Books and telly

[vilakins]

I've now had two of the three books on my library waiting list (outstanding is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and I'm working my way up that queue).

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer at first made me laugh quite a lot, then made me cry, and it's been a while since a book did that. It's a lot darker than I'd expected in a couple of places (and even darker than the Enemy at the Door series about the Guernsey occupation. I was also amazed that an American author wrote a book so flawlessly English; it's beautifully done, and it's a pity she didn't live to see how popular it is. I do highly rec this one: the characters are vivid, eccentric, and loveable, and all write in different style. It also actually made me want to read some of the authors mentioned.

I just finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. Flavia de Luce is a fun narrator, but though I can believe she'd have an extensive chemical knowledge given her private lab, her obsession with the subject, and no apparent need to go to school, I can't believe an 11-year-old would have that sort of vocabulary and writing style. Also, unlike Shaffer, Bradley didn't bother to get his text Brit-picked, so he has a lot of North American intrusions into his 50s England, like poison ivy, tobogganing, and pigtails (I'm sure Bradley meant plaits) and several stray gottens. Also, Flavia would not refer to an object as cunning, nor would Dogger, a British ex-soldier, ever use "copacetic", an odd American word I had to look up a few months ago. It's a pity, because those slips threw me out of the narrative--and I'm not even British. Apart from that though, it's a fun story, well told. I decided that Flavia grew up and emigrated to Canada, and wrote using her adult vocabulary. :-P

In other news, since reccer sallymn probably didn't read my last post, I've finally seen an ep of Inspector Montalbano. I like him! I'll have to see if I can buy the season 2 DVDs. I also saw New Tricks. I do love those old guys.

Comments

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

I'm catching up all over the place...

So glad you liked Montalbano - he really is wonderful (they all are, actually :) as are the books.

And New Tricks as well? Great stuff!!!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I have yet to get to know the others, but I liked Fazio. There are books? I'd be surprised if our library has them.

We've seen New Tricks since it started. :-)

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

The series was based on the books by Andrea Camilleri. I've only read a couple (Sis has the whole series) but they're good.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

[looks it up] Oh wow, the library has 10 of them, and numbered in sequence (a recent and very appreciated feature)! I wonder about reading them when I've just seen the TV version, but I could get the season 2 ones.

[norda.livejournal.com]

I have the Shaffer book on my library pull list, too. Thanks for the forewarning.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Really, it's ultimately a book that will leave you smiling and wishing you could read more about the eccentric and loveable characters. I suppose I wasn't prepared for the punch when it came, and the things that got to me I'm particularly sensitive to. Please don't let me put your off. :-)

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

I must get the Guernsey one, but I'm not sure about the second

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I think you'll really enjoy the Guernsy one. The characters are all so vivid and write in different styles; very clever.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

I thought you'd like Guernsey, though not that you'd have that strong a reaction to it! Despite the dark elements, it had a very warm and ultimately uplifting feel to it, I thought.

I could sort of suspend my disbelief a bit for the kid's precociousness in Sweetness -- most child narrators are much more skilled writers and a lot more knowledgeable than they really ought to be -- but even without having the same Brit-picking issues, I found it a bit disappointing compared to the hype.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It was indeed ultimately uplifting and joyful and I should point that out, but the central tragedy and the animal cruelty bits got to me. I suppose I'm not as resilient these days, and those two things are particularly painful for me.

I also found a lot of dangling participles which I expect to see in my SIL's emails (she's prone to them), not a pro novel. Still, it entertained me, though I did read with a sense of caution because of the shaky writing.

[thetisonline.livejournal.com]

I adore Montalbano! Watched him on SBS here. Salvo *in Italian accent*!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Sally recced them to me! I discovered the library has all the books too, but I'll watch them first. We own S1 and S3 and are going to rent S2 pretty soon. :-) I should get back to our Inspector Rex DVDs too; it's good practice for my German.