Cara Black is a Californian who writes dense mysteries set in Paris I learned from a blog I read. The small, wonderful local library here had three of the eight she's written and they follow a pattern. Featuring out-of-the-limelight political issues (Corsica, Vietnam, Turkey, etc.) and a different arrondissement (Paris' 20 wards) each time, these are intense, action-packed and human-relationship-intense stories. Most are Right Bank, my only disappointment, being a Left Bank girl at heart. They last roughly a week, the first chapter being, say, "Tuesday Afternoon" and the last "Saturday Morning." The shadowy black-and-white covers give the atmosphere (a long way from Paris Hangover!). So on a trip into Borders bookshop today, I treated myself to just-published #8 and will force myself to save it for the plane back to Alaska, even though "only a dip" has taken me to p. 35. And for background music while reading Black, the soundtrack from La Vie en Rose or anything by Ali Farka Toure works.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Mysterious Paris
Cara Black is a Californian who writes dense mysteries set in Paris I learned from a blog I read. The small, wonderful local library here had three of the eight she's written and they follow a pattern. Featuring out-of-the-limelight political issues (Corsica, Vietnam, Turkey, etc.) and a different arrondissement (Paris' 20 wards) each time, these are intense, action-packed and human-relationship-intense stories. Most are Right Bank, my only disappointment, being a Left Bank girl at heart. They last roughly a week, the first chapter being, say, "Tuesday Afternoon" and the last "Saturday Morning." The shadowy black-and-white covers give the atmosphere (a long way from Paris Hangover!). So on a trip into Borders bookshop today, I treated myself to just-published #8 and will force myself to save it for the plane back to Alaska, even though "only a dip" has taken me to p. 35. And for background music while reading Black, the soundtrack from La Vie en Rose or anything by Ali Farka Toure works.
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2 comments:
Ali Farka Toure hits the spot, doesn't he? I only have Talking Timbuktu and In the Heart of the Moon. The latter has an extra special place in my chill playlist. If you don't have it, do yourself a favour. The dueling between Ali and Toumani Diabete is just amazing.
Well, PowerSamurai, I do have it, from you in the mix you sent a year or more ago--Jhelisa, Benny Anderssons, et al! And I love AFT!
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