The Immortal Ones

 

A novel of fine sensibility, powerfully meditative, Les Immortelles (The Immortals, in the English translation by Nathan H. Dize; however, I had access to the original French version) by multi-awarded writer and archeologist Haitian writer Makenzy Orcel makes immortal simple lives of prostitites from Grand-Rue, in Port-au-Prince. Short yet written with a high precision of convening feelings and memories.

There are individual stories of women of all ages and social conditions that ended up as prostitutes in Haiti. An anonymous writer is collecting stories of women who sold pleasure on the street who disappeared under the rubble of the tragic earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Thus, they are becoming immortal, through the pen of the writer who becomes the stories in exchange of sex.

Although a very short novel, it has more than one layer of meaning, the second one dealing with the writer´s fate and its magic powers of keeping time from fading away and keeping the flame of life always lit.

Les Immortelles makes for ever alive people whose lives we forget to acknowledge, based on social prejudice and narrowmindness. Writers can change our view, by convening the power of words to keep them alive through the existential and geological earthquakes of life.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Book Review: Elternabend by Sebastian Fitzek

 

Sebastian Fitzek is one of my favorite German authors when it comes to local thriller novels, but Elternabend - parent teacher conference - is just another level of storytelling. Actually, for me - and I bet for other parents as well - such kind of events are in fact a kind of pulp fiction black thriller. But this book by Fitzek although it uses twists and suspense belongs to a different category. 

Two complete strangers while trying to escape the police, for two different reasons, end up on an island near Berlin, where an Elternabend was organised, as presumed parents of a child, Hector, they don´t know. But as the story evolves, all the information we took for granted, through assumptions or allusions, proves to be completely wrong. 

With a hilarious cast of characters, and humourous interactions, by the end of the story it take a very serious turn, warning about teenage suicide and depression. The take on how to answer to depression, both as a victim and as someone close to a person suffering of it is one of the most honest and direct I´ve read in a contemporary novel: no one wants to have it but there is nothing one can do it to prevent or stop it. It´s a simple yet meaningful message, especially for people feeling guilty for not being able to stop the depressive behavior.

After the narrative tour de force, it ends on a too ´normal´ note, but maybe the reader feels already overwhelmed by the pace and turns of events.

Elternabend is an unexpected book on an unexpected - horror - topic. It is also an empathic take on teenage life, caught in the onesided selfish world of adults.

Rating: 4 stars

International Booker Prize and the Balkans

This year International Booker Prize goes to Bulgaria: Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated into English by Angela Rodel (review coming up soon). Rodel is currently based in Bulgaria, where she is also a teacher at the American University, therefore connected to the local literary realities.

After shortlived moments of excitement after the fall of communism and some empathy during the Balkan wars, this region is again in an intellectual shadow. Most representatives of the region that do enjoy a certain notoriety, like Aleksandar Hemon do not live there any more and do have a different stage to express themselves.

Since International Booker Prize was launched, in 2005, to award books in English translation published in the UK or Ireland, there was only one other winner from the region, Ismail Kadaré. Another author from the region, Josip Novakovich, was shortlisted.

Some may say that no matter the prizes, the authors in this part of the world will keep writing. However, the reading world is much poorer when those books are ignored. Where are the Romanian, Serbian, Croatian, Albanian, Slovenian, Macedonian or Bosnian? Reading the books in original is always a pleasure but if they can reach a wider audience, even more readers will be pleased. And I am not only talking about fiction, but thriller and crime novels, memoirs and poetry, science fiction and children books.

But I also know that talking and complaining without trying to do anything to make a chance is not how I want to spend my life. Trying to be more focused on authors and works from under-represented realms may change this. Many books and one prize at a time. 

Cover Reveal: Arrietty by Abby Davis

 

I am one of those readers who can easily get influenced by a beautiful cover. I may read almost everything, no matter how stylish and appealing the cover is, but I may be easily tempted to buy and read a book whose cover displays a creative art. How one can get wrong with a book whose publishers invested into a real creative cover, anyway?

Arrietty by Abby Davies is a catchy cover I am pleased to reveal. I haven´t read the book yet but at the first sight, it relates to the idea of a psychological thriller, featuring Arrietty who one days wakes up to discover that the loved ones deserted her. The dark, shadowy part of the picture makes you think about dark secrets and deep psychological episodes. The contrast with the invasive yellow part makes one think about a mixture between hope and anxiety.

I am definitely curious about what the book may offer and at what extent the content matches this intriguing cover.

Many thanks to the brilliant Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for having me.

Book Review: The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

 

I love to read books about and featuring writers, aspiring writers especially, and their dreams of a writing retreat where they are allowed to do nothing than write. Wishing well to all those able to take this creative risk, while I am struggling to have at least 20 quiet minutes per day only for myself. And I may have a lot of literary fantasies about a psychological thriller named The Writing Retreat.

