Woman Life Freedom - The graphic novel version

With protests taking over Iran again, following a dire economic situation and the abysmal deterioration of life circumstances for average citizens, it is the right time to remember and educate oneself about the context and the history of a beautiful culture caught for decades in the wrong government.

A collection of graphic articles on topics relevant to Iranian recent history, coordinated by Marjane Satrapi of Persepolis fame, displays critically and well informed snippets about Mahsa Amini, daily cultural censorship, the oppressive politics on women, but also history and culture or diaspora internal politics. Most of the historical background is provided by prof. Abbas Milani. 

There are so many ´serious´ topics who are so masterfully explained, in few words or just images. Medium in this case fully saves the message, reaching out to so many age and social categories. 

The styles are as diverse as the topics, some do black-and-white, some are more inclined to magic realism or more graphic representations. 

A group of very talented people that hopefully will soon have the chance to show their creative take on all the good changes awaiting a nation getting its freedom back.

I had access to the book in the original French version, but it was also translated into English and German. 

Finding My Way by Malala Yousafzai

The youngest Nobel prize laureate ever, at 17, and an active militant for girls´ right to education, Malala Yousafzai was a young girl when she survived, at 15, a Taliban assasination attempt. Turned into a human rights advocate and a sought after speaker, Malala is also trying to write her own personal story, as an adult in the making, from the classrooms of Oxford to her search for love and friendship.

Her latest memoir, Finding My Way is sharing details about her struggle with the strict learning schedule at Oxford, giving a meaning to her independence while struggling to satisfy the exigencies of her conservative family. Far from her parents, she may be ´high on independence´ but she is often caught in the suffocating net of family expectations and criticism. Every public apparition, approved by her or not, when she is displaying ideas or physical appearance not conform with the conservative upbringing of her family, she is criticised by family and trolled online. 

She earned a celebrity status that, among other things, she is learning to cope with by comparing, learning, making mistakes, failing the essays´ deadlines. She is very honest with her doubts and insecurities, including when it came to marrying her husband Asser Malik.

I had access to the book in the audiobook format, read by the author, and was a great choice, as you can warmly be shared her emotions. 

It is a lot to learn from this book both about Malala as about her trauma and daily life. This book adds so much content to the ´icon´ helping us to better understand her. 

A recommended read if you are interested in Malala and her dreams, but also about women stories, in Pakistan and abroad.

Rating: 4 stars

Magma by Thora Hjörleifsdóttir translated by Meg Matich

If you are a woman victim of an abusive relationship, Magma by Icelandic poet and author Thora Hjörleifsdóttir translated by Meg Matich may be a horrible trigger.

The storyteller of this novella, Lilja, whose name is shared with us towards the end, is living a delusion: her dream partner is intellectual although without a proper degree, reads Derrida, needs her once she is about to leace, but when she is in the same room he is intensively chatting online with other women or just cheating on her. She needs the idea of him, therefore she agrees to his sexual fantasies and is playing nicely. She is not blind, but blinded by her own lack of acknowledgement. 

And if he is gone, she is gone too, because for him, she uprooted herself from life.

It is easy to judge from outside why someone will accept such an entanglement, but Magma offers a raw, poetic even, descent into the personal abyss of abuse. As predicted, she ends up abusing herself at the highest degree. Someone looking and judging from outside is not there, doesn´t know how it feel to be there and how hard to emotionally detach from such stories, no matter how strong you think you are. 

Magma is one of those books too where you do not even realize it is a translation, as the text flows naturally as it is, with a genuine poetic note. 

Last but not least, the cover is exceptional, with a simple combination of colours and a distruptive lettering. 

Rating: 4.5

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

The Influencer by Miranda Rijks

A highly functional psychopath who wants to keep her manipulative influence from beyond her grave. A random chosen victim out of many, whose contact was facilitated through her social media contacts. An art of influencing people turned into psychological game and criminal abuse.

The Influencer by Miranda Rijks kept me awake until late at night trying to understand the reasons as well as the next steps of Skye´s psychopatic journey. Nathan, the founder of a foundation for homeless people in the memory of his late wife, got in touch with her for a just ´business as usual´ collaboration, but little he knew about what expect him: a relationship set up that almost ended up his real relation, manipulation of his own daughters.

But the world of social media is as volatile as the attention span, and as the truth about the once homeless Skye is about to surge, it is about time for a spectacular exit, prepared in the smallest details. ´Because there is always a Plan B´.

I had this book for a very long time on my TBR but I am glad I´ve finally read it - in two settings, no less. The story is served in bits, with a long intro about a past event that is returning only towards the end to put the narrative into a better order. The story flows normally and if you are used with ´influencer´ lifestyle, the whole chain of events may look normal, except the psychological manipulation. The circumstances do suit the story installment, although I would have wish for more physical details about Skye and maybe a bit of more reflection and thoughts about why she really did what she did except that she was a cold blooded psychopath.

Since this book, Miranda Rijks published other books belonging to the same genre as well, and I would be interested to follow up with more of her writing.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

The Spy by Ajay Chowdhury

Detective Kamil Rahman has a lot on his plate: he may need to make a choice between the two most important women in his life; his professional career is not necessarily heading in the right direction; and back home in India his parents are struggling to accept his choices. 

When the imam he befriended disappeared and the violent conflict surrounding Kashmir back home are about to threaten the security and lives of Londoners, he is faced with some dramatic decisions. He will join MI5 under cover trying to inflitrate an extremist mosque where the next deadly attack is probably originate from. As the race to stop the attack starts, he is by far one of the most unluckiest spy in the recent history of spy thrillers, and by far not the usual hero.

The Spy by Ajay Chowdhury is the fourth book from the detective Kamil Rahman series and although it can be read as a stand alone, there are few references that may sound differently to someone familiar with the previous installments - not my case. 

