First Sign of Murder #3: The Estate of the Beckoning Lady

I think quotes from a book's key moments often give you a better idea about whether you'll like the book than any summary could. For First Sign of Murder (title subject to change), I'll be sharing --- you guessed it --- the lines from mystery novels that first alert readers to the fact that a murder has occurred.

"Presently he said: 'There's a man asleep down there.' Watching her slyly out of the corner of his eye, he saw that she was suitably startled.

'Really?' she said at last. 'How do you know?'

'Because I saw him when I looked under the bridge. I couldn't get near because Choc kept pushing me out. He is an enormous dog; soft, but enormous.'

'Yes,' she agreed absently. Her light-brown eyes were worried, and she stared down at the two men who were now both in the ditch by the bridge, peering at something.

Rupert continued to contemplate the infinity of the sky. The blue had turned into a million colors, he noticed, like hundreds and thousands." 

--- The Estate of the Beckoning Lady, Margery Allingham, 1955

Connections to previous Wreckage: Sweet Danger (Rec. #133), Black Plumes (Rec. #156)

Friday Flashback: Rec. #187: Here Lies Love

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some earlier posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim join forces to make a concept album about Imelda Marcos. Because why not.

Comparable to: A list of the contributing artists should give you a good idea — Tori Amos, Theresa Andersson, Nicole Atkins, David Byrne, Camille, Charmaine Clamor, Steve Earle, Fatboy Slim, Cyndi Lauper, Nellie McKay, Allison Moorer, Sharon Jones, Natalie Merchant, Róisín Murphy, Candie Payne, Kate Pierson, Alice Russell, St. Vincent, Santigold, Sia, Martha Wainwright, Florence Welch, Shara Worden

Representative lyric: "And if I bang my head on the wall for hours/ Then I won’t feel the confusion no more/ The New York doctor—bright yellow pills he gave me/ Remind yourself what you’re doing it for—"

You might not like it if: You choose to hold your breath until they mention shoes, which would cause you to pass out from lack of oxygen.



[Originally posted 9/29/11.]


Update: A full Here Lies Love musical is set to premiere at The Public Theater in New York in 2013.

First Sign of Murder #2: The Bernini Bust

This is a new (weekly?) feature I'm trying out.

I think quotes from a book's key moments often give you a better idea about whether you'll like the book than any summary could. For First Sign of Murder (title subject to change), I'll be sharing --- you guessed it --- the lines from mystery novels that first alert readers to the fact that a murder has occurred.

"Seconds later, he was climbing the stairs in the direction of a faint hubbub of noise. 

It came from Samuel Thanet's office, a carefully designed piece of upmarket administrative chic; whatever the museum architect's limitations on exterior appearance, he had worked overtime on getting the office space right. A slightly anonymous room to Argyll's mind, he preferring a more cosy and cluttered look, but expensively tasteful, nonetheless. White-washed walls; off-white sofa; beige-white woollen carpet; tubular modern armchairs covered in white leather; black wooden desk. The whorls and lines of two harshly illuminated modern paintings from the museum provided the only color to the whole room.

Apart from the blood, of course, of which there was an appallingly large amount. But that was obviously a very recent addition rather than part of the decorator's overall design concept."

--- The Bernini Bust, Iain Pears, 1992

Rec. #263: Soap

What: Things that are called "ground-breaking" are usually not very fun. Sad, but often true. But not here! Nope, not here. Here, it is 95% rollicking along, and 5% thinking, "Hmmm, this TV show seems like it was ahead of its time."

Soap is a late-1970s satire of daytime soap operas. The breakneck plotting means that within the first couple of seasons alone, you get alien abductions, demonic possessions, copious adultery, murders, kidnappings, prison breaks, amnesia, mob connections, insanity, Latin American revolutionaries, and a repressed ventriloquist.

Comparable to: Writer/creator Susan Harris also executive produced Benson and The Golden Girls. And there's a clear absurdist trajectory that starts at Soap and ends at Arrested Development.

Opening lines: "This is the story of two sisters, Jessica Tate and Mary Campbell. These are the Tates . . . and these are the Campbells. And this is Soap."

