Paperback Places

The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbø

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:14:00 +0000

Jo Nesbø is widely promoted as the next Stieg Larsson which is very unfair, it turns out, because he's been writing from long before the famous trilogy of Stieg Larsson was published. However there are some similarities - a gripping thriller, Scandinavia (Stieg Larsson was from Sweden while Jo Nesbo is Norwegian).

Things you should know: the surname of the hero, Harry Hole, is pronounced Hooleh, the "oo" rhymes with "pool"; Jo Nesbø is a man his name sounds a little like Nesber (ø is very similar to ö in German); and that "The Devil's Star" is part of a series. These things always hold me up when I don't know.

The central character, Harry Hole, is an alcoholic detective. Where have I heard that before? However I found him more engaging than many others. He is at the point of being in grave danger of losing his job but, in the midst of the summer when everyone is on holiday, he is the only hope when a series of murders take place. The plot is detailed and intricate, and carries you along at a great pace. I could hardly put the book down.

All the action takes place in and around Oslo which is a first for me and has made me want to visit the city.

The Devil's Star from Amazon USA

The Devil's Star from Amazon UK

The Collaborator by Gerald Seymour

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:46:00 +0000

The Collaborator is the brutal but compelling story of the daughter of a Mafia-like family who becomes a collaborator with the police. The story revolves around Immacolata, the daughter of a criminal family who realises that her family has been responsible for the death of a friend. She has been living in London where she meets Eddie who ends up being an innocent victim in the efforts of the family to prevent Immacolata giving evidence against them. Be warned though, it really is grim and brutal in places, realistic though that may be.

The book describes the very different worlds of London and Naples very well. I thought Naples particularly vivid but that may only be because that's new to me and not the fairly familiar world of London. But more than that, it provides a great insight into Naples, its history and the local Mafia. And it's one I won't forget in a hurry - unlike many thrillers.

The Collaborator is available from Amazon.com and from Amazon UK

Portobello by Ruth Rendell

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:13:00 +0000

Ruth Rendell writes under her own name and as Barbara Vine. Her first novel featured Inspector Wexford. Since then there have been upwards of 20 books in which he is the main character. These are police procedurals. The Barbara Vine books are less about murder than about accidental death and the pressures of society.

Her other books, and this is one of them, tend to be loosely described as psychological crime novels, often with socially disadvantaged characters. It has a quiet feel to it and is possibly not as dark and creepy as some of her books, but the characters and their odd assortment of psychological idiosyncrasies and flaws are totally absorbing. She has a particular gift in being able to make the commonplace seem menacing. In one way you feel you know people like them, and yet at the same time they are extraordinary.

The whole is set, as might be gathered from the title, in and around Portobello Road. Although they appear to have nothing to do with each other, the characters' lives weave in and out of each other's in unexpected and apparently random ways. Above all, for me, it brings the area to life:

"The Portobello has a rich personality, vibrant, brilliant in colour, noisy with graffiti that approach art, bizarre and splendid. an indefinable edge to it adds a spice of danger."

Available from Amazon UK or from Amazon.com

Quietly in Their Sleep by Donna Leon

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:13:00 +0000

Donna Leon is an author new to me. I was looking for something light and easy to read and it was coincidental that the book was set in Italy, in Venice. It couldn't be more different from A Thousand Days in Venice, apart from the setting of course, but even that took on a different view.

I was dismayed at first to read so many negative reviews on Amazon (UK) but that turned out to be because it has been republished with a new title, the US title. Previously it was called "The Death of Faith". People were understandably annoyed that they had bought what they thought was a new book only to discover they had already read it.

I enjoyed the book. It is one of a number of books in the series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti. The characters of Brunetti himself, his colleagues, and of his family were appealing to me. It is quite a relief to read about a policeman who isn't an alcoholic or has a failing marriage, or any other major problem in his life.

There are a couple of big issues brought into the plot, one of which, paedophile priests, may have been the reason for the re-issue now that it's even more consistently in the news. The other issue concerns Opus Dei and the power of the Roman Catholic Church. Both I feel to be rather too deep for this book and sit uncomfortably in an otherwise lighter book. They aren't really examined or addressed to any extent and I felt that they didn't quite mesh together or with the rest of the plot.

