Tartt, Donna "The Secret History"

Tartt, Donna "The Secret History" - 1992

"The Secret History" has been on my wishlist ever since I read "The Goldfinch". And this year, I finally got to it. 

And a very impressive story it is. But it's difficult to get into details without giving out spoilers. Just this much. A group of students does something really bad and can only get out of it by doing something even worse. The characters are not really likeable but they get under your skin. You can't follow their actions but somehow you can.

A challenging book that will probably stay with me forever.

Quotes

on migraines:
"Henry, flat on his back in a dark room, ice packs on his head and a handkerchief tied over his eyes.

'I don't get them so often as I once did. When I was thirteen or fourteen I had them all the time. But not it seems that when tey do come - sometimes only once a year - they're much worse. ...'"

on death:
"Is death really so terrible a thing? It seems terrible to you, because you are young, ... It does not do to be frightened of things you know nothing ..."

From the back cover:

"Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and for ever."

Dickens, Charles "Nicholas Nickleby"

Dickens, Charles "Nicholas Nickleby. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby" - 1838/39

For the Classics Spin #39, we received #3 and this was my novel.

I have read most of the books by Charles Dickens by now but there are still a few left. So, I was happy that this number got drawn. So, here was the chance to devour one more of his fabulous books.

And fabulous it was. It had everything a Dickens novel needs: villains and virtues, rogues and good people, a helicopter mother from the Georgian era, just a caleidoscope of people from his time with lots of intrigues. Not to forget the great names he gives his characters: The Cheerybles, The Crummles, Sir Mulberry Hawk, Newman Noggs, Peg Sliderskew, Wackford Squeers, one of them funnier than the last.

Of course, this is a novel against social injustice. And while we might think that is better today, some things never change.

Obviously, a lot happens in the story, much of it is already given in the synopsis, so I wouldn't want to add to that in order not to spoil it for the first-time readers. Therefore, I finish with a quote from Oscar Wilde (in "The Importance of Being Earnest"): "The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means".

From the back cover:

"When Nicholas Nickleby is left penniless after his father's death, he appeals to his wealthy uncle to help him find work and to protect his mother and sister. But Ralph Nickleby proves both hard-hearted and unscrupulous, and Nicholas finds himself forced to make his own way in the world. His adventures gave Dickens the opportunity to portray an extraordinary gallery of rogues and eccentrics, such as Wackford Squeers, the tyrannical headmaster of Dotheboys Hall, a school for unwanted boys; the slow-witted orphan Smike, rescued by Nicholas; and the gloriously theatrical Mr. and Mrs. Crummles and their daughter, the 'infant phenomenon'. Like many of Dickens's novels, Nicholas Nickleby is characterised by his outrage at cruelty and social injustice, but it is also a flamboyantly exuberant work, revealing his comic genius at its most unerring."

Here are all the books on my original Classics Club list.
And here is a list of all the books I read with the Classics Spin.

Tevis, Walter "The Queen's Gambit"

Tevis, Walter "The Queen's Gambit" - 1983

We read this in our international online book club in November 2024.

I knew there was a TV series with that title and I thought this might be interesting.

Well, it wasn't. I know how to play chess but this was too professional for me. Someone who doesn't play chess at all might get bored even quickly. There was too much talk about the game, too many details.

And while I felt sorry for the little orphan, I didn't like the person she grew into, a selfish, addicted girl, too many drugs, too much sex, just not my thing. And none of the other characters were lovable, either, except for maybe the caretaker who teaches chess to Beth.

Comments by other members:

• I started listening to the audiobook, I even tried two different narrators but couldn't really get into the story. I will try reading it at some point, but right now I have too much else going on.
• I ended up hearing it as audiobook and it was an excellent listening experience. The different themes like addiction, family traumas and relationships were very lightly touched, but made for an easy entertaining experience. I got quite into the different chess-drama and main characters internal monologue about the games despite knowing nothing much about chess. Would recommend and considering giving the TV series a chance based on how much I enjoyed the book.
• At first I did feel some frustration that the book only skimmed, for example; the relationship with the children's home staff, adoptive parents, and her relationships with other chess players and eventually the issue about addiction and how to deal with it... I do not believe having a not-that-close old friend take you to the gym, to in any way solve the issue. Other subjects: Giftedness in children and adults, and gender equality in life and sports, religion, etc. But then I thought, if the book had gone deeper into these issues then it wouldn't have been a book about chess at all. And not that kind of easy read about chess at all, and learning and competing and winning.
• I started listening to the audiobook, I even tried two different narrators but couldn't really get into the story. I will try reading it at some point, but right now I have too much else going on.

From the back cover:

"When she is sent to an orphanage at the age of eight, Beth Harmon soon discovers two ways to escape her surroundings, albeit fleetingly: playing chess and taking the little green pills given to her and the other children to keep them subdued. Before long, it becomes apparent that hers is a prodigious talent, and as she progresses to the top of the US chess rankings she is able to forge a new life for herself. But she can never quite overcome her urge to self-destruct. For Beth, there’s more at stake than merely winning and losing."

