I once read a book backwards. It was a very boring book - the class reader for me as a 12 year old at grammar school - and I thought reading it from last chapter through to first would make it more interesting. It didn't.
I haven't tried the trick since but Jeffery Deaver is one of my top three mystery/crime/thriller writers and I couldn't wait to try his new book, The October List. So, starting at the beginning (page 5, start of chapter 36) I immersed myself in the strange tale of Gabriela, who is caught up in a mystery financial crime and whose daughter has been kidnapped to encourage her co-operation.
There are no spoilers here so I'm not going into great depth in describing the plot but I did wonder how Deaver, famed for his plot twists and his rollercoaster cliffhangers could achieve his usual effects when the whole plot was out there from the start (or should I say end?). I shouldn't have doubted his skills as a master storyteller and soon I was immersed and kept reading for several hours, devouring the whole story at a sitting. It's an amazing achievement to be able to keep up the tension in this way given the strangeness of starting at the denouement but this author can build tension, even backwards!
It's a great read, with all the twists and turns I had hoped for, and reminded me of first viewing The Sixth Sense at a preview screening many years ago. When I had taken in the tricks onscreen (again, no spoilers in case there is anyone out there who hasn't seen this film) I couldn't wait to checkout the DVD and find out whether the script really worked, with no errors which should have made me guess the ending. There were none, and there aren't any in The October List either. The plot works perfectly, but you will be re-reading at the end to check out all the clever twists! Just one further comment: you need to buy this book in hardback. Checking back and forward through the text is a pain if you read it on a kindle as I did, and you certainly won't want to wait until the paperback is published, probably late next year. So, with Christmas coming, treat yourself or a friend and enjoy another masterpiece of suspense from the pen (keyboard?) of Mr Deaver.
By the way, if you haven't yet discovered Jeffery Deaver, try out some of his other titles too. As well as stand-alones such as The October List he currently writes two series of thrillers, one featuring Lincoln Rhyme and the other, Kathryn Dance, which interlock as characters from one series drift in and out of the other according to the needs of the plot. They are always intriguing and I await my annual Deaver fix with delight.
Thursday 24 October 2013
Sunday 6 October 2013
White House history
Having passions both for photography and for the history of the USA, I thought I'd blog today about two recent reads which link these themes. The first is Presidential Picture Stories: behind the cameras at the White House by Dennis Brack and the second is The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the reconstruction of America's most famous residence by Robert Klara.
Both of these tell fascinating stories. The first is about the long history of the relationship between the media and the power of the presidency, from the earliest days of the published images of Lincoln to the present day. There are facts and anecdotes about many of the most important moments of American history: during two world wars, plus Korea and Vietnam, the assassination of JFK and the quick wits of the stills photographer who asked a policeman where the speeding motorcade was taking the mortally wounded President and was able to reach Parkland Hospital, the way in which the press respected FDR's wish not to be depicted as vulnerable as a result of his polio. There were also occasional sneaky tricks and practical jokes such as the photographer who developed two rolls of precious images and had the shock of finding the film blank - because colleagues had replaced his exposed film rolls with unexposed ones - and the canny photographer who bided his time in photocalls until all the others had used their allocation of film and time before calling out a question or two and snapping the candid shots that others missed.
Truman had a good relationship with the media and Jim Atherton, a United Press photographer, is quoted in the first book as saying "Covering Truman was like covering your best friend's father". The second of these books tells the story of how the crumbling fabric of the White House was saved from disaster by the Truman administration. In 1948 Harry Truman, while taking a bath on the White House’s second floor, almost plunged through the ceiling of the Blue Room into a tea party for the Daughters of the American Revolution. Nobody was aware of how badly the building had deteriorated in the 150 years since its construction and Congress seriously considered recommending its demolition. Instead, as Klara explains, the interior was gutted and structurally supported with a steel skeleton while excavations below ground level produced a nuclear shelter at the time of the cold war.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to spend a week in Washington and did the unashamedly touristy things - visiting the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Library of Congress, the Capitol, the Mall and the Smithsonian, but one of the images I treasure in my memory is that of the White House amid cherry blossom. Do visit Washington if you can but until you do, I recommend these books as a taster and fitting introductions to the history of a fascinating city.
Both of these tell fascinating stories. The first is about the long history of the relationship between the media and the power of the presidency, from the earliest days of the published images of Lincoln to the present day. There are facts and anecdotes about many of the most important moments of American history: during two world wars, plus Korea and Vietnam, the assassination of JFK and the quick wits of the stills photographer who asked a policeman where the speeding motorcade was taking the mortally wounded President and was able to reach Parkland Hospital, the way in which the press respected FDR's wish not to be depicted as vulnerable as a result of his polio. There were also occasional sneaky tricks and practical jokes such as the photographer who developed two rolls of precious images and had the shock of finding the film blank - because colleagues had replaced his exposed film rolls with unexposed ones - and the canny photographer who bided his time in photocalls until all the others had used their allocation of film and time before calling out a question or two and snapping the candid shots that others missed.
Truman had a good relationship with the media and Jim Atherton, a United Press photographer, is quoted in the first book as saying "Covering Truman was like covering your best friend's father". The second of these books tells the story of how the crumbling fabric of the White House was saved from disaster by the Truman administration. In 1948 Harry Truman, while taking a bath on the White House’s second floor, almost plunged through the ceiling of the Blue Room into a tea party for the Daughters of the American Revolution. Nobody was aware of how badly the building had deteriorated in the 150 years since its construction and Congress seriously considered recommending its demolition. Instead, as Klara explains, the interior was gutted and structurally supported with a steel skeleton while excavations below ground level produced a nuclear shelter at the time of the cold war.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to spend a week in Washington and did the unashamedly touristy things - visiting the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Library of Congress, the Capitol, the Mall and the Smithsonian, but one of the images I treasure in my memory is that of the White House amid cherry blossom. Do visit Washington if you can but until you do, I recommend these books as a taster and fitting introductions to the history of a fascinating city.
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