Man's Fate : Andre Malraux (4.0/5.0)

As I planned my trip to China, I tried picking up some books set in China , googled "Top books set in China". I settled on 2 books , Shanghai Baby and Man's Fate. I read a bit of the former but didn't complete and moved on to Man's Fate. Turned out to be a great choice. 

As I learned later Andre Malraux is one of the greats of 20th century French literature.

In the 1930's the civil war in China between the nationalists, led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, and Mao's communists was temporarily put on hold as they battled the Japanese invasion. The communists were supported by Soviet Union while the nationalist had the support of the west. At this point of history Chiang Kai-shek was the dominant of the two parties and was trying to contain his 'allies' while ostensibly fighting the Japanese.   

The book is set in the Shanghai of 1930's divided between the Europeans concessions and the Chinese city. The protagonists are a set of communist organizers who are setting up an insurrection in Shanghai, fighting the nationalists in the open as their superiors in Hankow are insisting that they are not to act against Chiang's forces. 

In not a great number of pages the book manages to explain the development of the communist movement in China and its uneasy relationship with the nationalists. And for that itself this would have been a great read but as is the wont of great authors it is also a complex human story which manages to explore the personal stories and insecurities of its protagonist's. Chen - the terrorist, Kyo - half Japanese progressive with an open marriage, Baron de Clappique  and several others have been brought to life with a few episodes and pages. 

With a great French author we are obviously assured of a dose of high philosophy and the book doesn't disappoint on that count as well.

The Honjin Murders : Seishi Yokomizo (3.5/5.0)

 

It's wedding time in a feudal village in Japan. The elder son of the prominent family is getting married, fighting against the instincts and prejudices of his family. There are sightings of a mysterious 3 fingered tramp in the village and then - Murder ! Not just any murder but a locked room murder.

Ring in the private investigator Kosuke Kindaichi - a Japanese Sherlock Holmes. The Honjin Murders is a Japanese classic, first written in 1948 and recently translated into English. This is the first in the series of books with Kindaichi as the protagonist. 

I think after a first 10 odd books the mystery and the solution to the mystery becomes secondary in the enjoyment of the book , its more about the narration and quirks of the investigator and if that can hold the reader. This is where Agatha Christie scores specially with Poirot. On that count this first book is pretty OK as there is the novelty about 1940's Japan. The boyish Kindaichi makes a rather late entrance into the story. He is less flamboyant than a Sherlock Holmes and not old enough to accumulate the conceit or charm of Poirot.

All in all a decent vacation read , but not enough to tempt me to immediately go for more in the series.

 

Hillbilly Elegy : J D Vance (3.0/5.0)

 

This book has been on my to-read list for a few years now, but the selection of the author as the running mate for Donald Trump rapidly moved it up the list.

JD is born to a teenage mother in Ohio in a community of immigrants from rural Kentucky. His father gives him up pretty early in life and his mother goes thru substance abuse and a string of boyfriends / husbands. Apparently this is not an unusual upbringing in the poverty struck towns of Appalachia or for that matter any rust belt ex-manufacturing towns in heartland America. As the Clinton democrats increasingly aligned themselves with the white collar coastal liberals and large organizations who were moving manufacturing jobs out of the US , it is no surprise to the author why these former democratic strongholds are attracted  to the MAGA rhetoric of Donald Trump.

The author credits his ability to overcome his background to the stable home environment that his gun-toting hillbilly grandmother provided. This is a conservative pitch for the traditional family structures and example of how liberal social mores and poverty combine to make a dangerous social concoction.

Even though he somehow completes high school the poor rural boy was too intimidated to even consider university admission. It was his 4 year stint in the marines that gave him the structure discipline and confidence to face life. Something like this could be one of the upsides of the Agniveer scheme in India. 

Though there are parallels between the migration of poor from the dust bowls of Oklahoma and the migration from rural Kentucky this book is no Grapes of Wrath. Similarily while the author's personal story is inspiring as a writer he is no John Steinbeck.  

Cahokia Jazz : Francis Spufford (4.0/5.0)

 

I try as much as possible to buy books from the local book shop (Bahrisons in Gurgaon - it has a great collection) rather than Amazon. Like everyone else the main motivation is browsing through the books trying to discover new books / authors. Once in a while the reading gods smile upon me - this is one of those instances. As I browsed their extensive collection I picked this book up on just the blurb not ever having heard of the book or the Author.