Herrndorf, Wolfgang "Why We Took the Car"

Herrndorf, Wolfgang "Why We Took the Car" (German: tschick) - 2010

My book club recommended this book to me; they had read it some time ago.

Two boys from different backgrounds but with a similar fate. And both outsiders.

I found the novel very entertaining, but also very compassionate. You could both laugh and cry at the experiences of the two.

What can I say, it was really a great reading experience.

From the back cover:

"A beautifully written, darkly funny coming-of-age story from an award-winning, bestselling German author

Mike Klingenberg isn’t exactly one of the cool kids at his school. For one, he doesn’t have many friends. (Okay, zero friends.) And everyone laughs when he has to read his essays out loud in class. And he’s never, ever invited to parties — especially not the party of the year, thrown by the gorgeous Tatiana.

Andrej Tschichatschow, aka Tschick (not even the teachers can pronounce his name), is new in school, and unpopular as well, but in a completely different way. He always looks like he’s just been in a fight, he sleeps through nearly every class, and his clothes are tragic.

But one day, out of the blue, Tschick shows up at Mike’s house. It turns out he wasn’t invited to Tatiana’s party either, and he’s ready to do something about it. Forget the popular kids — together, Mike and Tschick are heading out on a road trip across Germany. No parents, no map, no destination. Will they get hopelessly lost in the middle of nowhere? Probably. Will they make bad decisions, meet some crazy people, and get into trouble? Definitely. But will anyone ever call them boring again?

Not a chance."

Kingsolver, Barbara "Demon Copperhead"

Kingsolver, Barbara "Demon Copperhead" - 2022

I must have mentioned this a hundred times. I'm a huge Charles Dickens fan. I really love Barbara Kingsolver's books, so this was just the book for me, a modern version of my favourite Dickens book, "David Copperfield".

I am not necessarily a fan of rewritten classics. I always say, authors should have their own idea for a story and not pick up that of another one. However, this is just a story that deserves to be picked up and looked upon with fresh eyes. It's easy to say that was so long ago and isn't part of our lives anymore. But what if it is?

Barbara Kingsolver managed it perfectly to transform the story into the 21st century. We follow Demon aka David through his sad life where he slides from one problematic situation to the next - or is pushed.

So, even if you know "David Copperfield" inside out and know exactly what must be coming next, it still is a highly suspenseful novel, or maybe even because of that. You know what is coming but you wonder how she transformed the story. Brilliant.

I think this gives us a good view about today's problems, even in so-called first world countries, and a lot to think about. Something that Barbara Kingsolver does so well.

This might even become my favourite book of the year.

From the back cover:

"Demon's story begins with his traumatic birth to a single mother in a single-wide trailer, looking 'like a little blue prizefighter.' For the life ahead of him he would need all of that fighting spirit, along with buckets of charm, a quick wit, and some unexpected talents, legal and otherwise.

In the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, poverty isn't an idea, it's as natural as the grass grows. For a generation growing up in this world, at the heart of the modern opioid crisis, addiction isn't an abstraction, it's neighbours, parents, and friends. 'Family' could mean love, or reluctant foster care. For Demon, born on the wrong side of luck, the affection and safety he craves is as remote as the ocean he dreams of seeing one day. The wonder is in how far he's willing to travel to try and get there.

Suffused with truth, anger and compassion, Demon Copperhead is an epic tale of love, loss and everything in between."

Smith, Dodie "I Capture the Castle"

Smith, Dodie "I Capture the Castle" - 1948

Every month I participate in the challenge "Six Degrees of Separation". We always get a starter book and then go and find another book that links to it and so forth. Hardly ever have I read the starter book and often it is too late to get it or I am not interested. But this has been on my wishlist for ages, so I decided I should read it

I'm afraid I did not like it very much. The protagonist is a 17 year old girl who writes her journal. And that's exactly how it sounds, as if a 17 year old girl would have written it. And not a smart 17 year old girl who writes well, just a girl who adds one sentence after the other out of boredom.

I have no idea why so many people seem to like this. It reminded me of "Cold Comfort Farm", everyone praised the book but I just couldn't find anything in it that entertained me.

From the back cover:

"Through six turbulent months of 1934, 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain keeps a journal, filling three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries about her home, a ruined Suffolk castle, and her eccentric and penniless family. By the time the last diary shuts, there have been great changes in the Mortmain household, not the least of which is that Cassandra is deeply, hopelessly, in love."

Dangarembga, Tsitsi "Nervous Conditions"

Dangarembga, Tsitsi "Nervous Conditions" - 1988

The first line "I was not sorry when my brother died" should be included in the best first lines list.

This story gives us a glimpse into the life of 13-year-old Tambudzei, a girl from Zimbabwe, then called Rhodesia, in the 1960s. One rarely reads books by African women. The author was born in 1945 and can report on the traditional structures in which only men count. The novel is semi-autobiographical. The protagonist is clever and wishes to use her intelligence elsewhere than in the kitchen and in the nursery. Her cousin, who spent part of her childhood in England, further contributes to Tambu's hunger for education.

