The Manual of Detection: A Novel | 
THE MANUAL OF DETECTION is one of those books I always expected to love, but I‘m halfway through and I just… don‘t. It‘s weird, which I appreciate, but Berry‘s prose style holds me at a distance. His writing is so smooth and clipped that I can‘t find much personality in it—and this is the kind of book that works best for me with a strong personality to beef up the weirdness. Sadness.
I‘m gonna post a book (or series) from my TBR every day until I‘ve shared the lot. No descriptions. No explanations. Just a whole bunch of books I haven‘t read yet.
This is Day 6.
#LaTBRrevealed
Two new books for my 'To Read' file this month. Coincidentally, @jedediahberry and Erin Morgenstern are both from Massachusetts.
pickRereading this for a #crimefiction class. I love the style of the writing and the tone and atmosphere that Jedediah Berry sets up. This book is so cute and clever.
pickIsn‘t it lovely when a book feels tailor-made just for you?
In a city of endless rains, the Agency‘s greatest detective has disappeared. His clerk, Unwin, is promoted and must try to find him so that Unwin can get back to his beloved desk job.
The case brings Unwin into the orbit of villains, elephants, thugs, giants, and femme fatales, culminating in a battle of Order vs Chaos, Agency vs Carnival, in a realm of dreams.
“To the modern detective, truth is rarely its own reward; usually it is its own punishment. And if you cannot track mystery to the back of its ugly cave, then be content to stand at the edge of the dark and call it by name.”
The Agency does not approve of hunches.
“Greenwood wasn‘t happy to see me. And I saw a look on her face, one I‘d never seen there before. I think it was surprise, but we might need a new name for it, just because it was hers.”
Best paragraph ever?
Also my post-punk/neo-swing band‘s 1st album will be called “Shoeless and Frolicsome”.
Each chapter starts with a poetic excerpt from the titular Manual.
@saresmoore Good so far! Will keep you posted.
#Starting this 100% because the blurb on the cover says it‘s like Kafka through the lens of Wes Anderson.
That is also a pretty accurate description of what the inside of my head looks like.
pickWhat a crazy and zany detective story. Follow the winding and ridiculous journey of a bureaucrat who finds himself no longer filing and stamping paperwork for crimes but solving them instead. By the book, of course. Jumping from genre to genre, Squidapus felt it was hard to get a read on this book sometimes with what it was trying to do as it had its own surreal rules. The ending is a bit of a letdown but overall it was still an entertaining read
pickThat was a really really wheird book. It started off with a main protagonist you wouldn't want to like. A series of confusing events. But then the strings came together and everything was crystal clear. What an unexpected book. Glad I've read it till the end. It's definetly not a typical criminal story.
#jedediahberry #handbuchfuerdetektive #themanualofdetection #crime #crimenovel #criminalnovel #crimestory #crimestories
This is probably the best of the #SupernaturalMysteries I've read. Smart and unique! #maybookflowers
pickFantastic story with rich characters. Sad it's the only book the author has written.
pickIf Terry Gilliam started directing film noir, it would read a lot like this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
