1 to 5 of 5
Review Date: 9/14/2013
14 SEP 2013 (Sat.) @ ~ 02:45 P.M.
Dear Sirs/Ladies: I acquired this book to loan/give to a family friend; I had read it years ago and had thoroughly enjoyed it, along with several other of Robert Van Gulik "Judge Dee" mysteries. If/when it is returned to me, I will probably re-read it. In the interim, I may very well decide to request others in this series throught PaperBackSwap. (signed) Edwin Timothy Vaughan
Dear Sirs/Ladies: I acquired this book to loan/give to a family friend; I had read it years ago and had thoroughly enjoyed it, along with several other of Robert Van Gulik "Judge Dee" mysteries. If/when it is returned to me, I will probably re-read it. In the interim, I may very well decide to request others in this series throught PaperBackSwap. (signed) Edwin Timothy Vaughan
Review Date: 10/15/2013
Helpful Score: 1
18 OCT 2013 (Fri.) @ ~ 10:00 A.M. EST
Many years ago, at home sick from work, I read William Faulkner's "Sartoris" and thoroughly enjoyed it; but, as I discovered much later, it was only a "cut" version of the original, "Flags in the Dust", which was eventually published in uncut form in the 1950s. This novel, which is not only a drama but also a tale of love and lust, describes Mississippi (and, presumably, the Southern United States) in the 1920s, just after World War I. There are echoes throughout not only of the Great War but also of the Civil War. "Young Bayard" Sartoris returns without his brother, who was shot down in an air battle, and, constantly grieving, persists in indulging in the riskiest of behaviors with no thought of consequences. "Old Bayard", his grandfather, the town's (only?) banker, with whom Young Bayard resides upon his return, is visited every month or so by a contemporary, Will Falls, who lives in the county poorhouse and visits the bank to receive a gift of candy and tobacco and to talk about the past, including his (Mr. Falls's) activities during the Civil War (both elderly men are almost deaf and converse by shouting at one another in the banker's office). A very amusing subtext is the account of a wen on Old Bayard's face: Miss Jenny, his niece, who manages the household for him, insists on taking him to a newly-arrived doctor in town, while Old Bayard actually wishes to visit Dr. Lucius Quintus Peabody, the country doctor (in an adjacent office) who has been serving the county for half a century. Dr. Peabody, hearing Old Bayard's curses, barges into the new doctor's office, and the ensuing scene that takes place is well worth the reading! In the end, over Miss Jenny's almost-violent objections, Will Falls places a salve, inherited from his grandmother (of the Choctaw Indian Nation), onto the wen, and predicts the exact date when, having dried up, the wen will fall off of Old Bayard's face. Meanwhile, Miss Jenny, the niece, insists on taking Old Bayard, by train, to a specialist, accompanied by the young doctor; what happens at *that* appointment is also well worth reading. Byron Snopes, a member of a discreditable family who appear in the lkater novels, is a teller at the bank, and also plays a minor but nontrivial role in this novel. In summary, William Faulkner, in "Flags in the Dust", with both seriousness and humor, introduces many of the characters who appear in his later novels of the fictionalized Yoknapatawpha County. In this fortunately-uncut version, we are at last able to experience, in full, a great work of art. (signed) Edwin Timothy Vaughan
Many years ago, at home sick from work, I read William Faulkner's "Sartoris" and thoroughly enjoyed it; but, as I discovered much later, it was only a "cut" version of the original, "Flags in the Dust", which was eventually published in uncut form in the 1950s. This novel, which is not only a drama but also a tale of love and lust, describes Mississippi (and, presumably, the Southern United States) in the 1920s, just after World War I. There are echoes throughout not only of the Great War but also of the Civil War. "Young Bayard" Sartoris returns without his brother, who was shot down in an air battle, and, constantly grieving, persists in indulging in the riskiest of behaviors with no thought of consequences. "Old Bayard", his grandfather, the town's (only?) banker, with whom Young Bayard resides upon his return, is visited every month or so by a contemporary, Will Falls, who lives in the county poorhouse and visits the bank to receive a gift of candy and tobacco and to talk about the past, including his (Mr. Falls's) activities during the Civil War (both elderly men are almost deaf and converse by shouting at one another in the banker's office). A very amusing subtext is the account of a wen on Old Bayard's face: Miss Jenny, his niece, who manages the household for him, insists on taking him to a newly-arrived doctor in town, while Old