Novel: What Happens Now by Jeremy Dyson (2006)

Despite picking this up when it came out, it has taken me a while to get round to reading Jeremy Dyson’s debut novel. Best known as the silent partner in the League of Gentlemen team, Dyson has been building a strong reputation as a quality writer of dark material. 

There something about the format and stylistic choices with this novel – the playing about with our perception of time – that reminds me of the underrated 3rd television series of the League or Dyson’s co-written BBC drama Funland. A choice which might sit uneasily with some readers, potentially confusing or frustrating, but which makes complete sense in the end.

There’s only so much about the plot that I can say without giving away huge elements of the plotline. The blurb on the back of the book suggests that a dark event 20 years in the past of our characters reverberates on the present lives and isn’t finished with them yet. That knowledge (which isn’t neccessarily obvious from the text whilst reading the story) rather hangs over the narrative and leaves us wondering about the inevitable outcome.

What Happens Now tells the story of young Alistair Black from Leeds who is picked out for stardom and a part in a television series in the early 1980s called Then and Now. On set he befriends Alice Zealand – a girl he falls in love with, and London lad Steve Raw. Together they show Alistair something of the world outside of his bedroom and imagination.

Then and Now is a show which portrays historical stories and events in a Then episode, contrasted against a contemporary Now episode on tv each week. Alistair is recruited with the others to portray  the story of an Anne Frank character and her family as they hide beneath a restaurant during the war in a hope to escape the NAZIs. 

By alternating chapters in the book between the events of the making of the programme in the 1980s, and Alice’ and Alistair’s lives today (well, 2001) Dyson allows the book essentially to follow the format of the fictional tv series. The past and its allusions to the war, racism, misunderstanding and isolation is mirrored in the present and it is clear that the past is still being felt. But we aren’t sure how – Alistair is on a train in a foreign land and Alice has been on retreat to Israel and is facing up to her ex-boyfriend she ran out on. What happened to send them off on these lonely pilgrimages?

Both stories (then and now) play out simultaneously, and we can’t really understand one without the other. The Alice and Alistair of the present are slightly fucked up individuals, with emotional issues, but it is the Alice and Alistair of 20 years previous that are of most interest. Carefully drawn studies of two teenagers growing up. I found myself identifying with aspects of both stories, and elements of both characters and this surely is exactly what a writer hopes to achieve in his audience. Alistair’s withdrawal, shyness and relative pureity allows us to see the world through his frightened eyes and to be affected by moments which might otherwise pass us by.

Dyson’s debut novel is inventive and speaks of youth with affection and regret. He builds to an almighty finale that should be obvious from the opening but somehow remains hidden behind the complexities of the past.

What Happens Now

by Jeremy Dyson

published 2006 by Abacus.

Buy What Happens Now here.  

Film: Role Models (2008)

Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott are the employees of the Minotaur energy drinks company, driving round the country promoting the drink as a safe alternative to drugs (despite it turning your pee green). That is until Danny (Rudd) has an overly shitty day, and having been dumped by his lawyer girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks) immediately after he proposes to her, he gets into a fight with school security on one of the talks and is given the alternative of community service or face jail.
When they are enlisted to help with the Sturdy Wings group as mentors to a couple of troubled kids things go from bad to worse. Wheeler’s (Scott) kid is a foul-mouthed boob obsessed urchin Ronnie (Bobb’e J Thompson) and Danny with the intraverted teenager Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who lives his entire life through fantasy role playing….

Ahh, the American sex comedy… where would we be without you?

Role Models is the latest offering in the genre, though quite who its audience is, is hard to place. The kids are 11 and 18 and the adults in their 30s… its a good mix which ultimately shifts it away from being a simple teen sex comedy based around highschool environments. Bobb’e Thompson shines out with his direct delivery, which has a way of taking you by surprise – should a kid have a mouth like that?! He also, frankly gets some of the best lines.

