Tag Archives: carole reedy

Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Sneak Peek Between the Pages: 2026’s New Novels

Leave a comment

By Carole Reedy—

The new year ignites excitement for passionate readers, but too often novels published at the year’s end don’t receive proper publicity. So first let’s look at a few scintillating novels that hit the shelves late in 2025.

The Predicament by William Boyd (November 2025)
Although I’m not typically drawn to spy novels, this book was a delightful exception.

William Boyd’s novels seldom disappoint. His range is broad, characterizations diverse, and plots compelling. This one takes the reader around the globe from London and Guatemala to Berlin and Dallas (not to worry, it’s a leisurely adventure). Gabriel Dax isn’t your stereotypic spy, making his experiences unpredictable.

Boyd’s collection of work is diverse in subject, but always focused and pristine in pace and local color. I’m a recent fan of his and eager to read anything he writes.

The Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory (October 2025)
In 2001 I read The Other Boleyn Girl, at the time Gregory’s popular (with readers and critics alike) and well-researched novel about Anne Boleyn’s sister, Mary. In the ensuing years, readers have been ensconced in the Tudor and Plantagenet series, which has brought critical accolades. Gregory has more than 100 books to her credit.

Now, 24 years later we find ourselves still fascinated by the 16th century and the age of kings and queens. Praise from critics always focuses on Gregory’s detailed research and ability to bring to the 21st century an understanding of this distinct past.

The Boleyn Traitor tells the tale of Jane Boleyn, the wife of Anne Boleyn’s infamous brother George. The reviews tell us the magic endures, so it looks like another bestseller.

Queen Ester by John Irving ( November 2025)
Many of us look back to 1978 and the publication of John Irving’s popular breakout fourth novel, The World According to Garp. To date, Irving has published 16 novels, among them the popular The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and Avenue of Mysteries, set in Oaxaca, Mexico.

In his latest, you will recognize the town of Penacook, New Hampshire, and nearby St. Cloud Orphanage from The Cider House Rules. The time is the early 20th century, and a young Jewish girl is adopted by a non-Jewish couple who wonder how they will handle this responsibility. We follow one of the characters to Israel and her political involvement there.

Irving recently stated: “The construction of this novel long predates the events of Oct. 7, 2023, and everything that’s happened in Israel since those terrorist attacks and the hostage-taking. With hindsight, it’s easy to say that what I saw and heard in Israel in the early 1980s serves as a precursor to what has developed since that time, but this is what historical fiction is for.”

Last Night in Brooklyn by Xóchitl Gonzalez (April 2026)
Two unforgettable novels by Gonzalez (also a staff writer at The Atlantic), published in 2022 and 2024, captured my mind and heart: Olga Dies Dreaming and Anita de Monte Laughs Last.

Both focus on women’s role in society and within their own lives. Gonzalez draws us deep into the characters’ worlds, exploring the psychological and philosophical forces that shape their way of living. These novels are unforgettable and beautifully rendered, the first delving into the lives of a Puerto Rican family in New York and the second centered on an aspiring artist.

Gonzalez describes her latest book as a retelling of the Gatsby story. It takes place in a rapidly changing Brooklyn neighborhood in the midst of a financial crisis and a significant presidential election.

Undoubtedly, she’ll be gracing us again with her finely tuned characters and intriguing plot, including lots of surprises in this novel about class, color, and gentrification.

Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh (January 2026)
The captivating subject of reincarnation forms the backbone of this novel by the beloved author of The Hungary Tide and the Ibis Trilogy (Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and Flood of Fire).

From late 1960s Calcutta to present-day Brooklyn, Ghosh takes us on a reincarnation journey. It starts with a young girl, Varsha Gupta, who seems to remember other lives she’s lived. Her concerned parents take her to a psychologist, who investigates “cases of the reincarnation type.”

Jump to a half century later when Vasha’s case file is unearthed by a group of environmental activists who want to investigate more about Varsha’s memories.

Thus begins one of the long, luscious tales for which Ghosh is famous.

No Way Home by T C Boyle (April 2026)
In the early years of the 21st century I read a novel that to this day remains in the corners of my mind, occasionally sneaking into present consciousness. That book is The Tortilla Curtain, a powerful novel about the juxtaposition of poor Mexican immigrants and wealthy Los Angeles homeowners and the space they share. It takes a grand writer to engender in the reader a variety of emotions simultaneously. I’ve now read most of the fiction of T C Boyle, an author who has blessed us with novels and short stories to entertain and remind.

Pre-publication praise is no surprise to Boyle fans. This book is already receiving sparkling reviews. Set in the Nevada desert, it focuses on a Los Angeles physician, whose mother has just died, in the midst of a desiccating city in a remote desert. It is described as a “compulsive, obsessive, psychologically disturbing” novel.

I Give You My Silence by Mario Vargas Llosa (February 2026)
The latest and final novel of Mario Vargas Llosa (1936-2025) is appropriately a love song to his native Peru as well as a statement about the power of art.

His was a life dedicated to writing. In 2010 he won the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature for “his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat.”

The main character in his final novel is an expert in the vals, a genre of music descended from the European waltz but also rooted in Creole culture. He views the music as having a social function, as a means of uniting the people of Peru through their culture.

The book is dedicated to Llosa’s ex-wife of 50 years.

There’s much more to come in the eleven remaining months of 2026.

Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Turning the Pages of 2025: The Novels That Moved Us

Leave a comment

By Carole Reedy—

“By writing a novel one performs a revolutionary act. A novel is an act of hope. It allows us to imagine that things may be other than they are.”

Those are the words of Hilary Mantel, who more than accomplished the above in her many books over the years. Mantel’s brilliant mind discerned more than what could be readily seen.

From the dozens of novels I read this year, several revealed a new perspective or a deeper emotion. The feelings evoked by these books spontaneously pop into my mind at various times, offering perspective and contemplation.

My Friends by Frederick Backman

I always considered Backman to be a writer of “easy reads,” an author who enchanted his readers with compelling characters and entertaining plots. My Friends, however, breaks this mold to awaken in the reader a deeper sense of the meaning and significance of friendship and beauty, the twin pillars that make life worth living.

A painting, a lifetime of friendship, and a series of problem years filled with conflicting emotions drive the plot and shape the structure of the novel. Backman is a master storyteller and character developer.

The Washington Post said it well: “Backman captures the messy essence of being human.”

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

This is renowned writer Ian McEwan’s 18th novel. The New York Times called the book “the best thing McEwan has written in ages” and “entertainment of a high order.” I agree wholeheartedly.

The setting is 100 years from now, with continuing and not necessarily favorable references to the times in which we are living. McEwan refers to his book as “science fiction without the science.”

The storyline is compelling and entertaining despite McEwan’s discomfiting view of our future. Tucked between descriptions of the devastation of 100 years of climate change, wars, and general chaos and disruption of the planet is a delightful narrative of a young literary type who in 2119 is pursuing the location of a poem that was deliberately hidden more than 100 years previously.

The poem was written by a fictional esteemed literary figure of our current era. In addition, McEwan offers keen insights into this poet, his wife, their friends, and their lifestyles.

A formidable plot, complex characters, and sense of place drive the action. This novel has all the essentials required in a narrative about the future to create a novel I read almost nonstop!

You may also want to read these other gems by McEwan: Atonement, Saturday, Nutshell, and On Chesil Beach. All will satisfy your craving for fine writing and precision craftsmanship.

The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabin Alameddine

Each page of this simultaneously comic and tragic novel flows like ice beneath a skater’s blade. This despite the fact that Lebanon, where the action takes place, usually would not be described this way.

These characters experience rough times in Lebanon, a country that has undergone many tragic phases. But Alameddine entertains us as the main characters take us through the dark side of the country’s history as well as through his and his mother’s personal struggles, met with determination and even a dash of joy.

This book offers so much easy enjoyment, much like his novel An Unnecessary Woman.

The House on Via Gemita by Domenico Starnone

Do you recognize this Italian author’s name as someone who was thought to be the ghost writer of the successful Elena Ferrante novels, specifically the Neapolitan series? Starnone has denied it, being an illustrious author in his own rite. His equally famous wife, Anita Raja, a translator and library director, has also been “accused” of the deception.

In the end, Ferrante has been accepted as a pseudonym for another Italian author who believes that books, “once they are written, have no need of their author.”

Many avid readers have enjoyed Starnone’s witty novels, Ties and Trick. The House on Via Gemita presents a new, darker side of Starnone. Not light and humorous as Ties and Trick, this novel places a cantankerous artist front and center.

1960s Naples, Italy, is the place where a frustrated railway worker is convinced he is a great artist, his family suffering the consequences of the obsession. The trials of the family are detailed and vivid, Starnone’s best talent clearly at work. The novel deservedly was long-listed for the International Booker prize.

