Lehane, Dennis "Shutter Island" - 2003

Lehane, Dennis "Shutter Island" - 2003

I didn't think I would like this book because I'm not a huge fan of crime stories. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is not the usual thriller or action movie plot, i.e. there is a plot here.

A gripping story that plays games with your mind. And the twist at the end totally left me flabbergasted. Contrary to many other participants, I had not seen the film

However, I don't think this is a great book for a book club, like most stories like this, what are we going to talk about??? Yes, we can talk about mental illness, PTSD, hospital situations, etc. But it all diverges from the story.

Still, a good read.

Quote on page 279 of my edition, something I ask myself often:

"God gives us earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes. He gives us mountains that spew fire onto our heads. Oceans that swallow ships. He gives us nature, and nature is a smiling killer. He gives us disease so that in our death we believe. He gave us offices only so that we could feel our life bleed out of them. He gave us lust und fury and greed and our filthy hearts. So that we could wage violence in His honour. There is no moral order as pure as this storm we've just seen. There is no moral order at all. There is only this - can my violence conquer yours?"

Comments from the book club meeting:

• "The book was very well received by the group, with everyone giving it either 4/5 or 5/5.
• Many of us had not read the book before, but a large number had seen Martin Scorsese's film adaptation. This created an interesting situation because many readers already knew the main twist before opening the book. Despite this, there was broad agreement that the novel remained very engaging. Several members commented that knowing the ending made it easier to notice clues and details throughout the story, although some wondered whether the book would have been even better or perhaps not as effective without that prior knowledge.
• One of the most frequently praised aspects of the novel was Lehane's writing style. Members repeatedly mentioned the vivid descriptive language and the atmosphere he creates throughout the book. The island, the weather, and the hospital all felt convincing and memorable. It was also noted that Lehane does an excellent job of bringing the reader back to the 1950s. The language, dialogue, and attitudes of the characters help create a strong sense of time and place.
• Much of our discussion focused on how the novel is constructed. We talked about the unreliable narration, the clues hidden throughout the story, and the way Lehane guides the reader towards certain assumptions. We also discussed several of the characters and their roles in the story, particularly how differently they can be viewed once the reader knows the truth behind the mystery.
• The themes of trauma, guilt, memory, and self-deception also generated discussion. We debated the hospital itself, its methods, and the ethical questions raised by the treatment of patients. The ending naturally became one of the main topics, with different opinions about Teddy's final decision and how it should be interpreted.
• As we often do in our discussions, we looked for connections to other books we have read. This time the conversation brought up Fight Club and the Finnish novel Rikosetsivien vapaapäivä because of the way both encourage readers to re-evaluate earlier events and question their understanding of what has happened.
• The discussion also touched on Dennis Lehane as an author more generally. Several members noted that a number of his novels have been adapted into highly regarded films, and that Shutter Island is not the only example of his work translating successfully to the screen. The book also inspired a few members to add more of Lehane's work to their reading lists."

"Shutter Island was a satisfyingly chilling tale to read during the discomfort of the most recent heat wave in Ontario, Canada. Smokescreen after smokescreen arose. I enjoyed the layering of circumstances and personalities and clues and interpretations. This is not at all similar to my usual gentler reading and I feel gratefully stretched."

Again, many thanks to our leader Karin who put together a great review.

This was our international online book club read for July 2026.

Book Description:

"An arresting psychological thriller in which two US Marshals hunting for an escaped mental patient unveil a nightmare world of CIA drug trials, Nazi inspired eugenic work, and repressive mind control.

In the year 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate an unexplained disappearance. Multiple murderess Rachel Solando is loose somewhere on this barren island, despite having been kept under constant surveillance in a locked, guarded cell. As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on the island, hints of radical experimentation and covert government machinations add darker, more sinister shades to an already bizarre case. Because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is remotely what it seems."

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday

My blogger friend CyberKitten posted this here:

Apparently there's an 'Internet trend' to post pictures of phones from the date you were born. This is mine.... Needless to say that we didn't have one at the time and not for another 15 years or so. 

Same as his family, mine didn't have a phone back then (we got one about twenty years later) so I had to use my good old friend, the Internet, in order to find a picture from that time. This is the kind of phone I remember our neighbours had.

Thank you Bernd from Pixabay whose picture I found on Canva.

Kishon, Ephraim "The Seasick Whale: An Israeli Abroad"

Kishon, Ephraim "The Seasick Whale: An Israeli Abroad. Book of Travels" (Hebrew: ספר המסעות/Sefer ha'masot) -  1995 

Ephraim Kishon is always worth picking up. In this volume, he recounts his travels to various European countries and the United States. Like few others, he manages to portray the quirks of the locals in such a way that even they have to laugh at them. And, in reality, his observations actually serve as a form of praise.

So, for anyone who wants to know how to get rid of a banana peel in Switzerland, why one should never take a gondola in Venice, and why it is advisable not to visit Las Vegas without having already booked and paid for the return journey, this book is worth its weight in gold.

