The Cuckoo's Calling (2013) Robert Galbraith

When reviewing this book, Mark Lawson commented "Lucky, though, are those few who read it in the purity of obscurity rather than the distracting glare of hindsight." The distracting glare, of course, being that Robert Galbraith is JK Rowling's pseudonym. It shouldn't be an issue, of course. Who cares if the writer is JK Rowling, or an unknown writer who has written an accomplished debut? Who cares if it is a woman or a man?

Even though it does not matter, it does add an intriguing element to it. The novel is a thoroughly enjoyable detective novel, focusing on a slightly different hero to JK Rowling's more famous magical schoolboy. Private detective Cormoran Strike is a brooding, heavy, former soldier with a prosthetic leg, debt and a myriad of issues in his personal life. Meanwhile, a beautiful model has fallen from a Knightsbridge flat and foul play is suspected. Put two and two together and you get a detective novel.

I will focus on the positives first. As with all of JK Rowling's novels, it is very readable: the prose is engaging (if not at all challenging) and the plot moves seamlessly throughout. She seems to enjoy the conventions of the genre and does not attempt to move away from what is expected of a dying breed of novels. When I read a detective novel, I expect the detective to be solitary; I look forward to reading about a dysfunctional family and I anticipate more twists and turns than a proverbial bag of pretzels. This novel does not disappoint.  I actually enjoyed the novel far more than I thought I would, having thought 'The Casual Vacancy' was soulless and a bit of a chore to read.

It was also interesting to read Rowling's attacks on the press and politicians. With regards to the former, there are some similarities between the early assertions of what happened to Lula and the death of Princess Diana. This is an interesting aside, particularly when you consider that JK Rowling has been one of the more high profile figures involved in the Leveson Inquiry. It appears to be an itch worth scratching for Rowling, and she probably delights in being able attack 'News of the World' in the pages of this novel.

There are a couple of 'howevers' though. Firstly, I am not sure how I feel about JK Rowling's presentation of the working class. She did it in 'The Casual Vacancy' with Krystal Weedon (Weedon? Really? I'm sure you can do better than that Rowling. What next? Chardonnay Pissedup?) and she does it again in this novel: working class people speak in text-speak-like dialects: "Oh yeah, an' 'e was full of 'ow 'e was gonna 'elp an' shoulder 'is respons'bilities, an'make sure I wuz all right." Meanwhile the middle class and upwards speak using the Queen's English. It's a bit of a personal gripe this one. I think it's lazy and more to the point I think it's a tiny bit insulting.

On top of that - and this is where more uncertainty comes in having praised Rowling for her acceptance of following conventions before - she does love a stereotype Guy Somé is a fashion designer, for example, who holds out his hand "with a slight crook of the wrist," who has a "catlike" walk and a "camp and faintly cockney voice." Meanwhile I cannot help but think that Rowling's young, black men are not realistic in the slightest.

The book does have its faults (as they all do), but these are things that I believe that the author will never change. Strike is an excellent protagonist in a compelling novel. It will be interesting to see how the series develops. 

Key quotes  

"The country was lumbering towards election day. Strike turned in early on Sunday and watched the day's gaffes, counterclaims and promises being tabulated on his portable TV. There was an air of joylessness in every news report he watched. The national debt was so huge that it was difficult to comprehend. Cuts were coming, whoever won; deep, painful cuts; and sometimes, with their weasel words the party leaders reminded Strike of the surgeons who had told him cautiously that he might experience a degree of discomfort; they who would never personally  feel the pain that was about to be inflicted."

"The motherfuckin' press chased her out that window."

Other thoughts

Without wanting to sound like a teenage groupie, I read the whole novel believing that Strike was similar to Al Swearengen and Evan Duffield was Russell Brand.

I enjoyed Strike being surprised that his temporary receptionist had good intuition AND punctuation.

Strike definitely needed a jolly good shag from Ciara. Good for him.

Despite my criticisms, I definitely want to read more Cormoran Strike novels.

Any recommendations?

