Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden

´I am about to cross a line. And once I do, I won´t be able to go back. Then again, this has been a long time coming´.

Very very late, but still here, I am joining the massive readers of Freida McFadden. I am self-diagnosed with FOMO therefore I couldn´t miss it, no matter how much I resisted the temptation, and how many books I have on my TBR - the mountain of books waiting for me is only getting higher and higher, up to the sky and back.

Dear Debbie, is her latest, and felt lucky to get it from my library freshly after the publication. Debbie - a writer of a modest chronicle in a local newspaper. For the rest of her time, she is taking care of her garden - growing way too many poppies - and of her two teenage daughters. Her husband is about to finally request a promotion. 

Suddenly, everything is failing and Debbie is having a very bad day - she is getting fired, her husband resigns, her daughter are facing different issues. Plus, her much awaited photo shooting of her garden for a specialized magazine is cancelled because the neighbour may have a much beautiful rose garden, after all.

And then suddenly as well, people and roses are starting to die. What to expect from a lady who is wearing a dress with blood stains by design. 

The books sets very slowly, with fragments in the story that do not promise nothing good next. Debbie, a coding prodigy, had to leave MIT after being raped, a secret she is well keeping. This episode however shaped not only her next steps in life, but also her connection to other people around her. You may not be born a dangerous psychopaths, but created by your circumstances. 

The crescendo of the revelations is shortly towards the end. There are so many mismatched situations and even people that it´s hard not to sigh in awe. 

Dear Debbie is exploring the forms of a basic human emotion: vengeance, through the story of a very bourgeois and unsurprising lady. Until she isn´t. 

I´ve read the book in few hours, in between my working breaks. The writing and the story may keep you connected, although it´s not the smartest crime writing around. But it was definitely worth trying it, and as long as the TBR allows, would be more than keen to give to this author yet another try.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Cover Reveal: The Twenty Dates by Ko Porteous

 

Will 20 dates save a 19-year old marriage of two people that seems to not have too much to share any more? The Twenty Dates by Ko Porteous promises a lot of fun and thought about relationships at adult age, with some ups and downs and romance in between.

As for yet, I only had access to the book presentation, without reading it, but I am delighted to take part to a virtual cover reveal event. The space is carefully portioned, with a burning red used as a background, with elegantly styled lettering, and minimalistic images. No human portrayed, just two desks presented from the front, opening a couple of questions about to expect in this story.

If this book seems interesting for you, here are the link for purchasing the book, to be launched the 8th of October this year:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Twenty-Dates-Empty-Nesters-Book-ebook/dp/B0H5G54FXK/

https://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Dates-Empty-Nesters-Book-ebook/dp/B0H5G54FXK/

As usual, many thanks to Rachel´s Random Resources for having me.

Le Perfezioni by Vincenzo Latronico

 

Although with less speed as in the previous months, I´ve conntinued this month my Italian reading agenda. This time, I got Le Perfezioni/La Chiave di Berlino by Vicenzo Latronico, a book set in Berlin at the end of the first decade of 2000s. The book was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and was translated into several languges, including English by Sophie Hughes for Fitzcarraldo Editions. 

As someone who moved to Berlin during the same time, I felt compelled to read this book. The author left Italy at almost the same time - those were the times when I made a lot of Italian friends, brought to Berlin by Berlusconi´s governments, but he is currently back in Italy.

His life in Berlin is reflected in the accurate description of places and events, ways of being and expectations of people the novel - an offline, third person account of the - almost perfect - life of Anna and Tom, Italian creatives, having the best of their life in the city.

Latronice, a member of anti-gentrification collective in Milan, is observing the silent yet radical twists taking place during those time: as Berlin is becoming more international, sought-after, its identity is getting more standardized and the city soulless. The living costs are high and the available apartments dire. The image of the city is turning into an illusion, a projection of what people expect to find here: maybe a smaller or bigger slice of ´home´, a promise of freedom, but at a lower prize.

Anna and Tom may explore other similar ´paradises´: Portugal, Sicily - while turning back and forth to Berlin in their subletted apartment - who may lose an apartment in a city where scarcity is pushing natives out of its urban borders?

The language - for an Italian student - is relatively sophisticated, C1 level and up, in my opinion, but highly literarily enjoyable. The ambiances, including the olfactive moments are very vivid and immersive.

For a contemporary novel set in the 2000s, the show-format, without characters and a proper story, the short length - 136 pages in the original Italian version - suits very well. But exactly this unclear space between essay - on gentrification and spectacle-society we are more and more each day immersed into - and hipster story leaved a space for expectations that wasn´t properly filled.

Berlin is still the hype, even when it is not what it used - or we expected it - to be, therefore, it is still so much to say and in so many different ways. Le Perfezioni uses the commonality of the inspiration, but ends up in many respects mostly as an exercise in imperfection.

