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.

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

Rachel´s Random Resources: The Bookseller of Kathmandu by Ann Bennett

Almost one year ago, after reading The Lotus House, I promised myself to read more by Ann Bennett, an interesting author of historical fiction creating unique stories in complicated historical contexts. I have a very bad track record of keeping my bookish promises, but this time the stars aligned and here I am, about to talk about her latest, The Bookseller of Kathmandu. 

The original story starts in the post-2015 earthquake in Nepal and develops into the past of Malay peninsula. The destinies of two women, Chloe, the owner of a popular bookstore in Kathmandu, and Alice, the unhappy daughter of a British empire military, intertwin while trying to build the missing pieces of a tantalizing puzzle. Their destinies mirror each other beyond ages, part of a historical destiny. 

The local atmosphere and the historical contexts are described in the smallest details, but the information is intelligently balanced to allow the narrative to find its way. A unique story of love, betrayal and last wishes finding their way through the present in the most unexpected way and of the power of books and the secrets they may keep hidden between their pages.

I felt the magic of reading while discovering this story and the characters stayed with me longer after reaching the end of it. The immediate effect of the power of storytelling. This book restores the power of words, and their truth carried across decades, borders and historical turmoils. 

A recommended read to any booklover and believer in the enchanted strength of words.

Rating: 5 stars

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

Orenda Books Book Tour: Scars of Silence by Johana Gustawsson translated by David Warriner

It´s already past mid-November, and the outdoors does not give me any chance of spending the best of the time other than by reading books taking me out to far away places where the gripping thrillers are. As usual, Orenda Books has the answer to all my season-related book cravings, and the newest by Johana Gustawsson, translated by David Warriner. 

The murder of two teenagers in the Swedish archipelago´s Lindingö with circumstances and vestimentary details leading to references to a ritual associated with St. Lucia is leading to an arduous search for the culprits, that may take the reader to a quarter century ago. The collaboration between the Aleksander Storm and Maïa Rehn, two souls with their own share of grief, may lead to the clarification of the case, with a terrific secret hiding in plain sight. 

The atmosphere and the game of emotions meets a seamless plot.  As the other books by Gustawsson I had the chance to read and review, there is an unique ambiance created through genuine feelings like grief and revenge, that permeate the local community and may lead to terrible consequences, like the crimes against the boys. In the subtext, the book challenges the reader to relevant thoughts about consent. The ways in which the community, as a whole and invidually, is affected by the crimes, is an important element helping to understand both the circumstances and the need of a retribution. 

There are many surprising moments that the reader may experience, unexpected elements that change completely the perspective on the state of things, All those details are so important in making a closure to the past, with a similar crime committed 25 years ago, whose alledged perpetrator died by suicide. Thus, who is the culprit now?

As usual, Gustawsson´s book are a challenging intelligent thriller riddle, I enjoyed the plot, and I cannot wait to read her next one. Good thriller writers are always addictive.

Rating: 5 stars

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

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

Vaudeline d´Allaire, famous spiritualist, and her apprentice Lenna are leaving in haste a séance held in abandoned chateau on the wooden outskirts of Paris to exceptionally return to London for solving a mysterious sudden death of the president of the Spiritualist Society. As they are getting more into the details of the crimes, that may also inolve Evie, Lenna´ sister for whose sake she, a skeptical scientist joined d´Allaire, but also the powerful men of the London Society and their greed for power and disdain for women intellect. 

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner is continuing some of the motives I´ve encounter in the other book by this author I´ve read few years back, namely apprenticeship and women relationships, but I´ve felt like the the story is better structured. Also, the element of whodunit adds more action to the book, while keeping the ending until the very end in a kind of spiritualist hollow.

Like Lenna, I am a scientifically-oriented mind, therefore, not necessarily the audience of d´Allaire audience, using séances, among others, to conjure the spirits of murder victims in order to ascertain the identity of their killers. But within the economy of the story, the spiritualist background helps to both create the ambiance and create the premises of the story.

