Serpent's Tail sent me a copy of Cathi Unsworth's The Not Knowing a couple of months ago. I'm always up for a good mystery, especially a noir type mystery, and with the emphasis on music and writing this one sounded quite good. It was in the "maybe" pile though as I had a few books I had requested to be read still and it wasn't until I read Jenny D's rave about it that I decided it was time to get serious about reading this book.
Well.
The Not Knowing isn't so much a whodunnit - that is revealed about halfway through or so - but a whydunnit or a howdunnit. It's a really complex psychological study of so many different people, from writers to actors to musicians to directors. There a lot of looking at where creativity comes from and what we do with the truth in our lives - how we turn it into things that are better or worse. I don't want to give much away because it's the sort of book you really need to give yourself up to - you really need to sink into and enjoy. It's dark and bleak and intense and amazing. A long review will be forthcoming, hopefully at Bookslut.
Jenny mentioned a quirky kind of book today that I enjoyed a few months ago, The Logogryph. I reviewed this one last winter and was so impressed by how the writer turned the story on its head at the end - he made it all come together in a really splendid fashion. I'm glad someone else has found it and liked it; I think it has been overlooked in the US and that's a shame because anyone who loves books about books would get a kick out of it.
And now you know why I read Jenny's blog everyday - she has great taste!
