I cursed myself to finish every novel I begin. Sometimes, that is easy and thrilling, but over times, it becomes a chore. Operation Napoleon belongs to the latter group. But I finished the novel, and now I’m ready for my review. Here we go. When the Americans find a Nazi plane on a glacier in… Continue reading Operation Napoleon by Arnaldur Indridason
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Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
I read Hallowe’en Party because of the Kenneth Branagh’s movie, A Haunting in Venice, which my research had identified as this novel the source. I have my doubts because the novel is set outside of London, rather than in Venice, it involves the killing of a thirteen-year-old girl, whereas the movie seems to people by… Continue reading Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
In May 2020, I began a project to review classic spy novels. I selected eleven books to review, and I went to Powell’s City of Books in Portland to buy them. I was so proud of myself! I expected the project would take a year or eighteen months or even two years to complete, but… Continue reading The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
The Girl of the Sea of Cortez by Peter Benchley
I read The Girl of the Sea of Cortez as a comprise. I have always been fascinated with Peter Benchley’s novel The Deep; at least, I think I will like reading it. I haven’t read it, but I saw the Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset movie, about a couple vacation in Bermuda. Being scuba divers,… Continue reading The Girl of the Sea of Cortez by Peter Benchley
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Around 1986 or 1987, I went to a bookstore to find my next read. Now you know that I can’t go to scout out reading projects and leave without an hour, or at least not in those days when I took my time looking, analyzing, and deciding. I was bad at deciding and often left… Continue reading Atonement by Ian McEwan
Blind Owl by Sadeq Hedayat
During a recent trip to Spokane, I went to Auntie’s Bookstore to buy a novel to read on the train. I searched for a half-hour, or maybe a whole hour, but I ended up buying the first novel that caught my eye when I was in the store only for a minute. It was Blind… Continue reading Blind Owl by Sadeq Hedayat
A Message to My Readers
I am losing words, although I am not losing concepts. I hope that I am not losing concepts. If I am losing concepts, I am not aware of it. If I am losing concepts, how would I know? The Man Who Forgot Ray BradburyNeil Gaiman As my faithful reader knows, on November 29, 2021, my… Continue reading A Message to My Readers
The Man Who was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton
There are novels to understand, but there are novels to experience. After reading G. K. Chesterton’s The Man Who was Thursday twice—the second time to remind me of the plot—I concluded that it is securely in the second category. The first time I read it was before my stroke. I not saying that there is… Continue reading The Man Who was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton
In the Café of Lost Youth by Patrick Modiano
I visited the Lost Young cafe in Paris in 1976. A bunch of us wanted to see a real Parisian nightclub, and our guide agreed to take us. I fear something was lost in translation, because the dank club where he took us was a far cry from our imagination. No one was that adventurous.… Continue reading In the Café of Lost Youth by Patrick Modiano
The Shining by Stephen King
The Shining by Stephen King is one of the author’s best works, if not his best. It tells the story of Jack Torrrance and his winter acting as the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. He is joined by his wife, Wendy, and five-year-old son, Danny. Jack wants the job because he is working on a… Continue reading The Shining by Stephen King