Tidying up loose ends

The audio version of This Charming Man by Marian Keyes was a wonderfully entertaining way to spend a long commute. The story of the four women (Grace, Lola, Marnie and Alicia) was so engrossing that I really hated for the book to end. The four women (and others, as it turns out) were all entangled in romances with the charming but despicable Paddy de Coursy. They were all damaged as a result of their associations with him, but there are, for the most part, satisfying outcomes in all cases. The only strange thing is that the character of Lola, when relating her story, speaks in a very strange manner -- almost in a pidgin English style. I don't know if that was to differentiate her from the other "voices", or to make her seem even more of a kooky free-spirit, but it was somewhat grating at times. As is sometimes the case in novels by Marian Keyes, some situations are dragged on a bit to long, but overall, the book was very good. I always hated to arrive at work or at home and stop the story -- always a good sign in an audio book!

I never was able to warm to the new Ruth Rendell novel Not in the Flesh. I was happy to meet up with old friends Inspector Wexford and Burden, but the events in the novel seemed choppy and forced. Wexford's family was only on the periphery of the story, although we did learn that Sheila has a new daughter named (I kid you not) Anoushka (those wacky celebrity names, you know!). Other than that, she, Sheila and Dora sort of skimmed along in the background. This book dealt with two corpses which were discovered in a rural area, and the attempts to identify them and discover how they came to be disposed of where they were. As she has done in other books, Rendell also deals with a timely and controversial issue, in this case the attempts of Wexford to stop female genital mutilation among Somali immigrants. There are the usual odd cast of suspects, including a writer who lives with both his current and former wife (they refer to him as "our husband"). It was just hard to get interested in the story. There was no "gotcha" ending, which was such a thrilling aspect of her earlier novels. I hope for her next book she will be back to her old form!

Final Verdict on This Charming Man: Four Gherkins, for being an engrossing, if sometimes difficult to hear, story about how four women overcame violent relationships

Final Verdict on Not in the Flesh: Two Gherkins, for being a rather slow mystery novel that never really got going

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In the middle of things, but libraries rule!

Against my better judgment, I started listening to the audio book of This Charming Man, by Marian Keyes. Her books are always very entertaining, and usually hilarious. However, the main theme of this book (as far as I had been able to determine) is domestic violence. Hardly a subject that lends itself easily to amusing anecdotes. The story is indeed difficult to listen to at times, but the characters and situations are all so engaging, that you get drawn into the story anyway. The novel concerns four women: Marnie, Grace, Lola and Alicia. All of them have at one point or another been involved with the Irish politician Paddy de Coursy, and all have suffered greatly for their associations with him. There is alcoholism, physical abuse, loss of self-respect, and other cringe-inducing situations, but the story moves along nicely and keeps the reader involved. I have a feeling that there will be an uplifting ending, where all the "bad guys" get their comeuppance, so I am hoping I won't be disappointed! I have to wonder what is going on with the author, though. Her last novel, Anybody Out There?, dealt with the emotional devastation of a woman after the death of her husband. After building a strong and loyal fan base with her serious-but-funny novels about the wacky Walsh clan, I am wondering why the move into such dark topics? I hope her next novel will be a bit lighter. I don't think she's written yet about Walsh sister Helen, who was a private investigator last time we encountered her. That would make for an interesting story, I'm sure!

On the book front, I am still struggling mightily with Ruth Rendell's Not in the Flesh. She has always been my favorite mystery author (and with the number of British mysteries I get through, that's saying something!), but this book is just not one of her better efforts, in my opinion. At least not yet -- I'm only part way through, so there's still hope that things will turn around. This novel concerns the discovery of two bodies that were buried nearly a decade ago. Inspector Wexford and his loyal sidekick Burden interview the usual cast off misfits and oddballs in an attempt to unravel both the identities of the corpses and what led to them being buried. Somehow, the novel doesn't really seem to "flow" easily. The sentences are choppy and annoying, and the action is slow and doesn't always seem to have anything to do with the story. I really hope Rendell's not losing her touch as an author (although after that many books, I suppose I can allow her one dud!).

I was pleasantly surprised to read recently that Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones gave a shout out to libraries. Glad to see some celebrity support!

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