Six Degrees of Separation: From Sandwich to The Wheel Spins

The Six Degrees of Separation meme is hosted by Kate at booksaremyfavoriteandbest. The idea behind the meme is to start with a book and use common points between two books to end up with links to six books, forming a chain. The common points may be obvious, like a word in the title or a shared theme, or more personal. Every month Kate provides the title of a book as the starting point.

The starting book this month is Sandwich by Catherine Newman, which I have not read... but I do have a copy that I am planning to read. The story takes place during an annual family visit to Cape Cod.

1st degree:

My first link is to The Cape Cod Mystery, published in 1931 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor. It is the first book in the Asey Mayo series. In the middle of a sweltering hot summer on Cape Cod, a man's body is discovered in a cottage. A sheriff arrests Bill Porter for murder, based on circumstantial evidence. Bill asks his friend, Asey Mayo, to find out who really committed the crime. The author knew Cape Cod quite well, and her depiction of it in this book is humorous and entertaining.

2nd degree:

Death in the Off-Season is a much more recent mystery set on Nantucket, an island about 30 miles south of Cape Cod. Merry Folger is a new detective in the Nantucket police, working under her father. This novel is the first book in the Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery series and was first published in 1994. Later it was republished by Soho in 2016, with edits to bring the series up to modern times. That worked well for me, and I liked the characters and the setting.

3rd degree:

The previous book was a police procedural and that is a favorite subgenre for me. Diamond Solitaire by Peter Lovesey is also part of a police procedural series, this time set in London and featuring Peter Diamond. But as this third book in the series begins, the police detective is no longer in the police, and is working as a security guard at Harrods in London. This wonderful story takes the reader to New York and then to Japan as the protagonist goes in search of the identity of a young Japanese girl.

4th degree:

So now I move to a police procedural set in Japan, Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino. This book starts out as a police procedural, then turns into something else. Detective Sasagaki is investigating the death of a man in an empty building. He starts with the victim's family, a wife and a son about 10 years old, and his place of business, a pawnshop. The case is dropped for lack of evidence although Sasagaki continues to look for more information related to the crime. The middle section of the book follows the lives of people related to the victim in the years leading up to the death. As the story gets closer to the end, Detective Sasagaki comes back into the story and the crime is solved. This book was originally published in 1999, and the novel portrays life in Japan in the 1970s to the 1990s, with changing fads, various stages of education, office life, and characters at various economic levels.

5th degree:

Staying with Japan and police procedurals, I turn to Tokyo Express, Seichō Matsumoto's first novel, published in 1958. In this novel, two detectives in different cities in Japan investigate the same crime and collaborate, sharing their thoughts and discoveries. A man and a woman are found dead on a beach in Kashii, and the police assume that it is a double suicide. The alibis of their suspects depend on train schedules, so a good amount of time is spent on that aspect of the alleged crime. This is a good picture of Japan after World War II; it was first published in English translation as Points and Lines.

6th degree:

Picking up on the emphasis on trains in the last book, I am moving to The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White, which takes place primarily on a train. This book was filmed as The Lady Vanishes, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A young woman, Iris, meets an older lady while traveling on a train in Europe. They have tea and talk for a while, and then, Iris takes a nap. When she awakens, Miss Froy, the older woman, has disappeared, and the other people in the same carriage deny that there ever was a Miss Froy in the  carriage. The Wheel Spins was published in 1936, and is an excellent picture of the tensions in Europe in the 1930s.

My Six Degrees took me from Cape Cod and other coastal areas in the US, on to the UK and Japan, and finally to an unnamed area in Europe prior to World War II.  If you did this month's Six Degrees, where did your chain take you?

The next Six Degrees will be on January 4th, 2025 and the starting book will be the 2024 Booker winner, Orbital by Samantha Harvey.

