Book Review: Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Feo

Friday 2 September, 2011 by 2 Comments

Title: Calling Mr. King
Author: Ronald De Feo
Publisher: Other Press
Publication Date: August 30, 2011
Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN: 978-1590514757
Genre: Fiction, Thriller


From the Publisher:

Long considered cool, distant, and absolutely reliable, an American-born hit man, working throughout Europe, grows increasingly distracted and begins to develop an unexpected passion for architecture and art while engaged in his deadly profession. Although he welcomes this energizing break from his routine, he comes to realize that it is an unwise trajectory for a man in his business, particularly when he is sent on the most difficult job of his career.
Set in London, Paris, New York, and Barcelona, Calling Mr. King is at once a colorful suspense tale, laced with dark humor, and a psychological self-portrait of a character who is attempting, against the odds, to become someone else.

My Review:

Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Feo is an absolutely unique debut novel about Mr. King, a killer-for-hire who suffers an identity crisis while on “leave” from his job. Told in first person, readers do not get a descriptive introduction to Mr. King, but instead De Feo slowly leaks information throughout the novel, making for a quite intriguing mode of storytelling.  It is hard for me to fully articulate my feelings on this work, but I can say it was highly entertaining with a great combination of De Feo’s wit with a suspenseful plot.  Though the parallels are not all there, Mr. King reminded me a bit of Walter Mitty as he longed for a rebirth into an art or architecture career. De Feo’s writing, defying the typical mold of the suspense genre, really makes Calling Mr. King an enjoyable read for I found myself as captivated by his writing as I was by the unfolding plot.  Though unusual for the protagonist to be the bad guy, it just seemed to work with De Feo’s dark humor.  I highly recommend Calling Mr. King  to suspense fans and I look forward to what Mr. De Feo has to offer next.

About the Author:

Ronald De Feo has written reviews for The New York Times Book Review, The Nation, The New Republic, National Review, and Commonweal. His short fiction has appeared in such literary magazines as The Brooklyn Rail, The Hudson Review, and The Massachusetts Review. He worked at the Museum of Modern Art, was a senior editor of ARTnews Magazine, and served for many years on the editorial advisory board of Review Magazine, devoted to Latin American literature and the arts. This is his first novel.

I received a complimentary ARC of Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Feo from Other Press. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.


signature
Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: , ,

Book Review: Two Friends by Alberto Moravia

Wednesday 17 August, 2011 by 2 Comments

Title: Two Friends
Author: Alberto Moravia
Publisher: Other Press
Publication Date: August 16, 2011
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN: 978-1590513361
Genre: Literary Fiction



From the Publisher:

In this set of novellas, a few facts are constant. Sergio is a young intellectual, poor and proud of his new membership in the Communist Party. Maurizio is handsome, rich, successful with women, and morally ambiguous. Sergio’s young, sensual lover becomes collateral damage in the struggle between these two men. All three of these unfinished stories, found packed in a suitcase after Alberto Moravia’s death, share this narrative premise. But from there, each story unfolds in a unique way. The first patiently explores the slow unfurling of Sergio’s resentment toward Maurizio. The second reveals the calculated bargain Maurizio offers in exchange for his conversion to Sergio’s beloved Communism. And the third switches dramatically to the first person, laying bare Sergio’s conflicted soul.
Anyone interested in literature will relish the opportunity to watch Moravia at work, tinkering with his story and working at it from three unique perspectives.

My Review:

Two Friends by Alberto Moravia is a set of three beautifully written stories, or versions, of Sergio and Maurizio, unfinished works written around 1950 and only discovered in 1996, six years after Moravia’s death.  Translated from Italian by Marina Harss, these three tales tell of two men of vastly differing political viewpoints who are both in love with the same woman.  Harss provides detailed notes on the original pages of the manuscripts including clues used to constrain the dates of the writing.  For the more inquisitive literary anthropologist, the pages also reveal insight into Moravia’s writing methods.  Moravia explores three versions of the same story in this trio of drafts, each taking a different approach to illuminating the morals, politics, and friendship of these two divergent souls.  Readers will be taken in by the intrigue that flows naturally from reading tales that were not yet complete and watching as Sergio develops a begrudging attitude toward his friend while his friend becomes involved with his lover and as the two negotiate a deal where Maurizio would revise his political views to be in line with Sergio’s.  This masterfully crafted set of stories has so much to offer the literary fiction fanatic and I highly recommend Two Friends to readers that want to glimpse into the literary mind Moravia.