Although from the very beginning the book starts on a very dramatic tone, and similar twists are changing the course of the story, what is in my opinion the strongest point of this book is the deep psychological manipulation of identity discourse. Using the ´oppressed´ narrative in order to manipulate hearts and minds through religious arguments may easily convince at first and second sight, especially if no other options are put on table. The perverse logic of this rhetoric may sound convincing not only in literary context, fuelled simply by the suicidal tendency to destroy and kill for the sake of escalation. 

There are a lot of serious thoughts to be left with after this book, but there are also purely enjoyable moments, including of high gourmet cuisine and Harry Potter´s clues based on which the smart and brave Anjoli was able to ultimately find a kidnapped boy leading to Kamil´s rescue.

I am tempted to give a try to other books from Kamil Rahman series as well, as I am sure it will give more context about the author and his characters as well. 

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Introducing...CLASSICAL READS

 

Source: Pixabay

Dear ladies and gents, I have...finally...an announcement to make. This announcement was a long time in the making and I am happy that I can make it official. 

If you are following this blog, especially in the last years, you noticed how often I post and how diverse my interests are. The diversity covers not only the topics though, but also the geographical diversity - as I am trying to represent as much as I can all literary realms - and linguistic too. This year, I´ve reviewed intensively in French, but also Spanish and and Italian. More languages to come in the next months - Portuguese especially.

But what I am about to announce has to do more with the timeline of my reads. I do love a contemporary book with topics pertaining to daily life and topics - especially social media, influencers, hacking etc. As much as I do love to feel at ease in the historical ambiance of the story, I also feel that I do miss some classical references and reads. I miss because not revisited or simply haven´t read yet. 

For few years I was trying to start the massive project of re-reading Proust (in original, obviously). As a teenager, I´ve read it, but being completely opaque, if not adverse to the book - as it was compulsory lecture recommended by my mother - of blessed memory. I couldn´t finish it because I had a very limited motivation for doing it - and so so many great reads on my TBR. 

Probably, I needed a larger commitment, eventually made public and traceable. Also, I needed a list and - excuse my German - a bit of structure. After a bit of research of what I actually missed from the world literature heritage and what I would love to revisit or read - also the reasons why I haven´t done it to date (like an oncle nauseating obsession with Moby Dick)-, the list was done. And my motivation of starting this project also get higher. Although I have to be thankful to Proust for this! (and indirectly to my mom, I suppose).

And...here we are: new year, new list, although as for now I already started a book that would be probably be reviewed in the next days. This new project will add on to other readings that will be featured as usual: interesting blog tours, international contemporary reviews, many ARCs that are waiting for a bit too long...

As usual, I may not know what the future brings in business or everyday life, but books will always be my trustful companions.

Thank you for reading my blog and come back to discover with me the classical gems I am about to introduce you to.

The Second Wife by Ali Lowe

 

A super rich 70-yo with  a colicky temperament. A greedy sister. A brother former playboy and ex-addict, with secret illegitime children. A revengeful second wife. A resentful daughter who was never allowed to enjoy the right of having a father. Also, a missing pair of black Loboutin that may be used as a weapon of crime. All those people and circumstances are brought together on a fancy cruise from the shores of Sydney as far as Nouvelle Calédonie. And then, there are the crimes: first the rich Irving, shortly after his daughter. So many people who wants them dead, but who is the culprit though?

The Second Wife by Australian bestseller crime author and journalist Ali Lowe starts slowly, but with a beginning that predicts a lot of suspense. And as a cruise is the perfect ´locked room´-like environment for crime(s), the author is hard at work to prove it. 

The grains of doubt regarding the actions of the characters and their truth intentions are spread through the various perspectives shared by the characters themselves, but also grandly introduced in the fragments of a dedicated podcast whose transcripts are based on interviews with the main characters involved.

Nothing though prepared me for the truth about the main architect of the plan, and as I am writing this review I cannot stop from raising my eyebrows in surprise. Because, to be honest, I didn´t expect it.

The throughout description of the cruise organisation and the everyday details, including the social stratifications, are crucial in understanding the plot. Also, the emotional status of the characters is equally relevant for understanding their motivation and further acts. My favorite so far is Celia´s, the ambitious wife of the ex-addict and playboy Ridley, unique in its own way: ´That´s how angry she was - so angry the moon annoyed her´.

The Second Wife is a book to read when you can dedicate few hours in a row to it. I started it thinking that it will be my companion for a week at least, but ended up spending most of my time deeply focused in the investigation. Was really worth it, especially because I equally had the chance to discover a new good Australian writer.

The book will be published next June by Hodder and Stoughton.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Memory Piece by Lisa Ko

I always tend to return to authors whose storytelling mesmerized me. Lisa Ko´s The Leavers remained with me for a very long time, therefore, seven years after, reading Memory Piece was a long awaited bookish step. 

It is a very different disruptive read. The first time - my favorite - focus on Asian-American artist Giselle, mostly self taught and living art as a way of being. She is living in the meta-existential level of the artistic conscience becase she cannot exist otherwise. She experiments with life at a different level - her project, Memory Piece, is aimed at spending seven hours a day for a year for writing down her memories; in the end, she will burn down the notebooks -, she needs/has to check the other side of existence, driven away from the mundane by a fire that doesn´t allow her to consumate her life otherwise. Sex is casual, eating is circumstancial, family relationships are a given. And then she disappears, when it becomes automatism, taken away with the capitalistic forceps. 

From the end of the 1990s to 2040s, her other two childhood friends, Ellen and Jackie may follow different pathways, but driven by a similar spirit. Jackie is a tech entrepreneur, experiencing the Internet golden era until they realized the audacity of automation and tech concerns. She will join Ellen - physically and sexually - who lives in an encampment in NYC, running constant evictions. 

