I bring you a non-fiction book that I came across on NetGalley, thanks to Books Go Social, and it has made me think and smile, both great things.
Get a Life! A Guide to Finding a Philosophy to Live By by Alan Poon
Get a Life! A Guide to Finding a Philosophy to Live By by Alan Poon
AN IRREVERENT GUIDE TO THE GOOD LIFE Learn Philosophy. Sound Smart. Live Well.
Are you searching for meaning in a world that feels hollow? You’re not alone. As modern life casts off the traditional anchors of the past, many of us are left adrift. Take an introductory tour through the wisdom of the ages to rediscover what has been lost. Explore transformative ideas from eight of humanity’s greatest philosophies—from Buddhist calm to Existentialist courage, Epicurean delight to Confucian duty, and everything in between.
Uncover alternatives to the script contemporary society has given us. Why is life worth living? What things are worth fighting for? How do we be good and do good? Wisdom comes in many shapes and sizes.
This book mercilessly cuts through the mumbo jumbo of academia with clarity and wit to distill complicated ideas into plain English, focusing on practical insights to live a life of purpose, fulfillment, and happiness. Whether you’re a seeker, skeptic, or simply feeling stuck, Get a Life! offers a roadmap to finding a philosophy of life that’s right for you.
About the author:
Alan Poon was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Vancouver. As a child, he read a complete encyclopedia set for fun (it’s like Wikipedia, but printed!). He had a reputation as a teenage rebel, writing his own answers on multiple-choice tests and fearlessly opening the door to debate Jehovah’s Witnesses. Armed with an engineering degree, he works as a mailman and has no credentials to talk about philosophy. That hasn’t stopped him from trying.
My review:
I thank NetGalley and BookGoSocial for providing me with an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.
This is a book by an author I hadn’t come across before, and who openly acknowledges he is not an expert in Philosophy. And that might work to our benefit, because although this is not a book that will enlighten anybody who has studied Philosophy in depth, the way it approaches the subject is likely to suit people who have only read superficially about it or have a limited knowledge of the ideas of some famous philosophers and little else. The book is written in an easy-to-read way, although that doesn’t mean the ideas or concepts the author discusses are simple. But he manages to find up-to-date examples, many from popular culture, and that makes it seem less threatening and obscure. And he states that this is not an attempt at writing a self-help book either, so those who are not interested in that genre, or have had their fill of it already, need not worry.
From the beginning he warns the readers that he will not include the big religions in his book, and even when he discusses some philosophies that are closely related to religious belief (like Buddhism) he does it from a secular point of view, talking more about the way they deal with moral and ethical matters, and not getting into otherworldly or faith related themes.
He briefly summarises several philosophical schools:
Under the category “The Ancient East,” he writes about Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Under “The Ancient West,” he talks about Aristotelianism, Stoicism, and Epicureanism.
Under “The Modern Age, “he includes Existentialism, and Secular Humanism.
He also includes an introduction and a conclusion “the concluding pep talk”) and a sort of quiz at the end that might help those readers who aren’t sure which one of those philosophies would suit them best to choose one of them. A word of warning, though. I only had access to an ARC copy in e-book format, and the quiz was impossible to follow due to formatting issues. I am not sure if that will be the case in the final copy; otherwise, people interested in trying the quiz might do better getting hold of a paperback copy. (Here, I must add that the author left a comment on the post informing us that he had updated the quiz, so hopefully that shouldn’t be a problem any longer. A very nice gesture.) Ah, and there is also a bibliography at the end, including books and articles consulted in the writing of this text.
I enjoyed this book because the author has a talent for summarising the most important aspect of all these philosophical currents; he has a great sense of humour and some of his subtitles are bound to stick in our memories and make us smile as we remember the different philosophies; he shows great sympathy and understanding for human nature and includes everybody, no matter what their interests or lifestyles; and he does not expect a rigid adhesion to one single philosophy or set of ideas. Whatever helps us lead a good life, whichever definition of a good life we choose, is perfect for him, be it a full immersion in one of these philosophies or a pick-and-mix approach to some of their concepts and principles.