There’s some nice messages in the film – not too cheesy, and played well within the context of the screwed up families, absent/unsupportive parents and escapism through role play. Heart-warming but also very very funny, and rather caustic too! Ah, go on…

Film: Valkyrie (2008)

Even before filming commenced, Valkyrie was surrounded by controversy thanks to reports that certain bodies in Germany were unhappy with the involvement of Tom Cruise in the project – his very public ties to Scientology rather tainting everything. I rather suspect that many cinemagoers will be unfarely predisposed against Valkyrie for those same reasons.

But frankly, I think you should reconsider….

Valkyrie tells the story of the failed coup of 20 July 1944 in NAZI Germany, headed by Colonel Claus von Stoffenberg (Cruise), a man who believes in Germany, but not Hitler’s regime, and who was previously injured in an Allied bomb attack, loosing an eye, an arm and several fingers on his remaining hand…

My World War II history isn’t up to scratch evidently, as I hadn’t known that an assasination attempt and coup had come so close to topping the NAZI control in 1944. Its a shocking tale of human frailty and the weakness of some and the failings of military campaigns. No doubt there are parallels to the current situation in the UK and the US but I leave them for others to discern and announce.

Unlike, say War of the Worlds, Cruise is allowed to pay a hero in a very real sense, and makes his battles, his raison d’etre is not revenge, and this itself goes beyond expectation of an American telling of the German story. Before the press screening I went to, someone commented that they were taking bets earlier today about whether Cruise would rewrite history and actually kill Hitler at the end of the film. A typical response, but demonstrates that here in Europe at least our perception is that American’s can’t tell historical stories with any sense of accuracy or respect, but here they do.

There’s a strong British contingent in the cast, including luminaries like Bill Nighy, Kenneth Brannagh, Terence Stamp and (adopting a bizarre and misplaced American accent) Eddie Izzard. To single any single performance is difficult, because everyone gives it their utmost. Characters are complex, multi-levelled and engaging.

For a war film, this is suprisingly quiet too. Between the establishing sequence at the opening in which we see the Colonel receive his injuries, and the dramatic conclusion of the coup at the end, there isn’t a shot fired and so when they do happen, they ring out with sharp refrain. The conviction from the producers (including Cruise) is felt in the authentic use of World War II planes, authentic German paraphanalia and the honest sound of gunfire (harsher and shriller than that used in most films). Certainly this doesn’t glamorise the process or war and politics and should be lauded.

Curiously Hitler is presented as a rather softly spoken, slightly stooped man. Whilst instantly recognisable, he lacks much of the charisma and presence I have always been led to believe the man held. Instead he hides behind his lackies – and the scene where he is introduced to the Colonel is typical of this – they come across like jocks rather than NAZI leaders.

Aside from close attention to production detail, this actually feels more like an old film, without the frentic editing that seems to blight action films today. The camera is allowed to take its time, and the music isn’t too intrusive either. Might I suggest that director Bryan Singer is given the rein of the next Bond film…

Not the greatest war film ever, but a commendable turn which doesn’t outstay its welcome.

Britcom: The Magnificent Evans (1984)

The late Ronnie Barker is never less than watchable, and at his best he is absolutely brilliant. This 1984 BBC sitcom showcases Barker’s larger than life personality as the Welsh photographic artist Plantagenet Evans.

Evans is a gregarious dandy, like an over-the-top version of Jon Pertwee’s time in Doctor Who – complete with cape, cane, fedora hat and ginger goatee. He even drives around in an old vintage roadster!

He believes himself to be a great artist, and has little time for the imperfections that everyday life and the average person brings his way, whether it be a bride with a big nose or an aspiring academic with a hump. Tact is something he lacks, and he is quick to point out the failings of others and has an uncanny ability to tease out the hidden truth between other’s relationships.

