Monday, December 31, 2007
The Unstable Sandwich
December 31st. 2007. 9pm.
I am resisting any idea that I should go out to celebrate and have decided to avoid the inevitable disappointments of NY's eve by posting the last blog of the year. I hope to be a more regular blogger in the coming year though this is not a resolution.
To celebrate the imminent return of Charlie Resnick I have been eating a quadriple decker sandwich -turkey, lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Unfortunately these sandwiches are rendered unstable by slippery salad ingredients and there is often enough spillage to start up another sandwich. This is unfortunate for the weight losing blogger! Another snag in the sandwich department is the rind on salami, which, if not severed by the first bite, then drags out the rest of the slice plus or minus the other contents if its a double or triple decker. Resnick never encountered this problem which is strange because he often had the extremely slippery pickled cucumber as one of the ingredients. Maybe he used tooth picks to nail them together. We will soon be able to discover whether this is a problem for him as he will return next month and we have to hope that the disappointed and disappointing retired Inspector Elder has retired for ever.
It is a rather comforting thought that there will be a new Camilleri and a new Padura coming out soon. There is also a new Hakan Nesser though I have reservations about the Scandinavian (and Icelandic) detectives- I think that the cold and damp somehow gets into their bones and makes them pessimistic and depressed, though Van Veeteran seems a bit more cheerful than the rest. Martin Beck has his moments of lust but you don't get the feeling that its much fun! Is that possible? The mood definitely changes amongst the detectives of Europe as you go further south and although they may be cynical they have normal appetites around the Mediterranean.
The biggest reading disappoinment of the year was Philip Roth's 'Exit Ghost' though the follow up to John Farrow's excellent 'City of Ice' featuring Cinq-Mars called 'Ice Lake, was poor. I used to think that Elmore Leonard couldn't put a foot wrong but 'Up in Holly's Room' was too silly to be fun. I chose to read Upamanyu Chatterjee's 'Weight Loss' for obvious reasons but it also got a good review in either the Guardian or the Observer but it was unpickupable.
There have been some great delights to more than make up for the disappointments. Perhaps rather late in life I read Harper Lee's 'To Kill aMockingbird' during a brief holiday in the sun during which it was only the sun and the books I took with me that afforded any pleasure. I had made the major error of going to an "all inclusive" hotel where the food and drink was plentiful but uninteresting. I have to thank a Liverpool girl for insisting that I read Mockingbird and indirectly and mistakenly another daughter for introducing me to Terry Pratchett. I laughed aloud at 'Going Postal' which I obtained after seeing a brilliant review for 'Making Money' by the same author . I thought that I would read them in the right order and also await the paper back version of his latest. I discover that there many many of his novels and wonder if I will have the inclination or the time to read them. Another daughter must be thanked for introducing to Michael Chabon's 'The Jewish Policemen's Union' which was a delight to brighten the all inclusive day. I don't think that Chabon will produce further novels in the same setting but I will give his others a chance.
My trawl through the world of detective fiction has been fun and unearthed real gems. I have repeatedly praised Camilleri, Montalban, Padura, Leon and Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza ( detectives Montalbano, Carvhallo, Conde, Brunnelli and Espinoza) but have also found Carlo Lucarelli who offers a completely different atmosphere and excitement and Colin Cotterill's stories which are set in Laos and seem to emanate a Bhuddist calm and conjure up the hot and steamy atmosphere that I would expect on the banks of the Mekong. I have also found Dominique Manotti and Gianrico Carofiglio and none of their stories have been less than excellent. It is a shame that 'Night Bus' seems to be the only book from Giampiero Rigosi.
There have as always been many newly dicovered pleasures during the past year which must include the visit to the Food Police in New Zealand and almost on our doorstep- or at least only a train ride away- Provence. I have also discovered the joys of youtube.com. If you just type in Billie Holiday you can see the whole eight and a half minutes of her recording 'Fine and Mellow ' with Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Gerry Mulligan, Roy Eldridge etc.! Or you could see the scenes from Bugsy Malone, or Laurel and Hardy singing the Lonesome Pine etc. etc. Its brilliant.
I am sure you will want to know about the allotment but there's not much happening at the moment though there has been a surprisingly good crop of sprouts. Unfortunately nobody seems to like them though it is possible that the sleeping partner will eat them.(Allotment-wise, he sleeps on).The bad weather has made the ground either too frosty or too wet to work but when I last looked the weeds were not a problem on the ground that has been dug so far, which is about two thirds finished now.
Finally, the crucial question; willbobobloseweight? Yes, he will but I dont think he has, yet!
