In the Shadow of the Cypress - Review

I borrowed this book from my Public Library, with hopes (encouraged by the jacket flap info) of having an interesting story and presentation.

I was disappointed.

The story is in two parts, with the historical segment of finding artifacts near the Pacific Grove Chinese community in 1906. The interest, consternation and subsequent handling of the items covers the first half of the book. Then is the contemporary story of Charles (Luke) Lucas who stumbles upon some of the 1906 information and begins his own quest to learn more.

Thomas Steinbeck is an articulate wordsmith. More than 80% of the first segment is narration. But with narrative writing, I expect to be tantalized by creative prose. It didn't happen. Throughout the book, the prose was very dry and journalistic, with such time-worn phrases as, on page 179, "the rain started to come down in buckets..." (A phrase I've always had trouble imagining). The "main" character, Lucas, was fairly flat. The descriptions of the 1906 Chinese community are intriguing, although they have a NatGeo feel about them.

I also found the early time presentation troublesome. The first section presents journal entries from Dr. Charles Gilbert. The first date is in June 1906 when a fire rages through the Chinese community; but the rambling length gives details about events that happened much earlier (such as the April San Francisco Earthquake)--information I would think a true journal keeper would have imparted closer to the time events occurred. The next Gilbert "entries" are from late in thie year, with more information on artifacts and the Chinese community. Then there's the shift to 1906 and character Dr. Lao-Hong. The events his segment tells are in June 1906--the ones written by Gilbert in November.

I did like the art work and proverbs that separated the different sections

What I perceive as an editorial glitch is the Prologue and Epilogue that aren't part of the story; they are Thomas Steinbeck's comments on his background and life. Both are in first person, and I assumed, when reading the Prologue, I was reading about one of the book's characters. NOT. Perhaps Foreword and Afterword would have been better labels

Why did I keep reading this book when I was so dissatisfied? I kept wanting something to happen. I knew the answer to the slight mystery by page 100, so I wanted the characters, especially Charles Lucas, to come alive and offer me something. (sigh) Oh, well; maybe the next book

Global Thoughts

With the devastating events occurring in Japan and the Pacific Rim, I find it hard to concentrate on my mundane life. I can't imagine the grief of the victims, nor the overwhelming pressure of decision-making on the heads of state and authority service agencies.

There have been so many global tragedies recently, both environmental and man-made, I hope no one becomes inured to the suffering these are bringing to hundreds of thousands of people. This is one planet. We are all one people. Certainly, my life must carry onward, but even my comfort is not immutable. I will have a moment of silence each day for those who aren’t so fortunate. I hope you will consider doing the same.

Drawing Conclusions - Review

I was given the chance to read the ARC of this mystery, due out in April 2011. It is the 20th Commissario Guido Brunetti novel, the first published in 1992. As an overall tag for what the book is about, I would say Drawing Conclusions is a story of possible crimes.

Guido Brunetti is an interesting, thoughtful person; highly observant, very little escapes his notice, from the color of grass, to faint bruises along the neck of a dead woman, Signora Altavilla. Along with the bruises, he considers the placement of furniture in the woman's apartment as peculiar. These are two of the elements that set him on an examination of Altavilla's life and habits. Coroner Rizzardi states the woman's death was from a heart attack and she was known for heart problems. Brunetti wonders if the heart failure could have been precipitated by an act of violence against her.

He pursues the possibility, aided by his assistant, Inspector Vianello, and by Signorina Elletra, the secretary of his immediate supervisor, who is adept at finding all kinds of info. These characters are ongoing in the series, but I had no trouble picturing them and understanding the relationships Brunetti had with them. The same is true with his wife, Paola, and their two teenage children. I enjoyed the family scenes and the loving sparring between them.

I did find Giuseppe Patta, Brunetti's immediate supervisor, is a bit of a cliché--more interested in appearances than crime solving. But Signorina Elettra's personality is so smartly drawn, I think I could recognize her on a street. Brunetti's wonderment if a crime had been committed against Signora Altavilla is the focus of the book; his quest for information turns up other elements that are also possible crimes—events dealing with the an estate and a will; a game of swindle among charity cases. Brunetti pondered them all as he tried to decide what really happened to Altavilla.

As he does this, he is still ever observant to his surroundings; descriptions of the Venetian cityscape are nicely presented, and (I haven't been to Venice) I assume they are accurate since Donna Leon has lived in Italy for more than 25 years.

I am, however, dissatisfied with ending; I kept checking to see if there was more and still wonder if the e-galley I rec'd was missing a chapter. Although Brunetti seemed satisfied with what he learned, other possibilities remained as to what happened to Signora Altavilla. Her "guest," who left suddenly, hadn't been ruled out (it was a didn't-seem-to-fit phone call cast suspicion here); I even have unanswered questions about her son. And then there are the missing pictures...

I also wonder why so much information is given in Chapter 1 about Signorina Guisti, who found Altavilla's body. Do we really need to know about her breakup with a guy and what his family was like? I kept waiting for something about that to resurface later in the story; but actually, the signorina is mentioned only a few times after chapter six.

The intricacies of the government agencies and public services was at times funny and interesting. In all, I enjoyed the book, Well crafted with interesting characters.