Mr. Hasbrouck, a well-known and highly respected citizen, was attacked in his room by an unknown assailant, and shot dead before assistance could reac
Mr. Hasbrouck, a well-known and highly respected citizen, was attacked in his room by an unknown assailant, and shot dead before assistance could reach him.
The affair was given to a young man, named Ebenezer Gryce, to investigate, and the story, as he tells it, is this:
So begins this short story. I found this early case for Mr. Gryce interesting as in earlier installments of the series he is a mature man and experienced police officer. In this he tells when he was merely 30 years of age and still relatively inexperienced.
I like this series that began many years before Sherlock Holmes. Too bad Anna Katharine Green didn't get the same attention. Her characters are much more pleasant, Sherlock being so full of himself that he makes me want to gag. (Yes, laugh all you want. I know I'm going to have to read another Sherlock Holmes and I'll try to hold my temper while doing so.)
This is too short for more than 3 strong stars, but I look forward to sitting down with Ebenezer Gryce in future.
I do enjoy Mary Elizabeth Braddon. This is very short. Many could read it in an hour and as a slow reader it took me only a bit longer. There is a ploI do enjoy Mary Elizabeth Braddon. This is very short. Many could read it in an hour and as a slow reader it took me only a bit longer. There is a plot point which was all too obvious to provide a twist. Instead, it is what creates undercurrents. Does the old love resurface? And if it doesn't, what kind of collateral damage will it cause?
Even as short as it is, this is surely better than 3-stars, but given it's brevity it's hard to let it rise above much above truly good 4-star line....more
Someone is telling a story to another and consequently every paragraph is in quotes. There is also conversation between the story teller and the listeSomeone is telling a story to another and consequently every paragraph is in quotes. There is also conversation between the story teller and the listener which is also in quotes. And then, too, the people in the story are supposed to represent real people so toward the end the story names and the real names are used inter-changeable. At least that's what I think was happening. Confusion reigned! In my quest to have read all of Balzac, I'll just say I'm glad this is behind me. ...more
I read this from Complete Works of Wilkie Collins, which is unpaginated, rather than the edition I have shelved which GR says is 260 pages. So I was sI read this from Complete Works of Wilkie Collins, which is unpaginated, rather than the edition I have shelved which GR says is 260 pages. So I was somewhat frustrated that it was taking me *much* longer to read than I had planned. I think also the beginning is slower than I expected. It is one of Wilkie Collins earliest works and he had not yet hit his stride.
The premise of the book is that, in 1828, a young unmarried woman has found herself with child. She is found with her month-old infant sitting by the side of the road by a Mrs. Peckworth. The woman is so impoverished that she is not able to feed the baby. Mrs. Peckworth, having recently given birth herself, takes the child and suckles it. She takes the mother and infant home with her. Mr. Peckworth is a clown in a circus.
There are other characters, of course. Fast forward 10 years and we find the child one of the circus performers. As I got further into the novel (that I still thought taking too long to read), one character in particular captured my attention and I became very interested in where the novel would take me.
I think of Collins as penning not only sensation novels, as they were called at the time, but also those that have a definite mystery element. Undoubtedly for the times, an unwed mother might have had a sensation element. In the 21st Century, this fails to excite in the same way as it probably did in 1854 when it was first published. Though there are plot points to be discovered along the way, they are too obvious to be called a mystery.
Then, late in the novel, there were scenes that, for me, were poignant enough to bring tears. I was surprised at how easily I felt my eyes get hot - or that this novel should cause tears to be produced. I'd like to think a novel that produces such an emotional reaction should be worth 4-stars, but Collins took so long getting there that I can only give this a strong 3-stars....more
I can't believe it's been over 5 years since my last Dumas novel.
Dumas is all about plot, forget characterization. His characters are all 2-dimensionI can't believe it's been over 5 years since my last Dumas novel.
Dumas is all about plot, forget characterization. His characters are all 2-dimensional but it's that plot! As I can only read translations, I shouldn't comment on writing style. However, what I read is typical 19th Century: longer, more complex sentences than even 20th Century writing and dialogue that conveys the thought adequately (but did people really talk that way?).
Where Dumas shines is in his writing of realistic scenes. This opens with a mob scene - I could almost hear the people shouting. This is followed by scenes at a rural home with large gardens and what we call greenhouses - beautiful. Later there are scenes in a prison where those scenes are quiet with the people whispering. All of these are so well depicted as to think Dumas was intentionally helping future screenwriters. As this was originally published in 1850, we can be confident he wasn't even thinking of his novels being adapted to film.