January and February Reading, 2024

 

It used to be that most of the books I read were published before 1975; I also read many books published from 1976 to 2000. A smaller percentage of the books I read were published after 2000. As I looked back on my reading in the first two months of this year, I realized that 10 out of the 12 books that I read were published after 2000.  Since I enjoyed almost every book I have read this year, I don't think that is a bad thing. I am just wondering why and when my tastes changed and whether that will continue. I did read two books published in the 1950s, one by Graham Greene and one by Seichō Matsumoto, and both were excellent books.

So here are the book I read...

Nonfiction / Nature

Vesper Flights (2020) by Helen Macdonald

This is a collection of Macdonald's essays, mostly about nature, but sometimes delving into her personal life. Many of the essays focus on birds (which is what I was looking for) but not all. The book was educational, in a fun way. Some of the essays that I especially I enjoyed: "Field Guides," about the evolution of field guides;  "High Rise," about bird watching on the top of the Empire State building, at night; "Ants," about the mating flight of queen ants and drones; "Swan Upping," about mute swans on the River Thames.

Nonfiction / Memoir

Wait for Me! (2010) by Deborah Mitford

I found this book to be a fantastic read, but maybe that is because I enjoy reading about the Mitford sisters so much. The author has a gift of telling short interesting anecdotes. The two other books I have read about the family were biographies and they focused mainly on Nancy (16 years older than Deborah) and Diana (10 years older). Because Deborah was the youngest child (of seven), her view of the family came from a different perspective. The book is divided between her childhood and young adult years with her family and her life as the Duchess of Devonshire. Both were equally of interest to me.  

Fiction

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (2022) by Gabrielle Zevin

This book is about two young people who create video games. The story starts when Sam Mazur and Sadie Green are about 12 years old and covers the next 30 years in their lives. It does focus on video gaming and the process of creating them, but it is about many other things: relationships, families, judgement and misunderstandings, and ambition. I liked the writing, and I was caught up in the story. My one complaint is that the book is too long at 400 plus pages.  

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (2010) by Satoshi Yagisawa

I read this book for the Japanese Literary Challenge and for the Bookish Books Challenge. A young woman goes to work in a bookshop owned by her uncle after a romantic relationship ends abruptly. The book is definitely not a romance; there is a lot of emphasis on human relationships, in addition to books and reading. See my review.

A Man Called Ove (2012) by Fredrik Backman

Ove is an older man, nearing sixty, who has fixed ideas about life and often doesn't fit in with societal norms. He often seems cranky or rude. His wife has recently died. Their relationship had its ups and downs, but they were a devoted couple, and she was undoubtedly the most important thing in his life. He has decided that he does not want to go on living without her. This story alternates between very funny episodes and very sad episodes, but it does lean toward the sadder ones. Some chapters tell about the three weeks after his new neighbors move in next door; others describe key times in his earlier life: his childhood, meeting his wife, and his work. I liked the structure and the way the author gradually reveals more and more about Ove and his life. It was a great read and I will be looking for more books by this author.

Crime Fiction

Chilled to the Bone (2013) by Quentin Bates

This is the third book in a police procedural series set in Iceland. The main character is a female policewoman working in the Serious Crime Unit in Reykjavík.  See my review.

Tokyo Express (1958) by Seichō Matsumoto

This was another book I read for the Japanese Literature Challenge. It was Matsumoto's first novel, published in 1958, and was first published in English translation as Points and Lines. See my review.

A Darkness Absolute (2017) by Kelley Armstrong

This is the second book in the Rockton series, and it was just as appealing as the first, City of the Lost, which I read about 3 years ago. Rockton is a small town in the Yukon wilderness, so isolated that most modern conveniences are lacking. Most of the residents are hiding from something in their past. See my review.

Wanting Sheila Dead (2010) by Jane Haddam

Book 25 in the Gregor Demarkian series. The main character is a retired FBI profiler who sometimes does consulting jobs for various police departments. This book is mostly set in the Philadelphia area where Demarkian lives. A reality show is being filmed in the very elaborate home that his wife Bennis grew up in. When a body is found at the house he agrees to check into it. See my review.

