The Taming of the Queen; Wind/Pinball; So Nude, So Dead

I was disappointed by Philippa Gregory's latest, "The Taming of the Queen". I think Kathryn Parr is a fascinating woman, and I've read lots of fiction and nonfiction about her remarkable life at court, but most of this book is just religious debate. I understand that was a huge part of life for the time and place, but after about 200 pages of it, it's just repetitious and boring. I was also hoping for Gregory to touch on Kathryn's life after Henry died, but she didn't. If you enjoy reading the same theme over and over again for several hundred pages, then you'll like this one. Otherwise, skip it.

Two early novellas from the 70s, republished in one volume by Haruki Murakami. I enjoyed both of these stories very much, but what really stuck with me was the introduction. He talked about how he wrote the first one, and he was unhappy with it, so he wrote it all over again English. Since English isn't his native language, he was forced to write it very simply and straightforwardly, and he was pleased with the results. "Wind" is about a young man during his summer break from college who spends most of his free time hanging out in J's Bar, drinking with a slightly older man named Rat. The second story, "Pinball", features Rat's business partner and his obsession with a certain pinball machine.

"So Nude, So Dead" by Ed McBain was apparently his first published book, and Hard Case Crime has reprinted it (an aside: I love Hard Case Crime books. That is all). The reviews weren't very good, but I enjoyed it. Ray is a heroin junkie who wakes up one morning next to a dead blonde. He partied with Elaine the night before, both of them getting higher than kites, and now it's morning and Elaine has been shot to death and the sixteen ounces of heroin she had is gone. Ray is desperate for a fix, but the cops are after him, figuring he killed Elaine and took the heroin. Ray tries to figure out who killed her so he can clear his name, all while trying to locate some money and some heroin so he can fix. I thought McBain did a great job of getting his desperation through, and the ending made sense. Not bad. I wish someone would find a long lost 87th Precinct novel somewhere, I really miss those.