Sunday, March 25, 2007

Grave Secrets – Kathy Reichs

In brief: Trilingual Canadian forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan goes to Guatemala to help recover remains for reburial from mass killings of Mayan civilians during hideous military violence in civil war. Other wacky things happen to do with more murders, corruption and violence. She is sad and cranky and homesick in turn. She washes her knickers in the sink of the hotel room and suffers from no existential angst or self-doubt of any kind. She has wild crushes on French and Spanish speaking men who have integrity, rippling muscles and dry sense of humours (senses of humour?) who both seem growlingly hungry to get in her (freshly washed) knickers. She wears a size 6 jean and has fine features, a cat and a daughter who is self sufficient, blonde and has fine features, a good grade point average and is conveniently miles away.

Yes this was my aeroplane reading of choice from Sydney to Vietnam. I had a busy schedule of a) catch up on sleep b) eat things from tiny little boxes on little plastic trays and choose beverages to match c) reading. I also had Chuck Palanhiuk’s ‘Non-Fiction’ which is, funnily enough, a series of non fiction pieces about sex festivals, wrestling meets, why he writes etc. Good stuff, but not quite as well suited to the aeroplane read as a little bit of crime fiction with bone descriptions and mini tutorials on genetics to boot. Plus it was a pass-me-on from my mum, who also eagerly indulges in a bit of crime fiction (what used to be called ‘mystery novels’ – an interesting change in focus perhaps? Did we once like the mystery and now like the crime itself?) as a literary palette cleanser / fun read of choice, so I was keen to read it so we can talk about it later.

Did I like it? Well I finished it in the bath in the hotel room after I arrived, so I guess that’s a good sign. I liked the spatterings of description of Guatemala and had yearnings for colourful handmade textiles. I wondered where I might meet a dark eyed, squeaky clean and wildly competent South American detective who is hard with all the right people and soft with the rest. I wondered whether I might like to do what she does as a job. I marveled at the fact that Reichs in ‘real life’ both works as a forensic anthropologist and also writes crime fiction based on her work. That her first novel went (sorry, ‘shot’) to number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list and that this is her 5th and that this was written a few years ago so she’s probably written more since then. Marveled at how efficient some people are with their time, to be so prolific in outputs. Mused that she probably has better filing systems and cleaner house than I do, probably has very shiny white teeth and a house with oriental rugs. But that’s by the by.

A friend at work the other day happily admitted to reading crime fiction between her other books, saying that everyone has a genre that is their easy reading material. I was pleased to find another ‘accomplice’ and will probably offer this one to her next. I am unlikely to run out and hunt down her other books though, I didn’t care about her main character that much, and in any case, whilst happy to be a bit of an author hopper, maybe there are only so many gnarly detective characters you can attach to and identify with without getting mixed up and forgetting who was an alcoholic and who suffered from pain killer addiction; who is on and off again with which other law enforcement staff; and who is deeply psychologically wounded b y which spectacular homicide / marriage break up. And I think maybe my quota is full, with Marlowe, Kinsey Millhone, Phryne Fisher, Detective Rebus and the Nancy Drew and Miss Marple of my childhood. No offence temperance Brennan, I just think I’m all full-up for crime fiction heroes.