Gallows Court (2018) by Martin Edwards

This is the first book in the Rachel Savernake series. It is a departure for Edwards, both a historical mystery (set in the 1930s in London) and a thriller. I did end up liking the book, but it took me 150 pages of 350 pages to get into it, which is not ideal. I liked the way it ended and I thought it was a brilliant mystery, but I wasn't really enjoying it too much as I read it. I also wonder where the next book, Mortmain Hall, will take the main character, so I will definitely be reading it, maybe later in the year.

Judas 62 (2021) by Charles Cumming

This is the second book in the BOX 88 espionage series. BOX 88 is a covert spy agency that is not officially attached to the CIA or MI6, but has contacts in both groups that Box 88 agents can work with. In JUDAS 62, Lachlan Kite is assigned to extract a Russian chemical weapons scientist defector. He goes to the city of Voronezh in Russia as an English Language teacher. That section of the book is set in 1993. The second section is set in 2020 in Dubai. I loved the first book, BOX 88; this one was very good also. 

The Quiet American (1955) by Graham Greene

I have been wanting to read more by Graham Greene and this was a great choice. This book was published in 1955 and the events in this book took place in the early 1950s. The story is set in Saigon, Vietnam and surrounding areas when the French Army and the Viet Minh guerrillas are fighting each other. See my review.

Status of challenges

Back in November 2023, I joined the Wanderlust Bingo Challenge at Fiction Fan's Book Reviews. Five or six of the books I read since the first of the year could work for that challenge, but I still have to work out which squares they would fit best.

I read two books for the Japanese Literature Challenge at Dolce Bellezza, which ran January - February. I will continue reading books translated from Japanese throughout the year. 

I have now formally joined the Bookish Books Reading Challenge at Bloggin' 'bout Books and have completed one book so far. 

The only other challenge I have joined is the Mount TBR Reading Challenge on Goodreads. Every book I have read this year so far (15) counts toward my goal of 48 books so I may have no problem meeting that goal.

Currently reading

I just finished Your Republic is Calling You by Young-ha Kim last night. Published in 2006, the setting is South Korea. It was a different kind of spy fiction and I liked it very much.

Next I will be reading A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn. The blurb on the book describes it as a "darkly romantic crime novel set in 1950s apartheid South Africa, featuring Detective Emmanuel Cooper." It has been on my shelves for 6 years. 

The photos at the top and bottom of this post were taken at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show that we attended last week. See the previous post for more photos. Click on the images for the best viewing quality.

Tokyo Express: Seicho Matsumoto

 

I am participating in the Japanese Literature Challenge 17 hosted by Dolce Bellezza. It runs from January through February, 2024. The goal is to read and review one or more books which were originally written in Japanese. There is a post at Dolce Bellezza for links to reviews.

Tokyo Express is my first book read for the challenge. It was Seichō Matsumoto's first novel, published in 1958.

In this novel, two detectives in different cities in Japan investigate the same crime and collaborate, sharing their thoughts and discoveries. A man and a woman are found dead on a beach in Kashii, and the police assume that it is a double suicide. Inspector Torigai in Kashii is first assigned to the case, and he has no reason to disagree with that determination, but he does notice some puzzling aspects and continues to have nagging questions. Later Inspector Mihara from Tokyo comes to discuss the case with Torigai. Torigai realizes that the aspect of the case that Mihara is looking into is connected to government corruption and fraud.  He thinks the deaths are related to a bribery scandal in the government.

The two detectives share their concerns and thoughts about the deaths. They form a bond because they are both sure that there is another answer to this case, that it is not suicide. It is pretty obvious close to the beginning who the guilty party is, but there is always a question, are they right or wrong, and can they prove it one way or the other? The alibis of their suspects depend on train schedules, so a good amount of time is spent on that aspect of the alleged crime. 

It is a short novel, 150 pages, and the first half seemed too slow and repetitive to me. The book was initially published as a serial in a magazine, and that could be the explanation for the repetition. However, the second half picked up and I was pleased with the ending. Plus, it is a good picture of Japan after World War II. 