Despite these less than perfect traits, Evans is something of a loveable rogue, and this perhaps is the result of the perspective of the narration. Roy Clarke (perhaps best known for penning Open All Hours and the never-ending Last of the Summer Wine) presents the series as scenes from the memoirs of Evan’s live-in assistant Rachel (Sharon Morgan). Rachel reads from her personal journal (a touch of those classic romance novels here…) as she works for Evans and battles for his eternal affection. Despite living with him (she has her own appartment!) in sin, and his promises, he refuses to give in and marry her – instead leaving her hanging. He believes its better for business to be seen to be single…

A chunk of the comedy is (typically for the mid-80s) centred on their illicit relationship and the cheeky inappropriateness of it. Each episode showcases Sharon Morgan’s black-stocking clad legs as she climbs in and out of Evan’s jalopy, whilst he gazes on admiringly. Meanwhile, Rachel’s sister and brother in law peer through their net curtains across the street with disapproving eyes and attempt to take her away from the dark side.

The show only lasted one series, so never quite finds the proper stride. Whilst not up amongst his most favored creations, Barker is engaging and plays the Welshman well. Oh, if only life were that simple and we could all just say what we think to potential clients! Though of course, some sense of reality creeps in as his photography obviously doesn’t make enough money and he has to do a side in antique dealing and retail of Sweedish wood-burning stoves (which also gives him an air of Arthur Dailey or Del Trotter as opposed to the flamboyant artist Evan’s obviously aspires to be).

Buy The Magnificent Evans on dvd here
Buy The Magnificent Evans as part of the Ultimate Ronnie Barker Collection dvd box set here

Novel: "Loser’s Town" by Daniel Depp (2009)

Daniel Depp’s debut novel Loser’s Town hits the shelves in March, but I’ve been reading an advanced copy and indulging in that rare (for me) activity – engagement in a new novel…

Let’s get some of the basics out of the way first, Depp is Johnny Depp’s brother, and has worked as a producer with him on features. Undoubtedly he has a good working knowledge of the film industry, which serves as a sort of research for the world in which he sets his prose. There’s a lot of buzz about Loser’s Town in the industry, with publishers falling over themselves for the rights to this book. Now whilst some of that is no doubt to do with the association with the other Depp, the book itself is actually rather good. Now, I’m not an agent and I don’t think I could adequately judge the marketplace, so my comments are based purely on my personal experience as a reader. Fair enough?

Loser’s Town is the first in a proposed series of novels featuring ex-stuntman David Spandau – a private detective working in LA. According to the publishers he is “a laconic private eye in the best tradition of Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade”. Well, I’ve never read either, so I can’t comment.

Spandau finds himself wraped up in a world of gangsters and mafiosa working within the film industry after agreeing to help new star Bobby Dye, an actor with lots of ambition and little sense. Dye is being blackmailed into appearing in a film which will counteract the chance of success created by his latest blockbuster production. With bodies to be accounted for, a drug-running operation to avoid, and an ex-wife on his mind, Spandau has more than his hands full…

One thing’s for sure, I wouldn’t be surprised if Depp’s book gets picked up for film adaptation soon, as its a remarkably cinematic work. There’s enough characters and some nicely vivid descriptions to make the whole thing very attractive. The swift move from calm conversation and serenity to rampant sex or gruesome violence works well and is perhaps a more realistic depiction of life.

Opening on a clumsy clean-up following an accidental heroin overdose at Dye’s home, I’m tempted to think of scenes in Pulp Fiction or Eyes Wide Shut but this is merely the preamble. We are all aware now, I think, of the deep set levels of corruption and malpractice in Hollywood, and Depp brings these to the fore. Constantly the image of the movies as a place of glamour is shown to be a construct of marketing and the cameras, and the truth is infinately less pleasant. We’re left to wonder how much of these comes through Depp’s own experiences and whether he is as disenchanted by the whole thing as Spandau seems to be.

Spandau’s position as a former stuntman gives him years of experience of the bullshit of the film industry and so allows him to move in and out of encounters without being bowled over by the sparkle and propeganda perpetrated by the studios. He’s someone who has been through the system and spat out, and survived. But despite this seemingly impenetrable exterior, Spandau is vulnerable, not least with regards to his ex-wife Dee (now moving on, despite a deep mutual attraction remaining). As this is a series we can only hope that the battle with Dee is expounded on further – for it makes him a three-dimensional character.