Book Description:

"Every person dreams of travel in the world; Anyone going crazy to see the Niagara Falls outdated and disappointed them, or to flock to the picture of the Mona Lisa and find out the size of A4. The average Israeli is not a dream and we do not go crazy. He drives - especially in summer and winter, or the two seasons, going at all costs and at every opportunity. Citizen look in the mirror and say to 'I'm starting to resemble my passport photo, so it was time to go.' 

Ephraim Kishon's journeys proves his wonderful humor is independent of geography, is entertaining and hilarious in each country to which he invites the reader."

Faulks, Sebastian "Jeeves and the Wedding Bells"

Faulks, Sebastian "Jeeves and the Wedding Bells: An Homage to P.G. Wodehouse" - 2013

I love Jeeves and Wooster. And I have read quite a few books by the original author, P.G. Wodehouse. And watched the TV series with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. I rarely laugh as much as when hearing the tales of the two.

When I saw that there was a "new" novel by author Sebastian Faulks (of whom I read and enjoyed "Birdsong. A Novel of Love and War", I was curious. Usually, I am not a huge fan of novels written by another author as the original one but I knew that this one was a very renowned author in his own right, so I gave it a try.

And I was not disappointed. What a lovely and funny story. Wooster is as clumsy as always, Jeeves the gentleman who has a solution to any predicament.

If you are a fan, have a look at this edition. Please, write more, Mr. Faulks

From the back cover:

"Bertie Wooster is staying at the stately home of Sir Henry Hackwood in Dorset. He is more than familiar with the country-house set-up: he is a veteran of the cocktail hour and, thanks to Jeeves, his gentleman’s personal gentleman, is never less than immaculately dressed.

On this occasion, however, it is Jeeves who is to be seen in the drawing room while Bertie finds himself below stairs – which he doesn’t care for at all.

His predicament is, of course, all in the name of love …"

Cousins, Dave "Waiting for Gonzo"

Cousins, Dave "Waiting for Gonzo" - 2013

A friend lent me two books by this author. This one and "15 Days without a Head". 

Since the other one is older, I read that one first. There, I wrote:

"This is another one that I probably would never have picked up, it looks too un-adult to me. But: It is a brilliant book."

And I can say the same for this one. After a slow start where I thought this is not going to be the same, I really got into it after a couple of chapters. Oz is a boy, as much as you can imagine any boy, he is very typical. (I can judge, I have three younger brothers and two sons.) He steps from one Fettnäpfchen (no English word like that available but it means gaffe/social blunder) into the next, nothing seems to go right for him. But he has his heart in the right place and is as loveable as most boys are.

It tells us all about friendship and about the special bond siblings have, even if they seem to fight all the time.

Definitely a great book to read.

From the back cover:

"Things could be going better for Oz. He's just moved miles from all his friends. A prank at his new school puts him in the crosshairs of 'Psycho' Isobel Skinner, a bully who also happens to be his mum's new best friend. And he's driven off the only other kid who will have anything to do with him: a Tolkien-obsessed boy in desperate need of a decent playlist.

With his life careening out of control, Oz sets about making things right. But when he stumbles on his sister's game-changing secret, Oz is left wondering if he can ever get his old life back ... or if he's stuck forever in this craziness.

Comic and heartwarming, Waiting for Gonzo is about discovering when to play the cards you're dealt and when to shuffle the deck and deal your own hand."

Cousins, Dave "15 Days without a Head"

Cousins, Dave "15 Days without a Head" - 2012

Another book lent by a friend. This is another one that I probably would never have picked up, it looks too un-adult to me. But: It is a brilliant book. Heart-wrenching but beautiful. An alcoholic mother is so depressed that she leaves her teenage son and his six year old brother alone. No address, nobody who would look after them, no money, nothing.

I am not sure whether I could like the mother or the little brother. Laurence, the poor guy, first has to take care of an alcoholic mother as well as a little brother who is anything but easy. When the mother disappears, he doesn't want them to end up in different care facilities, so he pretends everything is alright in the family.

As I said, people like the mother make me mad! She has two children but doesn't look after them (already while she's there). No matter what an excuse you have, no matter how depressed you are, you don't leave your children. What if Laurence had been one of those kids who can't take any responsibility, either? Quite believable with a mother like that. Luckily he isn't. I do feel sorry for him and all those kids in similar situations. The mother doesn't deserve them. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

There were quite a few funny scenes in the book which made it bearable at times. Just as an example, the diary gives the days of the week as follows:

Tuesday, Whensday, Blursday, Lieday, Thataway, Someday, Meanday, Duesday, Endsday, Thisday, Frightday, Tattersday, Slumday, Noneday, Doomsday, Madnesday, Today

Book Description:

"Fifteen-year-old Laurence Roach just wants a normal life, but it's not easy when your mum is a depressed alcoholic, and your six-year-old brother thinks he's a dog.

When Mum fails to come home one night, Laurence tells nobody, terrified he and his brother will be taken into care if anyone finds out. Instead, he attempts to keep up the pretence that Mum is still around: dressing up in her clothes to trick the neighbours and spinning an increasingly complicated tangle of lies. After two weeks on their own, running out of food and money, and with suspicious adults closing in, Laurence finally discovers what happened to his mother. And that's when the trouble really starts . . .