A fantastic book that describes the situation of women in almost every society. Yes, here too, unfortunately, there is still a difference whether you are born a man or a woman and in a rich or poor household.

I definitely want to read the other two books in this trilogy: The Book of Not and This Mournable Body.

From the back cover:

"Two decades before Zimbabwe would win independence and ended white minority rule, thirteen-year-old Tambudzai Sigauke embarks on her education. On her shoulders rest the economic hopes of her parents, siblings, and extended family, and within her burns the desire for independence. A timeless coming-of-age tale, and a powerful exploration of cultural imperialism, Nervous Conditions charts Tambu's journey to personhood in a nation that is also emerging."

"…the story I have told here is my own story, the story of four women I have loved and the story of our husbands; it is the story of how it all began." Tsitsi Dangarembga

"This novel is an excellent portrayal and interpretation of an African society whose younger generation of women is struggling, with varying degrees of success (to the point of near defeat), to free society from being dominated by patriarchy and colonialism. There has never been a convincing account of anorexia in African literature." Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Literatur aus Afrika, Asien und Lateinamerika e.V. (Society for the Promotion of Literature from Africa, Asia and Latin America e.V.)

The German translation is by Ilja Trojanow, a really good author, so it should be a good one.

"Nervous Conditions" was named one of the 100 best books that shaped the world by the BBC in 2021.

The book received the 1989 Commonwealth Writers Prize for best first work for the African region.

Tsitsi Dangarembga received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (Friedenspreis) in 2021.
The jury's explanation read: "In her trilogy of novels, Tsitsi Dangarembga uses the example of an adolescent woman to describe the struggle for the right to a decent life and female self-determination in Zimbabwe. In doing so, she shows social and moral conflicts that go far beyond the regional context go out and open up resonance spaces for global questions of justice. In her films, she addresses problems that arise from the clash of tradition and modernity. Her messages are successfully aimed at a broad audience both in Zimbabwe and in neighboring countries."

Another African writer whose books I read and can happily recommend is:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
"Half of a Yellow Sun" - Die Hälfte der Sonne - 2006
"Americanah" - Americanah - 2013
"We Should All Be Feminists" (Mehr Feminismus! Ein Manifest und vier Stories) - 2014

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship"

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship" (German: Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre) - 1795/96

I love classic literature and I love chunky tomes. So this would actually be the perfect book for me. I was very pleased when my reading group chose it for our summer reading.

But I didn't feel very comfortable with the book from the start. The whole story seems interesting, but somehow the author (Goethe!!!) fails to bring the characters to life. It's far too excessive, a number of topics are touched on that have little to do with the story. One could quickly regard it as a philosophical work if it weren't for the story of Wilhelm and his theatre people.

I know that this text is very important, not only for German literature but in general, but I just couldn't make friends with Wilhelm Meister. I can only agree with one other blogger who thought he was sexist. It was probably like that at the time, but that still doesn't mean you have to like it.

All in all, a classic that I will definitely not read again. Too bad.

When I was halfway through the book, the first members of the reading group asked if we wouldn't rather read something else. Instead, we opted for Bernhard Schlink's "Abschiedsfarben" [Colours of Goodbye] which wasn't a bad idea.

In the meeting in September 2022, all members were of the same opinion, as well. The word "waffling" was mentioned.

Book Description:

"Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, a novel of self-realization greatly admired by the Romantics, has been called the first Bildungsroman and has had a tremendous influence on the history of the German novel. The story centers on Wilhelm, a young man living in the mid-1700s who strives to break free from the restrictive world of economics and seeks fulfillment as an actor and playwright. Along with Eric Blackall's fresh translation of the work, this edition contains notes and an afterword by the translator that aims to put this novel into historical and artistic perspective for twentieth-century readers while showing how it defies categorization."

Némirovsky, Irène "La Proie"

Némirovsky, Irène "La Proie" [The Prey] - 1938

I'm amazed how someone can write such a brilliant book in times of trouble. Granted, the Nazis hadn't come to power, yet, but there was so much anti-Semitism all over Europe that any Jew must have been worried, especially those with such a sensitive understanding of the world like the author.

Irène Némirovsky was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, then Russia. Her family fled to France during the Russian Revolution but they never received French citizenship. She was Jewish but converted to Catholicism. Not that it helped her. She was deported to Auschwitz and died there in 1942, aged 39.

"La Proie" (The Prey) is not about anything like that. It's about the life of Jean-Luc Daguerne who marries a rich heiress in order to move up in life. His dreams and plans his successes and failures. He rises in society both politically and financially but he doesn't care much about his wife, family, relationship to friends and colleagues.

I don't want to tell much more about the story in order not to give too much away. Unfortunately, the book has only been translated into very few languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, so similar languages) but should you speak French, I can heartily recommend this relatively short novel.