Interesting asides come in the form of Potts – the henchman with a brain and a heart. The two facets of his life are displayed like those moments from the Austin Powers films when we cut to the family of the henchman who has just been killed by Powers… And then there’s Terry, the Irish hired help. That a great chunk of the novel follows Terry’s investigation is actually an asset. Depp gives us characters we can’t help but care about, and he allows them their moment to breathe and to step into the spotlight. A diplomatic author indeed.

Loser’s Town rattles along at a fair pace, and is near-impossible to put down. It offers enough cliff-hangers and moments of build to bring you back again and again. Whilst for me, it started a little slow, and perhaps a little too predictably, Depp soon finds his voice and his path. Only the rapid (but perhaps apt) conclusion to the story frustrated me.

Depp has promise as a novelist, and Spandau has plenty of life left in him. This is good detective fiction which doesn’t depend on the minutae of clues. Like Spandau we have to find our way, and this is more detecting by active experience than remembered deduction.

Loser’s Town is published 2 March 2009 by Simon and Schuster in the UK and USA.

Buy Loser’s Town in the UK here
Buy Loser’s Town in the US here

Sherlock Holmes: Jeremy Brett

As part of my 999 Challenge I’ve promised to tackle 9 different interpretations of Sherlock Holmes. As there are two new Holmes movies in the offing for later this year, I thought it would be a good way to prepare, and so I’ll be sure to include a diverse selection and at least one irreverant take on the character. I’m not promising to take on the entire series of Holmes adaptations by any one performer, but single examples of their work.

I grew up with Jeremy Brett’s Holmes. It wasn’t the first I’d seen, I was aware of both Peter Cushing’s Hammer version and the Basil Rathbone versions, but Brett’s was the first I followed consistantly, and whilst I would have been very young, probably from the start. Certainly I remember both David Burke and Edward Hardwicke as Doctor Watson, and both have their merits, but Brett’s Holmes spoke to me.

At the time I carted around a huge volume containing reprints of all of the short stories, from Chancellor Press (which included the Strand magazine illustrations) in my schoolbag. I’d tick off the stories from the contents page as I read them, and would sit up late in the evening reading them in bed. Over the years I would revisit favourites, and when ITV showed a new story I would read and re-read the Conan Doyle original too. Towards the end of the Granada-produced series I remember being confused by their tale The Last Vampyre which wasn’t quite matching up to anything in the books – and despite having heard mention of it, where was the Giant Rat of Sumatra (I know now… but not back then!).

Brett’s Holmes for me was the character, and rewatching his performances on dvd and endless re-runs on ITV3 or BBC2, he is still the perfect Sherlock Holmes. Yes, as the actor’s health deteriorated so too did his onscreen performance diminish a little, but we watched in pain – as Brett suffered so too did Holmes, and he came alive. Perhaps the thing that sold it most was the references to the Strand illustrations. The adbreaks were bookened by captions which utilised those images by Sidney Paget, but they came close to near identical images in the screen versions themselves. My only regret is that the dvd sets don’t include those ad bookends, which break up the narrative and remind us of the imagery.

More so, they were authentic for the most. Some of the stories are remarkably close to the original shorts, which meant that you saw on screen the story you had read and visa versa rather than some attempt to clarify a classic narrative that ought not be tampered with. 

I’ve been dipping in and out of the Brett series again since I bought the Granada series on dvd a year or so back. Beautifully restored I found myself spending hours watching them back to back late into the evening. Ahhh, so much nostalgia, but well-placed. 

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes: The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax

Granada Television, 1990. UK.

starring Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke.

