hannahstohelit's reviews
92 reviews

The Murders of Moisés Ville: The Rise and Fall of the Jerusalem of South America by Javier Sinay

4.25

REREAD: 

Took this out of the library after noticing it on the shelf and realizing that I couldn't really remember what it was about, which sounds worse than it is- after studying Argentinian Jewish history in college I just couldn't remember WHICH book this was. Ended up enjoying it though it did lean heavier on the family-memoir and personal-reflections bit than I'd have wanted, and I appreciated the lens of looking at the realities of crime through the fact-checking of the great-grandfather's book. 

That said, the fact that the statement that "Orthodox Jews speak Yiddish because Hebrew is too holy" made it into the book not once but several times is bonkers, especially since one time was right next to a bit where he talks about working with a Chabad rabbi and his family, who I'm sure he noticed speaking Spanish (as all the Chabad rabbis I ever met in Buenos Aires did). He could have asked someone about it rather than gotten it out of a dubious book or from a Yiddishist professor or whatever! But that's just a minor gripe, overall the book was interesting.

Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey

4.5

I rated this how I thought about it while/right after reading it, rather than after thinking about it too hard, which would lower it a quarter or half a point. After all, we never actually find out exactly HOW the murder was done, unless I seriously missed something, and the family's reaction to their dead child coming back to life was a bit... surprisingly tame. Also, that one plotline was weirdly incesty. But while reading it I had an absolute ball once I stopped thinking of it as a mystery and started thinking of it as more of an Ethel Lina White style thriller (crossed with "National Velvet but with rich people"), where stuff just happens in a row somewhat mysteriously but not impenetrably. What actually happened here was pretty obvious from quite early on, but the whole thing was presented entertainingly and unusually enough that it was still a blast. 

I could picture an A24-type period movie being made out of this with the weird pseudo-incest bit (and possibly some early-on vibes that came across as a bit queer coded) amplified, which only somewhat plays into my rating here but does at least entertain me conceptually.

Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton

4.0

An interesting one with a nice obscure mystery and twisty plot- not something that stands out as brilliant but definitely exactly what was on the tin, and I like that enough to give it four stars.

Five Points: The Nineteenth-Century New York City Neighborhood That Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections and Became the World's Most Notorious Slum by Tyler Anbinder

4.5

Really interesting! I find NYC history fascinating so it was cool to see more about stuff I'd read across other books coalescing in this one. Unfortunately I waited too long after reading to review this one so don't remember if I had any other notes, but definitely a good read.

Experiencing the Impossible: The Science of Magic by Gustav Kuhn

4.25

Surprisingly readable for a psychology text, which is what it essentially was! I was hoping for a bit more content about actual magic performance and applicability to various tricks but what I got was still very interesting.

The Black Spectacles by John Dickson Carr, John Dickson Carr

4.5

REREAD: 

I LOVE this book, hence taking out of the library again- I think what I appreciate most is that fundamentally, the crime itself is a simple one. There are so many Carrs where I'm like "I'm sorry, I can't even follow this plot reading about it, why should I believe that someone else didn't just think this out but executed it (pun intended)" and in this one, there are complicated bits but the crime itself is just one of opportunity, and I appreciate that. And also it's just very fun.

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

3.5

Randomly came across a mention of this book when reading something else, was like "oh right, I feel like I liked that when I was a kid," and... oh my god. It's both so cute and so freaking weird bordering on creepy. Like, I didn't have a bad time, but what the fuck. But I said I was logging all my books this year so...

The Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie

5.0

REREAD:

For me, the main difference between a 4.5 book and a 5 book is whether I've imprinted on it. I have imprinted on this book. It's not technically perfect but who gives a hoot. Harley Quin and Mr Satterthwaite are awesome and I love this collection especially as a longer story/unit. I love the idea of (witting or unwitting) personifications of Life and Death interacting in this kind of liminal space, with some story concepts that Christie usually used more for her non-mystery short stories than her mystery ones. Love it so much.

Golden Age Bibliomysteries by Otto Penzler

4.5

REREAD: 

It's hard to rate anthologies, and there are a few in here that I remembered not enjoying the first time and so skipped this time, but this anthology did introduce me to my favorite Cornell Woolrich story just because of how normal and non-Woolrichian it is- it's just fun and cute and I honestly had no idea he had it in him, and I assume he saw it as a waste of time but I don't care. Overall, a fun theme with mostly good stories in it.

Television: A Biography by David Thomson

3.25

I think the problem here is that I need to not read books written by critics. What I actually wanted was a book about the history of the development of TV, and this wasn't what it was. It was really hard from this to tell what was actually important and what Thomson just liked, or rather tolerated ironically. I don't know, there was interesting stuff in here and hence the 3.25 but I just can't really get into books like this.