Besides the historical fiction take and the crime/thriller development, the story is also following a queer story, with Lenna and Vaudeline burgeoning romance - and other unfulfilled attempts by Lenna, insecure about her sexual choices.

As in the case of The Lost Apothecary, the cover is outstanding - I had access to the book in printed format - not only in terms of graphic and choice of colours, but also from the point of view of the realization with unique 3D reflections.

This book is for historical fiction readers, with love for whodunits. Indeed, you can have best of both worlds, it seems.

Rating: 3 stars

 

Cover Reveal: Magical Beginnings in Little Beaubrook by Bella Brightside

Another day, another beautiful cover reveal. This time, a book about new beginnings in the English countryside.

The title of the book: Magical Beginnings in Little Beaubrook by Bella Brightside said a bit what it is all about. Therefore, expect some healing of two broken hearts, in an idyllic English countryside in a tight community.

I was entinced from the very beginning by the pastel colours with rose framing. The colour-balance is perfect and has such a soothing first time effect on the reader. I also love the lettering of the title, which makes you think about romance and all love letters written by hand.

It sounds like a cosy yet mindful story to read, while enjoyed some picture perfect winter landscapes from out of your cottage window. Which I, personally, will not miss the chance of doing it, but I may have to ask until next May when the book is expected to be published in ebook and paperback. 

Many thanks to Rachel for having me to just another beautiful cover reveal.

Cover Reveal: Don´t Forget the Crazy by Lucy Kaufman

 

I am often taking part to ´cover reveals´ and I always take part to events that do reflect my values and aesthetical choices, but some covers are definitely more stunning than the others. 

I love colourful covers, but when the choice of colours is minimal, it should definitely match the content. In Don´t Forget the Crazy by Lucy Kaufman, a dark psychological novella I cannot wait to share it with you, the predominant red is clearly indicating what to expect from this book. It features Milli Morgan, a person living ´by the list´ - as the author of this blog post, hence my highest sympathy and interest for her - whose list is suddenly getting some shocking detail. And not only once. 

As usual, the lettering plays an important role in convening the message, and in this case, the alternation between white - the author´s name - and the red - the title of the book creates an eventful contrast. 

I cannot wait to share more about this dark psychological short story soon, but until then, take a second and a third look at this cover. Hope to have the chance to showcase even more such visual editorial events.

Many thanks, as usual, to Rachel from Rachel´s Random Resources for generously having me for this online event.

The Silence of the Choir by Mohamed Mbougar Sabr

´On est chez nous! Ils nous envahissent!´

I´ve read Silence du Choeur - translated into English as The Silence of the Choir by Alison Anderson; personally I had access to the French version - by Mohamed Mbougar Sabr at the very beginning of the year, but until now it remains the most profound books I´ve read so far.

The novel follows the individual and collective journey of a group of 72 men who arrived in Sicily by the sea from Africa. They - the ´ragazzi´, the boys in Italian - are faced with curiosity, or simple aggressivity, and around their presence, an entire conundrum of disinformation, fear and even open violence develops day by day. As in a choir, the voices of the men unite in a reflection of the multiplicity of experiences and human nature, ultimately the aim at dignity.

The Senegal-born, Paris-based author uses a wide array of literary genres to tell the story: theater, transliterated poetry, diary. The human experience in its literary translation. On the Italian side, also a diverse cast of characters, individualized by their social function - priest, politician - or their (mis)behavior: corrupt or racist. 

There is a big gap between the reasons of ragazzi for leaving their homes and the reaction of the local people. The ragazzi were running from poverty and corruption. They were welcomed with distrust by the fear of taking away the rightful middle class comfort - ´(...) les migrants nous volent notre travail, notre dignité, notre fierté, notre vie´.

In my everyday life, I may meet both categories, but rarely both of them at the same time. In this book I was able to see the both point of view counter-reflected, which gives more depth and a larger perspective which places the dramatism of human experience on the forefront.