Book description (translated):

"'Nothing is more bitter than to see superhuman efforts yield so little happiness. There is only one possible consolation: to say to oneself that there is no happiness.' Published for the first time in 1938, this novel with Stendhalian accents recounts the social rise and then the fall of an ambitious young man, Jean-Luc Daguerne, that love for his beautiful will lead to his loss. On this proven plot, Irène Némirovsky makes the words dance with humor and brilliantly plays with human passions and the cruelties of fate. But this Prey nevertheless owes a lot to the Roaring Twenties, their tragic energy, their shattered hopes. It is this frantic race towards the abyss that makes them modern."

And from another edition:

"Portrait of a Julien Sorel * of the 1930s against a backdrop of economic crisis, rising unemployment and widespread anxiety, La Proie is the novel of a world that is tottering. A tragic love story, this intimate and cruel tale traces the rise and fall of a young man of humble origins. Betrayed by the beloved woman, after having lived a pure passion with the heiress of a dynasty of bankers, he decides to take his revenge. But can we force fate? A mixture of recklessness and seriousness, of impatience with the future and lightness of living, as often with Irène Némirovsky, La Proie is a restless and lucid novel that bears the imprint of this great writer, crowned posthumously by the 2004 Renaudot Prize for French Suite."

* from "Le Rouge et le Noir" (The Red and the Black) by Stendhal, 1830.



I read this as part of my Paris in July experience and to add another classic novel to my Classic Spin list.

I also read "Suite Française"

Miura, Shion "The Easy Life in Kamusari"

Miura, Shion "The Easy Life in Kamusari" (Japanese: 神去なあなあ日常 Kamusari nānā nichijō) - 2009

We read this in our international online book club in May 2022.

I doubt I would have picked up the book otherwise. I have read plenty of books about young people who are sent somewhere and then their whole life turns around, it sounded like chick lit for teens.

But it was alright. Not a great book but not that bad, either. There is a little about Japanese mythology and beliefs, that's always interesting.

The author has a nice and pleasing writing style. It was a quick read but nothing remarkable. Apparently, this is book #1 in "The Forest Series". I doubt I will read the second one.

Comments from some other members:

• I think this was an easy and pleasant nature and coming of age story. One has to take it for what it is though, good light summer reading without any real dangers or drama. In the book there were many opportunities for a more serious and dramatic story.
• I think part of that is down to the fact that it is actually the first of a trilogy, so this book is in fact only the introduction. Having recently read "Story" and currently reading "The 7 Basic Plots" for college, I foresee a crisis happening in Book 2 that will be resolved in Book 3. Although I'm not planning to read either of them, so I won't find out if I'm right or not. (True, this is the beginning of a trilogy, I still would like to have a "complete" book if it is published as a book and I can't buy all three at the same time.)
• The value of "The Easy Life in Kamusari" lies in the imagining of a way of life closer to the earth, respecting it, and working in partnership with it. This orientation is one we all need to learn and to live if we want to continue to live on this planet. This is important for all ages as it presents the most profound drama of our age. The book is also a light, enjoyable summer read. I read it in an area of staggering beauty, inhaling the scent of cedars beside me, on my deck in Canada. The truth of the land itself is very difficult to convey and this book does it well.

From the back cover:

"From Shion Miura, the award-winning author of The Great Passage, comes a rapturous novel where the contemporary and the traditional meet amid the splendor of Japan’s mountain way of life.

Yuki Hirano is just out of high school when his parents enroll him, against his will, in a forestry training program in the remote mountain village of Kamusari. No phone, no internet, no shopping. Just a small, inviting community where the most common expression is 'take it easy.'

At first, Yuki is exhausted, fumbles with the tools, asks silly questions, and feels like an outcast. Kamusari is the last place a city boy from Yokohama wants to spend a year of his life. But as resistant as he might be, the scent of the cedars and the staggering beauty of the region have a pull.

Yuki learns to fell trees and plant saplings. He begins to embrace local festivals, he’s mesmerized by legends of the mountain, and he might be falling in love. In learning to respect the forest on Mt. Kamusari for its majestic qualities and its inexplicable secrets, Yuki starts to appreciate Kamusari’s harmony with nature and its ancient traditions.

In this warm and lively coming-of-age story, Miura transports us from the trappings of city life to the trials, mysteries, and delights of a mythical mountain forest."

Lawson, Mary "A Town Called Solace"

Lawson, Mary "A Town Called Solace" - 2021

I've been looking forward for this book to appear as a paperback for as long as it has been announced to be published. I have read all of Mary Lawson's books and this one was just as excellent as all her others. She has been recommended to me a long time ago by a dear Canadian friend who also was called Mary and who has passed away since. So, reading her books always reminds me of my friend (not that I need a special reminder).

I thought the story was captivating, one of the rare books where I was really tempted to read further toward the end because I wanted to know what's going to happen. But I know how much that spoils the enjoyment of a book so I never give in.

Three people tell their stories. At the beginning, they don't seem to have much in common. Seven year old Clara is Elizabeth's neighbour and looks after her cat while the elderly woman is in hospital. Liam knew Elizabeth when he was little, or rather the other way around because he doesn't seem to remember much about that time.