The NYC at the end of the novel is dystopic, simplistically integrated into a large state surveillance network, non-democratic. It is a pitty that the dystopic details weren´t not too much exposed and explained, because expediting them brings only ideological wishful thinking instead of a literary intervention. It is normal to be afraid of a dictatorial society - American, French, Italian, nationality doesn´t matter - but I am intellectually curious to understand how it may affect my freedom of mind in the smallest details. I, personally, I cannot see the future in very clear terms, but I expect to see it through the eyes of someone gifted with much more imagination than mine´s.

As a story and clash of ideas however, Memory Piece is a very intelligent story, particularly in respect to the visions of arts and artists. The characters as well as their specific identity details are very important to represent and understand them. Storytelling in this respect remains the same and was delighted to read this book, although delight may be considered a quasi capitalistic habit. 

But forgive me for not being able to fully imagine how life may look life nowadays completely separated from the current social and economic order.

Rating: 4 stars

Liquid by Mariam Rahmani

 ´My life has ended with the PhD´.

Disillusioned about her academic lack of accomplishment and burgeoisie surrounding her, the unnamed female character of Mariam Rahmani´s debut Liquid is decided to marry rich. 90+ dates into her plan, she is far from reaching her aim - but also the dates are mathematically counted, without any relationship consistency. Rich or not, if you really want to marry, you may need something more than few minutes/hours into the encounter.Or?

Then, her father had a heart attack and she travels to Tehran where she is spending few months until and a bit after the death of her father. Here, she puts the project on hold, is dating a woman and is considering to stay, but will leave in the end.

This second part, happening in Tehran, is mostly mirroring the opposition to US sanctions, which limits the capability of the local medical system, but there is some local context lacking that may give some realistic background to the story. I mean, we can all search by ourselves to understand the context, but it might have helped. Like, the character was a bit surprised to not see too much public awareness in Tehran about Forough Farrokhzad, but who may not allow it and why? You don´t have to write political novels, but a bit of context helps. Always.

The book starts with a promise that is not greatly respected, and it goes instead into another plot, which lacks some consistency. Literarly disappointed, I dare to say, although I´ve enjoyed the wording and some twists of ideas.

I had access to the book in the audiobook format, read by the author.

Rating: 3 stars

A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung

We are never ready to say ´good bye´ to our parents. By birth or by adoption, those who watched us growing up are shaping our way to see the world. Genetics or not, we are carrying with us a generational luggage that remains with us, and is eventually further transmited to our children.

A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung is a memoir of grief. Adopted as an infant, she grew up in a working middle class family. At a distance of about two years she will lose first her father, and then her mother, the latter in the midst of the pandemic. 

Chung shares a deep understanding of the challenging social condition of her family, in the wider context of the urban American middle class. Her parents were hard working, but with an instable employment situation, therefore, an insecure health plan. Especially in the case of her father, with ´health probvlems exacerbated by financial insecurity, inaccessible medical care´. 

In her own words:

´This is a country that take little responsibility for the healths and well-being of its citizens while urging us to blame each other - and ourselves - for our precarity under an exploitative system in which all but a small member of us stand to suffer or lose much´.

The first part of the memoir is largely dedicated to those topics and her clarity and knowledge of the social context are very precise as well informed.

The second part deals largely with the sudden decline in health of her mother and her death. As a mother herself, the grief is amplified, but although not replaceable, the absence of her mother brought her closer to creating a support community, including her birth sister with whom she connected over years.

A Living Remedy is Chung´s second memoir. The first one - which I haven´t read yet - is dedicated to the story of her adoption. 

I appreciated her deep evocative voice, exploring the many faces of grief and interest in understanding things and explaining facts. She wrote a memoir that does not ignore the social realities and their formative influence on individual life stories.

Rating: 4 stars

Die Rassistin by Jana Scheerer

Stereotypically attacking the stereotypes is also stereotypical. Don´t take me wrong: I appreciate a good joke about narrow-mindness, people unable to think by themselves, cultish intellectual mainstream. But if you think from a moderate perspective, the challenges to the stereotypical ways of thinking did only good to humanity; the fact that we are thinking twice before racially shaming someone, it´s not onky ´woke´ but human. 

Die Rassistin/The (she) Racist by Jana Schreerer is a very much sought-after book. The waiting time for this book at the online library was more than two months. It may be something special about this book, after all, I was thinking. 

At the beginning, I did not disliked the topic completely: the main character is an academic, university professor, accused of being racist, following complains from two Chinese Master students whose German knowledge she apparently diminished. Her expectations that the named students are fluent in German put into motion a whole chain of reactions and accusations and while reflecting to her guilt, the professor is introspectivelly rememorating other circumstances related to race and gender in a constantly radicalized linguistically and mentally intellectual realm.

The story is a repetition of various concepts dear to the ´woke´ culture about gender equality, anti-racism, discrimination. A lot of laughing, ridiculous situations and hilarious events but...I don´t think that being too ´woke´ is the main issue of this society, rather a lack of serious critical and self-critical thinking on an intolerant mindset. Not always radically intolerant, but all those small little pieces that may also include the reference to acquiring the language skills, put together, are far from showing too much tolerance. 

It´s a lot to talk about it, and there are many books waiting to be written, but Die Rassistin is definitely not one of those. The humour is not bad though.

Rating: 2.5 stars

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

Rachel´s Random Resources: Don´t Forget the Crazy by Lucy Kaufman

´Murder was for psychopats, for seriously insane. Murder wasn´t for the likes of Amelia Morgan, model pupil who made lists to remember to fill out a maths sheet (...)´. 

