The Ellen Hart mysteries that I've read in the last few days are fun, escapist things for me. The first one, The Mirror and the Mask, I realized that I'd read before, but I couldn't remember what happened! The twists and turns (the second step-daughter accidently killed her mother; the step-father really *is* the biological father of the first step-daughter) pile up at the end, so they're forgettable (I remembered the exposition, not the climax).
The second mystery, which I read entirely yesterday after Jane left (I wanted to get into a different world because I was feeling sad at her departure), was partially familiar to me, but I don't think I ever finished it: The Cruel Ever After. I never get Hart's titles: even when they become a refrain in the book, they don't make good sense.
Finally, I finished a graphic novel this morning: Moving Pictures is a slight volume, but the drawings captivate me.
I should probably read it a few more times so that I get the conflict better, with more specificity. Sure, I get that it's French curators hiding paintings during the rise of Hitler, but what, exactly, is the tough decision that the protagonist, Ila, has to make?
Unfortunately, the pictures aren't complex enough for me to want to linger with them, unlike any of Bechdel's work, which rewards re-reading.
Now I have to decide which books to take on my "up north" trip: both to Bemidji for Gram's funeral and to Montreal for Zoe's performance. We'll see.
The second mystery, which I read entirely yesterday after Jane left (I wanted to get into a different world because I was feeling sad at her departure), was partially familiar to me, but I don't think I ever finished it: The Cruel Ever After. I never get Hart's titles: even when they become a refrain in the book, they don't make good sense.
I should probably read it a few more times so that I get the conflict better, with more specificity. Sure, I get that it's French curators hiding paintings during the rise of Hitler, but what, exactly, is the tough decision that the protagonist, Ila, has to make?
Unfortunately, the pictures aren't complex enough for me to want to linger with them, unlike any of Bechdel's work, which rewards re-reading.
Now I have to decide which books to take on my "up north" trip: both to Bemidji for Gram's funeral and to Montreal for Zoe's performance. We'll see.
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