Life in small town "Solace" isn't as picturesque as some people want to describe life in those places. And so, all three of them have to handle their problems.

Nobody in Mary Lawson's exceptionally good novels seems to be without problems, and that makes her stories so believable. You get to know the characters so well because she has a unique way of portraying them. You can't but like Clara, Elizabeth and Liam. And dislike those a little bit who make their lives so difficult. Reading this book is almost like living there yourself.

Through her stories, these characters and their town come to life. She writes thought-provoking novels. I hope she'll continue doing this for a long time.

From the back cover:

"Clara's rebellious older sister is missing. Grief-stricken and bewildered, she yearns to uncover the truth about what happened.

Liam, newly divorced and newly unemployed, moves into the house next door and within hours gets a visit from the police.

Elizabeth is thinking about a crime committed thirty years ago, one that had tragic consequences for two families. She desperately wants to make amends before she dies."

This book was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2021. It certainly would have deserved the prize but I believe the Booker people have another way of choosing their winners as I would.

Hesse, Hermann "Narcissus and Goldmund"

Hesse, Hermann "Narcissus and Goldmund" (German: Narziss und Goldmund) - 1930

A friend of mine was surprised that I never read this book. Well, we can't have read all the books available and I had read three other books by Hermann Hesse before. Still, she had a DVD of the film they made in 2020 (see here) and then she lent me her copy of the book. Thanks, Elisabeth.

They are both great works though, as so often with films, you cannot compare the two. The ending is pretty different and there are parts that are larger in the book than in the film and vice versa. Why do they always have to do that? I have no idea.

This is a much acclaimed book and supposedly one of Hesse's best. I can well understand that. It is a great novel with many layers and much information about life in the middle ages.

I have enjoyed the book very much though I find it hard to say why. Certainly, the writing is superb and the description not just of the two main characters but also all the other ones is fantastic. Maybe I just say it's magical and - like magic - not explainable.

Of course, I cannot vouch for any translations as I have read this book in the original German language.

From the back cover:

"Narcissus and Goldmund is the story of two diametrically opposite men: one, an ascetic monk firm in his religious commitment, and the other, a romantic youth hungry for worldly experience. Hesse was a great writer in precisely the modern sense: complex, subtle, allusive: alive to the importance of play. Narcissus and Goldmund is his very best. What makes this short book so limitlessly vast is the body-and-soul-shaking debate that runs through it, which it has the honesty and courage not to resolve: between the flesh and spirit, art and scientific or religious speculation, action and contemplation."

And another one:

"Narcissus is a teacher at Mariabronn, a monastery in medieval Germany, and Goldmund his favourite pupil. While Narcissus remains detached from the world in prayer and meditation, Goldmund runs away from the monstery in pursuit of love. Thereafter he lives a picaresque wanderer's life, his amatory adventures resulting in pain as well as ecstasy. His eventual reunion with Narcissus brings into focus the diversity between artist and thinker, Dionysian and Apollonian".

Hermann Hesse received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946 "for his inspired writings which, while growing in boldness and penetration, exemplify the classical humanitarian ideals and high qualities of style".

Hermann Hesse received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (Friedenspreis) in 1955.

I contribute to this page: Read the Nobels and you can find all my blogs about Nobel Prize winning authors and their books here.

Khorsandi, Shappi "Nina is Not OK"

Khorsandi, Shappi "Nina is Not OK" - 2016

Shaparak "Shappi" Khorsandi is an Iranian-born British comedian and author. I've known her from various British panel and quiz shows and I think she is absolutely fabulous.

So, when her memoir "A Beginner's Guide to English" was published, I really wanted to read it and found it just as great as the comedian herself. Then I learned that she had also written a novel "Nina is Not OK". Without even looking at the content (which I hardly ever do), I bought the book and started reading.

At first I was disappointed. Nina, the protagonist, came across as one of those heroines from chick lit novels. Superficial and dumb. If she had been blonde, she would have been the best example for the kind of girls that are always seem to populate those novels.

But, after a little while, the novel begins to grow on you. This is not a superficial book about some stupid teenagers, this is a book that deals with many problem topics. You can tell at times that the author has a great sense of humour though this is not a funny book. But I started to like the characters very much, not all of them, of course, otherwise there would be no problems and this book would never have been written. But there are not only accusations but also trials to solve some of those problems.

Some horrible things happen in this novel and I'm sure it's too much for some readers but the scenes had to be included in order to understand what was going on. Alcoholism in a family and sexual abuse are the worst things but it's not all.

While the mother's feelings are not portrayed as much as those of Nina, I think mothers can very well understand the nightmares they all go through, not just Nina. And if you didn't think alcoholism was an illness before, you will certainly understand those people better after reading this book. And hopefully not make the same mistakes everyone around Nina made.

I don't like alcohol, so I always find it hard to understand how someone can drink so much. It's not that I judge them, I just can't follow personally. I've had to take so much medication in my life that I am always afraid I get addicted to some of them. I do think that this book helps to understand people who are afflicted with this illness.

