The story is enough.

The story is enough.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback



This review can also be read in the Canon City Daily Record.

Fourteen-year-old Frederika, and her younger sister, Dorotea, herd the family's goats further into Blakasen, the mountain that is their new home in Swedish Lapland. It is 1717, and their family has left their fishing boat behind in Finland to try their fortune on a homestead, far from the water that haunted their father. In a glade, amidst their muttering about summer heat and their frustration with the finality of relocation, the girls stumble upon the mutilated body of a man, left to rot. Fellow settlers dismiss the death as an attack by wolves, but Maija, the girls' mother, insists the man was murdered.

As an outsider, Maija's interest in the murder is not appreciated. Winter is upon them all, and there is neither time nor energy for her sleuthing. But she presses forward, fearful for her own family's safety. The intelligent and thoughtful woman gathers information from those about her - members of her new community, the village priest, and the "Lapps" who roam the land, following the reindeer herds.

Frederika, herself, has become haunted by the treachery on Blackasen. Visited by the spirit of her great-grandmother, and well-armed with the folklore of a Nordic culture, the young girl discovers there is a fine line between evil and light, truth and deceit.

Here on the dark and unforgiving mountain, a community, meant to create safety and survival through harsh and forbidding winters, begins to succumb to the burden of secrets and deception. Culture and faith, spirit and politics, seasons and verity collide. And their priest, the man who must act as the liaison between the king and his subjects, and God and his children, has his own craftiness to manage.

As bitter cold descends upon the villagers, they find themselves in the middle of the harshest winter anyone can remember, a "wolf winter." The stillness and silence accompanying heavy snow swallows time. Its passing is shown through exquisite vignettes - pieces of quiet poetry.

This beautiful and eerie tale, set in a faraway land and a faraway time, flows with a unique voice and well-conceived characters. Ms. Ekback's writing evokes suspense, doubt, and brief glimmers of hope. There is room for more exploration of Maija's compelling desire to find the killer despite the real risk to herself and her family. And some of the sentences stuttered a bit, but the history and the finely wrought details are enchanting, creating a thoroughly engrossing novel.

The last 10 pages of this Northern whodunit are satisfying and complete. Without loose ends to tangle and confuse, this stunning debut novel is one to savor and enjoy.

Photo credit: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KOL8%2Bij9L._SX337_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Monday, December 14, 2015

"Bedtimes" by Tim Parks



This story can be read in the December 21, 2015 issue of The New Yorker.

This review can also be found at The Mookse and the Gripes.

First Line: "Monday evening, 10:30.  Thomas is sitting on the sofa with his laptop, reading for work.  Mary has been talking to a friend on Skype."

Last Line: "In the playroom, the two children are wondering whether there's anything they can do about their parents."

Tim Parks again?  Really?  Was there nothing else?  Did the editors of The New Yorker find this to be such an amazing piece?  Are they pushing Tim Parks' new novel (it includes this story as well as "The Vespa", the fiction published in the magazine just a couple of months ago)?

I did not like "The Vespa", and the feeling remains the same with "Bedtimes".  The writing is simple, and as Mr. Parks declares himself, "mechanical" with "monosyllabic repetition".  This was his artistic choice!  He says he hopes readers find this story "funny"...

Sorry, Mr. Parks.  I found no humor - no ascerbic sarcasm, no raw irony, nothing laugh-out-loud, and certainly no wry internal grimace.

"Bedtimes" has potential to be expanded, and there's a lot of "showing", but this story feels like a catalog of stage directions.  It is dry and unoriginal.  I cannot connect with such two dimensional characters - I feel nothing for them.  

I am glad this tale was so short...

Photo credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Cocker_spaniel_angielski_zloty_photoshop.jpg


Friday, December 11, 2015

Christmas Movies



I LOVE Christmas movies!   I think it has to do with an abiding hope that carries the plot... but there are many out there that disappoint - too sentimental, too predictable... poor writing, poor acting. 

I have watched many duds to find a few diamonds.  

And so here are some of my favorites:

  • Christmas in Connecticut - 1945
  • The Homecoming: A Christmas Story - 1971
  • Bed of Roses - 1996
  • On the Second Day of Christmas - 1997
  • Four Christmases - 2008
  • A Season for Miracles - 1999
  • Eloise at Christmastime - 2003
  • The Santa Clause - 1994
  • Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas - 1977
  • Stealing Christmas - 2003
  • The Snowman - 1982
  • White Christmas - 1954
  • It's A Wonderful Life - 1946

Thanks to Jeff at New England Scenic Photography for his great photos that make me feel all Christmas-y!

Photo credit: http://nescenicphoto.com/

Wednesday, December 9, 2015