The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

By David Mitchell

I have been involved in an ongoing debate with a friend of mine that typically starts thusly:

Friend: "Where is the modern-day William Faulkner?"

Me: "There is no modern-day William Faulkner because William Faulkner is dead and cannot publish books anymore."

It's a fatuous reply, I know. I inevitably concede that I understand what he's talking about. He's lamenting the fact that there are no modern classics. No "high literature" that compares to the work of Joyce, Fitzgerald or Faulkner (or any other such literary luminary from the pre-war era).

I always hate this argument. It has no historical perspective or context. I instantly imagine two pretentious blowhards sitting around a salon drinking gin and tonics in 1923 lamenting the fact that there is no literature that can compare to Dickens or Hardy or the Bronte sisters. Then I imagine two dusty windbags sitting around the Preston Club drinking cognac in 1864 lamenting... well, you get the picture. We put a premium on our past and never admit that culture being produced at the moment could possibly be better than what came before.

I have always trundled out names such as Rushdie, Eugenides, Murakami, de Bernieres and Russo, among others but I wait through the dithering and excuse making to play my trump card:

"What about Cloud Atlas."

Ah!

What about Cloud Atlas? Both of us have read and raved over David Mitchell's stellar 2004 novel. It is one of those rare books that has everything. You could fill pages and pages of blog space detailing why Cloud Atlas is one of, if not the best, novel written in the last ten years. But if I were to try and boil it down to a single point I would argue that Mitchell's narrative construction is a thing of sublime beauty. Absolutely nobody (that I have read) juggles and weaves narratives with as deft a hand as Mitchell does in Cloud Atlas.

The trouble is, neither of us had ever read anything else by David Mitchell. I was aware that he was twice nominated for the Booker Prize (how Cloud Atlas didn't win the Booker Prize I will never understand) so our case sample for Mitchell was too small to include him in the list of truly great contemporary writers. Cloud Atlas had put him on the radar, but it would take another novel to confirm our suspicions. We'd just have to wait and see.

(Remember that we live in a small town in deepest, darkest Asia and neither of us can simply walk to the local bookshop and buy a copy of any of Mitchell's work. We simply have to wait until they find there way into out spheres).

So, when The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet landed in my hands a few weeks back, I was excited. While this novel is not quite as good as Cloud Atlas, I can say, categorically, that it confirms David Mitchell's inclusion in our little ex-pat in Asia modern literary canon.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is a beautifully articulated piece of historical fiction set on the island of Dejima during the time of Dutch trade concessions in Japan. The novel does a wonderful job of expressing the continual friction between European colonial trade empires and the isolationist reticence of the Japanese shogunate. The story surrounds the real events of the British bombardment of Nagasaki in 1801 and the ritual suicide of the Nagasaki magistrate. The fictionalized narrative Mitchell fleshes around this historical skeleton is nothing short of astounding. Ripe with detail, the story centers on a Dutch clerk named, oddly enough, Daniel de Zoet and his awkward love for a Japanese woman he can never, ever hope to have.

In true Mitchell style (I assume), the story takes strange turn after strange turn, oscillating between a story of colonial power in Asia to a Japanese tale of honor and revenge (at one point it even edges disturbingly close to science fiction). This is what I love about Mitchell. At no point in this novel was I not firmly within his grasp. He manipulates the story so well that by extension he is manipulating the reader. I marveled at the way Mitchell could shift the story ever so subtly (just a literary inch) so as to alter the entire mood and direction of the narrative from one direction to another.

As in other great novels, there are moments in this book that I will carry with me until the day I die. And for me that's the mark of a truly excellent book. A novel that conjures up vivid images years after you read it. But if there is one critique I would make concerning this novel is that it is often too detailed, sometimes unnecessarily so. While such lapses into minutiae never affected the pace of the narrative there were several moments when I questioned the appearance of a sentence or two that made no difference to the story and seemed to simply pile on the detail. But if you are singling out specific sentences as the biggest flaws in a novel, you have crossed over into the realm of nit-pickery.

