N is for Nuanced Noir

Nabb, Magdalen: I read Death of an Englishman and Death in Springtime from the Maresciallo Guarnaccia series. They are not dissimilar from Don Matteo, only far more noir-ishly atmospheric. The solution in both books seemed a little "eh," but I didn't mind since the setting and characterizations and places threw me into that world. I will likely read more. 

Nabokov, Vladimir: I have never read Lolita though I did read a fascinating book about it.

Natsukawa, Sosuke: The Cat Who Saved Books is a contemporary fantastical journey with a message, not the type of thing I usually like. However, it is more Pilgrim's Progress than lecturing social media. The Cat recruits the help of a young man who encounters several trends in how books are treated: read to improve someone's status, then set aside; cut up into pieces and quickly summarized to make them easier to digest; throw out at readers who supposedly will only read what is currently popular. The boy, the inheritor of a bookstore, has to deal not only with these trends but with the soul of an ancient book who ponders what the point is of being constantly used and misused by people. The journey is a journey--argument doesn't replace action--and ideas are presented fairly and thoughtfully. The writing is crisp. The translation is excellent.

Nesser, Håkan: I read Mind's Eye, an Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery. It is very Swedish and very noir, which is different from American noir. There is overlap, but I think Swedish noir has more of a sense of humor, as if these Northern Europeans were practically giddy about their dark, long nights. Look how dour we are! Look are philosophical and full of phlegm. Nobody can beat us!

Norton, Andre: Andre Norton is a fantasy writer that I desperately, desperately wanted to love as I teen. There were just so many of her books in the library! Fall in love with one: a whole world awaits.

Alas, I tried--then tried again--and again. Unfortunately, Norton's books don't grab me. 

I will discuss Andre Norton in a 2024 post about how literary criticism does not match up to what people love or don't love. The reading experience is very personal.