Bayard actually wishes to visit Dr. Lucius Quintus Peabody, the country doctor (in an adjacent office) who has been serving the county for half a century. Dr. Peabody, hearing Old Bayard's curses, barges into the new doctor's office, and the ensuing scene that takes place is well worth the reading! In the end, over Miss Jenny's almost-violent objections, Will Falls places a salve, inherited from his grandmother (of the Choctaw Indian Nation), onto the wen, and predicts the exact date when, having dried up, the wen will fall off of Old Bayard's face. Meanwhile, Miss Jenny, the niece, insists on taking Old Bayard, by train, to a specialist, accompanied by the young doctor; what happens at *that* appointment is also well worth reading. Byron Snopes, a member of a discreditable family who appear in the lkater novels, is a teller at the bank, and also plays a minor but nontrivial role in this novel. In summary, William Faulkner, in "Flags in the Dust", with both seriousness and humor, introduces many of the characters who appear in his later novels of the fictionalized Yoknapatawpha County. In this fortunately-uncut version, we are at last able to experience, in full, a great work of art. (signed) Edwin Timothy Vaughan
Review Date: 10/22/2012
22 OCT 2012 (Mon.) @ ~ 11:30 a.m. EST
Along with Raymond Chandler's four great novels, Dashiell Hammit's "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Thin Man", and several of the cases of Horace Rumpole (of the Bailey) and a few short mysteries of Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey, this is my all-time favorite detective story. The protagonist, Inspector Piet Van der Valk of the Amsterdam police, is directed by his superior to search all over Europe for an elusive businessman, for reasons that Van der Valk doesn't fully understand. On the way, at a German festival, the businessman picks up a much younger woman and they continue to elude capture, evading Van der Valk at a skiing competition and stealing ("borrowing") a helicopter to distance themselves from him. Does he locate them, finally? Yes, and no (I hate to appear ambiguous, but I don't wish to give anything away). The title, which is taken from a poem by Baudelaire, has nothing whatsoever to do with either a king (except in a very loose interpretation) or with a rainy country. Van der Valk appears to speak several languages fluently (the Dutch are apparently very good at languages), and he sometimes, during his quest, wakes up exhausted in a railway station and realizes exactly he is only by the smell of the coffee served at the canteen. During his quest, his friendship with a German policeman, his intuitive awareness (continually sharpened during his search) of the lifestyles and habits of the extermely wealthy, and his knowledge of the names of Napoleon's generals prove invaluable. Unlike another key character in the novel, he apparently doesn't carry a gun, and he, like Chandler's Phillip Marlowe, has to be proof against the seductive blandishments of a very attractive woman (interestingly enough, the sought-after businessman's wife!). I read this novel to tatters, along with many others of Freeling's detective stories, mislaid it and gave the rest of the novels away, purchased a previously-owned copy, re-re-read it, and finally gave *it* away to a European friend (and almost wish now that I hadn't). I highly recommend this mystery/love story, especially to anyone who enjoys travelling in Europe; it is subtly filled with "local color", it is not overly long, it is just puzzling enough, and it is extremely entertaining. (signed) Edwin Timothy Vaughan
Along with Raymond Chandler's four great novels, Dashiell Hammit's "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Thin Man", and several of the cases of Horace Rumpole (of the Bailey) and a few short mysteries of Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey, this is my all-time favorite detective story. The protagonist, Inspector Piet Van der Valk of the Amsterdam police, is directed by his superior to search all over Europe for an elusive businessman, for reasons that Van der Valk doesn't fully understand. On the way, at a German festival, the businessman picks up a much younger woman and they continue to elude capture, evading Van der Valk at a skiing competition and stealing ("borrowing") a helicopter to distance themselves from him. Does he locate them, finally? Yes, and no (I hate to appear ambiguous, but I don't wish to give anything away). The title, which is taken from a poem by Baudelaire, has nothing whatsoever to do with either a king (except in a very loose interpretation) or with a rainy country. Van der Valk appears to speak several languages fluently (the Dutch are apparently very good at languages), and he sometimes, during his quest, wakes up exhausted in a railway station and