Random Things Tours: Bright Stars of Black British History by J.T.Williams illustrated by Angela Vives

 

You know one of the many reasons I feel priviledged living in our current times? Hint: it has to do, obviously, with books! Books about people whose voices were never heard, women, minorities, people who always were part of their larger societies, even contributed to changing them, nevertheless they were never included in the official narratives of their countries. 

History is a difficult material to deal with - says a PhD in history - and it has the potential to both educate and distort. Depends on the aim it is written. Personally, I  believe that history well written and documented can do a tremendous work of representation for people, individuals and groups, underrepresented and/or absent from the official narratives. 

Bright Stars of Black British History by J.T. Williams, beautifully illustrated by Angela Vives is an outstanding example. Aimed at a young audience, it well written and informative enough to catch the attention of a more mature audience. A journey through times, it shows a what extent Black British History is written since centuries, through the contributions of actors, freedom fighters and artists, soldiers and educators. 

It is an important book both for personal use and as reading material in the classroom. It empowers both children and their families with vital information about the past and possible role models. Hopefully, there will be many many such books soon, I cannot wait to review. This is history in the making.

Rating: 5 stars

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

Random Things Tours: Courting Samira by Amal Awad

 

A sweet story of searching for pure, ultimate love, Courting Samira features a 27-year old Palestinian based in Sydney caught between her Romantic dreams and the everyday realities of dating while trying to achieve her professional and personal goals. 

Inspired by Regency and love fairy tales, Samira is following the traditional pathway to find love and believes in romance, but she may end up entangled in a web of funny circumstances. Just a bit of more drama, as she was not already having enough of it, As an assistant at Bridal Bazaar magazine and her everyday family experience, she may now a thing or maybe two about it. And now, some dramatic love triangles are about to happen and she should manage them somehow, while trying to get a long awaited and much deserved promotion at work.

Courting Samira has a hilarious take, but also offers a diverse story, featuring a different way of searching for Romantic love. Although I´ve felt sometimes that the story isn´t developed too fast, it is far from boring and has a thoughtful take on relationships, particularly of young successful Muslim women growing up in Western societies. The women characters are adorable, bubbly and with strong personalities and last but not least, an outstanding sense of humour. They are largely relatable and would love to see them featured in a movie inspired by the book. The story flows beautifully and keep the reader smartly entertained.

It is a book that may appeal to readers interested in diverse characters, but can also offer inspiration and role models for young Muslim girls, not very often featured in Romantic books those days. 

Rating: 4 stars

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

We Need New Stories

 

We usually reject what we don´t know. Luís de Camões´ Os Lusiadas resumes among others our fear of unknown territories. The sea - which can be also interpreted in a more complex Freudian key - represents the unknown, something that goes beyond our imagination and capacity of grasping worlds and phenomenon who were under our control and knowledge. Time and experience showed us better ways to grasp the sea, but the fear of unknown is an archetypal human feeling.

This fear nowadays is mostly expressed through our reactions - very often negative ones - towards foreigners. Listening to foreign languages and accents, skin colours and habits, food customs and smells coming from non-local apartments are a curse and a blessing at the same time. It depends on us to turn the unknown into palpable and familiar truths. Living in an age of fast communication with access to a significant amount of sources does not guarantee automatically the end of all evils of intolerance. Rather the opposite: it can help people to fuel their fears, while using exclusively sources of information confirming over and over again their fears.

Our Migrant Soul. Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of ´Latino´ by Héctor Tobar approaches the variety of experiences of being - often an undocumented - Latin American immigrant in the US through stories. His own story, his own family story, his relatives stories, his current and former neighbours stories and unknown people stories. 

I can grasp theoretically the identity layers and challenges of being a minority, but through stories I am able to access personal experiences, to figure out the stories and their emotional weight, I can represent in the front of my eyes the people telling or experiencing those events. I can better acknowledge the similarities with other non-White stories - as related in the book about Black Americans - and eventually think about what would follow next, at what extent there will be a similar pattern marking the evolution of a given phenomenon.