I hope Shappi Khorsandi will write more books. This one was fabulous.

From the back cover:

"Nina does not have a drinking problem. She likes a drink, sure. But what 17-year-old doesn’t?

And if she sometimes wakes up with little memory of what happened the night before , then her friends are all too happy to fill in the blanks. Nina’s drunken exploits are the stuff of college legend.

But then one dark Sunday morning, even her friends can’t help piece together Saturday night. All Nina feels is a deep sense of shame, that something very bad has happened to her…"

Dickens, Charles "The Old Curiosity Shop"

Dickens, Charles "The Old Curiosity Shop" - 1840

When I mentioned to another blogger that I was just reading this book, he said that it "… was not one of my favorite Dickens, but that's a high bar, I still enjoyed it." Now that I just finished it, I can say that he put my thoughts into words. It's definitely not my favourite, that's still David Copperfield, but I have yet to read a book by Charles Dickens I don't enjoy.

The enjoyment of reading wasn't improved by the copy I had, an A4 sized cheap reprint (letter size in the US). Well, it couldn't be helped. It taught me to look for the size of an edition when ordering books online.

Funnily enough, this is supposed to be the most popular of Dickens' books during his lifetime. As it says on the cover, readers in New York even stormed the ship bringing the final instalment. Reminds me of Harry Potter today. Wow! This that not all tales stand the test of time equally well.

However, as with all books by Dickens, he observed his surrounding so well and could describe it so you are transformed to his world that it is definitely worth reading. Especially if you like classics. And chunky books.

I still have a few to go and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on them.

From the back cover:

"The Old Curiosity Shop is a novel by Charles Dickens. The plot follows the life of Nell Trent and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London. The Old Curiosity Shop was one of two novels (the other being Barnaby Rudge) which Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial Master Humphrey's Clock, which lasted from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York readers stormed the wharf when the ship bearing the final instalment arrived in 1841. The Old Curiosity Shop was printed in book form in 1841."

Myers, Benjamin "The Offing"

Myers, Benjamin "The Offing" - 2019

The latest "Favourite Book of the Independents" was announced and it was "The Offing". I had seen it in a bookshop and thought it sounded interesting but because my TBR pile keeps growing and growing, I hadn't bought it. This is the one time where I am glad that I can't borrow English books in my new home town because now I own it. It's definitely a keeper.

I'm glad this received the prize because so far, "Where the Crawdads Sing" (which had received last year's prize), had been my favourite book of the year. I think it has been replaced with this one.

Robert is only sixteen years old. He is to follow his dad as a coal miner, like every other young boy in his village in Durham in the Northern part of England. World War II has just ended and Robert wants to see a little from the world. Post-war England isn't exactly a dream but him being strong and many men missing, he finds jobs here and there and then carries on into the next village.

Until he hits the sea in Yorkshire and Dulcie's cottage. Dulcie is older, a lot older than Robert, lives alone but has had an interesting life. She shares her experience with the young foundling, gets him interested in literature and shows him that there is a lot more out there in life than what his village back home has to offer.

This is a brilliant book about so many things, England and Europe, the ocean, literature, poetry, the simple life, nature. He writes it as a sort of memoir from when he himself is old.

It already starts with a great quote: "For no one really wins a war: some just lose a little less than others." I don't understand how people don't get it.

To just show you his brilliant use of language, here's one of his nature descriptions.
"The land flowed forward now in a grassy tessellation of fields farmed and grazed, and divided by dusty tracks and densely packed tree-covered glades."

This book is just beautifully written. A fantastic example of great literature.

The author is from Durham himself. He has received many prestigious prizes already. I'll have to read more of his books.

From the back cover:

"'After all, there are only a few things truly worth fighting for: freedom, of course, and all that it brings with it. Poetry, perhaps, and a good glass of wine. A nice meal. Nature. Love, if you're lucky.'

One summer following the Second World War, Robert Appleyard sets out on foot from his Durham village. Sixteen and the son of a coal miner, he makes his way across the northern countryside until he reaches the former smuggling village of Robin Hood’s Bay. There he meets Dulcie, an eccentric, worldly, older woman who lives in a ramshackle cottage facing out to sea. - and she introduces him to the pleasures of rich food, sea-swimming, sunburn and poetry. The two come from different worlds, yet as the summer months pass, they form an unlikely friendship that will profoundly alter their lives.

From the Walter Scott Prize-winning author of The Gallows Pole comes a powerful new novel about an unlikely friendship between a young man and an older woman, set in the former smuggling village of Robin Hood’s Bay in the aftermath of the Second World War."


"The Offing" has been chosen favourite book of the year 2020 by the German Indepent Bookshops.

Whitehead, Colson "The Nickel Boys"

Whitehead, Colson "The Nickel Boys" - 2019

After having read his first Pulitzer Prize win "Underground Railroad", I was thrilled to hear that Colson Whitehead received this award for the second time. Deservedly, very deservedly.