Thus, I had a lot of expectations about the debut novel by practising therapist Julia Bartz. And the book largely overcome my expectations, for all the good and bad reasons.

A group of talented aspiring young female writers under 30 are invited to take part at a special writing retreat organised in a remote area by a feminist woman author of horror stories, of Jewish-Hungarian origin, Roza Vallo. During one month, they are supposed to write regularly their novel in a ´Victorian fortress´. A strict narcissist with an exaggerate sense of discipline, she turns into a psychopath trying to use - and eventually murder - the girls, once her dirty secrets are discovered. The story is told by Alex, one of the last minute invitee, together with Wren, a manipulative ex-girlfriend.

There are so many topics maginified in this topic, from the cultish position of Roza to the poison of success, and the terrific answer to the question: How far would you get to be a famous, published author? There is a cartoonish representation of those topics and maybe a noir irony infusing the interactions between characters, particularly the adulative part.

Talking about characters, I haven´t read in a long time a book where almost all the characters are despicable, morally ambigous and with out of their control psychotic tendencies. And the problem of having so many psychotic character in the same room is that they may get completely out of control. This is what I´ve felt about the book, starting from the middle of the story onwards. The level of craziness is entropically escalating until it´s just blood and mindgames. I´ve found some interactions and exchanges really odd, as when Roza asked one of the girls to kill the other one and the answer was: ´Really?´ As simple as that.  It´s hard to find another nonsense answer to such a question.

The ending, written by Alex the storyteller, six month after, it resonates with all the symptoms of a simplified Stockholm syndrome. 

Although the topics - some for sure - developed in The Writing Retreat and the idea may sound very interesting, nevertheless the context and events looked too forced and cartoonish, but maybe I have some special tests when it comes to thrillers.

Rating: 3 stars

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

Rachel´s Random Resources: Jana´s Brightly Coloured Socks by Sally Fetouh, illustrated by Alexis Schnitger

 

There are many things that are always changing in my little family, but one single aspect is staying the same over the last years: we are struggling with mismatched socks. There may be a secret god of socks that is playing with us a lot. Every few weeks our supplies of socks should be refilled, and so is the number of single socks (socks matchmaking agency, anyone?)

A children book about socks is what we need in our family, as it may bring some fun in our mismatched socks story. Jana´s Brightly Coloured Socks by writer and photographer Sally Fetouh and illustrated by Alexis Schnitger is much more. As it follows Jana´s journey of generosity, sharing socks with her colleagues to bring more colours and happy moments into their lives, it brings on a message of acceptance and friendship.

Both the author and illustrator were inspired to write and, respectively, illustrate the book, by their own journey as parents of children with Down Syndrome, especially through the #lotofsocks campaign on the occasion of World Down Syndrome Day. 

I´ve personally found the book very inspiring both in terms of message and topic. It is a relatively simple, everyday life kind of topic, which magnifies the message through relatable characters introduced through pastel illustrations. 

It can be used as a recommended read to preschools or first grade, both to inspired the love for reading and a higher understanding of differences and acceptance of the other. 

As for the socks, our mismatched socks, there will be much more to write and read about it, but the mystery cannot be solved too early I´m afraid.

Rating: 5 stars

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

Random Things Tours: A Death in Denmark by Amulya Malladi

 

I am following Amulya Malladi for a while and it is getting better and better by each book. My favorite part of discovering this author is how she explores very important society, middle-class-related topics from new angles. She storifies the actuality while adding the creative touch to her stories, while revealing completely new meanings.

A Death in Denmark, a country where Malladi herself used to live as an expat before, promises again something different. Aimed to be just the beginning of crime and detective series featuring ex-cop Gabriel Præst, it follows the tectonic rifts of the Danish identity, caught between a past mostly obliterated and a present that may predict a dark future. 

The trigger was the murder of a well-known Iraqi refugee, Yousef Ahmed, killed by the far right. Tracing the crime, Præst, a jazz afficionado and dedicated father, is decided to find the truth, but the journey will lead him to the darkest episodes of Denmark history. Denmark was usually considered a friendly country for Jews, but the truth is more complicated from the historical point of view. As in many other countries, including Germany itself, the ties between the big companies and the Nazi regime is far from being clarified and the search for the murder will bring the investigator and the reader in those dark corners of history.

Dark episodes that Europe is reviving old fears. Europe, Denmark as well, is facing anti-Muslim hate and racism. All those elements of everyday life European politics are inserted into the plot development. The end result is a story that it´s both entertaining and inviting to a most serious look around our immediate reality. Maybe we can change something or not, but at least we are getting aware of it.