This is not quite up to the standards of his The Count of Monte Cristo, but it is very good. I'm glad I have another Dumas in my near future and I can only hope it is at least as good as this, worth a strong 4 stars.
I was surprised there wasn't more from the point of view of Maggie and she isn't in every scene. On the other hand, I think it is difficult for authorI was surprised there wasn't more from the point of view of Maggie and she isn't in every scene. On the other hand, I think it is difficult for authors to write realistically of the opposite gender. My biggest problem with this novella is the amount of dialogue. Because this is set in New York's Bowery neighborhood, the dialogue is written in the vernacular. The dialogue very much helps to place the characters in time and place, but I would have preferred a little less of it. I liked very much the paragraphs that moved the story along. Stephen Crane is included in the US Realism writing style, which is a writing movement I am drawn to. I would like to try some of his short stories and will look for a suitable collection....more
This is either a long short story or a short novella from his Philosophical Studies. Balzac breaks it into Three Chapters: Exposition, Auction, The HiThis is either a long short story or a short novella from his Philosophical Studies. Balzac breaks it into Three Chapters: Exposition, Auction, The History of Madam Diard. At the end of the second chapter, he tells us "The foregoing rapid narrative is not the principal subject of this Study, for the understanding of which it was necessary to explain how it happened that (view spoiler)[the quartermaster Diard married Juana di Mancini, that Montefiore and Diard were intimately known to each other, and to show plainly what blood and what passions were in Madam Diard (hide spoiler)]." I know, I try very hard not to put spoilers in my review, but stating the preface of the first two parts seemed reasonable, so I have put the rest behind the spoiler tag.
I have not warmed to the few others in his Philosophical Studies, but this was very good. After what seemed a slow beginning, the pace picked up. For Balzac, it's a page turner. I have to qualify "page turner" as even when I'm really interested in what he writes, I hardly ever think I can't get to the next page soon enough. As I read Balzac on my Kindle, all of which are unpaged, I don't know exactly when I wanted to know everything, but it must have been about the last 15-20 pages, certainly no more. But, oh my, those pages were some of the best Balzac I have read. Only because this is so short, it is a mere 4-stars, and I might be shaving a star at that....more
The basis for this novel is a tontine. Stevenson doesn't describe this insurance policy very well. For a tontine everyone puts in the same sum of moneThe basis for this novel is a tontine. Stevenson doesn't describe this insurance policy very well. For a tontine everyone puts in the same sum of money, the principle is allowed to grow over the years, and the last one left alive gets the pot. Essentially, if you live to be the last old person, you win the lottery. I had the benefit of having read - years and years ago - The Tontine. As I like serious rather than silly frivolous works, I preferred the Costain.
I understand tontines have been outlawed - probably a good thing. As you can well imagine, with a tontine there might be all sorts of shenigans. In this, we learn in the very early pages that there are two men remaining alive. As it happens in novels, the two men are brothers, though estranged. Two nephews have been orphaned and one of the brothers has no issue, so the nephews have been named as heirs. Though there is no murder in this, one of the nephews, Morris Finsbury, thinks his uncle Joseph has done him wrong and so is very anxious to get his hands on that tontine money. Is his other uncle - Masterson Finsbury - even still alive? And what happens when there is a train wreck and a body turns up wearing the clothes last seen on Uncle Joseph!
Yes, it's a silly novel. I think farce is an apt description, though perhaps not quite as broad as that humor. For what it is intended, it is probably rather good. It's just not my thing. 3-stars....more
There is one thing Dostoeyevsky does supremely well: he can bring to life a tortured character. The book opens describing Velchaninoff as a hypochrondThere is one thing Dostoeyevsky does supremely well: he can bring to life a tortured character. The book opens describing Velchaninoff as a hypochrondriac. The intensity of his physical ailments seem related to his inability to resolve a civil suit and the more he tries to "help" his lawyer the more he suffers. This only gives us insight into his character, however, and is not the troubles that afflict him the rest of the novel. He begins to see a man watching him, someone he thinks he recognizes but cannot recall his name or why he might know him.
That man was Trusotsky, who, finally, he can name and place. Nine years ago, Velchaninoff had been the lover of Trustotsky's wife, but the two men were also friends. Trustotsky says his wife died a few months earlier. Does Trustotsky know of the former liaison? And what will he do if he *does* know?
