Reviews: TIMECODE OF A FACE and A STUDY IN SCARLET

November means novellas and nonfiction, and, if I'm lucky, two in one: short nonfiction (which is allowed for the Novellas in November Challenge!) The problem with reading short books is they often can be easily consumed in one or two days which means the reviews really start piling up. Right now I am eight reviews behind! Eek! In an attempt to catch up I shall attempt to write and publish two reviews a day. If that isn't sustainable I will at least aim for one. Don't expect lengthy reviews. Like the books themselves likely the reviews will be short.

Timecode of a Face by Ruth Ozeki
Audio: Canongate Books, 2022, 1 hour, 51 minutes.
Originally published by Restless Books, 2015.

Ruth Ozeki, a favorite author and a Zen Buddhist priest, sets herself the task of staring at her own face in the mirror for three hours hoping to discover new aspects of herself and her heritage. According to ancient Zen traditions "your face before your parents were born is your original face." Staring into the mirror for a long time Ruth Ozeki hoped to discover her true self and her true identity beyond what she knew from her parents. As she gazes on her reflection her thoughts ripple out to memories growing up as a mixed race child -- her mother was Japanese, her father Caucasian -- and the ugly racism she endured. Her thoughts also lingered on the process of becoming a Buddhist priest and having to shave her head as she took her final vows. She also reflected on her studies of the intricate art of the Japanese Noh mask, at one point even making one herself.

Throughout this essay Ruth Ozeki shows herself to be a well-grounded, interesting and interested person, a writer of great integrity. I am a big fan of her books, A Tale for the Time Being and The Book of Form and Emptiness, and now her essay writing. I am fascinated by her life story and how she incorporates Buddhist practices and beliefs into her writing. I didn't learn a ton from this essay but what I did learn about Zen Buddhism was so interesting. In fact, I found those bits of information much more captivating than what she thought of her earlobes.

I listened to the audiobook read by the author herself. It seemed perfectly paced and I was satisfied with what I got out of the listening experience. But here is one thing I've never encountered before when writing a review -- when I visited the author's own webpage, Ozekiland, she refers to this book by a different title: The Face: A Time Code. I'm not sure when and why it was changed, but if you have trouble finding it at a bookstore or library, you might want to try both title variations in your search.

My rating: 4.25 stars.

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A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Audio: Prince Frederick: Recorded Books, 2017, 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Originally published: Ward, Locke, and Company, 1887.

A Study in Scarlet is Conan Doyle's first introduction of Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective who has been dominating our imaginations for over 100 years. As in subsequent short stories about the detective the narration is handled by Dr. Watson who has recently returned to London after being wounded in the Battle of Maiwand. After agreeing to share an apartment with Holmes, Watson learns that his flatmate is a detective consultant, helping the police solve cases they have not been able to handle on their own. In this case, a corpse, an American from Ohio, is found in an uninhabited apartment dead on his back. There is blood but seemingly not from the corpse. After the police bungle the case, Holmes swoops in and figures out who dunnit with, what we have come to expect, just minute details everyone else overlooked. As it turns out the murderer had a vendetta against the dead man and his story jumps back to Utah territory and the Mormon settlement there. I won't share any more details because, it is a mystery and I don't want to reveal any spoilers for you.

I expected the first half of the story -- Dr. Watson as narrator; Holmes as eccentric go-it-alone detective; incompetent police -- but I did not expect, in fact I was bowled over by, the anti-Mormon message of the second half. What? Where did that come from? It always strikes me as funny/odd when a classic book, which has been published for years and years, surprises me with a plot twist I didn't see coming and no one has bothered to mention it to me my whole life. Ha!

This is only my second Sherlock Holmes story I've read. The other, The Hound of the Baskervilles, is much better, but if one wants to start at the beginning, this is place to start.

3.5 stars.

-Anne