Chocolat,
Joanne Harris, Viking, 242pp, 1999.
The title drew me like the smell of hot chocolate in winter. The
title is the subject, is a metaphor, is the start and end of this
short novel.
In Lansquenet, France a surprisingly warm February wind blows a
mother and daughter into town. There is no husband, there never
was. The wind blows through the town changing lives, unsettling
patterns and most particularly tormenting Father Reynaud. The clash
between the sensual world and the religious celibate is hardly new
and not much is added here. In one of two character views the priest's
darkness is given a historical explanation, but not one that explains
his future.
There are few plot surprises here, but the plot is hardly the raison
d'etre of a book like this. The beauty, the depth is in the feeling,
the handling of textures, tastes and smells within the text.
Death
of an Addict, M.C. Beaton (Marion Chesney), Mysterious Press
(Warner), 215pp, 1999.
This is the 15th in a series, but they are so light you can pick
up any of them. Hamish MacBeth is a local cop with no ambition but
a whole kettle full of curiosity. A fatal overdose gets Hamish's
nose twitching and soon he's off playing the gentle renegade investigating
a newly-formed church and the drug trade in the nearby town of Strathbane.
The results are fun and addictive: a Detective Inspector poses as
his wife; they have meetings with a drug kingpin up from Glasgow;
there's a trip to Amsterdam and a run-in with a free-spirited Dutch
girl; and a near-fatal betrayal. This was the first one in the series
in a long time that kept me reading past when I should've been sleeping
- but not for long, these are very quick reads.
After the big set-pieces the ending itself was unsatisfying. The
last page felt tacked on as if to show us some moral loss in Hamish's
Highland pride, but it only leaves the reader sad.
This is not the Scotland of Ian Rankin or even Iain Banks, this
is more akin to Agatha Christie and the 'cozy' style of mystery,
yet there are still two murders and more than a whiff of violence.
M.C. Beaton is a skilled writer with a lot of experience and it
shows here: she has another mystery series running starring Agatha
Raisin, a retired advertising executive now living in the Cotswolds;
and before writing mysteries she was very successful as a Regency
Romance author.
Some of the books have been made into a tv series with Robert Carlyle
(Trainspotting, Ravenous, The Full Monty, the new James Bond villain)
as Hamish Macbeth. They can be seen on sometimes PBS. One thing
that is nice is that in the books Beaton has stuck to her original
character descriptions and not changed history or people according
to the vagaries of casting. In Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse books
some of the tv series has bled backwards into the books which is
very strange and not something I want to see more of.
The Hamish Macbeth books are candy, but this one has a little more
heft to it than most in this series. Pick it up and relax for a
couple of hours.
The
Return of John MacNab, Andrew Greig, 1996
The title refers to John Buchan's novel, John Macnab, wherein
three bored men undergo mid-life crises and attempt three adventures.
On seeing the book I was curious and quite ready to dislike it.
Pastiches, parodies and sequels to old books or films that are often
just to keep the copyright annoy me and are generally awful. When
I eventually picked this up it was a happy surprise.
Greig treats the original novel gently and uses it as a template
to give us a new story of three men, a little bored and lost in
mid-life, who decide to emulate Buchan's heroes. Fun is poked at
a few of Buchan's foibles
This one is hard to pick up in the USA but can be ordered online
from places such as John Smith's Bookshop who are a nice old shop with a decent
website and every 100th order is free!
Music
Notes
Songs from my Funeral, Snakefarm, Kneeling Elephant/RCA,
1998/9. Two person group with a new take on American folk songs.
No accordions, no harps, no strained reaching for painful notes.
Being a foreigner there are some songs I knew only by title (e.g.
John Henry) and some I hadn't heard at all. Snakefarm turn them
inside out, add a backbeat, a little of this future, a pinch of
the past to make very addictive music. A must have.
Equally Cursed and Blessed, Catatonia, Blanco Y Negro, 1999.
More addictive music from Wales. No Welsh language (have to get
Gorky's Zygotic Minci), no Tom Jones (Cerys does a duet with him
on his new album), just great pop tunes.
Maiden Japan, Monday Michiru, Kitty Records, 1994. Not her
latest record, but it's the one I like the most from this Kansai-based
singer. This is a take on Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage with her
own jazz and hip-hop leaning thrown in.
Rarities, B-Sides and Slow, Sad Waltzes, Cowboy Junkies,
Latex, 1999. Self-released collection thankfully not all slow and
sad at all. less produced and more fun than some of their recent
Geffen stuff. Some music for films and compilations but unless you
are a real Junkie most of this will be fresh.
Kindly Stop For Me, Chainsuck, Wax Trax, 1999. Concrete
Blonde, Curve, Cranberries, Come, they've definitely picked the
right part of the alphabet. Singer and songwriter Marydee Reynolds
has a beautiful voice that ranges from whisper-in-you-ear intimate
and scary to shout it out loud. They've moved away from their earlier
industrial efforts to a more melodic but not at all less intense
style. This has been somewhat attributed to the late William Tucker's
influence (Revolting Cocks, Thrill Kill Kult, Ministry) but it is
Reynold's vocals and lyrics that stand beside the programming, percussion
and trip-hop moments that make the album a solid whole. Stand out
track is I.S.O. where the rhythms come together with a haunting
lyric about a girl who could not stand the sight of blood. Somewhat
gothic, not at all industrial, very melodic. It's a biking term.
Freeway,
EMI, 1997; 333,
Toshiba EMI, 1998, both Super
Butter Dog. J-pop band who don't know that afros ever went out
of style, that Marvin Gaye is dead or funk is not the only single
way to play. And I'm glad. Excellent music, partying, dancing, driving.
This five piece will make you hit the replay button all night.
Restaurant Review
The Everest
Nepalese Restaurant
6 Brougham Street
Edinburgh EH3 9JH
Scotland
0131-229-1818
An excellent restaurant near Tollcross just outside the older part
of the city. Along with the revitalising of Scotland's capital comes
this small addition to the international feast guaranteed to revitalize
your palate.
We ate here once in July just after they'd opened. The place was
really quiet at lunchtime and we thought perhaps we'd made a mistake
by not checking out the veggie place next door. Not to worry, when
the appetizers came we knew we'd made a good choice. I ordered onion
bhajis, a staple of Indian restaurants and sometimes useful as an
indicator of what's to come. They were brilliant. There was a little
mint sauce on the side and the combo was great. I'm hungry thinking
of it. For the main course I had something generically vegetarian,
palaak paneer, but again it exceeded expectaions.
Service was attentive, not surprising considering how empty it was.
There's a full bar, I had Kingfisher on tap which was a nice change
from all the bottles I've drunk in other Indian-style restaurants.
Prices are UK standard, which means a little pricey.
When in Edinburgh and you can't stand the thought of any more Chinese,
Mexican, African or Italian food, make the trip up to The Everest,
certainly worth your while.
More Reviews
from LCRW no.
5