Carl Deuker -- Books, Movies, TV

Childhood:  the Christmas dinner argument over Parnell, with Stephen listening, has to be the greatest dinner argument passage in all of literature.  Breathtaking. Then the book goes to his adolescence . . .  The writing remains just exquisite, but the topic . . . As a fallen-away Irish Catholic I can follow the adolescent angst just fine, but do I care about?  Not really.  The "child" Stephen is an observer, an innocent, the underdog.   Adolescent Stephen is the smart kid with the over-developed conscience.  At times the book feels like an archaeological artifact. "Believe it or not, there was a a time when . . ."

I read this book at 14, not understanding much.  But I did know that words had power and could be used in ways that were entirely different than school writing.  Rereading now, I'm struck again by the beauty of the prose.  Incredible language. Stephen as infant and then as young boy at school.  Shoved into slimy water, fantastic description of what it's like to have a fever.

This was a completely solid book.  Perfect length for a mystery.  The ending (the four boys in the picture--including Andy's father, were involved in a crime as 22 year olds) was not surprising, but that was okay.  The connection to present day events--daughter of crime victim digging into the past, so she needs to be dealt with--was also not in the least bit shocking.  But I much prefer that to mysteries where the solution comes from deep left field. Book made me laugh out loud a number of times.  Main character was well-developed. Smart, smart-alecky, a little irritating.  Women (wife, mistress) were both believable.  Dog didn't play much of a role, and that was also okay. Willie, the falsely accused murderer, was a sympathetic, believable character, as were the various lawyers and cops.  A great summer read, and definitely an author I'd read again.

I continue to enjoy this very much. Smart Alec lawyer main character, so sometimes he irritates the reader as well as the characters whom he meets, but not all that much.  Plot is intriguing.  His deceased father leaves him $22m.  It all comes from a single check written 30 years earlier for 2m. Dad never touched the money, never changed the investment. Two bigwigs in town (one is mall developer) are involved, and it sure likes like a shady deal. Andy is also appealing the conviction of Willie, a convicted murderer whose defense is that he was drunk, didn't know how the girl was killed, but could never kill a woman.  Willie is attacked in prison--connected to the questions about the 22m.  Plots will somehow intertwine through the murder victim, a newspaper reporter who was on to something, no doubt about dead dad and his friends. Spoiler coming Sub sub plot has to do with Cal, newspaper vendor, whom Andy Carpenter buys a paper from every day.  Cal tells Andy that his 16 year ol

Great start. Paterson, N.J. "I" character is a so-so defense atty. His father a top notch prosecutor. Description of attending Yankee Stadium game. "Bets" between father and son, with debts in the millions. Dad drops dead. Son's almost ex-wife comes after funeral and wants to get back together. Andy goes along, though he has a new girlfriend. Then he visits Willie on death row. Mystery:  Andy finds a photo in his father's attic that reveals his father was friends with someone involved in Willie's murder case, though Andy's father never mentioned it. First person narrative, quick moving chapters, good voice--what's not to like!

I can see why Heyer is so popular.  This book ends with a really beautifully constructed final chapter that is reminiscent of Shakespearean comedy or French farce.  All the couples get married off appropriately, even Miss Wraxton finds her perfect (bore) of a mate.  It also reminds me of a screwball comedy--would probably make a great PBS series if it hasn't already been done.  Sophy is a great character--a nice Becky Sharp who, as she says, never harms anyone. Now the complaints.  All these rich people who seem to do nothing other than be rich.  It's a little hard to take.  And Sophy is over the top on more than one occasion, most notably when she shoots Charlbury so that Cecilia will feel sympathy for him, and he laughs it off. "A mere flesh wound," which it is.  Sophy is a great shot, too. I'll try a detective novel by Heyer, but this is probably my last romance by her.  Life is short, and the reviews indicate that this is her best.

Rivenhall's little sister comes down with a fever that might be typhus.  Sophy rises to the occasion, while Charles's betrothed won't come near the place.  Charles finds out about Sophy's "saving" of Hubert and admires her.  Nice scene in which he does insult her and she cries, then pretends that the tears were fake and called on demand. Other than that, the predictable plot winds its way forward.  I think, actually, that the entirely predictable nature of the plot is one of the reasons for the books enduring popularity and its high rating on Goodreads.  It's a comfortable read--a cozy romance.  All the characters are clear, likable, despicable, irresponsible, solid.  Nobody surprises anyone.  We, as readers, are like the author.  We know where this is going.  We watch the characters come out of the darkness into the light, rubbing their eyes.  "How foolish--why didn't they see all that earlier." Reader is easily smug.

