THE LIVING ARTS On the Book Shelves: The Cuckoos Calling and, on DVD, Sapphire and Steel BY: CHARLES CALABRESE Muriel Humphrey, wife of the beloved former vice president, senator and presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey, once famously reminded her husband that a speech doesnt need to be eternal in order to be immortal. Somebody should have given similar advice to J. K. Rowling. All right, Harry Potter fans, put your magic wands and Quiddich brooms away. Im not about to attack any of the books about the most famous wizard since Merlin. I am about to do a number on Rowlings latest work, The Cuckoos Calling, a private eye novel set in present-day London, and written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. You might be wondering why its taken me so long to get around to reviewing this work, as its been seven months since the modestly-selling mystery became a mega-hit after the authors true identity was revealed. The truth is that its taken me that long to slug through the novels plodding prose. At 455 pages, its about a hundred pages too long. The book contains Rowlings signature gift for colorful character names. Cormoran Strike, a British Army veteran who lost a leg in the Afghanistan war, is a private investigator hired to look into the supposed suicide of supermodel Lulu Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo. Despite his misgivings, Strike takes the case from the victims brother, a very well-off lawyer. Strike needs the money, as he has only one other client and needs to pay for his office rent and a secretary from a temp agency named Robin Ellicott, who soon falls for the romantic notion of working for a private eye. Despite an excellent setup and vividly drawn characters, The Cuckoos Calling didnt hold my interest. Rowling takes too many to describe every little, mundane, boring detail. I covered the police beat for 25 years as a broadcast journalist. I know about the importance of details to cops and reporters. I also know that giving readers or listeners too many details is a sure cure for insomnia. The Cuckoos Calling put me to sleep more nights than I care to remember. Not even Harry Potter has a spell to make this book interesting. If you must read the book, wait for the paperback to fall into the remainder bin. Its not worth the hardback cover price of $26. Between his iconic performances as Ilya Kuryakin in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Dr. Ducky Drake on NCIS, David McCallum played another character, Steel, in the British science-fiction-fantasy series Sapphire and Steel. His co-star was Joanna Lumley, who had the misfortune to follow Diana Rigg as John Steeds partner on The Avengers, before coming into her own on Absolutely Fabulous. Lumley played Sapphire. Sapphire and Steel was actually a series of mini-series produced between 1979 and 1982, in which the pair spent six to eight half hour episodes solving a particular mystery. The entire series has been released on DVD by Shout! Factory. Despite some very low-tech special effects by todays standards, the series made the audience suspend disbelief with intelligent scripts and superb acting by the stars and supporting actors. The stories hold up today, and theyre suitable for family viewing. The best price is online through Amazon. I recommend this visit to another era if youre looking for a change of pace from the past summers so-called blockbusters.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 17:04:23 +0000
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