Many avid readers have enjoyed Starnone’s witty novels, Ties and Trick. The House on Via Gemita presents a new, darker side of Starnone. Not light and humorous as Ties and Trick, this novel places a cantankerous artist front and center.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett is, simply put, a gem. I am listing his short novel as a favorite because it truly illuminates the joy of reading.

British-born, raised and educated at Oxford, Bennet is exceedingly accomplished, with a rich stock of stories, plays, and films in his repertoire. When I want to feel good and laugh, I pick up one of his works.

The Uncommon Reader is a novel for the book-addicted. The uncommon reader of the title is the Queen of England, and Bennet takes us merrily through her introductory, and eventually continuing, passion for the written word.

Novelist/writer Jennifer Kloester’s review calls it “brilliant on many levels, but also a delicious, edible morsel of a novel. And wait until you read the ending.”

My Final Read of the Year: The Volcano Lover by Susan Sontag

At year’s end, I find myself thoroughly engaged in Susan Sontag’s radical novel of ideas, The Volcano Lover (1992), set largely in Naples Italy in the late 18th century. The gentle pace of her style in this unconventional historical narrative perfectly complements my year-end reflections. I will read it slowly through December in order to savor her luscious writing style.

Here’s to many provocative reading experiences in 2026!

Huatulco

Best Books of 2025: Short Stories and Series

Leave a comment

By Carole Reedy

A book is a device to spark the imagination.
Allan Bennet

In terms of Bennet’s observation, I found this year of reading disappointingly lacking. Each new season we seek a great read, but what exactly are we looking for?

Novels are rich in character development, have an engaging plot with vivid descriptions of the ambiance of period or place, and possess a distinct writing style. Well executed, these characteristics allow the reader to emotionally connect with the author’s themes, leading to reflection long after the final word is read.

In light of my general dissatisfaction (though a few novels made it into my forthcoming column), I turned to some other genres: the short story for one, as well as essays and series. Here I found the literary satisfaction I was seeking.

Savory Series
One might think a series is merely a collection of novels, but for the reader gratification relies on continuing character development along with detailed, continuing stories of the characters’ lives that cannot be achieved in a single volume.

The following five series, which will take you around the world, provide all of the elements needed for a deeply satisfying season of reading.

The Shetland Island Mysteries by Anne Cleeves
This remote and modest part of the world provides more action and richly developed characters than you might expect. The isolation of the islands and their harsh weather and barren landscape all play roles in the psyche of the population as well as providing an eerie ambiance.

I’m guessing you’ll get hooked on the characters, beautifully crafted throughout the series. Cleeves has a style and method that is simply compelling. Readers of the series have even been inspired to put the Shetland Islands on their travel list.

Cleeves has two other series to enjoy: the Vera Stanhope and Matthew Venn series. All three of Cleeves’ series have been adapted for TV.

The Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito Novels by Anne Hillerman
We are fortunate that Anne Hillerman’s mother and friends encouraged her to continue writing her father’s Navajo tribal police series.

The revered writer Tony Hillerman (1925-2008) and his fictional Navajo Nation detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee charmed mystery lovers in the 1970s, 80s,and 90s. Hillerman’s close field of vision of this Native American population contributed mightily to the popularity of the series. Through his deeply felt descriptions of Navajo culture, Hillerman brought us a new vision of the first Americans.

Anne Hillerman’s earnest effort to continue the series has been a wondrous surprise to fans. She has successfully added detective Bernadette Manuelito (Jim Chee’s wife) to the series, giving her room to be a forceful character in her own right. Manuelito’s relationship with her mother, sister, and Chee adds an exciting new element to the detective unit as well as to the personal lives of the old favorites.

The series re-creates the world of American native citizens of Arizona and New Mexico. The plot weaves in the age-old traditions and beliefs of the people of the southwest in a way that’s engaging and educational. The vivid imagery is so powerful it feels as though the dust might settle on your tongue.

The Sean Duffy Series by Adrian McKinty
McKinty’s hero arrives in the unlikely figure of Belfast Detective Sean Duffy, an independent thinker and rule breaker, not traits usually found in Ulster policemen.

But McKinty’s style is pure genius.

Even if you’re not personally connected to history’s violent political environment of Northern Ireland, the eerie atmosphere of the region and the affairs of the population will entrap you…and Sean Duffy will eventually charm you.

The Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries by Donna Leon
All 33 (so far) novels take place in the ethereal state of Venice, in the mysteriously diverse country of Italy, where detective Commissario Guido Brunetti leads a small group of police that attempts to solve myriad crimes in their district.

However, and this is key, the mysteries always entail more than simply a crime.

Leon gives us sharp glimpses into the social and practical aspects of daily Venetian life. Her characterizations, not only of the police and perpetrators but of Brunetti’s family, are brilliantly colorful in depth and intensity.

Societal and political issues and concerns of the city, as well as other parts of the country, lurk in the background of whatever crime the team is investigating. A few of the novels particularly impressed me with their richness of commentary on Venetian society and personal concerns: Willful Behavior, Friends in High Places, A Noble Radiance, and Uniform Justice.

The Ruth Galloway Novels by Elly Griffiths
It’s nearly impossible to write about favorite series without a shoutout to Elly Griffiths and her memorable archaeologist professor Dr Ruth Galloway, who analyzes buried bones found in Norwich.

Galloway inadvertently (or not) finds herself in the middle of various crime investigations when the bones her archeological students find are not centuries old, but newly emerged. And police investigations ensue.

The real joy in reading this series lies in Griffiths’ keen characterizations—of Dr Ruth Galloway, Detective Nelson, and the Druid Cathbad among others.

Satisfying Short Story Collections

Good and Evil and Other Stories by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell

Argentine writer Schweblin has already tasted success with her 2014 National Book Award-winning Seven Empty Houses. And now this, her latest, is receiving accolades from many sources, most importantly from the prolific Joyce Carol Oates in The New York Times Book Review.

Oates sums it up: “Beautifully translated by Megan McDowell, in prose that shimmers with a sort of menacing lyricism, the stories of ‘Good and Evil’ are powerfully evocative and unsettling. They seem to hover, indeed like fever dreams, between the reassuring familiarities of domestic life and the stark, unpredictable, visionary flights of the unconscious. Everything exists in a state of tension, charged with contradictions.”

Each story, though unique, possesses an unnerving surprise, never taking the expected path.

Dictation by Cynthia Ozick
Recommended by a fellow book club member, I immediately downloaded this quartet of stories. The mention of Henry James and Joseph Conrad as characters in the first story prompted my automatic interest.

Nonetheless, the stars of this short story are the women who take dictation from the masters. The finale is astonishing yet plausible. The other three stories, though without the notable characters of the first, are equally deserving of praise.

Part two of the Best Books of 2025 next month will offer a glimpse into the handful of novels I read in 2025 that satisfied my reading obsession.

Huatulco

Stories of Transformation: Books that Changed Minds

Leave a comment

By Carole Reedy

“Books are not about passing time. They are about other lives, other worlds. Read to find out what other people are like.” So said the observational yet insightful, droll yet sharp English writer Alan Bennett.

Reading for pleasure is, in fact, enlightenment. The insight into other worlds helps us understand ourselves, our motives, and our ultimate search for a good life.

I spoke with a variety of readers who shared with me the books that changed a perception, an overall perspective, or that offered a new point of view.

Try to see the world with wonder, just as children do
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Our friend Dan Battista adores The Little Prince, which he taught in French to his senior high school students. He found the book important not only for learning a command of the language, but also in the life lessons imparted: the values of love and relationships, which prove in the long run to be more important than wealth or status.

Another one of his favorite quotes helped him feel more comfortable with death: that of seeing stars as a laughing presence of our loved ones. The little prince says: “In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of the stars, I shall be laughing.”

Dan tried to impart his love of the novel and its lessons to his students. Some of them “got it” and others didn’t. C’est la vie!

Declaring one’s own path
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

Because it couldn’t be stated better, here is a quote directly from ex Peace Corp volunteer and retired physical education teacher Martha Larson:

“Personally, the most influential book I discovered was The Feminine Mystique. It stiffened my backbone as a young woman who was deciding how to define herself and set boundaries. It affirmed my perception that I was being boxed in by societal expectations for women and girls. It made me want to declare my own path.

This was all new territory for me as a very naive young woman. Once my husband and I returned to the U.S. (from Venezuela Peace Corps duty) I was able to read Ms.Magazine. I was captivated by the short stories, articles, and poetry of women who were speaking to me in a very personal way. I felt someone was singing my tune. It was thrilling to me to imagine a more expansive way forward.”