Our Migrant Soul, a book I had access to in audiobook format, is an excellent collection of stories that may enrich both the researcher and the curious reader about the generous contribution of immigrants from all layers of life to our experience about identity.

Rating: 5 stars

Rachel´s Random Resources: All in Monte Carlo by Anna Shilling

 

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Inspired by true events, All in Monte Carlo will take you within the closed doors of the rich and beautiful of Monte Carlo. Some new rich love Dubai, but those unable to beat the high hot season would rather love Monaco. After all, it´s easier there to get your fix and the principality is small enough to create a trustful network of gossips and adventures for all to follow, up in the open.

Written by a collective of four women, just like the stories shared in the book, and inspired by truth events in the life of the Monegasque inhabitants, the book cover was created by the famous graphic designer Patrick Knowles who created, among others, the cover for Anthony Horowitz books as well as the calligraphy for the wedding invitation of Prince William and Kate´s. 

A good read if you love some gossipy stories and you find other rich people´s problems amusing, All in Monte Carlo is packed with action, a bit of kitsch and a lot of loud laughs. Unless you are in the skin of the characters yourself - all those cheaters! - you can hardly stop laughing, even what the women of book are planning a chilling revenge. 

The luxury descriptions are accurate and tempting - but warning, there is no Black Friday for the luxury brands ! - which makes it look like a kind of European Crazy Rich Asians - with less rich, but enough crazy. My favorite - obviously - is Abigail, the journalist, especially for her black humour. The way in which she interacts with her corrupt boss and his ´clients´ is the right attitude of a smart girl whose brains are sought after in an ocean of stupidity and fake make-believe.

If you are looking for some good written fun this weekend, All in Monte Carlo is what you need for. I wish myself a continuation of the series and maybe a glamorous movie too. If you plan to visit Monaco and Monte Carlo next summer, maybe it´s also a good idea to know what it expects you there, although for few hours - staying there overnight would be possible only if you get the big pot at the Casino, who knows.

Rating: 4 stars

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

The End is Near

 

One of my few events for this year Literaturfestival in Berlin was a discussion about Iranian revolution with Gilda Sahebi, Navid Kermani and Amir Gudarzi who introduced his debut novel Das Ende ist Nah - The End is Near, in my translation. A promise, not guaranteed, too. Shortly after I had the chance to read the book, a complex immigrant story in Austria.

Gudarzi studied theatre and dramaturgy in Tehran and was forced to leave the country following the protests of the 2009 Green Revolution in Iran.The character of his novel, A. had a similar experience, and also used to be active in the field of theatre. But now, he defines as an immigrant, humiliated by other fellow immigrants and facing the soulless bureaucracy. 

Interrupted with flashbacks from the past, filled with stories of his parents, his childhood and the friends and girlfriends he left behind, the prose follows like a logic of duality, where the past and the present are survival pills for the everyday survival.

What didn´t worked for me was the relationship with Sarah, an Austrian woman trying to break also with her past, a PhD student, a tormented soul, passionate about Iranian culture, democracy protests and Jewish history. I didn´t like her and such people usually belong to the category of people I avoid to have anything to do in the everyday life, but in the logic of the story, I felt ofen that she was there as a reminder of how things should not happen or just to offer a distraction from the dramatic story of A.´s immigration to Austria. Maybe in theatre such useful characters are welcomed, but in a novel, you can rarely get rid of them fast enough until they are becoming a stereotype. Relationships in general in this novel seem very clumsy and emotionally distant.

Besides those shortcomings that after all may be just a matter of personal taste, Das Ende ist Nah is an excellent debut novel, eyes-opening of the immigrant histories and with a story with its own dynamic. This novel is a proof of the rich literature written in German that once translated, would definitely bring a lot of novelty and new topics into the general topic of immigration and estrangement.