This novel was first published in English translation as Points and Lines (translated by two different translators). I have a copy of that book (purchased back in 2016) but did not realize it until I had finished reading this edition of the book.

I have read one other mystery by Matsumoto, A Quiet Place, published in 1975. 

-----------------------------

Publisher: Penguin, 2023 (orig. pub. 1958)
Length: 150 pages
Format: Trade paperback
Setting:  Japan
Genre:   Mystery, Police Procedural
Source:  Purchased in 2023
Translated by Jesse Kirkwood

March 2020 Reading Summary

In March, most of my reads were crime fiction (and spy fiction, which I include under that umbrella).  I also read two books of historical fiction and a classic novel from the 1930s.

As the month wore on and the coronavirus situation got more scary, my reading leaned more to the comfort books. For me, spy fiction is included in comfort reading, so my reading of that genre may increase.

General Fiction 

Diary of a Provincial Lady (1930) by E.M. Delafield

This book is a satirical and humorous look at the life of a married woman with two children (and a cook, a French governess/nanny, and a maid or two), living in an English village, and dealing with money problems and the foibles of others. The diary format took some getting used to, but I liked it, and I am reading The Provincial Lady in London right now.

Historical Fiction

Bring Up the Bodies (2012) by Hilary Mantel

This is the sequel to Mantel's Wolf Hall; it explores the downfall of Anne Boleyn, from the viewpoint of Thomas Cromwell. I liked this book even better than Wolf Hall.

Margaret the First (2016) by Danielle Dutton

This very short novel tells the story of Margaret Cavendish, an unconventional 17th-century Duchess who dared to write and publish all types of literature when it was unthinkable for women to do this. I enjoyed the story very much, and learned more about those times.

Crime Fiction

A Quiet Place (1975) by Seichō Matsumoto

Crime fiction set in Japan, by a Japanese author. This book portrays culture and working life in Japan in the 1970s very well. My review here.

The Expats (2012) by Chris Pavone

A spy fiction thriller set in Luxembourg, although not your standard spy fiction story. I loved it. My review here.

Rest in Pieces (1992) by Rita Mae Brown

This is part of a mystery series that features a cat (Mrs. Murphy) and a dog (Tucker) as characters (in addition to humans). Not my usual type of mystery, but I enjoyed it. My review here.

Miss Silver Deals with Death (1944) by Patricia Wentworth

Miss Silver #6. As I noted in my review, this book has one of my favorite  settings for a mystery... London during World War II. And the mystery story is well done too.

October Men (1973) by Anthony Price

This is the fourth book in the David Audley series, a cold war espionage series set in the UK (and sometimes other countries) and usually featuring some historical element. In this case, Audley is in Italy. Although Audley is the central character throughout the series, each book is different and may place the focus on other characters. My review here.

Snow Angels (2009) by James Thompson

This is the first novel in the Inspector Vaara series. A very interesting setting: Finnish Lapland, a hundred miles into the Arctic Circle. There was too much violence, described graphically, for me. My review here.

The Second Confession (1949) and
In the Best Families (1950) by Rex Stout

When I embarked on comfort reading this month, Rex Stout was one of the first authors to come to mind. These two books are books 2 and 3 in the Zeck Trilogy; And Be a Villain is book 1 in the trilogy. Arnold Zeck is Nero Wolfe's archenemy, and in these two books Wolfe encounters Zeck once again.  

Dark Provenance (1994) by Michael David Anthony

Second book in the Canterbury Cathedral series. The protagonist, Richard Harrison, is an ex-Intelligence Officer who has taken on the position of Secretary of the Diocesan Dilapidations Board for Canterbury. By coincidence, a man he worked with in Germany at the end of the war is found dead nearby, and that man's daughter refuses to believe it is suicide. I enjoy these books more for the picture of life at Canterbury Cathedral than the mystery; this book was a good read.