You are constantly aware of the setting in Venice with a strong sense of the city and of Venetian society.

Quietly in Their Sleep is available from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:52:00 +0000

I chose this book purely and simply because I know a young girl who came from Sierra Leone to study in England while her parents stayed behind to survive the horrors of civil war as well as they could.

Saying that, I must point out that Sierra Leone isn't mentioned anywhere in the book but I think it's accepted that it is indeed set in Sierra Leone both during and after those dreadful times. It tells the story of three men whose lives become three strands which touch and cross to form a complex web: Kai, a Sierra Leonean surgeon; Elias, the retired dean of the university who is dying at the hospital; and Adrian, a young British psychologist who is escaping his life in England.

At first I found it hard to keep track of the three different points of view all of which darted from present to past and back again. It often took me a few moments to work out where I was, and when. Before long, though, I was totally absorbed and found it a compelling read. I kept wanting to pick up the book when I should have been doing other things.

It's not the most comfortable of reads, it does make you sit back and think, so if you're looking for a light page-turner this is not it. However it does give you insight not only into ordinary life in western Africa, but also a clear picture of a country torn apart by war and an idea of what those terrible times must have been like.

More than that, it raises issues that are worth considering, whether or not you agree with them. The first of these is whether all the western organisations which flood into developing countries do any good and whether in fact the individuals are there for their own benefit rather than the people they profess to help. Do these NGOs understand the way of life in the countries where they are trying to help as they should or are they approaching with pre-conceived western values? Second is the matter of post traumatic stress disorder, and whether it's always necessary to pathologize what is a natural reaction. A vast percentage of the Sierra Leone was affected by the war but is it a psychosis or is it life?

There is a really interesting interview with Aminatta Forna on The Interview Online. It really is well worth listening to it.

The Memory of Love is available at Amazon.com and at Amazon.co.uk

Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:15:00 +0000

A Cambridge Blue is normally an award for sporting excellence given to a member of the University of Cambridge in England. In this case, it means a book that is set in Cambridge and its cover is blue. Or green. Unless I am missing something, I can see no reason for the title.

The story is a police procedural or would be except that the young and too-good-to-be-true (brilliant, good-looking, caring) detective paid scant attention to police procedures. I know this is fiction but there is a limit beyond which the story loses credibility. He is so "nice" that I disliked him almost as much as the "nasty" detective.

I found the plot interesting enough but the ending seemed rushed and contrived. I always dislike lengthy explanations to find out "whodunit"

Alison Bruce very clearly has an excellent knowledge of Cambridge and you do get an overall idea of the place but some atmosphere is missing. Someone, somewhere, described it as being like Cambridge-by-numbers. It might be a book you would read after you've visited, to bring back memories.

Buy Cambridge Blue at Amazon.co.uk or at Amazon.com

The Joys of My Life by Alys Clare

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 23:02:00 +0000

From the back of the book I read: "Adroitly weaving medieval history into a rousing and mystical tale", and I was interested. Elsewhere on the cover it mentioned Chartres, the Ile d'Oléron and Richard the Lionheart and that finished the process of capturing my imagination.

This was yet another cover with a black background - there seem so many at the moment. A robed figure, maybe a monk, a labyrinth, maybe the one at Chartres.

It became obvious after a while that the book was one of a series with a number of references to things that had happened to the characters in the past. It wasn't a major problem because the book stands relatively well on its own but I'm not sure how you'd feel going back to read earlier books. In fact it is the twelfth and final book in the Hawkenlye Mystery series and it finishes with a fair amount of tidying up of loose ends.

The story started at the siege of Châlus Castle, not far from Limoges, where Richard the Lionheart was fatally wounded. From there we are taken to Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine who wants a chapel built in honour of her son, Richard, we are introduced to the main characters, and the mystery unfolds. In all honesty there wasn't much of a mystery so you could hardly describe the book as full of suspense. The magical or mystical elements were over-played for my taste.

Nor did the characters really come to life for me. They all seemed too good to be true - or evil. Even the hero, Josse d'Aquin, didn't feel like a real person, and I the love of his life, Joanna, left me with no impression of her character at all. I found Helewise the abbess more interesting because through her we saw how the Christian church was changing at that time and how the crusades against Catharism were starting.