Representative quote:
"Our brother who fathered an illegitimate child with a Swedish maid and then disappeared into the wilds of Ecuador. Don't you find that a little peculiar?"
"Jessie, Randolph was peculiar. Any man who would go to Ecuador to sell wall-to-wall carpet is not all there."

You might not like it if: You're all, "What is Mona from Who's the Boss doing here? And a baby Billy Crystal? And . . . is that Robert Urich?" and these questions fill your brain until your head explodes.

How to get it: Be aware that it can be pretty difficult to do a general word search for this show. Be as specific as possible.

Plus: Take a peek at the infamous "Soap Memo."

Friday Flashback: Rec. #181: Told by an Idiot

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some earlier posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: In the satirical novel Told by an Idiot, author Rose Macaulay follows one family around the corner of the turn of the last century, from the last decades of the Victorian period to the end of World War I. Much like its primary heroine, Rome Garden, the book is jaded, amused, critical, perceptive, witty, and urbane.

Comparable to: It's like Virginia Woolf's Orlando in its cynical sweep, or like an Elizabeth von Arnim novel in its pointed and wry character descriptions.

Representative quote: "Stanley was like that --- enthusiastic, headlong, a deep plunger, a whole-hogger."

Bonus representative quote: "No teasing worried Una; she was as placid as a young cow."

[Note: Quotes were chosen at random. Roughly 80% of the novel is very, very quotable.]

You might not like it if: You're completely thrown off by the fact that the extreme specificity of the period detail is threaded with an absolute certainty that human nature is basically what it always has been (religious crises, fashionable radicalism, sex novels, and all).

How to get it: It's out of print, so check your library and used book sellers.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Macaulay presents a less sweeping, more personal societal satire in Crewe Train (Rec. #84).



[Originally posted 9/18/11.]

Rec. #262: Fosse

What: Lots of subcultures rely heavily on black clothing and might inspire you to do the same --- goths, emos, New Yorkers, . . . and Bob Fosse devotees. After this two-hour revue of the late choreographer's cooler-than-thou work, you'll be itching to swathe yourself in black from head to toe, complete with bowler.

Think you don't know Fosse? Sweet Charity, Pippin, Chicago, All That Jazz, Cabaret. That's Fosse.

Opening lyrics: "Life is just a bowl of cherries."

Some highlights: "Big Spender," "Steam Heat," "I Gotcha," "Rich Man's Frug," "Mein Herr"

How to get it: Fosse won the Tony for Best Musical in 1999. PBS aired a performance of the show as part of its Great Performances series in 2002, and that production is now available on DVD. Rent it or borrow it.

First Sign of Murder #1: Death of a Peer

This is a new (weekly?) feature I'm trying out. 

I think quotes from a book's key moments often give you a better idea about whether you'll like the book than any summary could. For First Sign of Murder (title subject to change), I'll be sharing --- you guessed it --- the lines from mystery novels that first alert readers to the fact that a murder has occurred.

"She lit her cigarette and leant over the window sill. She became aware of a new sound. It came up through her conscious thoughts, gaining definition and edge. It was a thin blade of sound, sharp and insistent. It grew louder. It was inside the building, an intermittent, horridly shrill noise that came closer. A hand closed round Roberta's heart. Someone was screaming."

--- Death of a Peer, Ngaio Marsh, 1940

Connections to previous Wreckage: Death and the Dancing Footman (Rec. #37), Night at the Vulcan (Rec. #102), Colour Scheme (Rec. #190)

Rec. #261: If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

What: Italo Calvino's novel If on a Winter's Night a Traveler is about someone ("you") trying to read a book called If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, by Italo Calvino. (With me so far?) The reading is interrupted by, among other things, missing pages, a foundering publishing house, literary guerrillas, and an international conspiracy.

Comparable to: It won't surprise you to learn that David Mitchell, the author of Cloud Atlas, was an instant fan the first time he read it. See also other twisty-structure-meta works of classic literature, such as One Thousand and One Nights, Pale Fire, and Tristram Shandy.

Opening lines: "You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, 'No, I don't want to watch TV!' Raise your voice --- they won't hear you otherwise --- 'I'm reading! I don't want to be disturbed!'"

