Episode 167…
Well, things went slightly better this week, perhaps due to me bricking up the letter box and shouting “She’s emigrated to Australia!” every time the postman knocked the door. So the TBR has fallen by 4 to 226! I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting off the treadmill soon…
Here are a few more that should drop off soon…
Classic Club Spin #18 Winner
Number 9 was called and so this is it! In its favour, it’s short and I loved the film. Against, I really didn’t get along with Cain’s writing in Mildred Pierce (review still to come). So it could go either way…
The Blurb says: An amoral young tramp. A beautiful, sullen woman with an inconvenient husband. A problem that has only one grisly solution–a solution that only creates other problems that no one can ever solve.
First published in 1934 and banned in Boston for its explosive mixture of violence and eroticism, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a classic of the roman noir. It established James M. Cain as a major novelist with an unsparing vision of America’s bleak underside, and was acknowledged by Albert Camus as the model for The Stranger.
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Vintage Crime
Courtesy of Farrago via NetGalley. I’ve been enjoying revisiting a few of the Flaxborough Chronicles as Farrago have been releasing them for Kindle. This one has always been my favourite of the series so *spoiler alert* it will get a five-star review!
The Blurb says: As Miss Lucilla Teatime often remarks, there is no lack of entertainment in the delightful town of Flaxborough. What could be more wholesome than the Folklore Society’s quarterly “revels”, with dancing, a bonfire, and a quaffing bench? Well-upholstered matrons and town worthies enter most enthusiastically into the spirit. So it’s unfortunate when a younger woman, the freethinking Edna Hillyard, goes missing that night.
Then the manufacturer of “Lucillite” (gives your wash lightness, brightness and whiteness), filming a promotion locally, is dismayed to find a gruesome bull’s head ruining his key scene, while desecrations take place in the church, and the press begins reporting on Black Magic and a Town of Fear! Are DI Purbright and his team really battling against evil forces?
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Crime
Courtesy of Grove Atlantic via NetGalley. I’m not sure about this at all – it doesn’t sound my kind of thing. But somehow I have to get South and Central America on my Around the World map, and frankly books from there never seem to appeal to me! So I shall try to go in with an open mind and maybe this will be the one to win me over…
The Blurb says: From a writer whose work has been praised by Junot Díaz as “Latin American fiction at its pulpy phantasmagorical finest,” Don’t Send Flowers is a riveting novel centered on Carlos Treviño, a retired police detective in northern Mexico who has to go up against the corruption and widespread violence that caused him to leave the force, when he’s hired by a wealthy businessman to find his missing daughter.
A seventeen-year-old girl has disappeared after a fight with her boyfriend that was interrupted by armed men, leaving the boyfriend on life support and the girl an apparent kidnap victim. It’s a common occurrence in the region—prime narco territory—but the girl’s parents are rich and powerful, and determined to find their daughter at any cost. When they call upon Carlos Treviño, he tracks the missing heiress north to the town of La Eternidad, on the Gulf of Mexico not far from the U.S. border—all while constantly attempting to evade detection by La Eternidad’s chief of police, Commander Margarito Gonzalez, who is in the pockets of the cartels and has a score to settle with Treviño.
A gritty tale of murder and kidnapping, crooked cops and violent gang disputes, Don’t Send Flowers is an engrossing portrait of contemporary Mexico from one of its most original voices.
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Classic Fiction on Audio
For my Classics Club challenge. I loved Tess when I read it many years ago, and I also loved the 1979 Roman Polanski film. This audiobook is narrated by Peter Firth, who played Angel in that film, so I couldn’t resist…
The Blurb says: Hardy tells the story of Tess Durbeyfield, a beautiful young woman living with her impoverished family in Wessex, the southwestern English county immortalized by Hardy. After the family learns of their connection to the wealthy d’Urbervilles, they send Tess to claim a portion of their fortune.
Considered Hardy’s masterwork it presents a major departure from conventional Victorian fiction, causing controversy and mixed reviews on first publication due to it challenging Victorian sexual morals. The work was subtitled ‘A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented’ as Hardy felt that its heroine was a virtuous victim of a rigid Victorian moral code.
Hardy considered it his finest book and due to his enlightened and forward thinking, the story has captivated audiences since it was first released.
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NB All blurbs and covers taken from Goodreads or Audible UK.
