Two Exotic Mystery Tales

The Talented Mr. Ripley

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995)

This novel from 1955 still reads in a remarkably contemporary way, despite many details that mark it as having been written so long ago. As everyone says, Highsmith’s account of the remorseless interior thoughts of the con man and murderer Thomas Ripley is a tour-de-force in the creation of a thriller. I totally enjoyed reading it, and I admired the subtlety of the other characters as well. 

When the book begins, Ripley had already broken the law in some unspecified way. The plot begins when the father of a vague acquaintance inquires if Ripley has any information about his son, who has inherited a regular income, and thus can afford to live in a beautiful (fictitious) Italian seaside village. The son, he makes clear, has no desire to return to the US, but Ripley manipulates the father to pay him to go to Europe to convince his son, Dickie Greenleaf, to return home. 

Ripley hates the Americans that he meets in Europe: he feels that his peers -- or those who should be his peers -- have all the advantages because of their money, and they treat him that way. Ripley (as all the reviewers say so this isn't a spoiler) realizes that he is the same size, has similar skin and hair color, and very much resembles Dickie, whom he has become very close to. He plots the murder and kills Dickie in a very dramatic way and assumes his identity with great pleasure and cunning. Of course, as he gets deeper and deeper into this deception, a complicated psychological thriller unrolls.

I have always remembered seeing the French/Italian film Purple Noon, which is based on the novel. The vivid scenes on the Italian coast, the deep blue of the Mediterranean, and the dramatic murder scene and its aftermath made an indelible impression, as did the ending of the film. After all these years reading about Patricia Highsmith and later film versions, I finally decided to read the book. 

Purple Noon: Film Version, 1960

I have an amazingly complete memory of this film, which I saw when it had recently been released.

Directed by René Clément
Starring Alain Delon, Marie Laforêt, Maurice Ronet, Erno Crisa
Screenplay by Clément and Paul Gégauff

“As the sun beats down on a boat in the Mediterranean, two men loll back: scapegrace playboy Maurice Ronet and hanger-on Alain Delon (“My perfect Ripley” – Patricia Highsmith), sent by Ronet’s dad to bring him back. Which one’s going to leave that boat alive? And can he get away with pretending to be the other man? Delon’s star-making thriller smash, adapted from Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.”

Purple Noon, a French/Italian production, was the first of many adaptations of Ripley to the screen — the most recent is a current Netflix series. I have not seen any of these, though I’m tempted to check them out.

The Murder of Mr. Ma

The Murder of Mr. Ma (published April, 2024)

 

Judge Dee was a famous detective in China in the seventh century, and many mystery lovers like me are familiar with his exploits thanks to a series of novels by a Dutch mystery writer named Robert van Gulik. Judge Dee has been reincarnated into the twentieth century in this recent novel by seasoned mystery writer SJ Rozan, collaborating with novice writer John Shen Yen Nee, a publisher and media producer. SJ Rozan is the author of 20 books, especially a series about a woman detective named Lydia Chin and Lydia’s partner Bill Smith — I’ve read several of them.

It’s 1924 in London, as The Murder of Mr. Ma begins.  A Chinese professor named Lao She has the challenging job of making university students appreciate Chinese language, history, culture, and literature. In reality, a Chinese professor and author by that name actually did live in London in 1924. In fiction, he is the narrator of a very suspenseful and violent mystery story, and he quickly meets the updated version of Judge Dee.

The most memorable feature of The Murder of Mr. Ma is incessant hand-to-hand fighting, using Chinese martial arts. Reincarnated into the twentieth century, Judge Dee changes from a rather staid figure to an amazing street fighter, who propels himself along the roof tops and swings from lampposts, from stair railings, and even from chandeliers. Wearing a kind of superman disguise, he fights multiple thugs at once, knocking them out with sweeping blows from his skilled hands and feet. You would think you are reading a film script (maybe you are).

The Murder of Mr. Ma has a point to make beyond the usual mystery story: it is very much about the lack of respect for Chinese people and their culture shown by the Londoners in the story. The indignation of Professor Lao She is expressed in a variety of ways throughout the novel. In addition, the authors introduced  two very real historic figures into the novel, depicting both of them as friends of Judge Dee. The first of these is Bertrand Russell, the mathematician, philosopher, and author of a book titled The Problem of China, which attempted to overcome the prejudice and disregard for China of that era. The second historic person who appears in the novel is the poet Ezra Pound, who admired Chinese culture and published translations of Chinese poetry. Lao She says of Pound: “In truth I found Pound’s translations of classical Chinese poetry took rather too many liberties, but the man was inarguably a great poet in his native tongue.” (p. 72)

While I found the never-ending fight scenes a bit much, I generally liked this novel for its unusual cast of characters, its very good plot, and the many scenes in Chinese restaurants, where the food on offer seemed very much like the menu in a current Chinese restaurant now, 100 years later. In fact, some of the dishes were the same ones that Lydia Chin and Bill Smith eat in the frequent restaurant scened in SJ Rozan’s earlier books. Would these same dishes have appeared at the very few London Chinese restaurants in 1924? I don’t know but I don’t have a problem with any of this — it’s good reading! 

