Review of "The Lost Art of Gratitude: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel" by Alexander McCall Smith

Alexander McCall Smith is probably best known for his 'Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency' series, but he's a prolific author who pens other series as well. In this 6th book in the 'Isabel Dalhousie' series, ethicist Isabel - who's the owner and editor of the 'Review of Applied Ethics' - agrees to help a sketchy acquaintance, meets her niece's uncongenial fiancé, deals with two vexed men who want to displace her from the 'Review', and helps an injured fox. The book can be read as a standalone but familiarity with the characters is a plus.

*****

Isabel Dalhousie and her younger boyfriend Jamie live in Edinburgh and have a little boy, eighteen-month-old Charlie. Isabel is a philosopher who always feels compelled to look at every side of an issue - to tease out all the ethical implications - so she's often distracted from the matter at hand.



And Jamie, who was once the boyfriend of Isabel's niece Cat, is an elite musician who writes songs, gives concerts, and teaches music.



Isabel's niece Cat owns an artisanal deli......



…..and tends to pick 'wrong-uns' to date.

Early in the book, Isabel takes Charlie to a birthday party where she's cornered by an old acquaintance, the highly successful investment banker Minty Aucterlonie.



Isabel is wary of Minty, whom she suspects of unethical financial shenanigans. Nevertheless, when Minty asks Isabel for assistance with a personal problem, Isabel feels compelled to help. As it turns out, not is all as it seems in Minty's world, and Minty is still a master manipulator. Isabel weighs all the ethical considerations of Minty's actions before she decides on final measures.

Meanwhile, Isabel and Jamie get engaged to be married, but are wary of telling Cat, who resents their being together. As it turns out Cat claims to be engaged as well, to a tightrope walker called Bruno.



Bruno turns out to be a condescending and conceited fellow who works as a stuntman in the movies, none of which Isabel and Jamie have seen. Isabel despairs of Cat ever picking an appropriate boyfriend, but the philosopher is determined to TRY to like Bruno, because it's the right thing to do.

When Isabel bought the 'Review of Applied Ethics' she displaced two difficult board members, handsome Professor Dove and manipulative Professor Lettuce.





The men have been gunning for Isabel ever since, and think a current plagiarism issue may be just the ticket to force her resignation. The men should know better, however, than to underestimate Isabel.

Isabel's garden is regularly raided by 'Brother Fox', for whom Isabel has a soft spot. In fact Isabel even leaves out chicken for the predator.



When Brother Fox becomes injured, Isabel takes steps to assist the suffering critter.

While dealing with all this, Isabel also has personal time with Jamie - who's a great cook on top of his other talents. In addition, both Isabel and Jamie dote on their little boy Charlie, as does the housekeeper Grace, who loves to take the toddler to visit her eccentric friends.

The author, Alexander McCall Smith is a respected expert on medical law and bioethics, and he infuses his character Isabel Dalhousie with informative philosophical and ethical dilemmas. It's always interesting to observe where Isabel comes down in various situations, and the series is educational as well as entertaining.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Run Towards The Danger: Confrontations With a Body of Memory" by Sarah Polley

 

Sarah Polley is a Canadian actress, writer, director, producer and political activist.


Sarah Polley

Polley, whose mother and father were in show business, started her career as a child actress playing in the television series 'Ramona', based on Beverly Cleary's popular book series. Polley then got the role of Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series 'Road to Avonlea', based on Lucy Maud Montgomery's books. The actress subsequently starred in many feature films, including 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen' and others. Polley then went on to become an award-winning writer, director and producer.


Young Sarah Polley with her parents, Michael Polley and Diane Polley


Sarah Polley as Ramona Quimby in 'Ramona'


Sarah Polley as Sara Stanley in 'Road To Avonlea'

In this memoir, consisting of six essays, Polley explores some of her most significant - and sometimes troubling - memories, and explains how these experiences affected her life.

✿ Alice, Collapsing

In this essay Polley, who was 15-years-old at the time, recalls her role as Alice in the Stratford Festival's 1994 production of 'Alice Through The Looking Glass.'