Amelia Morgan, aka Milli, is a super organised PA, with a permanent reservoir of to-do-lists. It gives her clarity and makes her valuable at work. She is 37, single, with Celtie as her best friend. Her life is about to change, as strange things are happening: a bizarre present at the office Secret Santa party, and the list is getting crazy, with bizarre adds-on. And this is just the beginning.

Even since I took part at the cover reveal virtual event I couldn´t wait to read the full short crime story by Lucy Kaufman. It was really worth the waiting, as it is a skillfull example of using the storytelling for developing a story with a very unexpected denouement. 

Don´t Forget the Crazy is less than 40 pages long, but it has a very clear plot direction and development, as well as some scarrier episodes happening towards the end. I really enjoyed reading it, and even read it twice. I am not a fan of Milli, especially her reactions are odd, especially in social contexts although I love and need lists. But it seems that lists doesn´t have to be followed always to the letter; better leave some priorities for the imagination only or just forget that they were ever written. 

A recommended read to anyone looking to a short crime story that comes with a crazy bunch of lists.

Rating: 4 stars

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

Rachel´s Random Resources: No Oil Paintings by Genevieve Marenghi

According to studies about brain functioning in old age, there is no reason to worry that brain capacity declines with age, as long as it remains intellectually active. Therefore, no reason to think that a senior, relatively bored lady caleed Maureen, volunteering for the National Trust, alongside with like-minded people cannot steal a painting. A painting of no relevant value however important as warning, a message from a lady who does not accept to remain invisible.

No Oil Paiting by Genevieve Marenghi, a debut novel longlisted for Women´s Prize Trust is thoughtful, intelligent and last but not least full of humour. It has a good plot and well-tailored dialogues and characters full of will and life. 

Maureen is presented at length, with all her goods and bads, which make her even more relatable as a character. Hence the slow pace of the narrative which suits very well the topic. Her plan is less orthodox, but she has her own reasons to do it, which are clear for the readers. The execution and the next steps bring dynamism to the story and are highly entertaining, as much as it opens up couple of lines of thought about the sense of community and senior age. 

A thoughtful read recommended to anyone who is interested in books with strong and clear-sighted women characters.

Rating: 4 stars

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

Gym by Verena Kessler

The first person account of Verena Kessler´s Gym promises terrible revelations in small drops of information: we know that she lied about having a baby and her assume single-mother motive built her own professional narrative as getting hired to work at the reception of MEGA GYM, a sport establishment for the the intensive sports´ afficionados. 

The action is taking place in an unrevealed location, but the country is Germany. As I know a bit about the usual working relationships in Germany, I know that any employees having a child are supposed to share with their employer the child´s birth certificate for tax reasons. Therefore, I don´t buy the initial lie of the child.

But this story is only a small part of the iceberg which is about to boil. She is taking herself too seriously at work, and tried to emulate a veteran fitness star, by injecting herself steroids. As someone who spends a moderate amount of time in the gym, I understand some situations that may escalate and people who are getting taken away by the adrenaline outburst, but for the character, this is just a stage in her life journey.

As there is more, more aggressive and violent to it, and the ending, her ending, into a mental institution. A variation of psychotic episodes in a tormended aimless life.

I loved the writing, but despised the psychotic character and her story. Came for the story, stayed for the writing, which is still something, by the way.

Rating: 3 stars

Teen Couple Have Fun Outdoors by Aravind Jayan

Sree and Anita are a young couple living in Trivandrum, Kerala in India. Normal young teen couple, enjoying life and some adult-related activities outdoors. But their life will get upside down as a video of them engaged in intimate relationship, outdoors, is published online. The Aunty-network is at work, and as the parents of both of them are becoming aware, the life of two is turning into a nightmare. Confronted with an obsessive pressure, particularly on Anita´ side, they have to get married but soon after they are disappearing out of sight and will in the end use their ´moment of fame´ to create art.

Told by Sre´s brother, an aspiring journalist, Teen Couple Have Fun Outdoors by Aravind Jayan - I had access to the book translated by Daniel Beskos; the original English title of the book is maintained - is a book about kafkaesque turns of a conflict between generations. The difference in mentality between both pairs of Sree and Anita´s parents and the two young people is tremendous and it shows not only in the way in which they see their relationship, but also in the interaction between themselves, their engagement and communication. 

The clashes between gender and class, and approaches on sex will finally lead to the determination of Sree and Anita of taking over their narrative. For them, the video who recorded a high of views online did not change their relationship and did not lead to any feeling of shame. They not even want to know who published it online or try to erase it. For the parents and the aunties however, it is the end of the world and saving the face overseeds the relationship with their children. As they are out of the home and living far away, as long as do not affect their honor, their wellbeing doesn´t matter too much.

The book is funny, with a big cast of flawed characters, and dysfunctional family relationships. I am glad this book was published in German, as it may help many to understand the Indian family dynamics and culture. 

I am very much interested in discovering more Indian young writers in the next months, therefore, any recommendation in this respect is more than welcomed.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Reading Poetry: Sergei Yesenin

Another day, another poetry immersion. This time, I decided to busy myself with some translations of Sergei Yesenin poetry. 

Yesenin had a short yet adventurous life and a prolific poetry writing activity: he died at 30, but at the time, he had 4 wives already - among which the American dancer Isadora Duncan, 20 years his senior whose life was also marked by tragic - and took part actively to the events during the Soviet Revolution. He died by suicide in his hotel room in the then Leningrad, creating a wave of suicide among his admirers.

I may confess that the poems dedicated to the Big Campaign sounded the least appealing to me, as I´ve found highly stereotypical, sounding like they were written just to maintain the writing flow alive, but most probably the poet was busy at the time with the direct interventions and military actions.

The other ones, talking about village life, the animals - dogs and cows among others - and the people living there, are his anchor. Every time he is writing about the present or the future, there is the past reference who matters. As Romantics do, childhood is represented as a time of innocence, followed by the troubled youth, that Yesenin would never go beyond it. A rebel, a bit dead inside.