With such a wide array of characters is almost impossible to keep them all under literary control. Compared to the narrative, outside the common voice of the story, many of the individual characters may seem unfinished or unclear. But I suppose it is an assumed risk which does not affect at any extent the deeply human(ist) message of this beautiful book.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Rachel´s Random Resources: Broken Bones by John Carson

 

DCI Liam Brodie is facing a new difficult mission: unearthing the truth about the case of an apparent serial death of children in a Scottish foster home. A complex case that leads not only to decades-old secrets, but also to all rivalries and jealousies. His girlfriend, Ruth Calder, a psychologist, may help to offer a bit of context, as the house were the children bones were found used to be her home as well.

Broken Bones by bestseller Scottish author John Carson is one of the best Scottish thrillers I´ve read in a while. Eventful, mysterious, but also with that touch of human flaw that turn so well a normal story into a crime one. Both the events and the characters, with all their defaults, do create the best perspective to delve into the human nature. Brodie is used with brutal truths, after all he was able to catch the terrible author of series murder in Edinburgh before taking up this case, but the truths he is about to discover this time, are even harder to cope with than everything he experienced before.

Definitely, one needs to be ready to expect the unexpected in crimewise realm. But what other serious reason we may have when chosing this genre than being offered the best insights into the darkest corners of human mind and behavior? 

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

Veiller sur elle by Jean-Baptiste Andrea

 

Oh, blessed be the leisure of long books! The average number of pages the books I read over the week are around 250. But weekends are made for longer reads and this time I´ve spent most of my available hours reading a historical novel beautifully written, set in Italy. Novels with a historical background need more pages to be properly told, and my latest read is a clear proof in this respect.

Veiller sur elle by Jean-Baptiste Andrea - translated into English as Watching over Her - was the recipient of Prix Goncourt 2023. Set in Italy, from the aftermath of the WWI until the first decades after WWII, it is built around a family set in a small Italian burg near Turin. The main character though, the storyteller, is ´adopted´ in the family and shares a common destiny with them.

Mimo was an orphan abandoned by his own mother, sent to practice stone cutting with his brutal oncle. As a child, he develops a friendship with Viola Orsini, the daughter of the local family, and their beginnings will change his destiny for good. Although he will never grow past his 1.40 m height, he is aimed at greatness, being considered one of the greatest sculptors of his generation, a favourite of Mussolini´s fascist regime. On his ´legal´ name Michelangelo Vitalia - funnily, I´ve looked the name online and AI-generated systems were indicating him as a real person, but obviously he is a fictional character -, his destiny is marked by meeting his soulmate Viola. An unlikely relationship between an orphan and an over talented girl whose wings were cut by tradition and family obligations.

The book grows in different directions that finally will meet at the end - an end where Mimo himself is breathing his last moments; the sequences are cinematic (Andrea is also a screenwriter and film director). On one hand, it´s the evolution of Mimo himself, a leaf caught in the midst of social and political changes that are definitely overwhelming his moral limits, although towards the end of the war he will experience a strong awakening that may save his post-war career. 

On the other hand, there are the turns of the relationship between the two, the misunderstandings and limitations consuming their interactions, but also the soul´s connection and deep fidelity. 

The book is grounded on a solid historical documentation, as well as social and artistic background. The mysteries to be solved - of a Pieta sculpture, but also of Mimo himself, who spent his last 40 years of life in a monastery, without being ordained as a monk and with an unknown personal story, do prevent the book from getting too much focused on either Orsini´s family characters, or Viola´s own unhappiness or even Mimo´s own story of deceit and arrogance. 

Veiller sur elle/Watching over Her is a deep book using the 20st century Italian canva to create an inventive and complex story. In 2024 was set for screen as well.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Rachel´s Random Resources: Saving Starlight Hall by Debbie Viggiano

Jen Amstrong was having a happy life in Starlight Croft: a marriage, the family to rely on. But never take something for granted in this life. The magic brutally broke as her beloved husband left her. Single, confused, demotivated, she is looking for meaning and the peace she used to enjoy before all started. 

