Thrilling Thrillers

National Public Radio is compiling a list of 100 best thrillers. They've put together a list of almost 200 choices, from which you can vote for your ten favorites. Voting ends today, July 28, so if you read this post and still have time to go vote, here is the link. I'm sorry I didn't publicize this sooner. Here are my choices, in order of publication date (but not the order in which I read them -- that I cannot really remember).

Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurer: 1938
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith: 1955
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote: 1966
The Salzburg Connection by Helen MacInnes: 1968
Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth: 1971
Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett: 1978
Shibumi by Trevanian: 1979
Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith: 1981
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton: 1990
The Likeness by Tana French: 2008

Half the books on my list were written in the 1960's and 1970s, which reveals to me that my peak thriller-reading years were the 1970's. I would lump Gorky Park in with the 60's/70's titles as well, since it's a very cold war era book. Only two of my choices were published after 1981. I really do think this reflects my declining interest in the genre rather than the fact that no good thrillers were published during the last 30 years. In fact, I can think of a few more recent titles that I'm surprised didn't make the list. For example, I would have included (and would have voted for) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I was also surprised not to find any books by Barbara Vine, queen of the psychological thriller.

I have very specific memories of some of these books. Here is one: I know that I read In Cold Blood in 1976 while on a summer vacation with my family. I found the book so gripping that I insisted on reading it straight through until I finished it, and refused to leave our rented cabin until I was done. I remember my frustrated mother arguing with me that I could "read any time" and that I should be off swimming in the lake instead of holed up inside, which in retrospect is ironic, since my mother probably wanted me out in the lake so that she herself could get back to her reading.

And one more memory: In Shibumi, the hero is a master of an obscure* (and certainly fictional) martial art called Naked Kill. For some reason I thought this was hilarious and for years made bad jokes about it which no one else got. I remember I told someone not that long ago that I was sure Dick Cheney was also a skilled practitioner of this art but received only a blank look in return. Oh well.

*See Jonathan's excellent description of this art in the comments.

The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee

As people who read this blog know, I like to read books about colonialism, especially the British in India and in Ireland. I can’t really explain why these books appeal to me, except as a part of my larger interest in books that deal with class issues. Colonial settings provide a double whammy when it comes to thinking about class, as they often feature class conflict within a group (higher and lower caste Indians, for example) and across groups (Indians vs. British).

The Piano Teacher is different territory for me, literally, as it’s set in colonial Hong Kong. It actually covers two different eras: the 1940’s, when the Japanese invaded Hong Kong, and the 1950’s when the British were in control. The protagonist, an English expatriate named Will, is a mysterious man who navigates both eras with different coping strategies. The book also features Will’s two lovers: a Portuguese-Chinese woman called Trudy in the 1940’s and Claire (the piano teacher) in the 1950’s. All are outsiders in Hong Kong society, but really, who isn’t? In a society this complex, everyone is an outsider to some group or other. That’s what makes it so interesting.

This book will not make you a fan of Japanese soldiers. I am also just finishing up Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See, which if you can believe it, makes the Japanese sound even more brutal than they are in The Piano Teacher. But I am enjoying this expedition into colonial Asia. What’s next? The French in Viet Nam?

(Book 34, 2010)

Some Books and a Recipe

Okay, this is ridiculous. That list on the right sidebar of unblogged books just gets longer and longer and I’m getting more and more stressed about it. So I’ve decided to sit here in my kitchen and write short little pieces about all of those books while I make potato salad. As a bonus for sticking with me I will also give you my potato salad recipe which I adapted from one at epicurious.com (to omit the bacon and make it vegetarian-friendly).

1. Boil 3 lbs. small new potatoes for about 15 minutes, until tender.

Servants of the Map by Andrea Barrett

Good. Old fashioned writing, stories about explorers and scientists from the 19th century through the present. Develops themes of science and exploration, and how the two overlap. Also raises questions about the conflict between science and religion. Sounds dull but isn’t. Grade: A

2. Drain, cool, and peel potatoes. Slice and place in a bowl, preferably an old yellow bowl that belonged to your grandmother.

The Map Thief by Heather Terrell

A mystery about an ancient map which has been stolen from a Chinese archaeological dig. The main mystery features a modern-day woman who specializes in recovering stolen art, but we also get chapters from the POV of the map’s 17th century creator, and various characters throughout history who have stolen or made use of the map for their own purposes. I was kind of in the mood for this after reading Servants of the Map but this wasn’t as good. The writing was a little pedestrian and I’ve forgotten a lot of the story already. Grade B.

3. Finely dice one small onion and two cloves garlic and sauté in ¼ cup vegetable oil. Allow to cool.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Really really good. This is a fictionalized story of Mary Anning, a 19th century working class woman who was a skilled fossil hunter in Lyme Regis, in England. Anning found the first ichthyosaurus skeleton, among many other important fossils, in the chalk cliffs on the beach in Lyme Regis. Chevalier writes beautifully from the POV of Anning’s friend Elizabeth Philpot (also a real person and a fossil hunter). Anning’s struggles for recognition by the male scientific establishment are infuriating; frequently her discoveries were appropriated by others (men) and only in the last few decades has she gotten the notice she deserves. Like Servants of the Map, this book also raises questions about the relationship between science and religious faith. Chevalier has a nice web site about the book and about Anning. Grade A.

4. To the saucepan containing the onions, garlic, and oil, add: 2 ½ cups vegetable stock, ¼ cup cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons brown mustard, and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce. Bring to boil, boil 1 minute, then cool.

A Proper Education for Girls by Elaine DiRollo

Very funny, very original. Two sisters in Victorian England are raised by their father (who is a collector of scientific and natural miscellany), their eccentric aunts, and an odd assortment of hangers on, including a mysterious man who is building a flying machine on the roof. One sister, after a youthful indiscretion, has been forced to marry a missionary and is banished to India; the other sister works as her father’s curator, spending her days documenting the depth and breadth of his collection. The bulk of the story is the sisters’ efforts to reunite while their father conspires to keep them apart. This book has a high level of whimsy. It reminded me a lot of Daniel Handler’s Series of Unfortunate Events, but for grownups. Grade A.

5. Pour liquid from saucepan over the cooled, sliced potatoes. Toss. Add freshly ground pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Haunted Ground by Erin Hart

Wow, what was this about? I can’t remember even one thing. Oh, wait, now I remember. This was pretty good. It’s another archeological mystery (clearly I am on some kind of roll with these), about some Irish farmers who discover a preserved body in the peat bog. Is this a modern murder or is it an ancient body that has been mummified, like the other bog people found around northern Europe. My one complaint is that the author wasn’t satisfied just pursuing the identity and story of the red-haired bog woman, but had to throw in another complicated mystery as well, which I thought was just a big distraction. Grade B.

That's all for now. I still have a few more to write about but I think I can get to them in the normal course of events.

(Books 29-33, 2010)