The erotic imaginary belongs to his poetic realm, as it belongs the drinking. Alcohol is both a source of inspiration and helps to forget the existential pain.

Yesenin poetry is timeless - except the ´revolutionary´ part that needs context to be understood - and is both individual and universal: it is the manifesto of a troubled soul in troubled times.

Reading Yesenin is a window towards those times, but also of a way of being of a soul who cannot find its peace.

Random Things Tours: One by One by Sam Frances

The first time after the killing of the lead singer, the infamous rock band The Dolls is back, with a concert at a music festival happening during a terrible heatwave. DC Alice Washington is on high alert, especially after the growing tension between the police and the population, and the concert, this specific concert is not exactly what she is looking forward to. With new information and threats aimed at The Dolls, she may have some extra tasks on her list, as it seems that the murderer of Ris, the lead solist, is not still done with his revenge. It seems that ten years the crime, the final note of the story is not yet played.

One by One by Sam Frances is happening in the world of music and its mindset, and therefore it is unique also for the choice of ambiance. A ambiance where the fast-paced events are taking place has a very pronounced local colour, especially created through the vocabulary and the dialogues. 

Once I started to read the book, I did not feel like it is anything else to do, as I wanted not only to know the end of the story, but also to understand the reasons and the motivations of the characters. DC Alice Washington, but the other characters as well, are very well developed, with a strong personality, and an individuality well placed within the plot.

One by One by Sam Frances is a recommended read to anyone interested in crime novels, happening against a musical background. I am very grateful to have discovered this talented author and her unique crime storytelling.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Orenda Books Book Tour: Blackwater by Sarah Sultoon

 I´ve read and reviewed all books by Sarah Sultoon to date, and it´s only gets better. Published on the 4th of December by Orenda Books, her latest, Blackwater, is a gripping page turning political thriller set on the eve between two centuries. 

Sultoon´s construction of the story is remarkably flawless given the complex plot with many layers that intertwin slowly towards the end. Journalist Jonny Murphy is about to investigate the mysterious death of a child found on Blackwater Island. No traces leading to the corpse, no clear reason and cause of the death. Meanwhile, as the action is set in 1999, the world is taken over by the hysteria of Y2K virus that threaten to shut down the whole world. And between the two separate occurrences there may be a red thread with dramatic implications.

From the prologue until the end, there is no break for the reader: tensed nerves, suppositions after suppositions denied by new facts and details. The descriptions, especially when it comes to Blackwater island, do play an important role in creating a specific ambiance for individual episodes.

The mix between mystery and technology do amplify the feeling of incertainty and kept me hooked at maximum until the end.

May I confess that I actually read the book in one long sitting because for that day it was nothing more important than this story?

Rating: 5 stars

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

Random Things Tours: Painting over the Cracks by Sophie Buchaillard

An emotional poetry debut by the author of the equally beautiful Assimilation, Painting over the Cracks by Sophie Buchaillard is built around topics like migration, ´translated lives´, survival, healing and loss.

It is a short collection but I´ve read most of the poems at least twice, trying to delve into the atmosphere and ideas of the poetry. Most probably will re-read some of the poems again soon, as I still need to figure out some relevant details and correspondences, especially of the colours and other elements that reminded me of the Symbolism literary mainstream. 

Many of the poems were inspired by the author´s work with survivors of abuse, hence the emotional weight of some of the works, but there is also the light, that may emerge from the cracks, once the weight is shifted towards community and solidarity.

Poetry is so much suited for such topics, particularly as an alternative to a fictional or non-fictional narrative, as it can better create deep emotional connections. 

A recommended read for any poetry lover.

Rating: 5 stars

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

Police People by Sophie Hénaff

In the midst of a wave of burglaries targetting various online personalities, Cathy Martini is tasked with tracing the disappearing of a famous tv actress. The same actress who had an affair with her late husband, hence her dilemma: she may not be so keen to find her and especially to see her again, but she is on duty. A dilemma known among her colleagues, but also raised in the yellow media following the next developments in this case.

Police People by Sophie Hénaff has a dense cast of characters, of the most famous type, but the pace is rather slow and moderately eventful. However, it follows its own logic, with an unexpected turn of events that woke me up from what was rather a quite slow unsurprising read. The ingenious solution to the crime riddle just increased my appreciation for this book.

From the language point of view, I´ve found the dialogues very entertaining and full of humour, which matches very well the ironic tone of the book. Ironic because it has to do a lot with vain people, huge contrasts between reality and the fancy show off under the limelights.

Police People was a funny short weekend read that reminded me that humour may work very well with some types of crime novels.

Rating: 3 stars

Mein Name ist Ausländer/Benim Adım Yabancı: Gedichte | Şiirler by Semra Ertan

 

Semra Ertan was born in Turkey and arrived to Germany in 1972, to join her parents who worked as ´Gastarbeiter´ in Western Germany. Just a short word about ´Gastarbeiter´ though: In the 1960s, West Germany needed (cheap) workforce to rebuilt the country who remained a ruin after WWII bombings. There was not too much available workforce with men in prison, dead or incapacitated and many households managed mostly be women. The state found a solution: bringing (cheap, again) worforce from countries facing economic difficulties - like Turkey, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Morocco, among others - pay them for a short to medium term projects mostly in mining, construction work and when the job is done, sending them home. They were ´guests´/´Gast´, and both countries were happy: Germany for the work, their home countries for the money they sent home. There was no pressure to integrate them, to support their families or children as their stay was anyway supposed to be temporary. 

But fate decided differently, and many of them decided to remain, either marrying local women or just integrating themselves by learning the language, bringing their families, even developing their own business. The testimonies of people who arrived in Germany at the time, outline the racism they were facing with, as well as the lack of local support, particularly in their mother tongue.

