N OR M?

by Agatha Christie



N or M? is the second full-length Tommy and Tuppence mystery. It finds our heroes years after their adventures in The Secret Adversary. They are now middle-aged and bored. Their children are grown and away, and Tommy and Tuppence are desperate to find a way to help England's war efforts and feel useful once again. Do you think they'll find hunting traitors exciting enough?

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are a couple of my favorite Christie characters. Sadly, there are only a handful of books featuring the daring pair. They differ from most of her other recurring characters in that they are more involved in espionage rather than general detective work. Adding to the uniqueness of N or M? is the fact that it is the rare Agatha Christie book to feature a specific wartime setting. It is WWII, so those of you looking for a light read for your War Through The Generations Reading Challenge might want to check this one out!

Short Story: BLUE WINDS DANCING

by Tom Whitecloud

"Blue Winds Dancing" is the story of a young native American trapped living between two worlds, as a college [student] and a part of contemporary "white" society, as well as an Indian, a member of an ancient society. (Wikipedia)

This is the most beautiful short story I have every read. If they were all like this, I would have become a convert long ago. It just so happened that it's a bit of a Christmas story, so the timing of my coming across it was nice. But the real attraction for me was the torment the narrator feels over being accepted by "civilization" and the need to stay connected to his Indian roots, which are viewed as uncivil, even savage, but ultimately make him much happier.

As a person who is bothered deeply by our consumer-driven society but spoiled by many of the conveniences, I took much of the underlying commentary on that to heart. How much is enough and what is most important in our lives are questions we all must face every day. And I have a feeling if we were completely honest with ourselves, less would be more than we would ever need to be truly happy.


To read "Blue Winds Dancing" on line, click here.

THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY

by Agatha Christie



As I'm trying to whip through Agatha Christie novels to finish out the Anything Agatha Challenge before the end of the year, I thought I'd give Poirot a break and catch up with Miss Marple. The Body in the Library was Christie's first Miss Marple book after a ten year break from the endearing old lady from St. Mary Mead. In this caper, the dead body of a woman no one seems to know is found in the library of Miss Marple's friends, the Bantry's. The police are stumped, but they don't pay attention to the town gossip the way Miss Marple does!

Jane Marple is a fun change from Hercule Poirot. Where Poirot is on the conceited side of intellectual ability, Miss Marple is simply an astute old woman who has learned a lot about human nature over her long years. She not adverse to using gossip as clues and sharing her wealth of knowledge of the townsfolk to assist local law enforcement. The Marple mysteries seem lighter and more amusing than Poirot's, but sometimes that's just the variation a reader is looking for. It was perfect for curling up under the electric blanket and ignoring that snowstorm we had last night!

DEATH ON THE NILE

by Agatha Christie



Hercule Poirot's holiday in Egypt is interrupted by the murder of a beautiful young woman on her honeymoon. Jealousy and revenge appears to be the motive, but as always, there is more to the story than meets the eye.

This was the first Agatha Christie novel in which I actually guessed the murderer. Score one for me! :-) Death on the Nile is reported to be "Agatha Christie's favorite among her books with a foreign background" (The Agatha Christie Companion by Sanders & Lovalo, p. 152). I liked that I got to know many of the characters better than is usually the case in Christie's mysteries. The murder doesn't take place until well into the story, so there is a lot of background material that gave this novel more depth than I was expecting. A nice surprise!

William Faulkner

I am developing a fascination with Faulkner. I'm listing all his novels and short stories here to keep track of what I have read.

Online Resource: William Faulkner on the Web

Novels

• Soldiers' Pay (1926)
• Mosquitoes (1927)
• Sartoris/Flags in the Dust (1929/1973)
• The Sound and the Fury (1929)
• As I Lay Dying (1930)
• Sanctuary (1931)
• Light in August (1932)
• Pylon (1935)
• Absalom, Absalom! (1936)
• The Unvanquished (1938)
• If I Forget Thee Jerusalem (The Wild Palms/Old Man) (1939)
• The Hamlet (1940)
• Go Down, Moses (1942). Episodic novel made up of rewritten previous published short stories.
• Intruder in the Dust (1948)
• Requiem for a Nun (1951)
• A Fable (1954)
• The Town (1957)
• The Mansion (1959)
• The Reivers (1962)


Short Stories

1919

“Landing in Luck”

1922

“The Hill”

1925

“New Orleans”
“Mirrors of Chartres Street”
“Damon and Pythias Unlimited”
“Jealousy”
“Cheest”
“Out of Nazareth”
“The Kingdom of God”
“The Rosary”
“The Cobbler”
“Chance”
“Sunset”
“The Kid Learns”
“The Liar”
“Home”
“Episode”
“Country Mice”
“Yo Ho and Two Bottles of Rum”

1928

“Music--Sweeter than the Angels Sing”

1930

“A Rose for Emily”
“Honor”
“Thrift”
“Red Leaves”

