I have just finished reading the Booker prize nominated Snowdrops by A.D. Miller. Now don’t get me wrong its a good book, and certainly one that seemed more attractive to me as a reader than most of the books nominated for that type of award. But it did get me thinking. The whole time I was reading it I wished I was reading something else. What you ask? The answer: anything by Martin Cruz Smith.
Apart from the strikingly similar covers, there are a lot of similarities between the books. Both are set in Russia, Moscow to be precise. And both deal with murder, corruption, intrigue and mystery. But one is considered capital L literature and the other a just a crime novel. I could not help as I went through Snowdrops but think that Martin Cruz Smith had done this all before and better! More thrills, more mystery, more emotion, better connection to characters and a better outline and study of modern Russia. Its strange to be reading a book and to be thinking of another the whole time.
All I can say is I will be checking out a Martin Cruz Smith I haven’t read yet and I recommend you do that same.
I think we have the same reaction to Literature
I’m totally a genre woman. It was nice to meet you at Elizabeth’s blog.
Thanks for visiting and posting a comment, this sites only been going for a less than a week so its good to get a comment!