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ultraericthered · 7 months

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So this post and this one got me thinking more about what a darker, grittier, more twisted and deconstructive (but still very whimsical, wholesome and heart-filled) take on Winnie The Pooh would look like, and since Pooh’s now in the public domain, such a thing isn’t in the realm of the impossible anymore, and would certainly be a more worthwhile contribution to Pooh canon and society as a whole than...that thing. What I lean towards is a three season TV series in a similar vein to Amphibia where low stakes small stories and comedy meets with a larger, steadily building overarching narrative that leads to bigger revelations and higher stakes conflict. Said conflict has to arise from somewhere, so I thought up four OCs to bring it with them!

Context: This hypothetical series would be an Elsewords take on Winnie The Pooh from the main Disney depictions that reframes the Hundred Acre Wood as a vast, magical Eden of regrown nature and wildlife located in Sussex, England on a post-apocalyptic Earth. Christopher Robin is a orphaned boy who lives in a nature-overgrown neigborhood in Sussex and has secret access to the Wood, where he’s befriended some friendly cryptids with very plush animal-like appearances. All the classic Pooh tales transpired until one day Christopher had to leave at behest of his caretakers. In this story’s present day, Christopher is a young adult who returns to the Hundred Acre Wood and learns some deep, dark secrets about it that he’d never known in the childhood he left behind, such as the connection between the Wood denizens and the higher spirits of nature, the crystal stones that keep effect the way time flows within the Wood, why creatures such as Heffalumps, Woozles, and Jagulars are as they are, and the unnatural evil that lurks beneath the Wood’s soil...

Credit to @disneyfan50, who put forward what could very well work as an ongoing flashback storyline in the first season, prior to the emergence of the first OC seen on this post in the present day tale.

And now, here they are - my OC Bad Guys!

John Jagular emerges as the chief antagonist of the story, the ruler of the hidden Jagulars’ Vale who, in response to the natural resource scarity in his dominion, seeks to turn the Hundred Acre Wood into his first ever colony and tax the shit out of them so that a portion of their goods (hunny, hacorns, sticks, herbs and plant-life, Rabbit’s vegetables, etc.) can go to Jagular’s Vale. Much as he wants to be taken seriously as a soverign monarch, King John is quite a hapless and oafish figure who normally fails. His basis is the character of King John, who appeared in a handful of poems by A.A Milne, and he is a partial Expy of Prince John from Disney’s Robin Hood. He’d be voiced by Alan Tudyk (w/ his Clayface and King River voice)

Kaleb Jingswell is the unexpected human antagonist, a competitor of Christopher Robin’s who’s put his foot down in land development and real estate business, meaning yes, he does exactly what you’d think he’d do: tries to secure a deal for the Hundred Acre Woods to get bulldozed and made into the future site of homes for humans. While many are in need of homes in this post-apocalyptic setting, his intent is not to help the needy but simply to spite Christopher by desecrating his childhood playground. Much like John Jagular, Kaleb is heavy on comedic relief despite his cruelty and wickedness. He is a suspiciously similar character to Giles WInslow Jr. from Christopher Robin (2018), but he also has influences in Big City Greens’ Chip Whistler and El Hazard’s Katsuhiko Jinnai (same initials even!) He’d be voiced by Kyle McCarley (Simon Laurent from Infinity Train, etc.).

Sylvester T. Reynard is the true villain of the piece, a suspicious fox who roams around the woods in clownish get-up, always claiming to be conveniently exactly what someone might need him to be at that given moment. Feigning friendliness to Pooh and friends, Reynard is constantly scheming up ways to dupe them, will never hesitate to stab them in the back when it suits him, and eventually starts playing them, the Jagulars, the Heffalumps and Woozles, and even Kaleb Jingwell’s human demolition team against one another. While as comical a figure as John and Kaleb, Reynard differs in that he does more long term thinking than either of them and has moments where his darker, more intimidating true nature shows itself. His animation would also notably differ from that of other characters, with his movements being stange and jerky and his feet sometimes lifting above the ground, signifying something very off about this particular critter. His basis is the obscure one-off antagonist Sly Fox from the book Pooh’s New Clothes, who duped the Hundred Acre Wood residents and got away with it with a handful of hunny jars, and the clown-like garb and make-up along is an allusion to none other than Pennywise the Dancing Clown from Stephen King’s IT. He’d be voiced by David Tennant (w/ his Dread the Evil Genie voice)

The Thing From Below is the overarching villain, though we’d not learn he exists until near the very end when it’s revealed he’d been sealed beneath the Hundred Acre Wood for ages. A beast who knows no morality, the Thing wishes to swallow up all the mystical supernatural power within the crystal stones in order to strengthen itself so that it may dominate the Wood and leave a wasteland of dust, decay, and bones in its place. It is said that more of its kind used to exist and are what brought the planet to an apocalypse a good many years ago, the effects of which are still being dealt with, and the older forest spirits imprisoned this last one because it was the strongest and cruelest of them all. Not pictured is that on the tip of its tail a tall, thin branch sprouts out, and on the edge of the branch is a long, crooked wire-like thing, and on the edge of that is Sylvester T. Reynard, who the whole time was the Thing’s puppet working to get it released from beneath the earth (yeah, turns out my “Professor Pericles” idea from 5 years earlier ended up a little more on the mark than I’d expected). As you’ll most likely notice, the Thing is indeed the Skullasaurus, the fabled fearsome monster from Pooh’s Grand Adventure, though it would not be addressed as such. And as an additional Mythology Gag, it’d be voiced by Jim Cummings using only growls, grunts and roars, as all of his “speaking” is done by Reynard.