Sarah Polley as Alice in 'Alice Through The Looking Glass'

During this time Polley was suffering from severe scoliosis, was still reeling from the death of her mother four years before, and had to take care of herself - since her father was completely unable to cope after the death of his wife.

Sarah started out enthusiastic about the role of Alice but eventually became terrified of going on stage. She writes, "It wasn't just the play itself that started to drive me mad. So did the audience....who sat quietly together in the dark, unseen and safe with their rustling programs and snapping gum and glugs of eater, while I inwardly collapsed every night in front of them."

Polley now advises parents to be cautious about allowing their offspring to become child actors, since show business is a profit-driven enterprise that cares little for the welfare of the participants.

✿ The Woman Who Stayed Silent

In this piece, Polley deals with the fact that she didn't come forward when Jian Ghomeshi - a Persian-Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and radio host - was accused of sexual abuse by several women. Polley herself was (allegedly) choked during a sexual encounter with Ghomeshi when she was 16 and and he was in his twenties. Ghomeshi was prosecuted in 2015, and several women testified against him, but Sarah kept mum.


Jian Ghomeshi was put on trial in 2015

Polley writes, "Now, years later, I think I can finally articulate the reasons for my silence: I had too much information about what was going to happen to me and my family....my memory of what exactly happened all those years ago was only recently put back together, and perhaps most important....I knew that I wasn't strong enough."

Still, Polley seems to feel guilty about her silence and speculates that other women - who might have been vicims of men like Ghomeshi or Harvey Weinstein - also kept mum.

✿ High Risk

In this narrative Polley writes about her first pregnancy, which was high risk due to the fact she had previously suffered from endometriosis, had gestational diabetes and placenta previa. Because she was at risk Sarah was ensconced in the high-risk ward well before her due date. She recalls, "The nurses, are, for the most part incredibly kind, funny, and nurturing. Three times a day I am delivered a gestational-diabetes-friendly meal. Friends inquire as to how I am coping with all the disgusting hospital food, and I can't even pretend to not like it. This, more than anything else, makes them worry for my mental healh, but I am happy as a clam, having food that I can eat delivered on a regular basis."

The baby, delivered early, had to spend time in the NICU while Sarah learned about breast-feeding from 'experts' (some of them male) in the field.

✿ Mad Genius

In this essay Polley recounts her experience, at the age of eight, starring in Terry Gilliam's fantasy/comedy film 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.'


Sarah Polley (with John Neville) in 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'

Sarah was terrified during much of the filming, as the movie had many special effects, including scenes of exploding bombs. Polley recalls "Blasts of debris exploded on the ground around me, accompanied by deafening booms that made me feel as if I myself had exploded."

The crew also shot many scenes in a giant (freezing) tank of water, and Sarah observes, "We floated there, wetsuits under our costumess, for long periods of time, shivering with cold, our wetsuits insufficient to keep us warm in the chilly water."

Sarah came to see the situation as a sort of child abuse, which later reinforced her objection to youngsters being professional child actors.

✿ Dissolving The Boundaries

In this account, Polley describes a family trip - with her husband and three children - to Prince Edward Island, the locale for Polley's starring role in 'Road To Avonlea."


Sarah Polley and her husband David Sandomierski

Adult Sarah expects to be recognized by fans of the show - as she had been as a child - but goes largely unnoticed. Sarah writes, "I begin to wonder if ....I really am too old and haggard now to be recognized at all. [Pedestrians] look at me in passing, as their eyes travel somewhere else, but nothing clicks."

Sarah felt relieved that the Avonlea part of her life was over, and proceeded to enjoy the trip with her loved ones.

✿ Run Towards the Danger

In this title essay, Polley talks about a concussion she suffered when a fire extinguisher fell on her head in 2015. Following the advice of various doctors, Sarah tried to avoid situations that triggered debilitating symptoms like migraine headaches and extreme anxiety. After several years Polley visited a clinic in Pittsburgh, where Dr. Michael Collins advised her to do the exact opposite.....to "run towards the danger."