This is not all dark and portions of it are amusing, almost laugh-out-loud funny. I have enjoyed other of Dostoevsky's short novels and I hope to read some more. This is 4-stars, although perhaps not in the top half of that group.
A small group of adults is sitting around chatting when the question arises: If a woman is unfaithful, is it the man's or the woman's fault? One of thA small group of adults is sitting around chatting when the question arises: If a woman is unfaithful, is it the man's or the woman's fault? One of the men then tells the story of Honorine, how he came to know her and her story.
It never ceases to amaze me how authors have insight into the human condition, one which they themselves have not experienced. When Balzac penned this story, he had not yet been married. His biography attributes at least two affairs with women already married. Can an outsider understand marriage? Two quotes from Honorine: "A young bride is like a plucked flower; but a guilty wife is like a flower that had been walked over." and "Marriage is based on esteem, on sacrifices on both sides; ..."
Balzac chose to have one of his characters tell this story, at best of novella length. I think it would have been better had he spent more time with it and let it develop as a novel. But Balzac was always short of money and perhaps he just needed to get this written and out the door so he could pay some bills. Still, it has reminded me of why I like reading him and that I need/want to look at some more titles and work them into reading him again. If this crosses the 3-/4-star line, it just barely does so, but that might be because I have read others by him that surpass it.
Balzac wastes little time giving us background for this story that is shorter than most. It could easily be read in one sitting. I am a slow reader anBalzac wastes little time giving us background for this story that is shorter than most. It could easily be read in one sitting. I am a slow reader and started it one evening and quickly finished it the next day.
Although most descriptions I see say this is an introduction to Bianchon, it is really the story of the surgeon Desplein. Desplein, an atheist, is observed entering Saint Sulpice. Bianchon cannot believe his eyes, but after several years of wondering why this should happen, he sits with Desplein and listens to his explanation. Balzac's endings tend to be sad with more than a tinge of irony. This story is just plain sad and it pricked my emotions more than he usually does. It is quite good, but I think it is not typical. ...more
A short story requires a very short review/comment. I love Balzac, and if you don't or haven't tried him, this isn't the place to start. If I were to A short story requires a very short review/comment. I love Balzac, and if you don't or haven't tried him, this isn't the place to start. If I were to reading him straight through, I would have been in a better position to remember many of the characters referenced in this one. I did recognize several, but freely admit that the context was mostly lost. Balzac assumes you do remember, or are at least familiar with the characters. He might have done better just telling the story, rather than reminding the reader there are things he should recall.
The other thing to know is that the rich in Paris weren't necessarily as rich as their lifestyles seemed to have them. Many lived on credit entirely. Balzac himself wasn't very careful with money and probably knew the ins and outs of signing notes and having creditors call for payment. Maxime de Trailles was adept at sidestepping payment. And this is the business in The Man of Business. Who wins the game? ...more
I was glad to be revisiting Balzac's Paris. It is in the time of Louis-Phillipe. After the disasters of the revolution of July, which destroyed so manI was glad to be revisiting Balzac's Paris. It is in the time of Louis-Phillipe. After the disasters of the revolution of July, which destroyed so many aristocratic fortunes dependent on the court, Madame la Princesse de Cadignan was clever enough to attribute to political events the total ruin she had caused by her own extravagance. ... This woman, so celebrated under her first name of Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, very wisely decided to live in retirement, and to make herself, if possible, forgotten.
One of the things I like so much about Balzac is that you get a story and you get an ending. But his endings are the beginning of something else which is more likely to be a tragedy. It isn't as if he then writes the next chapter in the lives of these characters that is obviously to become tragic. For me, his stories and novels end with a great sigh; I lose one entire intake of air.
This is is a good entry of the Balzac ouevre. There were many references to characters in other stories, so it would be helpful to have read a good many before reading this one. The Yahoo group that read the entire series, puts this well down the list in the recommended reading order. I admit that it's been awhile since I read Balzac and, though the names were familiar to me, I might have lost some of the context of some of the comments. Balzac had not yet hit his writing stride, I think. I liked this, but it is not his best work....more
This was so much more than I anticipated. It opens with the police patrolling at midnight in one of the most dangerous neigborhoods in Paris. A shriekThis was so much more than I anticipated. It opens with the police patrolling at midnight in one of the most dangerous neigborhoods in Paris. A shriek draws them to a small drinking den where a triple murder has occured. Two men have been shot and the third had his head bashed in. Before the latter dies, he exclaims "Revenge - Lachenour". A man with a revolver is barricaded behind a table. This man professes his innocence. He also refuses to divulge his identity.