I felt particularly inspired by the sections on Buddhism (which I had read about briefly), Stoicism, and Existentialism, but I enjoyed the entire book and revisited some concepts I hadn’t thought about in many years. And I have understood better some that, when I studied them, I was probably too young to fully appreciate.
Here I include a quote as an example of what the author attempts to achieve:
Philosophies of life attempt possible answers to impossible questions. They are stories within which we find a role and a reason to live. All we can do is choose a story that’s right for us, one that inspires, motivates, and comforts us through the highest of highs and lowest of lows. Call it a “truth” if you must —a subjective, personal truth, and one that lets us sleep at night.
A book to consult, revisit, guide us, and inspire us to dig deeper and keep learning and living.
Thanks to the author, to Books Go Social, and to NetGalley for this book; thanks to all of you for reading, sharing, liking, visiting, commenting, and especially for always being here. Keep smiling, and I wish you as good a life as possible. ♥
I bring you the review of a book by an author I discovered through Rosie’s team. He is quite an original writer who doesn’t follow fashionable trends and goes his own way. He writes exquisitely, but he is not for everyone. (Is anybody for everyone?)
The Means of Keeping by Rich Marcello
The Means of Keeping by Rich Marcello
The Means of Keeping is a profound exploration of grief, friendship, and the indelible impact of climate change on personal and global scales. Set in a near-future America, the novel follows Tereza Allard and David Luca, two lifelong friends in their forties shattered by a climate crisis-induced tragedy that claims the lives of their families. The evolving dynamics between these characters against the pressing issue of climate change provide a rich narrative ground, exploring the intersections of personal loss, love, renewal, environmental activism, and the search for meaning in a world on the brink of unrepairable catastrophe.
With a narrative style that blends the introspective depth of Kazuo Ishiguro’s works with the environmental consciousness of Barbara Kingsolver, The Means of Keeping is aimed at readers who appreciate books that not only tell a compelling story but also reflect on the larger issues facing humanity today. With haunting prose and evocative imagery, the novel challenges us to imagine a future where love, resilience, community, and the fervent desire to protect our planet become the means to reclaim our shared humanity. May our children inherit not only a healthier planet but also an indomitable spirit to prevail against all odds.
In the year 2032, Tereza and David, lifelong friends in their forties, are shattered by the catastrophic climate crisis storm that robs them of everything they hold dear. Determined to find solace and redemption, they abandon their Maine home and set out on an extraordinary odyssey. Their destination: The Ashami Institute, a secluded mountain sanctuary nestled in upstate New York, where a vibrant community of artists, philosophers, scientists, and intuitives beckons. Within the once-hallowed ground of the Institute, they propose something radical—the transformation of Ashami into a sustainable haven that embodies the delicate symbiosis between humanity and the planet. They call it Keeping.
But as the world hurtles toward chaos at an alarming pace, the grand vision of Keeping is threatened from within and without. Tereza and David find themselves entangled in a struggle to confront their traumatic pasts and realize the dream of Keeping. Can they reconcile their personal pain with the larger existential crisis facing Humanity? Will the power of their love be enough to lead Keeping through its most difficult challenge? And what profound questions arise when the planet’s very survival hangs in the balance?
With haunting prose and evocative imagery, The Means of Keeping challenges us to imagine a future where love, resilience, community, and the fervent desire to protect our planet become the means to reclaim our shared humanity. May our children inherit not only a healthier planet but also an indomitable spirit to prevail against all odds.
About the author:
Rich is the author of six novels, The Color of Home, The Big Wide Calm, The Beauty of the Fall, The Latecomers, Cenotaphs, and The Means of Keeping, and the poetry collection, The Long Body That Connects Us All. He is also president of Seven Bridges’ Writer Collaborative, where he teaches a number of fiction classes, and a contributor to The Harvard Press, where he writes a column on the climate crisis. Previously, he enjoyed a successful career as a technology executive, managing several multi-billion dollar businesses for Fortune 500 companies.