Happy New Year to you all. Bob
I am resisting any idea that I should go out to celebrate and have decided to avoid the inevitable disappointments of NY's eve by posting the last blog of the year. I hope to be a more regular blogger in the coming year though this is not a resolution.
To celebrate the imminent return of Charlie Resnick I have been eating a quadriple decker sandwich -turkey, lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Unfortunately these sandwiches are rendered unstable by slippery salad ingredients and there is often enough spillage to start up another sandwich. This is unfortunate for the weight losing blogger! Another snag in the sandwich department is the rind on salami, which, if not severed by the first bite, then drags out the rest of the slice plus or minus the other contents if its a double or triple decker. Resnick never encountered this problem which is strange because he often had the extremely slippery pickled cucumber as one of the ingredients. Maybe he used tooth picks to nail them together. We will soon be able to discover whether this is a problem for him as he will return next month and we have to hope that the disappointed and disappointing retired Inspector Elder has retired for ever.
It is a rather comforting thought that there will be a new Camilleri and a new Padura coming out soon. There is also a new Hakan Nesser though I have reservations about the Scandinavian (and Icelandic) detectives- I think that the cold and damp somehow gets into their bones and makes them pessimistic and depressed, though Van Veeteran seems a bit more cheerful than the rest. Martin Beck has his moments of lust but you don't get the feeling that its much fun! Is that possible? The mood definitely changes amongst the detectives of Europe as you go further south and although they may be cynical they have normal appetites around the Mediterranean.
The biggest reading disappoinment of the year was Philip Roth's 'Exit Ghost' though the follow up to John Farrow's excellent 'City of Ice' featuring Cinq-Mars called 'Ice Lake, was poor. I used to think that Elmore Leonard couldn't put a foot wrong but 'Up in Holly's Room' was too silly to be fun. I chose to read Upamanyu Chatterjee's 'Weight Loss' for obvious reasons but it also got a good review in either the Guardian or the Observer but it was unpickupable.
There have been some great delights to more than make up for the disappointments. Perhaps rather late in life I read Harper Lee's 'To Kill aMockingbird' during a brief holiday in the sun during which it was only the sun and the books I took with me that afforded any pleasure. I had made the major error of going to an "all inclusive" hotel where the food and drink was plentiful but uninteresting. I have to thank a Liverpool girl for insisting that I read Mockingbird and indirectly and mistakenly another daughter for introducing me to Terry Pratchett. I laughed aloud at 'Going Postal' which I obtained after seeing a brilliant review for 'Making Money' by the same author . I thought that I would read them in the right order and also await the paper back version of his latest. I discover that there many many of his novels and wonder if I will have the inclination or the time to read them. Another daughter must be thanked for introducing to Michael Chabon's 'The Jewish Policemen's Union' which was a delight to brighten the all inclusive day. I don't think that Chabon will produce further novels in the same setting but I will give his others a chance.
My trawl through the world of detective fiction has been fun and unearthed real gems. I have repeatedly praised Camilleri, Montalban, Padura, Leon and Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza ( detectives Montalbano, Carvhallo, Conde, Brunnelli and Espinoza) but have also found Carlo Lucarelli who offers a completely different atmosphere and excitement and Colin Cotterill's stories which are set in Laos and seem to emanate a Bhuddist calm and conjure up the hot and steamy atmosphere that I would expect on the banks of the Mekong. I have also found Dominique Manotti and Gianrico Carofiglio and none of their stories have been less than excellent. It is a shame that 'Night Bus' seems to be the only book from Giampiero Rigosi.
There have as always been many newly dicovered pleasures during the past year which must include the visit to the Food Police in New Zealand and almost on our doorstep- or at least only a train ride away- Provence. I have also discovered the joys of youtube.com. If you just type in Billie Holiday you can see the whole eight and a half minutes of her recording 'Fine and Mellow ' with Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Gerry Mulligan, Roy Eldridge etc.! Or you could see the scenes from Bugsy Malone, or Laurel and Hardy singing the Lonesome Pine etc. etc. Its brilliant.
I am sure you will want to know about the allotment but there's not much happening at the moment though there has been a surprisingly good crop of sprouts. Unfortunately nobody seems to like them though it is possible that the sleeping partner will eat them.(Allotment-wise, he sleeps on).The bad weather has made the ground either too frosty or too wet to work but when I last looked the weeds were not a problem on the ground that has been dug so far, which is about two thirds finished now.
Finally, the crucial question; willbobobloseweight? Yes, he will but I dont think he has, yet!
Happy New Year to you all. Bob