But she is not the only one to cope with existential troubles. The community center is on sale, and the next step will be having it destroyed for the sake of a new real estate development project who is planning to turn it into a boutique hotel. Jen may have found her new life match, trying to save Starlight Hall. And some entrepreneur with a beautiful smile may add even more to her life.

Saving Starlight Hall by Debbie Viggiano has that great energy of a small place. Indeed, living in a place where everyone knows everyone, and eventually what they are doing when no one is watching, is not always pleasant, but it can really turn into a super-power when the harmony of the community is in danger. This feeling is very well expressed in the book and one of the most important detail for me.

I loved following the events and had a deep breath when thinking what will happen in the end with the beloved hall. For me, it was a read that definitely brought me fully into the story, and made me wish I am there eventually sharing a tip or two about what would be the best to do.

A very entertaining read, with a lovely romance thread as well.

Rating: 4 stars

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

Rachel´s Random Resources: Escape to the Northern Lights by Carrie Walker

 

Freshly separated and about to get divorced, Sara focused all her energy in getting that promotion in her law´s firm. But could be that our bodies are not made for being overworked and soon her health will send her the right signals to stop. Which lead her to the adventurous choice of booking a month in a spa retreat in Norway. And as she put on hold her busy barrister life in London, the quiet is entering her life, and her life choices may be under scrutiny. 

Escape to the Northern Life by Carrie Walker is one of those books I need when regretting my workaholic times. I used to be like Sara and while I am not necessarily unhappy with my current life choices, I miss the adrenaline running fast through my veins when after a full day of awesome work, without proper eating, sleeping and exercising. Her character is very relatable, and I know this is not only for me.

Although the book is a bit over 200 pages, it has a slow pace but paced enough to all both the narrative and the characters to develop. At the same time, it creates the right ambiance reflected into the day life and decisions of the characters, both in Norway and in London. 

This book is a recommended read for anyone looking for inspiration for a life re-boot and inspiration for new beginnings. A great weekend read that maybe will also bring some inspiration for some Norway travel as well.

Rating: 4 stars

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

Orenda Books Book Tour: The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen translated by David Hackston

Recently divorced and broken, postman Ilmari made a promise to his daughter to buy her a piano for Christmas. Six days to go, a promise and no money. But a promise is a promise and as he got a last minute offer to transport a luxurious sofa from Helsinki, he may be finally courtship by luck. Until he - and his long lost school friend who unexpectedly joined his adventure - noticed being followed by some guys with no sense of humour and guns. And the sofa may hide some unexpected bloody secrets - literally.

Antti Tuomainen´s The Winter Job translated from Finnish by David Hackston and published by Orenda Books is a tragi-comical noir fully packed ´on the road´ novel - with a sofa. The book abunds in very specific details describing places and characters, from the spots on their shirts to the games of the Finnish geography. It helps the reader to imagine the described situations and characters in the most relatable way. This is one of the greatest merits of the translation who convened this sense of reality from one language to another.

Now you laugh out hard, few pages later you are thinking deep about the meaning of some philosophical exchange of the characters, while trying to escape their followers. A thriller that will make you laugh to tears, with common characters brought by fate in the most incredible situations. 

The Cold War-related references - the action of the book takes place at the beginning of the 1980s - were also relevant for my political science interests, as it shows at what extent geopolitical events affect the everyday life of average people.

The Winter Job is a recommended read if you are looking for a thriller pushing the literary limits of the genre in a humorous way never tried it before. I can easily see a movie inspired by this book. 