A Death in Denmark is an articulated, eventful and thoughtful crime novel. I can´t wait to see what Præst will have to solve next and also to read Malladi´s next book.

Rating: 4 stars

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

Book Review: L´Interrogatoire by Suzanne Azmayesh

On her way to the wedding of the cousin of her partner, an Ashkenazi (of European origin) Jew, in Israel, Ava Iranian-born who left the country of birth when she was two, living in Paris, has to answer the questions of the border security. Although bearing a French passport, her name sounds Iranian and Iran and Israel are on position of war, due to the threats of the mullah regime against the Jewish state. Thus, she may or may be not a security threat, hence the need of some clarifications. Through this Q&A process though, she is able to figure out those details of her identity that were never explored, such as her religious identity or her feelings towards Iran in general.

L´Interrogatoire by Suzanne Azmayesh is a short and smart story of finding oneself in the turmoil of a Middle East hardly at peace with itself. A Middle East that will sooner or later dramatically change, making such ´interrogatoire´ a thing of the past. Wishful thinking but for the new generation of Israeli, Iranians, Lebanese - Lebanon is mentioned in the book as a place where the couple visited went, as her European boyfriend is kind of obsessed with l´Orient - Syrian...and many more to build up their future. Without wasting precious time and money for wasted ideological causes that are not theirs.

I loved how this book does not have any ideological stereotypes and how it relates to many people living in the region or the diaspora. Those are the signs of changing happening first in the mind of the people.

Rating: 3.5 stars

German Book Review: Rheinblick by Brigitte Glaser

 

Although it does not have exactly a view over the Rhein, Rheinblick is the place where one can have a clear overview of the Bonn´s active political and social life in the 1970s. The homonymous book by German bestselling author Brigitte Glaser is a post-WWII novel with a subplot of crime story.

As I keep mentioning every time when I am reviewing German historical fiction books, I am usually following ambiance details and any useful information that may help me to understand the society and way of thinking after the end of the WWII. Either it features personalities or just everyday people living their life, there are always elements that may help me better understand those episodes from the past. 

The book features, among others, my favorite German politician ever, Willy Brandt, but also mentions the East German spy Günther Guillaume, nested just in the inner circle of the chancellor. Through the interactions between the clients of Rheinblick, one can feel the political and social pulse of the non-communist Germany, its fears and challenges.

With or withough being part of the power arrangements, the society is changing, and so its the world around it. Punctuated by the newest English pop songs, the story is flowing slowly, as the Rhine, but it is just an episode of a longer chain of events. I personally felt that the crime story - of a young girl found dead, a war orphan, would have deserved more attention and focus, as it is lost among the various interactions and exchanges between the characters.

In any case, for someone like me, keen to fill the gaps of the social and historical German immersion through literary reads, Rheinblick is a recommended read. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

Book Tour: Roman Special Forces & Special Ops by Simon Elliott

 

 

Sometimes one needs to see certain developments, particularly in the military field, in a greater perspective. Thus, specific functions accomplished differently across centuries are connected to human history. A historian myself, I focus mostly on modern and contemporary history. I haven´t studied and read about ancient history, particularly Roman Empire, for a very long time, but having a fresh look on old times may help you to better connect with my usual research topics.

Roman Special Forces&Special Ops. Speculatores, Exploratores, Protectores and Areani in the Service of Rome by Simon Elliott was my latest such immersion. Elliott has a MA in War Studies from KCL, a MA in Archaeology from UCL and a PhD in Classics and Archeology from the University of Kent. 

The book is short, written in a reader-friendly way and packed with lots and lots of information. The sources are mostly classical, but the author builds a bridge between times, trying to explain that, in fact, all military structures needed their special forces to maintain an extra layer of security and to operate special operations. This connection with the present times may convince even the most skeptical reader in terms of´´past times´ stories to continue with the reading. I liked the succint introduction, intertwined with account of various ´special forces´-related episodes, such as Operation Entebbe. 

Roman Special Forces&Special Ops is an interesting historical read, an example that one can still read and learn from history books instead of just plain action games (nothing against it, of course).

Rating: 4 stars

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

Random Things Tours: Italian Rules by Tom Benjamin

One cannot be wrong by setting a crime and detective novel in the sunny Italy. Only the mention of it, at least for me, makes me dream more than necessary, instead of focusing on the story itself. Even in my least favorite places - Venice, this is about you - a crime novel like the ones imagined by Donna Leon may sound attractive.

Italian Rules by Tom Benjamin follows the series focused on the English detective living in Bologna Daniel Leicester. He married into an upper class family and may be already a local after decades of living there, however his country of birth still precedes him. I haven´t read anything from the series before, but there are enough details shared to make the reading unproblematic.

