The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Written from the inside of the brain of an autistic savant, it is almost impossible to think of this as a work of fiction. Mark Haddon’s work with autistic individuals and his teaching skills have stood him in good stead. This is an amazing and touching story. The characters remain true to themselves consistently, the fictional author Christopher is fully formulated and becomes a voice for how the autistic mind differs and how outside influences affect it. The story also demonstrates how this anomaly affects families. The character of Siobhan is wonderful, she seems to have a complete grasp of how Christopher’s mind works, and how to convey to and converse with him, guiding him toward a calmness when his fears become exacerbated by his surroundings.

Autism by its very nature is obviously a specialized challenge, and yet the mind compensates in other areas, often with miraculous clarity. Aside from learning how the autistic mind works, I also learned how much a “normal” mind misses. I learned a lot from both sides in this book, the fallibility of the “normal” brain and the preciseness of the autistic brain. I also learned of the similarities, accentuated in autism but shared by everyone, especially in regard to sensory overload in the current world. There have been times when I have felt close to what Christopher feels when too much happens at once. Haddon has created a magical masterpiece with his perception and creativity. This is a wonderful book that everyone can and should read, it humanizes us all. Highly recommended.

Murder is Binding: a Booktown Mystery by Lorna Barrett

First in a new series, Lorna Barrett has captured the quintessential small town, with wonderful quirky characters, a unique plot and a fascinating cozy murder mystery. I loved this book, related to many cozies, but with a twist. The settings are described beautifully and the characters clearly defined while still being mysterious throughout the book. Oh, yes, and recipes included, too.

The decision of Stoneham, a small dying town, to invite booksellers to open shops in a special rejuvenated section has become a success. Newcomer Tricia Miles, as a fan of the mystery genre, has opened the shop “Haven’t Got a Clue” which has become very popular. She even has the traditional bookstore cat, Miss Marple. But not all is happiness amongst the various booksellers and Tricia soon finds herself under fire and a murder suspect. The sheriff seems overwhelmingly determined to arrest her for murder and refuses to consider any other prospects for the murder.

Thus begins this delightful romp as Tricia and her sister decide to solve the case themselves. I will certainly be following this new series, I can see already that it is going to become one of my favorites! Crisp and fun, well worth the read.

A Hotel in Paris: a Minola Grey Mystery by Margot Justes

Originally reviewed for Front Page Reviews

Margot Justes’ debut is a lovely light read but a consuming read. I’m happy to learn this is the first of a series. I don’t have anything negative to say about this book. I enjoyed it right through from beginning to end. It opens with a murder on page one, and the story becomes a delightfully interwoven mystery and romance. The main character, Minola, is a passionate innocent, an artist of great talent and the story is told with detail only an artist would see. Although not mentioned in her bio, Margot Justes must be an artist, or at the very least has the eye of an artist or photographer, one thing is certain she has an eye for detail that brings everything to life and colour. I do not mean by this that the book is overloaded with detail, it is all very much a part of the flow. The detail is essential to the story, and also gives the reader the feeling they are involved somehow.

The romance flows through the book weaving in and out of the murder investigation, one genre playing out smoothly with the second genre. A fascinating blend and dealt with a light touch. As first in a proposed series (the second book is in progress), there are some well established characters, building from their early entry in the book to the final page. Other lesser characters add colour and interest to the story. The character of Minola is someone I would enjoy a cup of coffee with, and I would love to visit an art gallery with her. You can not help but feel attached to her and she seems to attract people with her personality and conviction. Peter, the Chief Inspector from Interpol, must consider Minola as a suspect, but also a witness as the person who was first on the scene of the murder. He must learn patience in his meetings with her and also learn to believe a person can be totally honest, not a trait he is used to. He is working on the case with the French police solely because the murder victim was already being investigated by Interpol for his international financial affairs.

I will be watching for the next episode in this series and look forward to it with pleasure. Thanks to Margot for an entertaining and suspenseful book. I recommend this book for its flow, research, interesting characters and a story that builds from start to finish.

An Incomplete Revenge (A Maisie Dobbs Novel) by Jacqueline Winspear

I was very taken with this book I loved the many textures and the fullness of characters, the setting of the late 1930s interspersed with a background story from WWI. I had never read a Maisie Dobbs story before but am fast becoming a new fan! Quite aside from the many mysterious happenings, I enjoyed learning of hop-picking, and the rich fullness of gypsies and gypsy lore.