One of the police is none other than Lecoq, relatively new on the force. We are given his background. When I read this part I felt this must be the first in the series yet Goodreads shows it as the fourth. Upon investigation, it is the 4th one published. I don't know if Gaboriau provides this same introduction in earlier installments, but I'm hoping to find out!
This novel was originally published in two volumes. The first volume includes the murder and investigation. Although the case did not reach a complete and satisfactory conclusion at the end of this first volume, I was happy with the way it had progressed to that point and looked forward to more of the same in Volume two. Volume two is what provides the reader with the "much more". This second part begins some 35 years or so earlier. For nearly all of it is like reading a novel by Dumas or the like. There is treachery and intrigue. There are families who hate each other and who fill their lives avenging wrongs. It is written marvelously and I had a hard time putting it down. And at the end all is wrapped up and the reader knows all.
A word about this edition: The text says 233 pages. But that 233 pages comes at about 45%, and I'd estimate this to be closer to 500 pages. I'm glad I didn't know that, else I might have chosen something else to read at this particular time and I would have missed out. Without misgivings, I'm happy to give this 5-stars, though where it fits in that group I'm not willing to say....more
The GR description says this was the first locked-room mystery, but it was not. The novel even refers to Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue. But in PThe GR description says this was the first locked-room mystery, but it was not. The novel even refers to Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue. But in Poe's and most later mysteries, we are with the detective while s/he performs an investigation. This novel is decidedly different. There is none of that. Instead we get testimony at both the inquest and the trial.
We are privy to the thoughts of the population who is outraged and astonished at the murder of a fine young man who also was working to uplift the working class. There are letters to newspapers. Was it suicide? How could it be murder with no means of getting in and out of the bedroom? Readers and letter-writers of nineteenth century London newspapers carried on conversations with each other, argued with each others thoughts. It was the equivalent of Twitter and Facebook. There are also a few main characters who help us see what is going on outside of these newspaper conversations. This is short and it took me a couple of chapters to see how Zangwill constructed his novel.
Apparently this saw many printings. The edition I read had a preface from Zangwill that was included in an edition published 4 years after it first appeared. In it, he comments on this humor, even saying he now thought it too much humor. While I didn't think it was the best of the novel, it certainly added something to it, for which I was glad.
For purists of the mystery genre who want to try to figure out the crime, this will be a disappointment. There is a lot of filler. At first I was exasperated. Then I came to realize it is just different. Published in 1892, the genre had not yet seen the likes of Christie, Sayers, and Allingham who would define crime fiction for many decades. I'm not in the least sorry I read this, but I can't find more than a middlin' 3-stars for it and even that might be a tad generous....more
Rarely do I finish a book in one sitting, but in this case it was on a 2-1/2 hour flight and it was the perfect book for that. I love the way TurgenevRarely do I finish a book in one sitting, but in this case it was on a 2-1/2 hour flight and it was the perfect book for that. I love the way Turgenev writes, or perhaps better said is that it was a good translation. A group of friends are talking about their first love and a few of them say their story isn’t very interesting. Vladimir Petrovich is just 16 when he sees a beautiful, but very poor, princess move in next door of their summer house. He is immediately smitten, head over heels. She is all of 21 and a flirt. Like bees to a flower, she is surrounded by many men. Zanaida seems to show him a preference. Does she love him?
This story is so short no more can be said here. I like Turgenev, but I’m afraid this doesn’t have enough for me to stretch it to 5-stars. ...more
Dostoyevsky's second novel is as dark as any I've read. Written in third person limited, we know only what Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin sees, hears, thinDostoyevsky's second novel is as dark as any I've read. Written in third person limited, we know only what Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin sees, hears, thinks and feels. From the very first pages it is apparent he is mentally unstable. I cannot see how it is possible that there could be a more unreliable character.
A little over a year ago, I read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. In that, Sacks describes people with perception disorders. I couldn't help thinking about those studies when reading this. Did that spoil it for me? I guess it depends. I hope my sympathy for Mr. Golyadkin was not different than those who have not read the Sacks.