As it happens Collins has treated other Canadian women in the film industry, and he asks, 'What's with all the female filmmakers from Canada? Wht is going on up there?" And Polley jokingly replies, "We're a competitive bunch. The pool of female filmmakers is small, but even smaller is the pool of money to make films. We've taken to bashing each other over the head to put each other out of the running for the public money."

Writing these narratives was a cathartic experience for Polley. During an interview, she observed, "I will say writing these essays was a way of working through difficult times. I’m really happy with my life as it stands, so it’s hard to look back with regret." These days Sarah concentrates on her family and her career.



Like memoirs of some other celebrities, it's clear from Polley's essays that what looks like a 'charmed and successful life' from the outside sometimes hides difficult truths.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "People of Abandoned Character" by Clare Whitfield

 

This review was first posted on Mystery and Suspense. Check it out for features, interviews, and reviews. https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/pe...

Susannah Chapman is orphaned at the age of five and raised by her grandparents in Reading, England.



Susannah chafes at the dull life in Reading, and in 1885 - after both her grandparents have died - Susannah moves to London to become a nurse.



By 1888 Susannah is working at the London Hospital in Whitechapel, which serves the impoverished residents of the surrounding slums.





Susannah hopes for security and a better life, but the work is grueling and her ghetto living quarters are small and spare.



Susannah brings the filth and stink of the Whitechapel slums to life with her vivid description, "The parishes of these parts didn’t have shitrakers, because tenants couldn’t pay, and nor could we afford lighting, so the streets were deep in foul-smelling rubbish and swilling with blood and urine from the tanneries and abattoirs...Everywhere stank, thick with the stench of sweat and shit and whatever odour came with the trade of that court’s inhabitants: phosphorus, smoked fish, meat....A few years living like that and our lungs never recovered."



So when handsome Dr. Thomas Lancaster comes courting, Susannah is happy to embark on a romance.



Susannah doesn't consider herself pretty and isn't in the upper class, but she accepts the surgeon's professions of love.

Susannah and Thomas marry quickly, and - on their honeymoon - Thomas introduces Susannah to passionate sex and laudanum.



Susannah envisions a wonderful life together until the newlyweds return to Thomas's house in Chelsea. The house is large and well-appointed, but Thomas's long-time housekeeper, Mrs. Wiggs, is cold and haughty and has no use for Susannah.



For her part, Susannah is cowed and intimated by Mrs. Wiggs, and takes to staying in her room and using her 'little drops.'



To make things worse, Thomas's personality changes completely. He becomes contemptuous and abusive and subjects Susannah to humiliating sexual practices. Thomas also stays away from the house for days, claiming to be doing important work that will make his career.



On one occasion, Thomas comes home in the early hours of the morning, disheveled and covered with blood. At other times, Susannah observes Mrs. Wiggs whispering with Thomas in the hallway and washing bloodstained shirts.



It's at this time that the Whitechapel murders begin. The first victim is a prostitute named Mary Ann Nichols, who's found dead and mutilated in London's Whitechapel district.



Over time, more prostitutes are killed, each one being butchered in a manner that suggests the killer has surgical skills. The Whitechapel murderer is eventually dubbed Jack the Ripper.

With nothing else to do, Susannah becomes consumed with the Whitechapel homicides. She scours the newspapers for stories, cuts out articles, makes notes, visits the sites of the murders, and imagines the killings in her mind.



Susannah notices that the prostitute murders coincide with Thomas's absences from home, and she suspects her husband might be Jack the Ripper.

Worried and feeling unwell, Susannah consults Dr. Shivershev, a physician she knows from London Hospital.



Susannah talks to Shivershev about the Ripper killings, but he fobs her off, suggesting this isn't an appropriate interest for a woman. Susannah has nowhere to turn, and continues to obsess about her abusive husband and miserable marriage - which she can't escape because of Victorian mores.

