A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (available at Powerbooks): Haddon is the author of the critically- and commercially-acclaimed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, which gave us an autistic adolescent suffering from Aspereger’s Syndrome as our protagonist. He now gives us A Spot of Bother. Far removed from his previous novel, this one is a skewed perspective of British suburbia and domestic life, of how insanity can creep in, no matter how mundane and ordinary the events and people may be. Chock-full of sardonic humor, this novel comes to us in set-pieces that sparkle and regale.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (available at Powerbooks): Vida Winter is a renowned 20th century writer who has never told the truth about her life, despite the numerous interviews granted. Margaret Lea is your non-descript bookseller suddenly thrust into the role of official biographer, thanks to the one piece of reporting she submitted to a literary newsletter. Ghost story, mystery yarn, a jumble of identities and eccentrics from the British countryside populate this very readable novel. There’s a deep love for books and stories that also emanate from these pages, and thanks to the clever plotting, we are never less than fascinated.
A Case of Two Cities by Qui Xiaolong (available at Fully Booked): This is the latest installment of the Inspector Chen series of Xiaolong. Crime fiction within the context of modern China has found its voice with Xiaolong. Corruption in high places, the downside of economic booms, the intricacies of cross-cultural affairs, and murder most foul – they all come into play in this intriguing novel. Makes one wonder when a Filipino author will "step up to the plate" and give us something as satisfying within the genre of popular pulp fiction.
The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen (available at Powerbooks): Here is one writer to really watch out for. A first-time novelist, Mullen takes the mood in the United States during World War I, and an isolated incident – the break out of a Spanish flu epidemic in the Pacific Northwest, and makes them the ingredients of a compelling, morality tale of a novel. There are no blacks and whites in this novel, but a deadly grey nest of choices one must make with consequences of all kinds. The paranoia, the irrational decisions, they all draw strong parallels with the post 9/11 mood in America, and it’s what gives this novel relevance and potent immediacy.
The Keep by Jennifer Egan (available at Powerbooks): If the concept of "modern Gothic" has any meaning, it would be novels such as this that would help define it. There’s a double helix narrative at play; the first involves two cousins, one of whom is a wanderer, brought to this medieval castle in Europe that the other cousin, who has done really well, has purchased and turned into a fancy hotel. The second narrative has to do with a convict in a prison, and the teacher of a creative writing program offered in the prison. Of course, his submission in the program is a story about two cousins. Super surreal, with a lot of foreboding and tension, The Keep is dark and stylized, yet surprisingly contemporary.
SPY: The Funny Years (available at Powerbooks): This is the one non-fiction title, a tribute/memoir to the heydays of Spy magazine. For anyone who lived in New York in the last half of the 1980s, and for those who just take gleeful delight in wit and satire – this is the perfect gift! Spy is the magazine that gave novelist Kurt Andersen and Vanity Fair EIC Graydon Carter their early reputations. Features such as Separated at Birth saw "first light" in Spy; and while the magazine may not have lasted or enjoyed commercial success, you can’t deny the humor, lunacy and quality that the magazine possessed in spades. From supermodels to Mayor Guliani, from the Golden Age of Donald Trump to the go-go financial mood of those days, they’re all given a royal roasting!
One scent that’s dominantly fruity is the one called Baies. With blackcurrant leaf and Bulgarian rose as the top notes of this candle, the fragrance is one that’s strikingly fresh and neutral in gender, despite the floral element of the rose. Described as evoking a lush riverside garden smell, Baies is one fine example of the subtle sorcery at work in this shop. They like to refer to it as the Diptyque mystique.
VitaMan is a new "Skin" line that Essenses has introduced on their shelves. The Face and Body Cleanser is a citrus based gel that also claims to be effective as something you can slap on your face in preparation for your shaving ritual. Their Skin Protector is a light serum that utilizes potent anti-oxidant ingredients to protect the skin from damage caused by our harsh urban environment. The citrus scent has a light touch, and that’s fine with me, as I hate the artificial lemon-y smell of air fresheners, and how they’ve replaced our sense of what passes as a "citrus scent."