Despite some of my comments previously, this adaptation from 1990 does take some liberty with the original story. Whilst the plot is largely identical, the action is shifted from Switzerland and Germany to England in its entirety. There’s also a bleaker more solemn tone to the Granada narrative, and Holmes is shown to be struggling, part of a wider story arch the Casebook television series would handle (the original story was published as part of His Last Bow in 1911).

Granada handles the period costume admirably, and Brett carries a cane and a top hat rather than the deerstalker which lazy shorthand interpretations see fit to give us. For a while it is Hardwicke’s Watson that seems to be the star of the piece. However, intercut with the footage of Watson we see Brett’s Holmes thinking over the scenario, conducting his research and finally plunging into action. 

Whilst some have suggested that Brett was rather too manic as Holmes, I feel he holds it just in check. He allows some extravert eccentricity into the performance I conceed, and he has a physicality which seems beyond Brett’s advancing years. But where Brett comes into his own is in the silences. The camera can linger on any scene, and no matter where Brett is in the frame you are drawn to his face and eyes, particularly in the lulls. He shows us a Holmes that is seen to think through the possibilities. Is always alert, and can never really be predicted in terms of his behaviour.

That this particular episode has Holmes come up against something of a mental block, which eats him up and throws his confidence, might throw the audience with a lesser actor. But Brett is uterly convincing and draws us into his world without question. He is Sherlock Holmes.

Buy the complete Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes on dvd here (UK/Europe) (only £36 at time of writing)

Buy the complete Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes on dvd here (US)

Avalard’s 999 Challenge countdown
(a quick reminder of my challenge, and the current tally of entries)

1. 9 different interpretations of Sherlock Holmes  1 down, 8 to go
2. 9 instalments of “Avalard’s Box of Obfuscation” podcast 0 down, 9 to go
3. 9 novels 2 down, 7 to go
4. 9 Hitchcock films 0 down, 9 to go
5. 9 films at the cinema  3 down, 6 to go
6. 9 Michael Caine films 0 down, 9 to go
7. 9 classic Britcom television series 0 down, 9 to go
8. 9 British horror films 0 down, 9 to go
9. 9 episodes of the Avengers 0 down, 9 to go

total entries so far: 6

When the challenge is through?

It occurs to me today, that I should be able to get through some of the categories in the 999 Challenge fairly quickly. With several novels and films down already, I could well be finished by April on those, and most of the others before the start of the summer. So what do I do with this blog then?

Early days perhaps, but I’m thinking of keeping it on as a side project to my podcast (which I really need to record again this week). But what do I call it?

I’m thinking of renaming it sooner rather than later. Avalard’s 999 Challenge is all well and good, but limits to this challenge (and I tag the 999 entries anyway). So what do I call it? The blog is the “Box of Obfuscation”, but need something here.

Suggestions please?

And please, we’d love others to join us on the 999 Challenge, so please if you fancy joining us on the voyage (9 posts each on 9 different topics – eg, 9 different types of film x 9) then let us know so we can add you to the group. All posts to be complete by December 31st!

Film: Bride Wars (2009)

I know what you’re thinking, what the hell is Robert doing blogging about some crappy girls film about weddings instead of something culty or horrifying. And you know what, you’d be right. But I promised you reviews for my cinema outings so here goes…

Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway play a couple of lifelong friends who suddenly find themselves engaged with their perfect weddings booked at the same venue on the same day (June wedding at the Plaza in New York). With neither prepared to give, a lifetime of friendship is put to the test and the Bride Wars begin…

So much for the plot.

With a trailer that promises some over the top slapstick and the anticipation of scenarios of best friends fighting with each other, and two perfectly competent actresses one has if not exactly high hopes, a certain degree of optimism for entertainment.

The problem is, the whole thing is twaddle, terribly makish and without any moments of outstanding brilliance. The most perfect moment in the whole movie (and don’t waste your money on this one, folks…) is after the inevitable fight as both brides lie on the floor side by side looking at the camera, exhausted after their quarrel, and with dresses lying low in the shoulder. The frame is cut so the couple could be lying in bed together, and this is almost a post-coital moment, reminding us of the scene early on in the film when the girls as teenagers pretend to be bride and groom… Maybe if the whole plot had been about a latent attraction between the couple I’d have given a shit!