I received a complimentary ARC of Two Friends by Alberto Moravia from Other Press. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.


signature
Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: , ,

Book Review: The Reservoir by John Milliken Thompson

Monday 15 August, 2011 by 7 Comments

Title: The Reservoir
Author: John Milliken Thompson
Publisher: Other Press
Publication Date: June 21, 2011
Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-1590514443
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

On an early spring morning in Richmond, Virginia, in the year 1885, a young pregnant woman is found floating in the city reservoir. It appears that she has committed suicide, but there are curious clues at the scene that suggest foul play. The case attracts local attention, and an eccentric group of men collaborate to solve the crime. Detective Jack Wren lurks in the shadows, weaseling his way into the investigation and intimidating witnesses. Policeman Daniel Cincinnatus Richardson, on the brink of retirement, catches the case and relentlessly pursues it to its sorrowful conclusion. As the identity of the girl, Lillie, is revealed, her dark family history comes to light, and the investigation focuses on her tumultuous affair with Tommie Cluverius.
Tommie, an ambitious young lawyer, is the pride and joy of his family and the polar opposite of his brother Willie, a quiet, humble farmer. Though both men loved Lillie, it’s Tommie’s reckless affair that thrusts his family into the spotlight. With Lillie dead, Willie must decide how far to trust Tommie, and whether he ever understood him at all. Told through accumulating revelations, Tommie’s story finally ends in a riveting courtroom
climax.
Based on a true story, The Reservoir centers on a guilty and passionate love triangle composed of two very different brothers and one young, naive girl hiding an unspeakable secret. A novel of lust, betrayal, justice, and revenge, The Reservoir ultimately probes the question of whether we can really know the hearts and minds of others, even of those closest to us.

My Review:

The Reservoir by John Milliken Thompson is an exceptionally well-written mystery about true events in the late 1800s Richmond, Virginia.  So compelling is Thompson’s storytelling that readers will be left asking how well we can truly know those in our families and others very near in our lives.  As readers are transported to Richmond, Virginia in 1885 by the well-painted canvas that Thompson creates through his prose, they witness the discovery of a dead woman floating in the Richmond reservoir, a woman who was pregnant and later identified to be Lillie Madison. While evidence seems to point directly at Tommie Cluverius, a young lawyer who is destined for brilliance in his career, Thompson has crafted the story with plenty of moments where readers will think everything has fallen into place and the next moment that intricately woven series of events and evidence trail all fall to pieces.  A story of desire, guilt, and vengeance, historical fiction fans will delight in Thompson’s careful attention to the time period through his meticulous research, his keen sense for compelling suspense, and his creativity in bringing this century-old mystery to life.  I highly recommend The Reservoir to historical fiction fans looking for an excellent mystery suspense book.

To learn more about author John Milliken or the book, please visit his website: johnmillikenthompson.com

I received a complimentary ARC of The Reservoir by John Milliken Thompson from Other Press. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.


signature
Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: ,

Guest Post by John Thompson author of The Reservoir

Monday 15 August, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I recently completed a 15-town book tour to promote my new novel, The Reservoir. Here are a few highlights.
    Launching at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond’s historic Shockoe Slip, then going out for celebratory drinks and tapas at Secco with my publishing guru, my wife, and two dazzling “shop girls,” as they jokingly call themselves.
    Seeing familiar faces at Crozet’s charming Over the Moon Bookstore.
    Having pizza and drinks with friends on the Downtown Mall after the reading at Charlottesville’s New Dominion.
    Starting the North Carolina leg at ultra-cool Malaprop’s in Asheville.
    Presenting at McIntyre’s sumptuous, resort-style store in Fearrington Village, and having my cousins in the audience.
    The reading at Flyleaf in Chapel Hill, followed by drinks with brilliant young author Belle Boggs.
    Wandering around the quiet streets of Southern Pines, wondering if anybody would show at Country Bookshop, and then finding a crowd of 35 eager listeners; wine bar afterwards with lovely shopkeepers.
    Arriving at laidback Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama at the wrong hour (on the right side of wrong) and enjoying signing copies for a couple of hours before my evening appearance, a rollicking roundtable discussion.
    Driving past the bungalows of Uptown New Orleans thinking I had the wrong address, but stumbling upon Octavia Books and finding welcoming hosts and an enthusiastic group.
    Again thinking I was in the wrong neighborhood, off the interstate, then finding Lemuria in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as wonderful booksellers, a great crowd, and a delightful fellow writer and stage-sharer in Ann Napolitano. Then dinner with writer friend Steve Yates and his wife.
    Tromping around Faulkner sites in Oxford, reading during a terrific storm in Square Books, and having drinks and food with the famous Lisa Howorth and novelist Lee Durkee.
    Entering into the upstairs room in Fayetteville’s Nightbird Books and seeing the smiling faces of Food for Thought book club, all eleven of whom had read my book—dinner and talk set a high-spirited tone for the reading, followed by drinks with dear old friends from my MFA days.
    Perhaps the best, most appreciative audience of a dozen at Houston’s Murder by the Book.
    Having a flight canceled, then making a late connection in Boise when an airline attendant relowered the bridge, signaled to the pilot to reopen the airplane door (and told me it was a one-in-a-million and that if I’d tried to make such a connection in Denver, “You could’ve kissed your ass good-bye”), sheepishly explaining myself to fellow passengers (and giving one a signed copy of my book), taking a hectic cab ride from the San Francisco airport to M is for Mystery bookstore in San Mateo, and just making it.
    Meeting the good people of Seattle Mystery Bookshop and going out to Brooklyn restaurant for amazing local oysters with, yet again, my publishing guru, Paul Kozlowski.
    Getting home after sleeping 5 hours in the past 55 and falling into a comatic 17-hour sleep, waking only for food.
    Looking over this list, it’s clear that the tour was all about people—seeing old friends and making lots of new ones. And that’s what this business is ultimately about; whether we actually meet our readers in person or not, it’s all about telling stories and making connections.

