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\r\n\r\nThe latest entry in Cumming\u2019s usually enjoyable BOX 88 series. In this one, his master spy Lachlan Kite has been asked by his former co-worker and one-time lover Martha to help find her son, Max, who has disappeared in Athens, Greece.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Max is on the run with his girlfriend, who is fleeing multiple sets of hunters who they think to want to punish her for possessing a tape of Saudi hit men killing a dissident. Max actually seems like a natural at being on the run and handling tricky situations. Turns out Martha never told him who his real father is; it is actually Lachlan, not the man who raised him! Scandalous intrigue!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I\u2019ve really liked Cumming\u2019s earlier books. This one seemed clumsy and far less polished than the previous ones. I wonder if he was under a contractual gun and cranked out a half-assed story to keep his publisher happy. I suppose it sets up a possible extension of the series focused on Max and allows Lachlan to retire?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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\r\n\r\n\r\nThe Silver Bone – Andrey Kurkov<\/a> The Silver Bone<\/em> has nothing to do with summer. In fact, it takes place entirely in the early spring of 1919 in Ukraine, as various forces are vying for control of the country in the aftermath of both World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution. I must have mis-sorted it when I added it to the list.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In the opening pages, Samson Kolechko, a young engineer, has an ear sliced off in an attack that also kills his father. He salvages the ear and soon learns that it is still functional even though removed from his head, something he uses to great benefit in his new, temporary job with the local police. Having a \u201cremote\u201d ear does wonders for investigating crimes!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Kurkov\u2019s story, which was translated from Russian, was silly and weird and fun. Apparently it kicked off a whole series centered on Kolechko investigating cases in Kyiv, using his magic ear as a unique tool. I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ll read any more of them, but I liked this one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The Imagined Life<\/em>, on the other hand, is directly connected to summer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Steven Mills is a 50-something academic based in Berkley whose life is falling apart. He and his wife have separated, keeping him from his young son. His writing career is going nowhere. In a bid to find some meaning and direction in his life again, he decides to chase some of the ghosts of his childhood. Specifically tracking down former co-workers of his father, who, after failing to get tenure in 1984, abandoned Mills and his mother and never contacted them again. Along the way he confronts the memory of an important childhood friendship that also ended suddenly. Eventually he learns an unsettling truth about what happened to his dad. The book is split between Mills\u2019 travels up the west coast interviewing people who knew his dad and flashbacks to his childhood, those generally taking place during the summer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Those of us who were children of divorce in the Eighties can find a lot to connect with in Porter\u2019s story. All the secrets our parents kept from us as their marriages were failing. The shame that a lot of us felt, or our families felt, because of the stigma divorce carried at the time. How sometimes as young children we didn\u2019t see clear signs that our parents\u2019 relationship was destined to end. How as we got older, it was harder for our parents to hide things from us, but often our defense mechanisms were to pretend everything was ok.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Every divorce is different, so the Mills family splitting did not line up directly with my parents\u2019 divorce. I was lucky that my parents breaking up was not super traumatic for me. Although I guess it was traumatic when they split for the first time two years earlier and I had to change schools in March. After that, divorce was easy for me. Chalk that up to both my parents taking care to let me know I was loved and in no way responsible for their divorce, and for being kind of oblivious and figuring everything would work out fine. However, this book really resonated with me because even if all the specifics didn\u2019t line up, it brought back a lot of memories of that part of my life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The Imagined Life – Andrew Porter<\/a>
I group these two novels, which have nothing in common, together because I had them both listed under the heading Summer<\/strong> on my To Read list.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n