Well, my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on
I'm just paying my rent every day in the Tower of Song
Leonard Cohen
A book arrived in the post
at my office on Friday that made me gasp with joy; even though it is ultimately
a melancholic lament; a reflection upon sadness. But perhaps most interestingly
it is an examination of what it means to traverse a reality, a planetary landscape
that is as random, as it is dangerous. It also reminds us what it means to be human
when monsters surround us [many of whom hide
among us, well disguised], and observations
of the places [on this planet] that haunt us. But it is a work that is ultimately
uplifting; for the human condition is a complex one, where the extremes are
troubling and where our existential thoughts can become real.
Melancholia is one of
many characteristics of what it means to be human. As an emotional state of
mind, Melancholia often lays dormant, awaiting a trigger or triggers. It is often
a by-product of our thinking – ‘existential’ but it can be transformed into ‘the
real’ by external as well internal forces [and dangerous lines of thought, or
inquiry].
I am often reminded of
the words [and music] of Leonard Cohen, who I turn to when my own mind turns
melancholic, reflective.
Though melancholia as a
state of mind has to be handled carefully, as it has legitimate purpose; for
those who can manage the dark feelings that confront us from time to time. For
those who understand Melancholia and can wrangle these feelings and gain
strength from these existential thoughts.
“There is a
crack in everything, that's how the light gets in”
If you
cannot tame feelings of melancholia that many of us get from time to time, there
can be danger, as melancholia can alter our thinking, and brain chemistry
leading us mentally into some dark places.
Incidentally,
Cohen’s ‘Anthem’ was truncated and adopted [with permission] by the award-winning
[and fellow Canadian] mystery writer, Louise Penny for the title of one of her
Inspector
Armand Gamache mysteries. It was Headline Publishing of
Great Britain that first brought Penny’s
mystery novels into print, with ‘Still Life’ being first showcased at the
Canadian Embassy in London where many of us from the CWA gathered to celebrate
its publication in 2005. Louise’s debut was a runner-up in the Crime Writers
Association’s 2004 Debut Dagger Competition.
Many of us were deeply saddened last year to hear of the
passing of her devoted husband Michael. Many of us
had gotten to know this gentle
Paediatrician over the years, as he often accompanied Louise to many
events and cheered away when her talent was acknowledged by her peers [when her
work gained award recognition]. To many of us, Louise and Michael, were one
person, but in two bodies. The loss of a partner on the human mind is a hard
thing to bear, and the management of grief and melancholia a task that takes
effort and resolve; avoiding what writer John Irving once referred to as ‘the allure of the open windows’, from his 1981
novel The Hotel New Hampshire, which was filmed in 1984 by Tony Richardson.
A few colleagues [and
friends] have my business address, so on occasion I receive reading material
mailed to me at work. When that happens, it’s usually an item that is either ‘urgent’ or ‘important’. Anyone who has been sent on a ‘time management’ or a ‘getting
things done’ course will know the
importance of being able to discriminate between these two existential states.
Last week was a tough but an
enjoyable one. I arrived back in the office Friday, weary and looking forward
to the weekend for a break. Despite having a number of pressing books awaiting my
time; as well as a page count [in my own writing] that sits like a petulant
child waiting for attention; something extraordinary arrived Friday morning in
the mail that made me gasp.
My colleague Dan passed a
parcel to me as he sifted through the incoming correspondence. I opened the
package without thinking. When I saw the book it contained, I let out a
‘whoop!’ much to the amusement of Dan and my fellow colleagues. From the corner
of my eye, I could see the good natured smiles and chuckles from my team. My
colleagues understand my love affair with books, and the written word; in fact
sometimes my passion for dark literature and film spill out into my day-job.
As I held the book in my
hand, I realised I held a physical manifestation of the existential thoughts captured
by one of the greatest exponents of mystery writing; now ripped from his mind,
and held onto paper for others to absorb. It was a book I had thought a great
deal about for some time now, as well as pondering about the life of its
writer, and his own journeys; some which provoke deep and at times troubling
thoughts.
I am talking about Thomas H Cook,
one of the most literate of crime writers and an enigma in his own right.
I have to thank Publisher,
Editor, Writer, Raconteur Otto Penzler,
as well as George Easter
and Larry Gandle
of Deadly
Pleasures Mystery Magazine for first introducing
me to the work of Thomas H Cook; a writer who has challenged my way of thinking,
as well as providing me insights into the dark side of human nature, while entertaining
me with narratives that remain in my mind, like shards of jagged glass.