Stop action/animated adult film. I liked the first hour very much.  Michael Sloane, our main character, is a sales expert traveling to Cincinnati to make a speech. Alienated, lonely, lost. He gets in touch with Bella, an ex-lover (10 years previously). They have a drink, then an argument--he tries to talk her into his room. She leaves in a storm. Next he meets Lisa and her friend.  He does sleep with Lisa. Wonderful for him and her. But . . . all the characters have the same face and the same voice except for Lisa.  She is the anomaly. (Title). The next morning he fails miserable as a motivational speaker, but desires to escape with Lisa.  They have unique faces; they can save themselves from the sameness of this drab, meaningless world.  He's excited, but then has breakfast with Lisa.  She clangs a fork against her teeth; she talks with food in her mouth. He's repelled.  Then she, too, starts taking on the voice of everyone else. So, the running off is off. Michael retur

(page 210 of 328) I'm on page 210 of 328 of The Grand Sophy: A very odd, anti-semitic couple of chapters. Hubert, younger brother, gets himself in debt to Goldhanger and leaves a family heirloom with Goldhanger as collateral. Sophy goes to Goldhanger's business. Goldhanger is dirty, greedy, criminal, cunning, bony-fingered, semitic nose, etc. etc. Spoiler coming up--Sophy gets the ring back from Goldhanger after PULLING A GUN OUT~too much in so many ways.  I want to look up the date of this book to see just how recently such out-and-out anti-semiticism was considered acceptable.  Checked:  1950 Also discovered that the Goldhanger chapters are deleted from some newer editions of the book.  Rewriting history and cleaning up Heyer's reputation.  Awful!

Georgette Heyer Well,I thought I was getting a Heyer detective story. Instead I got a romance. I'm trying my best, but this wouldn't be my preferred genre. Sophy is Becky Sharp without the sharpness; Elizabeth Bennett without the depth. So, it's fun, but I can see the ending clear as day. I'll get there, and I'll be glad when I do!  Plot:  Sophy, cousin and daughter of an unconventional brother, moves in with her very conventional aunt.  She immediately runs afoul of her older cousin, Richard, who runs the household.  He is engaged to a stick-in-the-mud and is a bit of stick himself.  Sophy, on the other hand, is all life.  5'9" . . . witty . . . a horsewoman . . . brings a parrot, a greyhound, and a monkey with her to her aunt's house. Her cousin Cecilia is engaged to a solid Lord X.  Lord X comes down with mumps and Cecy falls madly for Augustus Fawnhope, a poet with curly hair.   Augustus is totally self-centered, but Cecy doesn't see it.  Sh

Even after Waterloo, Napoleon thought (for a time) that he could pull together an army from the fleeing mass and fight again. . . . Lafayette takes power, a coup d'etat in fact if not name . . . the bones of Frenchmen are in Africa, Russia, Europe--all following N.  . . . N. abdicates for the second time . . . He wanted to go to USA . . . N. is not (for the first time in his life) decisive . . . he does not escape France quickly enough ("If I had gone to America, we might have founded a State there.") . . . He surrenders to British . . . They determine to send him to St. Helena off the coast of Africa, arguably the most remote place on earth . . . figuring they could keep him there! . . . British captain who takes him to St. Helena ends up (to his shock) liking him . . . Jamestown, 600 foot cliffs, one entrance to the harbor . . . He ends up at Longwood, roaches, rats, termites, wet, miserable place . . . Napoleon befriends Betsy, 14 year old British girl, and is great as

Once Napoleon is back on the throne, the Allies immediately reform to attack France.  Basic premise:  Napoleon, if allowed to gain strength, would soon threaten them all. . . France welcomes him back (the Bourbons ruled miserably) with cries of Vive l"Empereur . . . Only three months pass between his complete reinstatement in power and Waterloo . . . 900 letters, the vast majority dealing with trying to get France ready for the coming war . . . seriously weakened leadership as well as number of soldiers . . . No reprisals:  "Of all that individuals have done, written, or said since the taking of Parie, I shall for ever remain ignorant."  Unity above all else! Free press, abolished slavery, invited Lafayette into his coalition (refused), ordered no Britons harassed by French . .    He says he wants peace, but this is refused on the reasonable premise that "whilst such a man reigns, it would require constant armament and preparation for war." . . . Napoleon unga