Rating: 4 stars

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

Rachel´s Random Resources: Flight or Fight by N.L.Craig

PI Alison Greene is struggling to support her investigative business, but as she suddenly is requested to trace a missing girl, her case may relate to an ongoing investigation of the local police busy to find out dozen of cases of young women who disappeared through the years. It´s when Alison meets DS Felix, an experienced policeman with a heavy burder of grief.

Flight or Fight by N.L.Craig is a very atmospheric psychological thriller. From the first pages, we are entering a gloomy ambiance where a voice in off is watching threatening. But one doesn´t know where is he hiding and when it will hit again. Until then, we are shared daily details from the life of the main characters and nothing seems unusual. But then there is a new warning that may take us out of our ´business as usual´. 

There are new information and takes on old and new cases we are introduced to, unfolding as a spider´s web taking the reader in all all possible directions. This makes it very difficult to predict the outcome, also because Alison herself is misguided for a very long time. I was 86% into the story and still unable to see an end in sight. And when it happened, the reasons and the culprit were all there waiting to be noticed.

Although I would have love to stay more into this book - but hopefully there is more to come - I appreciated the twists and the deep insights into trauma and grief. The plot is built with very much attention to details that are guiding the reader to the unexpected ending.

A special note of appreciation to the cover, which is a perfect illustration of the psychological twists one may experience reading this book.

Rating: 4 stars

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

Nowhere Girl by Carla Ciccone

All her young and adult life, Toronto-based journalist Carla Ciccone struggled: to have healthy relationships, to maintain a healthy relationship with herself and the others, to keep a normal work and life rhythm. As she was later on diagnosed with ADHD she realized how different it would have been her life if all those discrete or obvious manifestations would have been take seriously much earlier.

Nowhere Girl, her memoir, tells her story, but also projects her situation to the scale of a whole generation of women who only recently are getting - though shyly - a new voice. 

Personally, I´ve noticed how gender-segregated is mental health is. Boys are easly labelled as ´ADHD´. For the girls, eating disorders are reason to worry about although boys can also suffer from it. In between, there is no space for diversity, for diagnosis without considering the gender. Medical mysogynie it´s real and affects at a serious pace women, particularly young mothers. Girls struggling in school are easily dismissed as being messy, but the over-activity is read in a very different register. After all, a girl is not supposed to be super active, it is expected to seat and take notes, and eventually shush their stubborn and loud male colleagues.

This narrow mindness is wrong and despite the fact that I am also careful in considering every manifestation which is out of the ´social norm´ a mental disease, I am convinced that often, having the right diagnosis at the right time helps to live better and gettting the right mental and family support.

Ciccone´s story may be the story of many of us, shortly before the social media outburst. It informs and educates while collecting various information from a pool of women affected by ADHD who were interviewed for the book as well as from latest writings on the topic. I´ve found personally the bibliographical add on attached to almost any manifestation of her behavior a bit too obsessive, but this background is useful to circumventing the topic. In the end, the final diagnosis should belong to the specialist.

Nowhere Girl is a book which empowers and open your mind to a different, hopefully more empathic reality for girls and women beyond the limitative framework who ignored the mental and behavioral diversity. A mindful read for educators and parents as well.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Le Feu du Milieu by Touhfat Mouhtare

Two women who do not want to follow their assigned path. A world of legends where trade routes bring merchants from all over the world. Taking place during the Middle Ages, in Comoros´ Itsandra, Le Feu du Milieu by Comoros-born Touhfat Mouhtare is a poetic epos where old legends meet Quranic surahs.

Gaillard is a slave, an orphan dedicating her free time to the Quranic study with her master. Halima is a young independent woman, who opposes an arranged marriage. She and Gaillard to meet, they are soulmates from the depth of time. 

Written in the rhythm of an old epos, with a poetic language of the old tales, this book is a fine work of fictional literature. Usually, I struggle to read pure fiction, with a historical/imaginative fiction background, and it took me more than usual to read this book. But I was delighted to be able to finish it, although I may reckon that I need some more details related to Comoros history and mythology that could help me better understand the book, particularly the part where Halima and Gaillard are undergoing several metamorphosis.

