[lit-ideas] Re: Archery
- From: David Ritchie <profdritchie@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2015 10:42:31 -0700
On Jun 5, 2015, at 3:51 AM, epostboxx@xxxxxxxx wrote:
On 04 Jun 2015, at 22:52, David Ritchie <profdritchie@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Is anyone reading anything he or she might recommend, or did the Lit part of
the list go walkabout?
1) Well, I'm in the middle of - wondering about other list members' reactions
to - Sebastian Faulks' JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS.
I'm still trying to sort out my own feelings about it. I appreciate greatly
Faulks' humility as expressed in his prefatory 'Author's Note'; on the other
hand fear that perhaps the man 'doth protest too much.'
I will say at this point that I am enjoying it.
I enjoyed about half, wondered up to that point at Faulks' mimicry. Then, or
thereabouts, it occurred to me that though it sounds like Wodehouse and moves
forward a little like Wodehouse, the book doesn't give the same satisfaction.
What the book taught me, once again, was how good Plum was.
5) When in search of entertaining literary diversion I continuously work my
way through (most of) the 30+ novels of Ngaio Marsh, Ian Rankin's 'Rebus'
series, and several of P.D. James' books (in which, curiously enough,
Murdoch's works - to say nothing of related themes - make cameo appearances).
Wodehouse goes without saying - well, almost ;-)
Though it's not a satisfactory read--I can't seem to finish it--I recommend
picking up and dipping into Ken Bruen, "The Guards." You'll see why. "In
Ireland they say, 'If you want help, go to the guards--if you don't want help,
go to the guards.' I went."
My other recommendation may surprise the list. Many people I meet dismiss Lee
Child as a writer of popular twaddle. That he is. But I find it interesting
twaddle. The hero is invulnerable. He has no drinking problem, no ex-wife,
none of the things we've come to expect of a fixer. He just wades in and sorts
the bad guys out, an infantry battalion without the usual logistical
difficulties. The other thing I find is that like a retired pro-athlete, now
and then Child will throw in an arresting piece of information or a memorable
sentence, just to remind you he's got the stuff...but doesn't want to show off.
Since I can never hear movies they show on a plane, I like to take one of
Child's books on a long journey; it's a guarantee of time-passing page-turning.
David Ritchie,
Portland, Oregon
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