1931

“Ad Astra”
“Dry September”
“That Evening Sun”
“Hair”
“Spotted Horses”
“The Hound”
“Fox Hunt”
“Carcassonne”
“Divorce in Naples”
“Victory”
“All the Dead Pilots”
“Crevasse”
“Mistral”
“A Justice”
“Dr. Martino”
“Idyll in the Desert”

1932

“Miss Zilphia Gant”
“Death Drag”
“Centaur in Brass”
“Once Aboard the Lugger (I)”
“Lizards in Jamshyd’s Courtyard”
“Turnabout”
“Smoke”
“Mountain Victory”

1933

“There Was a Queen”
“Artist at Home”
“Beyond”

1934

“Elly”
“Pennsylvania Station”
“Wash”
“A Bear Hunt”
“The Leg”
“Black Music”
“Mule in the Yard”
“Ambuscade”
“Retreat”
“Lo!”
“Raid”

1935

“Skirmish at Sartoris”
“Golden Land”
“That Will Be Fine”
“Uncle Willy”
“Lion”

1936

“The Brooch”
“Two Dollar Wife”
“Fool About a Horse”
“The Unvanquished”
“Vendée”

1937

“Monk”

1939

“Barn Burning”
“Hand Upon the Waters”

1940

“A Point of Law”
“The Old People”
“Pantaloon in Black”
“Gold Is Not Always”
“Tomorrow”

1941

“Go Down, Moses”
“The Tall Men”

1942

“Two Soldiers”
“Delta Autumn”
“The Bear”

1943

“Afternoon of a Cow”
“Shingles for the Lord”
“My Grandmother Millard and General Bedford Forrest and the Battle of Harrykin Creek”
“Shall Not Perish”

1946

“Appendix, Compson, 1699-1945”
“An Error in Chemistry”

1948

“A Courtship”

1949

“Knight’s Gambit”

1950

“A Name for the City”

1951

“Notes on a Horsethief”

1954

“Mississippi”
“Sepulture South: Gaslight”

1955

“Race at Morning”
“By the People”

1962

“Hell Creek Crossing”

1965

“Mr. Acarius”

1967

The Wishing Tree

1971

“Al Jackson”

1973

“And Now What's To Do”
“Nympholepsy”

1976

“The Priest”

1977

“Mayday”

1978

“Frankie and Johnny”

1979

“Don Giovanni”
“Peter”
“A Portrait of Elmer”
“Adolescence”
“Snow”
“Moonlight”
“With Caution and Dispatch”
“Hog Pawn”
“A Dangerous Man”
“A Return”
“The Big Shot”
“Once Aboard the Lugger (II)”
“Dull Tale”
“Evangeline”

1988

“Love”

1995

“Christmas Tree”
“Rose of Lebanon”

1999

“Lucas Beauchamp”

Author Lists

These are lists of authors works or series books that I'm working my way through. I'm certain it will be added to frequently. :-)

Agatha Christie
William Faulkner
Graham Greene
Chuck Palahniuk
Robert B. Parker (Spencer Series)

THE SOUND AND THE FURY

by William Faulkner



Faulkner's masterpiece telling of Caddy Compson and the Compson family, seen mostly through the eyes of her three brothers: mentally handicapped Benjy, Harvard-educated Quinn, and cold, resentful Jason.

I was terribly afraid of this book, so decided to read just enough background to get a handle on how to approach it but not enough to give anything away. Here is what I learned: If you keep in mind that the first part, told from the point of view of Benjy, will make no sense until later, it's a lot easier to get through. And this, too: The second, third and fourth parts don't make much sense on their own either.

Despite that, I found much of the writing in The Sound and the Fury strangely beautiful. Even at its most confusing it was able to evoke emotion -- mostly making me uncomfortable, like when you see couples verbally arguing in public and you know you should just walk away and mind your own business, but you really want to know what they meant by some of the weird, enigmatic things they said to each other.

I was able to pick out bits and pieces of the full picture as the book progressed, but I have to thank Sparknotes and Wikipedia for any real comprehension of what on earth was going on. Once I looked at those, I wanted to go back and read the book again. I have a feeling that will be a repetitive theme with me when it comes to classics. And that's not a bad thing!

CHARITY GIRL

by Georgette Heyer



When Viscount Desford finds Charity Steane on the road to London running away from her aunt's house, he has no idea the trouble he's about to unleash when he offers to assist in her quest.

While it seems you really can't go wrong with a Georgette Heyer book, I didn't feel that Charity Girl quite lived up to my high expectations of her work. As I similarly said in an earlier review of an Agatha Christie novel, when a person produces as much material as Heyer did, there are bound to be a couple books that aren't quite as satisfying as my favorites. The beginning of the story put me in mind of Cinderella, the ending is absolutely adorable, but it seemed to take a long, long time to get to get there. If you're already a Heyer fan, this is a perfectly good book to wile away a few hours, but I don't think this is one that will turn a newbie into a dedicated follower.