Since I really enjoyed his last book, I knew I'd have to read this one, as well. It certainly was worth it. This is not only a story of a young black boy growing up in the sixties or a book about what happens to young delinquents when they get caught. No, this is the story about how you have no chance in life if you are born with the wrong colour. You get condemned for something you have not done and from there on it goes downhill. And nobody will help you to get up again.

I have read a lot of books about racism (see in my list "Anti-Racism") and prejudices and a lot of time you can experience what those who are condemned suffer. But Colin Whitehead has made it a lot clearer, almost as if you are in Elwood Curtis' position yourself. The details are so well written, you are there with the protagonist.

The judges called the novel "a spare and devastating exploration of abuse at a reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida that is ultimately a powerful tale of human perseverance, dignity and redemption." Well said, very precise. Such a painful account of the life so many people still have to endure

A deep story that will leave nobody who has read it.

Colson Whitehead received the Pulitzer Prize for "The Nickel Boys" in 2020. He is one of only four recipients who were awarded the prize twice.

From the back cover:

"Elwood Curtis knows he is as good as anyone - growing up in 1960s Florida, he has taken the words of Dr Martin Luther King to heart. He is about to enrol in the local black college, determined to make something of himself.  But given the time and the place, one innocent mistake is all it takes to destroy his future.  Instead of embarking on a college education, Elwood arrive at the Nickel Academy, a segregated reform school claiming to provide an education which will equip its inmates to become 'honourable and honest men'.

In reality, the Nickel Academy is a nightmarish upside-down world, where any boy who resists the corrupt depravity of the authorities is likely to disappear 'out back'.  Elwood tries to hold on to Dr King's ringing assertion: 'Throw us in jail, and we will still love you.' But Elwood's fellow inmate and new friend Turner thinks Elwood naïve and worse; the world is crooked, and the only way to survive is to emulate the cruelty and cynicism of their oppressors.

When Elwood's idealism and Turner's scepticism collide, the result has decades-long repercussions.  The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven novel by a great American writer whose clear-sighted and humane storytelling continues to illuminate our current reality."

Owens, Delia "Where the Crawdads Sing"

Owens, Delia "Where the Crawdads Sing" - 2018

This book has been recommended to me by so many friends and even though my TBR pile is growing constantly, I just had to pick it up when I came across it in a local bookshop. The choice of English books there isn't always great, so this already says a lot. I'm usually very sceptical about books that everyone praises because I don't often like them but this was different.

I think reviewing this book is one of the toughest I ever had to do. I don't want to spoil it for anyone but it's not easy to write about it after you read it all. I should have written my review before reading the last chapter.

Anyway, a great story about Kya, a girl that is left all alone by her family, one after the other leaves and she has to fend for herself at the age of nine. The villagers don't look favourable at her, to say it mildly.

In a way, there are two stories, one when Kya is a child and one when she is 19 and a murder has happened. Needless to say, it doesn't take long until she is the main suspect. The two stories are told alternately until they eventually merge together. I love that way of storytelling.

We get to know Kya not only as a very resourceful person, very down to earth, but also as a wonderful artist who gets her rightful acknowledgement in the end

I will now go on talking about the rest of the book in the spoiler section. If you have not read the book, don't open it.

Spoiler:

In case you disregarded this. Didn't I say? Don't open it if you haven't read it!!!! Don't blame me if I spoiled the book for you.

Like everyone else, I've been wondering all the time how and why Chase died. Was it an accident? Was it someone else? Was it Kya after all? If you read the book, you know how it ends. Was I surprised? Not really. But it still came as a huge shock. I don't think I could ever commit a murder but sometimes I come close to understanding the killer. This is one of those cases. What I did not understand was why Tate destroyed all the poems. That's definitely something I could not have done. And it is a pity that this was simply left out in the film. I did think it was important.

* * *

If you look for a page-turner, an unputdownable book, I can heartily recommend this one. I hope Delia Owens will write more books. Maybe I'll try one of her memoirs, "Cry of the Kalahari", "The Eye of the Elephant", or "Secrets of the Savanna".

From the back cover:

"How long can you protect your heart? 

For years, rumors of the 'Marsh Girl' have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life - until the unthinkable happens.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps."

"Where the Crawdads Sing" has been chosen favourite book of the year 2019 by the German Indepent Bookshops.

Stendhal "Le Rouge et le Noir"

Stendhal "The Read and the Black" (French: Le Rouge et le Noir) - 1830

I had meant to read this novel for ages. Then I found it on one of those book swapping shelves I like to visit.

Now, the last couple of months, I didn't take part in the classics spin because I was already reading a few enormous ones. And this time, I almost missed it. I hadn't seen the post when the result was announced (#6), so I just used my old list and it was this novel. Two birds with one stone, I'd say.

The author, Henri-Marie Beyle, took the pseudonym Stendhal after the German city Stendal near Braunschweig where he used to live for a while.

Of course, I'm not as used to reading French books as I am reading German or English ones, so it took me a little longer to finish it.