It was during my first Bouchercon, back in 2003 when I first met Otto, Larry and George. As bibliophiles
we always exchange notes on our reading. Otto, George and Larry were surprised
that I had never read the work of Thomas H Cook. In fact their surprise
indicated to me [that as well read as I consider myself], something was missing,
something lacking, something I had overlooked.
Thomas Cook has been
published sporadically in Great Britain; back then he was with the Orion Publishing Group.
Anyway, I corrected this omission in my reading by devouring as many Thomas
Cook novels that I could lay my hands on, and ordering from the US any work not
available in the UK.
Over the years Tom’s path
and mine have crossed either in London, Harrogate or at an annual US Bouchercon event; for the insight his imagination [coupled to his
narrative ability] have brought to me has been very important. The novels of
Thomas H Cook have made me ponder about human nature [especially its darker
side], as well as providing me outstanding entertainment.
I have reviewed his work many times, as his
fiction has deeply affected me so much so it is always a highlight when we meet
up, and we talk. A particular time that is retained fondly in my memory is the lunch
Tom and I shared with David Morrell
and Larry
Gandle during 2009’s Bouchercon Indianapolis. It was good to break bread
and suck back a beer with very dear and old friends who share the pleasures of
Crime and Thriller Literature. David Morrell is a literature professor, while
Tom Cook also has a distinguished academic background in literature; while
Larry Gandle and I are both Scientists and in our free time are Assistant
Editors at Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine and Shots Magazine respectively –
but all four of us are very good friends so when we meet up – it’s like we were
never apart.
The main topic over lunch was
the runaway success of Stieg Larsson’s ‘The Girl
with the Dragon Tattoo’, as Tom, Larry and David were amused at my championing
this work from the get-go; though there was also a blanket of melancholia over
the lunch. We knew of some recent troubling news from David Morrell. I am always in awe of David’s ability to manage
unimaginable adversity; and then to have to
confront heart-breaking adversity again; holding strong for the family takes
inner resolve, stoicism –
and for some, this means we have to write, in
order to manage our thinking.
With writers, sometimes you
can detect the frame of mind that they were in [at the time of writing a
specific novel]. With David Morrell, his mind sometimes reflects and examines the
melancholia in the lives of his fictional protagonists. David [like many writers when faced with deep
adversity] threw himself into writing; fictionalizing the adventures of the
Victorian writer Thomas
De Quincey, in a stunning sequence of historic thrillers, which started with the award-winning Murder as a Fine
Art. The third instalment in the
series Ruler of the Night
has just been released. David admitted to me that the Thomas De Quincey
historical thrillers came to him during that dark period in 2009; though it
would not be until 2014 during Bouchercon
Long Beach that ‘Murder as a Fine
Art’ would be awarded the 2014 Sue Feder Historical Mystery
Award [as presented by Janet Rudolph of Mystery Readers International].
I am reminded of some words
from British writer Graham Greene that helps explain why some of us are
compelled to write.
“Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all
those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness,
melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.”
Anyway, as ever I digress.
I was delighted when Quercus Publishing was set up, as the hands of Anthony Cheetham
and Otto Penzler were evident in this niche publishing house’s inception. One
of their first publications was Thomas
H Cook’s Red Leaves, which was awarded the 2006 MWA Edgar Award, as well as
Nominated for the CWA Gold Dagger. I have reviewed Tom’s work many times, as
have far more lucid and qualified literary commentators. Though one factor that
always haunts me is why Thomas H Cook’s work is not Stephen King
in terms of sales; sure his mantelpiece is congested with many literary awards,
from around the world, and is known and read avidly by the key critics of the
Crime and Mystery Genre; so sure he sells well – but in my opinion, he should
be selling in the volumes of someone like Stephen King. My reasoning is that he
is the most literary of writers that have traversed my reading table; and he
can tell a fine story, one that makes you think, ponder about our situation –
the human condition.
The theme of Thomas H Cook
being one of the treasures on the Crime and Mystery Genre, but a secret [of
sorts], became the pivot in my 2009 feature interview at Linda Richards’
January Magazine [with a fine edit by Jeff Pierce] –
Ali : And you’ve become quite prolific
since. So why -- despite your having received awards and critical acclaim -- do
you remain a secret to many readers?
Tom : I truly don’t know the answer to
that question, but the experience can be very disheartening, let me tell you. I
think many readers just want a fast read. Which is fine. They have that right.