By the by, I'm also still waiting for that Madeline Robin-centered spinoff, but that should be its own thing entirely, obviously. The poor girl doesn’t deserve to be put through anything like these nightmares!

#Disney #Winnie The Pooh #OCs #my ocs #villains #headcanon

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fictionfromafar · 1 year

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Crime Fiction In Translation 2023

This list will be added to throughout 2023

5 Jan

Black Ice by Carin Gerhardsen, translated by Ian Giles, Head Of Zeus SWEDEN

A deadly secret haunts a group of strangers who cross paths in the snow of a Swedish midwinter. The days are short, the air is cold, and all the roads are covered in snow. On a deserted, icy backroad, these wintry conditions bring together a group of strangers with a force devastating enough to change their lives forever

Empathy by Antoine Renand, translated by Frank Wynne, Welbeck FRANCE

Prix Maison de la Presse Award Finalist 2019 Marion Mesny and Anthony Rauch, otherwise known as 'The Pear', work at the heart of the Sexual Assault Unit in Paris.

Renowned for their bravery and intelligence, the pair are not unfamiliar with violent crimes. Yet they are horrified when they discover a criminal who goes by the name of Alpha - a man filled with red-hot hatred, whose meaning of life lies in assaulting and torturing others.

18 Jan

Trouble by Katja Ivar, Bitter Lemon Press FINLAND

Helsinki, early summer 1953. Hella Mauzer, once a member of the city’s murder squad, now a reluctant private investigator, is doing a background check on a member of the Finnish secret services. She accepted the job because she was promised information about the 1942 death of her father. An accident, file closed they say. But not for Hella. Her investigation leads to people who want her stopped dead in her tracks.

The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier, translated by Daniel Levin, Fitzcarraldo Editions FRANCE

While Patrice plans a surprise for his wife's fortieth birthday, inexplicable events start to disrupt the hamlet's quiet existence: anonymous, menacing letters, an unfamiliar car rolling up the driveway. And as night falls, strangers stalk the houses, unleashing a nightmarish chain of events. Told in rhythmic, propulsive prose that weaves seamlessly from one consciousness to the next over the course of a day, Laurent Mauvignier's The Birthday Party is a deft unravelling of the stories we hide from others and from ourselves, a gripping tale of the violent irruptions of the past into the present, written by a major contemporary French writer.

25 Jan

Winter Swallows by Maurizio de Giovanni, translated by Antony Shugaar, Europa Editions ITALY (USA)

Christmas has just passed and the city is preparing to celebrate New Year when, on the stage of a variety show, famous actor Michelangelo Gelmi fires a gun at his wife, Fedora Marra. The shooting itself would be nothing strange: it is repeated every evening as part of their performance. But this time, someone replaced one of the blanks with a real bullet. Gelmi swears his innocence, but few believe him.

The Only Child by Mi-ae Seo, translated by Yewon Jung, Point Blank KOREA

Criminal psychologist Seonkyeong has two new people in her life. A serial killer whose gruesome murders shook the world but who has steadfastly remained silent. A young, innocent looking stepdaughter from her husband's previous marriage, who unexpectedly turns up at the door after the sudden death of her grandparents. Both are unsettling. Both are deeply troubled. And both seem to want something from her. Can she work out just who is the victim in all of this?

29 Jan

Nothing Is Lost by Cloé Mehdi, translated by Howard Curtis, Europa Editions

In a small town just like any other, a police identity check goes wrong. The victim, Saïd, was fifteen years old. And now he is dead. Mattia is just eleven years old, and witnesses the hatred and sadness felt by those around him. While he didn’t know Saïd, his face can be seen all over the neighbourhood, graffitied on walls in red paint, demanding “Justice”. Mattia decides to pull together the pieces of the puzzle, to try to understand what happened. Because even the dead don’t stay buried forever, and nothing is lost, ever.

2 Feb

You Will Never Be Found by Tove Alsterdal, translated by Alice Menzies, Faber & Faber SWEDEN

A body has been found locked in the basement of an abandoned house in the woods. Aside from the victim's name - which he carved into the wall before he died - the police have nothing to go On. Eira is still struggling with the aftermath of her last big case. But no one knows Ådalen like Eira, and she soon begins to immerse herself in this eerie new case.

Nothing Can Hurt You Now by Simone Campos, translated by Rahul Bery, Pushkin Press BRAZIL

Lucinda has lived her whole life in the shadow of her glamorous and outgoing high-end model sister Viviana. But when Viviana suddenly disappears on a trip to Sao Paulo, Lucinda drops everything to track her down. Met with indifference from the police, Lucinda joins forces with Viviana's girlfriend Graziane to launch her own investigation.

Mirror of our Sorrows by Pierre Lemaitre, translated by Frank Wynne, MacLehose Press FRANCE

Louise Belmont runs, naked, down the boulevard du Montparnasse.

To understand the tragic scene she has just experienced, she will have to plunge into the madness of the 'Phoney War', when the whole of France, seized by the panic of a new World War, descends into chaos.

7 Feb

The Island by Katrine Engberg, translated by Tara Chase, Hodder & Staunton, DENMARK

Jeppe Kørner, on leave from the police force and nursing a broken heart, has taken refuge on the island of Bornholm for the winter. Back in Copenhagen, Anette Werner is tasked with leading the investigation into a severed corpse discovered on a downtown playground. As she follows the strange trail of clues, they all seem to lead back to Bornholm. With an innocent offer to check out a lead, Jeppe unwittingly finds himself in the crosshairs of a sinister mystery rooted in the past, forcing him to team up with Anette and Esther to unravel the island’s secrets before it’s too late.

