The Bone Thief, Jefferson Bass

As a fan of Bones I tend to look for crime fiction based on forensics. 

These days, books are written and published in large numbers. Yet there are complaints that people don’t read enough.

Could be it’s not that people have, overnight, developed a reluctance to read. Could be a lot of what’s being published is frankly bad writing? 

So what should constitute good writing, given that the aim of such a style is to cause the reader to read, to read through to the end?

After the deplorable Godfather of Kathmandu, Jefferson Bass’ The Bone Thief shows promise as an example of attractive style.

Read an excerpt from THE BONE THIEF.

I know I want to read on...

So how is it with you? Do you plod through any given book feeling it's your fault you find it hard to read on?  Or can you be critical about what you read? 

One reason for our lack of judgement might be that all too many of us are wannabe writers and all too many wannabe writers are too lax on themselves: it feels so good to output x number of words per day and, hey, they sound so well in your head!

That's the tragedy! Your readers are not in your head. They're out there. The words you write need to get out there.

I suggest that if you're serious about writing, read aloud. Especially your own writing. Observe where you stumble and falter. Perhaps that will help you redesign your piece?

THE GODFATHER OF KATHMANDU, JOHN BURDETT

This is the book for you if you do not like action, if you enjoy pages and pages of the protagonist’s introspection, if you enjoy a warped view of the “natives”, if you enjoyed Kipling and Maugham…

In short, The Godfather of Kathmandu is yet another product of a writer who has obviously attended classes of some sort on How to Write Novels, who believes in his 1000 words per day regime.

Charming at first, in a caricaturist way, the novel begins to pall when page after page plods painfully through what looks like a Lobsang Rampa bizarro world.

Initially, the reading conjured shades of an Oxide Pang movie: the greenish hue, the odd shred of horror thrown in…

And here and there, there is, admittedly, something of some small worth: a description of a mall rings quite genuine, for example.

But, mostly, a book to give the miss! Or to a Miss? The Missus? 

AADHUNIK PACKERS AND MOVERS-A DISASTROUS CHOICE

UNFORTUNATE CHOICE OF PACKERS AND MOVERS
We relocated from Gurgaon to Pune in June, 2012. Our son remained in Gurgaon where he was to shift to another flat. After some looking around, we settled on Aadhunik Packers And Movers Pvt. Ltd.

INCONVENIENCING THE CLIENT
We had to set off for Pune earlier than my son was to move and so we were out of the picture when the men from Adhunik came to our Gurgaon rented flat. They came late in the evening when it was not convenient for my son and, at our end, they similarly arrived at an ungodly hour.

CUNNING STRATEGY
My husband was busy with a workshop when they phoned one morning that they were reaching Pune-from then on we were running hither and thither to their phone calls and they finally arrived much after dark. "They" turned out to be a small group of very tired young men huddled in a poorly covered small van-it broke our hearts to watch them haul the heavy packages up the stairs and so we were in no mood to berate them (much)-I did blow my top when they would not unload without a payment but it was dark and all of us were sorely tired and wished to wrap up things-this seems to be the strategy: do the packing and moving after dark when it is not convenient to the client and when no one is likely to create a fuss or do anything about it if damage is found.

DAMAGE FROM WATER/RAIN DURING TRANSIT
As it so transpired we could only move into the flat we have rented in Pune end of August and so we were unable to verify the extent of damage. But we found many cartons sodden with water.

NO CONCERN FOR CLIENT INSTRUCTIONS
Adhunik's men had packed and sent to Pune many articles that had to remain with my son including the TV-which is effectively totalled during transit.

DAMAGED FURNITURE AND TV
It was only end of August that we found that there was more damage than just piles of wet clothes: all the furniture is damaged. The TV is not functioning.

LOST GOODS
As we were embarrassed to ask our son about many items which were missing lest he had decided to keep them, we only discovered how many things were missing when our son visited us this month.
Among the losses: expensive bottles of perfume, a wall hanging from Myanmar, large glass jars...Many kitchen utensils, etc.

UNSCRUPULOUS PACKERS AND MOVERS
I hope this blog entry will save others from falling into the snare of this unscrupulous company.