Things take a dramatic turn, and Susannah demonstrates courage, mettle and intelligence as she confronts danger and depravity.

This unique take on the Ripper legend is a page-turner filled with secrets, twists, and surprises.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Liege-Killer: Book One of the Paratwa Saga" by Christopher Hinz

 

Two hundred years ago, toward the end of the 21st century, an apocalypse brought on by unbridled technology made the Earth uninhabitable.



As the catastrophe approached, measures were taken to save a portion of humanity. The Star-Edge Project constructed a large fleet of starships to search for other colonizable worlds......



.....and the Colonies Project constructed over 200 habitable cylinders around the Earth.



Hundreds of thousands of people left on the starships and millions of people moved to colonies in the cylinders.

Something went wrong with the Star-Edge project, and conflict among the starships expanded into armed combat. The last message sent from the vessels reported nuclear detonations and it's assumed that all the starships were destroyed.



The cylinders did better, and are now home to billions of people.





The cylinder colonies are governed by the Irryan Council, which consists of five members.



⋆ Rome Franco is head of E-Tech, which severely limits technological advancement (colonists don't even have cell phones).

⋆ Nu-Lin is Councilor of Intercolonial Affairs and head of the Commerce League (trade).

⋆ Elliot Drake is head of the Intercolonial Credit Net (bank).

⋆ Augustus J. Artwhiler is the Supreme Commander of the Intercolonial Guardians (police).

⋆ Lady Bonneville is a wealthy socialite who hosts parties and fundraisers.

Like all politicians, the counselors are constantly jockeying for power, trying to get their own programs enacted, and making deals to get their way. Moreover, an organization called la Gloria de la Ciencia (the glory of science) is ACTIVELY trying to re-institute the use of advanced technology.

As the story opens, a bioengineered assassin created before the apocalypse, which had been put into stasis, is re-awakened. The killer is a Paratwa, one of the most heinous technological excesses of the 21st century. A Paratwa, or binary, has two non-identical bodies governed by a single mind.



Moreover, the Paratwa can change it's appearance at will.



Before the apocalypse, Paratwa assassins were directly responsible for the deaths of over one hundred and fifty million human beings and indirectly responsible for billions more.

The re-awakened Paratwa, named Reemul, has been brought back by covert conspirators with an agenda. The secret accomplices plan to have Paratwas take power and rule over humans.



Reemul goes on a killing spree, and Councilor Rome Franco - who's desperate to stop the assassin - takes countermeasures.



He brings two Paratwa killers, a little person named Nick.....



and a muscular tough guy called Gillian, out of stasis.



Before long Reemul and the Paratwa killers are playing a cat and mouse game, trying to wipe each other out.

Things are far from that simple, however, because the secret cabal that awakened Reemul has a long-range plan. Part of the plan involves sapient supersedure - the process of killing an individual and substituting a lookalike that assumes his or her identify. Thus some VERY powerful people - who appear to be human - are really Paratwas.



The story is action-packed - with abductions; murders; battles; secret meetings; chicanery; and more. There's even an elegant cocktail party.



As the story unfolds the nefarious long-term plan of the Paratwas is exposed, and it's a corker!

Additional characters in the story include an antique dealer named Paula and her 12-year-old son Jerem, who survive contact with a Paratwa; a band of pirates called the Alexanders, who swear revenge against the Paratwa; a computerhawk called Begelman, who expertly navigates electronic archives; Security Chief Pasha Haddad, who doesn't trust Nick and Gillian; a priest called Bishop Vokir, who heads the Church of the Trust; a madam called Miss Vitchy, who prostitutes boys and girls; and more.

The story contains descriptions of the orbiting cylinders, and the characters use cutting-edge weaponry, but I wouldn't call the book hard science fiction. It's more like enhanced soft science fiction. Still, I enjoyed the story and recommend it to sci-fi fans.

Liege-Killer is the first book in the Paratwa Trilogy, which continues with Ash Ock.

Thanks to Netgalley, Christopher Hinz, and Penguin Random House for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars