Via google alerts for Denise Mina comes a couple of good reviews by the Grumpy Old Bookman blog of the first two Paddy Meehan books:
The Field of Blood The Dead Hour
I like how Michael Allen (G.O.B) cuts to the chase when writing about 'The Field of Blood':
As an evocation of time, place, and atmosphere, this book is, I am sure, the equal of any Booker shortlisted book, but it is also, fortunately, much more. Because it's a crime novel we have a good strong narrative thread, and we are spared the arty-farty fancypants bullshit."
What the review does not pick up on, and something that I still have difficulty getting my head around is Denise Mina's insistence that the Catholic community in Scotland was still experiencing as late as the early eighties an institutionalised discrimination that was so deep rooted in Scottish society that even Paddy Meehan becoming a 'copyboy' on a newspaper was seen as something out of the ordinary.
I'm not suggesting that such a bigoted culture didn't exist, merely acknowledging that I'm perhaps too young to fully recognise that time and noting how far we've come between then and now.
I'm looking forward to Allen's future review of 'The Last Breath', which has already become my favourite book in the Paddy Meehan series.
2 comments:
Darren
it must be autumn and cool in NY since you are rattling off blogs like no-one's business!
Could you blog as often as me or Piers? So that:
a)we can read them
b)post a comment
c)get an answer
d)post a reply to c)
e)have time for sundry items like making tea in order to do a)-d)
Just kidding. Lots of interesting stuff Darren.
Gray,
Apologies for the junk blogging. I do have my reasons:
1) A few of the posts have been lingering around in adraft for a while and I thought I'd either post them or delete them.
2) You might have already guessed it, but I'm getting near a landmark figure for the blog and in such circumstances I always get a bit too antsy and want to hurry things along.
I'll be back to once in a red moon blogging soon enough. ;-)
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