Semra Ertan belonged to this category. She arrived to Germany as a teenager, learned the language and grew up as a poet and translator. Her poems, collected in a Turkish-German collection: Mein Name is Ausländer/Benim Adım Yabancı: Gedichte | Şiirler are documenting, among others, the broken heart of an immigrant, the feeling of being split between two worlds, the racism and the cynical reasons of the presence of immigrants in Germany.

Nowadays, we are used with the discussion about rights and xenophobia and the need of building up support networks among immigrants. But at the time, Semra Ertan was pioneering both in terms of literary attempts and civic activism. Her poem Mein Name ist Ausländer - translated into English as My Name is Foreigner -, who gives the name of the collection, is the anthem of more than a generation of immigrant workers who arrived in Germany. I´ve read it over and over again over the weekend realizing each and every time the deep wounds the truth of her words leaves in the acknowledgment those ´Gastarbeiter´ deserve.

Ertan was also a dedicated human rights and anti-racism activist, raising awareness about the xenophobia in Germany. Her ultimate act, self-immolation in Hamburg, shortly before her 26th birthday, was prompted by a situation she considered hopeless.

Here is the poem, for the reflection of my German-speaking readers:

Mein Name ist Ausländer

Mein Name ist Ausländer,
Ich arbeite hier,
Ich weiß, wie ich arbeite,
Ob die Deutschen es auch wissen?
Meine Arbeit ist schwer,
Meine Arbeit ist schmutzig.
Das gefällt mir nicht, sage ich.
„Wenn dir die Arbeit nicht gefällt,
geh in deine Heimat“, sagen sie.
Meine Arbeit ist schwer,
Meine Arbeit ist schmutzig,
Mein Lohn ist niedrig.
Auch ich zahle Steuern, sage ich.
Ich werde es immer wieder sagen,
Wenn ich immer wieder hören muss:
„Suche dir eine andere Arbeit.“
Aber die Schuld liegt nicht bei den Deutschen,
liegt nicht bei den Türken.
Die Türkei braucht Devisen,
Deutschland braucht Arbeitskräfte.
Mein Land hat uns nach Deutschland verkauft,
Wie Stiefkinder,
Wie unbrauchbare Menschen.
Aber dennoch braucht sie Devisen,
Braucht sie Ruhe.
Mein Land hat mich nach Deutschland verkauft.
Mein Name ist Ausländer.

Semra Ertan, 7. November 1981

Rachel´s Random Resources: Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May

 

The tech world of Silicon Valley is complicate enough to offer lots of inspiration for a variety of literary genres and, yes, murder mystery is among them. Maybe on the top, I dare to say.

The literary life of Swanky Fisk, a tech billionaire was short but produced tremendous consequences in the life of another fictional character: Alan Benning. Poor Alan he did not appreciated his boss too much, rather the opposite, but now he is dead and he may need to demonstrate he is not the killer. Yes, this is how far the life and death are in balance in the upper layers of high tech world.

Death of a Billionaire is the debut novel by Tucker May, but both from the point of view of the conception and of the characters, this book is far from looking a debut. The author is writing with ease and even infuses a well tempered dosis of satire and humour into the story, without accepting the classical boundaries of his literary genre of choice.

The murder investigation enfolds as a puzzle with twists leading to plot solutions that need the end of the story to be fully undestood and revealed. 

A recommended read to the lovers of crime and high tech, as the two of them may happily go hand in hand sometimes.

Rating: 4 stars

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

Rachel´s Random Resources: Alcatraz for the Rich by Abi Harvey

 

Set on the backdrop of the French Riviera, with a very opinionated female character, Alcatraz for the Rich by novelist and screenwriter Abi Harvey is an unputdownable story of enemies to lovers. 

Maisey Green is desperately looking for a new start and some serious solutions for getting her out of debts, therefore she accepts to spend a week on the superyacht of a billionaire. In the French Riviera dreams comes true, plus a little bit more of magic. Starting as enemies, but ending up catching the sparkle of romance, the two of them develop a relationship that will have to confront the mysteries and lows of the high society.

Well paced, the story is entertaining and well paced, although the setting itself was highly predictable - meaning the relationship between the two. However, their communication and ways to find each other emerged in more than an unexpected way therefore compensated the relative unsurprising start.

I personally liked Maisey for her strong personality and character, not easily impressed by wealth and what usually comes with. The billionaire and his clique aren´t always behaving in surprising ways, but I liked that in the end they are allowed to show their simple human feelings and expectations.

For the long days of winter, while longing for the sun and romance to arrive. It may also share a subtle message about class and being classy, no matter your upbringing.

Rating: 3.5 stars

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

Casablanca. Fragments d´imaginaire

 

´Toi, tu ne vois pas la ville. Tu es dedans. Et dans la mesure où elle est en toi, là sous ta peau, tu ne la verras pas. Te viendra, peut-être l´image d´un mur laissé derrière toi mais tu ne sauras dire où´. La ville que j'ai dans la peau by Youssef Adel, translated from Arabic by the late Francis Gouin

´A Casablanca on peutt avoir tout ce qu´on désire´. Jean Michel Zurfluh

Cities like Casablanca are haunting the imagination of the Western world, but many may rarely go beyond the cinematic representation of the place. This is the fate of many cities stereotypically turned into symbols of something beyond themselves. 

This 2-volume collection dedicated to Casablanca, published in French, is a literary journey of memories, memories about memories, poetry through the borroughs and people of Casablanca. The real people of literary encounters.

I haven´t been to Casablanca myself and not a big fan of the movie anyway and most probably when I will visit Morocco will rather go to other places. However, reading this collection of short stories, the childhood memories of the authors, their nostalgy for the world who once was and I, among others, will never experience it as such, made me reconsider my thoughts. 