Being different
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey

Seattle resident, world traveler, and helper to all, Steve Clagett returned home from the Peace Corps to the realization of how different he was from his family (like Leland Stanford in the novel) and that he would need to make his own way in the world. He cut all financial ties and help from his family and worked his way through law school. Unsurprisingly, he became an attorney who worked on developing low-income housing.

Steve refers also to Robert Pirsig’s Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in his struggle to deal with being different. Both books present characters who break from a traditional mold to become distinct in themselves, people whose values and mores differ from the mainstream. So what changed for Steve? It was validation that we can choose to be different–even that it is our duty to maximize our uniqueness.

No correct interpretation
The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell

Nancy Gurrola, former history professor, tells us of her passion for this quartet of books when she was 16 years old. Today, they remain reader favorites:

“My reading level took an immediate jump up with a style of writing I’d never encountered (an intertwined plot developed from varying points of view), complex characters in what was to me an exotic setting, and erotic passages, which I’m sure I didn’t really understand at 16. My takeaway from the constellation of perspectives on the same narrative was that there is no ‘correct’ story or interpretation of history. No doubt that observation unconsciously helped me when I became a history professor.”

Professor Gurrola went on to tell me that she recently reread the quartet and did not find it as stimulating as she did at 16. However, I read the Quartet recently (for the first time) as a septuagenarian and found it challenging, stimulating, and oh so enchanting.

Society’s standards of beauty
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

In many Western cultures blonde hair and blue eyes have been (and still are) considered the most desirable appearance and, often, the standard of beauty.

The Bluest Eye, Morrison’s first novel, published in1970, tells the story of an 11-year-old African American girl during the Great Depression. Deemed “ugly” because of her dark skin and mannerisms, she longs for blue eyes—the symbol of whiteness and acceptance.

The impact of this discrimination and the isolation suffered by the girl was devastating to reader Camille, as well as to many of us as young adults in the 1970s.

Understanding a culture
Freedom at Midnight by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins

“This riveting account of the Hindu-Muslim conflict gave me a front row seat to Hindu-Muslim relations in India, and the birth of Pakistan in 1947.” The reader here, Kathy Kaye, is a writer of fiction, well-known for her Warehouse Winery Mystery series (and her latest book, Interview with the Tarot Reader).

The books of Lapierre and Collins are a marvelous way to read and understand our world and history. Their writing is not turgid, as are many of the nonfiction accounts of the same story. Their approach involves the reader and speaks in a tone we readily understand. It feels as if you’re reading a novel partly because the people of the region–not just the battles and conflicts–are the focus.

Even when you know the history and results, the stories of Lapierre and Collins are always spellbinding and gripping. The characterizations meld with the action for an unputdownable reading experience.

Different worlds, same time
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Avid reader Phyllis Kopriva, who chose this book, lives her dedication to the written word: she once belonged to four bookclubs, each of which met monthly.

This was the first book that made her aware of just how singular our place is in the world. Others grew up in very different worlds and thrived as well, just differently. And it wasn’t merely a distinct time period, such as in the classics. This was a completely different world, happening parallel to her lived existence.

Reading this Angelou classic, Phyllis understood for the first time that great writing is what brings us into these worlds, allowing us to fully grasp a new perception of them.

Respect and sharing
My Antonia by Willa Cather

The reader of this book is a former physician who at 92 years old still reads voraciously. After decades of reading, the novel that stands out in his mind is My Antonia. “It taught me a lot about respect and sharing.”

It’s interesting that although his profession is one filled with respect and sharing that he still learned more and found reinforcement for his beliefs through novels. The doctor’s favorite books, though, are those of the always-memorable Brontë sisters.

No place like home
North Woods by Daniel Mason

This popular novel helped reader Julie Sanchez in reflecting on the many histories of a home. She has been attached to the history of her homes in Denver since childhood, as well as her current residences in Cuernavaca and Oaxaca, Mexico, finding fascinating the continuing history of a home. She comments, “Think of what your home was in 1890! It does give one pause to reflect.”

Transfiguring the contexts of understanding culture
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

Although published in 1992, Quinn’s still popular tale of a philosophic Socratic discourse between a gorilla and human is the basis for this novel that changed plant ecologist Laura Warman’s way of thinking about our planet. She looked anew at the narratives that western civilizations tell us and that we use to base our relationships with each other and the planet.

“The book stuck with me for many years, and had the same impact when I re-read it. I have fond memories of an international scientific conference in Sweden, where I met a group of fast friends and ended up discussing this book late into the night in a progression of drinking establishments in GamlaStan in Stockholm.”

Quinn looks at the failure of human civilization, going so far as suggesting how to correct it. His theory is based on the tenet that we belong to the planet, not vice versa.

Possibilities and perseverance
A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird

This is a story of a woman who often fell ill in her native Scotland, and subsequently became a world traveler and writer.

The account tells the tale of her travels alone, astride a horse in a divided skirt, in 19th century United States. She rode from California to Colorado, where she spent the winter in an isolated cabin.

Her experience changed Betty Warman’s perception of the “old west” and what was possible for women at that time. Betty, a former museum graphic designer in Mexico City, was raised on a ranch in Arizona in an era that was certainly wilder than it currently is. She has delighted in all of Isabella Bird’s books and adventures.

Another way of viewing racism and civil rights
The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Journalist, editor, and constant gardener Heidi Hough discovered, in this autobiography, a philosophy that altered her thinking about the civil rights era.

“Reading The Autobiography of Malcom X shifted my worldview to an alternate way of thinking about racism and civil rights. The book was a distinct counterweight to Dr Martin Luther King’s approach of nonviolent resistance.

King’s notion of racial justice was based broadly on integration, non-violent protest, and civil disobedience. King was a peacemaker who built coalitions with white activists.

Reading Malcom X opened my eyes to a courageous and authentic counterpoint that outlined a way to freedom and equality that was initially based on black pride and “any means necessary,” including violence. Malcolm X’s autobiography tells the story of a human rights activist whose alliance with the Nation of Islam shifts with time and disillusionment, but whose philosophical devotion to racial justice was unwavering. Decades later, these approaches still resonate in the effort to secure reproductive rights for women in the United States.

Impact of the written word
Remembrances of Things Past by Marcel Proust

This from yours truly:

“Now I can die” was my first thought upon finishing Proust’s seven-volume masterpiece Remembrances of Things Past. I really meant to say “What can I possibly read after this life-changing tome?”

In my 74 years of reading, I have yet to encounter such sublime beauty in the written word as that found in these seven novels. That is the root of my recommendation. I appreciated other significant factors, such as embracing the power of memory, as well as mindfulness and reflection, but his sharing of secluded feelings with such elegance was the most memorable to me.

I read it at 40, and I hope to have another read during this lifetime.

Huatulco

From Ant Eggs to Corn Smut with Three Under 30: Strolling, Savoring, and Snacking through the Streets of CDMX

Leave a comment

By Carole Reedy

Two Welshmen and a Scot, all under 30, were my guests for a week last month in my adopted home, Mexico City. Seeing the city and the Mexican experience through their eyes brought me a fresh perspective. Neither age nor country-of-origin were barriers when it comes to culture or gastronomy.

Come with us on an abridged version of our discoveries …

First Impressions and Surprises

Mexico City’s population of 23,000,000, when compared to the 3,000,000 in all of Wales, was the first shock. The Welshmen (Kadun and Callum) are proud people, so the number of large Mexican flags that fly throughout the city positively impressed them, as well as the kind and welcoming attitudes of the locals.

Kadun remared, “I only wish they knew where Wales was located. We got weird looks after saying “Soy de Galés” (I am from Wales).

Their biggest compliment was simply “We could’ve stayed another week.”

Tamales and Chilaquiles

We began planning our week over morning cocktails and tamales on my sunny balcony in the trendy colonia (neighborhood) of Roma Sur. The young men chose Aperol spritzes and Bloody Marys, followed by tequilas.

The tamales come from a corner street vendor (at Bajío and Tlacotalpan, Roma Sur), who offers the traditional maíz as well as the Oaxaqueña style (wrapped in banana leaves) of tamales every weekday from 8 am to noon. We chose a tasting, buying the verde (green), mole, sweet, and raja (pepper strips) tamales. The green chiles proved to be the favorites. The spice level varies daily, and that day’s were plenty spicy without burning the mouth.

The hours flew while we planned the rest of their week, trying to fit as much as possible into the schedule, considering traffic, protest marches, and other exigencies of living in this grand metropolis.

Soon it was time for comida (informal food, often lunch). I had also purchased from the same friendly vendor a true Mexican delight and favorite of all: chilaquiles – corn chips (totopos) simmered in red or green sauce, often with other toppings. The vendor alternates the red and green flavors every other day. These were green and among the best I’ve ever had.