Review © 2024 mae sander

Shared with Paris in July for the French film

Antisemitism in France Then and Now

French Election, Summer 2024 

News of France this week is primarily the news of the election. If you have been following French current events, you will probably know what I’m about to say, but here is my summary of the situation. France has a multi-party political system, representing a spectrum of views from extreme right to extreme left. For several years, the centrist party of President Macron has dominated the government; however, his party was severely defeated in the election of representatives to the European Parliament last month, and he declared elections for a new French government. 

Sunday, June 30, the first round of voting was a major blow to Macron’s centrist coalition, which came in third behind the far right and the far left. In particular the far right National Rally party (the RN, formerly called the National Front) obtained the most votes, and has a good chance to win a majority in next Sunday’s second and final round of voting. As the Guardian says:

“A high turnout in Sunday’s first round saw RN comfortably win first place with 33.1% of the vote, almost two points up compared with three weeks ago. For context, this is the first time that the party founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen has broken through the 20% barrier in a legislative election.” (source)

This is concerning for many reasons; in this short summary I’m going to concentrate on the issues of antisemitism expressed by members of this party.

From French newspaper Libération: “Twelve million of our fellow citizens have voted for a far right party that is clearly racist and anti-Republican.” (source)

Despite pretense to the contrary, the “rebranded” party founded by self-proclaimed antisemite Jean-Marie LePen and currently run by his daughter Marine is a frightening specter in the French elections this week. A strong possibility of their winning a majority and thus taking over the government is very chilling.

After the first vote on June 30, the extreme right party in France is far ahead of the others.
This is the party of LePen, a dedicated antisemite, though they have stepped back the antisemite rhetoric.

During the electoral campaign in May, there were antisemitic statements from both far right and far left candidates, for example—

“Racist and antisemitic rhetoric and conspiracy theories spread by National Rally candidates came under scrutiny during the campaign sprint — and amplified questions about whether the party’s rebranding was merely window dressing. Almost 1 in 5 of National Rally’s candidates for parliament have made “racist, antisemitic and homophobic remarks,” French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said in a televised debate Thursday.” (source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/30/france-elections-macron-le-pen-bardella/)

Further, antisemitic public actions in France (as in other European countries and in the US) has been ongoing since the Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing war last October:

“There were more than 360 antisemitic episodes in France in the first three months of this year, or an average of four a day, an increase of 300 percent over the same period last year, the government said. In the most recent one that shocked the country, the three boys are said to have dragged the girl [age 12]  into an abandoned building where she was repeatedly raped and insulted.” (New York Times, June 20)

Here are few additional examples of antisemitism by National Rally candidates:

“Sophie Dumont, a National Rally candidate in northeastern France, was spotlighted by Libération for a post implying that Jewish financing was behind Reconquest, a rival far-right party led by Eric Zemmour, who is Jewish. Zemmour’s adviser had said that the ritual slaughter of animals to make kosher and halal meat should not be banned in France. “The small gesture that betrays the origin of the funds that fuel Reconquest,” Dumont wrote in a now deleted comment. 

 

“Agnès Pageard, a National Rally candidate in Paris, has advocated for abolishing a law that makes it illegal to question the Holocaust and another that bans ‘incitement to hatred’ against religious or racial groups. She responded to a social media post that alleged ‘collusion’ among prominent Jewish people in France by recommending ‘reread Coston and Ratier’ — two authors known for their antisemitic conspiracy theories.” (source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/28/france-far-right-antisemitism-racism-le-pen/)

On the left, there are also a number of candidates who have made antisemitic statements, such as this example about a candidate of the party “La France Insoumise” —

“At least one member of La France Insoumise has made intolerable remarks. Reda Belkadi, a candidate in the Loir-et-Cher department south of Paris, published anti-Semitic messages in 2018 on social media. He had used the anti-Semitic slur ‘youpin.’” (Le Monde, June 29, 2024)

Looking Back: Paris Under the Nazi Regime

Les Parisiennes by Anna Sebba (published 2016)

As I read this book about life in Paris under the Nazis, I constantly thought about the current French election and its all-too-painful reminders of this part of the past. I read this observation about the current party, the National Rally:

“There was a reason a political barrier was long erected against the National Rally, with its quasi fascist history (now disavowed) and its enduring belief that immigrants dilute the essence of the French nation. The party provokes extreme reactions and troubled memories of the collaborationist wartime Vichy government.” (source) 

 

In Les Parisiennes, Anna Sebba depicts the lives of many women who lived through the Nazi occupation of Paris. Most of the author’s subjects had little or no contact with the Jewish residents of Paris, and little or no responsibility for the persecution and deportation of Jews to the Concentration Camps — but there are many stories of the fate of Jewish women, including, for example, the famous writer Irene Nemirovsky. I’m not going to review this book, but only use it to remind us of the past history that haunts many Parisians (and of course others) even today as antisemitism seems to return, along with attacks on many modern immigrant communities and naturalized French citiens.

