The Sentinel (A. C. Clarke, 1983)

 Arthur C. Clarke. The Sentinel. (1983) Collection of short stories, including the one that sparked 2001: A Space Odyssey. Clarke provides an intro to each piece, telling about the circumstances of composition and publication. These are interesting in a tabloidy way, but add nothing to the stories. Clarke is very good at imagining technical problems and their effects. He’s careful to keep extrapolation as close to known science as possible. His characters tend to be 2.5D or flatter. Like pretty well everybody at the time, he assumes the geopolitical realities of the Cold War would continue into the relatively far future.

But his tight focus on the tale keeps us reading. He’s good at advancing plot with dialogue. His early work was published in the SciFi pulps, whose editors wanted a high narrative-to-words ratio. The resulting conciseness hides flaws that longer works would have revealed.

A good collection. Essential for the fan, and likely a pleasant diversion for anyone else.

** to ***

:Pictures of the Past: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s (Yapp, 1998)

 Nick Yapp. Getty Image 1920s, ... 1930s, ... 1940s (1998). Three lively collections of photographs illustrating the lives of our ancestors. The illustrated papers and magazines that provided the images tended to publish the unusual and dramatic (see the 1940s cover), so Yapp must have had a difficult time finding the ones that showed ordinary lives. The photos of political and other significant events are mostly well known. The others provide most of the charm. It’s an odd feeling to experience nostalgia for a world I didn’t actually know (the late 1940s excepted). But that’s what happened. I will likely look at these books again. ***

Died in the Wool (Ngaio Marsh 1945) [reread]

 Ngaio Marsh. Died In The Wool (1945) Set in New Zealand. A bossy, well meaning, self-satisfied MP disappears one evening during sheep-shearing season. Her body is found in a bale of wool a few weeks later. Alleyn is in New Zealand on a security mission. Acting semi-officially, he winkles out the motives, real and disguised; sets a few relationships right; and, most importantly, lifts the clouds of suspicion darkening the lives of the innocent.

A well-done puzzle. Marsh’s ability to create ambience and character keeps these now ancient books fresh. I enjoyed this reread. ***

Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 (Keillor, 2001)

Garrison Keillor. Lake Wobegon Summer 1956. (2002) Gary is 14. Puberty is messing with his brain. His sister is a sanctimonious hypocritical bully. His Daddy is happiest when he has something to complain about. Mother is kind and pragmatic. Gary has a crush on his cousin Kate, who is rebellious and has had enough of being one of the Sanctified Brethren. His Grandma and Aunt Eva, who still live on the family farm, spoil him. His best friend Leonard supplies naughty magazines. Gary’s responsibility is the lawn – watering and mowing it. And so on.

By the end of the summer, Kate is pregnant and married to her boyfriend, Gary has won a few contests with Sister, Daddy is as happily morose as ever, and Mother’s defence of Kate has shifted the power balance within the Sanctified Brethren away from sanctimonious glee at the prospect of punishment to mildly tolerant charity.

Keillor’s novel is at least semi-autobiographical. His narrative style gives us about as complete an insight into early teenhood as is possible. Most of us forget most of the effects of puberty on thinking and feeling. Gary’s narrative of his summer reminds us how utterly confusing and exhilarating this phase can be. I think Gary's confusions about sex help explain Keillor's  inappropriate behaviour  that caused a scandal and the cancellation of Prairie Home Companion. 

Well done. Recommended, if you can find a copy. ****