Rating: 4 stars

Cover Reveal: The Secret Ingredient by Sue Heath

 

The sour part of taking part to cover reveal events is that I may have to wait a bit more until the book is out on the market to read what I am suggested it happens in the book through the cover. As this is one of the newest type of articles I introduced on my blog in the last two years, it also creates a special expectation about the book and, obviously, increases the amount of TBR for the time being.

The Secret Ingredient by Sue Heath is not expected in the bookstores - virtual and other - before the 15th of February next year. As the cover and the title too suggest, it is built around food and its life challenges - the main character, Kate Shaw, decided to return in the kitchen preparing pancakes and I know from my perfect failures what can happen while preparing a pancake - or two. The recipes she is creating or testing are further building up a sense of community and belonging, which is one of the wonders food can actually do in the everyday life.

The book may be about food and love for it, but I loved how the cover is actually trying to convene a visual message not necessarily bombarding the reader with images of sliced cakes on a plate or pots and pans. It attracts the eye, nevertheless, with the elegance of the lines and colours, especially the red and blue mixture. 

Such an appearance can only make me curious about what to expect next and what characters and actions can be hidden in the pages of a book with such an inspired cover.

Disclaimer: Many thanks to Rachel´s Random Resources for having me at this virtual event.

Rachel´s Random Resources: Pass the Cyanide by Karmen Špiljak

 

From the literary point of view, this year I´ve significantly expanded my outreach in terms of topics and domains of interest. One of my biggest achievement is trying out a large array of short stories collections, both in terms of geographical coverage and styles. (Hopefully, in the next days and weeks I can finish reading and reviewing some of my latest discoveries). However, nothing prepared me for the explosive dangerous taste in Pass the Cyanide by Slovenian-Belgian author Karmen Špiljak, a collection of mystery short stories with a pinch of cyanide. 

The challenge of the short stories is to be able to create stories with developed characters within a relatively limited amount of time. The 14 stories included in Pass the Cyanide are entertaining, mysterious while adding very interesting elements of folklore and fairy tales. The food - including cyanide-free recipes - is often the element that reflects and announces the mysterious challenges for the characters. Definitely, there is always something ´noir´ about it, in different concentrations. 

As a regular crime reader, I didn´t know exactly what to expect from this culinary noir, but in the end my appetite was only screaming for more. As this is actually Špiljak´s second collection of foodie mysteries, I am left with the chance of another delightful menu, hopefully soon. 

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Random Things Tours: Private Inquiries. The Secret History of Female Sleuths

One of my biggest achievements as a reader this year was to delve more into women histories, either in fiction or non-fiction. By reading and sharing information through my blog about historical and scientific and other episodes with women participants, I was able to fill the void of non-representation that marked anything that had to do with women representation.

At the beginning of this year, I got to know a lot about women crooks in England, and one month and a half before the end of 2023, I spent an intellectually rewarding amount of time learning about The Secret History of Female Sleuths. The author of both is Caitlin Davies who for the second book she got fully into the skin of her characters, and went through a PI training herself. Thus, she got significant insights about the process and its details.

Private Inquiries. The Secret History of Female Sleuths covers more than 150 years of history. It is well documented, either through archives researches or with direct interviews and feedback from women currently part of this profession. It is as exciting as it sounds like, with an additional advantage of being written in a very accessible and journalistic form. Although it is focused on England histories, it can be used as an incentive for other geographical spaces and countries to be replicated. 

It is a very recomforting feeling to discover that women too, deserves to be appreciated in their roles as investigators. I can´t wait to read more works of both fiction and nonfiction aimed to fill the break the historical silence regarding women in so many domains of everyday life.

Rating: 5 stars

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

Short Stories Book Review: Send Nudes by Saba Sams

A selection of unequal ten short stories with predominantly women characters, Send Nudes by Saba Sams is mostly a tragi-comical account of various dating and relationship failures. The women characters in the stories may be and feel lonely sometimes, but relationships are mostly not what they are necessarily looking for. Some human interaction, maybe. Some of those interactions may change them, empower them, although it only refers to some online weird exchange of nudes.

