The Appeal

Finished January 18

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

This book has an unusual format with the whole story told in emails, documents and chat. Two early career lawyers are asked to look over the gathered conversation from a case to see what conclusions they make about who may be the murderer in the case.

They are given no background information at all, and it seems like the case hasn't come to their attention in any other way, such as through the news, as they appear to have no knowledge of it at all.

The book mostly consists of email between the various players in the small community, people who are linked together through their involvement with a local theatre group and the family that runs it. 

One of the main players is a young nurse, who is a bit of an outsider, tolerated, but not liked, and who comes across as quite needy. The family who runs the theatre group consists of a local couple, their two adult children, the children's spouses, and their very young granddaughter. 

There is also another young couple, both nurses, who have recently come back to England after working for several years in Africa. We don't have access to their emails, but can see some that are sent to them by the others. 

Every so often the two lawyers chat about what they're reading in the case notes, and as the book nears its close, they begin to draw conclusions and make arguments for their reasoning, interacting with the older lawyer who has assigned them this task. 

It is an interesting structure, and an interesting case, and because of the limited glimpse you get into people's lives, you aren't sure how much to trust any of them. 

Give Me Everything You Have

Finished February 21
Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked by James Lasdun, read by Robin Sachs

James Lasdun gives an insightful and open account of his stalking by a former student. Starting as a straightforward exchange when she was working on a novel, chapters of which he had read and encouraged her in when she was his student, this relationship gradually devolves into something else entirely. The student approached him a couple of years after the met when she was in his creative writing class, and as he really thought her writing good, he encouraged her and even introduced her to people he thought would be helpful to her writing career.
But the email interactions first became overly friendly, and then hateful and aggressive. She eventually moved into posting comments online, making public accusations of plagiarism and sexually inappropriate behaviour, and impersonating others when making such statements. She progressed into attacks on others he had professional and personal relationships with and sent emails to current and potential employers.
Despite these things, Lasdun found he had little recourse in any legal sense, an interesting development of the Internet Age, showing that some aspects haven't entirely caught up to the realities yet.
He touches on mental illness, reputation, racism, and social norms and looks into his own reactions and how he learns to control what he can and learns to deal with what he can't control.
A window on a very difficult and increasingly present phenomenon.

A Mixed Bag of Reading and Listening

Finished June 27
You Suck: a love story by Christopher Moore
My first vampire romance. This book had a lot of humour and the characters had some depth to them. I particularly liked Abby Normal. She rang true. The police tracking the vampires, the elder vampire seeking revenge, and the blue hooker brought to town by the Animals all added their own twist to the story. The character William with his huge shaved cat were great and the sweater was a nice touch. I liked some of the subtle humour here. I think my favourite was this exchange:
"You're the one with almost an MBA," Barry, the short balding one, said to Lash.
"You should know what to do."
"They don't cover what to do with a dead hooker," Lash countered. "That's a whole
different program. Political science, I think."
So, amusing and very different.

After Dark by Haruki Murakami, Read by Janet Song
Like all Murakami's novels, this one uses language with finesse. His choice of words is always well thought out. There are some definite themes here, such as screens (like TVs) and mirrors. These blur the lines between real and dream worlds. The characters are solid and well-thought out and they relate well to each other. I love this type of novel, where you have to pay close attention to the phrasing and the mannerisms and not just the plot. The contrast between what Mari thinks of herself and how she appears to others came across strongly. She is stronger than she thinks she is, and the ties she forms with her sister and her trombonist friend show that.

Finished June 25
Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe
This is a great guide for email, guiding the reader through when, and when not, to use email for communication. Advice is given for avoiding miscommunication, often a problem with email due to the lack of tone of voice and body language. The authors even help with those situations where you've sent something you shouldn't have.
I consider myself pretty good when it comes to email etiquette, but I still learned a few things from this book. Definitely a good choice.