As anyone who has read Rich’s work can tell you, his books deal with life’s big questions: love, loss, creativity, community, self-discovery and forgiveness. His novels are rich with characters and ideas, crafted by a natural storyteller, with the eye and the ear of a poet. For Rich, writing and art making is about connection, or as he says, about making a difference to a least one other person in the world, something he has clearly achieved many times over, both as an artist, a mentor, and a teacher.
Rich lives in Massachusetts with his wife. He is currently working on his seventh and eighth novels, The Connection in Everything and In the Seat of the Eddas, a follow-on to The Latecomers.
My review:
I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (authors, if you are looking for reviews, check here), and I freely chose to review an ARC copy of this novel.
This is the fourth novel by Rich Marcello I’ve read, and they all share some elements in common: beautiful language, gorgeous descriptions, a spiritual dimension, a search for personal truth, and some strange events, which might be ghosts, memories, dreams, or a combination of all. The narratives also tend to stray away from a simple linear structure, and although in this case the story is told chronologically, things don’t simply ‘happen’. The protagonists reflect upon what happens, and the characters’ train of thought is often disrupted by memories, flashbacks, and outside intrusions. Readers learn about what is happening ‘now’ and, in time, they get to discover the details of how the protagonists got there and learn a lot about them, their motivations, and their journeys.
There are big themes contained within the pages of this book: friendship and a love stronger than life itself, grief, second chances, mental illness, education, climate change and the way to revert it or at least control it, individualism versus community values, a variety of definitions of family, truths, lies, and betrayals, changing priorities, writing and art, trauma, growing older, what safety and security mean in a world of uncertainty and what they are worth…
This novel is divided into four parts and a prelude that sets up the stage by talking about climate change and how little the big developed countries did (or are doing) to put a remedy to it. Part one starts in 2032, and the near future depicted is all too real. Although set firmly in the USA (most of the comments about the extremes of weather, people’s migration to areas further north and better protected from the worst of the changes brought on by global warming all refer to areas of the USA), the ideas and the “projections” of what new weather disasters might hit us in the future feel very familiar and all too real in the whole of the world.
This theme, climate change and possible ways to fight against it is exemplified and intertwined with the events that affect the two protagonists, David and Tereza. They have known each other since they were young, they were a couple before university despite their different upbringings and family backgrounds, and although things changed and they ended up married to other people, they always remained close to each other and so did their families, to the point where Tereza’s son was the boyfriend of David’s daughter. And then, something terrible happened and both their lives were destroyed. They lost their families and seemed to lose their connection to each other, at least for a time.
Each one of the characters chooses a completely different path to deal with their grief and loss: while David holds on to his past, and refuses to allow any new person in (he regularly ‘sees’ his wife and daughter and talks to them), Tereza tries a more standard approach, using anything to ameliorate the pain and try to forget her feelings of guilt (sex, drugs, alcohol…). But they finally come together, and after a cleansing of sorts, they decide to go to the Ashemi Institute, a community where they both were supposed to study for a year before university, but due to a terrible event, David couldn’t go, and while Tereza was there, she met Luke, her husband to be. David is entranced by Ashemi, but Tereza is quite disappointed. The community has changed and has fallen on hard times, and she has also changed and thinks that the focus of the institute on individualism and exceptionalism was misguided and has not achieved the results they expected. They didn’t manage to create leaders who went on to change the world but rather made individuals who focused on personal achievement rather than the global good.
Notwithstanding Tereza’s disappointment, David manages to connect with a woman there, Emma, and he gets a second chance at life. Despite some reluctance from Tereza, somehow all of them end up staying at Ashemi and creating a new community, Keeping, which tries to exemplify some of the things they think should happen in the world at large to try and revert climate change. I don’t want to spoil the novel for you, so I won’t go into much more detail, but let’s say that the experiment works quite well for a while, but there are major obstacles in the way, and the two protagonists have to deal with more loss. Interestingly enough, they seem to have swapped places, and while Tereza decides to give herself a second chance with somebody creative, David gets stuck in the past, starts drinking heavily, and doesn’t seem to be able to move on.