France in trouble; N. calls for patriotism to defend it against Allies, led by Brits. . . . Disappointed that there is no guerrilla movement in France similar to what he faced in Spain . . . "Public opinion is an invisible, mysterious power." . . . Only 120,000 answer call to arms to defend France,  . . . Minimum age and height requirements ignored . . . high taxes . . .  N. knows he faces long odds .  . . "I fought too many wars." . . . The advantage of a smaller army is that N. is in complete control . . . the people who turn on him had turned on him before, yet N. had never imprisoned, let alone executed, any of them. (Talleyrand, Fouche, etc.) . . .  Armistice discussions here and there, but N. won't give up Belgium . . . Allied armies ener Paris on April 1, 1814 . . . Parisians, unlike Russians, show no interest in burning down Paris . . . N. fights on until Marmont betrays him by turning his entire army over to the Allies 29 Elba  Treaty and exile to Elb

Napoleon expects war in 1813 . . . Battle of Dresden August 26, 1813 . . . Napoleon wins, but his marshals, fighting elsewhere, lose. They are outnumbered and lack the Napoleon genius and charisma . . . Within a week, all the advantages from N's victory at Dresden are gone due to defeats elsewhere . . . Battle of Leipzig in October . . . After one day, N. had the opportunity to slip away but did not take it . .  . N's army undersupplied, short even of food . . . Retreat is disastrous . . . a bridge is blown up before the full army can cross it, leaving 20,000 men to be captured . . . Returns to Paris on November 9 . . . France poor from all the wars . . . All of Europe opposed to it now . . . "With fewer than 80,000 men under arms, N now faced 300,000 Russians, Prussians, and Austrians on the Rhine, and 100,000 Spanish, British, and Portuguese coming over the Pyrenees." France about to be invaded; Napoleon prepares to fight.

N. returns to Paris while the disaster in Russia is still unfolding. Furious activity:  he rebuilds the army, calls up conscripts (some so young they were called Marie Louises after his wife--not shaving). A sign of N.'s acceptance in Europe.  After the Russian debacle, there were no uprisings by any of the countries whom France had occupied for any length of time. People were not anxious to throw off N's reign; on the contrary. In France itself, no uprisings against the defeated N. N shrewdly makes another concordat with Pope--no need to have enemies. The pope signs, then regrets it.  N's response:  "As you are infallible, you could not be mistaken." However, N's enemies do jump in.  Austria mobilizes to attack weakened France. N. a master of self-control in adversity . . . Perfidious Albion--England remains the main enemy . . .  more battles . . .  N. defeats Russians and Prussians who are attempting to seize France. . . . Austria remains worrisome . . .

N:  "More battles are lost by loss of hope than by loss of blood." After the battle, N's horse steps on Russian soldier. An aide says:  "It's only a Russian." N replies:  "After a victory, there are no enemies, only men." N:  ""There is but a step from the sublime to the ridiculous." Moscow abandoned . . . Soldiers believe they are safe, that they will live in the homes and eat the abandoned food . . . However, Tsar has left behind arsonists who burn their own city . . . winds help . . . French don't know where the fire trucks, etc. are located (Russians destroyed them) . . . Fires so bright people could read by the light . . . Napoleon:   It is their own work. So many palaces. What extraordinary resolution. What men! Later, when Paris is invaded, N. comments that the French would never burn Paris to keep invaders from ransacking it. .  . Russian troops in trouble  . . . food shortages, clothing shortages, illness, cold . .

(This chapter makes me almost want to reread War and Peace as well as Les Miserables.)  Russian strategy of withdrawal . . . lure N. into the country . . . N. aware of the trap, but falls into anyway, always thinking that the decisive battle must occur soon . . .  Vilnius as base for N. , , , Russians systematically destroy crops, windmills, bridges, livestocks, fodder, shelter, grain--anything that the French could use-- as they retreat . . . scorched earth--their own earth . . . Russia before the scorched earth policy would have not provided food for N's troops . . . 1000 horses die every day for 175 days French army spends in Russia . . . Typhus fever hits N's troops . . .80,000 dead or sick from typhus . . . fever, shaking, congestion of the brain, death . . . N. misled regarding state of health of his troops and state of food supply . . . Russians avoid battle, fleeing with precision:  "There appeared more order in their defeat than in our victory." . . . N. pres

