ABC & CS

I finished another of the paperbacks I’ve salvaged while clearing out the basement of our old house. The Affair at the Boat Landing, copyright 1943, by A. B. Cunningham is a standard mystery distinguished by its setting — rural Kentucky circa 1940. Electricity has yet to reach the area. The plot is simple: a man drowns — was it an accident or murder? The local sheriff, who has successfully solved many crimes, is on the case. A second death soon occurs. The novel’s best aspect is the portraits of the citizens, most of whom struggle to get by. The dialect is interesting and adds significant color. It is not an easy read. The 224 pages of the Dell edition, the print tiny, seemed like much more. At times I found the prose baffling. That may be due to region and the passage of time. Its appeal would probably be restricted to fans of the genre and dog lovers, as the protagonist’s four hounds assist in the case. I thought he was a bit too sure of himself in the interpretation of human nature, but that’s fine. He’s allowed to be presumptuous. I wasn’t too keen at those points where the author seemed to be rendering an opinion, eschewing objectivity. As for offensive material, there is only one aspect that approaches it. A key character is reminiscent of Jim of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He is referred to by a shortened form of the N word. His dialect is more pronounced than that of the other folks in the cast. Again, the protagonist — fine — and the author — not good — make assumptions about race that some readers may fine irritating despite the fact that the character is a hard-worker and independent. On a scale of five, I rate it two-and-a-half. If there’s something after our stay on planet earth and those who’ve left care about its doings, I hope Carruthers is pleased that someone took the time to read one of his novels. He published 22, one under a pseudonym. Most feature Jess Roden, the sheriff. The book in question was his sixth. Born in West Virginia, the author earned a Masters at NYU and, after serving in WWI, a Phd in Sociology and Psychology. He taught English at the collegiate level and retired a Professor Emeritus. He passed away at 72 in 1962. Surprisingly, no one has done a Wiki profile of him. The above info was gleaned from http://gadetection.pbworks.com

So Schumer, alleged senator, deigned to come out of hiding for one of his idiotic weekend press conferences — and what did he address? Not NYC’s rising crime rate but nonsense about the CDC. Sadly, he will be re-elected in a landslide if not challenged by AOC. Choose your poison, voters.

If not for the usual breeze blowing along Avenue Z, I would have curtailed today’s session of the floating book shop. My thanks to Wolf, who bought a mystery in Russian, and to Dave, Rob and Herbie, who took time out to schmooze despite the brutal heat. I’ll give the last word to Wolf, who said: “These are interesting times we’re living in.”

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