If anyone out there besides my friend and I we wondering if David Mitchell is for real (and by now I can't imagine there are many out there pondering this point... we may be the last), he is. My apologies if it sounds like I am lionizing Mitchell here, but I simply can't help it. If you have not read anything by David Mitchell I urge you to do so at your earliest possible convenience. You are missing out on something truly special.

Is he William Faulkner?

Mercifully, no.

He's David Mitchell, and that's just as good.

Let The Great World Spin

Let The Great World Spin

By Colum McCann

Multi-protagonist novels that change voices each chapter can be extraordinarily problematic. The writer must capture the reader, build an engaging story around a particular character and then follow through with the story in a matter of twenty to thirty pages before doing it again. And then again. And then again. An emotionally exhausting endeavor, I would imagine. The writer then has to weave all these stories together in a way that denotes a complete novel as opposed to simply a collection of short stories with an over-riding theme. It's a style I enjoy when the author is talented enough to employ it (for example Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell) but in the hands of less talented writers, the results are often nothing short of a train wreck. So I'm often wary at the beginning of such reads.

From the reader's perspective, these sorts of novels can be emotionally taxing. The reader becomes heavily invested in a character that may or may not appear in any of the subsequent chapters (and then, often only in passing). While this sort of reader baiting offers tantalizing morsels of context outside the character's primary story, starting over ever chapter with a new protagonist often takes the wind out of a novels sails, and quickly. Again, if this sort of novel is written poorly, reading it can become a burden very quickly.

Not so with Colum McCann's 2007 novel Let The Great World Spin. McCann seems to understand this style of writing well. I have not read anything else by McCann but I would hazard a guess that this isn't the first novel that he has written in this style. Despite feeling emotionally drained following the end of any specific chapter, I found myself falling hopelessly into new chapters almost immediately after starting them. By the middle of the novel, I could almost guess as to who might be the main character of the next chapter given the characters that had appeared in passing in the previous ones, each character fleshing out the over-arching story, and I couldn't wait to see what more I would learn about the central veins of the story.

McCann weaves a tapestry of stories that not only encapsulates the lives of his characters, but establishes New York City as the primary character of the entire novel, making the characters simply bits of a larger theme. The protagonists (there are 11 in total) survey the heights and depths of the city from Park Avenue and the Financial District to the dankest recesses of the subway lines and the grimiest slums in the Bronx. While each character's story is itself a window into the human experience, the collection is a delicious cross-section of life in one of the world's most dichotomous cities, a city synonymous with reinvention and new beginnings. In this respect Let The Great World Spin is similar to Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides in the way that it establishes the setting as a primary character in the novel, making it a living, breathing character. One with both compassion and cruelty.

The novel wraps itself around the real life events of August 7th, 1974. On that day a man named Phillipe Petit somehow managed to string a tightrope from the North to the South Towers of New York's recently completed World Trade Center. In an act of unlicensed artistry, Petit proceeded to walk the length of the rope several times much to the delight of New Yorkers and much to the chagrin of the New York City Police Department. This real life episode becomes the lynch-pin for the fictionalized stories that appear in the novel. While love, redemption and forgiveness are all central themes to this wonderfully crafted novel, what McCann seems to be telling us is that while Petit's captivating antics were elevated hundreds of feet above the city, what we don't see are the millions of people walking their very own tightropes throughout the city (and one presumes throughout the world) each and every day. We all take our risks, defy and deny ourselves and each other and walk that precious line for all we are worth.

Excellent book. Highly recommended.

Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go

By Kazuo Ishiguro

It's odd which books leave a permanent impression. I read great books that usually fade off into obscurity again soon after reading (Water for Elephants). Others I remember in bits and pieces. I can tell you the basic plot, maybe even remember a character's name or two and perhaps a few specific points in the narrative that I felt were particularly memorable (Shalimar the Clown). Still others are so terribly bad that I recall them simply because it offended my sensibilities so much (Twilight). Then there are the rarest books of all. The ones that leave an indelible mark. The ones that refuse to go away, even long after reading. These books simmer just under the surface and are always the first books I recall when people ask me about my favorite books.