Chilaquiles are among the top favorite foods of Mexicans, traditionally served New Years Day as a hangover cure for, but offered year-round. Aside from assuaging a hangover, they are mighty tasty, consisting simply of chicken, green or red chile sauce, and onions served over corn chips and topped with crema.

Add a Victoria Mexican beer and all is right with the world.

Rediscovering Old Favorites: Cafe Tacuba and El Mayor

A full day in Centro Histórico is a must for all travelers. We started our day at Bellas Artes, the stunning Art Deco wonder and home of Mexico City’s Opera House as well as the most significant murals of Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, and Jose Clemente Orozco. We also appreciated some Impressionist works in a recently opened special exhibit.

All that activity whetted our appetites, so we picked up speed, turned down Calle Tacuba, walked by the equally magnificent Art Deco post office, and ended up at #12 Tacuba, home of the renowned restaurant, Café Tacuba.

While Sor Juana, Mexico’s most renowned poet/nun, peeked over our shoulders from her dominant place on the wall, we dined on three of the ten different styles of enchiladas (tortilla-wrapped fillings covered with sauce), traditional sopa azteca (tomato-chile broth over tortilla strips, with a variety of toppings), and a tasty horchata (a rice and cinnamon drink). The entire menu is filled with traditional Mexican specialties.

Café Tacuba opened in 1912. The building was once a 17th-century palatial home and is decorated with colonial style art. Calle Tacuba is the oldest street in the Americas.

Several years ago, I was served a disappointing meal that had not been heated sufficiently – it was served lukewarm on the surface and cold inside. I hesitated to return, but, because I always like to take visitors to traditional Mexican places, I crossed my fingers and entered. I was happy we returned because everything we ate was just perfect this time. A lesson learned: don’t judge a restaurant by one bad experience.

Frappes at El Mayor
Well-sated, we strolled to the zócalo (main square) where the Templo Mayor, the heart of the Aztec Empire, dominated. Here the largest of the pyramids stood, the place where lives were sacrificed to the gods.

This temple was discovered quite by accident. In 1978 electricians hard at work discovered a giant monolith close to the cathedral, which spurred a five-year investigation that unearthed the Templo Mayor. Imagine what else lies beneath the Cathedral (built in 1578) and other structures in the area. Think of this as you walk on the cement sidewalks of Mexico City.

Parched and tired, we fortunately knew help was just a few blocks away at the Terrace of El Mayor, a lovely cafe overlooking the ruins of the Templo Mayor. You enter through the Porrúa bookstore at República de Argentina 15 (cross street is Donceles) and take the elevator to the restaurant/cafe level. We all ordered chocolate coffee frappes at the cafe. Nothing ever tasted so good. The adjacent restaurant serves breakfast and lunch.

Turibus and Cervecerías
“Watch the wires and branches: Duck!” These are the instructions I give visitors who join me on one of the most pleasant rides available to tourists. Turibus, the double-decker bus, follows several routes and stops, but my favorite by far is the Centro Histórico route. You will ride through the home of the Aztecs and experience the 500-year historical progress of the nation’s independence from Spain and the equally lengthy and inexplicable Mexican Revolution.

You will be treated to a ride down the city’s most beautiful street: Reforma. If you are fortunate enough to visit in February or March, the purple flowers of the jacaranda trees will carpet your route. A short ride through Condesa gives one a glimpse into this popular colonia.

A good place to end the Turibus tour is the Cibeles fountain, a replica of the fountain found in Madrid and a gift from Spain to Mexico. The stop is in the trendy colonia Roma at Medellin and Oaxaca streets. There you will encounter many bars, cervecerías (brewpubs) and restaurants in a beautiful setting. Recently friends of mine rented an apartment in a floor-to-ceiling windowed high rise on Calle Medellin, across from the Turibus stop: the views of the mountains to the south of the city were spectacular!

Azul Condesa Celebration and Tequila Tour
A special day deserves a special restaurant for the 28th birthday of our visitor from Scotland, my grandson Joe. After a full day at the pyramids at Teotihuacán, we dined at one of the renowned Azul restaurants, Azul Condesa.

The men were adventurous and chose to start with escamoles (ant eggs), a delicacy often known as “Mexican caviar.” I chose the traditional fungal corn smut, huitlacoche. A variety of wines from the very complete list graced our table, as well as the ever-traditional margaritas. Service was impeccable and our main meals of meat, fish and duck were most satisfying.

My young visitors still had energy to go on to the famous Plaza Garibaldi (known for its mariachis). There they did a complete tequila tasting tour at the Museo del Tequila y el Mezcal, and their glowing report raved that the tour “offered big pours and a complete explanation of the process of creating Mexico’s most famous beverage.”

The next day we said goodbye and the three went on to the beaches of Puerto Vallarta. A few days later, we all met in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, for our triennial Reedy family reunion, a perfect ending to the Mexican Adventure.

Huatulco

The Magic of Oaxaca Unveiled: Books to Start a Journey of Discovery

Leave a comment

By Carole Reedy

Oaxaca is ethnically and linguistically the most diverse state in Mexico; it’s also the home state of Mexico’s most popular and effective president, Benito Juárez. It’s here where July’s wildly colorful annual music and dance celebration Guelaguetza takes place. And to quench your thirst, Oaxaca is known for its smooth yet tangy liquor known as mezcal.

If that’s not enough, Oaxaca cheese and mole are incomparable.

I was fortunate to spend ten happy, serene years living on a Oaxacan beach. What follows is a selection from the written word in diverse styles, eras, and points of view of this highly original Mexican state.

The Ultimate Good Luck, by Richard Ford (1981)

We know Richard Ford as the author of The Sportswriter (1986) and its sequel Independence Day (1995), with Frank Bascombe as the protagonist; Independence Day won the Pulitzer Prize – there are three more Bascombe novels. Irving can lay claim to being our present-day Faulkner or Updike.

One reader calls this novel a “narcocorrida.” It certainly take us to the dark side of Mexico with drugs and eroticism in Ford’s unique understated style. The New York Times Book Review describes it as having a “taut, cinematic quality that bathes his story with the same hot, mercilessly white light that scorches Mexico.”

Recollections of Things to Come, by Elena Garro (1969)

The universally admired poet and Nobel Prize winner Octavio Paz calls this classic gem “a truly extraordinary work, one of the most perfect creations in contemporary Latin American literature.” These words and the recommendation from the venerated Paz are reason enough to open the pages of this unusual novel.

The fictional town of Ixtepec narrates the story, set in the post-Revolution time (late 1920s). You will meet all the town’s inhabitants, from those in high society to prostitutes on the street.

In an unusual episodic style, impressions move the plot of this novel, which is full of color, smells, and visual seasoning. Garro’s book is often considered one of the first magical realism novels. It is not a pretty picture of Mexico during this time of classism, racism, misogyny, and violence.

You may not be familiar with Garro, though she was at one point married to Octavio Paz. She has been ignored by Mexican intellectuals, who consider her a government informer on the 1968 student movement (known as the Tlatelolco massacre).

Garro spent many years in self-exile, living in the US, Spain, and France, but she returned to live in Cuernavaca, where she died at 81 near her beloved cats and daughter.

Lawrence in Oaxaca: A Quest for the Novelist in Mexico, by Ross Parmenta (1984)

The well-travelled British novelist D. H. Lawrence, famous yet controversial, spent just two years in the Lake Chapala and Oaxaca regions of Mexico.

After the Mexican Revolution, in 1923, he and his wife visited a Mexico that was recuperating from the dregs of war. It is here he finished his well-known Mexican novel The Plumed Serpent (1926). He also completed four of the essays that make up his popular Mornings in Mexico (1927), personal observations that capture the country’s spirit. Reading both these gems will be well worth your while.

Lawrence was not interested in the politics of the Mexican Revolution or the cultural and artistic aspects, such as Mexico’s famed muralists. Lawrence’s interest lay in the “mythical exaltation of the Indian,” which is at the core of The Plumed Serpent – an early draft of the novel was published as Quetzalcoatl (1998).

Lawrence and his wife fled to the US in 1922 after WWI, he having just escaped death from a bout of influenza. He did, however, die shortly thereafter, at age 44 in 1930, from complications of tuberculosis.

He once said “I want to gather together about twenty souls and sail away from this world of war and squalor and found a little colony where there shall be no money but a sort of communism as far as necessaries of life go, and some real decency … a place where one can live simply, apart from this civilization [with] a few other people who are also at peace and happy and live, and understand and be free.” Many would wish the same.

Lawrence in Mexico is a work of double affection both for the novelist and Oaxaca, the city in which he produced his memorable work.

Avenue of Mysteries: A Novel, by John Irving (2015)

John Irving, the modern popular American novelist influenced by Charles Dickens and Gunther Grass, likes to think of himself as a 19th-century storyteller. But Irving introduces additional elements and style that create an almost eccentric and modern atmosphere.