It was fun, though, to trace the journeys made by the characters through France, and to visualise the cathedral being built at Chartres. It was a light, easy, and undemanding read.

The Joys of My Life is available at Amazon.co.uk or at Amazon.com

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 15:57:00 +0000

I always read the Amazon reviews for a book before I buy a book. There were a plenty for Cutting for Stone, it isn't a new book - published 2009 - and they are very heavily weighted towards 5 stars. But for some reason I held back.

I wish I hadn't.

It's a big book in every way. At 500+ pages of quite densely packed text it isn't a quick read and I'll admit that at the start I felt it was too detailed. In fact it probably could have been edited down quite a bit, but in the end for me that wasn't essential.

The story is told through the eyes of one of a pair of identical twins, sons of an Indian nun and a British surgeon. We then follow their lives in Ethiopia, through personal and political turmoil until Marion, the narrator, is betrayed by the girl he loves and has to flee the country. He ends up as a surgeon in the USA where his life runs no more smoothly.

It is an immensely dramatic and compelling novel, and combines intense realism with an almost magical quality. In fact some people think the realism of the surgical descriptions are almost too vivid, but I'd say no worse than some thrillers I've read. I'd prefer the medical details over violence and day. Along with the family saga, you do get a feel for the country of Ethiopia, its life, politics and history.

Frankly, I couldn't put the book down and, if it weren't for the large pile of books waiting their turn, I'd happily read it again.

Cutting for Stone is available at Amazon.co.uk or at Amazon.com

Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 09:07:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I was travelling by train through Kent, the Garden of England. I saw the strawberry fields and through a gap in a hedge I was completely taken aback to see row after row after row of caravans. A whole field on the side of a hill had been given over to them.

I hadn't realised when I picked up this book how much this would come back, almost to haunt me. Although the book is described as hilarious, I think there's far more tragedy than comedy in it. Whether intended or not, it's a social commentary on migrant workers, on battery farming methods, on human trafficking. It follows the story of a mixed group of workers in Kent, then on to London and finally, briefly, Sheffield.

I was close to giving up early on in the book, partly because I didn't much care for the characters and the story didn't grab me, but I'm glad now that I persisted. I'll never look at strawberries or chicken portions in the same way again.

Single to Paris by Alexander Fullerton

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 23:18:00 +0000

What I hadn't realise when I started this novel was that it's the last part of a series of four. However, although it's very obvious, it doesn't really matter. In outline, it tells of a Special Operations Executive, Rosie Ewing, who is sent to France in August 1945 to try to rescue two agents being held by the Gestapo in Paris.

The book was written in 2001, but I wouldn't have been in the least surprised to hear it was in the 1950s. In one way that's probably a good point, after all the book is set in Paris just as the Second World War is ending, but there's something about the style that seems to me to be dated. Added to that, very few sentences are complete. It reads like someone's thought processes in places, almost a stream of consciousness.

If you're looking for something with the atmosphere of Paris, Single to Paris will give you that, even though at times it sounds like a GPS system telling you, "Now turn right into boulevard St Michel..."

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Sat, 21 May 2011 22:41:00 +0000

...and co-authored by Davis Oliver Relin.

Although my copy of this book has the same cover art, it also has a little medallion stating that the book is a Kiriyama prize winner. The Kiriyama Prize "was established in 1996 to recognize outstanding books about the Pacific Rim and South Asia that encourage greater mutual understanding of and among the peoples and nations of this vast and culturally diverse region". It promised a lot but delivered little.

I'm sorry to say I found this one of the most tedious books I've read in a long time. I struggled to finish it. The author, no doubt doing good works in Pakistan, is nevertheless completely self-satisfied and self-congratulatory:

As Mortenson turned his brave, wind beaten face towards the dying embers of the fire, he reflected inwardly....

The writing is painfully clunky, and manages to make this reader at least concentrate more on the writing than on the story. The story itself could have been told in much less space if it had left out all the minutiae that are completely irrelevant. Who cares about Greg's earlier relationships?