But I don’t write fast reads. I think mystery readers in particular are quite
demarcated in their reading habits. People who read puzzle mysteries don’t read
thrillers, and people who read thrillers don’t read puzzle novels, and so on
down thorough several subgenres. I write a combination mystery-mainstream
novel, and that is a big problem, I think, in that mainstream readers very
often never give mysteries a chance. I fall through a lot of cracks, and so
far, despite wonderful reviews over a period of 20 years, I am still one of the
best-known unknown writers out there.
Oddly enough, I have absolutely broken
through in France and Japan, and seem close to doing it in England. The U.S.,
however, has not yet fallen under my spell. But I’m still working on it.
Ali : It just isn’t fair. I mean, some of
my all-time favorite novels have come from your pen. Something’s not right
here.
Tom : I couldn’t agree more, of course.
And I am trying very hard to write the best books of my career at this point in
my life. I may not always succeed, but I am always trying to deliver a very
strong story, one that delivers in the writing, the story itself, and what
lingers once the story has been put down, that strange, haunting aftermath.
Ali : Might the problem be that some
readers classify you as a “literary writer”?
Tom : I am a literary writer in the sense that
the writing really matters to me, and I try to do it well. But I am, more than
anything, simply a storyteller, and for that reason I try not to abandon the
story to my prose. I want each to serve the other, and yes, that makes me
literary in that sense. That said, I would never write a novel in which the
main character is a cigarette butt floating in a urinal, or a novel about a
number, say eight, or a novel about a family so freakishly repellant that I
wouldn’t spend dinner with such people, much less the time it takes to read 500
pages.
Tom’s work often features in
my best annual ‘reads
of the year’, such as his remarkable novel Sandrine’s Case which was
published in 2013 by Otto Penzler’s Mysterious Press and by Anthony Cheetham’s
Head of Zeus in Great Britain.
I wrote at the time –
Cook
constructs his narrative like a courtroom drama, but this novel offers a much
more compelling tale about what actually led to the death of Sandrine, a woman
as enigmatic as the ancient history she taught and brooded upon. Cook deftly
explores the question of what we truly know about the people we love -- and, in
reflection, what we truly know about ourselves. This novel was published in
Britain as Sandrine (Head of Zeus).
Read more Here, and you may be
amused to see that my review of this remarkable novel, has my thoughts
regarding Stephen King’s Joyland just
above it. As book reviewers, we do what we can to support writers that help our
thinking, our insights into the world we find ourselves in. I am not ashamed to
state that I have felt my eyes moisten at the end of some of Tom Cook’s novels;
such has been the emotional impact his narrative skills and stories have brought
to bear on this reader.
I know Facebook gets much
maligned as a time-waster; but I have to temper that comment, that for many
writers who work on a keyboard all day; it provides a break from the swirl of
our thoughts as well as a quick way of keeping in touch with people [especially
when they are scattered globally]. I had grown fond of Thomas Cook’s presence on FB as he had been putting up photographs of his travels,
with his beloved wife Susan and daughter Justine. I have been fascinated by travel
and what it does to our mind,
and understanding of others, so I enjoyed seeing Tom Cook’s photographs. My
annual trips to Bouchercon
have allowed me to traverse North America over the years, and with purpose – my
fascination with Crime, Mystery and Thriller fiction.
A specific series of photos
from Tom’s FB page haunted me – they were images of ‘The saddest places on Earth’. Like the magnetism of viewing a car
crash, I found the photographs intriguing as well as provoking deep thought.
During some correspondence with Tom, he indicated that he was considering
publishing a book featuring his travels to these sad places; regions on our
planet that today are solemn reminders of the dark side of humanity and our
plight here.
Then I heard the tragic news
in 2014 that Susan Terner passed away, leaving Tom and Justine alone. He wrote
an eloquent and heart breaking lament and celebration at the time about his
wife, which I have pasted the opening -
Justine
and I would ask that you remember Susan fondly as one who danced on table tops
in Paris, Madrid and New York City; who belted songs and directed actors on the
stages of Cape Cod; who put every conceivable thing
in a plastic bag; who never saw a hammock or a cat she didn’t love; who claimed
to have only 30 pairs of shoes when she actually had 147 and who, when
confronted with that fact, declared that the additional 117 pairs in her
collection didn’t “count” because they were inexpensive; who staunchly held to
her non-belief through all her pain and anguish; who edited manuscripts so
superbly her method is taught in master classes; who incessantly corrected
everyone’s grammar, and once told a doctor to stop touching the bottom of his
shoes; whose true vocation, as I often reminded her, would have been to be the
Third Grade Teacher of the World.
So let’s move these
recollections of mine to December 2016.