I refute my apathy as the result of me being a man. I love weddings as much as the next gal, and I did laugh from time to time with the rest of the audience I went to see it with, but I could count the number of times I did.

Both Hudson and Hathaway have form for light comedy, but they lack real spark against each other. Perhaps the addition of some names amongst the male members of the cast would have helped – strong comic performers who would boost the performances all round, but then that would take away from the stars perhaps (and its worth reminding ourselves that Hudson is one of the producers herself).

There’s more potential in the male characters, and with some modifications in the cast this could have been lifted beyond mediocrity. However, this was never going to be a classic. And so, if you get a free ticket or in a few months from now are looking for something inoffensive on dvd, then this might do.

Bride Wars (2009)

directed by Gary Winick

Avalard’s 999 Challenge countdown
(a quick reminder of my challenge, and the current tally of entries)

1. 9 different interpretations of Sherlock Holmes
2. 9 instalments of “Avalard’s Box of Obfuscation” podcast
3. 9 novels 2 down, 7 to go
4. 9 Hitchcock films
5. 9 films at the cinema 3 down, 6 to go
6. 9 Michael Caine films
7. 9 classic Britcom television series
8. 9 British horror films
9. 9 episodes of the Avengers

Novel: "Moon" by James Herbert (1985)

My brother Jonny has always been a prolific reader – much wider probably than myself with an insatiable desire for literature. I guess my indulgences in film and television detract from valuable reading time – that said I’m trying to put that right, and hopefully the 999 Challenge will allow me to be a little more eclectic than previously (there’s a good chance I’ll surpass the requirements on some areas of the challenge – is that allowed Holger?).

At any rate, I was always aware of his collection of James Herbert novels, and I knew nothing other than he thought that Herbert’s The Fog was rather good, and that Herbert’s novels were horror stories. At this point I should say to my shame, I’ve yet to read any Lovecraft, King or Barker either something which I intend to correct.

Anyway, in November 2007 I was one of the guests at Ingrid Pitt’s birthday party (which double’s up as a fan club bash) at which the guest of honour was none other than James Herbert himself. Having not read any of his books I didn’t feel I could speak to him (something which I once had to do with another author, making for a rotten experience), but I was intrigued and figuring our paths may cross again I made a note to try and read at least something of his in the near future. As an aside, Ingrid herself blogged about that event here.

Cut to last summer.

By chance I happened to spot a copy of The Fog in a local discount booksellers (Bargain Books) for 50p, and so quickly devoured it. Whilst visiting Jonny in Edinburgh I picked up The Rats and Fluke in a second hand book store, and from there was hooked. Since then, I’ve read Lair, Shrine, The Survivor, ’48, The Spear and his most recent offering The Secret of Crickley Hall (which I got in a nice limited signed edition to add to my collection of signed books).

And so having had a bit of a break I started into his 1985 novel Moon this week, which unfortunately for me proved every bit as addictive as the last one.

On face value, you pretty much know what you’re going to get with any of Herbert’s supernatural/horror stories. A male protagonist who uncovers something mysterious (often either directly involving himself or something he finds himself sucked into). At some point there will be an intense sexual encounter with a woman (usually a chapter’s worth of description here) and a resolution which reveals some greater truth about the protagonist and a tidying up of most of the loose ends. His men are damaged in some way – suffering often from the pain of a previous relationship, and Moon fills that brief admirably.

Regardless of what happens and how it turns out, there is something deeply satisfying about Herbert’s prose. This isn’t the pulp of someone like Dan Brown, who gives us very literally the identical plot in each of his books. But rather there is something familiar in the tale, which Herbert expands upon. Despite surface similarities each of the novels is deeply original.

