Herons in shallow water

Herons in shallow water by Ohara Koson, 1934.

Inspector Ghote mystery series

This long running series was respected and enjoyed in its day but now has been largely forgotten. 

Inspector Ghote is a humble, unpretentious police detective in Bombay. His murder investigations take him to every range of society and culture in and around Bombay. He's often up against the frustrations of the Indian criminal justice system as well as those of every-day India. His determination, tenacity, and integrity keep him on track because he loves being a police officer and what it stands for. 

I enjoy these mysteries which are somewhat like an ancestor to my favorite modern Indian detective, Vish Puri. I will have to cover that series soon. Each of these mysteries focuses on an aspect of Indian society that rings really true thanks to the many Indian movies we have watched.

Sam Dastor's reading of the audiobooks bring these to life in a way that the print versions don't for me. In each, the importance of Ghote's solution is perfectly presented in a way that has me listening to the last couple of hours at a fever pitch of impatience to see what will happen. 

Often there aren't a lot of suspects and the mystery may be not about who did the crime as much as how on earth one will get the evidence to prove it. As with the Brother Cadfael mysteries, I don't care about the actual solution as much as I do the setting and the protagonist. I care about Inspector Ghote's adventures in getting the final proof, saving the innocent, catching the criminal — always against overwhelming odds. It's Ghote's resourcefulness and unwavering tenacity that carry the story.

Interestingly London-based author H.R.F Keating wrote the first novels without ever visiting India. He did copious research and eavesdropped on Indians speaking amongst themselves to pick up the patois used. I've seen moderns complaining that the patois is demeaning but, once again informed by the almost 300 Indian movies we've seen, this is spot on. In fact the Indians themselves appreciated these mysteries so much that Air India gave him a three week trip to Bombay so he could see what he wrote about so well.

The Soul of the Rose, a.k.a. My Sweet Rose

John William Waterhouse, The Soul of the Rose, aka My Sweet Rose

Perfect for today when it is our sweet Rose's birthday!

Worth a Thousand Words

Two Headed Toffee Coo, Flickr Scotland.

Adorable and funny — the whole package! I guess I'll never make it back to Scotland but I have such vivid memories of our trip there — before we had kids. What a long time ago but the memories are still bright. (This photo was originally posted in May 2008 — which makes the post itself an antique!)

Lagniappe: Imagine then the interest that surrounded Miss Wintertowne!

It has been remarked (by a lady infinitely cleverer than the present author) how kindly the world in general feels to young people who either die or marry. Imagine then the interest that surrounded Miss Wintertowne! No young lady ever had such advantages: for she died upon the Tuesday, was raised to life in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and was married upon the Thursday; which some people thought too much excitement for one week.

Susanna Clarke,

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

A quick search says, "The narrator (a woman) is quoting another woman, likely a reference to Jane Austen (specifically, the opening of Northanger Abbey), regarding how society favors young people who get married or die." That totally checks out. Although with apologies to Jane Austen, nothing she ever wrote was quite as funny as Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel.

Roosters

Ito Jakuchu, Roosters

There's just something about chicken paintings and this is glorious!

Lagniappe: Eccentric Houses

Houses, like people, are apt to become rather eccentric if left too much on their own; this house was the architectural equivalent of an old gentleman in a worn dressing-gown and torn slippers, who got up and went to bed at odd times of day, and who kept up a continual conversation with friends who no one else could see.

Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

We've all been in houses like this, right? Fiddled with by people who came and went, benignly left alone by others who lived there, the house takes on a personality of its own. I see photos of houses like this in the WSJ's Friday real estate section. There are "before" photos which show a house that my husband and I would have loved to explore - or to live in "as is." Then there are the "after remodeling" photos when the soul has been ripped out of the place and replaced with bland modernity. Poor thing.

And the Winner Is — 1944

Our family is working our way through Oscar winners and whichever nominees take our fancy. Also as they are available, since these early films continued to be hard to find.

This is the last year until just recently that more than five films could be nominated. Normally we have enjoyed the wide variety. This year, however, ugh! Casablanca was the only genuinely good movie. The others were obviously chosen for artsy quality or topic (WWII anyone?). 

You can't blame them but it didn't make for much enjoyable viewing. Nevertheless we persevered, except for For Whom the Bell Tolls — 3 hours of the Spanish civil war and Hemingway was not going to cut it. We save those long movie nights for Indian movies!

Nominated films that we didn't watch because we'd couldn't find them were The Pied Piper and Wake Island.

WINNER

In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.

1944 Oscar winner. The Academy got this one right. One of the best movies ever made. Interestingly, it was made to show how American indifference to the war was wrong. 