Representative quote: "Because in this way all I did was to accumulate past after past behind me, multiplying the pasts, and if one life was too dense and rarefied and embroiled for me to bear it always with me, imagine so many lives, each with its own past and the pasts of the other lives that continue to become entangled one with the others."

You might not like it if: It seems too much like compulsory reading for an undergraduate course in postmodern fiction. (Which, let's face it, is exactly what it is.)

How to get it: Buy or borrow it in print. Not Kindle-able (yet) --- although that would have the potential for an interesting experience.

Connections to previous Wreckage: David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas was Rec. #140. To see how this sort of thing can sometimes be made into a movie, watch Tristram Shandy (Rec. #112).

Friday Flashback: Rec. #173: The Unusuals, season 1 and only

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some earlier posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: ABC must be kicking itself that it canceled The Unusuals right before Jeremy Renner hit it big. The series also features an all-grown-up Amber Tamblyn, a post-Lost Harold Perrineau, and a very Adam Goldberg-like Adam Goldberg. Set in New York City's Second precinct, the darkly witty series follows some oddball cops and their oddball cases.

Comparable to: You should know I like oddballs. I also like the word "oddball." I think I use it a lot. You could probably find similar movies/television shows by searching for the word "oddball" on this here blog.

Representative quote: "Here's what you need to know about the Second: Alvarez talks about himself in the third person, Banks sleeps in a bulletproof vest, and yesterday Delahoy named his mustache."

You might not like it if: The show was canceled without tying up loose ends, and that might be kind of annoying for you.

How to get it: The ten episodes are available to watch instantly on Amazon and Netflix. [Not currently available for Netflix instant viewing, but free streaming if you have Amazon Prime.]

[Originally posted 8/21/11.]

Rec. #260: The Uncommon Reader

What: Alan Bennett devises a clever premise --- the Queen of England discovers the joys of reading via a library bookmobile parked at the palace kitchens --- and he executes the premise delightfully.

Comparable to: Bennett's first novella, The Clothes They Stood Up In, is a similarly stripped-down modern fable.

Opening lines: "At Windsor it was the evening of the state banquet and as the president of France took his place beside Her Majesty, the royal family formed up behind and the procession slowly moved off and through into Waterloo Chamber."

Representative quote: "Once I start a book I finish it. That was the way one was brought up. Books, bread and butter, mashed potato --- one finishes what's on one's plate."

You might not like it if: Given how quick a read this novella is, you'll be done with it before you could decide you didn't like it (which is unlikely, anyway).

How to get it: Buyable, borrowable, Kindle-able

Connections to previous Wreckage: Find more Alan Bennett in The History Boys (Rec. #115) and The Clothes They Stood Up In (Rec. #169).

Rec. #259: Tropical Brainstorm

What: Over her twenty-year career, singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl worked with The Pogues, Billy Bragg, Robert Plant, and The Smiths. She did nouveau-'60s-girl-group-pop ("They Don't Know"), snarky holiday non-cheer ("Fairytale of New York"), and bitter British wistfulness ("A New England").

In Tropical Brainstorm, which landed on several "Best of 2001" lists, MacColl rides some powerful Cuban and Brazilian influences as she sings about escape, strategic footwear, stalking a one-time fan, internet bonking, and football as metaphor.

Representative lyrics: "He'll learn to hunt and I'll teach him to fish/ We'll boil up our rice in a satellite dish/ We'll plant cassava wherever we can/ Us Amazonians always get our man" (from "Us Amazonians")

Bonus representative lyrics: "If you hadn't passed out while I was talking to your friend/ It could have really ended badly 'cause you very nearly had me/ If he hadn't taken pity on my heart full of desire/ I might never have found out you're a serial liar" (from "England 2, Colombia 0")

How to get it: I'm going to suggest you buy the whole album, of course, but if you'd just like a taste first, most of these songs are 99-cent downloads on iTunes. 

Connection to previous Wreckage: The song "In These Shoes?" tends to pop up all over. As just one example, it's used in the opening credits of The Catherine Tate Show (Rec. #81).

Friday Flashback: Rec. #167 (abbrev.): Uncertain Voyage

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some earlier posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand. 