To be perfectly honest, I found even the photos included have nothing to add. They are little more than a series of faces beaming at the camera. One I will never forget - a Christmas card featuring Mortenson with his wife and baby, and two weapons, rifles or something, I don't know. On a Christmas card?! It is my lasting memory of the book.

However, if you can get over the irritations that bothered me, you will be able to read about the remote parts of a country that most of us will never visit.

Updated to add that apparently the truth was "stretched" in a number of places and there are some discrepancies in the financial management of his organisation. Some call the issues minor problems and transgressions, others call it lies and fraud.

Buy Three Cups of Tea at Amazon.co.uk or at Amazon.com

Coming Down the Seine by Robert Gibbings

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:02:00 +0000

My copy is second hand, published in 1953, and very battered, so I decided against a scan of the cover and settled for the title page with the image by Robert Gibbings himself. The book is beautifully illustrated throughout with his own wood engravings.

I wasn't at all sure what to expect of this book, I'll freely admit that I was completely swayed by the title.

The title is of course misleading to a large extent. Never judge judge a book by its cover - or its title. But it does have some bearing on the subject matter and besides, the book is a total delight once you stop expecting a travelogue. It is almost like a stream of consciousness, the thoughts meandering through the author's mind as he follows the Seine from its source to the sea (with occasional massive detours). Added to the captivating narrative, you can enjoy the illustrations created by the author himself. A book that can be read over and over again.

Coming Down the Seine is still available at Amazon.co.uk and at Amazon.com.

The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:41:00 +0000

This is one of the more unusual crime novels I have ever read. Very briefly, it's about a serial killer who leaves mathematical clues as he proceeds on his killing spree. I've included it here because it's set in Oxford and the author indulges in a considerable amount of place-name-dropping, and I suppose it does conjure up the rather rarefied air of a university. It's translated from Spanish but, unlike some translations, you aren't aware of any awkwardness in the English.

It's a fast read by virtue of the fact that it's very short but I don't really think you'd call it a page-turner. Its main appeal has to be the unusual link with mathematics. That, however, floats cheerfully somewhere over my head, leaving me thinking, hmmm.

Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:38:00 +0000

Tracy Chevalier's Burning Bright is the story of a family who moves from rural Dorset to London, where the father works for a circus. They end up living next door to the poet and artist, William Blake.
If you know any of William Blake's poetry, it's likely to be "The Tiger":

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Because of the title of the novel, you would be excused for thinking you were going to learn something about Blake, but in reality he is one of the minor characters. The remaining characters lack much depth and are rather stereotypical, and the accents they are given are frankly irritating. Country bumpkin versus Cockney.

On the other hand, the book does portray London vividly and historically accurately. There is a real sense of place which may be just the thing to accompany a trip to the city.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:24:00 +0000

Apparently "The Book Thief" is classed as a young adult, even a children's book, in the USA, but it wasn't written as such and certainly I've thoroughly enjoyed it a very long way away from young adult years..

The story is set in wartime Germany and gives an insight into ordinary people's lives. It is narrated by Death, which may sound morbid, but this Death is afraid of humans and wonders how they can be capable of so many glorious things as well as such ugliness. And that really is one of the main themes of the book, along with death of course, the Second World War, and the conflict of ordinary people with the society they live in.

It's the story of Liesel, who has to be fostered when her own parents are taken away to a concentration camp for being Communists. Her brother dies before they reach their foster parents and she steals a book, a grave digger's manual, even though at that time she couldn't read. It's the story of the books that pass through her hands, and the story of how she survives the events of the war.

There isn't, in truth, a great sense of place, but there most certainly is an all-enveloping feeling of being immersed in the time. This is such an important part of Germany's history, I would happily recommend the book to anyone planning to visit Germany.

White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:21:00 +0000

An eye-opening story set in modern India, a country of start contrasts between rich and poor, between the Light and the Darkness, between men with fat bellies and men with thin bellies. It's a rapid and easy read - cynical, provocative, and entertaining.

The format of the book is a series of emails sent by the narrator to a Chinese head of state due to visit India, to explain the truth about being an Indian entrepreneur. In essence, it's a very moral tale, it exposes corruption in all its forms, the extraordinary poverty in an upwardly mobile society, the blurred moral boundaries. In spite of it all, I have a lingering sympathy for Balram.

