Random Things Tours: Nothing Left Behind by Hannah Brennan

 

DCI Liz Field is facing an impossible task: finding the reason(s) why Anne Evans´ house burned completely, trapping her inside. Anne was well known as a ´nuisance caller´ for years, warning that she may get burned alive. After so many calls, no one was taking her seriously, until it really happened with a very dramatic outcome.

Now, Field is decided to finally make her justice, and the search for the culprit may be extremely difficult, with few information available. But there is another case, of another woman, this time shot, that may connect the missing dots.

Nothing Left Behind by Hannah Brennan is intriguing and challenging for the reader. Following the investigations into the two crimes, with unsetting truths and turn of events. Liz Field is playing a very important role in solving the case and pushing forward for the truth and I appreciated how her determination is changing the course of the investigation.

From the very first lines of the book the reader gets hooked. Short succint sentences are always catching my attention and do hold the promise of a smart story, which was again proven true in the case of Nothing Left Behind.

The book is the second from the series featuring DCI Liz Field, and although it can be read as a standalone, I am clearly curious to explore more of Brennan´s crime writing soon.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: Wed or Alive by Portia MacIntosh

For the (almost) middle of the last week of April, a funny romcom by the one and only Portia Macintosh is the right antidote to the blue feeling that maybe the times runs too fast and we are heading already towards the middle of the year.

Wed or Alive is a funny romcom, where people with complex life stories and professional and personal challenges meet. But what is really happening out of those encounters no one, but fate, can tell about it. 

Take Whitney, for instance, stuck professionally and in love with a roommate who is back from an extended vacation with a fiancée on his side. Or Jake, a cowboy with a lot of issues and under the pressure of high family expectations. But both of them have a plan that, as usual, may or may not work as initially expected. 

Although the stories of fake dating I´ve read to date are very much predictable, I still keep being surprised by the ways in which the fake is turning into a real, eventful love story.

I loved both the humour and the romance, with Whitney as my most relatable character in the story. As usual in the case of Macintosh´s novels, once I started the book it was quite difficult to give it up, but it was clearly a very good time investment.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Random Things Tours: The Bucket List. 104 Ideas to Inspire Every Runner by Jeff Horowitz

 

In an unexpected turn of events that only fate can delightfully bless you, five years ago I started running. First, moving as a drunken turtle, but little by little one run after the other, getting not only stronger, but motivated. Ending up, enjoying it - although cannot run without the music stimulation - and including it in my weekly routine. Currently, I run at least four times the week, at least five kilometers per run. I run, I listed to the music, I purchase the right equipment, but I don´t read about running. 

But my world is in the end made of words, therefore my choice of reading also a book about running: The Running Bucket List. 104 Ideas to Inspire Every Runner by coach and author Jeff Horowitz. Informative and engaging, the book can be used not only as a reliable source of information, but also for tracking down the progress and planning your next running step - for instance, for writing down the date of your next marathon.

There are many useful tips, a runner, no matter the level, with recognize. For me, it was the need of a gait analysis in order to figure out the incorrect running tendencies and avoid in the future any injuries or accidents. Someone looking for diversity in the running - like me, again - may get inspired with various options, from running in the bad weather to a combination of tracks aimed at strengthening your body and increasing your motivation.

The suggestions of runs and marathons - in England, but all over the world as well, as far as Ethiopia or Kenya - are also good, a great opportunity for connecting with other runners. 

Although as for now I am keeping a very hobby-like profile of my running activities and I don´t consider any competition or marathon running any time soon, I was glad to discover so many good ideas and information in this book. 

No matter your preparation level and your running plans, you will find answers and suggestions and a new world (literally) running in the front of you.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Deutscher Buchpreis: Hey Guten Morgen, wie Geht es Dir? by Martina Hefter

I may confess that I am relatively far behind my list of German reviews for the books included on the Deutscher Buchpreis - the German Booker - but I am doing my best to catch up as much as I can, even a few years later. Most of those books haven´t been translated into Engish so far, therefore it is never too late for edition houses and translators to consider them.

My choice of the day is a book by Leipzig-based choreographer, poet and novelist Martina Hefter. I was not acquainted with her work before reading the book, but the inspiration - love scams, quite a lot. But the topic of Hey Guten Morgen, wie geht es dir? - Hi, good morning, how are you?, in English - goes far beyond the scam - which is playing no dramatic, financially dramatic kind, of scam.

Juno Isabella Flock is a woman in her mid-50s, a freelance choreographer and dancer, married with Jupiter, a successful writer, wellchair-ridden due to MS. She is often getting in touch via Instagram with strangers keen to chat about life and love, but out of them, she chose to spend around one year intensively involved online with one Nigerian guy. Online conversations, video chat, nothing necessarily scammy, until he confesses his ´love´ to her, and she is spending a lot of time writing and talking to him about various readings. She also didn´t share the truth about herself, including that she is married.

The book, built around Juno, is growing up on multiple plans, including ageism and coping with becoming invisible - as an artist, woman etc. (that´s quite an obsession in German literature to complain about getting old and finished, which reflects the social constructions regarding women, attitudes unfathomable in French, Spanish or Italian literature). 