While trying to solve a crime, he is requested to figure out a relatively unheard of type of crime. A famous Hollywood film director that wanted to do a remake of a cult film, intuitively called Love on a Razorblade. But when the local film archive wants to screen it in his honor, they discover that the negative disappeared without a trace from the archive. Leicester´s search for the relatively innocent search for a movie may lead him to a couple suicide and year-long unresolved crimes.

I´ve find this book fascinating, in its choice of the topic. It shows that a creative writing mind can built up a great story in the most unexpected ways. The cultural part of the story, as in general the rest of it, is well researches and details are shaping a story where action is adorned with culturated details. 

Italian Rules surprised the reader in a very good way, both in terms of writing and plot. A great way to spend a reading weekend while thinking about your next summer holiday destination.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Random Things Tours: A Game of Deceit by Tim Glister

 

Nothing can take away from me my interest in stories and novels set during the Cold War. Although I was relatively too green to really understand all its everyday life implications, the stories I used to grow up with made me largely familiar with it. Later on, as a political scientist and historian, my main focus was on this period, which influenced on the long term not only the big geopolitical configurations, but also mentalities and the ways in which people got used to react and behave.

Tim Glister´s A Game of Deceit, my second Cold War thriller by this author, is unique among the genre as it is inspired about the situation in a region rarely featured in such books: China. Most of the thrillers - books or movies - covering this timeline do usually concentrate of the complex interactions between US and then Soviet Union, hence, setting a novel mostly in China - Hong Kong at the end of the 1960s -  is a welcomed diversion.

Personally, I liked this book more than my previous one, as it feels like the story is coming together in a more clear way. The duty of extraordinary agent Richard Cox is to uncover a dangerous enemy. The search itself is dangerous, and we are fast took into the Maoist realm and its complex state arrangements. 

The cover is equally worth a mention, a very plastic graphic representation of the Cold War resonating with the story under the book covers.

Rating: 4 stars

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

Random Things Tours: Sylvia by Maithreyi Karnoor

An experimental debut novel, Sylvia by Kannada translator and poet Maithreyi Karnoor is a story within many stories. Both a novel and a collection of short stories, it takes the reader to a journey of discovering common humanity roots and the human relationships in general. 

From the first part - focused on an individual story, following Sylvia, her uncle Bhaubaab and his neighbour, Lakshmi - to the nine distinct stories from the second part, a full picture of life, in all his manifestations which is displayed in the front of the reader´s eyes. 

The village life can be projected as a microcosm allowing us to have a look into life pace and rhythms themselves. Experimental in form, Sylvia has a highly poetic substance, that invites the reader not only to a philosophical journey, but to a a literary quest for the character Sylvia herself, particularly in the second part, where her presence is not necessarily obvious.

I would definitely want to read some of the poetry by Karnoor as well, but until then, many of the ideas exposed in Sylvia will stay with me for a significant amount of time.

Rating: 4 stars

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

Random Things Tours: Love&Other Scams by PJ Ellis

As you follow my blog, you may notice that I may love a romance once in a while, but also thriller and crime novels. But I am rarely happy with less. So, what about having all at once, and a bit more? And than I´ve read Love&Other Scams by PJ Ellis. (Yeah, the scam phenomenon is of high interest for my as well)

The book is breaking all the stereotypes that someone - me included - may expect - from such a title. (A kind of scammy touch but well, I got trapped). It hilarious, eventful, twisty and funny again. Exactly what the world of dating may inspire someone with literary talent to write about.

But it is not exactly dating we are dealing with in this book. Cat, about to become broke, she is desperate to get some substantial cash - other than the one stolen from the wallets she is coming home with from bars and who knows what other places...Like a precious engagement ring, that her frenemy Louise is proudly wearing. And she may be given the chance to do it as she is invited to be part of her special day. But she needs a plus 1, both for the wedding and for her big plan. Is Jake (with a hobby for other people´s Rolexes), the bartender who saw her stealing wallets the one? Her match in life and secret plans? Two con-artists looking for love...and other scams.

And the book looks and sounds much better than my short description of the plot, as it does have very witty and lively dialogues, giving the real life to the story. It may make you even forget that those people are definitely looking for trouble.

If you are looking for a different yet relaxing read, this debut novel by PJ Ellis, a Birmingham-based journalist writing about relationships, pop culture and LGBT topics, is perfect. Also, love stories may bloom in the most - but really the most - unexpected places.

Rating: 4 stars

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

German Novels on Multicultural Topics

The literature reflects the changes - or rather lack thereof - a society is going through. The choice of topics and characters can show interests and urges at the society level. Post WWII West Germany was mostly re-built through the efforts of foreign workers, especially Turkish, but also Italian or Portuguese. Twenty or ten years before, the Turkish characters were almost absent from the German literary realm and so were public figures of Turkish origin absent from the public space, unless for purely anecdotical reason.

