THE MANDELBAUM GATE - Book review

 

Muriel Spark’s novel The Mandelbaum Gate was published in 1965; my copy was dated 1985, following five other paperback reprints.

‘The Mandelbaum Gate was hardly a gate at all but a piece of street between Jerusalem and Jerusalem’ – at the time of the story, 1961, it was a crossing point from Jordan to Israel. This was also the first year of the Eichmann trial. 

Freddy Hamilton is a diplomat for the Foreign Office: ‘he hated wearing sunglasses. which made one look so much like a rotten gigolo or spy’ (p54). He is friends with the Ramdez family (father, son and daughter) who work both sides of the border. Abdul Ramdez is a fascinating character: Freddy had asked Abdul about his English schoolmistress (when he was fifteen) who was the daughter of a colonel in the British Army. And asked, did she plant wild-flower seeds in the countryside, (a trait endorsed by some of Freddy’s friends)? Abdul replied: ‘I don’t know. But I planted Arab wild-flower seeds in her. She was my first woman’ (p85).

Abdul knew of the Palestinian refugees massed along the border; ‘he discerned then what a foreigner could not so accurately foresee, that there was a living to be made out of the world by preserving a refugee problem’ (p100).

Freddy made friends with Barbara Vaughan, a tourist. ‘They took her home to lunch, treating her as rather more than a new acquaintance, not only because she was Freddy’s friend, but because one always did, in foreign parts, become friendly with one’s fellow-countrymen more quickly than one did at home’ (p75).

Barbara was visiting the Holy Places and often used a guide, but not always: ‘she was tired of the travel agency guides. They had plenty of good information to offer, but they offered it incessantly. Through the length and breadth of the country the Israelis treated facts like antibiotic shots, injecting them into the visitor like diligent medical officers’ (p22). She’d had a love affair with Harry Clegg who is now on a dig in Jordan: ‘It is impossible to repent of love. The sin of love does not exist. Over at the Dead Sea, she thought, just over there, he is ferreting about in the sand or maybe he has discovered an inkwell used by the Essene scribes or something’ (p48). She intends to interrupt her pilgrimage to cross the border to join him.

There is more than one mystery. A main character suffers memory loss – a blank space for a few days only. The doctor is not happy about resorting to a psychiatrist:  ‘In fact, I haven’t got a great deal of time for them, myself. They all hold different theories. There’s hardly two who would treat a patient in the same way… They’re a lot of bloody robbers…’ (p123). [Having previously read a novel about Jung (The World is Made of Glass), I can see where the doctor – or the author – was coming from!]

To complicate matters, Barbara goes missing! Her pilgrimage becomes a flight, because she is half-Jewish (though converted to Catholicism) and would therefore be persona non grata in Jordan. The Ramdez family is involved, including Abdul’s sexy sister Suzi, and to complicate matters spies are discovered working for the Arabs… And there will be blood spilled – from a surprising angle, too!

The author seems to have captured the febrile times perfectly, treating all nationalities with empathy and humour. Perhaps there is a little too much religion thrown in (Muriel Spark became a Roman Catholic in 1954). Even so, sometimes tongue-in-cheek and droll, there’s a serious aspect to the whole adventure.

Editorial comment:

This is omniscient narrative. Frequently, the thoughts of more than one character are shown in the same scene, and speech of more than one person will be within the same paragraph. Past and present are interwoven – as in real life – through thoughts, yet the reader is never lost or confused.

R.I.P. Neil Robson

Neil Robson 

(4 January 1948-27 February, 2023)

I read the following at the order of service at the cremation on 31 March:

I’ve known Neil since our school-days so he has been a part of my life for near enough sixty-three years. And now he is gone.

He was a man of many parts, a connoisseur of whiskies, knowledgeable in world music (from pop to classical, ethnic to movie), old movies (usually of the British black-and-white variety), trains, local history, radio, photography, video-editing, and computing. While still at school he’d constructed a (doubtless illegal) directional-microphone – but never entered the sleuthing world. He was accomplished in woodwork and even constructed an office or two, and he would happily build a computer for friends and associates. He enjoyed puzzles – notably cryptic crosswords. And he loved gadgets, often being one of the first to own a new one: for example, left-right indicator lights for a bicycle. Surprisingly, he was a late convert to Alexa.

After his death, someone said that ‘wherever he is now, he’ll be at pains to put them right’. Because he was a perfectionist who ‘believed that the only way to do something was the Robson Way.’ He was often right, but conceded there were alternatives; to each his own!

While he will be remembered by many people for many interactions with them, perhaps his greatest gift to those who knew him was that he was most generous with his time, willing to help friends or neighbours with any problem, whether plumbing, electrical, mechanical or relating to computers.

Though not an avid reader, he was interested in words, hence his attachment to crosswords, and took pride in his pronunciation of certain words, not least being honorificabilitudinitatibus, which Shakespeare only used once, in Love’s Labour Lost.