16 Feb

The Last Grudge by Max Seeck, translated by Kristian London, Welbeck FINLAND

While her colleagues investigate the brutal murder of a prominent businessman, Jessica Niemi must battle demons from her past. Powerful executive Eliel Zetterborg has been found murdered in his upscale Helsinki home. What at first seems like a straightforward case soon proves to be anything but when it becomes clear the murderer has other targets. The only clue the police have is a photo of Zetterborg with three men whose faces have all been scratched off.

The Hitchhiker by Gerwin van der Werf, translated by David Colmer, Text Publishing (USA) NETHERLANDS

Tiddo plans a holiday to Iceland, travelling the tourist circuit in a rented campervan. On their trip, they pick up a hitchhiker named Svein, who is tall, handsome and covered in tattoos of ancient runes. When Svein offers to guide them off the beaten track, Tiddo is conflicted. Does Svein pose a threat or offer salvation? Is there wisdom in his stories? What power do his tattoos hold?

23 Feb

The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji, translated by Ho-Ling Wong, Pushkin Press JAPAN

Every year, a small group of acquaintances pay a visit to the remote, castle-like Water Mill House, home to the reclusive Fujinuma Kiichi, son of a famous artist, who has lived his life behind a rubber mask ever since a disfiguring car accident.

This year, however, the visit is disrupted by an impossible disappearance, the theft of a painting and a series of baffling murders. The brilliant Kiyoshi Shimada arrives to investigate. But will he uncover the truth?

7 Mar

Tina, Mafia Soldier by Maria Rosa Cutrufelli, translated by Robin Pickering-Iazzi, Soho Crime ITALY

Sicily, 1980s: When she was just eight years old, Tina watched as her father, a member of Cosa Nostra, was murdered in cold blood. Now a teenager, she terrorizes her hometown of Gela, having made it her mission to join the mafia, an organization traditionally forbidden to women as made members. Nicknamed ’a masculidda, or “the tomboy,” Tina has taken charge of her own gang, and is notorious for her cruelty and reckless disregard for societal expectations

16 March

Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado, translated by Nicholas Caistor, Macmillan, SPAIN

Antonia Scott is special. Very special. She is not a policewoman or a lawyer. She has never wielded a weapon or carried a badge, and yet, she has solved dozens of crimes. But it's been awhile since Antonia left her attic in Madrid. The things she has lost are much more important to her than the things awaiting her outside. She also doesn't receive visitors. That's why she really, really doesn't like it when she hears unknown footsteps coming up the stairs. Whoever it is, Antonia is sure that they are coming to look for her.

The Hand That Feeds You by Mercedes Rosende, translated by Tim Gutteridge, Bitter Lemon Press URAGUAY

The attempted robbery of the armoured truck in the back streets of Montevideo was a miserable failure. A lucky break for the intrepid Ursula who manages to snatch all the loot, more hindered than helped by her faint-hearted and reluctant companion Diego. Only now, the wannabe robbers are hot on her heels. As is the police. And a private detective. And Ursula's sister. But Ursula turns out to be enormously talented when it comes to criminal undertakings, and given the hilarious ineptitude of those in pursuit, she might just pull it off. She is an irresistible heroine. A murderess with a sense of humor, a lovable criminal with an edge and she is practically invisible to the men who dominate the deeply macho society of Uruguay.

The Spider by Lars Kepler, translated by Alice Menzies, Zaffre SWEDEN

Three years ago, Saga Bauer received a postcard with a threatening text about a gun with nine white bullets - one of which is waiting for Detective Joona Linna. But time passed and the threat faded. Until now. A sack with a decomposed body is found tied to a tree in the forest. A milky white bullet casing is found at the murder scene. And soon the police are sent complicated riddles from the killer - a chance to stop further murders.

23 Mar

Mothers' Instinct by Barbara Abel, Translated by Susan Pickford, Harper Collins

David and Laetitia Brunelle and Sylvain and Tiphaine Geniot are inseparable friends and next-door neighbors in a pretty, tranquil suburb. Their sons Milo and Maxime, born in the same year, grow up together as close as brothers. But when Maxime is killed in an accident, their idyllic world shatters. Maxime's parents, Sylvain and Tiphaine, are consumed by grief and bitterness, while David and Laetitia are wracked with guilt for their role in the tragedy. Then a mysterious series of “accidents” begins to happen to Milo, raising Laetitia’s suspicions.

The Girl By The Bridge by Arnaldur Indridason, translated by Victoria Cribb, Vintage Publishing ICELAND

An elderly couple are worried about their granddaughter. They know she's been smuggling drugs, and now she's gone missing. Looking for help, they turn to Konrad, a former policeman whose reputation precedes him. Always absent-minded, he constantly ruminates on the fate of his father, who was stabbed to death decades ago. But digging into the past reveals much more than anyone set out to discover, and a little girl who drowned in the Reykjavik city pond unexpectedly captures everyone's attention.

30 March

The Sins Of Our Fathers by Asa Larsson, translated by Frank Perry, MacLehose Press SWEDEN

Forensic pathologist Lars Pohjanen has only a few weeks to live when he asks Rebecka Martinsson to investigate a murder that has long since passed the statute of limitations. A body found in a freezer at the home of the deceased alcoholic, Henry Pekkari, has been identified as a man who disappeared without a trace in 1962: the father of Swedish Olympic boxing champion Börje Ström. Rebecka wants nothing to do with a fifty-year-old case - she has enough to worry about. But how can she ignore a dying man's wish?

The Shadow Lily by Johanna Mo, translated by Alice Menzies, Penguin Books SWEDEN

Small-town police detective Hanna Duncker has a past. Her deceased father was convicted of murder and arson long ago, and she has taken up residence and resumed her police career in her hometown after his death. She and her partner Erik Lindgren are called to investigate the disappearance of a father and his infant son from their home while his pregnant wife was away on a weekend trip.

