'The House of Silk: The New Sherlock Holmes Novel' - Anthony Horowitz 2011.

The House of Silk is a novel with three parts; a fast-paced beginning, which gives way to a section of inaction, followed by an ending which feels almost 'tacked on'.  

I have not read anything by Anthony Horowitz before, but he has accurately replicated Doyle's writing style and Watson's voice remains consistent throughout. This initially drew me in and held my attention, but as the novel progressed the weakness of the plot could not be sustained on that alone.

There are really two mysteries in this novel, and the attempt to write two novellas in one is where the main weaknesses lie. The first mystery is that of the Flat Capped Gang, brought to the attention of Holmes by  Edmund Carstairs, a partner in an art gallery who believes he is being stalked. The art dealer had recently become caught up in gang activity in Boston, after some paintings he had sold were destroyed in a train robbery carried out by the twin brothers who lead the 'Flat Capped Gang'. Carstairs believes he is being stalked by the surviving leader because of his role in the other brother's killing by police during a raid.

The second mystery gives the book its title 'The House of Silk'. This mystery is introduced when someone  involved in the 'Flat Capped Gang' investigation is murdered and found with a single piece of silk tied around their wrist. Investigations into the House of Silk are thwarted at every turn. Holmes takes a great many risks throughout the investigation, and uncharacteristically makes a number of grave miscalculations.

There was something missing from this novel that I can't quite put my finger on. Perhaps it was just different in 'theme' to the other Holmes stories I have read, which made this particular story feel it was not as wonderful as it could have been. In the end I'm not sure that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have approved of the plot. That might sound a little mysterious, but I don't want to give away too much. If you have not read any of the Sherlock Holmes novels I would recommend you start elsewhere, but fans of Holmes will find something here to enjoy.

Love it, Read it,
LR

'Revolutionary Road' - Richard Yates 1961.

Richard Yates must have had some truly destructive relationships in his life. No one could write with such melancholy about the disintegration of relationships without having experienced this kind of destruction. While doing some research into Richard Yates I found this statement he made about his life's work, and I think it explains a lot about the tone of both the novels I have read by Yates ('Cold Spring Harbor' and 'Revolutionary Road'): "If my work has a theme, I suspect it is a simple one: that most human beings are inescapably alone, and therein lies their tragedy."     

'RevolutionaryRoad' has so many similarities to 'Cold Spring Harbor' that I even considered writing about them together. So if you would like to read about the sadness, frustration and desperation which permeates Yates' writing you can read about it here, as it applies fully to 'Revolutionary Road' but I would like to avoid repeating myself.

'Revolutionary Road' is the far more famous novel, owing almost entirely to the success of the film adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (which I have not yet seen). But it is also a far more enjoyable book to read. It has drama and intrigue, and a lot of plot progression and character development, all things which 'Cold Spring Harbor' was lacking. Oddly the cast of characters is not as strong, but there are a few unexpected delights, such as the real estate agent's husband who tolerates his wife's inane chatter by turning off his hearing aid at night.

The main story is about Frank and April Wheeler a married couple with two young boys. Frank commutes to a dull desk job which he considers a joke, and imagines he undertakes ironically. April is a housewife, but dreamt of being an actress before her marriage. The the novel opens with scenes of an embarrassing terrible local amateur theater production she is starring in. This is significant as the argument the couple has afterwards starts a chain of decisions which leads to; a decision to move to Paris, infidelities by both parties, an attempted abortion, and a death. The setting is a vivid portrait of 1950s suburban America, and the relationship between April and Frank feels real, with very natural dialogue between the two. The thread throughout is a lesson to be learnt; being be honest with yourself is just as important as being honest with others. I did enjoy reading this book, despite the very depressing overtones. If you are interested in 1950s suburbia, or want to read a novel with excellent dialogue, or even just a novel which deals frankly with the realities of lives filled with disappointment, then this might just be for you.

Love it, Read it,
LR

'Dance, Dance, Dance' -Haruki Murakami 1988 (English translation by Alfred Birnbaum 1994)

Murakami's novels are so unusual I find them very hard to describe. He is definitely one of my favourite authors, for a number of reasons relating to his style of storytelling, but especially because I read two of his books while travelling in Japan alone earlier this year and they became a big part of my journey. Thus far I have read (in this order); NorwegianWood(The movie of which I saw recently and enjoyed), The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, A Wild Sheep Chase, and today's review Dance, Dance, Dance. All four feature a Japanese male protagonist who deals with love, loss, loneliness, rejection, dislocation and friendship. Feelings of isolation and despair are pervasive in all four books, yet somehow they are not depressing.

But for today we will focus on 'Dance, Dance, Dance'. This is the sequel to 'A Wild Sheep Chase', something I did not realise when I bought the book, but was immediately clear once I began reading. I think you could read 'Dance, Dance, Dance' alone, however reading 'A Wild Sheep Chase' beforehand would definitely help to make sense of some of the more bizarre supernatural elements.

I honestly believe that the people who write the blurbs on the back of books must not have read the books they are writing about (This is a long running bugbear of mine). The same goes for many reviewers, or the people who choose which quotes go onto book covers. With 'Dance, Dance, Dance' this was especially irritating, as the blurb and some of the quotes (in my opinion, feel free to correct me) completely misrepresent Murakami's work. Dance, Dance, Dance, is not science fiction. Murakami is not 'imagining the future' as one reviewer mentioned, the book is set in the late 1980's in Japan, a real time, and in real places. There are real celebrities mentioned, many many real songs from the correct periods mentioned, and references to real events such as the Vietnam war, World War 2, student riots in Japanese universities etc. None of these events are 're-imagined' and the world is not an alternate universe, a dystopian or indeed utopian future. The closest thing to 'science fiction' are the supernatural elements I mentioned before. However they are written in such a way that they could be explained as vivid dreams revealing the (unnamed) protagonist's subconscious. The main supernatural character 'Sheep Man' is described as being a part of the protagonist, and the supernatural worlds visited are described as belonging to the protagonist (though a hotel receptionist also accesses one). Another main character described by the blurb as a 'lovely teenage psychic' specifically says she is not a psychic, though he abilities add a strong element of the metaphysical to the novel, and I think you could call her an empath.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I love the way Murakami writes (there are a couple of quotes below to demonstrate), and the story like that is a slow building detective novel or crime drama. As more and more information comes to light and more and more people become implicated, the original investigation reveals many related crimes, and ultimately there is a resolution and a mostly happy ending. 

[With regards to advances in phone communication] "But no matter how advanced the systems, no matter how precise, unless we have the will to communicate, there's no connection" (p126)    

[Dick North is a character with one arm, who, in the preceding chapter, died] "The house was still haunted by Dick North's presence. Dick North was still inside me as well. I remembered his smile, his surprised look when I asked him if he used his feet to slice bread. Interesting man. He'd come more alive since his death." (p335)

Love it, Read it,
LR