Whilst I couldn't warm to any of the characters in the story, the idea behind it is great. It explains France at the time of the Napoleonic wars and after. The changes in society. The red stands for politics, the world, the soldiers, the black for the opposite, religion, forsaking the world, priests). The juxtaposition of these and the ordinary life beside it is probably what made this book a classic.

Julien Sorel, the protagonist, is too clever for his own good. He grew up at a time where you just weren't smart if you didn't have parents who could place you somewhere your intelligence was needed. That was probably his biggest problem. He wanted to be a soldier but it was too late for him to join Napoleon and his troops. His decision to become a priest didn't really agree with his view of the world, either. Well, these situations still exist and it is always difficult to rise from the kind of society you were born into. For women probably even more than for men. But here we go. We see a guy who tries.

If you are much interested in classics and would like to learn about this era, I can wholly recommend this book.

From the back cover:

"Handsome, ambitious Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his humble provincial origins. Soon realizing that success can only be achieved by adopting the subtle code of hypocrisy by which society operates, he begins to achieve advancement through deceit and self-interest. His triumphant career takes him into the heart of glamorous Parisian society, along the way conquering the gentle, married Madame de Rênal, and the haughty Mathilde. But then Julien commits an unexpected, devastating crime - and brings about his own downfall. The Red and the Black is a lively, satirical portrayal of French society after Waterloo, riddled with corruption, greed, and ennui, and Julien - the cold exploiter whose Machiavellian campaign is undercut by his own emotions - is one of the most intriguing characters in European literature."

Here are all the books on my original Classics Club list.
And here is a list of all the books I read with the Classics Spin.

Giordano, Paolo "The Solitude of Prime Numbers"

Giordano, Paolo "The Solitude of Prime Numbers" (Italian: La solitudine dei numeri primi) - 2008

When I saw the title of this book, I thought it might be a book about mathematics or at least a novel about mathematics. Well, it's a novel about a mathematician. Not exactly the same but it was a very interesting story and I can see why the author received the highly renowned Premio Strega and the Premio Campiello for this first novel. They even turned it into a film and I can see that it gets a wide audience.

It's difficult to describe this book, and that's probably what makes it so interesting. There are twins in this story and people who are almost like twins. It's not really a love story but there is love involved. It's not a story about (mental) illness and/or death but that's involved, as well. The story jumps back and forth in time by telling us the stories of Mattia and Alice.

The title alludes to the fact that prime numbers are natural numbers that are divided only with number 1 and itself. They never stand together, are always divided by at least one (even) number, so they are always alone.

A brilliant first novel, makes you want to read his next ones.

From the back cover:

"A prime number can only be divided by itself or by one - it never truly fits with another. Alice and Mattia, both 'primes', are misfits who seem destined to be alone. Haunted by childhood tragedies that mark their lives, they cannot reach out to anyone else. When Alice and Mattia meet as teenagers, they recognize in each other a kindred, damaged spirit. 

But the mathematically gifted Mattia accepts a research position that takes him thousands of miles away, and the two are forced to separate. Then a chance occurrence reunites them and forces a lifetime of concealed emotion to the surface. 

Like Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, this is a stunning meditation on loneliness, love, and the weight of childhood experience that is set to become a universal classic."

Stanišić, Saša "How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone"

Stanišić, Saša "How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone" (German: Wie der Soldat das Grammofon repariert) - 2006

I found this book a while ago and loved the title. Also, the story is taking place in Višegrad near the river Drina about which I read and loved the book "The Bridge on the Drina" by Ivo Andrić.

The author was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, his family fled to Germany when he was a teenager. This story tells partly about his life before and after leaving his country. In the meantime, he has received several German book prizes for his literature which often reports about the war in Bosnia.

This novel is a semi-autobiographical one. The protagonist's life, Aleksandar Krsmanovic, mirrors that of the author, Saša Stanišić. The story is a little chaotic, jumps from one scene to a completely different one, sometimes comes back to it, sometimes just leaves it open. Thereby it shows how chaotic the life for a child in wartime has to be.

It wasn't an unpleasant read but I would have appreciated a little more consistency. I can see why the author is so acclaimed, though.

From the back cover:

"The hardcover publication of How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone launched Stanisic as an exciting and important new voice in literary fiction and earned exuberant praise from readers and critics alike. Now in paperback, Stanisic’s debut about a boy who experiences the Bosnian War and finds the secret to survival in language and stories is bound to dazzle a whole new readership.

For Aleksandar Krsmanovic, Grandpa Slavko’s stories endow life in Višegrad with a kaleidoscopic brilliance. Neighbors, friends, and family past and present take on a mythic quality; the River Drina courses through town like the pulse of life itself. So when his grandfather dies suddenly, Aleksandar promises to carry on the tradition. But then soldiers invade Višegrad - a town previously unconscious of racial and religious divides - and it’s no longer important that Aleksandar is the best magician in the nonaligned states; suddenly it is important to have the right last name and to convince the soldiers that Asija, the Muslim girl who turns up in his apartment building, is his sister.

Alive with the magic of childhood, the surreality of war and exile, and the power of language, every page of this glittering novel thrums with the joy of storytelling."