Comments for Reactions to Reading

Comment on Review: Eye of the Red Tsar by Sam Eastland by j

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:57:53 +0000

I am from Eastern Europe, but none of the things mentioned above bothered me a bit. It is just a good read, or a good detective story. (We usually not say that how come that Miss Marple figures out everything light years before anybody else does.) Of course the tsar wasn’t a credible figure, much less Stalin; but in a certain way the chaotic circumcstances and brutality of the time was described very well. And about the two other characters, well, I guess the story was taylored for readers today, who wouldn’t be able to memorize more than six names anyway,

Comment on Review: THE CALLER by Karin Fossum by Kathy D.

Kathy D. — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:20:57 +0000

If brutality happens to children, I’m out. The Boy in the Suitcase was my limit. Any more harm to little ones and I’m out of there. Also, part of Michael Connelly’s brilliant new book The Drop is so disturbing about the worst violence against children that I had to skip some of it. So this may be a pass.

Comment on Review: THE CALLER by Karin Fossum by Maxine

Maxine — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:35:20 +0000

PS Glad you liked the translation. I liked it too. For some reason, Reviewing the Evidence found it substandard.

Comment on Review: THE CALLER by Karin Fossum by Maxine

Maxine — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:33:51 +0000

I agree with you that this book is unsettling. Karin Fossum has a (unique?) talent of writing about normal events – domestic minutiae and so on – conveying an air of menace and tension, for no discernible reason. Some of her books seem rather too like fables to me but like you I enjoyed this one very much, particularly the character of that young girl who one feels could teach Seger and co a thing or two. I wonder if Fossum has thought of making her a detective in a future book?! Another Fossum trademark here is the way she conveys sadness- in particular the story of the father/son who go hiking. I am not sure if she is really that much like Highsmith – Highsmith was more into the warped side of human nature, but in a more harsh and morally ambivalent way than Fossum? But like you, it is a very long time since I read any (though I do remember on about the fourth Ripley book thinking that the author had really run out of steam as far as he was concerned). I also remember how much better the book of Strangers on a Train is than the film version.

Comment on Review: THE CALLER by Karin Fossum by Barbara

Barbara — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:21:16 +0000

I freely admit to being a wuss too, but I think this book sounds worth the teeth-clenching fright. I love a good character study.

Comment on Review: THE CALLER by Karin Fossum by bernadetteinoz

bernadetteinoz — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:06:28 +0000

I can certainly understand how any parent, especially a new one, would want to avoid books in which children and young people are traumatised – and to be honest I haven’t discussed the worst incidence of it that appears in this book because it takes place very late into the story and is truly heart-breaking.

It’s been a long time since I read any of Patricia Highsmith’s books but I shall add something to my list for when I’m looking for a classic read.

Comment on Review: THE CALLER by Karin Fossum by cavershamragu

cavershamragu — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 09:24:11 +0000

I often have a similar reaction to Patricia Highsmith’s work – while she could create fascinating plots it is her ability to transport you into the mindset of damaged people that I genuinely admire – and yet it is not somewhere you are particularly going to want to visit with any great enthusiasm without steeling yourself a bit first. Books involving children are, for me, always a particular case apart – just the other day I was chatting with a colleague at work who has a 1-year-okd who loves reading ‘krimis’ (she’s part German) who suddenly realised that anxiety over the fate of young people seemed to feature in a lot of modern crime fiction and that understandably she was just not prepared to go there anymore. Thanks for pointing out that not all the characters end up brutalised at the end, but I suspect I’ll probably give this one a miss or anyway try one of Fossum’s earlier books instead.

Comment on Review: V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton by Book review: V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton | Petrona

Book review: V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton | Petrona — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 07:11:30 +0000

[...] reviews of V is for Vengeance: Reactions to Reading, Crimepieces, and The Neff [...]

Comment on Review: THE CALLER by Karin Fossum by Margot Kinberg

Margot Kinberg — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:12:11 +0000

Bernadette – What a fantastic review, and I’m so glad you thought this book was the “stay with you” kind of unsettling. There are some books like that, that just haunt one, aren’t there? And it’s to Fossum’s credit that she can depict a broken life without being maudlin about it.

Comment on Review: AGENT 6 by Tom Rob Smith by Kathy D.

Kathy D. — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:00:22 +0000

FYI: If you’re still looking for Irish women writers, Declan Burke has write-ups about several at his website Crime Always Pays. Included are posts about writers of historical crime fiction. Fascinating stuff.