Literary fiction is not for everybody, and it is also a category that encompasses many different books on a variety of topics, and diverse styles. This is a novel of ideas, and there is a fair amount of telling, especially when discussing the way the community is run, the rules, and the philosophy it follows, and a lot of information is provided on ways to fight climate change. Therefore, readers looking for a fast read or a book full of gripping adventures and with larger-than-life characters are bound to feel disappointed. As for the characters, that depends on readers’ taste. The protagonists aren’t the standard heroes of novels, and the secondary characters aren’t either. They are thinkers, and artists, and sometimes make terrible mistakes, they can be indecisive, not necessarily familiar, recognisable, or always likeable. It is true to say, though, that their relationships are always interesting, and make one think.
I am not sure I warmed to either of the protagonists (I liked Jane, although she appears later in the novel and we don’t get to know her as well, and Joanna intrigued me, but she only makes some brief appearances). I found them interesting, sometimes annoying, at others I agreed with them, but, in my case I didn’t truly connect with them. I would have happily attended a conference they organised, but I don’t think we would have become friends at first sight, not that such a thing is a requirement to enjoy this or any other novel. I am sure other readers will feel differently about it, and I wasn’t in my best frame of mind when I read it.
This is a novel unlikely to leave people indifferent, and the author offers book clubs access to a set of questions to discuss following its reading. Marcello also includes links to different sources on climate change for those interested to find out more.
Before I forget, I mentioned at the beginning the beauty of Marcello’s writing, and it is evident when reading this novel or any of his other ones, that he is a poet as well. His descriptions of places, events, art pieces, feelings and thoughts are lyrical and nuanced. The book is also interspersed with quotations, snippets from Tereza’s diary, and other pieces of writing and poems, which add texture and variety to the third-person narrative that tells the story alternating the point of view of the two characters.
A novel for those who like to go deep into character’s emotions and are interested in climate change and some innovative (and possibly doable) solutions to prevent it from getting any worse. It is speculative, but it balances optimism with realism, and it makes very valuable points. Do check the style of writing and if you like it, you are in for a treat.
A small sample of the writing:
He’d forgotten how their love had once before caught them at the bottom of a fall, at the edge of a cliff, and had wisely guided them back to each other. He didn’t yet understand it had done so again.
We are bound, not by the roles we’ve played —lovers, colleagues, friends, brother, sister—but by living lace. We are a couple of lacemakers, our whole lives spent spinning our intricate connections, deepening and strengthening them for the transitions to new, the rebirths and recharges, the healings, the work no one else can do.
Thanks to Rosie and the author for this opportunity, to Rosie’s team for their support, and, especially, thanks to all of you for always being there. I hope you all have a nice summer (or winter, depending on where you are), take care, keep reading, take each day as it comes, and always keep smiling.
I bring you the review of a book that seemed pretty original to me, although when I read the comments, it might not be so original, perhaps because I don’t read a lot of science fiction, but I still found it interesting, and I hope you might do as well.
Ascension by Nicholas Binge
Ascension by Nicholas Binge. For readers happy to explore big ideas and embrace uncertainty
A mind-bending speculative thriller in which the sudden appearance of a mountain in the middle of the Pacific Ocean leads a group of scientists to a series of jaw-dropping revelations that challenge the notion of what it means to be human.
IF YOU EVER READ THIS TELL OTHERS DON’T COME HERE.
When a mountain mysteriously appears in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a group of scientists are sent to investigate – and discover what is at the summit.
