Mark Rubinstein | Mark Rubinstein Blog

“One Breath Away” by Heather Gudenkauf

August 16, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

Given the spate of school shootings over the past few years, you would assume a novel about a gunman taking children hostage at a school in a small town would be as suspenseful as it is timely. Unfortunately, I found the suspense lacking and the tension watered down by the novel’s construction which was skillfully done, but slowed the novel’s narrative drive.

The story is told through the eyes of five narrators, all experiencing the horror and processing it in different ways. They are a mother of two student hostages, their grandfather, a teacher (also held hostage), a police officer,and the mother’s 13 year old daughter who is in the school when the gunman appears.

The different perspectives offered by each narrator (either in the first person or third person, in the present or past tense) are interesting, though the first part of the novel can be a bit confusing until the reader sorts them out. Once things fall into place, the story should flow to a furious and compelling conclusion. But the author delves into far too many cul de sacs about each narrator, and bogs down the story’s natural flow, which waters down the tension.

Some people would call this a “thriller” because of the subject matter. I think it’s more a portrait of a small town, and the dynamics of people involved in a terrifying situation, but the read itself is neither terrifying nor thrilling.

While character development in a novel is very important, it should not feel to the reader like some sticky adhesive holding back the story. After all, when you get down to it, the story is what counts. Three and a half stars.

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“Vengence” by Benjamin Black

August 13, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

Under the pen name Benjamin Black, Mann Booker winner John Banville has written a series (five or six novels) about Quirk, an Irish pathologist who tends to get caught up in helping the police solve crimes.

While it helps to have read the earlier novels, “Vengence” can stand alone as a mystery with holding power. The earlier novels set Quirk’s character in the context of a traumatic childhood which explains some of his aloofness, and sheds greater light on his relationship with his daughter Phoebe.

“Vengence” begins with an interesting set-up. A successful businessman in his mid-50s invites a 25 year old man, the son of his own business partner, to join him sailing on an Irish bay. When they are far from land, the older man stands up and relates how his own father left him in the street when he was about seven years old, just to test his mettle. After mentioning how he learned to rely on himself, the older man produces a pistol and shoots himself in the chest as the young man looks on in horror.

At that point, the mystery is what made the man do what he did. Things become more ominous when a few nights later, the dead man’s business partner (the 25 year old man’s father) is found drowned in the same bay. There are indications that violence may have been involved. Are these events tied to each other?

While the mysteries involved aren’t earth-shattering, they hold the reader’s interest. More intriguing is the author’s attention to detail and his ability to describe the most quotidian events with an uncanny eye–the smell of the streets, the look of sherry in a glass on a sunlit day, and other beautifully rendered word pictures. Again, if you get the chance, read Benjamin Black’s series of novels about Quirk. They’re well worth the read.

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Loving Crime Fiction

August 3, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

I’ve sometimes been asked what it is about crime fiction I love, and why I write about it. I must say though, I read much more than crime fiction, and am now reading “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn. Though it involves crime, it’s not pure crime fiction.

But I do love crime fiction. There’s something elemental about it–something universal and intriguing about a good crime story–either with or without violence, though most depict violence to one or another degree.

About violence: violent–even murderous impulses–reside within us all. You come across them in news items about wars or murder. You certainly see bloodlust when people rubberneck while passing an accident, or go to some sporting events (mixed martial arts, boxing matches, hockey games, football and wrestling contests). Or, when you read some of the world’s greatest literature, or view the foul arc of history.

As a psychiatrist who’s done forensic work, I’m aware that violent impulses are universally present. So to pretend they aren’t part of human nature is disingenuous.

Sex and violence sell, and there’s a reason for that. Despite my years of training in medicine and psychiatry, and no matter how peaceful a life I lead, I’m still intrigued by violence and crime. And so are most people, whether they admit it or not. And that’s partly why the best-seller lists are populated by novels about crime and violence.

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Writing Every Day

July 31, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

I’ve been asked if I keep a writing schedule. Yes and No. There’s simply no way to strictly adhere to a pre-fixed schedule, just as there’s no way to pre-plan your meals for the next three weeks. There’s only one scheduling rule I have: I write every single day, no matter what.

Sometimes, other obligations get in the way, but I still find time to write. Even if it’s only for 15 minutes, I do some writing each and every day. That’s the only scheduling rule to which I adhere.

I find that if a day passes and I haven’t written something, it makes the day feel slightly incomplete.

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“Gerald’s Game” by Stephen King

July 27, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

For all you lovers of horror novels out there, there’s one book by the master that’s far scarier than any of the horror stories Stephen King has told. It’s “Gerald’s Game.”

Here’s the set up: A husband and wife have this little sex “game” they play once in a while. He handcuffs her to a bed and they have sex. She’s not crazy about this little game, but consents to please her husband. This time, things don’t go very well. In fact, they go very badly.

While she’s shackled to the bedposts (both hands in separate handcuffs), she decides she’s tired of this little game and tells Gerald “Enough!” But he doesn’t listen, and finally, she kicks him, and Gerald rolls off the bed. He dies of a heart attack, on the floor. They’re at a vacation house, in the deepest woods near a lake in a very rural and lonely area.