-John Milliken Thompson

I would like to thank Other Press and John Milliken Thompson for making this guest review possible.  John Milliken Thompson has been on tour with his book The Resevoir.

Title: The Resevoir
Author: John Milliken Thompson
Publisher: Other Press
Publication Date: June 21, 2011
Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-1590514443
Genre: Historical Fiction

Further information about the book and the author may be obtained on the Publisher’s website.


signature
Filed Under: Guest Author Tagged With: , , ,

Book Review: The Glitter Scene by Monika Fagerholm

Wednesday 10 August, 2011 by 3 Comments

Title: The Glitter Scene
Author: Monika Fagerholm
Publisher: Other Press; Reprint edition
Publication Date: August 9, 2011
Paperback: 528 pages
ISBN: 978-1590513057
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

From the Publisher:

Teenage Johanna lives with her aunt Solveig in a small house bordering the forest on the outskirts of a remote coastal town in Finland. She leads a lonely existence that is punctuated by visits to her privileged classmate, Ulla Bäckström, who lives in the nearby luxury gated community. It isn’t until Ulla tells her the local lore about the American girl and the tragedy that took place more than thirty years before that Johanna begins to question how her parents fit into the story. She sets out to unravel her family history, the identity of her mother, and the dark secrets long buried with her father. In the process of opening closed doors, others in the community reflect back on the town’s history, on their youth, and on the dreams that play in their minds. Soon a new story emerges, that stirs up Johanna’s greatest fears, but ultimately leads to the answers she is searching for. The Glitter Scene is a riveting mystery that explores the roles of truth and myth, reality and fiction, and the repercussions of family secrets.

My Review:

The Glitter Scene by Monika Fagerholm is a tantalizing mystery about disloyalty, resentment, and vengeance set amidst a backdrop of coastal Finland where Johanna, a teenager living with her aunt, becomes far more than simply curious to learn more about a past unexplained tragedy in the coastal village region about First Cape.  As Johanna uncovers more and more secrets kept well hidden throughout the three decades since the happenings described in The American Girl, the prelude to The Glitter Scene, readers can almost feel the pain, guilt and suspense as though they were immersed in the scene with Johanna.  With each piece of the puzzle, the intensity of Johanna’s quest strengthens as the trail of secrets begins to bring her full circle.  The Glitter Scene is such a compelling tale that readers will want to get prepared with a good stretch of time to take it all in from a single sitting or perhaps over a weekend.  Fagerholm’s follow on to The American Girl is a brilliantly engaging mystery for all fans of gripping suspense novels and while I have not read The American Girl, I felt at home with jumping into The Glitter Scene.

About the Author:

Monika Fagerholm’s much-praised first novel, Wonderful Women by the Sea, became one of the most widely translated Scandinavian literary novels of the mid-nineties and was nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. In 1998 it was followed by the cult novel Diva, which won the Swedish Literature Society Award. Her third novel, The American Girl, became a number-one best seller and won the premier literary award in Sweden, the August Prize, as well as the Aniara Prize and the Gothenburg Post Award.

I received a complimentary ARC of The Glitter Scene by Monika Fagerholm from Other Press. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.


signature
Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: , , , ,
«Older Posts