Jacqueline Winspear has a very fluid voice in telling the story, understands the nuances in people, fear, hope, revenge, forgiveness, and the need to live a full life. The formation of who Maisie is unfolds throughout the book. She is a strong woman, conscientious, tolerant and compassionate. Her title of psychologist and investigator might well read psychic investigator, given her abilities and attunement to nature. There were many strands to be woven in this tapestry, with a lot of knots and tangles. The mysteries maintained a strong level and I was happy to see so much of the tapestry tied off in the Epilogue.

The many characters in the book are victims of the very crimes they were involved in and you cannot help but feel the fear and incitement for what was done without even realizing why. The despicable but lazy “Lord of the Manor” of the village is one of the feeblest strong-arms I’ve ever met in a book, I think. Does he deserve the outcome? Most probably, but maybe it was once again the easy way of doing things. Overall, a very honest and satisfying read, you can be sure I will be reading more of Maisie’s cases. Thanks to Jacqueline Winspear for one of my new favourite series! I recommend this book for the light mystery it is, a great antidote for between heavier tomes, enjoyable and fulfilling; I do like a book that I can learn something new from, too.

Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth

This review is based on a bound galley.
Land of Marvels is a two-sided statement. Taking place primarily at an archaeological dig, where hope reigns that there will be vast historic value to be discovered. There is also a separate, secondary love story running through the background with tales of the marvels that can be enjoyed in a wonderful city. The dig is a very real archaeological exploration; the stories are tales told to impress a loved one. Barry Unsworth has a wonderful way of bringing the past into the present, as though the reader is witnessing the events. The location is Mesopotamia, just prior to WWI and the fall of the Ottoman empire.

The archaeologist is the innocent hero of our story; he dreams of recognition and discovering marvelous historic treasure. One of his assistants is a hungry man who requires money in order to marry his love. But there is a fairly large cast of characters in this tale. Coincidences abound, or are they coincidences? Many paths cross back and forth politically driven, greed driven, and fear driven. There are spies spying on spies, and lots of curious incidents. Peopled with so many characters one might expect confusion to reign but this is not the case. The book keeps itself tied together weaving in and out of lives and land. The main constant, though, would seem to be time. A railway under construction threatens almost every agenda and task. The ending is climactic. This is fascinating historical fiction of an area not written about to the extent of others, which is interesting in itself. In reality, this is the pre-history of Iraq. I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy historical fiction, but it is more than that.

Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

I enjoyed this book for what it was, a book of fairy tales. Like "muggle" fairytales they all have a moral to them. I would have no hesitation reading these stories to my grandkids, with the exception perhaps of The Warlock's Hairy Heart, which reads more like a Grimm's fairytale and not necessarily for young children, but older children will like it. From my point of view, I enjoyed the comments taken from the "notes" of Dumbledore on the tales themselves, and how they tie in with witchcraft as in the Harry Potter books. All in all it was an enjoyable read, one I could read over a period of time, one tale after another, and I especially appreciate that it is also a worthy fundraiser. Thanks to J.K. Rowling for not dropping us totally!

The Measure of a Man: a spiritual autobiography by Sidney Poitier

This is not the first autobiography by Sidney Poitier, but it is a powerful one. It is a story of wholeness, of working to achieve the best within himself. The story begins on a small piece of isolated land, Cat Island, in the Bahamas, untouched by the outside world without even the most rudimentary of what most would call necessities, so untouched the locals don’t even know there are necessities, and they may be right. The true essential is family and that they do have.

In this autobiography, Sidney Poitier looks within, the good and the bad, what drives a man, how to maintain dignity when all around attempts are made to remove the dignity. His first view that there was another kind of life, even that there was a world, was at the tender age of ten and a half, when he moved to Nassau, capitol of the Bahamas. This was the first time he lived outside the “Natural” world. A boy used to evaluating risk, sometimes successfully, sometimes not, he had never encountered the new types of risk. The thing is, he had prepared himself for life by believing that he was who he was, that not only could he be as good as anyone else but with hard work he could be better.

This is the basis of the book. It covers many years of looking for answers, taking risks to better himself, searching for meaning, the how, the why, the when, the where. Successful as his career became, he still stretched from within to better himself. He wanted to avoid slipping into thinking things were pretty good as they were. He wanted to maintain his dignity, honour his father, be all he could be, and be the best father he could. I’m summarizing rather than delving too far into the book because the summation is constant for Poitier. I learned a great deal personally from this book and found it moved along very well, although I did notice a bit of a stall or slow spot toward the end which did pick up again, so it didn’t last very long. This is not about black and white except where necessary, this is about being human and where humanity belongs in Nature’s world. I believe it is an excellent book and recommend it for the many lessons that can be learned.