Slowly - very slowly, but the only thing that it seems to be fast in this country is the lack of speed limit on the highway, everything takes triple time compares to other countries, at the administrative and mentality level - there are non-German voices emerging lately in the cultural and public realm - from mayors to MPs and writers. 

In the last weeks I had the chance to read two novels written in German, by authors with non-German roots on topics regarding mixed relationships. They are far from being perfect and the stories are relatively simple, but it reflects an everyday life reality, of young people getting together but testing their relationship when families are involved.

German actress Bianca Nawrath created a funny story of a Turkish-Polish relationship that is revealed during a family wedding in Poland. Getting accepted is difficult on both sides of the love story and both members of the couple cope with misperceptions and stereotypes. Food though may be a common denominator, although it does not solve the serious issues of mutual acceptance that may always remain in the background.

The story is detailed, sharing both Turkish and Polish - Nawrath herself has Polish roots - customs and recent histories, with chapter titles alternatively written in both languages. It develops both sides of the story and perspectives. It is a very easy plot, but has interesting insights about what a ´multi-cultural´ relationship may involve on the very practical, everyday-family life level.

In the German-Turkish slang, alman is usually used to describe - ironically sometimes -everything pertaining to the German everyday interactions: punctuality, careful planning of almost everything, maybe fax machines too. Ein Alman feiert selten allein by Aylin Atmaca is more dramatic and a bit more one-sided but realistic in terms of real-time interactions.

Elif is getting to know her boyfriend´s German family for Christmas holidays, an event carefully planned and prepared more than half a year in advance. The passive aggressive stupidity covering the usual questions about pork meat and ´we don´ts´ are there in their full kitsch. There is also a bonus: Jonas´ father who is dressing up a dog with a head cover shouting happily: ´Look, a Muslim´. In the end, there is a happy end and possibly another Xmas party ever after. There are references about how her family may react to Jonas, but the topic is not very much developed.

Both novels, in their easy approach and sometimes simplified approach to mixed relationships, are very important for understanding the society shifts in Germany. I can only wish more and more such books to be published in the next months and years. 

Book Review: The Final Party by A.A.Chaudhuri

´But the truth is, it´s impossible to mend something that was broken to start with´.

After my first extraordinary encounters with the writing of A.A.Chaudhuri, I couldn´t wait for her new book. Her latest, to be published by Hera Books on the 25th of May is probably one of the most surprising suspense thriller I´ve read in a long while. 

Three couples, middle to upper class, knowing each other from their priviledged times at Oxford. One of them is about to reach the big 40 and they are celebrating in Italy, in a luxurious villa. But as we are about to discover ourselves, their relationship is far from being a honest friendship and every single one of them may have something to hide; their dark past is hauntimg their days.

From the very beginning until the very end, there is nothing that one can predict. Half through the book I gave up in thinking what exactly it may happen next and especially why. Thus, I was able to fully immerse into the story and emrace the author´s challenges. 

The plot is brilliant and every single detail is built to surprise. There is no end to the twists and additional details that are brought into the story until the last page. It creates expectation and suspense and also keeps you glued to every single word because you don´t want to miss anything. 

The characters are entangled in a game of lies and deceit, that suits them very well as it resonates with their behavior. I haven´t sympatised with any of them, but they are so human and fragile in their greed and longing to be accepted and even loved. Only they´ve found the worst possible ways to achieve it.

The Final Party is an exercise of fine psychological thriller, which is innovative, carefully elaborated and perfectly executed. Out of all the books by Chaudhuri I´ve read until now, it´s my favorite, which doesn´t mean I am not already counting the days until her next book will be out. 

Rating: 5 stars

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

Random Things Tours: Pomegranates&Artichokes by Saghar Setareh

 

The luck of tasting Persian food is one of the main reason I am grateful for not being an anorexic any more. The pleasure of savoring every bit of it, delving into the poetry of sholeh zard and the delicious fesenjoon took me by surprise when I tried them for the first time. Until the second time, most of my fears and trauma associated with food and body misperception were almost healed, ready to accept the delicious flavours and colours - if you see a sholeh zard, my favorite desert ever, you may figure out what I am talking about. 

Pomegranates&Artichokes. Recipes and memories of a journey from Iran to Italy by Roma-based Iranian food writer and photographer Saghar Setareh  is unique for its exceptional way in which connects cultures through food. Eating is more than cooking for nourishing, but it says a complex cultural story. An Iranian feast then, means more than a collection of dishes carefully cooked, but it has its own anatomy that travels through the body of values and cultural signs.