Eminent scientist, explorer and chronic loner Harry Tunmore is among those asked to join the secret mission – and he has his own reasons for joining the team beyond scientific curiosity…
But the higher the team ascend, the stranger things become. Time and space behave differently on the mountain, turning minutes into hours, and hours into days. Amid the whipping cold and steep dangers of higher elevation, the climbers’ limbs numb and memories of their lives before the mountain begin to fade.
What will they discover about themselves and their world as they rise? What, or who, will they discover at the top?
Framed by the discovery of Harry Tunmore’s unsent letters to his family and the chilling and provocative story they tell, Ascension considers the limitations of science and faith and examines both the beautiful and the unsettling sides of human nature.
About the author:
Nicholas Binge is an author of speculative thrillers, literary science-fiction, and horror. His novels include Ascension and Professor Everywhere. Binge has lived in Singapore, Switzerland, and Hong Kong, and is based in Edinburgh, UK, where he teaches literature and works on new books. He is an active member of ESFF (Edinburgh Science-Fiction & Fantasy).
His most recent novel, Ascension, is being published by Harper Voyager (UK) and Riverhead Books (US) in April. It is also being translated into eight other languages and has been optioned for film.
Binge has a deep love for anything weird, anything that pushes boundaries, and anything that makes him cry. He is never happier than when he is with a book.
I thank NetGalley and Harper Voyager (Harper Collins UK) for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel, which I freely chose to review.
I wasn’t familiar with the author before I read this novel, but my curiosity was piqued by the concept, and I also read some intriguing comments about it, so I had to check it out.
The description of the novel is quite apt, and the premise pretty original (although when I read some of the comments, it seems that readers found similarities and connections with other novels, some I am unfamiliar with, so I’m just speaking for myself here). Imagine that, suddenly, a huge mountain appears, here on Earth, much bigger than anything we know, in the middle of “somewhere” (“where” is never made clear). Even more curious is the fact that most people don’t know anything about this mountain (this part of the story is set in the early 1990s, so at a time when perhaps one could imagine it might still have been possible, though improbable, for something like that to be kept hidden from the general public). Harold (Harry) Tunmore, a scientist with several careers under his belt, is recruited for an expedition to that mountain, with a team of other scientists. Only, this is not the first expedition, and it is unclear what happened to the members of the previous one, other than a couple, who came back but they are not quite themselves. The story doesn’t reach us directly, though, but it is framed by an introduction, set in 2020, provided by Harry’s brother, Ben, who was always in awe of his intelligent, aloof, and socially inept brother, and who, together with their sister, Poppy, had given Harry for dead almost thirty years earlier, when he had disappeared and never been heard of again. Suddenly, Ben receives a phone call from a friend who believes he has recognised Ben’s brother at a mental health asylum. When Ben goes to investigate, he discovers that Harry is still alive, and also that he has kept a stack of letters addressed to Harriet, his niece, and Ben’s daughter. In these letters —three of which had reached them at the time but didn’t seem to make any sense— he tells a pretty curious and outlandish tale. Apart from the frame, this epistolary novel also includes the editor’s notes, commenting on the order of the letters and the process of trying to get the narrative into shape, Ben final’s words, and the author’s acknowledgement. (Remember that I read an ARC copy, so it is possible that there might have been some changes in the final published version.)
If one had to try and fit this novel into a genre, speculative science fiction fits it quite well, but there are also elements of horror (Lovecraftian monsters included), philosophical and psychological inquiries, a bit of a mystery thrown in, and there is an exploration of themes such as guilt, grief, avoidance, religion, faith, destiny, fate, time, free will, conspiracy theories, and what it means to be human. Many different thoughts came to my mind, and many possible comparisons: Brigadoon, where a charming village appeared magically every so many years and disappeared again (nothing to do with the tone and themes of this novel, though), The Descent (a group of people isolated in extreme conditions and confronted with some unknown dangers, although it lacks the philosophical depth), Interstellar (different plot but some of the questions it faces are not that dissimilar), Gravity (although in these last two rather than a full team there was an individual doing the searching), Alien… I’m sure you catch my drift and you will probably add many more if you read it.