This is not to say that these ARE my favorite books, but for whatever reason they have imprinted themselves onto my brain. Plot, tone, mood, characters, setting, pacing.... everything is right there for immediate recall as if I read them yesterday. But it's not fair to say they are necessarily among my favorites. Midnight's Children is one of my all-time favorite books but I struggle to remember the details (I should probably re-read that one one of these days) as is Creation by Gore Vidal but I don't remember them as well as say, Late Night on Air by Elizabeth Hay. Some books just won't go away. Here are the ten books that I recall vividly long after finishing them (note that many of these have very specific gimmicks. That probably says a lot about the sort of books I enjoy):

1. Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler

2. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

3. Replay by Ken Grimwood

4. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

5. Fall On Your Knees by Anne-Marie MacDonald

6. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

7. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

8. Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo (Chapter 10 especially)

9. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

10. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Kazuo Ishiguro's Booker Prize nominated novel Never Let Me Go has all the criteria to squeeze onto this personal list. It is a haunting novel lush with details that makes the reader want to flip back to page one and start all over again immediately after finishing the last page. It's one of those books that I will forcibly foist upon friends when it is within my means. The fact that it does have a particular gimmick only adds to it's appeal for me.

Never Let Me Go is a sterling example of what can be done with science fiction in the hands of a talented novelist. I am not suggesting that Isaac Asimov or Ray Bradbury or the likes are bad novelists... far from it... but they were often limited by their genre. Ishiguro, like Margaret Atwood, is not strictly a science fiction writer and therefore brings fresh elements to the table. He applies a softness, compassion and, indeed, quirkiness to the genre that allows it to broaden it's scope without being weighed down by the conventions of science fiction.

Furthermore, Ishiguro is a writer entirely in command of his work. He leads the reader through his finely sculpted world one step at a time, opening the door a little at a time. Da Vinci Code Brown should take some notes. This is the way to write cliffhanger chapters. The revel is slow and methodical but at the same time relentless and tragic. Dan Brown has been wrongly commended on his talent to keep readers turning the pages. When you read Ishiguro you realize how clumsy Brown is as a writer.

I've often read books nominated for the Booker and thought to myself: "Who voted for this?" In the case of Never Let Me Go the question switches to "Who didn't vote for this?" No disrespect intended to the 2005 winner John Banville or his novel The Sea... until I read it, of course.

Pillars of the Earth

Pillars of the Earth

by Ken Follett

Transitioning from one book to another is never an easy exercise. Some people let a few days go by between books. Let it stew. Ruminate on it a little. I don't. I insist on starting a new book on the same day I finish my previous book (and I never, ever read two books at the same time). Some people think that's crazy. Sometimes I agree, but it's what I've done for so long, there's no real way for me to break the habit.

Transitions can often be quite smooth, especially if the previous book was simply terrible. Moving from The Shack by William P. Young to Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen, for example, was a slice of heaven. I'm was so happy to be back in a good book that I began devouring it. As well, it could be a book that I have been anticipating for quite some time (like Keith Richard's Life) and I'm just in a hurry to get things started. These transtitions are easy.

But sometimes transtitions are difficult, especially after having read an extremely good book. Leaving behind a great read such as Replay by Ken Grimwood and starting up something entirely unknown is heart-wrenching. You're leaving behind characters you have come to love and understand. Like any break-up, you're not entirely sure you can go on without them right away. Perhaps you need a little time on your own to rest, meditate and catch up on some television. You just couldn't possibly care about any other characters right now. I have to ease into books slowly when this occurs.