At 27 letters it’s the longest word in the English language which strictly alternates consonants and vowels. It means ‘the state of being able to achieve honours’.

Certainly, Neil achieved honours by his long-lasting friendships, of which there were many from school and his time with the National Coal Board (where he met Margaret and was then subsequently joined with her at the hip).

He was adept at picking up foreign words or phrases, be they Welsh, or bits of German from their visits to Austria and Germany, or snippets of Spanish during their twice-yearly visits to us in Spain over fifteen years.

His humour was invariably dry. When I told him in hospital that his stroke was a shock to us all, he replied, ‘Not as much as it was to me’.

He was wont to deliberately mispronounce certain words so that thereafter the listener would forever be plagued with that version – two examples spring to mind: the local village of Wideopen was pronounced Wideo pen; and Finestrat the Spanish village near Benidorm became finest rat! He also adopted the baton passed on by Terry Wogan, inventing silly names, such as Lidia Bin, Anna Rack, Dai Laffin, Dicky Tikker, Nora Bone, Jim Shoes and Al Fresko…

So, yes, he may be gone, but for many reasons, as well as the aforementioned memories, he’s not forgotten.

MOON - Book review

 

The last James Herbert book I read was Fluke in 2012. So it was about time I read some more of his impressive output, starting with his 1985 novel Moon.

Moon begins dramatically with a boy tormented in his bed; this is ‘before’. The rest is ‘after’. A particularly gruesome evisceration of a dead woman is followed by a diver experiencing a waking nightmare that almost threatens his life. Jon Childes survives, being hauled out of the sea by Amy, a fellow teacher. Both work on a Channel Island; Jon teaches IT, Amy teaches French and English.

It appears that Jon had fled the mainland – England – after being instrumental in tracking down a serial killer. Reluctant to admit it, Jon somehow possessed a weird psychic ability that enables him to get into the killer’s mind and pinpoint where the bodies were buried. Unfortunately, the sensational press and sceptical police cast suspicion on him. That was three years ago. Since then, he has not received any psychic imagery or suffered grisly nightmares. Until now.

Herbert’s success is partly due to his ability to create an atmosphere of dread – usually surrounding innocuous individuals who find it difficult to cope with the supernatural. ‘The mourners were grouped around the open grave, dark clothes struck grey by the sunlight. Stained white crosses, slabs, and smiling cracked angels were dispassionate observers in the field of sunken bones. The mushy cadence of traffic could be heard in the distance…’ (p42)

During a meal with Amy’s family and other guests, Jon briefly discusses computing. ‘You’re talking of an ideal situation where the computer is a normal household item, a regular piece of furniture like the TV or stereo unit. We’re a long way off from that situation’ (p48). How times have changed since 1985! Envisioning video-calls on mobile phones must have seemed like Star Trek then.

Complications arise when Amy’s influential father takes a disliking to Jon and institutes an investigation into his past…

Even nowadays, there are plenty of people who still retain an open mind about extra sensory perception and other related phenomena. So perhaps it is not unusual for Amy to accept Jon’s talent – or curse. Amy says: ‘It isn’t stupid at all; it makes a weird kind of sense. Strong emotions, a sudden shock, can induce a strong telepathic connection between certain people, and that’s well known’ (p79).

The moon begins to evince significance for Jon: ‘He was aware of what was happening to him and dreaded what images were to be further unveiled. He experienced a desperate need to be safe inside his home, feeling terribly exposed, vulnerable to the luminescent night, the moon’s stark glare causing the surroundings to appear frozen, the trees oddly flat as if cut from cardboard, the shadows deep and clear-edged’ (p111).

Jon enlists the help of Detective Inspector Overoy, who had been involved in the cases three years ago. Overoy is a rarity, a believer in Jon’s ability. The case almost cost Jon his sanity, but it did ruin his marriage, though he remains on speaking terms with his ex-wife Fran and fairly regularly sees his daughter Gabby.

Inevitably, this new killer becomes aware of Jon while Jon sees through the killer’s eyes. Now it is a battle of wills, and the killer taunts him, threatening all Jon holds dear, and more tragedy and deaths are to follow before the grim climax.

A fast read. A page-turner. Suspend disbelief in the supernatural and enjoy the ride!

Dead Burying the Dead Under a Quaking Aspen - book review

 

Screenwriting guides advocate “leave plenty of white space on the page”; effectively, “less is more”; or “give the reader/viewer space to visualize”. David Cranmer accomplishes that with this slim yet thoughtful and often poignant book of 29 poems. Indeed, his words “create fuel for the soul” – “The Need”. Herein you will find a “carefully crafted house of words” – “Daughter”.

The range of subject matter is considerable. From Haiti to Texas; from New York to the intergalactic void of space.

“The Inconsiderate” puts you into a grim gory scene laid out by the dreaded Tonton Macoute, for example.

Cranmer has the neat knack of sometimes deliberately forcing a space – a pause – in a line, mainly to make it more telling. Of course poetry is best appreciated when read – the listener gets the cadences, soaks up the emotion through the tone.