Rating: 3.5 stars 

Random Things Tours: The Interpreter´s Secret by Andrew Rosenheim

Cold War may theoretically be over since the 1990s, but its reminiscences and especially behavior patterns are still easily recognizable in the current state of international affairs. As a passionate consumer of international politics, I am always curious about world affairs, although sometimes this curiosity is plainly morbid. 

The Interpreter´s Secret by Andrew Rosenheim, published by No Exit Press is inspired by real events: the meeting between presidents Trump and Putin, with only one interpreter present, who was minutiously searched for possible recordings or notes upon leaving the room. 

The interpreter in Rosenheim´s book is attending an off-the-record meeting with a Russian general, witnessing and translating a terrific arrangement between Kremlin and the White House. But compared to the real interpreter, he saved a trace of the meeting, an accidental recording, the only historical testimony that the event ever took place. 

This recording will clearly define his fate and his life from now on, as the book is evolving into a complex intrigue where corruption of all kind meets high national interests. 

Both the story and the characters are well-crafted and suspenseful. I particularly loved the idea of a professional yet politically uninvolved character being caught in a world bigger than life, and the absurdity of an accident - the digital pen recording the conversation - challenging the simple life for good. 

The Interpreter´s Secret is a meeting of spycraft and literary talent, creating a suspenseful story of corruption, life´s random destiny and also translator´s fate. A recommended read if looking for an intelligent international spy story.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Orenda Books BlogTour: Love, After All by Ewald Arenz translated by Rachel Ward

Some books and authors do wait until show up on my reading radar. Although I read at least one book - novel - in German every week, I haven´t discover until now the books by bestseller author and teacher Ewald Arenz. Love, After All, translated into English from the German version - published as Die Liebe an miesen Tagen - by Rachel Ward, it is published by Orenda Books, where other books by Arenz were translated.

As usual, Orenda stands for high literary quality and Love, After All did not disappoint. 

Clara, a widowed photographer, and Elias, a younger actor in his 30s, met in the most unlikely life sequence. Clara did not believe in love any more, and Elias is caught into a problematic relationship. As their connection grows, they are slowly falling in love, but Clara´s working circumstances may break the romance. But as Elias is getting sick, it seems that destiny has a dfferent plans for them.

One of the things I´ve loved the most at this book is the deep humanity of the characters and their circumstances. As a reader, one gets closer to the characters because they are so relatable, with their flaws, indecision and vulnerabilities. The fragility of human existence is told with so much tenderness that thanks to the excellent translation survives through languages´ exchange.

A beautiful and humanly insightful story I will remember for a long time.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

The Persian by David McCloskey

There is a new generation of ex-CIA analysts who turned into (very talented) spy (what else?) novels writers and them leaving the Agency enriched the choice of topics and settings of spy thrillers. Particularly when the topics they are writing about are burning the first pages of the media nowadays. When politics and politicians themselves are unable to make any sense of literally anything, maybe the ex-analyst can bring the much awaited clarity in a fictional key.

I haven´t read anything by David McCloskey before, but I´ve read some great recommendations about his work. The topic of his latest book - the intelligence war between Iran and Israel - is politically actual and interests me, therefore, I was grateful to have been offered the ARC of The Persian. 

Set between Iran and Israel, it is built around the Iranian Jew Kamran Esfahani´s final confession while in Evin Prison, waiting for his death sentence. Accepting to spy for Mossad for financial reasons, as he was in a professional dead end as a dental practitioner in Sweden, Kam is sharing the details of his recruitment and training, and his contribution to spectacular Mossad operations within Iran. (The meme-famous general Esmail Qaani is also part of the cast).

Although the story has a high percentage of spectacular moves and unexpected twists, the most important parts are actually concerning the human costs of espionage, particularly how simple life of family members can be for ever affected or at high risk. 

The writing is a pleasure for the soul, and it focuses so carefully to the smallest details, from the sound of the street to the colours of the crayons used to write the confession. 

But there is a part that didn´t work for me at all: the ending is way too syrupy for my spy taste. It just left me speechless but for all the wrong reasons.

Nevertheless, The Persian was a tensed, intelligent and knowledgeable read.  

Rating: 4 stars

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

99p. PROMO BLOG BLITZ: The Time of My Life by Samantha Tonge

If you are looking for a good summer read, that is happening in a summery destination, The Time of My Life by Samantha Tonge may be your right choice.  

Currently available for the ridiculous 99p. is about the meeting between two very different women and a couple of secrets. Carrie - 26, she is about to start a completely new life in Greece, leaving behind her old life and selling all her belongings, plus a cat. Eliza, about to celebrate her 75th birthday, is interested in buying everything from Carrie. And this is just the beginning of a story of friendship and many secrets.

It sounds like a tempting book to keep you busy when not busy to enjoy your summer time of your life.

Here is the purchase link: https://mybook.to/TheTimeofMyLife

Many thanks to Rachel from Rachel´s Random Resources for having me for this PROMO BLOG BLITZ.