Xi'an's Og

I finished the penultimate Rankin’s Rebus A Heart Full of Headstones that the latest volume made me realise existed! This could have been a good one (!), for being set at the emergence from the COVID lockdown, but I found it felt flat in the story and in the dialogues. With a worst-ever, cataclysmic, annihilating, final act that completely ruins the character I have been following for decades… What follows is not much of a spoiler, given the next volume being based on this act, namely Rebus’ assassinating Cafferty (whom he saved in a earlier volume!). This goes against Rebus’ deeper morality (which does exist, along his perpetual indifference to regulations and protocols). After reading the (so-far) final volume, I was actually hoping Rebus being in jail was an elaborate cover-up that would be exposed in yet another volume, but these hopes have now been dashed! In addition, the team work for solving the (earlier) murder sounds contrived, the antagonistic yet amicable relation between Siobhan and Fox is no longer funny, and the reason why a young drug dealer is opening to Rebus is missing. The volume (24) too many! And I also read 黒い家 The Black House, by Kishi Yūsuke, a detective story set in Kyoto where the investigator is an actuary. I definitely disliked the mood and tone of the book, as the author is attempting to recreate the shaky psychological state of this auditor through hallucinations and recurring nightmares, while the villain is once again omniscient and powerful far beyond the plausible.

On the cooking (work) plan, I tried making galettes with whey and spelt (as I discovered at the last minute I was out of buckwheat), which did not work out that well. But succeeded at last in making decent poached eggs for my wife, thanks to a recipe suggesting using a large pan! With no need of a whirlpool as so many recipes suggest. And had three consecutive days of Korean food at and from our seminar lunch place, Les Petites Dalles!  With fried kimchi and kimchi udon noodles (while waiting my own kimchi to complete its fermentation).

Watched Bushido, a Japanese film that retraces the story of a ronin and his daughter, the former being a Go master. Despite not being a Go player, I enjoyed the games and the relation that builds between the central ronin and the merchant with whom he most often plays. The light plays a major role in the beauty of the film, as the games are often played in the evening or behind screens that dim the outside sun. And the outdoor scenes along the Nakasendo are (purposely?) reminiscent of Hiroshige and Yokusai. Except for an unnecessary sword scene, the last third of the movie is exceptional.