Reading Wednesday
Jul. 15th, 2020 07:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabbyI almost forgot because I am le stressed.
Just finished: Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Like everything else this author writes, this 1970s Mexican seaside noir is fucking amazing. Like everything else I've read by her (I haven't read 100% of her books, though that's an eventual goal), her protagonist is cold, smart, unlikeable, and fascinating in ways genre fiction seldom allows female protagonists to be. The central image of the shark—the town's primary economy is shark meat—is fitting for her eat, swim, and die mentality. It's not a whodunnit; when the murder ultimately happens, about a third into the novel, it's entirely obvious whodunnit and why, but the mystery of how this will transform our heroine is a fascinating one indeed. Lately, I keep encountering books that are excellent right up until the end and the structure falls apart. This ending was like, hells yes that is in fact the correct ending. The book's pacing is weird for the genre but it's so well-structured. It reminds me a bit of French New Wave cinema; there's a level of aesthetic experimentation but in a way that just feels complete and satisfying. Anyway, highly recommended.
Currently reading: The Red Power Murders by Thomas King. This is the sequel to DreadfulWater and so far I like it better. Thumps DreadfulWater, ex-cop and current photographer, is drawn into yet another murder investigation when a retired FBI agent shows up dead in a hotel, coincidentally at the same time as an Indigenous activist who he knew back in the day is due to give a book talk in town. The plot is based loosely off the murder of Anna Mae Aquash and accordingly, it's much darker and rooted in politics than the last one. The cat is still the best character.
Just finished: Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Like everything else this author writes, this 1970s Mexican seaside noir is fucking amazing. Like everything else I've read by her (I haven't read 100% of her books, though that's an eventual goal), her protagonist is cold, smart, unlikeable, and fascinating in ways genre fiction seldom allows female protagonists to be. The central image of the shark—the town's primary economy is shark meat—is fitting for her eat, swim, and die mentality. It's not a whodunnit; when the murder ultimately happens, about a third into the novel, it's entirely obvious whodunnit and why, but the mystery of how this will transform our heroine is a fascinating one indeed. Lately, I keep encountering books that are excellent right up until the end and the structure falls apart. This ending was like, hells yes that is in fact the correct ending. The book's pacing is weird for the genre but it's so well-structured. It reminds me a bit of French New Wave cinema; there's a level of aesthetic experimentation but in a way that just feels complete and satisfying. Anyway, highly recommended.
Currently reading: The Red Power Murders by Thomas King. This is the sequel to DreadfulWater and so far I like it better. Thumps DreadfulWater, ex-cop and current photographer, is drawn into yet another murder investigation when a retired FBI agent shows up dead in a hotel, coincidentally at the same time as an Indigenous activist who he knew back in the day is due to give a book talk in town. The plot is based loosely off the murder of Anna Mae Aquash and accordingly, it's much darker and rooted in politics than the last one. The cat is still the best character.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-16 12:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-16 01:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-16 04:13 am (UTC)I am very interested in this book.
(I haven't read the Dreadfulwater mysteries.)
no subject
Date: 2020-07-16 01:01 pm (UTC)