The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe #1) - Raymond Chandler

This book was written in 1939 and is labeled as a hardboiled crime novel. It's my first time reading this author.

Philip Marlowe is a private detective who is hired to look into some blackmail. What follows is a trail of cover-ups and murders. It gets pretty complicated, and I don't want to say anything that would be a spoiler.

The book isn't longer than it needs to be, and it's an easy read. There were times when I had to pay a bit more attention so I didn't miss anything, and the language got a bit much at times. Example: "The General spoke again, slowly, using his strength as carefully as an out-of-work show-girl uses her last good pair of stockings."

Overall, this was a pretty good book, and I enjoyed it. Marlowe himself is a bit of a mystery. He wasn't what I expected personality-wise, and I wouldn't mind reading more of him. Good Book!

Spirit of Resistance: The Life of SOE Agent Harry Peulevé, DSO MC - Nigel Perrin

The SOE was a group of people that were dedicated to sabotage and resistance during WWII. I've been interested in them for quite a while and read a few books on them.

Harry wanted to fight in the war. On his first mission with the BEF, he was forced to retreat and that bothered him. He then volunteered for the SOE, where he went through a broken leg, arrest, and spending time in Buchenwald concentration camp. He came out the other side alive, but never the same. He preferred to stick to the shadows in the aftermath of the war, but he still fought with the memories.

I want to mention the most surprising thing about this book is that of the listed 362 pages, not even 3/4 of this is the "meat" of the book. The first appendix started on page 259 (67%). The remainder of the book consists of Appendix A (DSO Citation), Appendix B (Croix de Guerre Citation in French and English), Appendix C (SOE Agents in France), Pictures, Glossary, Notes and References, Documentary Sources, Bibliography and Index.

The other thing is the number of people mentioned in the book. I'm the type of person that when I read a book about a subject I'm interested in, I'll stop and write down names I don't recognize so I can look into them later. While I recognized some of them, there are close to 100 people mentioned in this book, and most of them are spoke of in passing and never spoken of again. For someone like me, that is a bit overwhelming and slightly irritating.

The book itself is well researched, using interviews and Harry's own papers. I think the most heartbreaking chapter was the one revolving around peacetime. It's unfortunate that people who went through so much had to deal it for the rest of their lives. Harry was definitely a hero, but I understand why he never went through the pain of organizing his thoughts into a book. Even though I prefer to read autobiographies, I liked this book. Good Book!

The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle #1) - Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie has various series, but I'd never read one of these. I feel like Superintendent Battle is one of the lesser known detectives she's written.

In this book, Anthony takes a job to deliver a few things to England. He's in Africa, so it's going to be quite a trip. Since the job was originally his friend's, he travels under his friend's name. Once in England, he learns quickly that multiple people want to stop him from delivering the package. A burglar gets away with some important letters, and Anthony is determined to make things right.

After that, he gets involved in murder and helping an attractive woman. Superintendent Battle is summoned to Chimneys, the scene of a political murder, where the two cross paths. Numerous leads point to Anthony, but Battle is convinced of his innocence. They work "together" to solve the case. It seemed like Anthony did most of the work.

Battle doesn't show up until about 1/3 of the way through the book, and then I'm not 100% sure that he's doing that much. I felt like Anthony got more done, and in the end, he was the one who revealed the murderer and explained the crime. Maybe in later books, Battle has more of an active role, but I'm not sure he would be very interesting. One of his main things is "never show emotion."

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There is a reason why Christie is called the Queen of Crime. It's amazing how well the writing holds up after so many years. I read this book in three days, and props to Anthony for solving the case! Good Book!

The Dark Night of the Soul - Saint John of the Cross

I was talking with one of my friends lately, and we were discussing some philosophical matters. He mentioned there was a term for what I was going through called "the dark night of the soul." I hadn't really heard that phrase, but it sounded fairly accurate. With a bit of research, I found a poem/book written in the second half of the 1500s. There is also a contemporary meaning of a crisis of faith.

The book is a detailed explanation of what the author was trying to explain with the poem. It seemed like he was speaking as if he knew what God's intentions were with trials, and that rubbed me the wrong way. For instance, he says that God leads people into the dark night. Ok, so by that logic, He is making the things to create the night happen, correct? Which in my case means He caused people to die to push me into a dark night. That would mean God didn't consider the other person's life when pushing me into a dark night. Well, that doesn't make sense to me. 

That was just one of the issues I had with the book. The rambling got old after a bit. I've never been much of a fan of poetry to begin with, and if I do, it's something that rhymes. Dr. Seuss comes to mind. Just because it rhymes, and it's fun. I think the main point I took away from this book was if you have to write this much of an explanation for your poem, you should've written something else instead. When my friend was telling me about the dark night, I'm pretty sure he was talking about the contemporary definition. PASS

The Plague - Albert Camus

I already had this book waiting for me, but it moved up the list when I saw it mentioned in The Search for Major Plagge. When I was reading some of Plagge's letters, he mentioned this book more than once.

The plague has taken over the town of Oran, and members of the town are taking it differently. A doctor is on the front lines and comes across various people from different walks of life. Each offers a unique perspective on the plague with how they deal with it. There are a fair number of characters to keep track of, but I never had any issue keeping up. 

I'm sure many people will compare this with the COVID epidemic, and I can understand why they would. But the book is much more than that. The narrator purposely tries to give different points of view, how different people reacted to the situation and how they coped. It gets philosophical at some points and religious at others.

I can't believe this book was written in 1947. It is written so well and the emotions portrayed are relatable today. Characters in this book do not have plot armor, but it's incredibly appropriate for the devastating disease the city is dealing with. Also, this particular translation addressed some liberties taken with a previous one. The changes are mentioned in an afterword, and I feel they were warranted. Good Book!

Once a Grand Duke - Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovic

Former Grand Duke Alexander was the brother-in-law and good friend of the last Czar of Russia, Nicholas II. This memoir was written in 1931, two years before his death.

Alexander goes through his life in a very honest and thoughtful way. He reveals his hardships, mistakes and frustrations. I learned more about the conflict going on within Russia itself during the first world war, and I felt sympathy with Alexander for trying to get through to his friend. It had to be frustrating to watch someone he loved so much making decisions that would affect his entire family.

And it did. Alexander lost many members of his family in the massacres of the royal family. It affected his perspective on God, and I can't blame him. He had been taught hatred and distrust of other races from an early age, and he was strong enough to come to his own conclusions about people. And later in life, losing so many people in such a short period of time had to be hard.

I liked this book a great deal. The conversational tone used by Alexander was easy to read. I learned a lot through his narration, and I'm glad I read this book. There are also a fair number of pictures included, and those were great for adding faces to names. Good Book!