Noir at the Bar VI: Sandra Ruttan
Noir at the Bar is proud to present Sandra Ruttan, author of What Burns Within, The Frailty of Flesh and Suspicious Circumstances.
“The Frailty of Flesh tore me asunder. Rarely has a novel of such art and skill reduced me to a wreck. It moved me in ways I didn’t even know I felt. It’s a kick in the head that is underwrit with sheer compassion.”
"[Ruttan] is talented in the way that a natural musician is talented, making all the notes seem effortless. Characters that feel very real, and a wonderful sense of timing, Ruttan brings it all and leaves it on the page."
"The next stage in ensemble procedurals is here, and Sandra Ruttan is in its vanguard."
© Peter Rozovsky 2008
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“The Frailty of Flesh tore me asunder. Rarely has a novel of such art and skill reduced me to a wreck. It moved me in ways I didn’t even know I felt. It’s a kick in the head that is underwrit with sheer compassion.”
– Ken Bruen
"[Ruttan] is talented in the way that a natural musician is talented, making all the notes seem effortless. Characters that feel very real, and a wonderful sense of timing, Ruttan brings it all and leaves it on the page."
– Jon Jordan, Crime Spree Magazine
"The next stage in ensemble procedurals is here, and Sandra Ruttan is in its vanguard."
– Peter Rozovsky, Detectives Beyond Borders
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Where: Tritone
1508 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
215–545–0475
1508 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
215–545–0475
http://www.tritonebar.com/
When: Sunday, Dec.7, 6:00 p.m.
"Noir at the Bar: A Philadelphia Tradition Since 2008"
When: Sunday, Dec.7, 6:00 p.m.
"Noir at the Bar: A Philadelphia Tradition Since 2008"
© Peter Rozovsky 2008
Labels: Noir at the Bar, Sandra Ruttan
posted by Peter Rozovsky at 11:08 AM
23 Comments:
Such a damned pity I live so far away as I'd be there on the bar Gin and Tonic in hand - have fun
Ali
Damn! Me too. Wish I were closer. Have fun!
Ah, come on, Ali. You can sneak away for an evening. I'll buy you a gin and tonic if you make it -- Gordon's, if you like.
Same for you, Linda. Anyone comes 3,000 miles for a reading, least I could do is buy 'em a drink.
Peter-
Would love to check this one out, since the wife and I live in Glenside, but alas we already have plans that evening. Perhaps next time.
Blow off your plans, then!
I keep an e-mail list for notification of Noirs at the Bar. If you'd like to be added, write to me via my e-mail address, which you'll find on my profile.
This is a completely redundant comment (the more the merrier with blogs though, right?), but I will shoot you an email.
BTW--Small world, huh? I picked you up on Adrian McKinty's blog.
-B
Hi, Peter. Will definitely stop by when I'm in the Cherry Hill, NJ area. My college roommate's family lives there which is just across the border from Philly. Cheers! Petra :))
December 7, huh? "A day which will live in infamy. . ."
I live two miles north of Pearl Harbor, which may be why Dec. 7 triggers my memory.
Brian, no comment is ever redundant as long as it builds one's traffic up. Nor is it superfluous, circumlocutory or periphrastic.
I sometimes have trouble keeping track of these tangled webs, but I have seen that you plan to post a review of some of Adrian's work. I liked all three of the Michael Forsythe trilogy. Unlike some other sequences that happen to have three books in them, this one does work as a trilogy, I think. I recommend all.
Linkmeister, I do believe I have heard that date mentioned. What's the commemoration like in Hawaii? I imagine it must hit people there the way Dec. 11 hits people in New York -- as a grim reality in addition to a symbol.
PM, drop a line if you head this way. Readings are generally the first Sunday of each month, and I can recommend Tritone's sirloin burgers or, if you don't eat meat, their mahi-mahi burgers. If that doesn't work for you, you may have to make do with gin and tonics and fried chocolate bars.
Peter-
Couldn't agree more re: McKinty's Forsythe trilogy. Each book manages to tell its own kind of story, and yet, they all fit perfectly together. Also, the Forsythe grows as a character, not just during the stories, but in between stories, and McKinty handles this very effectively. I can't recommend the stories enough.
I'd love to be quizzed by Ali in the bar!
Come on Ali - I'll buy the G&T! My rare drink of choice, btw.
There's usually a fly-by at 0800, but these days it's during the years ending in zero that it's formally observed with the pols and the (fewer-than-ever) survivors massing to commemorate it.
There are bookends to that war here, you know. We have the Arizona Memorial and we also have the USS Missouri; the former is emblematic of the attack and the latter of the Japanese surrender (which was signed on its deck).
Brian, I would suggest that readers read the books in order, or at least read the second before the third. (For newcomers, series order is Dead I Well May Be, The Dead Yard, Bloomsday Dead.)
I especially like the pacing of the stories, and the changes in pace from the first book to the second. In the first book's long third section, Forsythe recovers from an ordeal, regains his place in the world, and gathers the physical and emotional resources to resume his adventure. In the second, he does this in 2 1/2 pages — in a single sentence, really. That leaves more room for the central narrative, and a violent narrative it is.
I think I'm actually going to a Pearl Harbor commemoration this Sunday if all goes well. One of my friend's fathers is a survivor and there is some sort of annual meeting in in Watsonville. I'm looking forward to it.
Peter, if I get out to the east coast in the near future, I'll try to time it so I can check out a Noir at the Bar night. It sounds like great fun, especially as it appears everyone will be afloat on a sea of gin.
The Arizona memorial is one of the mroe evocative that I've heard of.
I like the sound of that: "Afloat on a sea of gin." It's a good line from a song. Where will we all be floating to?
Peter, if you don't know where you're floating to, I'm pretty sure your gin soaked crew isn't going to know either.
We could go floating to Byzantium on a sea of gin.
In fact, I generally restrict myself to a few decorously sipped ciders or G&Ts.
"Come on Ali - I'll buy the G&T! My rare drink of choice, btw."
Yeah, come on, Ali. Don't be a tosser.
Or a knob.
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