Moon centres on a man who has latent psychic abilities which allow him to connect with the perpetrator of a deeply sadistic series of muders. He is reluctant to become involved with the police again following his experiences three years previously where he was implicated in a similar case. He teaches computers at a private girl’s school on the island (Jersey I think…) he moved to after the trauma of the past, and is involved with one of the young teachers there…

The visions themselves are shocking and intense. Vivid and violent and jarring to everyone. As the psychopathic killer connects with the protagonist so the crimes become more directly related and as children become involved we shudder with horror.

Everything builds to a thrilling and deeply supernatural crescendo fusing tales of serial killers and psychopaths with ghosts and spirits and spiritualism.

Not perhaps his most original work, but satisfying enough. Another page turner from Herbert, and one crying out for a decent film adaptation too.

Buy the book in the UK here
Buy the book in the US here

Novel: "The House Without A Key" by Earl Derr Biggers (1925)

Okay, I’m being a little cheeky with this one, as the first of my novels in the 999 Challenge was read as part of a three-novel reprint volume. As its also available by itself, I’m counting it…

The House Without A Key was first published as a serial in 1925, released in novel form a little later. Author Earl Derr Biggers had already received a good deal of success with his play Seven Keys to Baldpate (which will always be imortalised for me as the Pete Walker schlocker House of the Long Shadows starring Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, and Christopher Lee). House Without A Key would introduce the world to Honolulu based detective, the erudite Chinese fellow, Charlie Chan.

The old black and white Charlie Chan films were something of a staple of my youth, regularly re-run on British television in the 1980s. Chan was a rotund chap with a thin moustache, an erratic manner of speach and a succession of assistants in the form of his children. It wasn’t unusual for my father to refer to me and my brother as “number 1 son” and “number 2 son” a la Chan.

I spotted the Wordsworth edition of the first three Chan novels, A Charlie Chan Omnibus whilst on a trip to London a few months ago in that favourite haunt of mine, Lovejoys on the Charing Cross Road. I’ve been picking up the Wordsworth reprints of classic mysterious literature whenever I can, and the opportunity to visit this icon from my past was too hard to resist.

There’s a notion from some quarters that books like this are actually in some way an endorsement of racial stereotyping, but to reduce to such shorthand is to brush aside a genuinely fascinating body of literature. Chan’s success is in spite of the perceptions which are manafest in the novel itself – the white Bostonians, who are visiting Honolulu when the murder at the centre of this novel is committed, are convinced that this Chinese man will not be any good, but like Columbo he plays to people’s perceptions as a way of sneaking out the truth.

Chan doesn’t appear for the first third of the novel, but from that point on he is increasingly important, showing an awareness of subtle clues which would rival the great Sherlock Holmes. Something about his appearance expanding to become the lead character in future novels finds resonance in the ascent of Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies.

Hawaii at the turn of the centre is exciting and mysterious and deeply attractive. The issues of class and family secrets find echoes in British custom of the same period, and are not unfamiliar today. That this is the first of 6 Chan novels makes it rather important, and it certainly grips. Only in the closing pages as the subplot about a young man’s love for just about every pretty young (white) thing he meets reaches its zenith does my attention wane.

The story – John Quincy is a Bostonian who has come to Hawaii to bring his wayward Aunt Minerva back home, only to discover that his cousin Dan has been murdered. Quincy soon finds himself teaming up with top detective Charlie Chan in pursuit of the murderer, whilst at the same time falling in love with Hawaii himself and resolving to move to San Francisco.

Buy The Charlie Chan Omnibus in the UK (containing the first 3 Chan novels) here.
But The House Without A Key in the US here.

Avalard’s 999 Challenge countdown
(a quick reminder of my challenge, and the current tally of entries)

1. 9 different interpretations of Sherlock Holmes
2. 9 instalments of “Avalard’s Box of Obfuscation” podcast
3. 9 novels 1 down, 8 to go
4. 9 Hitchcock films
5. 9 films at the cinema 2 down, 6 to go
6. 9 Michael Caine films
7. 9 classic Britcom television series
8. 9 British horror films
9. 9 episodes of the Avengers