Reggie saved it for me. This new character in the JBridie series, I hope will make a comeback somehow. She is intelligent, resilient, kindhearted, skillful, and has a vitality and attractiveness as a character, that adult characters definitely miss (though, Dr. Hunter is also someone I would like to follow).

This was my second attempt with the novel, and a successful one this time. I am partial: I read it in russian, had no trouble with the names (as they are familiar to me in all their forms), have the understanding of the historical period, as well as comfortable with the humor (yes, there is humor), the triggering scenes, and the way most of the characters have philosophical discussions at length. In a way, it is a traditional Russian novel. Yes, Pasternak tweaked the form, his novel is full of symbolism, and contain a bunch of poems in the very end. Pasternak expressed his views through the thoughts and speeches of Yuri Zhivago. I found it amusing how this views were somewhere in between socialism and… I want to call it moderate (not tzarism or nationalism or traditionalism, but not liberal, and not radical at the same time). Which made me wonder if this is why Boris Pasternak didn’t meet the fate of so many others, who parished from the hands of NKVD in the late 1930s. Not radical enough? The publication of Dr.Zhivago in the West, and the Nobel Prize in 1958, of course, spoiled that luck, he was ostracized, got sick, and eventually died, most likely before his time. The doctor is a very inert person — he is not in charge of his life/fate, and mainly follows the flow, where the life takes him (as an example, he was not the one who decided to move the family out of Moscow, the family decided for him, and he followed the lead). At my first read I found it insufferable. This time (my early 40s) I was somehow easy on the guy :) The way he treated his last life partner was outrageous, but very much in his character — dropping anything and anyone, that present him with additional complications, when no one else takes the charge. Great exploration of various types: intelligentsia (Zhivago, Gordon, etc), strong willed women (Lara, mainly, but Tonya and Marina as well), bloodsuckers (Komarovsky), revolutionaries of all sorts, etc. I would recommend to ditch off the thought that it is a love story — it is not, not fully. IMO, it was a way for Pasternak to express his views through the characters, and give his take on the history. One of the last notes: as someone who read in Russian, and also had 2 different translations at hand, I would recommend the Harrari/Hayward translation over Pevear/Volkonsky, as it is closer to the style of Pasternak (the P/V sometimes omitted passages). Take you time with this one.

The story is picking up, there is a mystery surrounding the little brother, and some unexplained mystic powers he might have.

So far the series jumps a bit from volume to volume in the narration as well as the genre. Vol 1: was about solving small cases Vol 2: exploring Iceland Vol 3: one case and mystery around Michitaka, turning the story into smth paranormal. Vol 4: starts with Kei staring at Lilja’s butt…

The one I enjoyed most so far (I am on the 4th volume rn): Kei’s friend is visiting, so we have a chance to learn a bit about Iceland.

Down point for me: constant sexualization of the underaged girl (Lilja). I understand the mc’s perspective (he is 17 and acting his age at times). But as an adult, considering the author is an adult, that Lilja, if I remember correctly, was even eyed by Kei’s grandfather (!), it is a bit in a gray area, imo.