Also, it inspired me to a more complex take on urban existences. How do we exist in the midst of cities, how do we co-exist with the fragments of our previous lives in a landscape itself changing? Also, how can we survive the shock of being faced with the distorsions of our memories? How many times I was longing myself to revisit the places of my early childhood - and there were many of them - only to leave heartbroken as nothing from my representations I hold dear seemed to exist any more.

Everyone its own Casablanca...

Random Things Tours: The Trauma Effect by Zetta Thomelin

 

I am personally very much interested in the ways in which our family history circumstances to influence our present as well as our children´s. Books and personal testimonies about the topic are always important, and so is the opinion of specialists. 

The Trauma Effect. Exploring and Resolving Inherited Trauma by author and therapist Zetta Thomelin is a case study in how to treat traumatic family episodes based on the author´s first hand experience. I´ve read the first edition of the book last year but the author published a new edition, including a new chapter and more examples that can even more guide the reader towards the trauma healing and understanding journey.

Written in a very empathic and direct style, this therapeutic memoir can be used as a guidance for anyone looking to heal their own inherited emotional luggage. It is as we are offered an open door into the process, from the very beginning when the trauma itself is identified as such. 

The social, political and geopolitical mutations of the last two centuries - world wars, dislocation of population, mass killings - all over the world made possible a tremendous traumatic luggage that almost everyone of us is carrying over the years, from childhood on. However, we can change the curse when we are aware of the circumstances. Recent epigenetic studies showed at what extent the trauma and its effects can be diminished and even eliminated, with the proper guidance and a dramatic life change and books like The Trauma Effect can definitely bring more clarity.

It is a very honest and interesting journey that I enjoyed reading that makes you consider your own personal relationship with your family histories and the best way to heal trauma. The approach is sytematic, covering a lot of details, using the extraordinary power of words and stories. It creates such a great effect on the reader, as it shares so many details that are useful to understand the trauma in its entirety: how it settles, how it manifests and particularly why.

The Trauma Effect is a very useful book for anyone looking to heal trauma, through understanding and an empathic approach. A recommended book for therapists and anyone interested in such aspects that are way too frequent in our everyday life.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Experienced by Kate Young

If your partner tells you they need a break, than believe them and just get out of the relationship. Sooner or later you may be informed that you may not be needed anymore. 

Bette, the main character of the queer romcom by Kate Young, Experienced, was enjoying her first relationship with Mei after coming out. She was happy and in love, until Mei requested her to go on a 90-year break to diversify her experience. Mei - she is assigned as of Japanese origin - will soon show her real face, leaving Bette in the doubt of deciding about herself and future relationships. 

Bette´s take on relationships and her future needs and expectations, are growing up by the day - the book is organised based on days counting from different encounters onwards (like, for instance, the time lapsed from her ´period of experience. Meeting new people and grasping the meaning of those encounters, as well as discovering her needs are very well exposed through her monologues and dialogues between characters. At the same time, her steady network of friends do help her deal with the new challenges, as friendship and genuine human connection are very important in keeping the right social balance.

The book is dense in events and encounters and do share a wise amount of advice about relationships. But most importantly, the story is fun, complex, with unique characters and enough conflicts to keep you interested. The type of relationships and their questions do echoe so much the questioning and drama surrounding relationships - any kind of them - nowadays. 

An enjoyable and thoughtful queer romcom. 

Rating: 4 stars

Random Things Tours: Travel with Tracy. Tales from a Midlife Gap Year by Andrew Pettifer

 

As a traveller myself - a traveller with a purpose, that´s it - I can never have enough of exploring other similar experiences on the road. Nowadays, in the era of instant gratification, we may rather be tempted to collect ´world wonders´ and stamps on the passport instead of genuine travel transformative experiences, but nevertheless travel changes us. 

Andrew Pettifer and his beloved wife Tracy took in May 2023 the decision of a gap year around the world, covering four continents and visiting beautiful places. Also, they made a tour of every state in Australia. And, indeed, they collected so many interesting experiences, covering the sightseeings everyone plans to see at least once in their life time. But this gap year also allowed them to ask even more questions about life, philosophy and the pace of the world, as well as their own identity and life´s meaning.

Travel with Tracy. Tales from a Midlife Gap Year is an addictive read, especially if you love to travel - and a life of travel is for me an ultimate and direct gateway to knowledge. As a couple, Andrew and Tracy can also see and learn about each other from a different, more hassle free angle, allowing them to deepen their relationship. After all, there is a reason why they say that people who resist the test of travel together have a long life together.

For anyone looking for a gap year, a midlife travel adventure, or just looking to some curated travel experiences to emulate, this book is a trove of well kept secrets. They may be places everyone knows and talks about, but the angle is often unique, and so are the voices telling the tales.

Rating: 5 stars

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

Rachel´s Random Resources: Windows by Anni Holliday

 

A competition designed to display the most beautiful windows decorations ahead of the Christmas celebrations is opening up the windows to the souls and lives of the shopkeepers on a busy street on the Scottish town of Linlithgow - not a fictional, but a very real location. Different trades, different family stories and backgrounds, but all part of a lovely local community. 

But there are always threats and the human temptation of judging too harsly the others, as there are people ready to damage the local harmony and the tight community. And, as it may happen in real life too, there could be romance but also some accidental mystery task that should be solved.

The beautiful debut novel by Anni Holliday, Windows is more than one single story at once. It is a reminder, with clear sociological and anthropological directions, about the emotional support the local community can provide, but it is also a work of fiction where we can imagine the interactions and shared destiny of some of the characters. 

As a reader, I felt like watching everything unfolding from the top of a hill, empathically reacting  to stories displayed in the book. 

Holliday herself was born in Linlithgow, hence the accuracy of the descriptions and local ambiance, that makes you feel like being trasferred there for the duration of the read. 