This, his fourteenth novel, is named after a street in Mexico City. It is a story divided into the two aspects of the life of Juan Diego Guerro. The first, where the heart of the novel lies, is reflections and memories of his young life in Oaxaca in the 1970s. The other is his present journey from Iowa to the Philippines to fulfill a promise.

Tayari Jones in The New York Times Book Review lauds this difference: “John Irving is his own thing, and so is his new novel. Avenue of Mysteries is thoroughly modern, accessibly brainy, hilariously eccentric, and beautifully human.”

Avenue of Mysteries is distinctly different from the more popular Irving novels that come to mind when you hear his name, such as The World According to Garp (1978), The Cider House Rules (1985), or A Prayer for Owen Meany (1989).

Oaxaca Journal, by Oliver Sacks (2002)

From Awakenings (1973) to A Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales (1985), Sacks is best known for case studies of his patients. This British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science and, of course, author wrote nineteen books, many of them bestsellers.

A nature lover, Sacks blessed us with the beautiful Oaxaca Journal after his 2001 visit to the popular state. The book is an adventure in itself, manifesting the marvels of Oaxaca through his expansive point of view.

From the science of astronomy to the flavors of a luscious cuisine, from the dream-evoking waterfalls to the bustling street markets filled with intricate textiles, Sacks bequeaths us his larger perspective via minute details.

Before his death, Saks philosophized, “Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”

Dress Her in Indigo: A Travis McGee Novel, John D. McDonald (1969)

Travis McGee is a household word to faithful McDonald readers. Loyal fans devour each new novel. This one, set in the backlands of Oaxaca, was no exception.

What is the attraction? Fans cite the author’s philosophical and social commentary as their reason to return to each new novel in the series. Dress Her in Indigo centers on a dead woman in a hippie-type community on the outskirts of Oaxaca.

One reader expressed it precisely: “I may never make it to Mexico, but after reading this book set in Mexico – I may not have to.” Another says the story “carries the color and the weight of Mexico on almost every page.”

Oaxaca de Rius, by Eduardo Humberto del Rio García (but known to all in Mexico by his pen name Rius; 2013)

The book boasts 128 eight pages of illustrative delight that explore the traditions, art, and conflicts of Oaxaca. “Drawings, jokes, and notes referring to the state where I live, fleeting impressions,” is how the author himself describes his book.

The sketches offer a glimpse into the gods, customs, churches, Zapotec traditions, festivals, culinary delights, mezcal, and all the rest that makes this state matchless.

Who was Rius? The Mexican government, in the announcement of his death, wrote, “During his lifetime, Rius aimed to contribute to the education and politicization of Mexicans, combat alienation, and foster a critical spirit.”

With Naranjo, Soto, Magú, and other cartoonists, he created Insurgencia popular, the news outlet of the Mexican Workers’ Party (PMT).

Lost in Oaxaca, by Jessica Winters Mireles (2020)

Jessica Winters has done her homework. Most impressive in all the reviews is her understanding and ability to convey the customs and cult ure of this glorious state.

The novel’s plot centers around a schoolteacher in search of her student and a Zapotec man who helps her understand the culture and customs of a society so different from her own, as well as how to view the world in a different light. He helps her navigate the wonders of an unfamiliar culture that is “rugged as the terrain itself.”

On your first or next exploration journey into Oaxaca, heed the advice of a popular song from my youth and “Slow down, you move too fast; you got to make the morning last.”

Soak it all in … and enjoy!

Huatulco

The Art of Belonging: How to Live Like a Local in Mexico City

Leave a comment

By Carole Reedy

Famed author Maya Angelou once said: “I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.”

Wherever we are, most of us yearn for connections, familiarity, and comfort. You can find these feelings even while traveling … if you are armed with knowledge and savvy.

Here are some tips to assist you on your journey in one of the grandest cities of the world. If you have the luxury, allow yourself time to wander, absorb the culture, history, way of life, and routines of the locals.

Before the more practical recommendations, let’s reflect on a philosophical perspective. Despite the hustle bustle of the city, take time to roam (or as my friends and I say “flaneur”) through the neighborhoods (called colonias) that sprinkle the Valley of Mexico. Don’t pack too much in a day, as traveling around the big city takes time and energy, too.

Enjoy the unexpected and unanticipated joys of the moment. Look up and around … at the trees, sky, and skyscrapers. There are surprises around every corner. If you are fortunate enough to come in March, the jacarandas will be in full bloom.

Be open to the people on the street and metro or while shopping. Unlike the French, Mexicans will welcome you even though your Spanish may be not quite correct, or even if it’s nonexistent.

If you are like other visitors to this bewitching city, your memories will remain vivid long after you depart. Here are some practical ways to make your sojourn uncomplicated and rich.

Greetings!

First impressions are said to be the most important, and none is more so than the first words out of your mouth when greeting someone on the street, entering a room or a store, or addressing a waiter.

Friends visiting Mexico City (Ciudad de Mexico) are often surprised at how, in this heavily populated city, people take the time to greet one another. Americans in particular have a tendency to always appear to be in a rush, speaking rapidly and without the formality of a greeting.

The first words out of your mouth when entering a room, a meeting, or store, or simply on the street, should be buenos días (good morning), buenas tardes (good afternoon), or buenas noches (good evening or night). Another useful phrase is just buen día, short for que buen día (literally, may it be a good day – Spanish loves the subjunctive).

A smile goes a long way and is always appreciated. Mexicans always take time for a formal greeting before the chatter begins!

Time and pace

No hay prisa is a good motto to practice during your visit, be it for a week or a year. Literally the phrase means “there is no hurry.” Although some actions and attitudes may be interpreted as “slow and lazy” by some foreign cultural standards, Mexicans are deliberate and formal in their manners, which is actually considerably more sane than the frenzied manners of many foreigners.

Mexicans are patient. Often you will see lines of people waiting for a service. No one is yelling or complaining. People just wait and chat, somehow knowing that stress, and therefore raising their blood pressure, doesn’t do anyone any good or make the line move any faster.

“Why is everyone always late?” They aren’t. The concept of time is different south of the border. If you are invited to a party at 7 pm and show up at exactly 7 pm or, God forbid, earlier, you will be alone and your hosts may not even be dressed yet. It seems that guests stroll in when they want, and everyone thinks that is just fine. Not to worry. No one else will! You won’t miss dinner. If you’re invited for 8 pm, you may not eat until 11.

You may notice that if a business advertises its opening at 9 am, employees may not show up until 9:30 or so. Banks that open at 9 am (an institution you may think would be punctual) may open their doors on time but the employees will just be strolling in and preparing their desks for the day. Go with the flow.

Most entertainment events do not start exactly on time, but they do make an effort to begin within the half hour. Movies do begin on schedule, as do bullfights. When you’re at a supposedly sold-out live concert and you look around 10 minutes before it begins, you may wonder where everyone is. Look around 20 minutes later, and you will see a full house. Arriving early is neither the norm nor fashionable.

Ahorita is the most confusing Spanish word for foreigners. Literally, it means RIGHT NOW. But it never actually does. It can mean anywhere from five minutes to two hours, or even tomorrow morning. If a worker tells you he will return ahorita, the fact is you don’t know when that will be. Take it with a grain of salt. He may as well be saying “who knows?” If you do need a definite answer, ask a more definite question.

My Mexican friends know our northern habits, and therefore they do try to arrive close to the designated time when meeting me. You may not be able to change your lifelong habits, but wait patiently, and if you are on time by your standards, enjoy the ambience or, as I do, always carry a book with you!

Transport, Traffic, and La Hora Pico

Mexico City has a fine public transport system used by millions of people every day. The most used and popular are the Metro (mostly underground) and the Metrobus, which is a bus with its own lane. Cars NEVER drift over to the Metrobus lane; the fine for disobedience of this law is huge. Ambulances are allowed though.

Both systems are easy, and both use the same card for entrance. The metro is 5 pesos and the Metrobus is 6 pesos (basically 25 cents in US currency). The cards are available at all metro stations. There are maps online. Plus, there are actually two apps, chock full of information: Metrobus CDMX and AppCDMX.

The most important information to keep in mind, however, is La Hora Pico, or rush hour. It is a horror in Mexico City, and even the person who experiences no form of claustrophobia may experience a small panic attack when you observe the crushing hoards in action on public transport.

The hours to avoid public transport or driving: weekdays 7 am to 10 am and then again 5 pm to 9 pm. This applies to all areas of the city. Arrive at your destination early and enjoy a cappuccino if need be.

Metrobus and Metro cars are clean and efficient. The first car of each transport train is designated for women, children, and the elderly. Please honor this, as all of us do.

