Guest Profile on Martha Grimes

Periodically on Twine and Tin we would love to showcase the thoughts, feelings and projects of some of our beloved readers.  The following was contributed by our esteemed colleague (and Uncle :-), Mr. Allan Dash of Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts.

One of the best British mystery writers isn't British at all:

Meet Martha Grimes

“Her wit sparkles, her plots intrigue, and her characters are absolutely unforgettable.” Thus the literary critic of the Denver Post summed up the works of novelist Martha Grimes, one of the best known, most respected creators of British mystery stories -- despite the fact that she’s as American as the 4^th of July.

Born in Pittsburgh where her father was City Solicitor, she grew up there and in Western Maryland, where her mother owned and operated a hotel. Later, she earned both her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Maryland.

How did an American author end up writing British murder mysteries that are often compared favorably with those of genre giants Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and the like?

To begin with, she’s an unabashed Anglophile. To boot, she’s an avid collector of unusual British pub names, with which she’s titled her more-than 20 murder mysteries. (One of those pubs/titles is “The Old Contemptibles.” Guess what her "official" fan club calls itself?) Finally, she’s spent large segments of her time in England, becoming comfortable with “Britishisms” – those many differences in word spellings, meanings and usages that separate us from our linguistic first cousins.

Not only has Martha Grimes mastered the language, but she’s successfully plumbed the British character as well. The Brits love eccentricity, and Ms. Grimes has created an ongoing cast of delightfully quirky characters – usually found gathered in a pub -- who provide vivid contrast to the darker side of her tales. Chief among these oddballs is Melrose Plant, a wealthy hereditary earl, who has relinquished his several titles because he got bored sitting in the House of Lords.

The central figure in all of Ms. Grimes’ mysteries is Richard Jury of Scotland Yard, a tall, handsome chief superintendent who, despite his lofty title, usually finds himself involved in the nuts-and-bolts of solving cases, frequently when he’s supposedly “on holiday.” His warm smile tends to set the female characters’ knees a-wobbling – even including, on occasion, the perpetrators’.

Early on in the series, Jury strikes up an unlikely friendship with the aristocratic Plant, who helps him – sometimes reluctantly – to solve a number of his always-intriguing cases. The former Lord Ardry (although his longtime butler insists on calling him "m'lord") would rather be with his friends at the pub, or sitting in front of the fire in his great house, a glass of port in one hand and a book of French poetry in the other, with his dog – perhaps the world’s laziest – curled up at his feet.

Many readers have come to agree with the Chicago Tribune’s literary critic, who said, “Read one of (Martha Grimes’) novels and you’ll want to read them all.”  Yours Truly has, indeed, read them all – at least twice. They’re that entertaining. 

                                                         - Allan Dash

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

Title: Garlic and Sapphires

Author:  Ruth Reichl

Genre: Non-Fiction

I have always thought that one of the best jobs in the world must be that of a food critic.  What could possibly be better than eating in the nation’s crème de la crème of restaurants, where the choicest chef’s parade their most elegant cuisine in front of you, all while having the tab picked up by your boss?  It’s the dinner scene straight out of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”. 

But what if the preparers of the fabulous, choreographed and sumptuous feast didn’t know that you were their salvation?   What if you were just a provincial local, who stumbled into the castle, hoping to sample some of its riches? Would they still go the whole nine yards to impress you, or simply toss you a PB&J and sit you in the corner?

This is the central question that Ruth Reichl decides to tackle in her deliciously constructed tome.   Arriving in New York City at the height of the 1990’s restaurant boom as the much-heralded food critic for the New York Times, Ruth is faced with a very real concern: If they (the chefs and restaurateurs) of the city didn’t know who they were serving, would the treatment received be the same? In an effort to discover the truth, our fearless heroine enlists the help of a Broadway make-up artist, and begins a cloak and dagger (minus the dagger) exploration of the underpinnings of New York’s finest offerings.   What follows is a fascinating parade of characters who receive a wide range of treatment, ranging from all-out fawning of the famous critic, to the dismal invisibility of an apparent “nobody”.

Now, to be fair, I’m a Food Network junkie, so books in this vein appeal to me.   I love food in all of its forms, be they visual, written, or best of all, actual and within reach.  Garlic and Sapphires is an eye-opening, mouth-watering tour of both haute cuisine, and hasty conclusions.

Writing Style:  Thumbs up!  Very easy to read.

 Characterization: Thumbs up~ fascinating array of all sorts.

Overall Story and Content: Thumbs Up!  Thoroughly interesting, very well executed.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Title: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

Dorothy’s Thoughts:

I never anticipated laughing out loud at a book set in Germany smack-dab in the midst of WWII.   I also never thought that I would think of Death as a sympathetic narrator, with a penchant for beautiful sunsets, but this book challenged quite a bit of my preconceived notions.  The Book Thief follows a brief span of years as lived by a young girl by the name of Liesel, who is sent by her birth mother to live with a foster family, in order to save the girl from her mother’s association with communism. 