A cosy, meaningful read to enjoy before the start of the winter holidays´ season, so important when community is so important to enjoy and share. I hope that it will not take too long until Holliday will write her next book, as her writing is both beautiful and resonates to contemporary topics.

Rating: 5 stars

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

Rachel´s Random Resources: The Secret Sauce by M.J.Porter

A suspect death took place late November 1944, at the BB Sauce factory. Harry Armstrong met his death in more than doubtful conditions - drowning in a the vat of the sauce of famed memory - and next is the mission of chief inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station and his enthusiastic sargeant O´Rourke to elucidate the circumstances. In a country at war, the investigation may not only be more difficult, but it can also lead to unexpected connections and the most surprising leads.

The Secret Sauce by M.J.Porter has an engaging plot and is well paced, with some turns that takes you in very unexpected places. What I really loved about this book was the surprising chain of events apparently unrelated that do align perfectly as the story advances, following its own logic as exposed by the investigative team. Given that the investigators hardly had any clues at the beginning, the ways in which the investigation advances is creative and unexpected.

I very much appreciated the local ambiance which takes into account the special historical time as well as the local specificities. It is well researched and therefore it recreates a local ambiance that feels authentic.

The book is the third in The Erdington Mysteries - although it reads as well as a stand alone - and was a first for me, but I am definitely interested to discover more about the characters and the stories created by this author. 

Rating: 4 stars

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

Random Things Tours: Three Years of Fire by Andrey Kurkov

After Diary of an Invasion and Our Daily War, Andrey Kurkov is back with a new collection of reports from Ukraine, in and out the front lines. Three Years of Fire. The Destruction of Ukraine is published by Open Borders Press, an imprint of Orenda Books. 

Wherever it occurs, war is a horrible experience. It not only destroys lives and dreams, but it also dramatically affects the psyche and human relationships. Think about kids who grew up in war zonesw and you will understand more of what I am talking about.

A writer, with a solid journalistic background, writing and publishing in war times has a tremendous challenge ahead: to keep alive the memory of those hard times, to document and inform. The stories Kurkov brings to life in this third collection covering the daily life of Ukrainians, do also bring hope and may also make us smile, as it shows the resilience and the persistence of humour, no matter what. Clowns, children, soldiers writing haiku, bereaved mothers who refuse to be taken away by grief. Kurkov does not miss any detail from his reporting, which makes us feel like we are witnessing directly all those events.

I just wish and hope that there will be no fourth volume from Kurkov´s installments. Instead, Kurkov will publish a new novel, a work of fiction, that does not have anything to do with war. Because the war is over.

Rating: 5 stars

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

My Own Magic: A Reappearing Act by Anna Kloots

 

In another, more glamorous life, I am also a travel writer, and through those other travel-based experiences, I had the chance to follow Anna Kloots, a Paris-based American writer whose feed is always a oasis of creative light. 

I didn´t know what to expect from her memoir, My Own Magic: A Reappearing Act, but by the end of listening to it - in the emotional voice of the authbor herself - I was deeply moved - to tears sometimes - but her difficult journey.

There is no easy way and no matter how glittering someone´s life may look life on the feed, there is also so much left behind the lenses´ focus. In Kloots´ case, she looked as having everything: a life on the road, a successful husband - a professional magician, no less, to whom she was the assistant. But she, as a woman human being, she was nowhere in sight. Her dreams, and wishes and romance where not there. 

With a broken heart, trying to find herself in the shreds of the end of her relationship, she moved to Paris, the city of her dreams. And found her voice, the voice expressing her real feelings and wishes, her career as a writer and woman in charge of her destiny.

I´ve learned so much from My Own Magic...About relationships and how important is to keep into consideration the feelings of other person and respect their own expectations, about how two people who ended up their love story can keep respecting each other no matter what. About perseverence and not giving up oneself. Also, a little bit about travel writing and the business of it.

Her voice convenes so many emotions and echoes deep into her story. It gives authenticity and a touch of magic to the reading. This is definitely a book that one needs when in doubt about following the right personal and professional pathway. It may give you some strength and inspiration.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Wahnsinn by Kalin Trezojski translated into German by Viktoria Dimitrova Popova

 

Shortly after I finished Alkohol, by Bulgarian author Kalin Trezojski, I promised to continue with other books from the autobiographical installments published in German, and wisely translated from Bulgarian by Viktoria Dimitrova Popova. I may have not advanced in discovering too many world literatures as I wished this year, but I definitely advanced my knowledge of Bulgarian authors, more than any other country-based literature. 

Wahnsinn - Insanity, in English, described perfectly the ambiance and topic of the book - it´s autobiographical, describing his years working as a psychiatrist working in a mental institution near the capital city of Sofia, paving the way to his radical decision of abandoning his medical life, as well as his family.

The book may sound at times as a diary, with slow descriptions of his encounters, patients, his new lover, generously seasoned with alcohol. A lot of it. It is the time after the fall of communism, the line of dispute following mostly the relationships between children and parents, the ways in which parents, with their past of communist submission, forced into their children their dreams. One of them, which persists until today, is the dream of becoming a doctor. 

With the sarcasm and humour of someone surrounded for working reasons by diagnosed insanity, he is often avoiding to take any decision, just letting himself flow in the river of daily passions. On the other side of the walls, in the enclosed rooms, his patients - one of them his own 95-year old grandfather - cannot decide either, stigmatised by their own incurable mental sickness.

Until the end of the year I have another Bulgarian author on my TBR, but no matter what I will discover later, Trezojski is an author to remember and the translator did an admirable work of cultural mediation in this respect, particularly through the special notes that do refer to typical language twists and historical and social references.

The cover of my German edition is equally a work of art in itself.

Rating: 4 stars