Month: February 2012

What’s On My Kindle?

This is what I have on my Kindle right now. As from 1st January I’ve read eleven books, and I’m close to finish the twelfth. At least I’m not adding to my TBR pile. Besides The Works of Gaston Leroux and The Complete Sherlock Holmes should not be taken into account. That leaves seven books to be read as from 1st April. Am I on track or just kidding myself? Time will tell.

  • The Draining Lake, by Arnaldur Indridason
  • The Works of Gaston Leroux
  • Where the Devil Can’t Go, by Anya Lipska
  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, by John le Carré
  • The Unburied Dead, by Douglas Lindsay
  • The Complete Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Agosto, by Rubem Fonseca
  • What It Was, by George Pelecanos
  • Absolute Zero Cool, by Declan Burke

Review: A Quiet Belief in Angels – R.J. Ellory

Esta entrada es bilingüe, para ver la versión en castellano desplazarse hacia abajo

Orion, 2007. 406 pages. ISBN: 978-0-7528-8263-5.

A Quiet Belief in Angels tells the story of the consequences that, a series of crimes, have in the small rural town of Augusta Falls, Charlton County, Georgia, and how these events will shape the life of a young Joseph Vaughan, who wants to become a writer. The story begins and ends with the sound of gunfire at a hotel in New York in 1967 and, although narrated in chronological order, the main story is alternated with the thoughts and reflections of one of the men wounded in the shooting.

We meet Joseph Vaughan first in 1939. He is aged eleven and has just lost his father. Vaughan sits next to Alice Ruth Van Horne at school, but one morning her body is found brutally murdered. This will be the first in a series of crimes that will blight the community during the next decade. As time goes by Vaughan becomes determined to protect the town’s girls and, together with his classmates, forms a group that call themselves ‘The Guardians’ to prevent further killings. Ten years later, the killings ended when a neighbour is found dead. He has committed suicide and has some articles from the dead girls around him. In 1949 Vaughan leaves Augusta Falls to start a new life as a writer in New York, but the past won’t leave him alone.

A Quiet Belief in Angels is written from the perspective of Joseph Vaughan in the first-person narrative. A book I found very difficult to review. I have no doubt that R.J. Ellory is a superb writer and this book is beautifully written but for some reason the story never hooked me. It has some great moments and excellent descriptions, but, occasionally, I could not find any purpose to what was going on. It can be either excellent or boring sometimes but overall it is a disturbing book that may remain in my memory for a long time. Just read it and judge for yourselves. It is interesting to note that although R.J. Ellory is an English citizen, the action in his books is set in the United States, and he is able to create an atmosphere and a language that is totally believable, in my opinion.

My rating is 4 out of 5.

A Quiet Belief in Angels was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club in 2008, shortlisted for the Barry Award for Best British Crime Fiction, the 813 Trophy, the Quebec Booksellers’ Prize, The Europeen Du Point Crime Fiction Prize, and was winner of the Inaugural Prix Roman Noir Nouvel Observateur, The Strand Magazine Best Thriller of the Year, the Livre De Poche Award 2010, and the US Indie Excellence Award for Best Mystery. 

A Quiet Belief in Angels has been reviewed by Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise, at Material Witness, Rhian (aka crimeficreader) at It’s a crime! (Or a mystery…), Cathy at Kittling: Books,

Reseña: Sólo el silencio, de R.J. Ellory

Sólo el silencio cuenta la historia de las consecuencias que una serie de crímenes tienen en el pequeño pueblo rural de Augusta Falls, Condado de Charlton, Georgia, y cómo éstos acontecimientos van a marcar la vida de un joven Joseph Vaughan, que quiere convertirese en escritor. La historia comienza y termina con el sonido de unos disparos en un hotel en Nueva York en 1967 y, aunque está narrada en orden cronológico, la historia principal se alterna con los pensamientos y las reflexiones de uno de los hombres heridos en el tiroteo.

