Koen Bouman Bouman itibaren Guanagazapa, Guatemala
Avoid the countless, waterd-down spin-offs - the orginal tick is priceless, brilliant comic parody. Spoooooon! Not in the face, not in the face!
Not as strong as Kitchen Confidential but clearly lists all the things you do not want to know about the culinary field. I almost grossed out a few times, but then I cracked up.
Like a flame to moths, philandering philosopher Oliver Vice is irresistible. He is also enigmatic, inscrutable, and narcissistic. But is he suicidal? The Vices opens with Oliver's death, a dramatic finish in the swirling waters of the north Atlantic into which Oliver pitched, or was pitched, from the Queen Mary II. Oliver's final days are investigated by the narrator, who remains cleverly unnamed, though he is at the story's heart. Indeed, his is the heart that pulses for Oliver's for the length of this story, as he explores Oliver's life in search of an explanation for his death. It is also an examination of obsession and identity, of forgery and fraud. And it's wrapped up in a delicious package of bright language and fascinating characters, chock full of wit and thrills, layered with humor and melancholy. It was a pleasure to partake of this sometimes zany, sometimes poignant work of fiction. Lawrence Douglas is a writer new to me. His style brings to mind the precisely-crafted novels of Michael Frayn, Kate Atkinson, Ian McEwan, and Russell Banks. I love his way with words, the economy of phrase that turns smartly on a crisp heel, yet provides rich imagery "...a bald homunculus crawled toward her on the concrete floor...and curled nautiluslike at her feet.." Yes, I had to look up "homunculus." I dig learning new words. I dig this book.
Murder in Vein is book one in Sue Ann Jaffarian’s Fang-in-Cheek mystery series. In Jaffarian’s vampire world the California Vampire Council rules over the vampires in the area with the ancient vampire Samuel La Croix sitting as council head. All of the other vampires defer to him. Samuel is intriguing. He will do whatever it takes to protect those he cares for and he is vicious. But with Madison he is patient. I really like him. Definitely better than I like Madison. It’s not like Madison is a horrible person. She is just so new to the paranormal world that she acts TSTL at times. Like when she goes off to investigate on her own, more than once. After something bad happens, she does it again! WTF!! But I do like that she’s a survivor. (Even though for a survivor she makes some really dumb choices.) The book really revolves around the mystery aspect of the story which is well written. I felt like I jumped around the paranormal world with the heroine trying to figure out from which direction the danger would come. But one thing really bothered me: the derogatory use of the word “beater” to describe humans. It’s used often throughout the book and usually by humans. At first it was a piece of information, but before long it was being slung from every direction. (That’s how it felt anyway.) To be fair, some of my issues could be based on reading Sophie Littlefield’s Aftertime which used the word “beater” to describe the zombie characters. I don’t know… Overall opinion of Murder in Vein? It was a quick, no-think type of enjoyable read. I want to see how Jaffarian plays out the romance she introduced and the short snippet at the back of the book sounds really good. Not knowing Jaffarian’s work, I gotta give it to her—she really knows how to grab her readers. From the first sentence of Murder in Vein and the snippet of the next book, Baited Blood which will be released in September 2011. I like books that cut straight to the story. Scooper Speaks