I wouldn't have met Piti if it hadn't been for a chichigua. To translate chichigua as a kite does not do justice to these beautiful creations of...
Continue »
So very noir that I pictured the whole story in black and white.
Dix Steele (how many pornstar wanna-bes are kicking themselves for not thinking up that name?) is a serial killer, and his best friend, Brum, is a cop. So the mystery isn't one of who did it or who will catch the killer as the reader already knows these things. Instead, Hughes keeps us guessing as to which of the three potential victims offered up will Dix choose next. It just boils down to who does he hate more?
Hughes does a commendable job of writing in the voice of a man, and a psychotic one at that. Dix's mind ricochets between anger, hunger and sleep deprivation with the occasional bouts of joy over tricking his cop friend to give him lots of police information. His version of falling in love, as he does with a neighbor, shows Dix in full stalker mode and gives the reader another scary aspect of his personality.
I'm glad I've finally discovered Hughes and I'll be reading more from her.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
Lyall is an American who was a reporter for the New York Times when she met and married her English husband about a dozen years ago. They live in London, she works for British papers now and her children are English. In those years Lyall has researched the many ways the British and American minds differ on subjects such as education, the legal system, sex and money. She addresses the subjects that have become stereotypes, such as British food, dental care and their dislike for much of American life. She was present when the House of Lords lost their heredity rights.
This was one that I couldn't put down. I found the many, many footnotes to contain almost as much insight as the actual text. Lyall's goal isn't to make the reader laugh, although there is humor, but she's a reporter. She tells the reader, "This is what I saw, this is who I talked to and this is how the situation has changed."
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(3 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
I thought, from the title, that it would be a quick read but it's much more detailed and researched than I expected. Really well-researched. If you've ever wondered about the different coins used in a Dickens novel or the rules for a card game played by the Bennetts, this book explains it. It also lists the many surprising items people were taxed for, like windows, hats and male servants and so explains why someone who had windows in every room was very wealthy. Also handy is that it translates the Victorian terms for illnesses into modern language.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(3 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
An unusual book for Christie as it has almost a Gothic feel that reminded me of du Maurier's "Rebecca". Written in first-person narrative, it follows the meeting and marriage of poor English Mike and wealthly American Ellie. The problem is that Ellie has inherited so much money that she can't get free of her greedy relatives and the family lawyers. Well, that's part of the problem...
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
Dolly Dillon is a poor sucker trying to hustle a meager living as a salesman/collector for Pay-E-Zee. He deals with bums trying to stiff the company on a daily basis. Then he meets helpless Mona and her pimping aunt. Suddenly Dolly doesn't feel so worthless because Mona is counting on Dolly to come up with some dough and take her away. And she knows where there is plenty of dough. He only needs to get the job done, then get rid of his lazy slob of a wife and that creepy, needling boss, Staples.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(6 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.
Don't Miss
Customer Comments
jennifer morrow has commented on (10) products.
In a Lonely Place (Femmes Fatales: Women Write Pulp) by Dorothy B Hughes
jennifer morrow, January 20, 2010
So very noir that I pictured the whole story in black and white.Dix Steele (how many pornstar wanna-bes are kicking themselves for not thinking up that name?) is a serial killer, and his best friend, Brum, is a cop. So the mystery isn't one of who did it or who will catch the killer as the reader already knows these things. Instead, Hughes keeps us guessing as to which of the three potential victims offered up will Dix choose next. It just boils down to who does he hate more?
Hughes does a commendable job of writing in the voice of a man, and a psychotic one at that. Dix's mind ricochets between anger, hunger and sleep deprivation with the occasional bouts of joy over tricking his cop friend to give him lots of police information. His version of falling in love, as he does with a neighbor, shows Dix in full stalker mode and gives the reader another scary aspect of his personality.
I'm glad I've finally discovered Hughes and I'll be reading more from her.
(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British by Sarah Lyall
jennifer morrow, January 16, 2010
Lyall is an American who was a reporter for the New York Times when she met and married her English husband about a dozen years ago. They live in London, she works for British papers now and her children are English. In those years Lyall has researched the many ways the British and American minds differ on subjects such as education, the legal system, sex and money. She addresses the subjects that have become stereotypes, such as British food, dental care and their dislike for much of American life. She was present when the House of Lords lost their heredity rights.This was one that I couldn't put down. I found the many, many footnotes to contain almost as much insight as the actual text. Lyall's goal isn't to make the reader laugh, although there is humor, but she's a reporter. She tells the reader, "This is what I saw, this is who I talked to and this is how the situation has changed."
(3 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist -- the Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England by Daniel Pool
jennifer morrow, January 13, 2010
I thought, from the title, that it would be a quick read but it's much more detailed and researched than I expected. Really well-researched. If you've ever wondered about the different coins used in a Dickens novel or the rules for a card game played by the Bennetts, this book explains it. It also lists the many surprising items people were taxed for, like windows, hats and male servants and so explains why someone who had windows in every room was very wealthy. Also handy is that it translates the Victorian terms for illnesses into modern language.(3 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
Endless Night
jennifer morrow, January 7, 2010
An unusual book for Christie as it has almost a Gothic feel that reminded me of du Maurier's "Rebecca". Written in first-person narrative, it follows the meeting and marriage of poor English Mike and wealthly American Ellie. The problem is that Ellie has inherited so much money that she can't get free of her greedy relatives and the family lawyers. Well, that's part of the problem...(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
A Hell of a Woman (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) by Jim Thompson
jennifer morrow, January 6, 2010
Dolly Dillon is a poor sucker trying to hustle a meager living as a salesman/collector for Pay-E-Zee. He deals with bums trying to stiff the company on a daily basis. Then he meets helpless Mona and her pimping aunt. Suddenly Dolly doesn't feel so worthless because Mona is counting on Dolly to come up with some dough and take her away. And she knows where there is plenty of dough. He only needs to get the job done, then get rid of his lazy slob of a wife and that creepy, needling boss, Staples.(6 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
1-5 of 10next