Lady Joker Vol 2 by Kaoru Takamura, translated by Allison Markin Powell and Marie Iide, John Murray Press JAPAN

This second half of Lady Joker, by Kaoru Takamura, the Grand Dame of Japanese crime fiction, concludes the breathtaking saga introduced in Volume I. Inspired by the real-life Glico-Morinaga kidnapping, an unsolved case that terrorized Japan for two years, Lady Joker reimagines the circumstances of this watershed episode in modern Japanese history and brings into riveting focus the lives and motivations of the victims, the perpetrators, the heroes and the villains.

Tomas Nevinson by Javier Marias, translated by Margaret Jull Costa, Hamish Hamilton Ltd SPAIN

Tomas Nevinson has left the secret service and returned to his old job working in the British Embassy in Madrid.

Assumed dead by his wife Berta, Tomas attempts to resume his previous life and heal from his psychological wounds. But when he is contacted by his old boss, Bertram Tupra, Nevinson reluctantly becomes involved in a plan to locate and eliminate a woman believed to have helped orchestrate the 1987 Hipercor bombing.

3 April

The Consultant by Im Seong-sun, translated by An Seon Jae, Raven Books KOREA

The Consultant is very good at his job. He creates elegant, effective solutions for … restructuring. Nothing obvious or messy. Certainly, nothing anyone would suspect as murder. The ‘natural deaths’ he plans have always gone well: a medicine replaced here; a mechanism jammed there. His performance reviews are excellent. And it’s not as though he knows these people. Until his next ‘customer’ turns out to be someone he not only knows but cares about, and for the first time, he begins to question the role he plays in the vast, anonymous Company. As he slowly begins to understand the real scope of their work, he realises just how easy it would be for the Company to arrange one more perfect murder.

13 Apr

Stigma by Thomas Enger and Jørn Lier Horst, translated by Megan E. Turney. Orenda Books, NORWAY

Incarcerated in a Norwegian high-security prison, a broken Alexander Blix joins forces with Emma Ramm to find a ruthless killer who has escaped from a German jail. Pulse-pounding Nordic Noir. Alexander Blix is a broken man. Convicted for avenging his daughter’s death, he is now being held in one of Norway’s high-security prisons. Inside, the other prisoners take every opportunity to challenge and humiliate the former police investigator .On the outside, Blix’s former colleagues have begun the hunt for a terrifying killer. Walter Kroos has escaped from prison in Germany and is making his way north.

Skin Deep by Antonia Lassa, translated by Jacky Collins, Corylus Books SPAIN

In the glamorous resort of Biarritz, the corpse of an elderly millionaire is discovered brutally scarred with acid burns in a downmarket rental apartment. Her young lover is the chief suspect but the authorities admit they are not entirely convinced about his guilt. It will take the intervention of private detective Albert Larten to explore all the complexities of desire, and ultimately reveal the truth.

4 May

Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses, Pushkin Press ARGENTINA

On hearing her neighbour's body plummet on to her patio, a woman's comfortable life seems to split open.

A cab driver's perfectly manicured nails may be concealing grisly secrets. In these tense, macabre stories, acclaimed author Agustina Bazterrica strikes to the dark heart of our desires, fears and fantasies.

11 May

Blood Ties by Veronica E Llaca, translated by Mark Fried, Mountain Leopard MEXICO

When the writer Ignacio Suarez is sent photos of two murdered women, mirroring a passage of his detective novel, he rushes to uncover who is responsible. What no one suspects is that the key to solving these crimes lies in the forgotten story of Felicitas Sanchez, the midwife turned child-killer who became known in the 1940s as 'The Ogress of Colonia Roma'.

Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen, translated by Megan E. Turney, Orenda Books DENMARK

Copenhagen author Hannah is publicly challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days. Scared that she will lose face, she accepts, and her editor sends her to Húsafjöður – a quiet, tight-knit village in Iceland, filled with colorful local characters – for inspiration. But two days after her arrival, the body of a fisherman’s young son is pulled from the water … and what begins as a search for plot material quickly turns into a messy and dangerous investigation that threatens to uncover secrets that put everything at risk … including Hannah.

Coffee and Cigarettes by Ferdinand Von Schrirach, translated by Kat Hall, Baskerville GERMANY

Von Schirach returns with gripping character portraits and short stories, as well as autobiographical vignettes and astute observations drawn from his life and career. From conversations with imprisoned clients, great writers and supreme court judges, and vignettes on art, film and smoking, to observations on Germany's heavy history - as well as his own family's. The result is a revealing, revelatory collection

25 May

Killing Moon by Jo Nesbø, translated by Robert Ferguson, Vintage Publishing NORWAY

Harry has gone to Los Angeles to drink himself to death, in the wake of his life back in Oslo falling to pieces. He’s nearly managed to, but Harry has been helping an older film actress, Lucille, to get away from the grips of a drug cartel to which she owes one million dollars, and in return she’s given him shelter, company and a tailored suit. In Oslo, two girls have disappeared and been found murdered and one of the suspects is a well-known real estate magnate. Katrine Bratt wants to bring in the country’s foremost serial killings expert, but the idea of collaborating with Harry Hole is out of the question for the chiefs of police.

The Invisible Web by Oliver Bottini, translated by Jamie Bulloch, Maclehose Press GERMANY

Berlin: A man is beaten up, the attacker escapes undetected. As a trail leads to Freiburg, Chief Inspector Louise Bonì is sent to investigate. It's a complex case: the attacker appears to be a professional, the victim a secret service informer, the only witness knows more than she's saying, and the domestic intelligence service is hovering in the background but refusing to cooperate. Industrial espionage appears to be at play, focused on the burgeoning solar energy sector.