What: Dorothy Gilman, suspense novel, solo voyage to Europe, post-nervous breakdown, reluctant enlisted adventurer, Copenhagen, mysterious traveler, mysterious request, Paris, secret mission, secret code, enemy agents, self-discovery, Anglo-Majorcan Export Company

Representative quote: "She'd made a fool of herself --- she knew it even if he didn't --- and it was better to put it out of her thoughts lest she conclude again that reality was a world she dared not inhabit."



[Originally posted 8/2/11.]

List #20: (Some of) The Best of Edward Everett Horton

Edward Everett Horton spent most of the 1930s and '40s playing second fiddle in some of the best screwball comedies ever made.

He appeared in eleven films in 1934 alone, but here is a small sampling of his work:

1. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944): Horton is the head of an insane asylum, which is quite full up with Teddy Roosevelts at the moment, thank you very much.

2. The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), and Shall We Dance (1937): Horton is a non-dancing element of these classic Fred & Ginger romps.

3. Design for Living (1933): Horton is thwarted in love by both Gary Cooper and Frederic March.

4. Holiday (both 1930 and the --- superior --- remake in 1938): In both versions, Horton plays Professor Nick Potter, longstanding friend of the leading man. In the second version, Cary Grant is that leading man.

5. Trouble in Paradise (1932): Like Design for Living, above, this was a Pre-Code film. Translation: sex is a realistic option for these characters.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Additional screwball from the '30s and '40s: The Palm Beach Story (Rec. #17), Midnight (Rec. #194), The Awful Truth (Rec. #219), and Libeled Lady (Rec. #229).

Fun Fact: It might also interest you to know the Horton was the narrator of the Fractured Fairy Tales segment on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

Rec. #258: The Griffin & Sabine Trilogy

What: Nick Bantock's artsy trilogy is comprised of Griffin and Sabine, Sabine's Notebook, and The Golden Mean. They are epistolary novels, which is fun in and of itself. The best bit, though, is that the books have pockets and envelopes and handwriting and stamps and secrets and beautiful drawings. The tactile appeal of paper has never been so alluring.

Opening lines: "Griffin Moss --- It's good to get in touch with you at last. Could I have one of your fish postcards? I think you were right --- the wine glass has more impact than the cup."

Representative quote: "Sabine: It's all very well for you to take this telepathic link between us matter-of-factly. You've had years to adjust to it. And no doubt your society teaches patience and acceptance. Mine teaches obsessive logical enquiry."

You might not like it if: One customer on Amazon didn't like the first book because it was "too weird" and seemed to be about possession.

How to get it: The whole point is to have the letters and postcards in your hands (so no Kindle), and borrowing these particular books from the library seems like a potentially risky proposition. Luckily, each book is currently in print.

Friday Flashback: Rec. #168: Veronica Mars, seasons 1 and 2

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some earlier posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: If you somehow missed the widely-beloved Veronica Mars when it was on the air, and you still haven't caught up, now's the time. Seriously.

Comparable to: A cleverly-written show starring a tough-ass blonde girl who tosses off sarcastic comments while fighting baddies? Within the framework of a larger story mythology that's bracketed on all sides by snappy dialogue? Plus dramatic betrayals and twists, an eclectic assortment of sidekicks, and a surprisingly deep emotional core? Cue the Buffy comparisons.

Representative quote:
"I hear you do detective stuff for people."
"I do favors for friends."
"I can pay."
"Sit down, friend."

You might not like it if: You are annoyed by the stylistic flourishes and mistake them for shallowness.

How to get it: As much as I absolutely adore the first two seasons of Veronica Mars --- which is really quite a lot --- that is how much I loathe the tone-deaf, misogynistic third season. I know this is a pointless plea, but I beg you to pretend the show stopped after two seasons.

Connection to previous Wreckage: If the show's nods to the tropes of classic noir whet your appetite, go full-fledged high school noir with Brick (Rec. #62). If the show left you longing for more high school drama against the backdrop of socioeconomic disparity in California, with bonus teen thugs, you need to watch Some Kind of Wonderful (Rec. #101).

[Originally posted 8/6/11.]