For the Jews of Paris in 1942, the main event was the arrest of almost the entire Jewish population, which was done by French, not German, authorities. Here is Anna Sebba’s summary (in case you are not familiar with the history:

“On 16 and 17 July, the Vichy government, aiming to satisfy German demands to reduce the Jewish population, arrested some 13,152 Jews, including more than 4,000 children, mostly from Paris, in an operation which they were calling ‘Spring Wind’. René Bousquet, Secretary General of the French National Police, knew that using French police in the round-ups would be ‘embarrassing’ but hoped that this would be mitigated if those arrested were only so-called foreign Jews. However, as the historian Serge Klarsfeld has revealed (making use of telegrams René Bousquet sent to the prefects of departments in the occupied zone), the police were ordered to deport not only foreign Jewish adults but children, whose deportation had not even been requested, nor planned for, by the Nazis. Pierre Laval maintained that including children in the round-ups was a ‘humanitarian’ measure to keep families together, a clearly fallacious argument since many of the parents had already been deported.’ (p. 159)

Before they could be deported on trains to the East, these victims were held at a sports stadium:

“Everyone was taken on French buses to the Vélodrome d’Hiver, a bicycle stadium in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, where most of the victims were temporarily confined for five days in extremely crowded conditions, almost without water as there was only one available tap, with little food and with inadequate sanitary facilities. They were then moved to Drancy, Pithiviers and Beaune-la-Rolande, internment camps managed by Vichy in collaboration with the Germans, before being sent on by train to Auschwitz for extermination. The round-up has been a source of enormous grief in France. It was not until 1995 that French President Jacques Chirac admitted French complicity as French policemen and civil servants had been used for the raid. He urged that 16 July be commemorated annually as a national day of remembrance. It was a ground-breaking moment in French history.” (p. 161) 

Sculpture commemorating the Jews of Paris deported in 1942 (Source: French Dept. of the Army)

The sculpture above shows the “Square de la Place-des-Martyrs-Juifs-du-Vélodrome-d’Hiver, where a sculpture by Walter Spitzer and Mario Azagury entitled ‘N’oublions jamais’ (Let us never forget) remembers the victims of the roundup of Jews on 16 and 17 July 1942, at 8, Boulevard de Grenelle, 15th arrondissement of Paris. © Département AERI”

Paris in July

Along with many bloggers, I’m participating in “Paris in July,” a blog event hosted by Emma at the blog Words and Peace (link). My contribution today connects current events in Paris to the historic events of another July — July, 1942. 

Blog post © 2024 mae sander.

 

Madame Bovary and Paris in July

What I think of when I think of Paris: fabulous pastry for breakfast!
This photo is from my interrupted trip to France at the end of May.

Paris in July is a big bloggers’ party that has been ongoing for a number of years; 2014 was the first year that I participated. I had been reading other bloggers’ posts for a few years before that. Now it’s time again, and this year the organizer is Emma at Words and Peace: her introductory organizing post will kick things off July 1. 

LINK HERE: Paris in July 2024

Although the event is called “Paris in July” any French topic is gladly accepted, including posts about books, food, films, travel, or any other topic about France, French literature, French cuisine, or whatever topic appeals to the writer. Many people plan what they will be reading and writing about, but that’s not my habit. Several book bloggers are reading Madame Bovary in French as part of this celebration of all things French. I didn’t have the courage to tackle this book in French, but last week I read it in translation.

The window of a wine shop. Paris, May, 2024.

Reading Madame Bovary

The number of covers for editions of Madame Bovary is amazing.

Since its publication in 1856, Madame Bovary must have been reviewed thousands of times. So why should I have the nerve to add anything? It’s been many years since I read it for the first time, and I remembered quite a few details as I just reread it. What impressed me is how Flaubert was so detailed in his observations of the life of this woman, who simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary. His tiny observations added up to her vanity, her shallowness, her desperation to be released from boredom, and her wish to feel passion and to be admired. Above all I was amazed at the level of detail with which he described her final agony and death, followed by her funeral. 

Blog post and photos © 2024 mae sander