What I´ve loved the most was how some stories actually ended: with the main character leaving everything -to be read a man, a relationship - behind, just to walk free. There is no drama, no tears, no longing: there is a desire and wish for something more, only to acknowledge how dear is freedom. The partner could be a man or a woman, no matter the gender, what is important is that feeling of being able to subsist by oneself, existentially. 

Although I´ve found maybe just half of the stories really interesting, Send Nudes did reasonate at certain extents with memories of dating experiences I´ve used to have. A good source if you are interested in honing your short story writing style, but also if looking to dissect with care dating life nowadays.

Rating: 3 stars

The Secret Ways of Love Letters

 

Since reading the The President´s Oranges, I knew I wanted to read more - and more - by Abbas Khider. Born in Baghdad, he was forced to become an political refugee and currently lives in Berlin. I was charmed by the smart humour allowing him to nonchalantly approach serious topics such as the cruel dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.

Letter to the Aubergine Republic is an elaborated story, following the fate of a letter sent from a political refugee in Libya to his beloved one with whom he tries to get in touch again after two years of absence. Due to his status and the risks he may expose the destinatary once caught by the secret police, he is spending a small fortune to send the letter through illegal channels operated through a travel agency. The letter travels to Jordan, Egypt and further on to Iraq, where lands to desk of a representative of the omnipresent secret agent. There is no escape of the regime´s long hand. 

At the time when the novel is written, the aubergine was the most basic food in Iraq.

It is a short novel, but elaborated in a way that fully reveals the intricacies of corruption and nepotism created through the family connections with the dictator. The odyssey of the love letter reveals from the smallest society cell how far the dependency of the regime goes. A journey unfortunately reproduced through many other similar dictatorships from other parts of the world as well.

As far as I know, Khider´s books haven´t been translated yet into English and it´s a big pitty because nowadays more than ever, we need more an more satires against dictatorships.

Rating: 5 stars

Random Things Tours: The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

A book of high sensibility and contemporary intricacies, The Leftover Woman by bestseller author Jean Kwok is a tour de force of American-Asian history through the intertwined stories of two women. 

Jasmine, the first protagonist of the story we are introduced to, is struggling to settle in America, always hunting for new jobs and opportunities. Forced into an arranged marriage as a young teenage girl, she is a character whose complexity is revealed smoothly, as the story unfolds. She has many secrets to hide, many of them not revealed until the end of the story, but the secrets she hides are usually involving and particularly aimed at saving other persons. 

Her impossible double is Rebecca, with a successful career in publishing and a life one can only dream about. She just adopted an Asian child she does not have enough time to spend with, leaving her instead with a nanny, Lucy, who feels like a family member. But the perfect life starts to have many cracks and under pressure, she is just about to lose the control of her thoughts and life.

Historical circumstances - among others, China´s one child policy - may bring those destinies together, in a story who is emotional and full of unexpected turns of events as well. Kwok´s writing is charming, in the sense it can create destinies of everyday people, highly outlining and bringing more human light into historical events and mentalities.

The Leftover Woman is one of the best historical fiction focused on women characters I´ve read this year, a recommended read to anyone curious about American-Asian history but also keen to discover a fine writer. 

Rating: 5 stars

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

Cover Reveal: Clickbait by LC North

 

Most successful thrillers you´ve seen around the bookrealm do have some bloody appealing pictures as their covers: either a drop or some traces, it´s what you are supposed to associate with when thinking about a thriller. Put it should not necessarily by this way. As the topics and characters of a thriller do usually resonate with the trends of the moments, the just blood stance may sound a bit outdated. An acknowledgement which leaves a generous creative amount of space to offer a much better visual rendition.