Coffin in Malta (1964) by Gwendoline Butler

I read my first John Coffin novel earlier this year and enjoyed it very much. This book takes Coffin to Malta to investigate a crime and, like the earlier book I read, it features Coffin only later in the book.

Tiger in the Smoke (1952) by Margery Allingham

Albert Campion #14. Set in London a few years after the end of World War II, this is more of a thriller than the typical detective novel that Campion is involved with. My review here.

A Quiet Place: Seicho Matsumoto

When I finished this novel, my first opinion was that it was a very strange book. It was a combination of a psychological study with crime fiction elements. Sort of a suspense novel, very slow, and definitely not a thriller, except at the very end. Some of the elements were very good, and others just did not work for me.

As the book opens, Tsuneo Asai is away from home, at a conference with a new director general in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. During the evening dinner, Asai gets a telephone call and is informed that his wife, Eiko, has died unexpectedly. Although he is shocked, his first thought is how to leave the director general with the support he needs, before he returns to his home in Tokyo. It is evident throughout the story that Asai's primary concern in his life is his job and rising through the ranks to a higher position.

Asai and his wife have an unusual relationship. Although Eiko is in her thirties, she has had a heart attack in the past and she is worried about having another one, so she avoids sexual relations, which was never a large part of their relationship. Asai works and Eiko has her artistic pursuits, which sometimes take her out of the home during the afternoon. Asai believes that both of them are content with this situation.

Eiko's death occurred while she was walking in an area in Tokyo that Asai is not familiar with. After her death, which is clearly just a heart attack, Asai gradually begins to question why Eiko was out in that neighborhood when she died. He visits the cosmetics shop she was in when she died, questions the shop owner, and is suspicious of some of her responses. Thus he continues his investigations.

Asai is an excellent investigator for an amateur but it does take months to follow up on various leads, and at one point he gives up entirely for a while. Eventually he hires a private investigator, using a false name and address. He is afraid of being open about what he is doing as it might reflect badly on him in his job. Although Asai is keeping up with his work, it is almost like he has two personalities, the one that only cares about his work and his position there, and the one that craves closure on what his wife had been doing.

At this point I was unsure where the book was going. Not even Asai suspects foul play with regards to his wife's death, he just thinks that his wife was deceiving him, and he wants to know why. And soon there is an unexpected twist and the tension (and the pace) increases in the later half of the book.

In the end, I did not find this an entirely satisfying crime fiction read. My biggest complaint was that I did not feel any connection to the main character. However, the story does provide a detailed look into Japanese life at the time (1975). The customs, behaviors in the work environment, and above all the importance of saving face and doing things in the correct way. From what I have read about the author, he is very good at doing that in all his books, and his main goal was to examine the psychology behind the crime. This novel is well worth reading. At this time there are only three other novels by Matsumoto that have been translated into English, and I intend to read those also.

My husband's review at Goodreads:

Tsuneo Asai is a civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. He lives for his job and, in fact, has little else in his life. Asai’s wife Eiko, a withdrawn and quiet heart attack survivor, has little affection for or interest in her husband, a fact that doesn’t really bother him. Eiko dies (in fact, she has died as the book opens) and Asai unexpectedly becomes obsessed with the circumstances of her death and the titular “quiet place” - an upscale Tokyo neighborhood of mansions, couples’ hotels, and a small cosmetics boutique that is seldom open and has few customers - where her body was found. Author Seicho Matsumoto keeps this elegantly-plotted and relatively brief mystery on a slow boil from start to finish. Excellent.

See other reviews at Do You Write Under Your Own Name?, Mysteries Ahoy!, The Japan Society, and His Futile Preoccupations.

Also see this very interesting article about the author written by one of his editors: An Honest Look at Matsumoto Seicho.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Bitter Lemon Press, 2016 (orig. pub. 1975)

Translated by Louise Heal Kawai 
Length:       235 pages
Format:       Trade Paperback
Setting:       Tokyo, Japan
Genre:        Crime fiction
Source:       Borrowed from my husband.