The Murders in Great Diddling

The Murders in Great Diddling by Katarina Bivald (2024) 392 pages

Berit Gardner is a writer with 10 books to her name, but she has been suffering from a lingering case of writer's block. She recently moved from London to the village of Great Diddling, hopeful that being among the quirky residents will help get her writing again.

During a tea party in the village, at the Tawny Hall estate, an explosion kills a man that no one likes, a man who had informed several shopkeepers that they will be evicted. Detective Chief Inspector Ian Ahmed and his team determine that the death was not an accident. Suspects include several of the tea party guests. Berit, the author, and DCI Ahmed share a number of conversations about possible suspects and motives. Berit looks at the murder as if it were a novel, trying to figure out the characters and the plot, how the pieces fit together, and what information is still missing.

The eccentric characters and their interactions are compelling. For many of them, there are tantalizing unknowns in their backstories to keep the reader guessing about their possible guilt. When the villagers decide to host a book and murder festival while the murder investigation is still underway, it is a bit crazy, especially on short notice. Fun story!

Wandering through Life

 Wandering through Life: A Memoir by Donna Leon 193 pp.

This memoir by the author of the Commissario Brunetti mysteries seems like talking to an old friend. Written as a series of vignettes about different periods of her life Leon covers a wide range of her life. Part one covers her early life from her childhood in New Jersey, summers on her grandfather's farm, selling produce, developing a love of opera, and heading to college. The second part tells of her experiences as a teacher of English in Iran (just prior to and during the Shah's downfall, then teaching college in China, and finally Saudi Arabia before finally settling in Italy. Venice is her love and the place where Brunetti solves crimes. Leon has also written travel books and books on music including her favorite composer, G.F. Handel. Now 80 years old, Leon lives in Switzerland for most of the year but returns to Venice frequently. Her 32nd Brunetti mystery was published this year and she's said nothing about stopping.

Draft no. 4

Draft no. 4:  On the writing process / John McPhee, 192 pgs.

McPhee is a writer of nonfiction. Here he reveals some of his history, some of his secrets, most of which boil down to working hard.  I loved the revealing details of various fact checkers and copy editors that work very hard to perfect a piece.  I always thought of writing as a solitary task.

There are so many fun anecdotes and pieces that are revealed to make the whole.  Certainly not a "how to" but occasionally a "how not to."  I loved the authors voice, sense of humor and curiosity.  A gem about the craft of writing.

The impossible exile

The impossible exile: Stefan Zweig at the end of the world / George Prochnik, 390 pgs.

One of Europe's best know authors fled with the rise of Hitler but never managed to find a place where he felt at home.  The author handles his subject with care and does a good job of making the reader understand the idea of exile.  Yes, there were many others with worse situations,  Zweig had the means to move many times, to Paris, England, New York, Ossining, NY, and Brazil but that didn't mean he could find what he left in Vienna.  Interestingly, this is an author that was so popular in his time that we know almost nothing about.  I freely admit I had never heard his name.  Now I will have to read some of his works.  How does fame work like that?  Possibly that is the part of the story that is the lease interesting.  Zweig as a character with loves and friends and feelings is the most interesting.  His life was beautiful and it was tragic.

Tibetan Peach Pie

Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life by Tom Robbins  362 pp.

The master of creative simile and metaphor tackles the tale of his own life in a book he says is not a memoir (but it really is). Robbins relates stories of his childhood as the grandchild of Baptist preachers, his brief careers as a poet, an air force weatherman, a radio dj, an art-critic, a psychedelic explorer, a world traveler, and his rise to fame as the author of quirky, best selling novels. His life has been as varied and unconventional as his novels. Robbins has made this account of his own life just as entertaining and thought provoking as his fiction. Besides, how can you not like a guy who says, “Nothing the human race has ever created is more cool than a book.” Now I want to tackle his books that I haven't yet read.

A Man Without a Country

A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut 145 pp.

I've loved Vonnegut's books since I started reading them in junior high. That being said, I was unaware of this collection of essays published two years before his death until I found it in the Biographies next to the one I was actually looking for (an authobiography of Vonnegut's son, Mark). This curmudgeonly collection is thought-provoking, frequently funny, and hits the mark every time. The content runs the gamut from politics (George W. Bush's administration of "upper crust C students") to his own personal quirks, cigarette habit, his experience of the bombing of Dresden in WWII and more. Also included are facsimiles of silk screened posters of Vonnegut sayings. He just might be the greatest writer of the 20th (& 21st) Century.

Townie: a memoir

Townie: a memoir by Andre Dubus 387 pg.

I picked this book out while browsing overdrive. I'm not overly familiar with the author but liked "House of Sand and Fog" and was looking for something to listen to. I can break this book down into 3 main parts. 1. Crappy poverty-stricken childhood where the author was weak and in a tough neighborhood. 2. Deciding to "get strong" and defend himself, the author bulks up and learns to fight then proceeds to tell us about so many times where he beat the crap out of someone, I was starting to get the urge to get into a fight myself or at least get into a boxing ring. 3. Growing up and leaving the violence behind...repairing relationships and moving on by getting married and becoming a father. The second section is by far the longest. I mean to say, this guy was out kicking some ass and doing a good job of it. All of these experiences make us who we are and the author has had some INTERESTING experience.

House of Prayer No. 2

House of prayer no. 2: a writer's journey home/Mark Richard 205 pgs.

This is Mark Richard's story...sort of. Not really a biography but a series of events from his life. He spent a lot of time in the hospital for "cripple children" due to hip problems that doctors attempted to fix with a series of operations and full body casts. At one point they put "nails" in to hold things together. Years later when the nails were working their way out and becoming apparent through his skin, a doctor decided to remove them with local anesthesia only. The description of that operation was absolutely amazing. Of course nothing went as easily as originally thought and the sounds of the doctor wrestling with the nails and trying to pull them out of his bones sounded a lot like removing nails from old wood. Everyone in the room was a bit grossed out but his description is just so straight forward...of course I can't find the line right now to quote it here. Anyway, an interesting and enjoyable book.

Angel's Game

Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 531 pages.
In Barcelona, young David Martin enters the world of writing by penning sensational serials under an assumed name. Neither writing nor true love come easily to him. The girl he worships marries his mentor. Living in an abandoned mansion, he enters a strange agreement with a reclusive French editor that could make him incredibly wealthy or cost him his sanity.
This is the first novel that I have read by Zafon. I don't want to offend his fans, but he could be the Spanish hermano of Stephen King. Both have written about the art and demands of writing. Both explore troubled childhoods. And both describe dark journeys caused by inner demons.