DDR: Standing by the Wall by Mick Herron

 

Well, first things first: the title of this collection of Slough House novellas has got to be an allusion to David Bowie's "Heroes."

I...I can remember

Standing by the wall.

And the guns shot above our heads.

And we missed as though nothing could fall.

Second things second: there are five novellas in this 279 page book: 

The List

The Marylebone Drop

The Catch

The Last Dead Letter

Standing by the Wall

Third (etc.), there's also a 14 page excerpt from a non-stop ugh House nivel, Nobody Walks. I'm interested to have a look at that as well.

Fourth (still etc.), "The Last Dead Letter" was included as a bonus in the 10th Anniversary version of Slow Horses, where it was referred to as "AN EXCLUSIVE SHORT STORY"

which appears to be doubly untrue, but what the heck, I'll give it another read.  

So, without further ado, it's

Day 1 (DDRD 2,599) December 11, 2024

Read to page 105.

And today's first moment of Reader Bliss:

"She laughed what sounded like a smoker's laugh. Last time he'd heard anything quite like it, he['d] been sanding off the edge of a door." (30)

279 + 14 = 293 pages. Of which I've read 45 so far today, leaving 248. At my previous daily rate, that'd be an 8 day read. At my current Slow 🐎 rate, that'd be less than 3. Hmmmm.

But y'know, considering that this story focuses on a new and seemingly minor character (albeit with glimpses of Lady Di, Catherine,  and Lamb), I'm pretty intensely interested in finishing this first nivella today, which would mean putting down another 18 pages. Well shit, man...that's not even a challenge,  is it.

ADDENDUM: And now...another reason to love Mick Herron.

"With a red windcheater and jeans in place of a black cloak, and her dark-blonde hair pulled into the briefest of knots at the back of her head, she was a far cry from Meryl Streep, but still: there was no denying the inherent romance in the scene." (53)

Now, how many people are going to get that reference to The French Lieutenant's Woman, a (great) movie that came out 43 years ago? 

Speaking of which, I'm about due to watch that one again....

Another R'sB moment: "He... marveled again at what it must be like to be young, and know that you hadn't yet messed everything up." (60)

And...finished novella one. 64 pages. Quite a good little read it was, too. Even got a glimpse of River at the end...though, alas, none of his grandfather, whom I love dearly.

Next up. "The Marylebone Drop." Speaking of which, check out what I just happened upon at the LFPL:

71 pages in this cute little edition...coupled with a 28 page preview of London Rules. Got to admit...I want that.

Meanwhile, back in the novella....

"[He was] one of those heroes whom life's cruelties have rendered gentle...."(68)

Yeah. I think that's me most of the time.

Oh. Here's a lovely word:

otiose

adjective

oti·​ose ˈō-shē-ˌōs  

ˈō-tē-

Synonyms of otiose

1

: producing no useful result : futile

2

: being at leisure : idle

3

: lacking use or effect : functionless

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/otiose

"But he contained multitudes, obviously...." (102)

Yep, I like the cut if Mick Herrings jib.

Day 2 (DDRD 2,600) December 12, 2024

Read to page 239. Yowza! 

Finished "The Marylebone Drop" (64 pages). Quite good, even though Lady Di was the only character I knew. Which makes me hopeful that Mick Herron's Jones mouth House books * might be worth reading as well. (Which doesn't seem to be true of Jo Nesbø who seems to lose his way without Harry Hole. **) 

Hmmm. Another fine words Mick has gotten into me:

shonky

/ ˈʃɒŋkɪ /

adjective

1. of dubious integrity or legality
2. unreliable; unsound

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/shonky#google_vignette

Finished novella #3, the 68 page "The Catch." Another rousing tale, and again the only character I knew was Lady Di. I'm not sure why these three stories are termed novellas, though, as they tell a complete and coherent story. Could just as well have been a short novel.

At any rate, it's been a big reading day, about 100 pages, but I don't feel quite finished yet. And with a mere 70-odd pages to go...maybe just go ahead and finish it off? Maybe. Dad duties first, though.

P.D.D. (Post Dad Duties):

Read "The Last Dead Letter" again. It's good to see Lamb and Molly Doran...both fabulous and grotesque (in the Flannery O'Connor sense of the word) characters in this brief (33 page) story... but it's definitely the weakest piece in the collection thus far. 

And hey...only one story to go now. Its another short one...37 pages...but I think its for tomorrow, as I have a date with Thursday Night Football and some Delta 8.

* Down Cemetery Road (2003) ££
The Last Voice You Hear (2004) £
Why We Die (2006) ££
Reconstruction (2008) £
Smoke and Whispers (2009) ££
All the Livelong Day (2013)
Nobody Walks (2015) £
This Is What Happened (2018) £
Dolphin Junction (2021) £

The Secret Hours (2023) £

** Speaking of whom, I just found out that Netflix will be running a Nesbø written Harry Hole series in 2026. Woo-hoo.

Day 3 (DDRD 2,601) December 13, 2024

Read to page "293," The End.

Just a few pages into "Standing by the Wall," I realized that I wasn't supposed to be reading this story until after the Bad Actors novel...which in turn reminded me that I've messed up the order on all of these novellas except for the first one. Well, shoot. But too late to worry about that now, so I'll just finish this up and them move on to Real Tigers. Probably today.

Finished "Standing by the Wall," another story featuring Lamb and Molly (though the rest of the crew make brief appearances). Alas, this wasn't very good, either. Shaking the dust off my sandals now, moving to the excerpt from Nobody Walks. 

And...done. 

Now on to Real Tigers. Which I either have to listen to (and audiobooks and I don't get along very well) or deal with the frustration of constantly renewing it from Internet Archive, and only being able to read it when I'm online. 'Cause I'm still 2 of 2 on the library hold list.

😫