Birthday Party by C.H.B. Kitchin

Kitchin

Birthday Party

C.H.B. Kitchin 

1938

5/5 stars

Ronnie Carlice is about to reach his maturity and inherit Carlice Abbey, his family home. Having drank deeply of Marxism while at Oxford, he's decided to give the house to the Communist Party as soon as he possibly can, essentially casting out his step-mother, and depriving his paternal aunt of the place she so deeply loves.  Tension builds and emotions run high as his birthday approaches.

This book is hard to place in a genre; it's literary fiction, a crime novel, and a character study rolled into one.  Kitchin's fantastic style is reminiscent of two of my favorite novelists, Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf, in that the story is skillfully told from the first-person thoughts of four different characters in a near stream-of-consciousness flow.  No direct action or conversation is given; it's all told from the point-of-view of memory. 

It's a crime novel in that the reader knows a crime will be perpetuated.  Unlike the usual crime novel, though, as the story progresses, the reader also knows who the victim will be, when it will happen, and who will do it.  Yet, the tension and suspense builds continually toward this event, so that the coming crime is the focal point of the story, despite it's inevitability.

The four characters are intensively scrutinized through their private musings, stripped bare to their deepest feelings and plans. Kitchin is so talented that it seems his characters themselves don't always realize what they are revealing with these inner monologues, and yet the astute reader will understand in advance where all four are heading.

This is not a novel for everyone.  Those looking for a Golden Age crime story (and he did author a few) will most likely be disappointed, but for those who can appreciate the literary style as described above, this remarkable gem is sure to delight.

The Album by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Mary Roberts Rinehart

The Album
Mary Roberts Rinehart
1933
4/5 stars

 A bedridden woman is brutally axed to death on Crescent Avenue, a secluded and highly respectful suburban neighborhood of five homes, and it appears that it was someone she knew, and knew well. Soon, the Crescent's deepest secrets are being unearthed, and, perhaps as a result, the body count continues to rise.

The Album is told from the point of view of Louisa Hall, one of the youngest of the Crescent at twenty-something, as she slowly learns the facts of the case from those doing the detecting. It's well-written, engaging, and completely entertaining as Rinehart's novels generally are.  She is the master of the "had I but known" plot, and this is one of the best and most humorous examples.  The hints and clues and red herrings of the complex plot are dropped thickly, so that by the end, the reader has all that is needed to solve the crime before the denouement.  It's thoroughly engrossing, and such fun, despite the gruesome crime.  While it may not be five star literature, I got that much enjoyment out it and definitely recommend it to those who enjoy mysteries written during this period.

Top Five Wednesday: 1/4/23

This week's Top Five Wednesday topic is "Books to Read in 2023".  I plan to read the first three early in the year, but the other two will be ongoing.

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951)
This book is one of my top ten favorites. I love it so much I go all soft and mushy and fangirly over it.  (Here is a discussion on it I wrote in 2016.)  I saw on Goodreads that a friend read it for the first time and it made me want to reread it.  I've already set it out, and it will probably be next up.

The Unfinished Crime by Elizabeth Sanxay Holding  (1940)

Martin Edwards discussed Holding, and this novel in particular, in his book The Life of Crime (my review here).  I was intrigued and ordered it right away.  

Lonely Magdalen: A Murder Story by Henry Wade  (1940)

This one also came to my attention via Martin Edwards, this time from his book The Golden Age of Crime (my review here).  It's a must read this year, as well. 

Jane Austen's Novels

I'm currently listening to a lecture series from the Great Courses called "The Life and Works of Jane Austen" which is supposed to explore Austen and her novels minutely and give even Janeites a deeper understanding of both.  If I find this to be true, I'll want to reread each of the novels after the discussion.  We'll see how this pans out.

More Nonfiction

I love nonfiction.  I have an entire wall dedicated to nonfiction. Lately, though, it seems I love collecting it more than reading it. . .  (tsundoku anyone?)  I read the two books by Martin Edwards along with one memoir this past year, one history/biography in 2021, and one history/biography in 2020.  I don't intend to pressure myself, or feel guilty for reading fiction, but I do want to gently encourage myself to use that part of the brain that feeds on nonfiction books.

A small portion of my nonfiction wall.