Ok remember when I said I was weary of talking about The Cold Cold Ground and myself. Well I am. But I said that just before half a dozen reviews about the book started appearing everywhere. In the last week we've had the Spinetingler review, The Sydney Morning Herald review, The Melbourne Age review and the verdict from The Irish Times. The blog reviews and reviews on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com have been rolling in as well. For my sins I read ALL the reviews and so far it's been a pretty pleasant experience with this book (it is not always thus, believe me). I do want to thank everyone who has bought CCG and left a rating or a review, it really means a whole lot to me. I think my favourite sentiment from all the reviews came from Nerd of Noir in Spinetingler who said that he'd recommend the book to basement dwelling noir geeks as well to his (presumably surface dwelling) mother. Oh and yeah Dec Burke said in the Irish Times that if a mad scientist had gene spliced David Peace, Eoin McNamee and Brian Moore together and forced this weird baldy Japanese speaking monster to write a novel it might have produced The Cold Cold Ground.
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18 comments:
Is the guy in the video now on your Christmas card list?
(The book IS a great one!)
I've posted a review over at Crimesquad.com. And its all good.
Speedskater
He certainly should be.
Michael
Cheers mate, I appreciate that:
http://crimesquad.com/reviews.asp
I loved that clip. I'm going to put it up on my book blog.
As you know I can't sell it here, and I wouldn't be as good as that guy anyway. But I did have a nice little moment in the store a couple of days ago. I was working on the mystery aisle and a woman came up and asked me for some recs. I always try to suss out what people have read rather than forcing my tastes on them cold, but somehow our discussion first drew the rep from Chronicle and then our children's buyer, who likes to get really good adult reps from time to time.
The conversation was trending dangerously towards Steig Larsson and I was not seeing any way of retrieving that when the children's buyer said, what was that book you told me to read last year, Seana? I was drawing a blank, and she said, you know, the one you said to read after Steig Larsson. So I said, "Fifty Grand?" and she said yes, and we gravitated toward the book and she said, now that was an excellent book. So the woman bought it, plus an Indridason and went away happy.
I had bought a couple of copies of Cold, Cold Ground to give away to friends I thought might like it and one left in my locker. So I brought my last copy out to her and said, You just said the magic words and handed her a copy. She actually gasped with surprise and pleasure. She read the first bit to see if it would be good plane fare, and will be reading the rest on her flight back to visit her family tonight.
Watching the clip made me think again, well, I don't think she'll be let down.
Seana
I certainly hope so, although there are people who just dont like noir. Its no fault of theirs its just not their thing and I can appreciate that. But if she does like it I'd love to hear about it.
I suppose the toughest demo for me to crack would be the people who see Gwyneth Paltrow as a lifestyle guru or perhaps real dyed in the wool Irish Americans who have believed everything they have read in the papers about Ireland over the last 30 years.
I may have given you the wrong impression with "children's buyer". She is to the bookstore as Bookwitch is to blogosphere, if that gives you an idea.
She may not like it--I am never certain as to how anybody will respond to anything--but I don't think it will be because it's too dark for her.
I haven't read Brian Moore, but the other two-thirds of the mutant make sense to me. And I like those two thirds.
Seana, I quite like the picture I get of a conversation drifting dangerously toward Stieg Larsson, like a canoe toward deadly rapids or a boat toward a giant, deadly sand bar..
Yep, there are definitely Swedish rapids oin the mystery canyon at our store. It would take a better oarsman than I not to occasionally run aground on the Girl Who... books.
Seana, Peter,
I've said it a million times and I'll say it again. The success of that book demonstrates to me the resounding fact that I am in the wrong business.
I just finished listening to The Cold, Cold Ground and feel the same way I felt after finishing each of your earlier novels: disappointed that it's over! But I understand we have not seen the last of Sgt. (or is that Inspector??) Duffy? Gerard Doyle is the perfect match as reader for your audiobooks. Thanks to both of you for another terrific listen.
A mighty stream, or deadly rapids, or a treacherous swamp, I'd say.
Each to their own is pretty much my philosophy of bookselling. But the treacherous ground is that at some point, I'd have to express my honest opinion.
You can always say a book is interesting or surprising, or you can say, "You might like..." and direct Larsson seekers to Arnaldur Indridason or Karin Fossum.
Mary
Thank you for that, I really appreciate it. I hope there are more Duffys. We'll have to see how everything shakes out.
Oh, I do, Peter, but there is a certain way in which people who love a particular book want you to share the love.
Oh, I suggest holding back only when talking about a book you don't like.
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