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So…what do you think? Do any of these tempt you?
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Waiting at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport, with “Welcome FF” sign, chocolates and 5 (five!!!) new books for you to read …
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Hahahaha!!! I shall have to think of some way to snaffle the chocs and make my escape without the books… next stop Hong Kong!
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Oh, The Postman… is a potent one, FictionFan. I really hope you’ll enjoy it, or at least be glad you read it. And it’s not a long story, either….just sayin’. And you’re reminding me that I need to read some of Colin Watson’s work. I’ve been wanting to and just…haven’t yet. I look forward to your review; wonder what it’ll be like? 😉
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The not long aspect really appeals given how stuffed with review copies August seems to be! And it will give me a great excuse to re-watch the film. Haha – maybe I’ll hate the Colin Watson this time round – you never know! 😉
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Not going to lie. I’m slightly disappointed. But I have faith that next week will be better. For me. Worse for you 😉
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Hahaha – well, if it cheers you up I’ve just received an email telling me two are on the way… 😱
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*giggle*
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😋
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I loved Tess, can’t believe I read it for the first time during Ali’s Hardy readalong a few years ago. What I’d read of his I’d read multiple times, and then others not at all. Well done on the amazing TBR reduction (says me with the growing one).
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I’m the same – re-reading the same ones and not reading the rest, that is. But Tess is one of my re-reading ones – definitely his best of those I’ve read. One day I must try to read some of the others… Haha! I suspect my reduction may go into reverse soon! 😱
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“bricking up the letter box”
I almost died!! 😂😂😂
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Hahaha – sometimes extreme measures are required… 😉
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I shall be interested to see what you think of The Postman – I’ve never read it, but liked the film a lot. I am seriously considering buying a Kindle just so I can read the Flaxborough books – they sound like they were almost written for me personally to enjoy! I say ‘Pfft’ to the gritty Mexican one. I say Pfft to gritty in general! Ah, Tess – I liked that one. I look forward to your review 🙂
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I get the impression the book is a lot more graphic than the film, so I’m not sure how it’ll go, but it’ll be a great excuse to watch the film again anyway! Ha – you should definitely get a Kindle – your life would be enhanced beyond measure by the Flaxborough witches! And in this one there are people known as the Lucies… 😀 Yeah, I kinda wish I’d said Pfft too now, but maybe it’ll surprise me.. Tess will undoubtedly restore my mental equilibrium though…
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You have to read the ‘Pfft’ books, so we don’t have to! I’m secretly hoping for a famous FF one-star review, obviously *cackle*. People known as the Lucies sound absolutely marvellous… actually, it’s my birthday next month so maybe I shall instruct Mumsie that a Kindle would be the ideal gift… 😉
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Haha – well, I’ve got a two-star one coming soon if that’s any help! Ooh, that would indeed be the ideal gift – room to allow your TBR to grow exponentially…!! 😀
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Oooh a two-star one will do nicely! Excellent! Argh the TBR… at least my bedside table will thank me for it 🙂
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I’m trying to imagine how awful my house would be if all my Kindle books were paper ones too… 😱
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😮😮😮
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I also saw the film adaptation of The Post Always Rings Twice, so I’ll be interested in your review of the book and also the Colin Watson book.
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I think the book might be more graphic than the film, so we’ll see, but it’ll be a great excuse to watch the film again anyway! The Colin Watson books are great fun… 😀
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I’ve not read The Postman Always Rings Twice, although I’ve seen both film versions (I much preferred the 1940s adaptation to the 1980s one – have you seen either of them?) so I’ll be interested to hear how you get on with the book.
I wish my name was Miss Lucilla Teatime & I went to the Folklore Society’s revels 😀
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I’ve seen and loved the 1940s one and had forgotten there had been a re-make – which I’m now not sure if I’ve watched or not, so it couldn’t have made a great impression on me if I have! I have a feeling the book is more graphic than the 1940s film so I don’t know how I’ll get on with it, but it’ll be a great excuse to watch the film again anyway… 😀
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I’m curious to know which Postman film you like, FF: the Lana Turner/John Garfield version (1946) or the Jessica Lange/Jack Nicholson outing (1981). I thought both had their merits; and the different endings make me curious to know how the book ends.