It was during the Peter
James Christmas Lunch, hosted by The Ivy, in London that I found myself seated
next to Alice Greary; a publicist who works with my very dear friends Tony Mulliken and
Sophie Ransom. Over lunch, Alice and I
got talking and she remarked that she really enjoyed my 2009 interview with Thomas Cook at January
Magazine and found it most useful in researching a book and author she was
working on. I asked which Author? Which she replied ‘Tom Cook’, and then told
me about a non-fiction book by Thomas Cook that Quercus Publishing were going
to release in 2017.
The book was titled Tragic Shores : A Memoir of Dark Travel. The penny dropped, and I realised that it was indeed
the book that Tom had alluded to with the photos he posted on Facebook, detailing
some of the world’s saddest places. Poor Alice witnessed the heights that my
enthusiasm can scale, for when I get excited, I can become quite a sight. I
pleaded with Alice, that when the first review copies are available I implored
her to send me a copy.
Now we’re in January 2017.
The book arrived last
Friday, and was inside the package that made me yelp and gasp amusing my
colleagues; and the same book that I alluded to at the opening of this article.
I called Alice immediately
to thank her. I asked her that I had assumed that Tom’s book on the ‘Saddest
Places on Earth’ would have some illustrated pages from Tom’s Photos. Alice
confirmed that indeed, there will be photographic plates in the finished book;
but they were not present in the Galley-Proof. She kindly emailed me the
photos, which I have permission to re-print a few here.
I also contacted Tom who
currently resides in Los Angeles and he too granted me permission to reproduce
any of his photos I wished; including the one that opens this article - of his
beloved Susan and himself in a Tropical forest.
'I have come to thank dark places for
the light they bring to life.'
Thomas Cook has always been drawn to
dark places, for the powerful emotions they evoke and for what we can learn
from them. These lessons are often unexpected and sometimes profoundly
intimate, but they are never straightforward.
With his wife and daughter, Cook travels
across the globe in search of darkness - from Lourdes to Ghana, from San
Francisco to Verdun, from the monumental, mechanised horror of Auschwitz to the
intimate personal grief of a shrine to dead infants in Kamukura, Japan. Along
the way he reflects on what these sites may teach us, not only about human
history, but about our own personal histories.
During the course of a lifetime of
traveling to some of earth's most tragic shores, from the leper colony on
Molokai to ground zero at Hiroshima, he finds not darkness alone, but a light
that can illuminate the darkness within each of us. Written in vivid prose,
this is at once a personal memoir of exploration (both external and internal),
and a strangely heartening look at the radiance that may be found at the very
heart of darkness.
Melancholia manifests itself
in many shapes and forms, and one way of managing this state from becoming high
anxiety, is [quoting Graham Greene] to write. In the hands of Thomas H Cook,
rarely has a feeling of Melancholia been as insightful as to our condition; our
humanity – and all from his mastery of the darkest edges of literature, Crime
and Mystery Fiction.
I look forward to re-entering
the thoughts and emotions that Thomas Cook’s narratives provide; but this time,
it’s his first non-fiction work, a travelogue of sorts that appears as
insightful and as thought-provoking as his fiction.
So to close this feature, I
leave you with a cover version of Leonard Cohen’s The Tower of Song, by the
Jesus and Mary Chain which not only provides the title for these thoughts of
mine, about one of the finest of Crime and Mystery Writers.
You will be hearing from me
again, as I will be reviewing this long anticipated work by Tom Cook, who has also
kindly agreed to be interviewed by me again.
Until then, we’ve made sure
that the Shots Bookstore has copies of Tragic Shores : A Memoir of Dark Travel
by Thomas H Cook available for pre-order [release date 6th April
2017] – Here
Well, my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on
I'm just paying my rent every day in the Tower of Song
Leonard Cohen
Click Here, for
the comprehensive 2009 interview with Tom Cook from January Magazine, that
Alice Geary found on the Damp Floor of the Internet that Tom and I recorded
during Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.
I hope you found this
article of interest, and piqued your interest in the work of Thomas H Cook,
David Morrell and Louise Penny.
Ali Karim
London, England, January
2017
Addendum:
The only issue I see with
regard to British Publication of this highly anticipated first non-fiction work
by Thomas Cook, is that in the UK, the name Thomas
Cook is synonymous with the nation’s most
well-known travel agency; so some who
purchase Tragic Shores : A Memoir of
Dark Travel maybe a tad confused with this poignant travelogue; but will be
ultimately rewarded by writing of the highest order; even if this volume is not
what they anticipated by the Thomas Cook slogan “Don’t just book it, Thomas Cook it!”.
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