A compelling thriller filled with some hilarious and surreal moments. Fifteen Days Without a Head is a tender, honest story about family, forgiveness and hope."

Barrie, J.M. "Peter Pan"

Barrie, J.M. "Peter Pan" - 1904

The book description starts with Peter Pan and his "irritable fairy friend". That could be said about the whole book. While I read this, I thought, yes, it's another children's book, mainly for boys and I am getting too old for these stories. However, in the German description, they say it was originally written for adults.

Well, not my thing. They also compare it with "Alice in Wonderland". And I have to add that these two were my least favourites as Disney movies. And, if I remember it well, my kids weren't too fond of them, either. The only thing I like about the film is the crocodile. LOL

So, why did I not like this? I'm not much into fantasy and this is fantasy for me. I also don't like it when children are portrayed as the biggest heroes, they know everything better than adults. I didn't like that when I was a child, I don't like it now.

But some of the book club members really liked it, so it was a success in the group. Here are some comments:

"I enjoyed the book because of the language and because it was a light summer read, and am able to turn off my critical brain to just enjoy stories for what they are.

I was delighted that the book really divided the group on many agreeing with Marianne, about the book and about Peter. This made for a really good discussion much beyond what we had thought possible before when we chose the book. It was originally suggested because there had been some controversial studies on Peter Pan as a character, so maybe this shouldn't have been a surprise. 

While a few members really enjoyed the novel for its imagination, humour, and writing style, others also found parts of it engaging even if they did not fully connect with the story. Overall opinions were divided. Some members gave it fairly low ratings, with others falling somewhere in the middle. Some struggled with the episodic structure and never felt the novel developed a clear overarching plot, perhaps reflecting the book's origins in stories Barrie improvised for family friends' children. Others simply found the fantasy difficult to engage with and felt that Peter and Tinker Bell were more irritating than endearing.

One of our longest discussions centered on Peter himself. Rather than seeing him as a charming hero, many of us were struck by his darker qualities: his selfishness, emotional immaturity, forgetfulness, and inability to form lasting relationships. This led to a conversation about how some of these traits can also be recognised in people we encounter in real life and even in certain public figures.

Many members were also surprised by how brutal and uncompromising the novel could be, especially considering its reputation as a children's classic. We first explored what Neverland might represent before talking about Captain Hook and the significance of the pirates in the story. We discussed why pirates held such a strong appeal for readers of Barrie's time, ideas of loyalty to the Crown, and how these themes might have been understood when the book was first published.

The portrayal of women and children in the novel came up, especially how much they reflected the values of the time. The parents, especially the father, were seen as exaggerated caricatures, although there was also some discussion about whether this reflects British upper-middle-class attitudes of the time. It was also mentioned that dogs sometimes had a similar 'nanny' role with children in real life, which adds another layer to Nana’s character.

We also talked about Barrie's own life and its influence on the novel. We discussed the death of his older brother when Barrie was six years old, which may have influenced his writing and his ideas about eternal childhood. We also discussed why he wrote Peter Pan in the first place, including whether it was meant as satire aimed at adults. Many of the adventures also originated as stories he improvised for family friends' children, which may help explain why the novel feels so episodic.

Whether members enjoyed the novel or not, there was broad agreement that Peter Pan is far more complex than its reputation suggests. Most of us came into the discussion expecting a fairly straightforward fantasy story, but we ended up discussing far more topics than we had expected, from Peter's personality and Barrie's own life to pirates, symbolism, and the society in which the novel was written.

As we often do in our discussions, we also looked for connections to other books we have read. This time our conversation brought up Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which we have previously read together, as well as Astrid Lindgren's children's books and Treasure Island."

Thanks to Karin, our group leader, for this report.

And another comment:

"What a pleasure to reread Peter Pan, a book which has followed me all my life. It has taken me through the love of adventure in my childhood, the dawning of second wave feminism in my adolescence, the later growing Canadian awareness of racism against indigenous peoples, the enchantment of my own children , and lately, insight into the characters of those who unduly influence so much of the world. It has always been a challenge for me to embrace the cultural contradictions in this well-loved book that grew up with me even if Peter didn't. Now my book is falling apart, but it continues to reveal. This latest reading showed me an appreciation of Barrie's nuanced comments and attitudes. I think he had a much deeper understanding of prejudices and cultural stereotypes than I had realized."

Lately, I have not been very pleased with our online book club reads, I hope this is going to improve soon. I know our group choses different kind of books from other book clubs but that is the attraction of it, I have found a few interesting ones that I would never have come across without this group.

This was our international online book club read for June 2026.

From the back cover:

"From the moment when Peter Pan and his irritable fairy friend Tinker Bell fly in through the nursery window, the story casts a magic spell. The Darling children are carried away to the Neverland where they meet the Lost Boys, watch shy mermaids playing in the blue lagoon and encounter Capain Hook and his wicked pirate band...

Peter Pan is one of the most popular of all children’s classics.  It blends autobiography, fancy, Oedipal myth and fantasy so satisfyingly that, like Alice in Wonderland, its child’s world appeals and intrigues on many levels."