Besides the recipes and explanations about different ingredients and techniques in the Iranian, Levantine and Eastern cuisine as well as Italian, this book brought a revelation that shocked my cultural knowledge: the oldest written record of noodles originates from Iran, it´s called lakhsha and traveled through Europe and highly probably ended up as my beloved lokhshen kugel that I could have bet my whole life that it belongs to my Hungarian heritage. The hidden and surprising ways of cultural journeys...

Illustrated with painting-alike photos, Pomegranates&Artichokes is a feast for the soul and the eyes. The directions of the mouth-watering recipes are easy to follow, even for the least experienced cook. A delicious plate is an act of love. A well written book is also an act of love.

Rating: 5 stars

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

Book Review: Der Junge Mann by Annie Ernaux transl. into German by Sonja Finck

Lately, I acquired a new literary hobby: I am trying to read authors that I usually like in other translations than the original language their books were written. Sometimes I am reading a book simultaneously with at least two other translations. It´s an experiment that I hope will help me to figure out the nuances and individual takes of a translator.

My latest experiment was the German translation of Annie Ernaux´s Le Jeune Homme/The Young Man/Der Junge Mann. A relatively short novel - 40 pages, the shortest I´ve ever read by her - translated by Sonja Finck who actually translated other works by Ernaux from French as well.

It may look as a continuation of Getting Lost, although not mentioned as such, but one may suppose that it happens afterwards, as she is already in her 50s. Sex and passionate entanglements are a distraction from writing, but this time, she is the one in charge with ending, and the passion is short-lived. Moderately facing the social prejudice about women dating younger men - between her and her lover, A., there is an age difference of 30 years - the relationship has a clear formative meaning - for her - but as it is mostly consumed in Rouen, where she studied, it trigger memories of her younger times. At certain extents, she is acting as a guide into the society for the young philosopher, but also sees similarities with her own situation.

The book may sound as a report sometimes, short and like written in a hurry to be sure that the memories are still accountable. It may sound different than the other books by Ernaux I´ve read but maybe because it is reflecting a completely different stage in her life: that ends with freedom.

The cover of the German edition - Suhrkamp - is worth mentioning from the graphic point of view. I wish though that the name of the translator is mentioned somewhere alongside the author´s. 

Random Things Tours: Falling Star by Michele Kwasniewski

 

I don´t have (yet) a teenager at home, but I am an avid reader of Young Adult literature, long before having a child. After all, once you understand where the new generation is heading to, what interests the adults in the making, you can also figure out where the society is heading to. It is important to understand and seize the right society patterns and books with young characters addressed to young characters are helpful in this respect. It´s a kind of literary voyeurism, very important though from the point of view of the history of mentalities.

Falling Star by Michele Kwasniewski, the third and last in the series featuring teenage extraordinaire Dani Truehart develops a moderately paced chain of events around the troubled life of a teenage star. 16-year old, a famous ultra-rich influencer and online star, Dani´s present and future life is brought to pieces as she found herself unconscious with a gravely hit cyclist besides her on the road. She drove drunk and apparently hit him. A scandal that brings back her dramatic life until now, being forced to react and be what other people expect from her.

I´ve found the pace of the book perfect for allowing reflection and featuring personal details probably familiar to those who followed the series from the very beginning. However, if you haven´t read all of them, like me, there is still plenty to understand about the character and her life journey. 

Dani, altough a very successful young lady, she may be the victim of the curse of being too gifted. A child without childhood, forced into adulthood by the requests of the market, the tragical episode she experienced and also created herself may be her passport to freedom, to a better, less eventful yet authentic life.

I liked the insights into startdom - which sound so authentic with all the details from the world of film and entertainment - and the focus on Dani´s feelings and everyday struggle. Nowadays, it´s not too hard - with a bit of talent and the right tools - to become famous, but it doesn´t stop with the ´likes´ and overwhelming ´live´ attendance. It is a trap that may steal your life in the very end.

Falling Star - and the rest of the series that I can´t wait to read in the near future as well - is a recommended book for both young adults and their parents. It helps maybe to avoid too much unhappiness and responsibilities at a young age, and for the parents, how to allow their children, no matter how special they are, to be themselves, no matter what profit lurks at the other end of the camera.

Rating: 4 stars

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

Book Tour: Straight Expectations by Calum McSwiggan

 

Take care what do you wish for! 

In an anger outburst, openly gay Max, 17, still looking for being noticed by the one, wished himself to have never been born gay. To be straight and enjoy it, like most of the other kids in school. When his wish come true, he may figure out that being happy with one´s lot is a sign of wisdom.

Straight Expectations, the debut novel by YouTuber and LGBT advocate Calum McSwiggan is a queer rom-com with a story hard to put down. The surprising twist of being suddenly transferred into the reality of wishes or wishful thinking makes the story both surprising and an useful for anyone trying to understand the realities of the queer youth.

