Tag: The Long Call

Crime, Music & Great Books

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VIEWING: CRIME IN THE UK

Shetland (BritBox)

Sandy & Tosh with Jimmy (radiottimes.com)

Jimmy Perez is back! I missed the Scottish crime series Shetland, when it went into hiatus after five seasons.  I was delighted to discover that Season 6 is now available on BritBox, not sure about on other online services.   New episodes are released on Tuesdays.   The Chief Penguin and I eagerly watched the first episode, and were not disappointed.  Detective Jimmy Perez is at his mother’s funeral when his colleague Tosh notifies him of the death of a prominent member of the community.  As in other seasons, the investigation begins, but is not completed in one episode.  As I think of the many crime series I’ve watched over the past few years, this one ranks among the best! 

The Long Call (BritBox)

Brethren members with Detective Matthew Venn (thescottishsun.co.uk)

While browsing new offerings on Amazon Prime, I came upon this other offering through BritBox.  It’s another crime series set in England, and it’s based on work by Ann Cleeves.  Ms. Cleeves is the very successful author of the Shetland series mysteries and ones featuring detective Vera (also a series, but not one I’ve watched).  Here detective Matthew Venn, a gay man, is estranged from his family.  He grew up in a closed, tightly ordered religious society and left about twenty years ago full of bitterness, anger, and sorrow.  When a young girl in that community goes missing, he and his police colleagues are tasked with locating her.  Like Shetland, this is a compelling drama of relationships as much as it is about crime.  There are 4 episodes in this season.

VIEWING: MUSICAL HISTORY

Oratorio (PBS, etc.)

Scorsese sitting in Old St. Patrick’s (pbs.org)

In the lovingly told documentary, Martin Scorsese brings to life the history of an 1826 opera concert in Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.  Scorsese provides background on the historical figures, Mozart’s librettist, for one, who were central to the concert, and details the concert’s role in forming the city’s cultural life.  The re-creation of this event in 2018 for a modern audience is the motivation for the film.  

Scorsese grew up near the cathedral and has fond recollections of the neighborhood and the role of this church in his life.  As concert plans and preparations are underway, there are interviews and clips with the maestro and soloists of Teatro Lirico Cagliari of Italy who will perform.  Overall, it’s a fascinating piece of history. And, if you are so inclined, you can separately watch the 2018 performance also on PBS.

AWARD BOOKS:  A GREAT READING ASSIGNMENT

I receive Washington Post book reviewer Ron Charles’ e-mail newsletter, Book Club, each week.  His take on new literature is always informative, often quirky, and piques my interest in what I might read next. In this week’s issue, he detailed an assignment his high school teacher spouse gives her students.  I think it’s a great assignment and so, I’m sharing it and at the end the books the students will be evaluating.  You can read another issue of his newsletter here.

My wife, Dawn, has started one of her favorite projects with her 11th graders. She brings in copies of the five finalists for the National Book Award in Nonfiction and breaks the class into five groups. Each group reads the first chapter of one of the finalists. Then the students devise criteria for a winning book and explain to the class how well their finalist meets those standards. 

Next Wednesday, just hours before the National Book Awards ceremony, her students will vote on which title they think should win. It’s a fun way to introduce these kids to the country’s best new nonfiction books.

You can follow along, too. The NBA ceremony will stream on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. ET. (free, but donations appreciated). I’ll be there (virtually) to introduce Nancy Pearl, winner of this year’s Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.

NONFICTION FINALISTS

Hanif Abdurraqib, A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance

Lucas Bessire, Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains

Grace M. Cho, Tastes Like War: A Memoir

Nicole Eustace, Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America

Tiya Miles, All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake

Tidy Tidbits: Culture Notes

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ON STAGE

The Sound of Music

You’ve probably seen at least one stage production of The Sound of Music or the movie starring Julie Andrews, but did you pay attention to the year and the context?  I don’t think I did until we saw the superb performance at the Asolo Theater.  This is a darker, more nuanced play and one that brings to the fore the rising Nazi presence in Austria in 1938.  The actors are great, especially Captain Von Trapp’s seven rambunctious children, the Mother Superior with a big voice that commands attention, and the always in motion, all arms and legs Maria.  Equally effective is the staging, particularly the last scene when the entire family performs in a competition.  If you live nearby, go see it!

ON THE PAGE

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

Fans of Shetland and Vera, TV mystery series seen on PBS, will recognize Cleeves’ name as the author of the works upon which they are based.  I’ve not read any of these mystery novels, but decided to try the first work in a new series.  The Long Call introduces Matthew Venn, a gay detective married to the manager of a community arts center.  When a troubled man is found dead on the beach and a disabled young woman goes missing, all the leading suspects have ties to the arts center.  

What drew Simon Walden, the dead man, to Barnstaple, and how was he connected to the mentally challenged teenage girl he regularly sat next to on the local bus?  Venn is a complex and fascinating character who grew up in the Brethren faith, but later rejected it.  In working to solve this case, he must re-visit individuals from his past.  I found this mystery intriguing enough to read to the finish and will probably look for the next one in the series.  

ON THE SMALL SCREEN

Unbelievable (Netflix)

On the subject of crime, I’m currently watching Unbelievable, a graphic account of the investigation into a series of rapes that occurred mostly in Colorado.  Based on real events, it’s about two female detectives from different cities who come together to find a serial rapist.  Several victims are portrayed including Marie, a troubled young woman, who under persistent questioning from two male detectives recants her initial account of the rape.  Difficult and disturbing to watch, it is, nonetheless, a painstaking exploration of how rape crimes are handled or mishandled.

ON THE WAY HOME

Appleton Museum of Art

On our way back south from St. Augustine last week, we stopped in the town of Ocala and paid a visit to the Appleton Museum of Art. This small gem of a museum has a voluminous collection of Christmas decorations and figurines which they bring out each December. But, what was of most interest to several of us, was their featured exhibit of paintings from the Reading Public Museum in Pennsylvania. Entitled Across the Atlantic: American Impressionism through the French Lens, it showcases 65 paintings of early French Impressionistic work along with pieces done by American artists several decades later. It is a lovely exhibit and one worth lingering over. The museum also has European and Asian pieces in their permanent collection.

It was almost noon when we finished our tour. We drove into the center of town, admired Ocala’s town square with its brightly decorated Christmas tree, and then had a most satisfying lunch at Harry’s Seafood Bar & Grille. From the standard chicken Caesar salad to New Orleans style shrimp creole and the like, there is something for every taste. Service was lightning quick!

Note: Text and photos ©JWFarrington.