Clickbait by LC North, an author I had the chance to feature already on my blog at the beginning of this year, to be published in April 2024 by Transworld Bantham is pleased to differ. A rich family, the Lancasters, involved in the production of a reality show sharing with the world details of their lavish lives, is involved in a strange case of a missing youngster. YouTuber Tom Isaas is getting involved, searching for the truth. A mixture of social media, video transcripts and diary entries, the book seems to be in sync with the social media trends - thus, Clickbait as title. 

The cover is following this idea, with the limelights aggressively surrounding the unfaced woman character, and with neon-like dizzy lettering of the title. I also liked the alternance between different sizes of the letters, which amplifies at a certain extent the idea of illusions and confusions of plans.

I can´t wait to read this book, and my only regret is only that I have around 5 months to wait until it is ´on air´, out under the limelights of media and social networks.

Many thanks to Rachel´s Random Resources for having me for this virtual event.

Random Things Tours: Disaster Dates and Lucky Escapes by Tess Smith-Roberts

 

Every disaster date is one step forward to your best friend, match or the love of your life. It cannot happen overnight and for many of us, it takes way too long. But despite the high rate of disappointment, one can learn a lot about human nature and love, especially through the bad dates. Remember: No expectations, no disappointment!

The author of Disaster Dates&Lucky Escapes, London-based illustrator Tess Smith-Roberts (her website is really funny) had a lot of online dating disappointments, and some weird disaster dates (speed dating in a laundromate was one of the funniest), ghosting and other traumatic interactions. However, besides the curse, those experiences were a blessing as she wrote and illustrated a funny book.

No matter how successful you´ve ever been on (online) dating, there is always something to learn about and to make fun of. I´ve read it in one sitting and kept laughing about it for one more extra hour. If you are looking for a busy dating weekend, use this book as a hilarious guide into an activity that you have to learn to enjoy. 

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Random Things Tours: Never Tell Anyone Your Name by Federico Ivanier translated by Claire Storey

´At the end of the day, wherever you go, you always end up face-to-face with your future´.

Literature for young people is a valuable resource for adults as well. There are so many beautiful stories around, usually not reaching out a more ´mature´ audience due to the limits imposed by age. However, I am always delighted to get my hand on some titles and stories, especially when coming from geographical areas less represented within the English-speaking realm.

Never Tell Anyone Your Name - Nunca Digas Tu Nombre - by multi-awarded Uruguayan author and screen writer Federico Ivanier, translated into English by Claire Storey was one of the most surprising encounter with young literature in a long while. 

Missing his connection to Madrid on the way to meet his father, the unnamed 16 years character of the novella, ends up in a small town randomly thinking about his beloved whose absence is accompanying him along the way. He wants to play the tourist for a couple of hours, noticing the reality through the lenses of his camera. He meets a strange girl who almost kills him, but as a hero of the times to come, he wins over ending up in due time in the train. Was it an accident, an illusion or just an episode reminding him how limited is his knowledge about the world and himself?

The pace of the story is meditative and philosophical, reproducing the voice of a smart and intellectualizing 16 years old. It is told with an outsider authoritative voice, and this is how the story unfolds, with him looking to himself from outside, with the detachment and curiosity some of the young people may have at this age, trying to experiment with reality, predictably expecting something to happen without necessarily being curious about what exactly. At this age, it is in the nature of things to be unexpected, cruel or putting you on trial.

There is a crescendo in the storytelling and both the dialogues and the descriptions - sometimes, in a naturalistic way, the environment and weather are reflections of the inner turmoil of the character; there may be a risky move as it´s a stereotypical literary trick for this kind of literature, but in the case of Nunca Digas Tu Nombre it echoes the plot details and the representation of the character - with twists when you except less and a chain of images that may suit a short film as well.

It was a pleasure to read this book, that kind of pleasure that one may have as a young person delving into the pages of a book. It is a feeling that can be repeated at any age, in fact. I am definitely interested in reading more books by Ivanier, including in the original language.

Rating: 5 stars

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