City buses are available in many parts of the city. There are lots of bike lanes, and it appears more people use them daily. If you travel north in the city or far south you may see cable cars as public transport. In Ixtapalapa, the home owners paint creative designs on their roofs for the enjoyment of the cable car riders.

Do beware of bikes and motorcycles. They seem to believe traffic laws are not written for them, running red lights and essentially just doing as they please. Helmet laws are in effect.

If you are an Uber user, you should be quite content with the service here. The cars are clean and well maintained, unlike many taxis. The drivers are, for the most part, a delight and very often talkative, some speaking English. If you do speak some Spanish, this is a good way to practice. Strike up a conversation; they too enjoy practicing their English.

In every way, Ubers are better than taxis, including reasons of safety and the price of your journey. Do not enter a taxi that accepts only credit cards; it is a scam that will charge your card more than the actual price. I do have a taxi sitio (taxi stand) in my neighborhood that I trust, but for the most part Ubers are the better choice, an important factor being that you are not watching the meter run while sitting in traffic.

Ubers know the quickest and safest routes. You can call them right on the street as well as from a designated location.

Banking

Here are a few money-saving and helpful tips about ATM withdrawals.

First of all, to avoid fraud, always use a bank ATM. A big money saver is to refuse the rate of exchange the bank ATM offers you when you enter your card. Most ATMs provide instructions in both Spanish and English. Just press NO when it reads “Do you accept this rate of exchange?” That way you will receive the exchange rate of your personal bank, which will be assuredly less.

It is best to do your cash withdrawals during weekdays. The ATMs run out of money on the weekends and especially during puentes, three-day weekends.

The cost of an ATM transaction also varies by bank, so if you are not happy with the rate at one bank, try another.

You will always get Mexican pesos at the bank ATMs. Should you need US dollars, you will need to visit a casa de cambio (money exchange).

The Joy of Eating

With the more practical matters out of the way, let’s end with a short discussion about Mexican eating habits and protocols.

The grand capital is replete with restaurants for every eating preference and idiosyncrasy. You may feel overwhelmed when you look online for your favorite. So, here are some general options to narrow down your choices.

The meals. Instead of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all of México enjoys desayuno, comida, and cena.

Desayuno is eaten before 10 am. Comida, the main meal of the day, begins as early as 1 or 2 pm and is served until 4 or 5 pm. Cena is a light evening meal offered from 7 to 10 pm. This is the habit in Mexican homes. Restaurants often adapt to foreign timetables for eating, and since restaurant times may vary, best to check hours on line.

Street food. To eat or not to eat? My guests’ favorite question, and my advice is benign: It is up to you. There are risks involved everywhere, but more so from street vendors. Often there is no running water in the puestos de comida (food stalls), and employees often handle money and food simultaneously.

The food is usually delicious, and it’s certainly quite cheap. Millions of Mexican workers eat it every day. I confess to eating street taco carnitas occasionally, even though I may experience gastrointestinal backlash the next day.

Market eating. Everyone enjoys the huge buildings that house mountains of fruits, vegetables, meat, and often household items. There are also small restaurants inside the markets. One of my favorites is Mercado Medellin (located in Roma Sur on Campeche and Medellin streets). The market has two locations for restaurants, so be sure to ask one of the vendors where to go.

Chains. Here are some unexpected spots that serve great Mexican meals.

The most famous chain store that also houses a restaurant is Sanborns, owned by the world-famous entrepreneur Carlos Slim.

To this day, the distinct dress of the Sanborns waitresses is famous, going back more than a century ago. Collector and dealer of folk art and archaeological artifacts Francis Davis was invited to open a Mexican curio shop inside the Sanborns Casa de los Azulejos, located in Centro. Davis designed a uniform for the servers and according to some, it was loaded with typical Mexican references. It adds such charm to the restaurant.

Sanborns has a good variety of Mexican food which is quite tasty and traditional. There are Sanborns shops located all over the city. There you will find books, scarves, pharmaceuticals, jewelry, perfumes, and electronics, with the merchandise varying from store to store. It is a practical place to shop, and it is a legend.

Another excellent chain for Mexican food is the Bajio restaurants. Like Sanborns, they are located all over the city. The food is outstanding with a good variety. I frequent the one in the Reforma 222 shopping center. Carnitas are a specialty.

Tipping. Waiters and waitresses receive very small salaries – thus they depend on tips. Some owners do not even pay a salary, the workers’ only compensation being tips. Twenty percent is traditional if the service is good. So please tip your wait staff.

Crème de la crème restaurant. Since I’m always asked about this, I will reluctantly address it here. Based on the reaction of my visitors and reviews, the best upscale restaurant is Rosetta, located in Roma Norte, with the Rosetta bakery, located on the next block, as the choice for the best cafe. Definitely the best pastry is the cafe’s Mil Hojas, covered at greater length in my article “Where the Locals Hang Out: The Unsung Treasures of CDMX” (February 2025).

Soak in the sunshine and joy of this city that is unlike any other.

“One never reaches home, but wherever friendly paths intersect the whole world looks like home for a time.” Hermann Hesse

 

Huatulco

Atmosphere Personified: Environment as Character

Leave a comment

By Carole Reedy

Readers often take for granted the setting of a novel, expecting the author to create an atmosphere either directly through straightforward description or indirectly via more oblique prose.

For many stories, though, the sense of place offers the reader another dimension, essentially creating an additional character central to the development of the plot.

The stories in these books could not be told anywhere other than where their authors have set them.

Belfast: Adrian McKinty’s Sean Duffy crime novels

When we think of Belfast we think: City of the Troubles. Although they can be traced back hundreds of years, the “troubles” as we know them began in the 1960s and lasted until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

Unless you’ve been living in a bubble, you know the conflict takes place in a sorely divided Ireland. The island includes the southern portion (the Republic of Ireland), devoted to a sovereign Ireland, and the six counties in the north (Northern Ireland) that are still loyal to the British government, which held control of the entire island until the Republic was formed in 1949. Many people see a united Ireland as the ultimate goal.

This is the setting for the life and career of Detective Inspector Sean Duffy, the only Catholic detective in a nearly 100 percent Protestant unit in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland and the focal point of crime in the country. DI Duffy has a tough exterior, but plays Brahms on the police car radio; he knows how to manipulate, but is essentially honest.

Duffy takes us through the back streets and surrounding rural areas of the city in a country that is desperately looking for solutions to problems of a criminal nature, but also for resolutions in the struggle for a structure in which everyone can live in peace.

The author reinvents actual happenings and crimes of the past to suit his situations. This gives credibility to the sometimes unbelievable mayhem experienced in the region. As we know, truth can be stranger than fiction.

With Duffy the personality and Belfast the catalyst, McKinty has created a world that informs, entertains, and engages his readers. The writing is precise, at times staccato and occasionally lyric, like a Brahms symphony.

Start with book one, The Cold Cold Ground (2012). You need not read the novels in order of publication. To keep readers on their toes, McKinty ends each book with various surprises and tweaks. He never loosens the reins nor lets go of his reader.

Shetland Islands: Anne Cleeves series

Confession: I had to pull out my trusty map collection to locate Shetland. My Chicago Public School education didn’t prepare me for this congregation of small islands 110 miles northeast of mainland Scotland – they are a very real character in the series Cleeves sets there, indeed a world unto itself, relying on weather conditions and human camaraderie in their frank isolation.

The books and characters provide compelling, page-turning entertainment. Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez, despite his recurring ennui, leads the investigations in the islands.

Winds, storms, and a raging sea are felt as characters that permeate the islanders’ actions and states of mind. Readers might be in awe of this remote way of life. Contrary to what I originally thought when the books were recommended to me, I, a big-city girl, devoured the series during the pandemic, though I initially wondered why a remote place surrounded by water held any interest for me.

There is also a TV series based on the books, but buyer beware. The plots and even characters don’t always duplicate the books. Some are uniquely drawn for the television series.

Addendum: a friend just called, lamenting that she needed something substantive to read that would engage her for a period of time, something to “bite her teeth into” that would endure and captivate. Right off I recommended this Shetland series.

Naples, Italy: Elena Ferrante in the Neapolitan novels

Classical music lovers swarm to Naples to inhale the sea air of the city where opera was born. Its Teatro San Carlos is the oldest active venue for opera in the world, having opened in 1737.

But this cultural-historical aspect is not the Naples of pseudonymous Italian author Ferrante’s stories in the brilliantly penned novels that make up this tetralogy.

Naples is awakening after the horror of World War II, when the port city was destroyed by the Nazis. It is reestablishing itself in a world that is healing. People are struggling in a place where obvious violence prevails in a city of unrest and poverty. The plot and characters are fiction, but the city is all too real.