I particularly liked how topics that are definitely useful for understanding the everyday queer life are wrapped in an appealing writing, with a story keeping the reader interested. Although it may address mostly a young, teenage audience, anyone looking for a good start of exploring queer topics can read this book and at the end of it, he or she will definitely change their minds.

PS: There are some cute fashion tips as well, just sayin´.

Rating: 3.5 stars

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

L´Usure d´un Monde by François-Henri Déserable

 ´L'Iran n'est pas un Etat de droit, monsieur Déserable. Renoncez à votre voyage´.

Those were the last words an official of the French state addressed to François-Henri Déserable, before his flight took off, direction Tehran. He is probably the only Western author who was able to return - free - to Europe and share his journey in a country took over by the revolt against the mullah. His book just published this week by Gallimard, L´Usure d´un Monde is the result of his re-enacting of the journey of another European, Nicolas Bouvier, a Swiss traveller who went in Iran at the beginning of the 1950s, publishing a book with a similar title, L´Usage d´un Monde. Delayed due to Covid, Déserable couldn´t find a better - and riskier - moment to accomplish his project. 

In an approximate translation - both words may do have different meaning, based on the specific context they are used - usure can be translated by erosion, while usage rather refers to the way in which something, or specific directions, are used. 

The Iran that Déserable had the chance to visit is about the say good bye to the old ways that were forced into her by the Islamic Revolution. The murder of Mahsa Amini by the ´morality police´ was the drop that overflew a glass full of frustration, poverty, discrimination and abuse. The generation born under the auspices of the regime of the mullahs, forced every morning to scream Death to...´enemy states´, knows who its enemies are. 

He is book is a short yet rich in human observations journey through a country waiting to be free. Revolutions take time, maybe months, maybe a little bit more than a year. But there are no ways to come back. From Tehran to Shiraz, Isfahan and the Kurdistan area, he is communicating with people and observes the world around. He does not have too much time, and he should be discrete. His final days are haunted by a meeting with a team of the Pasdaran - the members of the pretorian Revolutionary Guard - that, after not finding any compromising photos in his mobile phone, is requesting him to leave Kurdistan region and Iran, as soon as possible. Otherwise...

This book cannot be used as a ´travel inspiration´, and it does not intend to offer too many historical and geopolitical explanations. But the observations he gathers along the way are by far more important than any other intellectual overthinking. He does no take sides or makes political bets, just looking around, with a fresh curious look. Sooner or later, this eroded world will be replaced by a new one that we may need to learn how to actually use it.

Rating: 4.5 stars 

How High?

 

The more I delve into my TBR collections of short stories - that are never getting shorter - the more I understand what a special writing art it requires. But also, what a pleasure for the writer may be to create such mini-worlds out of few words. 

Diane Williams - that I got to know through the very short story collection How High? -That High reminds me of some painting on a rice grain I´ve admired many springs ago. Who would imagine that on such a limitative surface an entire story can be created, painted...The same with the mini-short stories collected in this book. One page, even less, with an ending that it may actually start the story.

The writing is for the pleasure and the sake of the writing. Thus, there are no canons, limitations or search for conformity. It flows as it comes to mind and there is no need to try to always understand. Writing may be more than the logical chain of facts and words. It can also be the pure pleasure of just reading and just writing.

Although the concise and abstract style reminded me sometimes of Lydia Davis, Diane Williams belongs to a different register, maybe more self-referential and factual. I am sure that I need to delve more into her stories and can´t wait to discover other writings by her.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Random Things Tours: Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

 

The trauma of wars do not disappear so easy. Decades after, their painful wounds will still remain open, a knife in the heart and soul that is not going away. So many years after the end of the Vietnam War, new stories are emerging, dealing with well-hidden tabus and dramas.

An unspoken topic until recently is the fate of the so-called ´Amerasians´: children born from relationships between American soldiers and Vietnamese mothers. Many never found their father, some were abandoned and never met their parents. Some are still looking for their biological parents, some were lucky enough to find them.

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is personally involved in the reunification of families, gathering enough material to write a beautiful nostalgic book Dust Child. For the once children now adults waiting to meet their parents, the moment of the meeting is more than a joyous event of finding their lost relatives. It bears the weight of the frustration of growing up as an orphan, often in poverty, growing up with single mothers that in addition to the hardship of everyday life, had to face the social stigma of being entangled with the ´enemy´ (similar stories are in West Germany, of German women who after WWII they go involved with American soldiers). 

The emotions are raw, unfiltered, direct yet powerful and genuinely human. It exposes the hopes for a better life who are never strong enough to overpass the bureaucratic harassment and awkwardness of the situations themselves. 