In India, 76% live below the poverty limit of $2 a day, compared to 73% in Sub-Saharan Africa. People forget this, probably because there is the "new" India, the world of technology and entrepreneurs, the world that Balram wants to join. It is this contrast that is brought out so very well in the book.

The dreams of the rich and the dreams of the poor - they never overlap, do they?
See, the poor dream all their lives of getting enough to eat and looking like the rich. And what do the rich dream of? Losing weight and looking like the poor.

Extra Virgin by Annie Hawes

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:24:00 +0000

A very enjoyable read, but it didn't flow very smoothly, nor was it a page turner. I thought the descriptions of local people and life in the village very interesting and not too patronising or over-romanticised as so many are in this type of book. In my view it was much better than Under the Tuscan Sun which had a very self-satisfied tone that I didn't like.

I would have liked more information about Annie and her sister - it was a bit of a mystery how they transformed from holiday workers on the rose farm into part-time residents, or did I miss something? What did they do in England and how were they able to travel back and forth so often? I imagine the reason was to maintain some privacy, but it bothered me somehow.

The structure seemed to me to be a little odd. At first I thought it was going to be a description of a single year, only to realise that it was progressing through the years as well as the seasons. At times that gave a confusing/disjointed impression and it made it hard to follow in places.

Nevertheless it was a very entertaining read and one I would recommend to anyone interested in Italy.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:28:00 +0000

This book is an excellent crime novel set in Sweden. I have read a number of Henning Mankell's novels but this is very different. It's a gripping and fast read, a little graphically brutal here and there, though not excessively. By that I mean I was able to skim over those parts, enough to realise what was happening but not enough to give me nightmares! The translation is excellent in that you truly aren't aware that that the book wasn't originally written in English. That's not often the case, sadly.

I enjoyed the picture it gave of Swedish life, in particular rural and island life. I have a firm picture of Hedeby, picturesque villages and summer cabins, so unlike the melancholy and brooding of Mankell's Sweden.

Paris in the Fifties by Stanley Karnow

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:52:00 +0000

This book is neither about Paris nor set in the fifties, for the most part. I rarely consider giving up on a book, but in the first few chapters, I was sorely tempted. It seemed to be nothing but a recital of all the celebrities and intellectuals that Stanley Karnow had met during his time as a foreign correspondent in Paris.

I'm really glad I didn't put it down though, because it improved immeasurably after those first chapters. Most of the paragraphs have a theme, such as the history of the guillotine, Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam, Algeria, and as a whole gives an interesting and readable view of France and French culture.

Driving over Lemons by Chris Stewart

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:51:00 +0000

A light and easy read, perfect for a holiday in Spain and Andalucia in particular. Chris Stewart, one-time drummer with Genesis, has a pleasant style and brings alive his search for his dream of a different lifestyle in the heart of the Spanish countryside, well away from the coastal "ex-pat" areas. There is plenty of local colour without its being sentimental.

This is not great literature, nor does it pretend to be. Definitely one to read when concentration might be difficult. When I come to look back on the book, it's quite hard to say a great deal about it. It's not entirely unlike Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" but I find the humour less at the expense of the locals than Peter Mayle's.

There are two follow-up books - "Parrot in the Pepper Tree" and "The Almond Blossom appreciation Society". I probably wouldn't want to read them in quick succession, but I will read them over time.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:35:00 +0000

This book has been sitting sadly and reproachfully on my shelf for over a year. Why I didn't pick it up earlier, I really don't know.

It was an enjoyable read - with reservations. It was easy enough to become involved in the story which moved swiftly along, easy to read and also enlightening. It seemed to give a fascinating insight into lives, especially of women, during the troubled years before, during, and shortly after the influence of the Taliban, how the everyday lives of ordinary Afghani people were affected.

I have two main reservations though, even while recommending it. The first is that Khaled Hosseini felt the need to explain the politics of the situation, the fighting between the different warlords and their followers. That was fine but he did it by having the characters discuss what was happening, and it just didn't ring true.

"And he's fighting Hekmatyar, of course, who has the support of the Pakistanis. Mortal enemies, those two, Maassoud and Hekmatyar. Sayyaf, he's siding with Massoud. And Hekmatyar supports the Hazaras for now."