 NOMINEES

Spoiled playboy Henry van Cleve dies and arrives at the entrance to Hell, a final destination he is sure he deserves after living a life of profligacy. The devil, however, isn’t so sure Henry meets Hell’s standards.

There was no contest between this and winner Casablanca. Also, this is nothing like the infinitely more charming 1978 movie of the same name.

In 1858 Lourdes, France, adolescent peasant Bernadette has a vision of “a beautiful lady” in the Massabielle grotto - the townspeople assume this lady to be the Virgin Mary.

A perfectly fine straight-forward telling of Bernadette of Lourdes and the opposition to her reports of the visions of the Virgin Mary. Not really my sort of movie, possibly because I knew of all the events except for after she became a nun.

Set in Washington, D.C., this romantic comedy presents a comic look at the housing shortage during World War II.

We thought we'd see something not about WWII. The joke was on us! It was amusing although it didn't have the feel of the sort of movie that would have been nominated for an Oscar. 

On the eve of World War II, the German Kurt Müller, his American-born wife Sara, and their three children, having lived in Europe for years, visit Sara’s wealthy mother near Washington, DC. Kurt secretly works for the anti-Nazi resistance. A visiting Romanian count, becoming aware of this, seeks to blackmail him.

This was a long, boring, preachy version of Casablanca - American style. It's truly hard to believe that Dashiell Hammett had anything to do with this. Ugh.

A posse discovers a trio of men they suspect of murder and cow theft and are split between handing them over to the law or lynching them on the spot.

This had one message and one message only. No time for subplots! Well done but really depressing. Even more sadly, we've seen enough mobs motivated by feelings that it felt all too familiar. That feels rather surreal, here in 2026.

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All the Oscar viewing is here.

Bluethroat

 

Bluethroat, Remo Savisaar

As always, with Remo's exquisite photos, click the link to see this larger.

Julie and Scott were telling King Arthur of their adventures when this Green Knight walked in. At the sight of his massive axe, they sat down.

 We discuss Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by friend of the pod - J.R.R. Tolkien. Join us for episode 378 of A Good Story is Hard to Find!

Noli Me Tangere (Don't Touch Me) — We do not always know Christ when we first meet him, and the recognition is always a powerful moment.

Noli Me Tangere, Lavinia Fontana, 1581
via Elizabeth Lev

Fontana’s version emphasized accuracy: Mary Magdalene mistakes Jesus for a gardener, and so she paints him in a broad-brimmed hat holding a shovel. Yet once she has emphasized the literal sense, Lavinia also evokes a beautiful scene. The atmosphere is permeated with warm golden light as a new age is dawning. A little flashback scene in the distance shows the women who have left the city arriving at the tomb where an angel tells them Christ is gone. Mary’s pose in the further scene shows her with the slumped shoulders of dejection, but in the foreground her face becomes radiant with hope. Christ puts out his hand, ostensibly to tell her not to touch Him, but also in a gesture of affectionate blessing. Mary’s gaze is directed toward the wound on his hand made visible for her, but she seems to look beyond it, trying to gaze at his face under the shadowy brim. Proof of his resurrection is not her primary concern as she sinks to her usual place by his feet. The light, setting, and positions evoke a love story, a compelling language that the Counter-Reformation will employ in its time.

Elizabeth Lev, Meeting the Resurrected Christ in the art of the Counter-Reformation

There's more where that came from. Click the link to read the whole piece. 

I love being shown beneath the surface of paintings for deeper meaning. Elizabeth Lev's piece discusses the goals of Counter-Reformation art and opens another piece up for our edification. Be sure to check it out.

Mr. Norrell knew there were such things as jokes ...

Mr. Norrell (who knew there were such things as jokes in the world or people would not write about them in books, but who had never actually been introduced to a joke or shaken its hand) considered a while before replying ...

Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

I just love the way that is put. I have actually met two people who have no sense of humor at all. One makes a joke or quip and they just look at you expressionlessly and then move on with the conversation. It is very disconcerting, just like meeting Mr. Norrell probably was.

Peach branches, Squirrel map

Peach branches, Squirrel map; Qian Xuan

This couldn't be said better and it captures the imagination in the way that today's quote does — by showing us a completely new point of view.

The Whole World Listened

But when the fairy sang the whole world listened to him. Stephen felt clouds pause in their passing; he felt sleeping hills shift and murmur; he felt cold mists dance. He understood for the first time that the world is not dumb at all, but merely waiting for someone to speak to it in a language it understands. In the fairy’s song the earth recognized the names by which it called itself.

Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

This is so beautifully written and says so much to readers about the nature of fairy magic (as opposed to English magic). But mostly I love it for how it took hold of my imagination.