Russia/France divided Europe up into spheres of influence, but N believes Russia is not keeping to its end of the bargain . . . Russia feels that the French insistence on no trade with England is too onerous of a burden--English trade crucial to Russian economy . . . Continental economic crisis in 1811 . . . Napoleon feels Brits are weakened by war with USA , , , Russia's trade with Britain, against French wishes and agreements, strengthens Brits. . . N. furious--Russia benefitting from agreement with France but also benefitting from ignoring the agreement and trading with Brits . . . N. feels war is necessary . . .  Britain lurking . . . Iberian campaign going poorly for France . . . Wellington leading British troops . . . N. not swift in attacking; Russia has a year to prepare . . . Cross into Russia on June 24, 1812 . . . 1 million men . . . 52% foreign

"There must be a superior power that dominates all other powers." N. on France Epitome of the beneficent dictatorship . . . general laws for all of the continent as opposed to specific laws. . . united Europe . . . Napoleonic code . . . very pragmatic, waiting for the proper time to introduce the code to match the feeling of the conquered people . . . Westphalia, Spain, Poland, Balkans all so backward that they remained feudal--until Napoleon dragged them into modernity . . . popular with elites . . . hierarchical and uniform administration of law . . . vast improvement . . . "To large numbers of people, Napoleon represented the ideas of progress, meritocracy and a rational future." . . . The French Revolution without the guillotine . . . defender of Western civilization against Asiatic hordes of Russia . . . Napoleon 40 in 1809. . . Josephine without a son . . .  annul marriage . . . Marries Marie Louise, daughter of King of Austria, first by proxy and then at the

Extraordinary horseman--600 miles in six days to check on his army--leaving Spain and returning to Paris to put together a new army to put down Austria. Enormous size of army:  230,000 troops called up to join nearly 500,000 troops. Austria at war.  Tsar Alexander, supposed to be an ally of Napoleon, sends troops to fight Austria, but the troops make no effort to engage. Two casualties in the entire campaign! N. furious. Some of the troops fighting the Austrians (Bavarians, for example) fought without a single French soldier in their company.  Tremendous belief in Napoleon as leader and as bringer of a more just society. Napoleon, outside the walls of Vienna, looks up to see Viennese citizens looking down at him.  When they recognize him, they cheer.  Amazing--their country is at war with him.  The same thing happened at Brandenburg. Napoleon rode around to cheering for 30 minutes. Crossing the Danube to fight the Austrians:  "Through intense planning & preparation,

"That war destroyed me; it divided my forces, multiplied my obligations, undermined morale." Main problem is that this campaign had no real goal other than to increase the empire.  It was, as few of his other wars were, a war of naked aggression. Liberty, equality, fraternity impossible goal.  Liberty and equality, strictly observed, will create resentment and obliterate fraternity.  Equality and fraternity don't work with liberty; fraternity and liberty are possible if there is not equality. At his most extravagant, Napoleon had 39 palaces.  He brought back many of the trappings of Louis XIV--his feeling was that extravagence in a ruler produced awe in the populace. Personally, though, he remained plain. Work as the essence of his life, unlike kings. Light drinker, light eater, light sleeper. Excellent at prioritizing, though definitely a micro-manager.  (After a fire was not put out quickly, he personally reorganized the Paris fire department--greatly improving

Sarah insists that Little Bee describe what happens to LB and her sister after Sarah and Andrew escape the beach.  LB describes rape and murder of her sister and then her own escape. Third world/first world "problem" contrast.  Little Bee is moral center of the book, goddess-like, flawless.  All the other characters, in contrast, are well-rounded.  It's a very good book, but a few rough edges for Little Bee would have made it even better.  After all the suffering she's been through, she's too well-adjusted to be believable.

Sarah and Andrew O'Rourke introduced.  Little Bee and her friend's situation explained. One of the four girls did "favors" for one of the guards, so he got all four girls on the release list.  The welfare case workers aren't there because they know nothing of the release. The girls find a place to stay with farmer who lets them sleep in a dormitory for seasonal workers for a week.  One girl commits suicide (hanging). Little Bee finds the Thames and then walks to the O'Rourke's house.  Mystery of events on Nigerian beach . . . Little Bee has O'Rourke's driving license. . . While she is on her way, O'Rourke also commits suicide. Sarah O'Rourke and her son (fixated on Batman), take Little Bee in.  Sarah describes events on the beach. . . Her husband is directed to cut off his middle finger to save LB.  He refuses, so Sarah cuts off her finger . . . her respect for Andrew is gone . . . They flee Nigeria never expecting to see Little Bee a

A continental army, with willing recruits from conquered lands . . . Attacks in Poland . . . Prussia . . . war with Russia . .. Tsar Alexander seeks armistice . . . Europe divided into zones of Russian and French influence . . . allied against Britain . . . Prussia's Frederick William left out . . . Zenith of powers, certain there would be no moment on the continent where Russia, Austria, and Prussia would all be against him . . . Tilsit happiest moment of his life, he later says . . . returns to France after an absence of 300 days after a 100 hour night-and-day carriage ride.  Napoleon moved fast!