The Ferrante books became international bestsellers to the point that there are tours for fans of the series that snake through the dark corners of the city frequented by Lenu and Lila, the main characters, both born in 1944 and raised in the Rione Luzzatti area of Naples (bordered by the prison to the north and central train station to the east).

Naples is not a grand city, like Rome, and no distances seem far from others. The Rione Luzzatti neighborhood, full of littered sidewalks, unmaintained grass, laundry instead of curtains hanging in windows, and the presence of a general malaise, is known for its poverty, violence, and a Mafia presence. While not physically far from the sea and tourist areas, it is miles away mentally and emotionally.

The four novels take us through the childhood and adolescence of the girls, and into early adulthood. Inseparable in early childhood, their paths wander, cross, and often merge later as they go their separate ways in their teen years.

If you hope to encounter the famous author on the streets of Naples, you will be wasting your time as she has successfully chosen to remain anonymous. Despite numerous searches, her identity remains a mystery, somewhat like her city.

Norfolk England: Elly Griffiths’ Dr. Ruth Galloway series

A quiet salt marsh is the home of choice for archeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway. She thrives there but also finds peace of mind…and some surprising archeological secrets.

The remoteness, the eerie vibes, and the lure and eccentricity of the salt marsh set the stage for a diverse cast of characters you’ll think about when you drift off to sleep and again when you awaken.

The bones of bodies found in the marsh and the surrounding area come out of the distant past and the all-to-familiar present. It is up to Ruth and her team to determine the ages of buried objects. Was the death natural or imposed?

Each book, as is each case, is unique.

An eavesdropper listening in on a conversation about this series would think the characters belong to your inner circle of friends. You’ll be frustrated by their actions and occasionally angry with them, and then you’ll forgive them, just as we do in daily lives and relationships.

You will savor every minute at the salt marsh.

It’s important to read this series in order, as the author pays close attention to the development of each character and the relationships they establish with other characters. No doubt you will fall in love with Cathbad, as most of us have.

There are 15 books in this captivating series about a woman obsessed by bones! Begin your archeological adventures now with the first book, The Crossing Places (2009).

Sicily: Andrea Camilleri and his Montalbano series

Andrea Camilleri’s 28 books paint a portrait of the island he loves and inhabited (he died in 2019, at the age of 93). They will leave you enchanted with this largest island in the Mediterranean. In addition, the customs and manners of the locals and their idiosyncrasies – especially those of the renowned detective, Commissario Salvo Montalbano – bring spice to the entire landscape.

A TV series based on the series, Il Commissario Montalbano (1999-2021, still available on Amazon Prime), has proved almost as successful as the books. As usual with books and movies, the books delve more deeply into the history and social issues of the island.

The TV series is broadcast in Italian with subtitles. If you’re tempted to ignore the subtitles in an effort to improve your Italian, you may be challenged, as the Italian is Sicilian Italian and is peppered with dialect. Take it from one who has tried.

The fictionalized city of Vigàta is based on Camilleri’s home town, Puerto Empdocle. In the books, the town is located in the famous historical area of Agrigento, on the southern coast of Sicily. The harsh landscape, teetering on the edge of the coast, parallels the often rough daily life of its habitants.

Sicily’s diverse population, thanks to the variety of cultures that have invaded this desirable island, brings a Neapolitan flavor of ways and manners. Fortunately for us, Inspector Montalbano savors the cuisine of his roots. Camilleri shares this table with us throughout: after all, one has to eat!

The series requires a commitment from the reader, but the result is a deep satisfaction with the consistent characterization, brilliant plotting, and extra credit for ambiance.

I envy the adventure you have ahead of you with each of these remarkable place-based books series!

Huatulco

Something For Everyone: An Eclectic Selection of Newly Published Books

Leave a comment

By Carole Reedy

This month we offer a variety of genres by noted authors to satisfy the full spectrum of our readers’ tastes. Perhaps a title outside your comfort zone will pique your interest too?

All books have been recently published except for the last two, which will be published in May.

EXOTIC AND DOMESTIC STORIES
The Vanishing Point by Paul Theroux
From his books The Great Railway Bazaar (1975, my personal favorite) to Ghost Train to the Eastern Star (2008), Theroux has taken us along on his adventures across the globe.

Followers of this prestigious writer can’t get enough, and Theroux continues his commitment to the excitement and wonder of new places in this fresh collection of short stories. The title refers to “a moment when seemingly all lines running through one’s life converge, and one can see no farther, yet must deal with the implications.”

Theroux’s short stories are reminiscent of the styles of Maupassant and O. Henry, complete with surprise endings.

GAY FICTION
Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
The premise of the novel, as you may have guessed, is a reunion after many years of mother and son. Readers have been both pleasantly and unpleasantly surprised by the trajectory the book takes, which should be no surprise coming from this established writer of fiction.

Haslett’s first book, a short-story collection titled You Are Not a Stranger Here (2002), and his second novel, Imagine Me Gone (2016), were both finalists for two major awards, the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Maybe the third time is the charm.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE
Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman
I can’t believe I’m writing this: Open Season is book number 40 of the popular and obviously compelling series starring the duo of psychologist Alex Delaware and homicide cop Milos Sturgis. The juxtaposition of classic crime procedures and the mysteries of human behavior make the series incomparable and compelling. In this title, the action takes place in Los Angeles where brutal and mystifying murders occur.

Kellerman’s novels consistently appear on The New York Times bestseller list, and Kellerman himself received a PhD in child psychology at age 24. His first published book was Psychological Aspects of Childhood Cancer (1980). In 1985 he published his first Alex Delaware book, When the Bough Breaks. And the rest is history.

MEMOIR
Source Code by Bill Gates
Memoirs, for me, are much more readable and interesting than autobiographies, which can tend to be self-aggrandizing. A review in The Guardian calls Gates’ memoir “refreshingly frank. There is general gratitude for influential mentors, and a wry self-deprecation throughout.”

This book takes us only through Gates’ childhood and adolescence. Stay tuned for later life discoveries in the next volume. Of his childhood, he writes that “if I were growing up today, I would probably be considered on the autism spectrum,” and now regrets some of his early behavior, though “I wouldn’t change the brain I was given for anything.”

ESTABLISHED WRITER
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
“Joyful” is the description The Guardian gives this latest novel from Tyler, prolific writer of books and short stories. Three Days in June is one of her shorter books, easily demonstrating her ability to bring us a “feel good” read without being insincere or unctuous.

A wedding is central to the story, the estranged parents of the bride the main players. Readers of Tyler know what she can do with this combination.

My favorite Anne Tyler novel is Breathing Lessons, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1989. In her review in The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani provides insight into Tyler’s talent, which continues to ensure her position as a best-selling writer:

“Tyler is able to examine the conflict, felt by nearly all her characters, between domesticity and freedom, between heredity and independence. In addition, she is able, with her usual grace and magnanimity, to chronicle the ever-shifting covenants made by parents and children, husbands and wives, and in doing so, to depict both the losses – and redemptions – wrought by the passage of time.”

LITERARY PUZZLE TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH
Death Take Me by Cristina Rivera Garza
This is listed as the most anticipated book of the year by The New York Times, Esquire, Ms Magazine, and Lit Hub. You may remember Rivera Garza won the Pulitzer Prize for Liliana’s Invincible Summer. She also is the head of the Spanish creative writing PhD program at the University of Houston.

The plot of this mystery crime novel seems topsy turvy in that the victims (a word ironically always feminine in the Spanish language) are always male. Castrated men are found accompanied by lines of verse at their sides. A professor and a detective are the investigators of these mysterious crimes.

Fellow author Yuri Herrera says “Cristina Rivera Garza does not respect what is expected of a writer, of a novel, of language. she is an agitator.” That comment may be enough to motivate one to read this mysterious novel.

SEX MEMOIR
The Loves of My Life by Edmund White
Of the hundreds of books I have read, one of my favorites is The Flaneur by Edmund White. Subtitled “A Stroll through the Paradoxes of Paris,” White takes us to little-known bookstores and cafes during the journey. You don’t have to be a Francophile to love this book. After reading it my friends and I started referring to our daily walks and meetings as “flaneuring.”

White has been a prominent writer for many years and has many bestsellers under his belt. He is known as a groundbreaking author of gay fiction and has been awarded many literary prizes, among them Lambda Literary’s Visionary Award, the National Book Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction. France named him Chevalier (and later Officier) de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1993.

Per the title, this book is obviously highly personal and honest, all written in his incomparable brilliant style.

CRIME FICTION
Never Flinch by Stephen King
Most readers are aware of King’s well-deserved success. From his early novels in the 1970s (The Shining, Carrie, Salem’s Lot and The Stand) to 50 years later (Holly, Fairy Tale, Billy Flinch and You Like It Darker), King’s books have sold 350 million copies worldwide and provided tremendous reading pleasure. His oeuvre includes 60 novels and a plethora of short stories. On Writing, his 2010 book was called “part memoir, part masterclass” by amazon and a “one-of-a-kind classic” by the Wall Street Journal.