Rec. #257: The False Inspector Dew

What: Peter Lovesey's humorous crime novel The False Inspector Dew earned him a Gold Dagger award and a spot on all sorts of best-of lists. ("Dagger of Daggers shortlist"? Did you even know that was a thing? I did not.)

Our titular antihero is, of all things, a dentist. A dentist plotting his wife's murder. A dentist plotting his wife's murder who assumes the identity of a famous detective during a transatlantic voyage. (As you do.)

Things do not go as planned.

Opening lines: "Sixty years have passed and no one has explained the mystery of the false Inspector Dew. It was confidently thought that the only scrap of evidence had been destroyed, shredded on the orders of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. But Scotland Yard was unaware of the existence of another file."

Representative quote: "At some stage of the night there crept into her mind a possible solution. It was extravagant and dangerous, a last resort. Surely in the morning it would seem outrageous. But while she gave it thought, and plotted stage by stage, it seemed to gain in plausibility."

You might not like it if: You don't like boats.

How to get it: It's in print and Kindle-able.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Peter Lovesey also wrote The Reaper (Rec. #21) and The Headhunters (Rec. #222). Also, one of the other titles on the Dagger of Daggers shortlist was Val McDermid's The Mermaids Singing (Rec. #210).

Friday (Oops, Monday) Flashback: Rec. #170: Run Lola Run

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some earlier posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Film, crime thriller, German, lost bag of money, running, 20 minutes 3 ways, punk, ambulance, dog, running, guns, subway train, bank manager, stolen moped, running, supermarket robbery, Berlin, free will vs. determinism, running

Representative quote:
"What if I were in a coma, and the doc says, 'One more day?'"
"I'd throw you into the ocean . . . Shock therapy."

Bonus representative quote: "What happened to you? Did you run here?"

Connection to previous Wreckage: Same writer/director and star as The Princess and the Warrior (Rec. #71)


[Originally posted 8/16/11.]

Rec. #256: Local Girls

What: Alice Hoffman's collection of linked stories weaves its way through the lives of various members of the Samuelson family over several decades. The atmosphere of the Long Island neighborhood is so rich you can grab fistfuls on every page.

Comparable to: You know who else does an excellent job of writing linked stories about a specific circle of characters? Ellen Gilchrist.

Opening lines: "One thing I've learned is that strange things do happen. They happen all the time. Today, for instance, my best friend Jill's cat spoke."

Representative quote: "There was an old movie on, Now, Voyager, and Gretel and her mother were crying so hard they could hardly chew. Gretel's brother, Jason, who continued to be less verbal and more handsome --- as if the two traits were genetically linked --- rolled his eyes as he finished up the spareribs."

You might not like it if: You believe that adolescent girls aren't real people.

How to get it: Kindle-able, library-able, bookstore-able.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Check out more linked stories with Ellen Gilchrist's Nora Jane: A Life in Stories (Rec. #25).

Rec. #255: Collision

What: This miniseries about the investigation into a multi-vehicle traffic accident features many, oh many, of your favorite British TV actors. The series also features embezzlement, murder, smuggling, and government cover-ups. It's a true ensemble piece, with strangers' lives getting all intertwined, so get ready to pick your favorites.

Comparable to: Collision aired in the U.S. on PBS's Masterpiece Contemporary. So it's Masterpiece-y.

Opening lines: "Morning. I'll see you later, darlin'."

You might not like it if: You learn that the version that aired in the U.S. is shorter than the original British version, and that makes you bitter. Very bitter.

How to get it: You can stream it on Netflix or on Amazon.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Another suspenseful British miniseries that's available to watch online is Ultraviolet (Rec. #212). A suspenseful British miniseries that's not currently available to stream online is State of Play (Rec. #104).

Friday Flashback: Rec. #157: Eucalyptus

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some earlier posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Murray Bail's novel Eucalyptus functions as a sort of Australian One Thousand and One Nights, with a frame story and dozens of smaller stories within it.

Comparable to: Shares some territory with Peter Carey's books. Has some Gabriel Garcia Marquez-esque magic realism vibes.

Representative quote: "For the last seventeen years they had only spoken to each other through their dog."

You might not like it if: You find the fable-like qualities more odd than magical.

How to get it: The best availability is probably online and at libraries.



[Originally posted 7/7/11.]