The characters in the book alone are enough to recommend it, and are depicted in such a way that the reader feels a comfortable familiarity within the space of a few chapters.  Even Death, the no-nonsense narrator shows a much softer side that what one might assume.  That being said, the fact that the narrator of the story is Death ought to give you a warning to the fact that this is not a story of wine and roses.   Written in an extremely conversational style –complete with interjections- The Book Thief is stylistically a very easy read.   Emotionally, however, the book is anything but smooth sailing.

Of the characters whom we have the pleasures of meeting, my favorites are those who are central to the story: Rudy, Liesel’s next door neighbor and best friend is of epic proportions.  Rudy is best known throughout their small village for “the Jesse Owens incident”, in which the young German boy, in homage to the great Olympian of 1933, paints himself in charcoal from his blond hair to his toes and reenacts the track star’s race in the village field.  He’s brought firmly home by his darkened ear by his mystified father.  Rudy is a continual source strength, encouragement and humor to Leisel throughout the novel, and lives for the day when he will finally earn her kiss.

Her foster family consists of her uber-foulmouthed foster mother, Rosa, and the endearing Hans Hubbermann who excels in nothing so well as in understanding Liesel.  Rosa possesses an iron will, and an exquisitely offensive turn of phrase, which more often than not expresses loving over loathing.

The Book Thief is fantastically original in its writing, achingly beautiful in its truth, and infinitely uplifting.

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Toto’s Thoughts:

Chocolat by Joanne Harris was chosen because I loved the movie and Dorothy had read other works by Harris before.  The style that Harris writes in is so beautiful that you feel yourself in the setting and feel as if you know the characters personally.  The main character, Vianne Rocher, is so likeable that you wish you could be her friend in real life.  I personally gained five pounds from reading the book because I felt I was always sitting in her chocolate shop and sometimes I could smell the hot chocolate while reading.  This book to me is the like the guy you want to fall in love with because he makes you feel wonderful and whisks you away to the French countryside but you can’t bring yourself to truly love him because there is a big obstacle that is intrinsic to who he is that goes against all you believe in.

Chocolat is a magical place and I don’t mean unicorns and rainbows magical or fantasy magic like Lord of the Rings, but rather the characters dabble in real magic.  Tarot cards, spells, mysterious creatures that can only be seen by “the chosen”.  This alone in a book I can just chalk up to learning about the gypsy culture and not take so seriously but the book as a whole and in detail are in direct opposition to the Catholic Church.  The main antagonist is a priest, the timeframe is from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, the main goal of the story is to make all people or things that are evil seem good and all good things seem bad.  An example of this is that on Good Friday there is celebration all day and then one of the village witches kills herself by the end of the night. (Decadence in spite of a day set aside to honor the extreme sacrifice of Jesus, and the acceptance of an assisted suicide are placed in highlighted opposition to the beliefs of the Church.)  Also, on Easter Sunday there was no Easter Mass as the triumph for the story and instead everyone celebrated the pagan festival of the pagan corn god.

Usually it is the case that the movie can not even compare with the book, but those that have seen the movie can vouch that the interpretation is completely different.  Even the characters are changed as well as the main plot which becomes a love story

Writing style : Thumbs up!

Overall story and content  : Thumbs down :-(

Likability of the characters : Thumbs up!

Prologue

Conversation on Twine and Tin was created to give reviews on books through the eyes of everyday people.  All of us have read books that have been on the best seller list and/or got great reviews but when we read the book ourselves it was absolute crap.  We are here to give raw reviews on books and hopefully provoke some discussions with our followers.  Our books are not limited to any genre and we range from classical literature to modern brain candy. As individuals, Dorothy and Toto find themselves often in agreement over the books we read, but not always.   Feel free to take sides on any disagreement as it arises!  This blog could be something that you follow regularly or if you just want a quick glance when you are looking for your next book to delve into.  We are also very intrigued to hear from you on some of your favorite literary endeavors~ but beware!  Suggesting books for us to read means that you will be subjected to our thoughts on them!

Our book review system will be based on the following criteria:

Overall story and content

Writing style

Likability of characters

We will do our best to substantiate our judgments with snippets, and you as our readers are by no means meant to feel bound by our thoughts, feelings, or reactions to literature. Losing yourself in a book can be a very personal experience; some books we fall in love with for no discernible reason, while others we come across can arouse a very palpable sense of dislike, even if it’s difficult to articulate.  Whatever your feelings, we hope you’ll take the time to glance through our thoughts, and share some of your own~ we’re as close as a bit of twine and tin!