It appears that King’s most recent book will feature a new cast of characters and some old favorites such as Holly Gibney. There are two plot lines: one about a killer on a revenge mission and another about a vigilante who is targeting a celebrity speaker.

HISTORICAL NOVEL
My Name is Emilia de Valle by Isabella Allende
Allende, the most widely read living writer in the Spanish language, was born in Peru but raised in Chile. Her father was first cousin to President Salvador Allende of Chile.

Readers around the world are awaiting the publication of this, her latest book. Here is a plot summary from the author:

“Eager to prove herself as a young writer and journalist, Emilia Del Valle seizes an opportunity to cover a brewing civil war in Chile. While there, Emilia meets her estranged father and delves into the violent confrontation in the country where her roots lie. As she discovers more about Chile and falls in love with a fellow journalist, the war escalates and Emilia finds herself in extreme danger, fearing for her life and questioning her identity and her destiny. I can’t wait for you to meet Emilia.”

DYSTOPIAN FICTION
Gliff by Ali Smith
What is a gliff? Smith dedicates a page and a half to describing the various meanings. Judge for yourself which is intended when reading the book.

Smith speculates a near future in which the world is experiencing authoritarian control. The book is filled with philosophical conundrums such as meaning and meaningless.

One reader reflects: “GLIFF is a treat for the reader who enjoys wordplay, and absurdity that invokes madness and heartbreak.”

Huatulco

Where the Locals Hang Out: The Unsung Treasures of CDMX

Leave a comment

By Carole Reedy

The comfortably trite expression “There’s no place like home” perfectly describes my emotion when, upon arrival, the airplane descends through the smog that covers my home of 15 years, and the hazy image of the Mexico City megalopolis comes into view. I’m a traveler whose favorite destination is a city, large or small, elite like Paris or scruffy like Naples. But with each trip and in my advanced years I appreciate returning to the wonder that is my chosen residence.

The lure of a large city is that things are ever changing, but one thing that doesn’t shift is the secure feeling I get while roaming the cracked sidewalks of my home city. (Mexico City was built on an ancient lake bed, into which it is gradually sinking, hence the craquelure of my walkways.)

Other sources of joy are the places I frequent, from street cafes and puestos (food stalls) to bookshops that haven’t changed much over the years. Here’s a sampling.

True Napolitana pizza
Come to Anahuac 38, Colonia Roma Sur, to San Giorgio Pizzeria for true Italian pizza. It was started by three friends who wanted to bring the authentic taste of Italian pizza to Mexico City.

The mozzarella cheese is made fresh daily and only high-quality,100% Italian products are used in the restaurant. Great variety in the topping ingredients will please all taste buds. The lasagna and cannelloni also will satisfy a taste for old-country cuisine.

The owners and employees work long hours to please their clientele. The restaurant is open daily from 1 pm until 11 pm. Take-out and delivery are also available.

Carnitas in a shopping center?
It’s not my habit to eat in a shopping center (I can hardly bear to shop in one). REFORMA 222 is the exception. Located on the city’s most famous avenue, where a select number of stores provide the familiarity of constancy, El Bajio restaurant on the ground floor is actually one of 18 locations in the city. It always surprises me that this eatery isn’t listed among the city’s best restaurants in the many tourist articles that crowd the internet.

For 52 years, starting with one location, the Degollado family has been cooking Mexican food that mostly hails from the states of Michoacán, Puebla, Veracruz, and Oaxaca.

The signature dish, carnitas (literally “little meats”), is pork, Michoacán style, which you can order by the kilo, with or without the fat (maciza), appropriately served with tortillas and garnishes. Be sure to ask about the spiciness of the sauces (¿Qué tan picante es esto?). Even if the server tells you it is un poquito picante continue to beware if you have a tender palate.

The rest of the menu is filled with Mexican specialties to suit all tastes. Another favorite of mine is tacos de lengua (tongue tacos). There are soups, main meat dishes, and a breakfast menu also. You will find many of your favorite traditional Mexican ingredients used here. You can’t go wrong in your choice.

Forego street tacos for the ambiance of Mexico in this attractive well-established restaurant, whose main publicity is word of mouth. Hours daily: 8 am to 11 pm.

Only duck tacos served here
Manila restaurant has a couple locations in the city, but I’m most familiar with the one in the Condesa neighborhood at Culiacán 91 (close to the major avenue Insurgentes). The small locale seats a few people inside at the counter and a couple of tables, as well as a few tables on the sidewalk in front. Nothing fancy here, just good food.

Only two varieties of tacos are served, but a side order of won tons is available. Beer and soft drinks are your beverage choices.

The tacos: the first variety is duck meat in a flour tortilla with cucumber and hoisin sauce. The other is shredded duck on a warm corn tortilla, with cilantro and chopped onion (my preference).

Like the other eateries mentioned here, the establishment is open many hours a week, beginning at 1 pm and closing as late as 11pm on the weekends.

Gypsy Pizza
Fifteen years ago while flaneuring in my new neighborhood, Cuauhtémoc, I stumbled across a tiny Italian restaurant on Calle Rio Neza 30 called Mezzo Mezzo. I returned with a friend who was enthusiastic about trying an unusual pizza on the menu called “Gypsy Pizza.”

Truthfully, it sounded awful to me, but wanting to please my friend I agreed to order it, figuring I could pick off the parts I didn’t like. To my surprise, the flavors of Brie cheese and figs blended perfectly. Now I take guests there as a routine part of the city tours I enjoy providing.

It’s not just the Gypsy Pizza that’s the lure, but a warm feeling of security that returning to a familiar restaurant or place provides. Now, 15 years later, I still recognize one of the servers. The wine list remains the same, and the prices have not increased as much as in the other, greedier establishments of this popular neighborhood.

The restaurant is quite busy between 2 pm and 5 pm on weekdays due to a hungry lunch crowd. Not to worry, as with several of my other favorite establishments here, the owners are accommodating, with hours seven days a week noon to midnight.

The most sumptuous dessert ever
This dessert is called El Mil Hojas de Frutos Rojos (Mille Feuille with Red Berries) and it is found at one of the most popular bakeries in Mexico City, Rosetta Bakery.

No doubt you have seen the publicity for the Rosetta restaurant (Calle Colima in trendy Roma Norte) and its renowned award-winning chef Elena Reygadas. The bakery is located just down the street.

First, it is a bakery where you can carry out the most interesting croissants, breads, and desserts, or you can simply enjoy them at the counter with a cappuccino. But there’s also a small outdoor cafe where excellent sandwiches are served. Only the highest quality meats, cheeses, and other ingredients are used in a Rosetta establishment.

The outstanding item here, however, is the dessert, Mil Hojas, available both by the slice or whole for special occasions according to the number of people you are serving. The cream and fresh raspberries nestled between layers of puff pastry and pastry cream combine to create a heavenly, not too sweet, taste.

Mil Hojas is French in origin. In 1651, chef François Pierre de la Varenne published the recipe for mille-fuelle in Le Cuisinier François. Don’t confuse it with a Napoleon. Napoleon has layers of almond paste instead of cream. Traditional mille-feuille consists of three layers of puff pastry alternating with two layers of pastry cream.

The Rosetta Bakery is open mornings starting between 7:00 to 7:30am. It closes between 9:30 and 10 pm.

The only criticism I’ve read on TikTok of this marvelous treat is the cost. Too expensive? Worth every peso, in my view.

Rio Lerma: The sreet of comida corrida
This is the street to visit to learn the true meaning of comida corrida, which is literally Mexico’s fast food. Don’t be fooled by the name. This is no McDonald’s or Burger King, but rather a healthy well-balanced meal usually consisting of four parts: soup, rice or pasta, meat or fish, and a simple dessert. There’s always a fixed menu, changed daily to accommodate nearby workers who frequent these restaurants.

Apparently the tradition of comida corrida started with the urbanization of the city during the “reign” of Porfirio Díaz. Workers traveled far from home for their employment and had little time to eat. The comida corrrida satisfied with a healthy and filling meal.

Sprinkled all along Rio Lerma starting at Rio Marne and ending at Rio Elba you will find several of these establishments serving traditional Mexican meals. Should your taste buds yearn for something other than Mexican, there’s also a selection of foreign food restaurants, from Uruguayan and Japanese to Italian. It’s a wonderful street for the curious traveler!

The most reliable recommendations usually originate by word of mouth or are discovered via flaneuring. Walking aimlessly is the manner in which I found these gems. I hope you’ll discover even more on your journey through this awe-inspiring city.