Book Review 'A Convenient Solution'

‘A Convenient Solution’ (a Jean Bellimont mystery) by Trevor Whitton   reviewed by Pete Christensen 2012

   The Convenient Solution is a murder mystery taking place in 1308 in France.  Jean Bellimont is sort of an everyman’s hero emerging from the daily troubles and strife of a downtrodden middle class of the day. Don’t expect an Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power type here. This is more of a thinking man’s detective. If you place Columbo in breeches and a tunic you might be closer to his personality. 

  This being a mystery of the classic genre Whitton uses dialogue mostly as a means to move plot. Although I found the gritty descriptions of the hard times, and dismal conditions to be inventive and engrossing, he never falls into the trap of getting flowery or over descriptive for the sake of itself ala Norman Mailer.

  Although I stand by the idea that this is as regimented as the film noir ‘s of the fifties there is a massive layer of societal and class struggles involved that complicates and intrigues. Taking place during a war between France and England gives us a clash of nations, beyond that there is the main struggle between the crown and church. It gets deeper as rich is pitted against poor and powerbrokers feud with underlings. If all that weren’t enough conflict there’s a mistrust and resentment between the Italians and French who’re supposedly working together. It’s amidst this fog of turmoil, deceit, and mistrust that Bellimont must solve the murder of the French Queen Jean of Navarro, free wrongly accused Bishop Guichard, and halt French King Phillipe from dismantling the church’s status and power. While all this is happening there’s yet a subplot involving hidden Templar gold and a mysterious Jewish couple on the run to further complicate the case.

  With all this constant conflict, there exist an aura of distrust that permeates everyone involved. Like a gangster movie or con-man novel you never know who to trust or what’s real or contrived. Whittson uses this as a super effective agent for plot twist and character double-crosses that keep you guessing throughout the work. 

  By now you may have the idea this is such a complicated and involved storyline as to be impossible to follow. Not at all, as Bellimont plods along the cold, muddy streets and back roads of Medieval Europe he reveals to the reader just enough to keep you in the loop while keeping you enticingly interested and in the dark as well.

  I found this 215 page novel to be unique in its approach and believable in its characters and situations.  Whitton stays true to Bellimonts human failures and frailty’s while allowing him to slowly and convincingly unravel a sophisticated and clever resolution that both intrigued and entertained me. This is a smart novel for the reader that doesn’t want to be spoon fed literary pabulum and insist on the quality read that’s so rare in today’s mystery genus.  

             

Book Review 'Flour and Shower'

‘716^th. Flour and Shower’ by Jacob Jingle Book reviewed by Pete Christensen

  The Flour and Shower is a tongue in cheek war novel along the lines of ‘M*A*S*H’ or ‘Catch 22’. It shows both the revulsion and absurdity of war while taking the reader on an alternately swaying ride from horror to hilarity.

  This takes place in the Vietnam theater with a quartermaster corps (supply unit) behind the lines. Jacob Jingle writes with the flow of conversation. It’s an easily understandable work lacking the pretense and overly descriptive nature that bogs down so many otherwise good books. 

  Throughout the 420 pages Jingle weaves a tapestry of stories and anecdotes from people and events in his past while moving the plot forward with the dangers and comical situations he’s experiencing in Vietnam. All this is done in a narrative form where he actually talks directly to the reader. It’s a unique format that he delivers well in a very comfortable, folksy style.

  The main character Jacob Jingle is a down home Oregonian with absolutely no ambition to be a war hero or even see combat for that matter. He does however have the one quality so lacking in so many anti-war protestors. His loyalty and sense of duty demands he serve his country and (as corny as some may think it sounds) he does his duty. I also enjoyed the way he consistently showed empathy for his advisories. There was always a very upfront and honest realization that there were no real bad guys here, just soldiers on both sides following orders. All too often war stories center around demonizing the enemy rather than understanding them.  

  The story opens with the Jingle’s first night in Nam. The author instantly develops a sort of ying and yang type writing that mixes witty dialogue with humorous situations all enveloped in a constant sense of danger. While the humor is mostly self-deprecating it’s never over the top or absurd. He takes a simple situation of going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and turns it into a comic adventure story.

  He keeps the dialogue flowing while Jingle introduces us to such interesting characters as Westy, Uncle Ho, Buttons, Lieutenant Miles, Digger, Captain Donahue, and his best friend Matt. There are humorous events associated with each but more importantly the author makes each person real and human. Even the people you find rude, demanding, or outright obnoxious are believable and interesting in their own way.

  Much of the piece is done in flashback. After throwing us into the Vietnam action he returns to boot camp and his training days at Fort Polk in Louisiana and his attempt at paratrooper duty at Fort Benning in Georgia.    

  I found his religious observations while remembering his baseball experiences at Serra Catholic High School interesting and amusing. But for all out laughs the absurdity of a soldier saving another from being prematurely body bagged and left for dead was hilarious in a bizarre sort of way. His explanation of how a court martial works and its various types was insightful and detailed. He followed that up with the experience of an actual court martial (no not his own) that left me laughing out loud.

  In chapter fifty-three Jingle gives a dissertation on smoking that’s funny enough to work in any stand-up routine. It’s fraught with irony, and observational humor and ends with the ultimate smoke moocher prank.

  I enjoyed this book and think you will too. Unlike ‘M*A*S*H’, or ‘Catch 22’ Jingle never sets himself up as some kind of crusading anti-war hero determined to teach the system where it went wrong. Instead he simply unveils a well told tale of a good natured person making the best of a bad situation with a sense of humor that allowed him to laugh at himself in hindsight.