Lazarus by Kjell Ola Dahl, translated by Don Bartlett, Orenda Books, NORWAY

Summer, 1943. When a courier for Sweden's Press and Military Office is killed on his final mission, the Norwegian government-in-exile appoints a writer to find the missing documents ... breathtaking WW2 thriller. Daniel Berkak works as a courier for the Press and Military Office in Stockholm. On his last cross-border mission to Norway, he carries a rucksack full of coded documents and newspapers, but before he has a chance to deliver anything he is shot and killed and the contents of his rucksack are missing.

Cult by Henrik Fexeus and Camilla Läckberg, translated by Ian Giles, Harper Collins, SWEDEN

A young child is snatched in broad daylight outside his nursery. Nobody in charge sees a thing, but the other children say a woman is the culprit… Detective Mina Dabiri calls on her close friend Vincent to untangle the puzzle that surrounds the kidnapped boy. As he finds a link between the boy and other others who have gone missing, it becomes clear that time is running out for everyone involved… Meanwhile, Mina’s estranged daughter gets caught up in the secretive world of Epicura, a shadowy organisation that claims to be a centre for leadership development. Can Mina protect her child—a child who doesn’t even know she exists?

1 Jun

The Collector by Anne Mette Hancock, translated by Tara Chase, Swift Press, DENMARK

When 10-year-old Lukas disappears from his Copenhagen school, police investigators discover that the boy had a peculiar obsession with pareidolia—a phenomenon that makes him see faces in random things. A photo on his phone posted just hours before his disappearance shows an old barn door that resembles a face. Journalist Heloise Kaldan thinks she recognizes the barn—but from where?

8 Jun

Inmate by Sebastian Fitzek, translator TBC, Head Of Zeus GERMANY

A desperate father. A terrible secret. Serial killer Guido T has already confessed to two horrific child murders and led the Berlin police to the horribly disfigured bodies. The police are sure he is also the kidnapper and murderer of six-year-old Max, who disappeared without trace a year ago. But now Guido T, who is being held in the high-security ward of a psychiatric prison hospital, is staying silent.

15 Jun

The Murder of Anton Livius by Hansjörg Schneider, translated by Mike Mitchell, Bitter Lemon Press SWITZERLAND

For Inspector Hunkeler the New Year begins with a most unwelcome phone call. He is summoned back to Basel from his holiday to unravel a gruesome killing in a gardening allotment on the city's outskirts. An old man known as Anton Fluckiger has been shot in the head and found hanging from a butcher's hook from the roof of his garden shed - like butchers hang the carcasses of dead animals.

The Woman Inside by M. T. Edvardsson, translator TBC, MacMillan SWEDEN

A wealthy couple ends up murdered in the nicest part of town in this compulsively readable, page-turning thriller from M. T. Edvardsson, The Woman Inside. Bill Olsson, recently widowed, is desperate to provide for his daughter, Sally. Struggling to pay rent, he welcomes a lodger into their home: Karla, a law student and aspiring judge, who works as a housekeeper to make ends meet. Her clients are the Rytters, an incredibly wealthy couple who hide behind closed doors. The wife is ill and hasn’t left the house in months. The husband is controlling and obsessive. Is he just a worried husband, concerned for his wife’s health? Or is there something more sinister at play?

29 June

The Devil's Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Jim Rion, Pushkin Press JAPAN

The scruffy sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi investigates a series of gruesome murders within the feuding family of a brooding, troubled composer, whose most famous work chills the blood of all who hear it. The Devil's Flute Murders is an ingenious and highly atmospheric classic whodunit from Japan's master of crime.

Deadly Autumn Harvest by Tony Mott, translated by Marina Sofia, Corylus Books

When what seems to be a series of random murders start troubling the beautiful Carpathian town of Brașov, forensic pathologist Gigi Alexa is asked to collaborate with the police to handle one of the rare instances of a serial killer in Romania. Encountering prejudice as an ambitious woman in a misogynistic world, she soon discovers that the killer may be on her trail as well.

6 Jul

Death of the Red Rider by Yulia Yakovleva, translated by Ruth Ahmedzai, Pushkin Press RUSSIA

As the Red Terror gathers pace, a horseman and horse mysteriously collapse in the middle of a race in Leningrad. Weary Detective Zaitsev, still raw from his last brush with the Party, is dispatched to the Soviet state cavalry school in Novocherkassk, southern Russia, to investigate.

11 Jul

A Little Luck by Claudia Pinero, translated by Frances Riddle, Charco Press ARGENTINA

After twenty years, a woman returns to the suburban Argentina she had fled to escape a dreadful accident, a sense of guilt, and social condemnation, leaving her son behind.

But the woman who returns is not the same: she doesn't look the same, her voice is different, she doesn't even have the same name. After two decades spent in the United States, this damaged woman has rebuilt her life. Will those who knew her even recognise her? Will _he _recognise her? Not fully understanding her own reasons for going back to the place where she once lived and raised a family, and that she had been determined to forget forever, both anticipated encounters and unanticipated revelations show her that sometimes life is neither fate nor chance: perhaps her return is nothing more than a little luck.

The Stranger in the Seine by Guillaume Musso, translated by Rosie Eyre, Weidenfeld & Nicholson FRANCE

Paris, a misty night a few days before Christmas: a young woman is saved from the waters of the Seine. She is naked, doesn't remember her name or how she ended up in the river, but is still alive. The mysterious woman is taken to the hospital - and then disappears in thin air. DNA testing reveals her to be celebrated concert pianist.