realizes exactly he is only by the smell of the coffee served at the canteen. During his quest, his friendship with a German policeman, his intuitive awareness (continually sharpened during his search) of the lifestyles and habits of the extermely wealthy, and his knowledge of the names of Napoleon's generals prove invaluable. Unlike another key character in the novel, he apparently doesn't carry a gun, and he, like Chandler's Phillip Marlowe, has to be proof against the seductive blandishments of a very attractive woman (interestingly enough, the sought-after businessman's wife!). I read this novel to tatters, along with many others of Freeling's detective stories, mislaid it and gave the rest of the novels away, purchased a previously-owned copy, re-re-read it, and finally gave *it* away to a European friend (and almost wish now that I hadn't). I highly recommend this mystery/love story, especially to anyone who enjoys travelling in Europe; it is subtly filled with "local color", it is not overly long, it is just puzzling enough, and it is extremely entertaining. (signed) Edwin Timothy Vaughan
Review Date: 5/27/2013
27 MAY 2013 (Mon.) @ ~ 08:45 EST
To Whom it May Concern: I very much enjoyed reading Gahan Wilson's memoirs of an only-child-hood, "Nuts". (I used to own this book, gave it to someone who needed cheering up, and now, thankfully, have it again.) It is clearly written as a reaction to Charles Shultz's comic strip "Peanuts", which, though in my childhood I thought very entertaining, I now consider to be trite, overly-repetitive, and unrealistic (and would have, IMHO, continued to remain so even had Shultz lived and continued drawing). I sympathize *and* empathize with the unnamed "Kid", who is constantly puzzled by adults' seemingly-illogical demands. The obvious parallel between the cap on the acorn in the frontispiece and The Kid's pancake cap emphasizes the old adage "Big oaks from little acorns grow". My favorite episodes are: (1) the confusion in the classroom when The Kid returns to school after a prolonged illness; (2) the increasingly seeming-oddness of the surrounding environment when The Kid is momentarily lost when returning home; and (3) the haircut (particularly amusing in *this* episode is the highly-opinionated barber's [or is that a redundancy?] disjointed and rambling conversation, which the reader has to piece together from fragments). Adults, in their entirety, are seldom seen (only large hands and feet); the exception is in the episodes of the illness and death of a favorite uncle (probably a lifetime smoker?), wherein The Kid sees his uncle in the hospital and then in his coffin in the funeral home. A highly-recommended and thoroughly enjoyable book!
To Whom it May Concern: I very much enjoyed reading Gahan Wilson's memoirs of an only-child-hood, "Nuts". (I used to own this book, gave it to someone who needed cheering up, and now, thankfully, have it again.) It is clearly written as a reaction to Charles Shultz's comic strip "Peanuts", which, though in my childhood I thought very entertaining, I now consider to be trite, overly-repetitive, and unrealistic (and would have, IMHO, continued to remain so even had Shultz lived and continued drawing). I sympathize *and* empathize with the unnamed "Kid", who is constantly puzzled by adults' seemingly-illogical demands. The obvious parallel between the cap on the acorn in the frontispiece and The Kid's pancake cap emphasizes the old adage "Big oaks from little acorns grow". My favorite episodes are: (1) the confusion in the classroom when The Kid returns to school after a prolonged illness; (2) the increasingly seeming-oddness of the surrounding environment when The Kid is momentarily lost when returning home; and (3) the haircut (particularly amusing in *this* episode is the highly-opinionated barber's [or is that a redundancy?] disjointed and rambling conversation, which the reader has to piece together from fragments). Adults, in their entirety, are seldom seen (only large hands and feet); the exception is in the episodes of the illness and death of a favorite uncle (probably a lifetime smoker?), wherein The Kid sees his uncle in the hospital and then in his coffin in the funeral home. A highly-recommended and thoroughly enjoyable book!
Review Date: 4/11/2012
11 APR 2012 (Wed.) @ ~ 12:30 P.M. To Whom It May Concern: In spite of my overall impression that the stories in this book are, without exception, very puzzling, nontheless, I have a strong feeling that they are all very well written (especially my favorite: "The Inner Room"). As to what the author is trying to convey to the reader, many interpretations are undoubtedly possible. Time permitting, I may google Robert Aickman to investigate this question further. (signed) Edwin Timothy Vaughan
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