We have an international ensemble of characters, and experts in different fields, as is to be expected from books and movies where humanity confronts an unknown challenge. You have a couple of ex-military personnel (from the US, a woman and a man, who had been married in a past life, but no longer), an expert climber and mountaineer (Australian, arrogant and full of himself), three soldiers, and a group of scientists: a geologist, a chemist, a doctor (who was a member of the previous expedition and who also happens to have been married to Harry), a biologist, and an anthropologist. I don’t want to spoil the story, but let’s say they are quite different, some friendlier than others, some more focused than others, some determined, some placing a lot of importance in faith and religion, others completely opposed to anything that is not rational and logical, and they are all confronted with things beyond their wildest imaginations. They are faced, not only with the difficult conditions of the climb (and most of them are completely new to it), but with confusion, strange changes in the time-space continuum, paranoia, secrets, lies, and, especially in Harry’s case (although as he is narrating the story in the first person, it might be that we are only told a very biased and one-sided version of it) a reckoning with his own personal history, his own past, and his own sense of guilt. He experienced a terrible loss in his life, he has spent many years trying to avoid dealing with it, and he finally has to face the truth.
I read some of the reviews, and I cannot disagree with some of the negative comments, although I don’t feel quite as strongly about the issues they point out as some other readers do. Some people find that the suspension of disbelief required to read the novel stretches their limit. For example, the fact that we are asked to believe that somebody in such extreme circumstances would find the time to write letters —especially letters he didn’t think he’d ever send (only three of them ever reach his niece)— is asking a bit too much for some readers. That is true if we read the novel as totally realistic, but there are possible explanations, some of which are contemplated inside its pages as well. I am not sure if the novel would have worked better in any other way, but I thought it added something to it, and I didn’t mind it that much. I don’t know enough about some of the concepts and theories about time and space mentioned in the novel, so I cannot comment on how accurate they are, and people who know more might take issue with those, but I enjoyed the explanations and they gave me plenty of food for thought (so, I’d say one doesn’t need to be an expert in Physics to enjoy the novel, no). How realistic some of the characters are is another matter. We are used to reading books and watching films and TV series where an individual or a team, are experts on everything and show an amazing capacity to solve problems by taking up tasks that seem well beyond their training or experience, but, as I said, that is a convention of the adventure genre (and a few others), and we are all aware of some individuals who seem to fit into that kind of profile. So, again, that didn’t bother me much. Some readers were not very impressed by the ending (and the twist that comes with it), but, although I understand the disappointment of some, it made perfect sense for me in light of everything else that had gone on. As I mentioned before, there are some alternative explanations offered to the story, but even without those, I feel there is a sense of equilibrium and completion to the narrative which I enjoyed.
For my part, I was gripped by the story, by some of the concepts about time, space, and destiny that are part and parcel of the novel, and also by the process that Harry, the main character, goes through, and how he has to face what happened. In some ways, the rest of the characters can be seen as aspects and issues of his own personality and psychological make-up, and he needs to confront all those to achieve a degree of peace and to make sense of his life, whatever is left of it even if it doesn’t make sense to anybody else. This is a book that asks a lot of questions but doesn’t offer any reassuring answers. This is not a novel for readers who are sticklers for rationality and verisimilitude in a story, who prefer everything to be settled and all issues to be sorted at the book’s closing, and who are seeking a reassuring read. This is for those who don’t mind their suspension of disbelief being stretched, who appreciate a bit of adventure and a few scares, but who also like to read challenging stories that question the nature of time, free will, memories, and what it means to be human.
Thanks to the author for sharing such a fascinating story, thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity, and especially, thanks to all of you for reading, commenting, and sharing this review. Keep smiling and living life to the full.
Today I bring you another review. A few months ago I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing the first book in the ‘Time, Karma and Blood Series’ by John Dolan, ‘Everyone Burns’. And I could not pass the opportunity to read and comment the second one. I leave you my five stars review, a link to the book in e-format and paperback and a link to my review of the previous book, just in case you missed it.