This happened to me last year while making my way through The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series. I was determined not to read all three in succession, so I broke the series up with two books in between. When I finished the first book, it took all my energy to stick to my austere program. As luck would have it, I picked up Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell and enjoyed it immensely ( I love me some medieval history). It was the proverbial slice of cheddar between sips of red at a wine tasting. With my pallette cleansed, I dove into The Girl Who Played With Fire. No problem.

It was between The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest that I made a critical error. Cheekily, I picked up G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday. I should have taken this selection far more seriously. Chesterton is torturous reading when you know you have the finale of something you care about sitting on the shelf 10 feet away. I crept through the book. The only thing pushing me on was the promise of a better book at the end. Not the best attitude to have while reading. I have promised myself to give G.K. Chesterton another chance.

This is not exactly what happened with Pillars of the Earth. I had just come out of The Unbearable Lightness of Being and I had had just about enough of that one, so I was ready for something new. But there is a little of the 10 year-old reader in me and when I saw the 983 page opus sitting on the shelf, I got intimidated. That's a lot of pages to slog through if I don't like it. And I haven't given up on a book in four years. My first few days in Pillars of the Earth were very tentative. I wasn't really ready to settle into such a large book and I wasn't giving it much of a chance. I usually get a kick out of watching my bookmark move its way through a novel, but with Ken Follett it doesn't ever seem to move! I waited and waited for Follett to make me care.

I had this same problem with Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, but for slightly different reasons. I was given Cloud Atlas by two people within a month and told to drop all other books and read it immediately, which I did. Two people who seprated by the Pacific who don't know each other insisting I read something is a fairly ringing endorsement. The first two chapters (before I realized what Mitchell was doing and subsequently fell head over heels in love with the book) made me feel like I was being cheated. I read the bare minimum (25 pages a day) for days and grumbled how both a friend and a relative could be so terribly wrong about a book. I was never going to finish this brick.

But there comes a point in these sorts of books when it begins to click. The characters seep into your subconcious and you need to get back in there, see how things progress. In Cloud Atlas, it was the third chapter. In Pillars of the Earth it was the burning of the church. From that point on, you know things are going to be ok. It doesn't matter if the book is 183 pages or 1183 pages, you're hooked. The bookmark makes steady progress and by the time you finish, you agonize about your next book.

Can it possibly compare to this one?

My Year in Books

OK, I know. This isn't about politics or anything, but I have other things going on in life, and reading is one of them. Plus Hualien is a small county. Not much happens. I need to fill this blog with something else in the interim.

Anyway....

I'm what you might call a disciplined reader. What that means is I carry a book everwhere I go. Shopping malls, class, bathrooms, bars, hiking. People who know me know this. It's usually on the table or in a bag or on the beach somewhere wherever I am. I sometimes forget to carry a cell phone, but I never forget my book.

I read a mandatory 25 pages of book every day. This rule is non-negotiable. It can be more, but never, ever less.

I cannot put a book down, no matter how bad it turns out to be. This rule often sucks (The Shack), but somtimes it has paid off (Cloud Atlas).

I also keep meticulous records of the books I read.

I have been doing this for three years now.

I can't remember why I started doing this.

I can't stop.

This is how it went down in 2010

I read a total of 82 books this year (although 10 of those were a series of graphic novels called The Walking Dead so if you don't count 200 page comic books, I only read 72). I didn't count how many pages I read this year (nor do I care to go back and count that). I tried to difersify my reading this year. I read a lot of things I would probably never have picked up in previous years (graphic novels, books about Mormons, some suspect biographies, grammar and Henry James!?!?!?)

Anyway, here's the good, the bad and the ugly of the list (which appears in its entirety below). Note: In order to complete the unlicensed use of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly I have replaced Ugly with Non-Fiction. Non-Fiction is sort of ugly... right?

The Good

Geek Love: Katherine Dunn - The wierdest book I read last year. It's about a family of circus freaks who actively try to spawn more freaks. Kids with flippers. Fetuses in jars. hunchback albinos and more. Makes your family look like the Keatons from Family Ties. Strangest thing about the book? It's awesome.