The book is a whodunit set in an alternative history where not all native American tribes were vanquished by the Europeans. Cahokia Indians joined the union of American states on negotiated terms and retain significant powers and self respect within their state. It is 1922 , prohibition rages in the United States and there is a great amount of tension between the Tamaha (natives)  and the Takata (white) populations in Cahokia . In this fraught setting there is a murder of takata - not just a murder but what looks like an aztec style sacrifice pointing to Tamaha involvement.

The responsibility to solve this crime rests with a pair of detectives who are friends from the world war. A flashy smooth talking Takata and his reticent Tamaha born orphan partner. Dramatis personae includes the traditional Tamaha ruler or the "Sun" and his nephew - the "Moon".

The story is very well written , with great language and strong plot. It reminds me of Yiddish Policeman's Union , another alternate historical by one of my favourite authors. The writing is good enough for me to try and seek out other works by Spufford.

The Bee Sting : Paul Murray (3.5/5.0)

 

I have had a good experience with Booker winners and even Booker Shortlists. So I try to pick up as many as possible. It also helps me discover new authors, that is authors who are new to me. This is the second book that I have picked up from the 2023 longlist after 'The House of Doors'.

The book revolves around the Barnes family , which is your average dysfunctional family from Irish books. The Barnes were once the first family in a small down near Dublin. However things are not the same any more. Dickie's Volkswagen showroom isn't doing all that well. His wife Imelda, who was a renowned beauty, bought stuff because she could  - now she is busy selling most of that stuff on e-bay. Their daughter Cass who was always destined to go to Trinity college is binge drinking across the county while their son is working on plans to run away from home. There are other interesting characters such as the Barnes patriarch Maurice, his dead son Frank and Cass's beautiful friend Elaine.

The story goes forward and in flashback where a lot of clues to the present lie. With over 500 pages to spare the characters are well fleshed out across over years. The story meanders and develops in a lazy fashion before tightening up right at the end where several threads converge.

One of the hallmark of indulgent writers is that the protagonist is hardly ever the person whom you think it will be for the first 100 pages.  

  

Sweet Tooth : Ian McEwan (3.5/5.0)

Sweet Tooth is a well written book by Ian McEwan which is about several things all at once.

While not exactly a bildungsroman it is about a young protagonist growing up into adulthood. The protagonist in this case is a slightly precocious bishop's daughter from a quaint cathedral town in England. She enters the world of espionage through her much older lover and in that process gets acquainted with the writer who is her next. While not exactly living in poverty she reminds me of Dulcie - 'the girl who lived on 6 dollars a week' in O Henry's  " An Unfinished Story"

The book is also about how secret services in the west waged the soft cold war with USSR. This was done largely by encouraging and promoting the right kind of writers, painters and other artists. Something tells me this hasn't stopped yet.

I am sure there are some deeper literary allusions that I have missed completely.

Its an enjoyable read  by Ian MacEwan - just like other books by him that I have read such as Amsterdam and Atonement. 

The Honorary Consul : Graham Greene (4.0/5.0)

A caveat before the review - Graham Greene is possibly my favorite writer of the English language. No book of his might be among my top 3 favourite books, but as an author there are very few that I like as much as Greene. There is something simple but beautifully understated in his writings. Some thing authentic, complex and grey about his characters. John Le Carre', another of my favourites, with his morally ambiguous protagonists and causes is also supposed to have been influenced by Greene.

The Honorary consul is a typical Greene novel dealing with expat British protagonists in foreign lands, and one of his eight books set in South America. The setting here is a provincial town in Argentina. Charley Fortrum, is the honorary British consul with dubious authority and a notorious fondness for drink. Dr. Eduardo Parr is a British doctor and second part of the three who make up the British contingent in this town. 

In a case of mistaken identity the eponymous Honorary Consul gets kidnapped by rebels from across the border. The books is largely about Charley's friend Dr. Parr's efforts to have him released. Incidentally Dr. Parr is not only sleeping with Charley's wife but also has inadvertently played a part in the Consul being kidnapped. The result is a complex tale which is somehow not chaotic but beautifully languorous as expected in  Greene novel. Thoroughly enjoyable.