Hungry Ghosts, ‘Time, Blood and Karma’ Book 2 by John Dolan
Hungry Ghosts (Time, Karma and Blood Series Book 2) by John Dolan. Family secrets, family feuds, betrayals and ghosts.
‘The spirits of the dead are all around us, but it is we, the living, that are the true hungry ghosts.’I could not agree more with the reflections of David Braddock, the detective-cum-philosopher and therapist who is the protagonist of Hungry Ghosts, the second book in the ‘Time, Karma and Blood Series’ by John Dolan. I read the first book in the series Everyone Burns and when I reviewed it I mentioned that I thought this would be a five star series but the first book left me wanting more and with too many questions pending. Be reassured, Hungry Ghosts delivers on all the promises of the first and more, and although, of course this being a series everything could not be resolved, the novel answers many of the questions, whilst opening new avenues for inquiry and intriguing plots.
‘Sometimes I come across as superficial. Of this I am aware. However, you may be confident that inside my head I am forever plumbing new shallows, finding novel ways to express the obvious, reheating old jokes.’
David Braddock, one of the most peculiar detectives I’ve met in fiction (and I am aware all famous detectives have quirks and characteristics that make them memorable) is back with a vengeance. Or rather, he is the intended victim of a revenge attempt. Vending the rules, although it appears to be the standard MO in Thailand, does not come without consequences even there. People die, lives are destroyed, and strange alliances are made and broken. Not your standard day at the office.
If Braddock still retains many of the characteristics we’ve come to expect of most males detectives (he has an array of love interests, two of them married, one related to him by first marriage…), we get to see more of his soft/emotional side. His strange relationship with his first wife (now dead), his daughter (away in England), his housekeeper (not his maid, as he insists throughout the whole book. She is clearly much more than a housekeeper, as signaled by the fact that they have never had sex), his mother-in-law, and crucially, his father. Family secrets abound, not only those of the Braddock family, but also of other families. Fathers and sons with troubled relationships are mirrored on both sides of the law (although the lines are very fine and there is no black and white here, rather different shades of grey), and even Braddock’s Zen master, the Old Monk, has sons who are on opposite sides of the law.
The author shows his talent by using a variety of points of view throughout the novel that allow us to understand better the events and the motivations behind the actions of the characters. We share in the murderer’s frame of mind, the Chief of Police of Samui and his wife (and Braddock’s lover), the detective’s sister in law, the gangsters… We might side with Braddock but we are privy to the thoughts and feelings of others and are a step ahead. That is why the twist at the end is even more effective. We should have seen it coming but we were too taken by the action and the story, and rooting for the flawed hero to realise that…
John Dolan treads carefully and manages to recap enough information to allow somebody who has not read the first novel to enjoy and make sense of this one, whilst at the same time not boring somebody who has recently read ‘Everyone Burns’, and just nudging their memory (especially with the unfamiliar names) along.
David Braddock is fast becoming one of my favourite detectives. Although an amateur at both detective work and psychology (or therapeutic interventions), he has a natural flair for both. I couldn’t help but think that he might make an interesting team with Mary, the psychiatrist who gets involved in all sorts of crimes in my stories. It’s a thought.
Hungry Ghosts has gang-warfare, police corruption, revenge, murders and violence, secrets and revelations, honey traps and meddling employees, witty repartees and reflections (‘I need to simplify my life so far as women are concerned. Maybe I should get castrated and have done with it.’), ghosts and padrinos (Thai style). I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens next and what will come of the sudden epiphany Braddock experiences in this book. As he observes: ‘We are the artisans of avoidance, the fabricators of falsehoods. We sell ourselves snake-oil and we call it medicine.’ I’m sure there will be more revelations to come and I suspect the author might take us in unsuspected directions. I am getting a ticket for the next trip. Are you?
Just Olga 