A Death in Vienna - Frank Tallis

About once a month, I crave a good mystery. I have received numerous suggestions over the years and have a number of go-to authors. I discovered the Max Liebermann series, about a psychoanalytic detective, from a Powells Book review. A Death in Vienna, the first book in the series, takes place in Vienna in 1902. A famous medium has just been found shot dead. She is found in a room locked from the inside with no murder weapon. Detective Oskar Rheinhardt leads the investigation, with a little help from Freudian psychologist, Max Liebermann. The mystery involves two disctinct story lines. The first is the investigation iteself as Rheinhardt and Liebermann interview the members of the victim's psychic circle, holding seances to dispel the theory of a supernatural killer. The second story involves Liebermann's work using psychoanalysis on a female patient diagnosed with hysteria, as he battles his colleagues in the electroshock therapy camp. Along the way, we are also introduced to Liebermann's family, and his uncertain relationship with his new fiance, Clara. Even Freud himself makes an appearance. The mystery is filled with colorful characters, deductive reasoning, and psychological intrigue. Tallis's ability to incoporate psychological investigative techniques, while discussing the political and social arguments for and against such techniques, held together well and made for a fabulously gripping mystery.

Kitchen - Banana Yoshimoto

While published in Japan in 1987, gaining immediate popularity and winning two of Japan's most prestigious literary prizes, I only first heard of this book when I received a review from my daily Powell's email. I assumed from the title that it would be a fun little story about a woman growing up in the kitchen - much like something by Ruth Reichl (though I suppose, her stories aren't exactly "fun"). Well, I had it sort-of right. The main character - Mikage - finds comfort in the kitchen, and has a comfort relationship with food. But while Mikage's connections with food remind her of her family and of certain events in her life, it is not truly central to the story. The bigger story is how Mikage deals with her grandmother's death - and her blossoming relationship with an old friend of her grandmother's and his mother - who is actually his transsexual father. There are a million themes present in this short 105-page story - the most obvious of which are identity and love. Yoshimoto's writing is very familiar in terms of modern Japanese novels - like Haruki Murakami and Kenzaburo Oe in terms of the depiction of awkward relationships through lyrical prose. Yoshimoto is not as fanciful as Murakami, nor as tragic as Oe, but her story is filled with similar odd interactions that constantly border on the uncomfortable. I felt this could have been developed into a much more involved (longer) novel with a more in-depth exploration of Mikage. As is, plot-wise, it left me a bit disappointed. In terms of writing style, however, I found it strangely comforting.

The Foreigner - Francie Lin

Colleen lent me this novel, set partially in the Bay Area and mostly in Taipei. She thought I would like it as it deals with identity issues, but I am also a sucker for the Asian authors, and beautiful cover art. This is the story about 40-year old Emerson, still a virgin and having weekly Friday night dinners with his overbearing mother. As he fulfills his familial obligations, Emerson recounts his childhood, including losing his father at age 11, and his relationship with his mother laden with awkward sexual undertones. Emerson's younger brother, Little P, fled back to Taipain 10 years earlier with little to no contact since. Emerson decides to return to his homeland to find his brother and potentially reconnect with the brother he was once so close to. When we're first introduced to Little P, he is described as "wolfish." His behavior suggests that of a drug addict, and it is clear from everyone's statements about him that he is involved in unsavory activity (clear to everyone except Emerson, of course). He hints at a "secret" and makes underhandeded comments about his mother and Emerson's relationship with her. I started reading this book on the bus on my way in to work, and found myself wishing I could take the rest of the day off to finish it. But, as Emerson delved deeper into Taiwain's seedy-underbelly, it took a turn that I could not quite relate to - but, I did appreciate the juxtaposition of the two brothers who come from the same home, but end up in two vastly different life situations - one so paralyzed by his obligations that he is unable to develop personal relationships of his own, and the other driven so far from acceptable society that he becomes a shadow in the city sewers. Parts of this book felt a bit too sensationalized or written for the screen, but ultimately, it was an engaging read about finding yourself in a world where you are constantly defined by others.

Dope - Sara Gran

Given the title, this novel was not quite what I expected. I knew it was about a former drug addict (Josephine) who while struggling to keep clean finds herself enveloped in a mystery that takes her to the seedy back alleys of her past. I did not realize that the book takes place in the 1950s and that it is crime noir, written just several years ago, with a female protagonist. Hard-boiled detective writing has a certain feel to it - and while I'm reading it, I can't help but hear a voice-over of the Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade variety. But, once I mentally put myself into that space, this book really delivered. Josephine is called in by a wealthy couple who are looking for their missing daughter. They suspect that she is a drug addict, and that given Josephine's past, she will have the connections to bring their daughter home to them. As Josephine considers whether to take the money and run, she finds that there are cons around every corner, giving her misinformation and protecting others for reasons she can't quite understand. Josephine is a horrible detective - she only follows leads that others suggest, and when she finally tracks down the pimp boyfriend of the girl she's looking for, she outright asks him, "Where's [the girl]? Her parents paid me to find her." As if that would ever illicit the information she was looking for. But, after all she's a recovering dope addict, not a detective, and that's kind of the point. She misses the treachery right in front of her, and in trying to do good, ends up worse off than ever. Dope has all the necessary noir components - a quick fun twist and turn filled read.

