Month: April 2011

>The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill: A Review

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As I was walking around the Big Sleep bookstore in St. Louis, my eye caught the book cover that you can see in the picture. Of course, there was no way I could resist a mystery novel titled The Merry Misogynist that is set in the Communist Laos of the 1970ies so I immediately bought it. "That's a really good one," the store owner commented. Now that I have finished the book, I couldn't agree more.

This novel is part of Colin Cotterill series featuring a 73-year-old coroner Dr. Siri Paiboun and his intelligent and sexy bride, a 66-year-old Madame Daeng. The Merry Misogynist is an absolutely delightful gem of a mystery novel. I'm very glad I discovered this series and can't wait to read all the other Dr. Siri and Madame Daeng novels.

Many mystery writers – Agatha Christie – included have tried to create a series where a married couple would solve crimes together. Every such novel that I have read has been one huge flop. Colin Cotterill, however, managed to create a convincing, funny and endearing couple of amateur sleuths in his Dr. Siri and Madame Daeng. These characters are so memorable that they will, without a doubt, remain with you long after you are finished with the novel.

Another reason why this novel is worth checking out is that it gives you a very unique feel of the Communist Laos in the 70ies. Cotterill manages to offer a depiction of Laos in that era that is convincing and fascinating without turning into a history textbook. Of course, I know nothing of Laos in 1978 (which is when this novel takes place) but my experience of living in the Soviet Union makes me trust many of the details of a day-to-day life in a Communist country that Cotterill provides in The Merry Misogynist.

It is a rare mystery writer who knows how to write a funny and tender book that has at its core an investigation into the crimes of a brutal serial killer. Colin Cotterill, however, manages to do just that. Unlike many of today's mystery writers, he never succumbs to the temptation to become preachy or revel in depictions of gore.

Overall, I can say that I'm overjoyed to have found this great mystery series and recommend it highly to any lover of the genre.

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>A Funny Quote from The Merry Misogynist

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I'm reading a mystery novel set in Laos that is titled The Merry Misogynist. I will write a review as soon as I'm done but for now I just wanted to share a really great quote from the book. This excerpt refers to the education system in the Communist Laos of 1978. Or does it?

"So as not to disturb classes, or, as teacher Oum would have it, wake up the pupils, he switched off his motor and scooted along the driveway to the building that housed the chemistry department. He'd been in graveyards less silent. Education, it appeared, had given way to copying large tracts of text from a blackboard. It saved the vocal cords of the teachers and the brain matter of the children."
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>Left Bank Books

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After my recent trip to New York, I'm well stocked on theory and criticism books. However, the Left Bank Bookstore is such a landmark that I absolutely had to visit it.

Of course, it would be wrong to leave a bookstore without a purchase, so I got a used copy of Victoria Glendinning's biography of Anthony Trollope.

Small local bookstores need to be supported by customers because they run the risk of being pushed off the market by the giants like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. So if you ever find yourselves on Euclid St. in Saint Louis, make sure you visit both Big Sleep and Left Bank Books. Big Sleep has this great homey environment where the owner who has read most of the books he is selling is always ready to engage in a discussion of mystery fiction.

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>Big Sleep Bookstore

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The first stop of our trip is, of course, a bookstore. (And so will be the second stop). As you have probably guessed from the title, Big Sleep is a bookstore that specializes in mystery novels. It has a fantastic collection of international mystery novels in English translation (which are mostly unavailable on Kindle).

I got novels from Norway, Great Britain and Laos.

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>The Celebratory Weekend Begins

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We are in St. Louis for a three-day celebration of my Birthday. This is a view into the courtyard of the Union Station Mariott hotel. This is my favorite hotel ever because this is the hotel where we came on the day when we got married.

Over the weekend, I will be posting many pictures of St. Louis with my comments about everything we see. The purpose of this trip is finally to discover some of the good things about this city.

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>Music, Part I

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I’ve been asked to write a post on my music preferences. I have to confess that music tastes are very weird. Of course, I can always hide behind the word “eclectic”, but “weird” is more honest a term to describe them. So from now on, I will be sharing my favorite music from time to time. I promise not to do it too often because I know that some people (myself included) hate blogs that are filled with an endless succession of videos.
I don’t know if I shared this before, but I’m a huge opera lover. Today, I want to offer to your attention my absolutely favorite aria ever performed by the amazing Luciano Pavarotti. It comes from Leoncavallo’s opera Pagliacci and is called “Vesti la giubba.”
One thing to remember is that no recording can possibly capture Pavarotti’s amazing voice. I had the incredible luck to attend the great singer’s live concert some years ago and I have to tell you that it was an experience I cannot describe with words.
I have probably listened to this aria hundreds of times, but it makes me cry every single time I listen to it. I just watched this video for the purposes of this blog and I’m in tears again. Just this one short aria is enough to redeem the entire human civilization, in my opinion.

>Anti-Kindlers

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>Sarcozona sent me a link to the following story titled “Why I Don’t Have a Kindle“:

Yesterday, as I was exiting the bathroom I heard a large splash and realized my new book had slid into the toilet. Although the toilet was empty, I was grossed out enough that I had to go buy a new copy. If I had a Kindle, I thought, I could just download the book again and I wouldn’t have to buy a new copy. Then I thought, if I had a Kindle, I would no longer have one that works.

Anti-Kindlers truly are a weird bunch. If we follow this line of reasoning we could say, “Sheesh, it’s a good thing that I don’t have a baby. Because if I’d dropped the baby into the toilet, then I wouldn’t have one any more. And I’d probably face criminal charges.”
One could also say, “A friend was going to work yesterday, tripped and broke her leg. It’s a good thing I don’t have a job!”
Or, “It’s a good thing that nobody gave me a check for $1,000,000. Because if I’d dropped it in the toilet, I wouldn’t have $1,000,000 any more.”
Of course, the entire issue could be avoided if one tried not to wave babies, Kindles, books, checks or hand grenades around the toilet bowl, but who cares about easy solutions like that.
And yes, I realize that the piece was supposed to be humorous. I just don’t have any sense of humor when it comes to the Kindle.

>Canadian Elections: The Debate

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Here is the picture of Canadian leaders who debated yesterday as part of their campaign for the upcoming elections in Canada. I saw it and realized that Canada is screwed and will continue to be so while this is what the country’s politics continues to look like.

>Brazil vs Mexico

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We watched a video in my Intermediate Spanish course where a football match between Mexico and Brazil was discussed.
“So are the characters in the video from Mexico or from Brazil?” I asked students.
There was a long pause.
“They are from Mexico,” I said. “Now, how do we know that?”
“Because if they were from Brazil, the uniforms would be yellow and blue and here they were green and white,” a student suggested.
“Because there was a guy in a huge hat in the background,” another student added.
“Because the priest said Mass, and people in Mexico are all Catholic,” was another response.
“And what language did the people in the video speak?” I asked, trying to take the discussion in a more productive direction.
“Spanish,” the students responded in unison.
“And in Brazil they speak…”
“Ohhhh. . .  that’s true,” they said.

>A Recipe for Revenge

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>In a discussion on the Stupid Motivational Tricks blog, I found a great motivational statement that could serve as inspiration to all of us who had a difficult time in college, grad school or have been treated badly by colleagues or bosses:

Doing well is always the best revenge.

I find this statement to be very inspiring.

P.S. Come to think of it, this maxim can also be applied to taking revenge on horrible, mean ex-spouses and partners.