The Hunter

Sometimes, there are dreams that I don't have that come true. So a few days ago, I learn in this Variety article that the crime novel The Last Hunt by South African writer Deon Meyer will be adapted into a TV series. But that's not all: Israeli scriptwriter Noah Stollman, who is also one of the scriptwriters of the spy thriller series Fauda, will do the adaptation. And you know how much I love Fauda. So for me, it is like the meeting of two great creative minds, from two cultures I love. Now Meyer has been adapted before and I have rarely been able to find these adaptations on streaming or on television, but it's good news all the same. The article says it is a spy thriller, which is true of this novel and many other works of Deon Meyer. Anyway, the adaptation is titled The Hunter (working title?) and I will be on the lookout for it. If you are interested, watch this space.

Cobra (the beer, not the snake)

My wife orders stuff from Hello Fresh and sometimes she gets freebies. Like this one, for instance: a small can of Cobra beer. Not really my kind of beer, but it was a feebie and thus in my price range. It's also an easy one to drink before dinner is served (or when you eat curry, for some reason that seems to be the go-to beer for curries). Wolfie loved the name, because it reminded him of a villain's name of his invention. It is fitting, as one if the brand's variety is named King Cobra, just like said villain. So anyway, I drank this recently.

"The Ultimate Hunt"

What you see here is the cover for the recent Italian edition of The Last Hunt by South African crime writer Deon Meyer. One of my favourite crime writers and one of my favourite novels of his, for many reasons, which you can read here. Now I wanted to make to observation about this cover: 1)it looks like an Italian fumetto (comic book), and by the way it would be great to have graphic novel adaptations of Meyer's books. 2)The title, L'Ultima caccia, sounds very dramatic, far more infact than the English or the French title of the same novel. Not merely the last hunt, but the ultimate one. Is it me or do Italian titles often sound more dramatic? Something to do with the Italian people perhaps. In any case, it is a pretty cool book cover.

"La Proie"

Bonne nouvelle pour les amateurs de polars exotiques francophones: le dernier Deon Meyer est sorti hier en France. Son titre français est La proie, wui est pas mal plus fidèle au titre sud africain que la traduction anglaise. Publiée par Série noire, rien que ça. Moi je l'ai déjà lu dans sa traduction anglaise, mais je serais tenté de l'acheter encore une fois rien que pour sa couverture. À la fin de l'année dernière, ça a été ma découverte littéraire policière. Il y a tout à aimer dans le roman: de la violence, de la procédure comme dans un Ed McBain, des (anti)héros troublés, les fantômes de l'Apartheid, une conspiration politique dont les ramifications s'étendent jusqu'au plus haut sommet de l'État, avec en plus une portée internationale, même un train de luxe comme dans les vieux romans à clé. Mais le train de luxe, il est 100% authentique et 100% sud africain. Enfin bref, lisez-le.

The Last Hunt

Here is a bit of news that I did not mention last week, and I thought I should: The Last Hunt by South African crime writer Deon Meyer has been released in the US. Great cover, as you can see. I read the novel last year and it was maybe the best crime novel I discovered. It was certainly the one I enjoyed the most. Therefore, for my US readers, if you are looking for some serious but intelligent escapism during these difficult times, I suggest you read this book. On a side note, it also features Rovos Rail, a company that allegedly provides the most luxurious trains and the most picturesque journeys in the world. You will feel like you are travelling.

Cobra, Crimes and inspiration

I blogged before about Cobra by South African crime writer Deon Meyer, back in 2016 when I was reading it. I love all his books, but this one is one of the best I read. I say this for a number of reasons, which I might blog about one day, but suffice to say that one of these reasons was the character of professional pickpocket Tyrone Kleeibooi (more about him here and here). And it struck me recently than both the novel and Tyrone were an inspiration to my own writing project, which features a pickpocket (more about her here). There are substantial differences between Tyrone and her, and between the plots they get involved in, but I think I came up with her in a writing workshop (I am still doing them in spite of one bad experience) because since I read about Tyrone Kleeibooi, I have wanted to write about a well-intended small-time criminal, particularly a pickpocket. I don't think I can beat Meyer, not just yet anyway, but it's funny to see that I subconsciously about what I like to read.

"Time stands still when you're not having fun."

At the moment, I am reading Cobra by Deon Meyer, South Africa's most famous crime writer. Sadly, I am about to finish it (I don't think it will last a week, which means I will have to depart from the universe and characters he has created. I grew very attached to them. Especially professional pickpocket Tyrone Kleinbooi, whom I blogged about last month. I know becoming the victim of a pickpocket is one of the most distressing thing that can happen to you, but Meyer managed to make Tyrone a sympathetic character. He has, in his own twisted way, a certain kind of wisdom. I shared a bit of it in my first post about him. Now, I read another piece of his deep thoughts: "Time stands still when you're not having fun." I can relate to that. Now I hope my new favourite antihero will survive Cobra to give us in future novels more pieces of wisdom.

Tourists from the eyes of a pickpocket

One of the posts I blogged a week ago mentioning Deon Meyer made me want to read another one of his novels, which I started last week. It is Cobra, which features recovering alcoholic cop Benny Griessel. It also features a newcomer in Meyer's world, young professional pickpocket Tyrone Kleinbooi. I don't know for sure yet, but I have a feeling he might be a recurring character. I hope so anyway. I am not very far in the novel and I like him already, especially the very lucid observations he makes. There is this passage that really caught my attention:

"Tyrone Kleinbooi eyed up the tourists on the pavement. Europeans, he recognized them by their pale legs, their get-up. he had given up wondering why European and American visitors were the only people in Africa who bought and wore safari outfits - the hunting jackets (with pockets with ammunition), the Livingstone helmets or wide-brimmed hats, the boots."

This is pure wisdom and I can really relate to that. Obviously, the tourists I know never wore safari outfits, but I have seen plenty of French tourists in Québec wearing those stupid Daniel Boon hats, the ones made with raccoon fur, with the tail still on. Not only does it look anachronistic, it also looks utterly stupid when the French guy is wearing it in the middle of summer, with Bermuda shorts, t-shirt and sandals to make it even more odd. There are more pieces of Kleinbooi's wisdom, but this one really got me on his side. I'm really rooting for him.