Fairy Tale Imaginings

I love fairy tales, artists' take on fairy tales, and poems inspired by fairy tales.  Shaun Tan's sculptures based on the tales of the Brothers Grimm are wonderful illustrations of the paths creativity can take.

Little Red Riding Hood

 Source:  Grimm fairy tales you can touch

All-Kinds-of-Fur

Source: Grimm fairy tales you can touch

The Frog King

same source

Several years ago, I wrote a post about the following poem, an example of a contemporary imagining of a fairy tale.  It remains a favorite.

How to Change a Frog into a Prince

Anna Denise
  

  

Start with the underwear. Sit him down.
Hopping on one leg may stir unpleasant memories.
If he gets his tights on, even backwards, praise him.
Fingers, formerly webbed, struggle over buttons.
Arms and legs, lengthened out of proportion, wait,
as you do, for the rest of him to catch up.
This body, so recently reformed, reclaimed,
still carries the marks of its time as a frog. Be gentle.
Avoid the words awkward and gawky.
Do not use tadpole as a term of endearment.
His body, like his clothing, may seem one size too big.
Relax. There's time enough for crowns. He'll grow into it.

Some poems are difficult to understand and require multiple readings, and I love poems like that, poems that require intuition and effort. But I love poems like this one - poems that are instantly accessible, a bit silly and a bit serious. I love poems that "connect," as this one does to something that I'm reading or thinking about.

An easy poem, "How to Change a Frog into a Prince" is about transformation, and we are all transforming, but it is also about patience and kindness. It is tongue-in-cheek and perceptive - a gentle blend. It seems to say that love of all kinds requires acceptance and that princes, children, friends, lovers, and spouses are all subject to growth, to change, and that we have a role in these transitions. And humor helps. "Relax. There's time enough for crowns. He'll grow into it." Maybe we will, too.

Human Rites by J.J. Marsh

I wasn't sure what to expect from Human Rites by J.J. Marsh when I first started the book.  For some reason, I was afraid it was going to be a cozy mystery.

 As I continued to read, I became more involved with the characters and the plot(s). The book is the fifth installment in a series featuring Scotland Yard D.I. Beatrice Stubbs.

There are two intertwining plot lines.  One is the harassment (that becomes more and more sinister) of Beatrice's gay friend Adrian Harvey.  The other is the case Beatrice is working on involving brutal art thefts of Expressionist paintings. 

 One of the stolen paintings is Salon II by Otto Dix.  I  was unable to find any images of Salon II which went missing during WWII, but the description sounds very similar to Salon I.

1921 The Salon

The Online Otto Dix Project

Expressionist art was considered degenerate by the Nazis, and  "A total of about 16,000 works (mostly confiscated from the best art museums and galleries in Germany, such as the National Gallery in Berlin and the Kunsthalle in Hamburg) were officially deemed degenerate, involving several hundred artists, mainly from Germany."  ( Degenerate Art)

Chagall, Dali, Dix, Ernst, Kandinsky, Miro, Picasso, Egon Schiel, and Kurt Schwitters were among the hundreds of artists considered degenerate at the time.  I ended up looking at the works of a number of German Expressionists whose names were unfamiliar, but who were also mentioned in the novel.

I get so side-tracked!

Anyway, J.J. Marsh's book turned out to be more than satisfactory in a number of ways, and I've already ordered the first in the series.

NetGalley/Cameron Publicity & Mkt.

Mystery/Police Procedural.  July 25, 2016.  Print length:  250 pages.

Book Benches? :)

Books about Town celebrates London's literary heritage with benches that look like open books scattered along various trails in London.  What a great project for art, literacy, and public enjoyment!

Congratulations to National Literacy Trust and Wild in Art for such a great project!

The Flinck Connection (Book 4) by Estelle Ryan

The Flinck Connection   

Govert Flinck (1615-1660) was a Dutch painter during the Dutch Golden Age, and one of his paintings plays a part the latest Genevieve Lenard novel.

I've read all of this series whose titles always include the name of an artist.  Genevieve works for an insurance company in France that insures great art and so far, this has meant 4 mysteries connected with stolen paintings.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist in 1990 has made its way into several novels I've read.  In this one, Genevieve and her team determine who organized and carried out the heist--oh, if only!

You can find out more about the actual theft and see all the stolen paintings  (my favorites are the Vermeer, the Rembrandt, and the Manet)  on the Isabella Gardner Museum site .  