“reaching out to take my hand

asking to be   familiar again.” – “Cri de Coeur

Many of the poems feature death in all its guises. He quotes Martin Amis pointing out that “poetry alone… can face death on anything like equal terms.”

As Cranmer says in “Blue”:

“capturing the poetry of a slow death.”

There’s the unresolved murder of Hugh Chaffin, a man who loved gardening and was bound, gagged and bludgeoned to death; there’s the internationally abhorred murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, journalist and a resident of Virginia.

So, yes, there’s anger here, too.

And there’s the poignant “On the Border” where the narrator is visiting his Mom in a hospice and is reminiscing about those times when they’d watched westerns on TV together. “Except in these rooms, Alzheimer’s is the ruthless gunslinger.” He swats a mosquito and feels like a “much-needed paladin” – a fine reference to Have Gun Will Travel.

Perhaps pride of place must go to “Under the Quaking Aspen” where a few moments spent with his daughter Ava prove almost ineffably tender. His wife Denise is not forgotten: for their daughter is “cut from a priceless diamond”.

A fine production that will bear re-reading.

Protagonists perfectly portrayed and felt very real

A 5-star review for Catalyst - #1 in the 'Avenging Cat' series

"A fast-paced thriller that opens with an exciting vertical climb up a building. Sounds like a regular cat-burglar? No, this is Catherine Vibrissae, more accustomed to rock climbing and desperate to get revenge for her father’s death.
 
There are several themes to the plot including murder, animal rights and environmental abuses, as well as huge corporations running riot (these last three are subjects which I too would fight against). The plot lines are all nicely tied up by the end – although this is a series and will continue into the next book.

With the protagonists (who are perfectly portrayed and felt very real) hopping around England, Wales and Spain, this novel offers up an exciting and enjoyable read."

Thank you, reviewer Sue Roebuck!

212 pages. 
 
The e-book is still at a bargain price - 90p/99cents!

The paperback's good value too - at £5.99... but not for long!!!
 

Book review - I Kill

André Warner, manhunter is back, and with a vengeance. That’s what he deals in, sometimes – vengeance. Most of the time, he’s an assassin for hire, as we learned in End as an Assassin. Lex Lander’s sequel to that fast-paced traumatic thriller is a page-turner, and again no holds are barred.

It begins with a death – one planned, one unplanned. An echo of the start of End as an Assassin, almost; but with a difference. This time he really has retired from his deadly profession. Or so he thought. As his employer/contact says, ‘Some professions are not for quitting.’

So, his latest hit was in Tangier, with an alias. While sorting out his hardware issues for the hit, he encounters Clair Power, who is staying at the hotel with her teenage daughter, Lizzy. Before long, he’s helping them to ward off the unwanted attentions of Dutchman Rik de Bruin.

Yet again we’re immersed in the faux reality of Warner’s world, the details so convincing that it must be ‘real’.

Warner’s relationship with Clair – and later with Lizzy – becomes complicated as the plot thickens. There’s abduction, gunplay, brutal violence and sex in roughly equal measure.  And poignancy, and death too.

Another highly enjoyable breathless tale told in Warner’s own words. And, happily, more will follow with the third adventure, The Man who Hunted Himself due out later this year. I’ll be there.

5,000 readers can’t be bad

I’ve just seen this year’s Public Lending Right statement and it makes interesting reading. Not so much for the payments, which are most welcome, but mainly for the numbers of people who have read my books. I’ve said it before, we write to be read, not to attain riches.

This year’s figures are based on the British Library collecting loans data from a changing sample of UK public library authorities. This year’s payments are based on loans data collected from 36 library authorities across the UK during the year July 2014 – June 2015.

It was good to see that paperback Write a western in 30 Days and fantasy hardback Wings of the Overlord are now in libraries and have been borrowed. This is the first time they have shown up since being published.

 

The other loans are exclusively for my Robert Hale westerns:

The Magnificent Mendozas – 100

The $300 Man – 975

Old Guns – 1638

Blind Justice at Wedlock - 816

Last Chance Saloon – 785

Death at Bethesda Falls – 581

That’s a total of 4895 readers (unless some borrowed a book more than once!)

Of course that is only the tip of the readership iceberg; one must assume that libraries not in this year’s sample will also have loaned these books. That’s gratifying to a writer, to know that my books have been read by in excess of 5,000 readers. 

My latest western, The Magnificent Mendozas was only registered in 2014; it’s nice to know that my first book, Death at Bethesda Falls is still finding readers.

Now, if only libraries would stock my crime and suspense books!

Viz:

Spanish Eye

Catalyst

Blood of the Dragon Trees

Sudden Vengeance

Libraries can’t stock The Prague Papers, The Tehran Text, Catacomb or Cataclysm as these are currently only in e-book format.

New paperbacks and hardbacks should be registered with PLR before 30 June this year to be included in the 2017 sample: www.plr.uk.com.