Still, Tess of the D’Ubervilles is pretty good, too…
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I was thinking of the 1940s one – I’d forgotten there had been a remake, an I now can’t remember if I’ve seen that one. I think the book may be more graphic so might be less to my taste, but it’ll be a great excuse to rewatch the film(s) anyway! I love Tess and full intend to rewatch that movie too after I’ve listened to the book… 😀
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Well, it could definitely have been worse on the ‘Spin’. I’ve not read the book or seen the movie. However, I’ll watch for your thoughts. I’m curious that it was banned in Boston. Wow. Good luck!
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Definitely! I was hoping for short and cheerful – well, I don’t think this one will be cheerful but it is short! The film is excellent – I love these old noir films from the ’40s – so it’ll be a great excuse for a re-watch. But I get the impression the book is more graphic – hence the banning… 😱
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Broomsticks, of course!
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But of course! 😀
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I have a burning desire to read Tess of the D’Urbervilles again!
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You could get the audiobook and listen while you walk! Mind you, sobbing in the street might look a bit strange… 😉
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Yes probably would take some explaining!
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I’m safe this week, ha!! The only one that I *might* find interesting is Don’t Send Flowers, primarily because I, too, can’t seem to get into literature from South and Central America. I’m going to watch the meme again — it tickles me that I’m not spinning around and falling off!!
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Hahaha – I do hope the chap on the roundabout didn’t get hurt but I enjoyed his fall! 😉 Yeah, it’s odd about the South and Central America books – I’ve read a few recently and they just don’t work for me. Maybe this will be the one…
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Woo hoo- down 4! Your poor mail carrier with the shouts! 😂 I read a great review of the Solares’ book on Goodreads. I didn’t end up requesting it, but I tend to enjoy Grove Atlantic’s books. They are usually well-written with some quirkiness to them. (I like quirky!). Too bad you weren’t game for the drug wars in Fruit of the Drunken Tree! 😊
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Hahaha – I bet he’d be delighted if he didn’t have to carry all these books to my door! Oh, I’m glad to hear that about the Solares book – I haven’t seen any reviews of it yet. Haha – yeah, the whole drug cartel thing is so not me – I can’t really imagine why I requested this one. I think I just saw Mexico and thought oh good, another country for my challenge! But we’ll see – maybe it’ll change my mind. I like Grove Atlantic’s books too but don’t often get them from NG any more because they’re not always listed in the UK. But sometimes I take a chance on the American site…
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‘an amoral young tramp’-yikes! What a descriptor LOL
I laughed out loud when I read about you bricking up your mailbox-maybe I should try that too? LOL
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I know – I have a horrible feeling this book is going to be full of misogynistic language… oh dear! I’ll have to switch off my outrage alarm…
Hahaha – it doesn’t seem to have worked for very long… the postman must have unbricked it… 😉
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I know the feeling! haha
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There is actually a third movie version of The Postman Always Rings Twice. It is called “Ossesione” (Obsession) and was directed by Luschino Visconti. This brilliant movie was made in 1943 and hence predates the first American version made in 1946. I think Ossesione is a minor masterpiece in movie making (esp. photograpgy) and much better than the 1946 version.
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Oh, that sounds good and apparently I can watch it through my Amazon subscription! I can see I’m going to end up doing a compare and contrast of at least this and the 1946 film, and if I can bear it maybe the 1980s one too… 😀
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Tess, perhaps. I started reading this as a teenager and gave it up. I’m probably old enough to appreciate it now!
Looking forward to seeing you in Australia!
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I reckon you’d love Tess if you give her another chance. I read a few Hardy novels in my twenties and loved them but for some reason I’ve never revisited him so I’m hoping he lives up to my memory of him. Haha – I’m quite looking forward to emigrating now… 😉
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You’re going to love Tim Tams and lamingtons 🙂
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Haha – I want a Tim Tam already and I don’t even know what it is!
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They’re only the best chocolate biscuits of all time!
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Oooooh! *books trip to Australia*
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I’ll be at the airport with a sign that says ‘FictionFan’ 😀
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Nope can’t say that any of these tempt me. But I do hope ye enjoy theme. And I still like readiin’ reviews of all sorts of things even if I won’t be readin’ the book meself.
x The Captain
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Me too! It keeps me up to date with the genres I don’t read and just occasionally I get tempted out of my comfort zone… 😀
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