The reward-- "$5 million for information leading to the recovery of these works in good condition and, with the FBI and US Attorney, can ensure complete confidentiality.

I still enjoy all of the characters that populate this series, but the first one is the best.     

read in March

Mystery.  2014.  Print version:  359 pages.

The Braque Connection by Estelle Ryan

The Braque Connection 

I very much enjoyed the two previous books in this series.  This latest in the series is  less satisfying.  Not terrible, by any means, and I still enjoy the characters, but beginning to feel forced.

Has Ryan painted herself into a corner with the artist titles?  :)  OK, OK.  Forgive the pun.  Nevertheless, the mysteries have become self-confined by connections to great artists and leave the reader considering new titles like  The Rembrandt Connection, The El Greco Connection, The Van Gogh Connection and wondering how many murder mysteries an insurance agency can encounter.  

(Spoiler) -- At least we can eliminate one villain from the scene.  Kubenov disappears from the picture.  These are not deliberate puns; it seems that artistic terms apply easily to different genres.  Kubenov as the villain had certainly run his course; however, an accomplice survives and disappears.

I understand that with Genevieve's ability to decipher and interpret patterns, the use of complicated patterns are part of the charm of the novels.  The complicated pattern of the under paintings, however, stretches my view of plausibility.  

Will I read the next in the series?  Certainly.  I still like the characters and can hope for a bit of expansion in the format.

Mystery.  Sept. 2013.  Print length:  376 pages.

The Dante Connection by Estelle Ryan

The Dante Connection is the second in Estelle Ryan's series about Genevieve Lenard, autistic and OCD, but capable of reading non-verbal communication.  I read this one before reading The Gauguin Connection, which I also thoroughly enjoyed and reviewed here.   

Quick review of characters:  Genevieve, whose skills include reading non-verbal communication with astonishing accuracy and identifying patterns that aid her insurance company spot fraud; Philip, her boss; Manny, the fractious detective; Colin, the sympathetic art thief; Vinny, Colin's enormous sidekick with the tender heart, and Francine, the talented computer hacker.

In the first book, Genevieve's structured life is turned upside-down with all of the new individuals she must adjust to.  As The Dante Connection opens, Genevieve is feeling betrayed and abandoned by her friends, who have either seemingly abandoned her or have been withholding information from her.  

When Colin and Vinnie re-appear, Genevieve is reluctant to renew her trust in them.  As events develop, however, she must rely on them for her safety and to capture the ruthless villain seeking revenge.

Another exciting adventure with interesting characters!  

This is the one from NetGalley, but as soon as I finished it, I ordered The Gauguin Connection.  Now, I'm ready for The Braque Connection, the third in the series!

NetGalley

Mystery.  2013.  Print Length:  348 pages.

The Gauguinn Connection by Estelle Ryan

I received The Dante Connection through NetGalley, and I enjoyed it enough to immediately look for the first in the series.  To my surprise and good fortune, Amazon Kindle offered The Gauguin Connection for free!

 I will review The Gauguin Connection first because it is the first in the series featuring Genevieve Lenard, a highly functioning autistic with an off-the-charts IQ.  Genevieve has learned to function in society, but severely limits her interaction with others. Her specialty is non-verbal communication; she is able to read people by their facial expressions and their body language.  When Genevieve meets Philip, he is so impressed with her skills that he hires her at his prestigious insurance firm to "read" people and to identify patterns in cases of insurance fraud.  

Because Genevieve doesn't have good interpersonal skills and is easily overloaded in social situations, her office is a viewing room where she studies taped interviews to determine whether or not the individuals are telling the truth; in the safety of her viewing room, she observes, but doesn't have to interact.  Unable to deal well with people, the taped interviews suit her perfectly.  She loves her work, feels useful and successful, and manages her life within her circumspect limits.  Philip accepts her as she is and values her exceptional abilities and contributions to the firm.

When her Philip asks her to look into the murder of a young artist, Genevieve's life undergoes a sea change.  She finds herself dealing with a disheveled and irascible detective, a sympathetic art thief and his giant friend, a skilled computer hacker, and several unsavory villains.

Perhaps Genevieve adapts a little too easily to these intrusions to her OC life style, but the novel manages to be both fun and suspenseful.  

Although, I did not read this in order and The Dante Connection was great on its own, I'm glad I ordered The Gauguin Connection and got some background.  

Recommended.

Mystery.  2012.  Print Length:  439 pages.