She’s lying there with both hands cuffed to the bed; her dead husband is at the foot of the bed, and there’s no way she can escape this situation. Time passes, day turns into evening, then to night, and the sounds of the woods are frightening.

I won’t get into any spoilers, but at some point, a stray dog enters the cabin and begins devouring Gerald at the foot of the bed. The horror is plentiful, and plenty scary, and she begins reliving in her own mind various long-buried events from her childhood–ones that in a way are connected to the predicament in which she now finds herself.

Will she ever escape this situation? Will the dog turn to her after it’s finished with Gerald? And who is that man standing in the corner on the second night she lies there, bound and helpless? What on earth is going to happen?

It goes to show, among other things, that real events can be more horrifying than supernatural ones. They are the stuff of which nightmares can be made.

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“Next” fabulous stream-of consciousness writing

July 25, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

I am re-reading “Next” by James Hynes. This novel is worth every second of the time spent to read it, and then some. On the surface, it’s a story about a man named Kevin, a middle-aged editor living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who has flown to Austin, Texas without telling his live-in girlfriend about his one day trip for a job interview. Yes, Kevin, in middle-age, may yet change the direction of his life.

The story starts out simply enough as you traverse the inner canyons of Kevin’s mind: his thoughts, ruminations, regrets and memories of his life over the years. He has a few hours to kill while waiting for the interview, and in a moment of hormone-driven impulsivity, decides to follow through the streets of Austin, a young woman who had been sitting next to him on the plane. It’s benign enough, except that during this travelogue through Austin’s streets, Kevin’s life story (and all his foibles) emerge in this interior novel, and some strange (and revealing) things happen.

I never throw spoilers into the mix but let me say Kevin’s few hours in Austin turn into quite an adventure with the book’s climax coming out of nowhere like a freight train on steroids.

This is a wonderful read, and the reader gets not only a penetrating view of the workings of Kevin’s mind-all his mistakes and regrets, his loves and losses-but luxuriates in an hilarious dissection of the culture in which we live . A true gem of a novel. Five well-deserved stars!

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A Study in Scarlet

July 24, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

Reading “A Study in Scarlet,” one of the early Sherlock Holmes mysteries. It’s quaint and time-bound by the conventions of that era and the writing style of the time.

It’s an interesting read, especially if you enjoy contemporary crime fiction. You see the evolution in detection methods, but also, and even more interesting, the changes in the structure and style of novels over the years.

Every now and then it’s good to take a look back at where things were so you can better understand where things are right now.

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“Breaking Bad” not a novel but a lesson in storytelling

July 23, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

While “Breaking Bad” is not a novel, it’s disturbing to see how money and commercial interest can interfere with good writing (whether in a novel or another medium). I’ve watched the series since it began and have thought it’s one of the best and most creative series on television.

I recently learned something about television and it’s reflected in “Breaking Bad.” I learned that in order for a series to go into syndication, it must have 100 or more episodes. So, AMC has decided to extend the series by 8 episodes this year, and by another 8 episodes in 2013.

In my opinion, this commerical scenario (the wish to go into syndication) has caused the first two episodes of this year to drag considerably. The writers are not advancing the story in any meaningful way but rather, seem to be prolonging the storyline for the sake of fulfilling the criteria for syndication. The first two episodes were bogged down in meaningless (and sometimes, distracting) detail. And the series is losing much of its punch and now seems to be plodding along.

It demonstrates the malignant role that commercial interests can have in storytelling, whether in a novel or some other medium. It’s sad how money seems so often to affect all art forms.

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The Khmer Kill: A Dox Short Story

July 22, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

This is the first short story by Barry Eisler I’ve read. Dox, who has appeared in other novels, is the protagonist. At the outset, you know something may be wrong with the assignment Dox is given: to assassinate a man involved in human trafficking in Cambodia.

Once again, Eisler captures the atmospheric reality of the locale. And he keeps the tension going as Dox suspects the assignment is not typical. Dox gets involved with a young, lovely Cambodian student, and has qualms about the relationship keep deepening since he will be leaving in a few days.

And when it comes to the kill, Dox turns out to be a man of deep moral conviction, despite the nature of his profession. Five stars out of five!

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Savages, the Film & Book

July 18, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

I’ve just seen Oliver Stone’s rendering of Don Winslow’s “Savages.” The film is a wonderful translation of the novel, done with typical Oliver Stone flair: quick cuts, an almost cartoonish touch at appropriate times, and a fast-driven, hard-hitting narrative drive that seems almost electric.

People who see a film often wonder if it’s worthwhile reading the book on which the film is based. In this case, the answer is YES!

The film has its own artistry and is rich in the many ways a film can be. I still contend the book is as rich as contemporary writing can get, but in a hip, stylized and exciting way that’s difficult to describe, especialy if you love language. There are scenes beautifully depicted in the book that can only be visually hinted at in the movie,and Don Winslow’s use of language and style make the book a worthwile read, even if you’ve seen the movie. Don’t miss this book.

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