Most of the characters do have astrophysics-inspired names, which sometimes makes sense - Juno spacecraft is orbiting Jupiter, for instance - but often don´t.

There are correspondences between the author´s own biography - based in Leipzig, some tattoos, her husband, the successful author Jan Kuhlbrodt, is also living with MS, or the profession of choreographer. 

The book was awarded the 2024 Deutscher Bucherpreis out of an impressive longlist that I hope to review in the coming weeks as well. Was it the best decision? 

I felt a bit disappointed by the story flow: well built and written, however, mostly introspective and without paying too much attention to really finishing the topic, any of it. It is a marvelous dance, that ends abruptly with the main dancer is suddenly leaving the stage. An unexpected exit hard to place into the line of the general story.

Rating: 3 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Rachel´s Random Resources: Twenty-Six Years Living a Lie by Gina Cheyne

 

Cecily celebrates passionately her third year of marriage with her beloved, but who would know that it will be the last? After the sudden death of her husband, a son is born, Charlie. Twenty-Six years after, together with his uncle, his father´s twin, he takes a DNA test with shocking results, for Cecily as well. Her last resort is SeeMs Detective agency, that is tasked with the mission to solve this painful situation.

There are some characters and turn of events that I really enjoyed. The intriguing family mystery and their deep-hidden secrets kept my attention awake. I´ve had my own doubts about some of the characters, and the key of this drama, however the ending surprised me in a very good way.  

The suspense built fast, and so is the tension, which is counter at times by humorous episodes. Humour is hard to take it seriously in a crime book, but in this case the author chose the right sequence to allow it. 

The book is part of the SeeMs Detective series - like another book I´ve reviewed on my blog one year ago - but it can also be read as a standalone. I am definitely interested in further exploring the series.

Twenty-Six Years Living a Lie is a cosy mystery that promises and delivers. A recommended weekend read or a relaxing evening week read, that guarantees a pleasant mystery experience.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Israeli Poets in Germany

There is not too much talk about the emerging Israeli literature in the diaspora: Germany, but especially France, Netherlands, Italy etc. America, yes, it´s the opposite, with many Israeli authors publishing and being appreciated as such. But Europe, for all the good and bad reasons is mostly quiet. Or maybe I need to do better research.

A collection of poetry signed by Israeli authors living in Germany, Was es bedeuten soll (title inspired by a verse from Heine´s Lorelei) - in my own translation What it´s supposed to be - is filling this gap, just opening up the interest - at least my interest - for more. 

The book - with a cover by Köln-based illustrator Noam Weiner - is a collection of works by 13 authors, among which Michal Zamir (who created a Hebrew library and a literary salon in Berlin), Zahava Khalfa, Asaf Dvori or Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus. There are different topics, some dealing with alienation and the loneliness of the life abroad, different voices and perspectives. 

The poems were originally written in Hebrew and translated into German by Gundula Schiffer, a poet herself, and published Adrian Kasnitz´ parasitenpress. 

CLASSIC READS: Mayombe by Pepetela translated into German by Maitta Tkalec

 

My new installment of my newest bookish project CLASSIC READS took me to a country rarely portrayed in the daily literary realm: Angola. As in the case of the previous CLASSIC READS, Macunaima, it was originally written in Portuguese - standard Portugal version - but I had access to it in a German translation. 

The author of Mayombe, my book of choice signed with his nom de guerre, Pepetela. Born Artur Carlos Mauricio Pestana dos Santos, he is considered one of the greatest Angolan writers, wearer of many public hats, among which guerillero on behalf of the MPLA, Angolan guerillas fighting for the Portuguese independence. Due to his political engagement, he delayed the publication of many of the works written between 1970-1971, including Mayombe.

And when he finally decided to publish it, ´brethren countries´ from the communist block, like former GDR/DDR, published it. The translation I had access to was authored by Maitta Tkalec. 

Mayombe is a forest region - some may talk even about a ´magic forest´ - in the Western part of Africa, covering among others parts of Congo region and Angola. There, a group of guerilleros took refuge and the book follows their interactions, through their dialogues to which were added background voices of some of the participants, offering context and personal insights.

I am enthralled by socio-political stories, but I despise ideology mixing with literature, and didn´t know what to expect from this book. I wanted to add a non-Western/European thread to my project and this book was recommended by more than one sources as a ´classic´ - although the author is still alive. 

But this novel confirmed in the end that a great writer with a biased political take still can write quality books if he is following his literary mission. The characters of Mayombe are not heroes, are humans with doubts, feelings and personal inimities that may took over Marxism-Leninism, not the other way round. 

I wanted to see how life under such circumstances enfolds, what disunite - rather than unite - humans under various political pressure. Women do play a disturbing role, as they distract the guerilleros from their mission, they lead to inimities but this does not exclude them from the revolutionary network as they belong to life. And so are the tribe-based distinctions and the contradictions between the appeal of the theories about revolution and the colonial realities - they may fight against the Portuguese domination, but the language their are all using to communicate is Portuguese after all.

There is no capital ´R´ revolution, as there are no heroic myths.