so yes, then, i have (at last) finished another two novels. well, reading two, look you see, and not writing them. another time, another place, i did kind of do something along those lines, but, well, i got lazy, life got in the way, and so forth.
it is quite by random chance that i read the two (2) under discussion here. and, as the title of this post gives every indication, somewhat gritty, or dirty, is what i read in both instances. to mixed results, and of differing levels. no, i was not expecting it in at least one, but that's my issue for not checking up on it first. one does try and avoid "spoilers" and that sort of thing.
on the note, or subject, of which, as usual an image of the two books follows, with a brief overview. from that point on, i would encourage you to note an obligatory *** SPOILER WARNING *** is in place.
firstly i read (and yes, i appreciate a decade or so after most people) Sharp Objects, off of Gillian Flynn. i was vaguely expecting a "thriller" sort of novel, with no idea of the plot. this i got, but considerably darker, more haunting than i had anticipated. brilliant, but proceed with caution if (like i was) you were one of the dozen or so people on the planet yet to read it. to Bad Blood Rising, which i believe is another debut novel (if Sharp Objects was), only in this instance from Eva Carmichael. i was, frankly, expecting this to be the "dirtier" novel, and it deals with some rough stuff but not quite so graphically as i had anticipated. since people wishing to avoid spoilers will leave here, certainly worth a try if you were (or are) a fan of the 'Max Wolfe' crime novels of Tony Parsons.
to get on, get down, and get with it, then. and starting where i did is to commence, or kick off, with the one from Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects.
plot? i think (hope) the best that i can do is say a journalist of mixed success is struggling with many issues, the least of which is seemingly never hitting a really good, big story. a sympathetic editor dispatches her to her former home town, where a story of missing children possibly being linked hasn't yet been picked up by any other news or media outlets. with reluctance off she goes, knowing full well she will face unhappy memories of the past and a bleak future.
the above, i appreciate, may (might) sound a bit cliche, been there, done that all before. if that is so, then i have not really done it as much justice as i could, really. probably, also, as this novel is at least a decade old now, i am quite sure many "inspired" by this work have turned up over the intervening years. overall, though, here it is the narration, the story telling, or simply of course the writing which is frankly astonishing.
on picking up this novel, one may well go "oh", thinking it is quite slender (thin) and thus may be a little shy on content. not so. rather not the old saying don't judge a book by its cover, but instead not by its length. actually, someone i know did that, buying only really large books, figuring they were better value for money. for context of the stupidity of that, the average album by the (i believe) now ex Mr Kim Kardassian, or Sammy Hagar, lasts twice as long as a standard record off of The Beatles (or anyone else, really) so no, length is not a reliable guide for quality or value. at all.
right now i am a couple of months down the road from reading Sharp Objects, yet full well can i recall the stark, vivid imagery. not just of the conclusion, but aspects from it. this is not a novel for the fainthearted, by the way. should i recall correctly (if not the attribution or the quote) i believe it was no less than the great Anthony Burgess who said a novelist, to be true, to be good, has to be filthy with the filthy. there is nothing gained and all lost by holding back in text from the reader. Gillian Flynn certainly does not hold back. i do not believe, as a simple (if not humble then frankly stupid, innocently ignorant) man, i do not believe i have ever been exposed to such a salacious, deep view into the psyche of a woman before.
yes, indeed i should probably read more of Gillian Flynn, for this novel was excellent. but, also, i have a mountain of books to read already. perhaps i shall keep an eye open for others. my understanding is that her "big" one (thus far) was, or is, Gone Girl, so maybe i will have a look.
earlier (rather than later) i did mention that the provenance of this one was somewhat different from the norm. hopefully i have not built this up too much, or can meet any vague expectation i have set. it is so that i purchased this from the author, direct, who(m) had set up a market stall from which to sell all (three) of her novels.
from what i can gather (going on details inside the book) the author was selling this novel (and two others) via amazon, likely in that "ebook" format. it would seem she took the decision, or plunge, to get a number of copies printed as actual, proper books and have a go at selling them. generally, or as a rule, convention says "avoid self published books", for if no publisher will touch it why should anyone else. and yet look at how frequently JK Rowling had her Harry Potter novel rejected, and yet still look at some of the ghastly, terrible tripe what publishers have committed to in the past. never mind "generally" anyway. whatever someone's dream is of course (so long as it harms no one) i would say go for it, if their passion is to write and be published then absolutely i am going to give it a go, supporting it however i can. undoubtedly i am far from alone in this view.
plot? a 'then and now' affair. the novel commences some 20 / 30 years back from the present (hence the then reference), where a (let us be honest) pimp is on the verge of expanding (muscling) into the big time. he does a few naughty (and highly questionable) (also illegal) things, all (or most) of which are set to come and haunt him, all at once.......
to use the word once more, earlier i suggested (or plain stated) that this novel may well be of interest for people who, if we are fair, like me rather enjoyed reading the copper books that Tony Parsons has written over the last few years. believe me i am not being negative, or sarcastic. a thing is, though, is that in those books Tony tended to be more concerned with telling a story, rather than character development, motivation, etc. which is what happens in Bad Blood Rising. the ostensible protagonist is the pimp (Karl Maddox), but one never really gets any "motivation" or understanding of the character beyond he is a greedy, violent bully. but sometimes that's enough for the story.
events in the novel tend to happen, rather than be described. the same is true of any consequences, or ramifications. plausibility of some of the twists and events is stretched quite far, but hello, fiction. although my understanding is that a fair chunk of this was based on, or inspired by, a real life character of questionable qualities. perhaps not as sordid or filthy as i was expecting (hoping would be too strong, but the subject matter is what it is), but still. anyone who really likes crime novels, and is looking for a straightforward read, here you go, worse than this exists.
but also yes, i am already stuck into my next read, and it is going well. that tall one off of Pointless, or formally of (i believe), is quite the writer, to give you a preview of what is to come. for now, though, if you have read this far, many thanks as ever for doing so.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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