I try to read as many different novels as possible. I try not to read any rubbish and I also cannot get on well with fantasy or sci-fi. I recently started reading 'Station Eleven' after hearing from every man and his dog that it was 'wonderful.' I got half way through it and thought it was wonderful that I managed to sell it on Amazon and got my money back. I'm now reading 'The Cuckoo's Calling' by Robert Galbraith which I thought would be rubbish but has been a pleasant surprise - more on that later. Any recommendations for what I should read in the future?

'Cry, The Beloved Country' (1948) Alan Paton

I wanted to read this on our honeymoon as it's about South Africa, and we were in, well, South Africa. Instead I read the excellent laugh-a-minute romp, Booker-Prize winning 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' which seemed befitting of such a joyous occasion.

Back on more familiar shores I set to reading this. It was written in 1948 in Apartheid-ruled South Africa by Alan Paton who the National Party in South Africa found to be a nuisance for years to come. The novel focuses on a black priest, Stephen Kumalo who goes on a journey to Johannesburg in search of various family members who have left their tribe for a better future in the nation's biggest city. He finds out that his sister has only survived through means of prostitution and his son is nowhere to be found, but rumours are that he is with a bad crowd and up to no good.

The novel is astonishingly good. Considering that it was written in a country where equality was only being whispered about 40 years later, it includes quotations that are powerfully relevant to today's South African society: "I see only one hope for our country, and that is when white men and black men, desiring neither power nor money, but desiring only the good of their country, come together to work for it."  and “I have one great fear in my heart, that one day when they are turned to loving, they will find that we are turned to hating.” Without turning into a history bore, it struck me that the quotations are not too dissimilar from Nelson Mandela saying that the only way for South Africa to progress is by forgiveness. This novel questions how easy it will be for the black community in South Africa to forgive the imperial powers that took away their country as they knew it:“The tragedy is not that things are broken. The tragedy is that things are not mended again.” 

The novel somehow manages to evoke images of the country and the difference between the peaceful, yet struggling countryside and the corrupt labyrinth of the big city. Even though the land is dry; the cows are eating away at what little grass there is (the tribesmen bought wives with cows, why would they want to decrease the number they have?); there is no milk and the babies are dying, somehow the move to Johannesburg does not really improve the life of the migrants who have moved for a better lifestyle. The novel has one or two chapters which take us away from the main characters and look at how townships started growing in South Africa and these were some of the most enlightening chapters for someone who doesn't know the history of such things, exploring the exploitation involved in the birth of these places. They are still going strong - Penny and I drove past so many of these landscapes on our drives in South Africa and as such it was fascinating to read about them:

I wish I had read the novel whilst I was away. It was utterly heartbreaking in some respects and offered hope in others. Paton is a staunch Christian man and the novel focused on a religious man and had a parable-like tone to it, but that added to it. It is a novel that must be read.

Key quotations

“But there is only one thing that has power completely, and this is love. Because when a man loves, he seeks no power, and therefore he has power.” 

“Pain and suffering, they are a secret. Kindness and love, they are a secret. But I have learned that kindness and love can pay for pain and suffering. ” 

“Happy the eyes that can close” 

“There is not much talking now. A silence falls upon them all. This is no time to talk of hedges and fields, or the beauties of any country. Sadness and fear and hate, how they well up in the heart and mind, whenever one opens pages of these messengers of doom. Cry for the broken tribe, for the law and the custom that is gone. Aye, and cry aloud for the man who is dead, for the woman and children bereaved. Cry, the beloved country, these things are not yet at an end. The sun pours down on the earth, on the lovely land that man cannot enjoy. He knows only the fear of his heart.” 

Quick final thoughts

• What a lovely man Jarvis is. And what a shame that under different circumstances him and Kumalo could have been friends.
• I am not sure what to make of Absolum or what to make of his mother's 'let's get on with it' attitude after the sentence was upheld.
• Poor old Kumalo making his journey up that mountain. 

Starting the blog

I've started this blog to write about the books I read for a couple of reasons. Firstly, so I can remember what on earth I have read. This is a perennial problem for me - I can usually remember all the details about a book, without remembering the author or the title. Secondly, so I can discuss the merits of the novel and its characters, plots and themes as I read them and after I have completed them.
Hopefully it's a success!