly autobiographical novel of a woman determined to be educated and independent; propulsive narrative takes Adah from childhood in Nigeria to the London slums as a young mother
A Death in Tokyo by HIGASHINO Keigo, translated by Giles Murray; (c2011) Minotaur Books 2022
a classic procedural with Detective Kaga; psychological insight, deeply moral
Evil Things by Katja Ivar, Bitter Lemon Press 2019
solid mystery story set in early 1950’s Finland, introduces an interestingly complex female detective who solves a tricky case in Lapland
Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo, Tom Doherty Books 2022
modest novella about the value and importance of stories, personally and culturally; set in an appealing China-ish fantasy world
Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah, Bloomsbury 2017
deceptively powerful novel; a story of lives disrupted in the post-colonial turmoil of 1970’s Zanzibar told in such measured subtle prose that I was immersed before I noticed my feet were wet
O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker, (c1991) Scribner 2021
a very witty, very odd novel, a bit unsettling but wonderfully entertaining for the language and dark comedy (book group)
January
Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer, (c1944) Poisoned Pen Press 2021
a delightful entertainment, like the classic elements of a Golden Age mystery exuberantly exploding from a Christmas Cracker
The Heretic by Liam McIlvanney, Europa 2022
intricate procedural in darkest Glasgow
Gaia, Queen of Ants by Hamid Ismailov, translated from the Uzbek by Shelley Fairweather-Vega; Syracuse Univ. Press ed. 2020
the stories of intriguing empathetic characters, all shaped by the political turmoil of their homelands, are intertwined with myths and folktales of Central Asia; lots of food for discussion in Book Group
Double Wide by Leo W. Banks, Brash Books 2017
I’m calling this very entertaining western mystery/thriller ‘noir light’ – lots of tough and snappy dialogue, characters on the fringe of Southwest society, but the exbaseball player protagonist is just too likeable for Noir (that’s a good thing)
The Orphanage by Serhiy Zhadan, translated from the Ukrainian by R. Costigan-Humes and I. Stackhouse Wheeler (c2017) Yale University Press 2021
an intense, gripping story of war at the Ukrainian-Russian border as a trip across town to reach the orphanage becomes a three day nightmarish journey; brilliantly conveys the confusion of identity and loyalty in the community, the confusion and uncertainty of the military action, and the misery and suffering of everyone
The Marshal at the Villa Torrini by Magdalen Naab, (c1993) Soho Press 2009
one of an excellent series of mysteries set in Florence; beautifully written with a very appealing and singular detective character
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman, Viking 2022
the Thursday Murder Club solves a cold case in this third book of the improbably entertaining, witty, and warmhearted series
The Slowworm’s Song by Andrew Miller, Europa 2022
subtle, exquisite prose; a story of finding a way out of the trauma and guilt from a tragic mistake, the possibilities of healing and reconciliation
A Bookwoman’s Holiday 