Touhfat Mouhtare, who studied languages at Sorbonne, is my first Comoros author and it opened up my interest to read more about the culture, geography, history and especially literature of this space.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Rachel´s Random Resources: Murder at the Wedding by Anita Davidson

Hannah is ready for her big day, and everyone is ready to celebrate the moment. Except that the vicar, who was supposed to lead the ceremonies, is nowhere to be found. Until his corpse is found which will lead to the revelation of secrets no one expected. Together with aunt Violet, Hannah is decided to find the truth.

Female sleuths are always interesting, in books and real life, but in the case of Murder at the Wedding by Anita Davidson, there is an additional detail we need to keep in mind: the action is taking place at the beginning of the 19th century, therefore you may imagine how challenging it may be for both of them.

The book is a page turner from the first lines and it keep maintaing the reader´s attention with new revelations and details pertaining to the crime that constantly changed my personal assessment of the case. The female characters are relatable, especially Hannah who has such a strong mind and strength helping her to react unexpectedly reasonable in the most unexpected circumstances.

A recommended read if you love female sleuths, historical London memories and memorable characters.

Rating: 4 stars

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

Rachel´s Random Resources: Christmas on Fifth Avenue by Julie Caplin

Meet Evie and Noah. Two strangers brought together under the magic Christmas lights on Fifth Avenue. Evie is trying to recover from the shock of being the target of a viral video all over the Internet. Therefore, the invitation of spending time in NYC sent by a PR company looked like the perfect escape from all the hard time she experienced before. On the other hand, Noah Sanderson is a disgraced football star who may try to uplift his career with...a fake date. 

And the rest is history...

Christmas on Fifth Avenue by bestselling author Julie Caplin is a lovely book of home and romance...a lot of unexpected romance in fact. Atmospheric, it recreates the local ambiance familiar to anyone who ever visited NYC during the winter time, in order to allow her characters to move at ease. In this real world, the magic happens in a most natural way. The feelings and reactions of the characters seem to be in sync with the festive ambiance which gives the book an air of a fairy tale. 

The characters are very easy to understand and accept - even as friends in real life -, particularly Evie, so fragile and with a delicate heart. They do have a certain way of learning how to deal with their own mistakes and re-build their lives out of it.

Christimas on Fifth Avenue is a cosy and funny read that may feel your life with hope and warmth. It also may give you inspiration if you are dealing with loss and grief, 

The book is the first in the series of Christmas Escapes, but probably can be also read as a stand alone, exactly like in the case of Caplin´s previous series Romantic Escapes.

Rating: 5 stars

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

Random Things Tours: Darker Days by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

 

Imagine a perfect street. Let´s call it Bird Street. Everything is perfectly balanced and everyone is happy. But, as usual, there is a price for it. A human price. Every November, someone is chosen to die. And the life keeps running as usual. Perfect. Unless someone is ready to break this cycle and run away from the honorable duty. The gates of Hell are open. Open for the Devil to get in.

Darker Days by Thomas Olde Heuvelt was a completely different kind of read from my usual topics. But it explores brilliantly the Faustian pact, that fascinated me for many years long time ago. Is there any price to be paid for happiness? Does happiness exist, or it is just a projection of our minds looking for balance and perfection? Just a way to appease fears...and oh, how smartly Darker Days is playing with fears!

Thomas Olde Heuvelt plays so well the human weaknesses, through the characters, very well portrayed and with strong, definite voices, but also through the many circumstances they are exposed to. 

The ´darker´ in the title resonates perfectly well to the current season, particularly the month of November and I personally loved this match between this time of the year and the concentration of unhappy events planned for this time of the year.

The writing is spine-chilling often, and I had to stop more frequently I wished to, but nevertheless this book opened up towards so many brutal truth about human nature that we would maybe avoid to ask if not through the fictional setting.

Rating: 4.5 stars

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