Final books read in 2023

[dolorosa_12]

I know there are still two days left in the year, but I don't like to leave things unfinished, and I think it's unlikely that I'll finish any more books in the remaining time. Therefore, I'll wrap up my book logging with the three final books I read over my holiday. (I'm not counting rereads, which I've discussed already in previous posts; my opinion of those reread books remains the same.) The new-to-me books that I read over the past week are:

The Iliad, translated by Emily Wilson. I mentioned before that this was my third attempt at reading Homer's epic poem, and that I had hopes this time would be the charm, due to having read and enjoyed Wilson's Odyssey translation a few years ago, and I'm glad to say this was the case. I can't say a huge amount about her actual translation choices as I don't read Greek, but from a storytelling perspective the whole thing flowed along well. She elected to use quite plain language — not jarring contemporary slang, but words from everyday spoken English, rather than an elevated, flowery tone — and iambic pentameter (as this mimics as closely as possible the rhythm of spoken English). This was due to Wilson's emphasis on the original text as a piece of mass entertainment, not something for a scholarly elite. I mentioned before that whenever I tried to read the poem, I'd get bogged down in the endless lists of names, descriptions of weapons, and battlefield heroics that blurred into one indeterminate mass. All this was of course still there, but now I was able to appreciate it as something akin to a memoir of life in the trenches of WWI (or, more recently, accounts from current Ukrainian soldiers, in which progress across blasted, muddy fields is measured in metres): the grinding, endless misery of war, and the physical and psychological toll it takes on people. The alien morality remains as alienating as I found it the first time I read it, but that didn't seem to matter this time around — although as always, I much preferred the moments the narrative spent with the women, and their fears of the horrors war always visits on the lives and bodies of noncombatants.

The Bookseller of Inverness, a mystery novel set in 1752 Inverness. The protagonist — Iain MacGillivray, the titular bookseller — comes from the third generation of participants in failed Jacobite uprisings, and is nursing his resentments about this while living with his interfering grandmother, and a lot of complicated, messy family history. This careful balancing act — holding on to political allegiances while taking care not to get on the wrong side of the garrison of British soldiers in nominal control of the town — collapses when a man is murdered, seemingly in connection with a book in Iain's shop, and it quickly becomes apparant that a conspiracy is at work, with a killer hunting down traitors to the Jacobite cause whose betrayals cost them the success of the most recent uprising. This is pretty standard historical mystery fare, but it's an enjoyable mix of political intrigue, complicated family relationships, fun secondary characters, and a great portrait of eighteenth-century Inverness: in other words, the perfect book to read during a relaxing holiday.

Burn It Down, journalist and critic Maureen Ryan's take on the various abuses of power that have made so many Hollywood (and Vancouver, and New York) film and TV sets such ghastly places to work. If you've read her Vanity Fair article on Lost (which is reproduced in full in the book), you'll have a good idea of what you're getting in for: insiders' takes on the specific toxicity of particular shows or studios, which together paint a broader picture of Hollywood misogyny, racism, nepotism, and a culture which rewards abusive behaviour and treats it as a necessary component of the creative process. Some of the specifics were new to me, although the overall context was not; possibly the biggest shock was the description of the working environment on the set of Sleepy Hollow. Most of what Ryan reveals (through interviews with cast and crew, including extensive comments from Orlando Jones) chimes with what fans of the show always suspected: showrunner racism ruined what would otherwise have been televisual gold, one of the show's two stars was treated appallingly (again due to racism), and then written out and painted as the problem. However, what was news to me was that apparently, Nicole Beharie and Tom Mison strongly disliked each other almost from the beginning of the show, to the extent that they couldn't bear to touch each other (Ichabod's habit of bowing in a courtly way to Abbie was apparently written into the script so that the two actors wouldn't have to hug), and for this reason, there was absolutely no way on Earth that the two characters would end up in a romantic relationship. Obviously the poor treatment of Beharie and mishandling of Abbie as a character goes beyond shipping debates (it's clear that whatever the circumstances leading to Mison's and her mutual dislike, she was solely blamed for the situation and treated poorly as a result), but it was mindblowing to me that element of the show so consistently praised as its strongest asset — the on-screen chemistry between Beharie and Mison — was entirely simulated. I guess that's acting talent! In any case, Ryan's book is good for what it is — a lot of insider gossip stitched together into a wider tapestry that makes plain the damage done by various types of abuse of power in Hollywood — and although she offers solutions, I sadly can't see any of them being implemented any time soon.

Comments

[misbegotten]

I saw an article about the Mison & Beharie relationship and was as shocked as you. They did an incredible job of earning their paychecks -- the connection (and later, affection) between the characters seemed very genuine!

[dolorosa_12]

I know, right? I think I knew most of the rest of the details of the dysfunctional Sleepy Hollow set, and the hostility and racism faced by Beharie, but that specific detail was completely astonishing to me, and I never would have guessed it from what I saw between their characters on screen.

[author_by_night]

This is pretty standard historical mystery fare, but it's an enjoyable mix of political intrigue, complicated family relationships, fun secondary characters, and a great portrait of eighteenth-century Inverness: in other words, the perfect book to read during a relaxing holiday.


I may have to try that! Incidentally, I actually have familial roots in Inverness. (No idea where they stood during the Jacobite rebellion.)

Re: Sleepy Hollow, I'm not surprised about the racism. The showrunner changed after S1, right? I feel like several shows have been ruined, or at least faltered in quality, because the vision was lost once the original team walked away.