Anatomy of a Killer by Romy Hausmann, translated by Jamie Bulloch, Quercus Publishing GERMANY

Berlin, 2017: several young girls have been disappearing for the past fourteen years. Red ribbons show the police the way to their bodies, but there's no trace of the killer. One evening, internationally renowned philosophy professor and anthropologist Walter Lesniak is arrested on the suspicion of the murders in the presence of his daughter, Ann. 'Professor Death' becomes the headline of the tabloid press and Lesniak himself refuses to cooperate with the police.

20 Jul

Blizzard by Marie Vingtras, translated by Stephanie Smee, Mountain Leopard Press, FRANCE

In a harsh, Alaskan landscape, four solitary characters are brought together by a desperate hunt to find a missing child. Blizzard is a gripping thriller. Quiet and unnerving, but building to a breath-taking dramatic climax. A blizzard rages in Alaska. In the storm, a woman stops for a moment to tie her shoelaces. Seconds later, the child under her protection has vanished. She searches for him, soon joined by the very few other inhabitants who live in this cold, desolate place. As the hunt intensifies - a race against the clock in these excruciating conditions to bring back the child alive - the inner demons and torments of each individual are revealed, and their uncanny connection to one another is finally unveiled.

You Can't See Me by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, translated by Victoria Cribb, Orenda Books, ICELAND

A wealthy family is investigated and dark secrets exposed when a body is found on the lava fields outside the hotel where they’ve gathered for a reunion. This is a Forbidden Iceland prequel.

The Great Snake by Pierre Lemaitre, translated by Frank Wynne, Mountain Leopard Press FRANCE

Mathilde has always been a headstrong woman. A member of the French resistance when she was just eighteen years old, she both impressed and horrified everyone with her cool capacity for violence. Now it is 1985 and Mathilde is in her sixties. She is not as glamorous as she once was, but she continues to take great pride in all that she does. Recently, however, the sixty-three-year-old has been affected by loss of memory and erratic changes in mood that even her exasperated dog Ludo has noticed. This is a potentially dangerous situation, since Mathilde now makes her living as a contract killer...

27 Aug

Reykjavik by Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Ragnar Jónasson, translated by Victoria Cribb, Michael Joseph ICELAND

Iceland, 1956. Fifteen-year-old Lára spends the summer working for a couple on the small island of Videy, just off the coast of Reykjavík. In early August, the girl disappears without a trace. The mystery becomes Iceland's greatest unsolved case. What happened to the young girl? Is she still alive? Did she leave the island, or did something happen to her there?

31 Aug

The Girl In The Eagle’s Talons: Millennium 7 by Karin Smirnoff, translated by Sarah Death, MacLehose Press SWEDEN

Karin Smirnoff’s take on the Millennium series. The story that follows hacker Lisbeth Salander and investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, moves from Stockholm to Northern Sweden, an area vast and beautiful, but also dealing with economic and social problems and the effects of climate change and environmental exploitation.

Feral by Gabrielle Filteau-Chiba, translated by David Homel, Mountain Leopard Press, CANADA

Set in the Canadian forest, Feral is a feminist eco-thriller, a passionate love story and an ode to nature's ferocious beauty. Raphaelle, a forty-year-old forest warden, has been estranged from her family for many years. She lives with her beloved dog, Coyote, in a caravan deep in the Canadian woods.Fiercely independent and cut off from civilisation, she is always armed, protecting herself from bears, coyotes and lynxes who she in turn defends from sadistic, overzealous poachers. Soon after Raphaelle discovers animal footprints outside her cabin, her dog vanishes and is eventually found severely injured. And then it is not long before Raphaelle herself becomes the prey of the forest's ultimate predator, which is not animal, but man.

14 Sep

The Eye Collector by Sebastian Fitzek, Head of Zeus GERMANY

The first in a powerfully unsettling new trilogy by the master of the psychothriller, Sebastian Fitzek. First he kills the mother, then he kidnaps the child. The grieving father is given 45 hours to search for them. If the child isn't found, they die, never leaving the place they have been imprisoned. That's his method: the man they call the Eye Collector. Because the horror doesn't end there. All the bodies found are missing their left eye

To Be Confirmed...

The Prey by Yrsa Sigurdsdottir

The Beaver Theory by Antti Tuomainen

2024

20 Jun

The Children of the Cult by Mariette Lindstein, HQ

Previous lists here:

#crime fiction #crimeintranslation #european literature #novels in translation

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sanguine-mirror-continuum · 8 days

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Oh god help me, I'm practically writing a thesis on Our style...

The general idea of the style:

A depiction of the tension between the two halves of a soul, darkness and whimsy, horror and fairytales, 1960s psychedelia and 1980s goth to y2k's imitation of 1960s psychedelia. A retrospective and a flashback to a generation where everything feels like it was overshadowed by nostalgia for a previous decade ... Between the changeling child and the bloodthirsty vampire...

It's not refined at all. But the idea is to find the place where urban fantasy, fairytales, horror and whatever genre you wanna call BTVS, can blend together and where the various different stylistic loves of this collective of people can meet and synergize.

Fuck that feels like a total pretentious ad read, I sound like a douche. Anyway...

It's just trying to get everyone's shit to gel together.

Planning to do it by creating a set of style words and what those style words mean, then assign those keywords to specific alters - and then come up with key clothing items and say which alter they fit...

Those would be

Fun(ky): Hawaiian print shirts, kitchsy prints, 1960s psychedelia and 1970s Technicolor disco rainbow and 80s jewel toned paisely patchwork suede. Basically, shirts that are fun (kitsch) or funky (psychedelia, paisley, early 90s aesthetic patterns (Memphis something).