Dust Child is not only a work of fiction developing a topic rarely featured outside the circles directly interested by it, but it is also a testimony of human empathy, shared by a gifted storyteller.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Random Things Tours: No Good Lie by Claire Stibbe

 

When Freya discovered the corpse of a woman on the beach, the whole setting reminded her of the recent death of her daughter. Although officially the variant of an accident was accepted, in fact it seems it wasn´t. Would she though break her promise and try to find an answer to this crime? And, if yes, how far is she ready to go? Meanwhile, a stalker seems to keep a terrific check on her, leaving on purpose traces aimed to scare her. It is a game with no winners. 

No Good Lie by prolific bestseller author Claire Stibbe induces a sense of emergency and tension from the very beginning. As readers, one feels caught into a terrifying game with no predictable ending. The ambiance sometimes takes over the depth of the characters, but it´s not easy to focus on anything else anyway. The switch of points of views between Freya and her stalker, Edward, add a bit of diversion and dynamism to the plot.

An intense mind game story of dark secrets, No Good Lie may stay with the reader for a long time. It made me think a lot about the power of words and promises and how breaking them or misusing the words may lead to tragic human consequences. This book may bring meanings beyond the battle lines of a crime novel.

Rating: 3.5 stars

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

Historical Fiction Set in Cuba: Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

The members of diasporas that were forced to left their countries under dramatic circumstances will nurture from a generation to another the golden memories of the good times. People who grew up in countries that changed over night, specifically when they turned into dictatorships, will always dream about returning into the countries of their childhoods. Sometimes, they are not lucky enough for this to happen.

Cuban diaspora is an example in this respect. Forced to leave - when they had the inspiration and the information about what may expect them if they would stay - in order to be spared the revolutionary waves, they settled in Europe or in America, especially in Miami, longing to return. 

Next Year in Havana - Nächstes Jahr in Havana, in the audiobook version in German, translated from English by Stefanie Fahrer - by bestseller author of Cuban origin Chanel Cleeton evokes the drama and intricacies of secrets of a family facing its recent past. As Marisol Ferrera embarks on a trip to Cuba to fulfill the last wish of her late grandmother, to spread her ashes in her country of birth, she was expecting a holiday while superficially connecting with her roots. However, this trip will challenge and change dramatically her life. She discovers secrets too heavy to be carried alone, but also she is falling in love with a charming professor putting his life into danger for sharing the truth about Castro´s regime with the rest of the world.

The novel is set in the last days of Castro regime, during the relative ´opening´ of the US-Cuban relationships and Cleeton is well literate in the more or less recent Cuban history to create an ambiance that resonates with the political changes. I´ve found interesting the dialogues about revolution and its dilemma, the cruelty of the revolutionary wave and the unavoidable dictatorship dead end.

The voice of the characters is clear, allowing to build up an unique story within the heavy historical burden. It is a golden balance achieved between the historical layers and the proper story, which made the story relatable and interesting.

As the book is part of series, I will be curious to continue soon with the rest of the installments. Also, I will keep an eye on Cuban events and definitely literary voices and arts. I also wish that no one should die with a bitter heart for being prevented from visiting the place of their birth.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Random Things Tours: Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen translated by Megan E. Turney

 

Not everyone can get into the bestseller list from the very beginning. Particularly crime writers, they may need some time to hone their writing skills and stories. But some are doing it right, perfectly right. Jenny Lund Madsen debut Thirty Days of Darkness, translated from Danish by Megan E. Turney, made it into the bestsellers charts in Danish and is in process of production for the screen by Nordish Film and Netflix. Madsen, a multi-awarded screenwriter for, among others, Follow the Money and Rita, was also awarded the Harald Mogensen Prize for Best Danish Crime Novel in 2020. 

The English speaking readers will have access to the book in the first half of May, published by Orenda Books. 

The premise of the book is very intriguing: Hannah, once a successful author, is struggling with writer´s block. When she is challenged to write a novel in thirty days she accepts it and relocates to a small Icelandic village for inspiration. Shortly thereafter, a body is found and she got entangled into the investigation that may bring out of the box secrets no one wants to remember. Including Hannah herself.

The atmosphere in this book is perfectly crafted, in the smallest details that makes you feel sometimes that you are literally there. The ambiance is following the story as a hollow amplifying the tone of the story. 

The reader feels on alert, tensed as the small little village is turning into a crime scene. You feel like there is nothing more important than finding a solution but the price for this builds up step-by-step. I couldn´t leave the book though until the crime was solved.

Hannah is an interesting character, evolving as the story moves on itself. She may be fighting her own demons and conflicts, but she´s fully relatable. I was particularly charmed by the idea of a crime writer involved in solving a crime herself and the book largely met the expectations.

Thirty Days of Darkness is tensed, atmospheric, surprising. An excellent debut by an author I hope to hear more about soon.   

Rating: 4.5 stars

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