The Boleyn Inheritance - Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory's most popular novel is probably The Other Boleyn Girl (made into a movie with ScarJo and Natalie Portman). This novel is the sequel (in historical time) to the story that left us with Henry VIII's beheading of George and Anne Boleyn. The Boleyn Inheritance is told from the first-person perspective of three very different women. The first is Jane Rochford, the jealous wife whose testimony sent her husband (George) and sister-in-law (Anne) to their death. She is desperate to recreate a name for herself, knowing that the king's whimsical decisions leave no one safe. The second is Anne of Cleves, mistreated by her own family, and sent to a foreign land where she does not speak the language, to become the next Queen of England. And finally, Katherine Howard, a flirtatious and foolish 15-year old, who yearns desperately for fancy gowns and the attention of young handsome suitors. All three women find themselves at the court of the much aged, fat, and cantakerous king - trying desperately in their own ways to keep him happy and to keep themselves off the chopping block. I was immediately enraptured by this story - taken in by Jane, despite her past; hoping the best for Anne, despite her homely nature; and irritated by Katherine, despite her obvious naivete. This is a story about each woman, but in the end, it is the nightmare of a country ruled by a tyrant, and the history of women and their search, however futile, for a semblance of freedom.

Self-Made Man - Norah Vincent

This is the non-fiction account of Ned, Norah Vincent's alter-ego. Vincent, a lesbian journalist, has always seen herself as a masculine woman. She decides to go undercover as a man to find out what life is like on the other side. In her 18-month experiment she tries a number of different all-male environments, from a men's bowling club to a monastic order of monks. She dates women and gets a job. All the while finding out that while her masculinity was emphasized as a woman, she is consistently viewed as an effeminate man - one that other men go to as a good listener, and also one that men viewe skeptically as possibly homosexual. Vincent is exhausted by the experiment, finding that she is not given the freedom to bask in all that is denied to her as a woman, but rather faced with constant pressure to prove her manliness. I felt Vincent failed to acknowledge that the difficulties she encountered were not necesarily shared by the men around her - simply because they had actually been socialized their entire lives to be men, and she had not. I also felt like she let the men off too easily at times, and failed to acknowledge how what she described as difficulties for men actually translated to much more burdensome situations for women. But, overall, I did find Vincent's transformation quite fascinating - especially the idea that so many people seemed to perceive that something was off, but not quite be able to put their finger on it - and that those she revealed herself to did not seem to have as much trouble with the situation as I would have imagined (though clearly, she was judicious about who she told). Clearly no social experiment like this is without its flaws, but Vincent has certainly given us something to think about in terms of how we perceive gender, and how we treat others and behave ourselves based on these perceptions and socially constructed expectations. As a result of this experiment, Vincent went into a deep depression and voluntarily committed herself to a mental institution. That experience forms the basis for her most recent book, Voluntary Madness, which I am definitely interested in checking out.

Wish You Well - David Baldacci

I usually think of David Baldacci's novels as full of legal and political intrigue. This one, however, focuses on 13-year old Lou and her younger brother Oz. Their father is a famous, but not so well compensated writer, who sets all his novels in the mountains of Virginia where he was born and raised. When their family suffers a heart-breaking tragedy, Lou and Oz travel to those mountains to live with their great-grandmother Louisa. Their new life is a million miles from the big city - filled with hard work and adventure. It may have been Lou, but much of this book reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird. While everyone on the mountain is poor, there is a family even worse off that resembles the Ewells - and whose boy teaches Lou valuable lessons about life. There is a Yankee attorney figure, Cotton Longfellow, whose legal skills are no match for Atticus Finch, but who has his noble qualities. And, there is the hard-working young black Tom Robinson like figure named Eugene who keeps his head down and his mouth shut despite the blatant racism all around him. I knew that there would be a courtroom scene at the end of the novel (according to the book flap) and I just kept hoping it wasn't going to be a false accusation against Eugene. But, the best character of all is Diamond Skinner - a 12-year old Huck Finn raggamuffin who has no use for reading or writing, but teaches Lou all about fishing, running the land, and loving something greater than fame or money. This book tells a great story about family, having convictions, and hanging on to the things that are important.