Book Smogasbord

YEP! he is the guy chef we watch in "No Reservations" on cable. Like the rest of those who LOVE him, I am taken with his humor, wittiness and adventurous palate. I especially enjoyed his episodes in Asia, visiting Thailand, Vietnam, etc. Enough about the T.V. show --- let's get down to business that is "book" business. This is not his first book, I have yet to get my hands on "Kitchen Confidential", his initial break with the written words. I have seen it in one of the many many shelves of National Bookstore....but the price is not that friendly -- you know me (being the cheapskate that I am!), would always prefer a bargain! So when I saw that Gone Bamboo is now on sale, from 200p I bought it for 30p how's that for a bargain! The book still in mint condition-- love the quality of paper they used, the print is reader friendly and the story.......enjoyable but BITIN! I have a funny feeling that the main characters Henry and Frances are of course Anthony and his wife. Henry described as "around 6 foot four, thin, and deeply tanned. He looked mid to late forties...the gold hoop earring in his left ear flash unnaturally bright."  When I read this, I remember an episode of No Reservations, him with a hoop earring! I warmed up to the story because of the "mafia" theme in it. The main characters are successful professional hitmen on retirement (i think). The blotched "kill" assignment he had once came to disrupt his seemingly peaceful retirement in their Caribbean hideaway. He have to make peace with the mafia boss he almost killed and face up with the "hit" coming to him for the job he did not performed successfully. Sex, blood and a lot of alcohol --- still a FUN easy read for me. He also have another "gangster" theme fiction in "BOBBY GOLD Stories"...together with his "Kitchen Confidential" hope to get a hold of these babies a.s.a.p.

by J. Madison Davis
Obviously it was the Alfred Hitchcock name in the title that got me! and the quality of paper used...(I know i am a sucker for paper quality). I took a big chance with this book. I do not know who Madison Davis is, but since it is a detective story --- i thought i 'll gamble. and luckily I WON! This is a good find. The story is simple --- Mr. H (hitchcock) plays a vital role, since he was the one who hired Detective Slattery to investigate a murder. Slattery i find a little sloppy in his moves and Mr. H maybe exactly as he is in real life. I was enthralled with the late 50s Hollywood set up, the wannabe stars, the secrets of the real stars, the club scene, the bouncers - bodyguards and the gruesome kills! Davis is really good with the gory scenes. The problem with me, someone who have devoured a LOT of mystery- suspense "whodunit" reads --- is that I developed a knack in  knowing how it will all end or WHO the culprit/ killer is --that is before I even reached the last 3 chapters of the book. And this book is no exception. But still Thumbs Up to Davis for the easy read.

This is one heavy reading --- not that it is hard to understand or that it is too deep. I say "heavy" because i find it really personal, as they say it is a (semi) autobiography of the author. It is 607page reading, my copy is Penguin published, really small fine print, yellowing paper --- and i love it! I have read a Maugham before, by accident i think, a collection of his short stories during college. The author's name stucked. She was GOOD. I did not even look up if she's a she or a he. Maugham for me sounded feminine. And then we cross path again...and my good view of HIS writing increased even more.  From the Foreword "Of Human Bondage is not an autobiography, but an autobiographical novel; fact and fiction are inextricably mingled; the emotions are my own, but not all the incidents are related as they happened, and some of them are transferred to my hero not from my own life but from that of persons with whom I am intimate."  Most of the troubles and worries the heroine encounters proved to be realistic, and the constant wondering and listlessness of the mind and soul are genuine and real. These emotions cannot be NOT personal. 


Three of the many passages that hit me!- from page 208,  Cronshaw: "But pray tell me what is the meaning of life?", Philip: "I say that's a rather a difficult question. Won't you give the answer yourself?"  Cronshaw: "No, because it's worthless unless you yourself discover it, but what do you suppose you are in the world for?", Philip: "Oh, I don't know, I suppose to do one's duty, and make the best possible use of one's facilities, and avoid hurting other people."


From page 209, Philip: "Have you ever done anything you regret?", Cronshaw: "How can I regret when what I did was inevitable?", Philip: "But that's fatalism." , Cronshaw: "The illusion which man has that his will is free is so deeply rooted that I am ready to accept it. I act as though I were a free agent.  But when an action is performed it is clear that all the forces of the universe from all eternity conspired to cause it, and nothing I could do could have prevented it. It was inevitable. If it was good I can claim no merit; if it was bad I can accept no censure."


Last but not the least-- from page 604, Everyone has some defect, of body or of mind; he thought of all the people he had known, he saw a long procession, deformed in body and warped in mind, some with illness of the flesh, weak hearts or weak lungs, and some with the illness of the spirit, languor of will, or a craving for liquor. At this moment he could feel a holy compassion for them all. They were the helpless instruments of blind chance...They could not help themselves. The only reasonable thing was to accept the good of men and be patient with their faults. The word of the dying God crossed his memory: Forgive them, for they know not what they do.


These books I've read late last year or early this year...I am such a sucker for a good, easy, pleasurable read! The first 2 books are my category for EASY, FUN and the last one is obviously my category for CLASSIC BEST. Even in reading, balance is essential. Between the internet and printed words: i am ALWAYS prefer the latter. Currently I am juggling Dorothy L. Sayers "Lord Peter Wimsey", Ellis Peters "Flight of a Witch" and Jackie Collins "Hollywood Wives". For my Category CLASSIC, I have Edith Wharton "Summer" on reserved. 
Thank GOD for bookSale!!