Reading matters

As a relatively peaceful Saturday would down towards evening I was pleased to confirm the [a] there was no lack of the essential in the refrigerator (Darvida crackers, Kerrygold butter, Appenzeller cheese, Italian salami, Chateau Tetrapak Blanc...) and that [b] I had a new book to start which would surely suffice for the evening and that of Sunday as well. Thus book-shopping would be on Monday's 'to do' list.

I have read  a good few books by Dennis Lehane before and I enjoy his pithy style. Unlike some of his fans I didn't find Moonlight Mile a disappointment although, yes, the sixteen-year-olds central to the story failed to ring entirely true. In compensation his four-year-old was a joy!

 

 My problem with Moonlight Mile was that I finished it in a single sitting of about five hours, leaving me with nothing to read this Sunday evening. At first I felt cheated. After all it had the heft of the books I prefer... upwards of 450 pages in the paperback edition. But then I realized that the publisher had opted for a font in about 12 point size with generous line spacing.

Aha, they have foisted off on me a short manuscript made to look long!

In fact... no. I verified that Moonlight Mile has a word count just north of a hundred thousand, a perfectly correct length. So in the final analysis I must conclude that Lehane writes in such a way that the reader can happily maintain a fast reading pace from cover to cover without a break.

Oh well, I guess tonight it's television. Which might not be too bad with a film in the BBC's Sherlock series scheduled. My ex and my daughter recommend it highly.