The edition I read was from a volume that contains multiple titles by Dostoevsky and was translated by Constance Garnett. She is somewhat maligned as a translator with references to her extreme anglicization. It is entirely possible I am not getting the full Russian feeling when I read the Russians she has translated. So be it. I have tried a couple of translations where it is said they more faithfully reflect Russian syntax, and I found those not to my liking. I did like this, and I liked it both for the story itself and because it was quite readable. This comes in at a high 4-stars....more
My reading set in the various periods of the French Revolution came to fruition in this. It is another set in 1793 during the Reign of Terror. The ariMy reading set in the various periods of the French Revolution came to fruition in this. It is another set in 1793 during the Reign of Terror. The aristocracy, rather than going to the guillotine, emigrated. These emigres had their property confiscated. I understood the references to the Chouans and to the Vendeans. I recognized that priests could be imprisoned just for serving Mass.
All of this just to read of the love of a mother for her son and the risks she was willing to take for him. It is a story told only as Balzac could tell it. Still, it is just a very short story, a very strong 3-stars, but too short to become four....more
I can rely on Dumas to tell a good story in comfortable prose. In this case, the story is set about 20 years prior to the Revolution. There are multipI can rely on Dumas to tell a good story in comfortable prose. In this case, the story is set about 20 years prior to the Revolution. There are multiple plot lines and it is full of court intrigue. The characterizations are adequate. I say "adequate" because it would be unfair to suggest we know any of the many characters well, though each is distinct and recognizable. A few, such as Louis XV, were more caricatures. There were a few instances of authorial intrusion. Trollope uses this literary device frequently, but I did not expect it with Dumas.
This woman, whom we have not before taken the trouble to sketch, because she was one of those characters whom the painter keeps in the background, so long as he has no occasion for them — this woman now advances in the moving picture of this history, and demands her place in the immense picture we have undertaken to enroll before the eyes of our readers ...
I think one of Dumas' strengths is to put the reader squarely in the setting.
A violet flame, changing to green and then to white, wrapped the horses — the hind ones reared, snuffing the sulphurous air — the leaders, as if the ground had given way beneath their feet, fell flat; but almost instantly the horse upon which the postilion was mounted regained his feet, and, finding his traces snapped by the shock, he carried off his rider, who disappeared in the darkness, while the carriage, after proceeding ten yards farther, was stopped by encountering the dead body of the lightning-stricken horse.
I started to read this as Joseph Balsamo until I noticed a huge discrepancy in the page count. I learned Dumas published this originally in serial form from 1846-1848 and then the entire novel was published in two volumes. These two volumes are often published separately in English as the above Joseph Balsamo and Andree de Taverney, or the Downfall of French Monarchy. I found this edition contains both volumes. As it happens, there are several chapters at the end that are summarized by the editor (translator?) and then the Epilogue is included in what I think is its entirety. I must admit that, while I was surprised at the summary of several ending chapters, I was beginning to feel some fatigue closing in on 1500 pages anyway. The first volume is definitely better than the second volume and taken as a whole sits toward the middle or lower half of my 4-star group.
The users who shelved this as horror surely did so based on Poe's reputation. On the other hand, I'm not a horror reader, so I may not be the most relThe users who shelved this as horror surely did so based on Poe's reputation. On the other hand, I'm not a horror reader, so I may not be the most reliable observer. For me, this was all over the place genre-wise. Some have shelved it adventure, and I would agree with that. I could also see it as travel and certainly as fantasy. First and last it is a sea story. I would also place it in the realm of Murphy's Law: What Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong. (Yes, caps, and I could have written that in bold italics underlined!)
The novel opens with Pym accompanying his inebriated friend to sail a small boat at midnight. They get run over by a larger ship. We know they will be rescued - this is written in the first person after the event! But there is another ship and another journey and more mishaps. Mishaps is an understatement. First one tragedy and then another befalls Arthur Gordon Pym.
I am told this is Poe's only novel. Perhaps he was experimenting with the form. Although I have read only his The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales, I think most readers will be glad he stuck with the short story and, perhaps, his poetry. He seemed not to know how to organize a longer work. Or perhaps he suffered from ADD, or even the effects of alcohol, in which he was known to partake heavily.
This is short, although perhaps not as short as some of the print editions here on GR advertise. Those must be in the tiniest type ever to grace a printed page. Even though there are frequent references of the latitude and longitude of antarctic islands, I had no problem with this. There is enough story to keep one reading, even such a fantastical one. For me, though, I need my reading more reality based and I just couldn't bring myself away from disbelief. I'm not sorry I read it, but I have a hard time generating any excitement about having done so....more
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