Dramatique: Excessive, 80s glamrock, 19th century romantic dandy, 18th century aristocratic hedonist, medieval court jester or fairytale prince (Jareth from Labyrinth is a perfect example of "dramatique")

Gothic: this includes the morbid and macabre as well as the ~romantic Victorian vampire goth~ style brocades has overlap with dramatique but is much darker and tends towards more violence. In essence, Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stokers Dracula and 90s vampires covered in blood and dripping in bondage gear (Blade's aesthetic).

Academia: look, we're on Tumblr. We know what this means. Things Giles would wear on Buffy but also with a hint of 80s prep drenched in black rit dye.

Flower Child: How Roz's memories think hippie should look. Harem pants and crochet and all of that. Hard to tell if this is his brain's interpretation of 1960s aesthetic or his brief exposure to early 00s hippies through the libertarian party in Colorado... But it's not quite the same as fun(ky). Crunchier and earthier and a little more adjacent to a softer, earthier sort of modern fae perception.

Whimsigoth: Where Dramatique and Flower Child intersect with Gothic... There's some good examples of this in Buffy.

Y2K Nostalgia: mall goth and the stuff Roz liked as a six year old.

Pansy: oh boy Roz why this word okay anyway, this is just "does it tell the world I am a dirty rotten queer and a degenerate bondage pervert?" Thing kind of comes out.

Femme/Queen: OVERTLY "femme" stuff. This is all vibes that we can't 100% explain . (Could honestly call this category "Morgan" and "Florian")

I think that's a pretty approximation of the words we're working with....

Next part: who is what category...

Fun(ky): Laurent, Louis, Daffodil

Dramatique: Louis, Adam, Daffodil, Florian, Morgan

Gothic: Adam, Louis, Laurent, Daffodil

Academia: Adam, Laurent

Flower Child: Morgan, Daffodil

Whimsigoth: Morgan, Daffodil, Louis

Y2K Nostalgia: Florian, Morgan

Pansy: Florian, Daffodil, Louis

Femme/Queen: Morgan and Florian

Some key fashion items:

- fun(ky) or dramatique button downs

-gothic, dramatique, pansy and flower Child dress shirts

- turtlenecks

- fun(ky), academic and flower Child sweaters and cardigans

-fun blazers

-pointed or clunky heeled boots

-interesting pants

-slutty mesh

- too many vests with so many patterns

We've gotten....kinda sidetracked and lost sight of what we were doing. Posting this so we can check it later.

#(a rose of flesh and blood)#(sorry we are high tonight like way high and way higher than we wanted to be....)

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mscoyditch · 1 year

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"Chateau de Chillon and Dents du Midi at nightfall".

Photo by Giles Laurent. Taken 2020-11-20.

Wikimedia Picture of the Day: 2023-03-11.

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popofventi · 1 year

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Favorite Instrumental Songs of 2022 Playlist

2022 :: Instrumental Favorites

Here are Ventipop’s favorite Instrumental tracks of 2022. Enjoy and thanks for supporting Ventipop.

Ventipop feels it’s important to give a platform to all instrumental artists. Some of my favorite new music each year are instrumental tracks. I feel oftentimes, words get in the way of my interpretation of a song. There’s nothing more beautiful than a perfectly constructed instrumental track. I’ve been curating a monster instrumental playlist for years. You can check it out here. But this playlist is a curation of my favorite instrumentals discovered over the past twelve months.

Ventipop’s Favorite Instrumental tracks of 2022 proudly features the following musicians:

Dan Romer, Cristobal Tapia De Veer, Max Richter, Elena Urioste, Lindsey Stirling, Danny Bensi, Sunglasses For Jaws, Σtella, Redinho, Charlie Gabriel, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Shoshana Michel, Dario Crisman, Jeff Russo, Alexandre Desplat, Via Mardot, Renaud Capucon, Parov Stelar Vallemarie, Yates McKendree, Die Sputniks, WOLF!, Scott Metzger, Takuya Kuroda, Grimy Styles, Federico Albanese, Jimmie Davis, Charles Mitchell, Wilson Trouve, Felix Mendelssohn, Danish String Quartet, David Myles, Rachel Portman, Raphaela Gromes, On Piano, Amaury Laurent Bernier, Julia Kent, Saunder Jurriaans, Giles Lamb, Rith Banney, Pablo de Sarasate, Hilary Hahn, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andres Orozco-Estrada, Dobrawa Czocher, The Greyboy Allstars, Polyrhythmics, Beats Antique, Rogue VHS, Sylvee & The Sea, Pieta Brown, John Convertino, Esmerine, Stimming x Lambert, Christopher Tin, Voces8, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Barnaby Smith, TEKE::TEKE, Yann Tiersen, Richard Houghten, Lettuce, Hagop Tchaparian, Hermanos Gutierrez, Mats Dernald, Konrad Olausson, Library Tapes, Elias Braun and Astrid Sky

-xxx-

Ventipop’s Annual Instrumental Playlists

#Indie Music #Favorite Instrumentals

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lauramichellehollins · 2 years

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Born Laura Michelle Hollins,[2] Deyn is from Littleborough, near Rochdale in Greater Manchester.[3] Deyn later moved to Failsworth near Oldham.[4][5] The second of three children, she moved to Rossendale, Lancashire, and attended All Saints Roman Catholic High School, as well as Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School and Sixth Form, Waterfoot.[citation needed]

Deyn's name was apparently coined to further her modelling career after she consulted her mother's friend, a numerology expert, who advised her of the most 'fortuitous' way to spell the name 'Agnes'.[6] It was reported that her mother Lorraine (a nurse), and her sister Emily both changed their surname to Deyn, while Lorraine has changed the I in her first name to Y.[7][8]