The Time Traveler's Wife: Audrey Niffenegger - I'm a sucker for non-linear story-telling. It makes for compelling reading. So it's ironic that this ultra-linear book seems so non-linear. Had my brain doing back-flips. And once the back flips ceased, it was still a good book. Don't see the movie. Obviously.

Lamb: Christopher Moore - My good friend Troll recommended Moore last year and I read another book (A Dirty Job) and was sorely disappointed. But in fairness he told me to read this one. So I did, and it's cool. I like books about Jesus. I like alternate histories. I like the idea of a Kung Fu Jesus.

Cloud Atlas: David Mitchell - I remember the first time I saw the movie Baraka. I was forced by a friend to the theater to view it. I asked what it was about and I was told to shut up and simply watch. No prep, no background. Just go in blind and you will not be disappointed. Cloud Atlas is Baraka's literature equivalent.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Series: Steig Larsson - I hope I don't shoot myself in the foot with this pick because it's probably a cliche and renders my other recommendations moot amongst classy readers who roll their eyes ar pulp fiction, but I read an average of 300 pages a day when I was in these books. That's like crack cocaine lit. You simply can't argue against something that starts to encroach on your work and relationships.

The Bad

Grotesque: Natsuo Kirino - I should learn my lesson about contemporary Japanese writers. If their name isn't Murakami, leave it on the shelf. Shock for the sake of shock. No compelling characters. No compelling story. I couldn't figure out why I continued to turn pages. Probably because I simply will not put a book down. If you don't play by my rules, you'll never get through this one.

The Book Thief: Martin Zuzak - Have read, loved and then re-read I Am The Messenger. While I didn't expect a repeat performance, I also didn't expect to be bored to tears.

Three Junes: Julia Glass - While I have nothing particularly against gay literature, this book is, well, gay.

Nobody's Fool: Richard Russo - Perhaps I went a little overboard on the Russo this year. I read Straight Man and Empire Falls prior to this book (and liked both, although the law of diminishing returns was in effect). Russo has been lauded for his ability to write about small town America is startlingly realistic fashion. This is true. Unfortunately, in Nobody's Fool, said small town is mind-numbingly boring.

Sea of Poppies: Amitav Ghosh - Two rules of writing a trilogy. First, the opening book should suck the reader in a la Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Second, there should be a second book literally in the press when the first one hits the shelves so that people who liked your book will seek out the second before time erases the story from their TV-addled brain. In these two respects, Sea of Poppies fails.

The Ugly (Non-Fiction)

Fargo Rock City: Chuck Klosterman - What can I say? I was a head-banger when I was growing up. This book hit close to home. I laughed out loud dozens of times while reading this in public. I was that guy for a couple of days. I also agree with Klosterman about Guns and Roses' song Rocket Queen being the pinnacle of both hair metal and the 1980s.

Blink: Malcolm Gladwell - I challenge anyone to read a Gladwell book and not come away impressed. His research is thorough, his conclusions sound and, most importantly, his writing doesn't suck.

The Greatest Show on Earth: Evidence for Evolution: Richard Dawkins - I'm a sucker for these books. I love it when complicated science is dumbed down enough for me to understand. I also appreciate a scientist who literally leaps out of bed every morning because if his love for his field. The world needs a thousand Richard Dawkins's.

The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band: Motley Crue - Like I said. I'm a recovering metalhead. How would someone like me NOT love this book? I learned that Vince Neil and Tommy Lee are worse people than I first assumed, and Nikki Sixx is an unappreciated genius. I did not learn how these men are still counted among the living.

God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything: Christopher Hitchens - This one is obvious. Fuel for my fire.

