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The Long Long Afternoon
The Long Long Afternoon
Inga Vesper | 2021 | Crime, Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Long, Long Afternoon really gives a sense of time and place - and I loved that about this book. We’re steeped in the 1950’s suburban world of perfect housewives, dosed up on their happy pills, trapped in their blissful domestic lives, keeping a perfect home and looking their best at all times for their hardworking husbands. Meanwhile, they employ black maids for a pitiful wage, taking advantage of them and treating them appallingly.
Ruby Wright arrives to start her afternoons work at Joyce Hanley’s house, and instead finds her young daughter outside and a screaming toddler upstairs in her bedroom. When Ruby goes in to the kitchen, she is confronted with a room awash with blood and signs of a struggle.
When the police arrive, they arrest Ruby for murder. After all, she was the first person there - and she’s black.
Detective Mick Blanke takes on the case. It’s an interesting book, because not only is Mick solving the crime (with some considerable help from Ruby), he’s also showing the social divides in the USA at this time - rich and poor, black and white. He’s clearly not comfortable about the way that white people treat black people in Santa Monica, but he’s still not quite brave enough to call people out on their racism.
This is an engaging, quick read - or perhaps I read it quickly because I didn’t want to put it down. It’s a clever, unpredictable story. In all, it’s a book I’d recommend without hesitation!
  
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Frank Black recommended Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen in Music (curated)

 
Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen
Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen
1982 | Folk, Singer-Songwriter
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I have a daughter who is six next week. I played her some Bruce Springsteen. She's really into sad songs. I played her 'The River' and she really locked into that song [Black suddenly starts singing, doing an amazing impression of The Boss]. She asked: ‘Is this a sad song? I like the sad songs.’ She really likes Bruce Springsteen. I really liked this record, and I downloaded it for our kitchen listening. I really got into some of the other tracks. 'State Trooper' is so great, so minimalist. It’s fucking two chords and a few words. It’s the most and the best example of that Bruce Springsteen song where he’s the character of a down and out desperate guy. And it isn't going to get any better. I’ve got into listening to Suicide. I didn’t realise that Bruce Springsteen covered a Suicide song. It made sense he’d get into the vibe of the song. It’s a song called 'Dream Baby Dream'. Suicide are so good at the psycho-rock’n’roll-landscape. Even though Bruce is not trying to be ironic, I think that Bruce Springsteen is trying to retain some primal instincts while being a modern guy on the street with a story to tell. Bruce Springsteen gets a lot of bad press because people like his songs so much. I’m OK when someone I really like does something I’m not totally into. I’m not worried. I still have the records I really love. If they’re really going to go to the top of the mountain, they can’t be there all the time."

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