Picks of the Week

THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER, by Kate Summerscale

(originally posted on February 21, 2008)

Was Jonathan Whicher, one of the earliest detectives for the Metropolitan Police in London, the inspiration for Wilkie Collins and thus for all subsequent detective fiction? Summerscale makes a persuasive case in this account of the shocking 1860 child murder that promised to cement Whicher's success but instead proved to be his ruin. Presented in the style of a traditional village cozy, Summerscale lets the sordid story unfold but doesn't forget to humanize her chosen subjects - especially the detective at the forefront.

BLACK HOLE, by Charles Burns

(originally posted on February 21, 2008)

While I'm excited to see what David Fincher plans to do in the just-announced movie version, the graphic novel has so much going on and so much intensity that distilling it for film will remove some of its potency. Readers can pick whatever allegory suits them but I go with "Don't Give a Dose to the One You Love Most" and take it from there.

MERCURY UNDER MY TONGUE, by Sylvain Trudel

(originally posted on February 21, 2008)

Frederick Langlois is a typical disaffected 17 year old with a penchant for writing poetry, but his disaffection has deeper roots thanks as a result of incurable bone cancer. This slim little novel keeps its heartbreak and anger well under wraps, and ignores sentimentality altogether, letting Frederick's matter-of-fact musings on family, love and life come very much to the forefront.

BEFORE GREEN GABLES, by Budge Wilson

(Previously posted on February 21, 2008)

As an unabashed fan of L.M. Montgomery and the early Green Gables novels I approached this prequel with trepidation. I needn't have. Instead of being a clone, Wilson gets the spirit of Anne Shirley just right, her irrepressible nature and sense of wonder coming through no matter what grueling hardships she faces. There's also lots of wonderful subtle commentary on gender roles and motherhood mixed in with prose that is arguably more technically proficient than Montgomery's. Point being, if I could be completely won over, I suspect many, many other Anne fans will, too.