Here's the entire list:

1. Fargo Rock City – Chuck Klosterman
2. The Walking Dead Vol. II: Miles Behind Us – Robert Kirkman
3. 84, Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff
4. The Walking Dead Vol. III: Safety Behind Bars – Robert Kirkman
5. Geek Love – Katherine Dunn
6. The Reader – Bernhard Schlink
7. The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
8. American Pastoral – Philip Roth
9. Under the Banner of Heaven – Jon Krakauer
10. Alias Grace – Margaret Atwood
11. Waiting for Time – Bernice Morgan
12. The Walking Dead Vol. IV: The Heart’s Desire – Robert Kirkman
13. Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children’s Memories of Previous Lives – Jim Tucker
14. The Walking Dead Vol. V: The Best Defense – Robert Kirkman
15. The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole, 1818-1909 – Pierre Berton
16. The Walking Dead Vol. VI: This Sorrowful Life – Robert Kirkman
17. The Last Kingdom – Bernard Cornwell
18. The Walking Dead Vol. VII: The Calm Before – Robert Kirkman
19. Grotesque – Natsuo Kirino
20. The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks – Max Brooks
21. Selkirk’s Island – Diana Souhami
22. Mordecai Richler Was Here: Selected Writings – Mordecai Richler
23. Fugitives Pieces – Anne Michaels
24. The Moor’s Last Sigh – Salman Rushdie
25. Until You Are Dead: The Book of Executions in America – Frederick Drimmer
26. Famous Last Words – Timothy Findley
27. The Walking Dead Vol. VIII: Made to Suffer – Robert Kirkman
28. Pussy, King of the Pirates – Kathy Acker
29. Lamb – Christopher Moore
30. The Shack – William P. Young
31. Water For Elephants – Sara Gruen
32. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency – Alexander McCall Smith
33. Man and Boy – Tony Parsons
34. Tuck Everlasting – Natalie Babbitt
35. Foucault’s Pendulum – Umberto Eco
36. Gazza: My Story – Paul Gascoigne
37. Straight Man – Richard Russo
38. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows
39. The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank
40. The Book Thief – Martin Zusak
41. The Green Mile – Stephen King
42. The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology – Robert Wright
43. The Book of Illusions – Paul Auster
44. The Walking Dead Vol. IX: Here We Remain - Robert Kirkman
45. Three Junes – Julia Glass
46. The Walking Dead Vol. X: What We Become - Robert Kirkman
47. Wild Ducks Flying Backward – Tom Robbins
48. The Walking Dead Vol. XI: Fear the Hunters – Robert Kirkman
49. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking – Malcolm Gladwell
50. Julie of the Wolves – Jean Craighead George
51. The Predictioneer’s Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future – Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
52. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream – Hunter S. Thompson
53. Buttertea at Sunrise: A year in the Bhutan Himalaya – Britta Das
54. Empire Falls – Richard Russo
55. The Cay – Theodore Taylor
56. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution – Richard Dawkins
57. Dos and Don’ts in Taiwan – Steven Crook
58. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books – Azar Nafisi
59. A Complicated Kindness – Miriam Toews
60. Half Asleep In Frog Pajamas – Tom Robbins
61. Anansi Boys – Neil Gaiman
62. The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band – Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil & Nikki Sixx
63. The Tragedy of the Moon – Isaac Asimov
64. Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales – Stephen King
65. Methuselah’s Children – Robert A. Heinlein
66. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz
67. Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation – John Carlin
68. Nobody’s Fool – Richard Russo
69. The Walking Dead Vol. XII: Life Among Them – Robert Kirkman
70. Hatchet – Gary Paulsen
71. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything – Christopher Hitchens
72. Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
73. Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation – Lynne Truss
74. Daisy Miller – Henry James
75. Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time – Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
76. Sea of Poppies – Amitav Ghosh
77. Mormon America: The Power and the Promise – Richard Ostling
78. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – Steig Larsson
79. Azincourt – Bernard Cornwell
80. The Girl Who Played With Fire – Steig Larsson
81. The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare – G.K. Chesterton
82. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest – Steig Larsson