It's upsetting to see how Orlando Jones and other POC were treated. I didn't know about Nicole Beharie and Tom Milson either, but now we know why they barely touched.

[dolorosa_12]

I hope you enjoy The Bookseller of Inverness — it's a lot of fun, although nothing particularly groundbreaking. That's so cool that you have a family connection!

I think I knew most of the details about the dysfunctional, chaotic set on Sleepy Hollow — certainly it's been an open secret for a while that Beharie was badly mistreated, and that the showrunners didn't seem to realise what elements of their show were so successful (the relationship between Abbie and Ichabod, Abbie's family history, the racially diverse characters and the stellar cast who played them), and that seems largely due to conscious or subconscious racism on the part of the showrunners. I think you're right that the showrunner changed, and I think in general there was a lot of chaos when it came to the showrunning team, and they weren't prepared for their show to be a critical hit and fan favourite, nor for the attention it would get as a result.

The detail about Beharie and Mison's antipathy was astonishing to me, given how convincingly they played two characters with a deep connection on the screen. Given the dysfunction and racism on the part of the showrunners, I think it was unlikely the characters would ever have been paired up romantically, but it's interesting to me that that wasn't the sole reason (fandom conspiracy theories aside), and that the actors couldn't bear to touch each other.

[luzula]

Unsurprisingly, that historical mystery is on my list of books to check out! Your enjoyment of it bumps it up the list...

[dolorosa_12]

I thought it might be! I don't have your depth of historical knowledge of the time period and setting, so please bear that in mind — although the author is herself a professional historian of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Scottish history, so hopefully the book does well on that score.

[muccamukk]

I read the Iliad about ten years ago, but could probably stand to do it again.

I should track down that Inverness book, sounds interesting.

I'd already heard about the Sleepy Hollow thing via some reporting when Beharie did her first post-show interviews, but some of the details were new. The whole book was pretty depressing.

[dolorosa_12]

Trying the Iliad again with a new translation might be an interesting exercise, depending on how much you can remember of the previous translation you read.

I knew most of the stuff about Sleepy Hollow (the racism, dysfunction and just general unprofessional behaviour), but not the specific detail about Mison and Beharie's mutual dislike, since for obvious reasons Beharie was not going to talk about that in post-show interviews. As you say, the book as a whole is depressing, the more so because I can't see any of Maureen Ryan's solutions being taken on board in Hollywood as a whole. It's encouraging that she says certain shows are models of respectful, professional behaviour, but it seems to me that these will remain the exception, rather than the norm, and there is this whole workplace ecosystem designed to shield abusive individuals from consequences. It reminded me of how the Catholic Church dealt (or rather didn't deal) with sexually abusive priests.

I hope you enjoy The Bookseller of Inverness if you do give it a try.

[muccamukk]

I think it was the Robert Fagels (sp?) translation last time, so I'll have to see. Sadly, I don't think Ian McKellan is going to read the audiobook of the new one.

The one encouraging thing with Burn It Down's proposed solutions as a lot of them would save money. The Jonathan Majors thing, for example, was a) clearly telegraphed early in his career, b) very expensive for Disney. But on the other hand, I can't see them doing anything about the people already in place (especially the white ones).

Bookseller of Inverness was on sale for a dollar. There's timing.

[dolorosa_12]

Yes, that is very true re: Hollywood changing things if it looks likely to cost them money. The Jonathan Majors example is instructive, although I can't help but think also of Johnny Depp, and Ezra Miller, and other examples, as you allude to.

But let's hope my cynicism is wrong.

[charlottenewtons]

The Maureen Ryan book is on my very long list to read. I must admit that like you, although I had heard about some of the issues behind the scenes, I'm surprised to hear that Beharie and Mison disliked each other. But then again I can think of a few onscreen couples with great chemistry who apparently weren't fond of each off screen. Sometimes I wonder if it helps to have a strong reaction to the other person, either like or dislike, to create good onscreen chemistry.

[dolorosa_12]

It's a pretty good book, although it makes for grim reading.

Sometimes I wonder if it helps to have a strong reaction to the other person, either like or dislike, to create good onscreen chemistry.

You may be on to something there, since, as you say, Nicole Beharie and Tom Mison are hardly the first pair of actors for whom this was the case.

[regshoe]

I very much like the sound of a new Jacobite novel that's also a murder mystery, and everything I hear about The Bookseller of Inverness makes me more intrigued! I'm looking forward to reading it...

[dolorosa_12]

You were definitely one of the people I thought of when I read this book! I hope you like it — I definitely don't have your historical knowledge of the time and place, but given the author is a historian of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Scotland, I would assume she'd done the appropriate research.

[svgurl]

The Bookseller of Iverness sounds interesting! I'm going to have to add it to my list. :)

I didn't watch Sleepy Hollow (though I was curious when it first aired) but I heard about how Beharie was treated in the past few years and wow, just gross and awful. I am surprised to find out how much they disliked one another, but I guess it's also not the first time where the leads have had chemistry while actually disliking one another.

[dolorosa_12]

It seems as if I've struck a chord with a lot of people, judging from the comments here — everyone wants to read The Bookseller of Inverness!

The revelation about the actors' dislike on Sleepy Hollow was astonishing, although, as you say, I was already well aware of how poorly Beharie had been treated. I lasted two seasons with the show, and then gave up, but probably should have done so earlier. It was great — and then it really wasn't.