DDR: Spook Street by Mick Herron

 

Another foray into Internet Archive, as the public library copies, real and e-, are out. Good sign for Muck, but I'd rather be holding a book in my hands right now. This time I am going to stick to 30 pages a day, so 341 pages, 11 days. Ok? Ok.

Day 1 (DDRD 2,604) December 16, 2024

Read to page 30.

As I was reading the previous book in the series (Real Tigers) I said to myself, "Self...you should keep track if the allusions Mick Herron makes in thus next novel." Hmm. Interesting idea. Being as I am not British, I'll no doubt miss more than a few, but let's give it a whirl.

Allusion 1 (A1): "Living for the Sunshine" by Third World (p. 4)

A2: "Something Like the Sun"--which seems to be a twist in " Nothing like the sun," from the first like if Shakespeare's Sonnet 130.

Mick gives us a pretty close idea of where Slough House is in London: "...hard by Barbican underground station on Aldersgate Street...."

Which looks like this:

Mr. DeMille?

So there's that.

A3: Keith Jarrett, Concert in Osaka, 8 November 1976 (pp. 11 -12)

A4: "It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma: but perhaps there is a key." Winston Churchill on Russia. (p. 12)

A5: "horses, lions, tigers"--a clever allusion to the first three Slough House novels: Slow Horses, Dead Lions, and Real Tigers. (p. 12)

A6: Paul Pogba, footballer (p. 16)

A7: Nelson Mandela (p. 21)

A8: Elton John (p. 35)

A9: Bleak House --my favorite Dickens, btw (p. 51)

Hmmm. I've now read to page 100. (Yeah, I know.) Is it possible that there have been no allusions in 50 pages? Possibly. Or also possibly I was so caught up in the story that I whizzed right on by them. It is quite a captivating read, after all. In fact...I think I'll just go ahead and have a few more pages now.

A19: "It would be a far, far better thing...." Another Ducjens; A Take of Two Cities this time. (p. 108)

 A20: "Look on my works and tremble...." Not exact, but enough to animate the ghost of Shelley's "Ozymandias": " Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair." (p. 109)

Read to page 120.

Of course, it's still quite early (3:00 pm)....

Word Up:

gallimaufry

noun

gal·​li·​mau·​fry ˌga-lə-ˈmȯ-frē 

pluralgallimaufries

Synonyms of gallimaufry

: hodgepodge

 https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/gallimaufry

Read to page 142. That ought to do it for today, don'tchathink?

P.S. Holy shit...that's not far from half the book!

Day 2 (DDRD 2,605) December 17, 2024

Read to page 301. Which is (1) a lot more than 30 and (2) a mere 40 pages from the end...so I might as well go ahead and finish it, right?

A21: "Happy...Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc." Four of the seven dwarves. (p. 153) The other three are mentioned on the next page.

A22: "Once upon a time Charles Dickens wandered this area, doubtless taking notes." (187)

A23: "Spider-Man" (p. 201) Nite that Mick (properly) hyphenates it.

A24: Daffy Duck. Twice. (p. 205)

A25: Again, Keith Jarrett (p. 218)

A26: "Many a tear has to fall...." A line from "It's All in the Game." (p. 224)

A27: Grendel. Well, actually "Grendel's mother." (p. 244)

A28: "Is that Sartre?" (p. 256)

A29: "Darth Vader" (p. 277)

A30: "Buzz Lightyear" (p. 288)

A31: "the Lady of Shallots"--which should, of course, be Shallot, but that's the characters error, not Mick Herron's. p. 290)

A32: "Lady Guinevere" (p. 290)

A33: "King Arthur" (p. 290)

A34: "Sir Lancelot" (p. 291)

A35: "Sir Percival" (p. 291)

A36: "Sir Gawain" (p. 291)

A37: "Sir Galahad" (p. 291)

A38: "There was a fairy tale about the houses little pigs built." (p. 297)

A39: "Sir Bedivere" (p. 298)

A40: "Sir Kay" (p. 298)

A41: "Sir Tristan" (p. 299)

A42: "Sir Bors" (p. 299)

A43: "Sir Gareth" (p. 299)

A44 "Knights of the Round Table" (p. 332)

A45 "Galahad" (p. 332)

A46 "Lord of the Rings" (p. 332)

So...that seems like a lot of allusions. And I didn't even count all of the repeats. And I probably missed some, too.

And...read to page 341, The End. In two days. But that's it, man. Next time its THIRTY PAGES PER DAY. Okay?

Okay.