The Man Who Loved Books Too Much - The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett

Reviewed for Edwards Magazine Book Club
Published by Penguin Canada

Allison Hoover Bartlett has written a remarkable piece on this true story of "World of Literary Obsession". The research is deep and personal; the reader becomes involved in the research through her words. This is her story almost as much as John Gilkey's, the book thief she is writing about. It all begins with a beautiful, nearly 400 year old book that has been brought to her by a friend who found it while clearing out a house. She believes the book was stolen which sets her off on a search of discovery about thefts of rare books, wondering if there might be a piece she, as a journalist, can use for an article. Unfortunately, by involving both herself and the reader in her research and interviews, the first part of the book becomes tedious at times.

The book really takes off when the chase to catch Gilkey begins. The sting set up progresses with the same intent as any other criminal chase, and indeed, antiquarian book thievery is no less criminal than the theft of fine art from a museum. In some cases of extremely old manuscripts, they are a work of art. The thief is an amazingly complex yet simple character. The in-depth interviews the author has with Gilkey are quite revealing and yet it is difficult to determine, even to the interviewer, what he really is revealing. When he is working at Saks with all its well-heeled customers, which he does every year around Christmas, he is secreting credit card slips (this at a time before electronic credit card machines, and there was a second slip of paper usually torn out and thrown away). This is how he "purchases" the books. Even prison sentences do not deter him because in his own mind he is not stealing, How much is he lying? His responses are contradictory at times but mostly he speaks as an authority on collectible books.

An intriguing non-fiction look into the antiquarian book world, both dealers and thieves, and how obsessive it can be. I did enjoy the book for the most part, but was disappointed in others. This is a book that many readers will find compelling and others may not be quite so satisfied. Definitely informative, however.

Laughter of the Dead Kings by Elizabeth Peters

Original posted Sept. 29/08

Enjoyable romp of a mystery

Another enjoyable romp in the life of Vicky Bliss, assistant curator of Munich’s National Museum, art historian, antiquities expert and amateur sleuth. Elizabeth Peters has a long history of writing wonderfully strong, humorous and intelligent female characters, and in all her series her characters endear themselves to her faithful readers. The Vicky Bliss series takes place in current times rather than the Victorian era of Amelia Peabody and the early Egyptian tomb discoveries in the pyramids, her longest running series. The Laughter of Dead Kings is the sixth book in the series.

That said, this book is a joy to read, mostly conversational as plans are hatched and theories discussed. It is humorous, mysterious, and just good lighthearted reading. The perfect foil to a siege of heavy reading. The characters are so intensely drawn, funny and intelligent, including John, a once notorious thief of antiquities turned antiquities dealer and Vicky’s lover (Is he honest? Maybe, maybe not!). Their escapades, though dangerous, are thoroughly entertaining. Vicky’s boss, known mostly as Schmidt, who fancies himself as a Sherlock Holmes, always manages to find them wherever a “case” is happening and in this book his appearance is very fortuitous and surprising. The character of Schmidt is charming, funny, generous; he pictures himself as Vicky’s protector. I am reminded of an old (black & white) film actor, S.Z. (Cuddles) Sakall.

This time out a body has gone missing; not an ordinary body but one that has been dead for thousands of years, and the race is on. Not only must they find the body in extremely limited time, but they must prove that John is innocent of masterminding the theft. The question is, how could it be done and where would such a thing be hidden? Theories abound and are eliminated, delicate political and archaeological balance is threatened. The suspect list is large and complicated. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to enjoy the action and humour, a light but interesting read. I always learn something new in Elizabeth Peters’ books and this book did not disappoint.