Book #188 of 2022: Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #27) A weaker Poirot entry. The inciting event of a string of petty thefts, vandalism, and related mischief at a youth hostel seems well below the Belgian detective’s usual standards for investigation, and his premonition that the case will soon prove more serious …
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Book #266 of 2021: The Quiet American by Graham Greene This 1955 novel reads as a prescient (though obviously unheeded) critique of colonialism and American-style foreign intervention, following a journalist and an intelligence officer in the ‘Indochina’ region at the start of the Vietnam War. It draws on author Graham Greene’s own experience as a …
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Book #21 of 2021: The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia #1) I always think that I like this prequel more than I actually do, because in my memory, only the strong parts stand out. The devious uncle, the rings that take you to the Wood Between the Worlds from which …
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Book #154 of 2020: The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings #3) This conclusion to the classic fantasy trilogy probably has too much falling action after the main stakes are resolved, and its treatment of the anonymous hordes of dark-skinned humans who rally to the banner of …
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Book #221 of 2018: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (The Ripliad #1) The plot to this mid-century crime thriller is admittedly thin, but it’s an outstanding character study of the insecure and sociopathic Tom Ripley. His author Patricia Highsmith paints Ripley as almost pedestrian in his casual amorality and petty jealousies, and while …
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