Deyn's working life started at a fish and chip shop in Stubbins, Rossendale, where she was a part-time server at the age of 13. Even at an early age she had an eye for style and by 17 she had already had her head shaved. "I've had short hair since I was 13, and when I was 17, I had a skinhead."[9] In 1999, she won the Rossendale Free Press "Face of '99" competition, aged just 16.[10]

She then moved to London, working in a fast-food restaurant during the day and a bar at night.[citation needed]

Career

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Modelling

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Deyn for Anna Sui in 2008

Deyn's biography claims that she was "spotted" while shopping with fashion designer Henry Holland in Kentish Town, London.[11] She then signed with SELECT Model Management.[12]

In May 2007, she was featured on the cover of American Vogue, alongside Doutzen Kroes, Caroline Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Sasha Pivovarova, Jessica Stam, Coco Rocha, Hilary Rhoda, Chanel Iman and Lily Donaldson as "The World's Next Top Models."[13] She has also been featured on the covers of: UK Vogue, the Observer Woman supplement, The Sunday Times Style, Pop, Grazia, Time, Style & Life, Vogue Italia and numerous other international publications.[14]

She has walked the runways for Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Hermés, Dior, Lanvin, DKNY, Karl Lagerfeld, Moschino, Versace, Michael Kors, Zac Posen, Celine, Roberto Cavalli, Bottega Veneta, Proenza Schouler, Tommy Hilfiger, Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf, Max Mara, Oscar De La Renta, Ralph Lauren, Giles Deacon, Alexander Wang, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alberta Ferretti, Carolina Herrera, and Yves Saint Laurent.

Deyn has appeared in advertisements for Dior, Burberry, Emporio Armani, Calvin Klein, Moncler, Anna Sui, Giorgio Armani, John Galliano, Gianfranco Ferré, Blumarine, Vivienne Westwood, Cacharel, Doc Martens, Shiseido, Mulberry, Paul Smith, Adidas, and Reebok.

She has been the face of fragrance The Beat by Burberry, Gold by Giles Deacon at New Look replacing Drew Barrymore, Jean Paul Gaultier's fragrance Ma Dame, Shiseido (replacing Angelina Jolie), Rock Me! by Anna Sui, and childhood friend Henry Holland's label House of Holland. In 2009, Deyn landed a Uniqlo campaign and appeared in a commercial with Gabriel Aubry.[citation needed]

In May 2008, Deyn was guest editor of i-D magazine. The issue was devoted to her and includes articles written by and about Deyn, as well as interviews she conducted with fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood. Deyn's was on one of the fourteen covers of V magazine autumn issue. Each cover employs a head shot of a famous model, either from new models or established supermodels; it was photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.[15]

In June 2009, the Daily Mirror reported that Deyn had quit modeling to spend more time with her then boyfriend, singer-songwriter Miles Kane. The newspaper quoted a source[who?] as saying that modeling had started to bore Deyn and that she had hired an acting agent to pursue an acting career in British independent films.[16]

Vogue Paris described her as one of the top 30 models of the 2000s.[17]

Deyn appeared in the May 2011 British Vogue editorial, photographed by Tim Walker.[18]

In October 2012, Deyn once again announced that she has retired from modeling in an interview with The Independent. She stated, "I suppose I have stopped modeling officially. I've not done any for a good long while now. I think it was about four years ago when my feelings were changing towards the industry. I didn't hate it, but I was yearning to do something different. I was on a gradient. It was a gradual thing." She intends to focus on her acting career.[19]

Music

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Deyn provides vocals for the single "Who" by Five O'Clock Heroes as well as featuring in the video. The single was poorly received by NME, who gave it only a 2/10.[20] The single charted at No. 109 in the UK.[21] Until recently she was a member of the now defunct group Lucky Knitwear.[22] Deyn's voice can be heard at the beginning of Rihanna's music video for "We Found Love".

Acting

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In the 2010 film Clash of the Titans, Deyn played Aphrodite, Greek goddess of beauty, love, and sex.

In March 2011, Deyn appeared as an owl-bearing warrior in Woodkid's debut music video, "Iron".[23]

In 2012, Deyn starred opposite Richard Coyle in Pusher, an English language remake of Nicolas Winding Refn's Danish film of the same name, where she played Flo, a strong-minded stripper.

On 28 February 2012, Deyn played her first role on the West End stage, as Paula in François Archambault's comedy, The Leisure Society.[24] After receiving excellent reviews[by whom?] for her role in that play, Deyn was cast to play the main female role, Chris Guthrie, in a film adaptation of the Scottish-set novel Sunset Song.[25]

In 2013, Deyn played the lead role in Electricity, a film adaptation of the novel by Ray Robinson, about the journey of a young woman with epilepsy.[26]

In 2015, she starred in fantasy-horror thriller film Patient Zero.[27]

In 2017, Deyn began filming Hard Sun, a pre-apocalyptic[clarification needed] crime drama for the BBC at Hanstead Park in Bricket Wood, Hertfordshire.

In 2018, Deyn appeared in the Netflix original movie The Titan as Dr. Freya.[28]

In 2019, Deyn starred in Alex Ross Perry's Her Smell as Marielle Hell, bassist for the fictional band Something She.

Design ventures

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In 2010, Deyn collaborated with her younger sister Emily to create a line of T-shirts and tank tops for high street chain Uniqlo.[29]

In 2012, Deyn began a design partnership with Dr. Martens called Agyness Deyn for Dr. Martens,[30] a line of accessories, shoes, and clothing. In spring of 2014, she planned to release a third collaboration with the brand.[31]

She currently works with the agencies Elite New York City, Why Not Model Agency in Milan, and Oui Management in Paris.

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