Nos encontramos con José Vaughan por primera vez en 1939. Él tiene once años y acaba de perder a su padre. Vaughan se sienta junto a Alice Ruth Van Horne en la escuela, pero una mañana, su cuerpo es encontrado brutalmente asesinado. Este será el primero de una serie de crímenes que asolará a la comunidad durante la próxima década. Conforme pasa el tiempo Vaughan está decidido a proteger a las niñas de su ciudad y, junto con sus compañeros de clase, forman un grupo que se llama “Los Guardianes” para evitar más asesinatos. Diez años después, los asesinatos terminan  cuando un vecino es encontrado muerto. Se ha suicidado y tiene algunos de los objetos de las niñas asesinadas a su alrededor. En 1949, Vaughan abandona Augusta Falls para comenzar una nueva vida como escritor en Nueva York, pero el pasado no le va a dejar en paz.

Sólo el silencio está escrito en primera persona desde la perspectiva de Joseph Vaughan. Un libro que he encontrado muy difícil de reseñar. No me cabe ninguna duda de que R.J. Ellory es un escritor excelente y este libro está muy bien escrito, pero por alguna razón la historia nunca me enganchó. Tiene grandes momentos y descripciones excelentes, pero, en ocasiones, no pude encontrar propósito alguno a lo que estaba pasando. Puede ser excelente o aburrido a veces, pero en general es un libro inquietante que puede que permanezca en mi memoria durante mucho tiempo. Sólo leánlo y juzguen ustedes mismos. Es interesante destacar que aunque R.J. Ellory es inglés, la acción en sus libros se situa en los Estados Unidos, y él es capaz de crear un ambiente y un idioma que resulta completamente creíble, en mi opinión.

Mi valoración es de 4 sobre 5.

Sólo el silencio fue seleccionado por el Club del Libro Richard & Judy en el 2008, y fue finalista del Premio Barry a la Mejor Novela Negra de Gran Bretaña, del Trofeo 813, del Premio de los Libreros de Quebec, del Premio Europeao Du Point de Novela Negra. Obtuvo el primer Premio de Novela Negra del Nouvel Observateur, el premio al mejor thriller del año de la revista The Strand, el Premio del Livre de Poche en el 2010, y el premio del US Indie Excellence al mejor misterio.

Priority List

The purpose of my priority list is to avoid impulse buying and, consequently, reduce my TBR pile. It works as follows. First I make a list of the fifteen books I’d like to read next. Then, whenever I am tempted to buy a new book, I’ll look into my list. I can only buy books from that list. To include a new book in the priority list, I’ll have either to buy or delete another one.

As of today my priority list is as follows (in no particular order):

  • The Terrorists, Maj Sjöwall & Per Walhöö
  • The Drop, Michael Connelly
  • The Cold Cold Ground, Adrian McKinty
  • Winter’s Bone, Daniel Woodrell
  • The End of the Wasp Season, Denise Mina
  • A Dark Redemption, Stav Sherez
  • The Unlucky Lottery, Hakan Nesser
  • The Caller, Karin Fossum
  • Until thy Wrath be Past, Åsa Larsson
  • Phantom, Jo Nesbo
  • Máscaras, Leonardo Padura (English title: Havana Red)
  • The Smell of the Night, Andrea Camilleri
  • The Rage, Gene Kerrigan
  • Taken, Niamh O’Connor
  • The Cut, George Pelecanos

The TBR Double Dare Interim Report

The TBR Double Dare was not a book buying ban, but a resolution to read only the books in my To Be Read stack from 1st January 2012 to 1st April 2012.

Seems l’m pretty much on track, about to finish R.J. Ellory’s A Quiet Belief in Angels (Orion, 2007), I plan to start reading this weekend Fred Vargas’ Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand (Spanish title: Bajo los vientos de Neptuno (Punto de lectura, 2008). Oddly enough I’m reading  backwards the Adamsberg book series.

My reading schedule for March looks as follows:

  • Camilla Läckberg, The Ice Princess, Harper Collins, 2009.
  • Rory Clements, Revenger, John Murray, 2010.
  • Åsa Larsson, The Blood Spilt. Spanish title: Sangre Derramada, Seix Barral, 2010.
  • Henning Mankell, The Pyramid. Spanish title: La pirámide,Tusquets Maxi, 2010.
  • Philippe Claudel, Grey Souls (aka By a Slow River) Spanish title: Almas Grises, Salamandra, 2010.

Stay tuned.