Books I Read in April 2023 (Part One)

With nine books to talk about, my complete book review post for April was running over 2K words, so I decided to split it into two parts, one today and the rest next week.

I also wanted to take a moment to comment on my reviews. First, as a reviewer, I usually only give the sketchiest outline of the plot. Plot details are not what I’m looking for in a review – I’m looking for the reviewer's impression of, and opinions on, the book. And that’s what I attempt to give you; I focus on the parts of the story that I have opinions about; what worked for me in the story and what didn’t. To be honest, I find what didn’t work more interesting to write about than what did. Indeed, it seems that if I have nothing bad to say about a book, I might not say much at all, i.e. see my review of The Big Sleep – my “A” grade says it all. I guess that makes me more a critic than a reviewer. 

However, I understand, and I’m sure you do as well, that you and everyone else are entitled to your own opinions. My opinion is no better than yours or anyone else’s. I know what I like and what I don’t – and I have a feeling that my view may well be too narrow a view in general. Perhaps, as a writer, I tend to judge a book on how the craft is practiced at a level of detail that readers don't care about. In any event, just because I don’t like a book doesn’t make it a bad book. Indeed, I’m sure that all of the books I read enjoy good ratings from readers, so don’t take my word as the last word. I mostly write my reviews to amuse myself, and hopefully you.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas Translated by Lowell Bair  C

I hate to admit that it’s taken me 73 years to get around to reading this book. In my defense, I watched the 1974 movie, I think. What can I say? It’s the classic story of historical fiction set in 1625 and follows the career of one D’Aragnan as he seeks to make his fortune as a soldier in the service of the King of France. He meets, challenges to duels, and subsequently makes friends with the three Muskteers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, in a fight with soldiers in the service of Cardinal Richelieu, the power behind the throne of Kind Louis Xlll. It is a story filled with humor, daring do, and political intrigue for three quarters of the story. Then it becomes the story of Milady de Winter, known as Milady, an evil temptress in the employ of Cardinal Richelieu in England. I found this last quarter of the novel tedious and unpleasant. It reduced my rating for the novel from a B to a C. I will just add that Cardinal Richelieu is my perfect example of an antagonist in fiction – a great man working for a cause that can be seen as worthy, just not from the view of the protagonists.

The Lost History of 1914 Reconsidering the Year the Great War Began by Jack Beatty  DNF 22%

A history of events in Germany, Russia, Great Britain, etc. that if they had played out differently, might have prevented those countries from going to war in 1914, and thus, preventing World War One from happening, at least as it played out in history. A good idea. Unfortunately, the approach Beatty took in explaining this premise was examining each of the countries in such a shotgun scattering of events, personalities, and background histories for each significant event of that country that it made for a confusing mess of a book. I found it nearly impossible to follow, in that neither chronology or logical storytelling seemed to have been followed. Political histories are full of people and positions, maneuvers and timelines, results and speculations, which can be daunting, even if presented clearly. Beatty seemed to be striving for a popular history, featuring historical celebrities and incidents, but they are presented so haphazardly as to leave me confused, disheartened, and suspecting that the events described were not, in fact, quite as pivotal as he suggests. Indeed that the war was, in fact, preordained.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler  A

The classic Philip Marlowe novel with the famous Bogart and Bacall movie based on it. The story concerns the two daughters of one very ancient but rich old man and blackmail. At least to begin with. As with all Chandler novels, things get very (if not too) intricate. Chandler is one of my heroes when it comes to writing. (Side note: I love the covers of this edition of Chandler's works. This is the ones I own.)

Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson  B

It looks like I’m finally getting around to read all those classic adventure stories that I should’ve read decades ago. I’ve had this book on my shelves for decades. I may’ve picked it up to read to the kids when they were young. Who knows? My copy was a small, 1946 edition printed for schools, I think, as it has art plus stills from the MGM movie with Jackie Cooper and Wallace Berry (boy, did I draw those names out of the distant past). In the back there is a photo and bio of the author, short blurbs for his other books, a line drawing of the ship, and a glossary of nautical terms and well as “Topics for Written Work,” like “Tell in detail how Jim Hawkins spent the first 100 pounds ($500) of his treasure.” There are 17 other topics to choose from if you don’t want to do that one. As for the story, heck, you know it. I have Kidnapped on the shelf as well…

Kidnapped by Robert Lewis Stevenson  C

I did not care for this story nearly as much as I did for Treasure Island. I found it rather tedious reading, in fact. Set in Scotland some years after 1746 revolt against English rule, it tells a tale of a young man who may, or may not, be entitled to a fortune under old English law as the only son of the oldest son. The estate, however, is controlled by his miserly uncle. The uncle tries several ways of getting rid of him, lastly by having him kidnapped to be sent across to America as sold as a slave. A series of events prevents this, with the ship coming to grief in the western islands of Scotland. The rest of the story concerns a trek across the highlands of Scotland in the company of a wanted follower of Bonnie Prince Charles. A study of highland characters, thought the main characters failed to click with me. And it had a very strange ending. I had to look up an online version just to make certain that my book wasn’t missing a page.

Next week: Out of Time, by Dave Sinclair, Goliath, by Richer Turner, A Book of Truths by Ty Hutchinson, and The Black Tongued Thief by Christopher Buehlman. Stay tuned!