Chapter One:  Little Bee is a Nigerian girl held in a refugee center in England. First chapter is in her voice, wonderfully done.  At 14, she spends the day in the center with both men and women.  She feels the men hungry for women.  Her strategy is to make herself ugly. She hides her body, doesn't bathe, doesn't change clothes.  She does learn English very well, her ticket to success, she hopes. Chapter ends with her release from immigration center after two years(!). She and four other women, all black, are released at the same time.  There is a scene where they call a taxi that doesn't ring true to me.  2008 or so -- just released with no help whatsoever?  It certainly wouldn't happen in America. The women have no lodgings, even. The scene calling the taxi is very well done once the suspension of disbelief kicks in, but in an other wise wonderful section, it seemed overdone.  For example, there is a great section where Little Bee says that all the various horror

Burr as feminist:  "I hope by her (his daughter) to convince the world . . . that women have souls." Burr the liberal; Hamilton an advocate of the property class. . . The trial is exceptionally long--two days.  It also goes until well after midnight both days. . .  Ezra Weeks, universally condemned before the trial, is exonerated by the team of Hamilton/Burr . . . Hamilton passionate and eloquent; Burr slow and precise, both effective . . . The landlord of house, Elias Ring, having an affair with Elma Sands . . . trial is transcribed (first time in US history) After the trial, immediately some quick summaries are available to hungry, scandal-loving public.  Two weeks later, the complete transcript (99 pages) is published--the first complete transcript of a trial in the USA. . . Hamilton money problems. . . Burr "invents" today's politics, getting out and hustling for votes in NYC election, hoping to sweep all offices for his liberal friends==and doing so.  Burr

The book opens with a general picture of Manhattan in 1800 . . . some interesting facts 1) Shopkeepers routinely advertised their country of origin in store window 2) Water was terrible--sickness abounds, people drink warm beer in the morning 3) Yellow Fever from mosquitoes is common problem some years all along east coast.  Many dead.  Relationship to mosquitoes not understood . . . First frost ends outbreak, cold winter meant fewer yellow fever deaths the next summer 4) Burr involved in the Manhattan Water Project--ostensibly to bring good water to all of Manhattan, but also to enrich him. Burr the "people's" man 5) Hamilton the "Tory" man is opposed to any new bank that would compete with the banks that favor the rich--exactly the kind of bank Burr wants to open 6) Burr's daughter an early feminist (Theodosia) 7) Look up 110 North Front Street in Philadelphia 8) Philadelphia streets smoother, better than NYC. Philly built on English style; NYC on

Police department:  A violent place in which to discover a purpose. . . a good place to forge a friendship Four thousand people killed in blackout accidents in the first months of WWII . . . No weather forecasts issued in Britain--Germans attack on clear nights.  Spies would inform them . . . Marks and company 84 Charing Cross Road bookstore . . . Theatre follows a script, the outside world full of missed lines, cues, entrances . . .  London scuffed by the dead hand of globalization . . . Our job is to make sure they don't get used to murder . . . Natural singers (Janis Joplin, for example) are "destructive, dangerous," while technical singers "never bared their souls."  . . . Sciatic notch -- notch on pelvis which can be used to determine sex of skelteton. . . cicatrized--form a scar after an injury . . . Valiant as the name of a flashlight . . . "the closer you are to death, the more attached you become to life."  . . . The book finishes with Bryan

Bryant & May--Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery, Book 1 Lots that I liked.  Crime novel that is also historical fiction.  Fowler gives insight into London during the blitz.  Danger from street cars, some looting during blackout, stiff upper lip British still going to theaters, etc.  Fowler also takes reader backstage into the workings of a theater.  I learned a lot about the physical complexity of a major theater--production is a tremendous production.  I liked both the main characters.  Bryant, the eccentric loner who thinks out of the box. May, the more traditional "bright" guy, who is able to appreciate Bryant and help by keeping him in the real world, a little. Plot revolves around murders committed while cast rehearses and then performs Offenbach's scandalous version of Orpheus and Eurydice.  The murders are on the gruesome-detail side given the general British coolness of the rest of the text.  Spoiler coming.  The denouement was the weakest part.  Elspeth, pregn