My eyes glazed over during these passages: too many names I found difficult to remember.

The other reservation was that the characters were either black or white with nothing much in between: Rasheed was too bad with no redeeming features, Tariq too good. People are normally made up of so many different shades. The women were rather better drawn but I still didn't feel I knew them, I didn't know how they thought.

Don't let my reservations put you off though. All round it was an easy and enjoyable read. In spite of the tragedies of Afghanistan, the book ends on an optimistic note. The real tragedy is that the optimism for the future of the country hasn't yet been fulfilled.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:42:00 +0000

Synopsis from Amazon
Griet, the young daughter of a tilemaker in seventeenth century Holland, obtains her first job, as a servant in Vermeer's household. Tracy Chevalier shows us, through Griet's eyes, the complicated family, the society of the small town of Delft, and life with an obsessive genius. Griet loves being drawn into his artistic life, and leaving her former drudgery, but the cost to her own survival may be high.

I've found it difficult to review this book because although I found it easy to read and quite enjoyable, I was left with the feeling something was missing, the mystery and genius in the painting perhaps. The characters didn't seem well developed and really, neither did the storyline. In the synopsis above it mentions life with an obsessive genius - well it was hardly touched upon and Vermeer's character was possibly the least well-drawn. The child Cordelia seemed contrived, and the plague appeared to be thrown in almost as an afterthought.

Saying all that though, I cannot deny enjoying it, I just think it has been hyped up and hasn't lived up to my expectations. I read it in just a few hours - it is a very short book. And it has definitely made me more interested in Vermeer's art, and in Delft.

Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner.

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:25:00 +0000

From the back cover:

In this dazzling evocation of late nineteenth century Paris, we follow Victor as his investigation takes him all over the city. But what will he do when the deaths begin to multiply and he is caught in a race against time?
'A charming journey through the life and intellectual times of an era' ~ Le Monde

This book is the work of two authors, two sisters who are booksellers, bouquinistes, on the banks of the Seine in Paris. I find the translation a little awkward, even dated in places. Whether this is a deliberate attempt to conjure up the era I don't know, but I found it a false note. "Two stiffs in the same day" neither sounds like 1889 nor the present day.

It is very much set in Paris, and if you recognise the street names and the areas mentioned, it will conjure up an image satisfactorily. For anyone who doesn't know Paris, I would say it's less successful. It's rather better at the era than the geographical setting. All the same, it's interesting to read about the time when the Eiffel Tower was brand new, so for that alone it's worth a read. Less so for the murder-mystery element which I didn't find especially compelling.

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ PaperbackPlaces) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:47:00 +0000

The Bookseller of Kabul gives interesting insight into the life of an Afghan family both before and after the Taliban. It describes familyand social life, the political situation and how individuals, particularly women, are affected. It isn't a compelling read, the writing doesn't seem very fluent and far from fast paced, however it's a book I am glad to have read and would recommend it.

Fear and Trembling by Amélie Nothomb

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila @ A Postcard a Day) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:37:00 +0000

Amélie Nothomb was born in Japan to a family in the diplomatic service and lived there until she was five. She speaks fluent Japanese and did return to work in a Japanese company for a year.

Although for some reason I thought it was going to be a “difficult” book, it wasn’t at all: it’s entertaining and very easy to read. My usual caution about reading books in translation was totally swept away because at no point was I aware of its having been originally in French.

I don’t know whether the fairly dreadful portrayal of Japanese corporate life is accurate or not, but the most fascinating part of the book I found was the section about Japanese women, “if the Japanese woman is to be admired – and she is – it is because she doesn’t commit suicide”. Japan apparently has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, but in spite of the pressures put on them by society, the rate is very much lower in women than men. How much that holds true now I’m not sure.

Something I heard quite a while ago was also mentioned in the book. When people were starting to become aware of water conservation, a hotel said it would be very difficult to put effective measures in to reduce water consumption because a large portion of their clientele was Japanese. Apparently Japanese women become terminally embarrassed if they feel they can be overheard in the bathroom and will turn taps on full in order to prevent this. I never really knew if this was true, but Amélie Nothomb says the same thing.