"Kay Scarpetta: Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief"

Continuing my fascination with the crime genre, my discovery of author Patricia Cornwall while I was at university threw me headlong back into a much loved concept of my childhood memories of reading: the joy of being able to follow a story and it's characters through an extended series.

For most of my life I have been a fan of a variety of series (starting somewhat inauspiciously with Ann M. Martin's Baby Sitter's Club series and followed shortly after by Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High and eventually Sweet Valley University series). While I certainly would not try to claim that these, nor any other series I have come across to date, can be viewed as serious literature, what they have instilled in me is an appreciation for the ability of good serial writers to constantly develop their characters in a way that not only makes the reader want to find out what happens next, but have them groaning with frustration and anticipation when they discover that they have to wait for the next piece of the journey to be published.

Patricia Cornwell has certainly achieved this for me on many ocassions through her gradual, yet natural development of Dr Kay Scarpetta in her Scarpetta series. This series focuses on the professional and personal life of a forensic pathologist whose career beginning in the early 80s significantly challenges the stereotypes of the Virginian society in which she lives. As the series progresses the reader becomes closer to not only the female protagonist but also those around her.

As the series progresses Cornwell, through Scarpetta, addresses a variety of social issues, ranging from broken marriages, homosexuality, unrequited love and terrorism, all the while thrilling her readers with tales of heinous crimes.

For those who love shows like CSI, this is the crime series for you as it focuses less on the prosectution of offenders and spends more time exploring the crime, finding and then interpreting the clues.

For a full list of the Scarpetta series to date, see the link below:

http://www.patriciacornwell.com/

You Have The Right To Remain Silent - Exploring The World of the Legal Thriller

From my early teens onwards I have been an avid fan of the crime genre. This interest most likely can be traced to my formative years of reading where I devoured the adventure/detective tales of Enid Blyton and my brief love affair with Nancy Drew.

However, once I reached highschool I discovered that my love of the adventure/detective genre I had enjoyed as a child could be rediscovered in a genre with a bit more punch. My first experience with the crime genre was with the popular works of John Grisham. In a small space of time I found myself exploring the intriguing and often moving storylines of The Client, The Pelican Brief and A Time To Kill.

As I progressed through highschool, and as Grisham released more novels, I found many more of his novels that were not only entertaining but dealt with various social issues, such as racism, social inequity, environmental sustainability and the ability of big business to corrupt the moral fabric of a community and the individual.

Set almost exclusively in the Southern States of the USA, Grisham explores what is often a complex and delicately balanced social construction. He has an ability to create characters that disrupt the social norm for a greater purpose, although they also usually embody some interesting stereotypes, whether gender based or cultural.

There have been few novels of Grisham's that I have not enjoyed, with the exception of A Painted House. In this novel, Grisham moves away from his usual exploration of the courtroom and the legal system and instead attempts a family saga. The characters and the plot were at best insipid and it was ultimately a struggle to finish the book. While I am a strong believer in the need to try new things, I think this was one occasion where the writer should have stuck with what he knows and does best.

Over the years many of John Grisham's novels have made the leap to the big screen. Whilst they have often drawn big name actors, the only one that I enjoyed anywhere near as much as the book would be A Time To Kill and I have often used it to reinforce the continued use of racial tension as a basis for literary inspiration. As can be seen by anyone familiar with both pieces of work, this piece from Grisham has some interesting parallels to Harper Lee's classic, To Kill A Mockingbird.

For anyone who enjoys the TV shows Law and Order or it's many off-shoots I strongly recommend that you dip into the extensive back catalogue of John Grisham novels that are available.

See link below for a complete catalogue of his work to date.

http://www.jgrisham.com/

My introduction to the female protagonist

Once upon a time, there were four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. They loved their mother and they loved their father and like all good young ladies of the time they did whatever they were told by the society around them. Right? WRONG!


Louisa May Alcott's classic tale, Little Women (and the sequel Good Wives, which is often published as Part 2 of the former) has, I believe, an unfortunate title. One could be, and should be, forgiven for thinking that the title of both books indicates an antiquated tale of young girls being prepared for marriage, and while this could be seen to be the case after a perfunctory glance, in truth the novel creates a story that both subtly and overtly challenges the accepted role of women that is constructed in the social context of the novel.



Josephine March, better known as Jo, is a character whose dominant personality and commitment to overstepping the social boundaries that aim to constrict her have remained a source of inspiration to me ever since I first read the book whilst in Grade 3. At the time I certainly did not realise how significant a character she was, nor how important she was as a female protagonist (given the time period in which Alcott created her). However, even then she reached a place in my mind that has allowed me to recognise her in a great many novels I have read in the 17 years following our first introduction.

While the society constructed throughout the novel is still obviously stacked in the favour of men, the way Jo conducts herself remains a testament to female writers of Alcott's time who have set a precedent for female protagonists to make the most of their situation and maintain their personal integrity, albeit in ways that today's modern Western woman would find decidely inane.

I truly believe that this is a novel that not only instilled an appreciation of a strong female protagonist (and eventually antogonist) but also ignited my love affair with American literature.

For anyone wanting to flirt with the classics but can't bring themselves to wade into the English stalwarts of the Bronte sisters or Jane Austen, Little Women may be the book you have been looking for.

Why am I doing this?

My aim is for this blog to achieve two purposes:

1. To allow me to document and comment on the books that I have read/am reading so that I can engage with them in a more organic way (not to mention be able to remember stuff about them later on)
2. So that hopefully my students can share in the joy of reading by looking through these posts and maybe, just maybe, find some novels, etc that might prompt them to give something other than just Twilight a go (and yes, it is in this space that I make a solemn promise to finally read the thing so that I can actually make a legitimate comment on the novel. Who knows, I may need to eventually retract the negative comments I have made about it in the past).

So, as I progress through this activity, I hope that it will not end like many other well intentioned expeditions I have previously embarked upon and that I will maintain the blog in a way that explores the world that I spend so much of my time in, a world that is constantly reiventing itself and presenting what can at times seem like situations that are not to be contemplated, all through the whims of the talented and , on occasion, the not so talented writers of this world both past and present.

For anyone reading this, I hope you find some inspiration to find a book that you will never forget.