Backman, Fredrik "Britt-Marie was here"

Backman, Fredrik "Britt-Marie was here" (Swedish: Britt-Marie var här) - 2014

This was my second book by Fredrik Backman. And my last. The first one was quite nice, funny, but I couldn't care for this one. I didn't like the protagonist, Britt-Marie because I'm not OCD even though I like order, I don't like football, so that didn't allure me, either. The story is described as "funny and moving", I couldn't find either.

This was a book club book, otherwise I might not have finished it.

We read this in our international online book club in February 2025.

Some comments from the other members:

"It scored pretty low by most others in the discussion.

Some commented that it felt more like a movie script than a real novel. Which makes sense as Backman's books have many of them been filmed both in Sweden and internationally. For me it was a nice light humorous read, maybe more like a fun summer read than real thought raising literature. This despite me hating the main character from the very start. I guess much of Backman's stories are like that, with quite stereotypical characters, and predictable plot and then an uplifting twist at the end. The timeline of the book felt familiar in terms of what was happening in small towns here in the Nordics in maybe 90-s or early 00s. Services being closed down and some neighbourhoods being quite poor. Not really something I believe can be saved by one determined lady and the community. But a nice thought."

From the back cover:

"Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. A disorganized cutlery drawer ranks high on her list of unforgivable sins. She is not one to judge others—no matter how ill-mannered, unkempt, or morally suspect they might be. It’s just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention.

But hidden inside the socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart that anyone around her realizes.

When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?

Funny and moving, sweet and inspiring, Britt-Marie Was Here celebrates the importance of community and connection in a world that can feel isolating."

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."

Fosse, Jon "Morning and Evening"

Fosse, Jon "Morning and Evening" (Norwegian: Morgon og kveld) - 2001

This was our international online book club story for July 2024.

I had found it after Jon Fosse received the Nobel Prize for literature and then suggested it to the book club. Since we all like to read books by  Nobel Prize winners, it was chosen as one of our books.

I have always loved Nobel laureates; there is hardly ever an author among them that I don't care for. And this last one is just the same. A fascinating story about the life and death of a man. A simple story about the passing of an old hardworking fisherman with a humble life. No embellishments needed, a plain reflection on an ordinary life.

Jon Fosse describes all this so wonderfully, his writing is fantastic. A well deserving winner of this most prestigious award.

This is only a novella, even the German translation has only about 120 pages but it is as big as many large books of 500 pages or more (my favourite stories).

Other readers were happy, as well. So, here are some comments:

"At first the writing-style was very offputting, as i am too literal to enjoy poetry and the roundabout way of writing. But then after half the book, I started to understand it, and really enjoyed how much feeling you could get out of the minimalistic text."

"The ending was just stunning."

"It started off annoying me with the style of writing.. the flow of thought, no punctuation... but then about halfway through I was just in awe of the skilful and atmospheric way the story was told."

"The translation to Swedish was a bit special, though, the translator had left a lot of words in the book that are nowadays considered part of the ancient-swedish, and not in normal use anymore."

To be honest, I didn't realize that until I heard this comment. Yes, some of the wording seemed old fashioned even in German but I just considered that the "Scandinavian way".

From the back cover:

"A child who will be named Johannes is born. An old man named Johannes dies. Between these two points, Jon Fosse gives us the details of an entire life, starkly compressed. Beginning with Johannes's father's thoughts as his wife goes into labor, and ending with Johannes's own thoughts as he embarks upon a day in his life when everything is exactly the same, yet totally different, Morning and Evening is a novel concerning the beautiful dream that our lives have meaning."

Jon Fosse received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2023 "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable".

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

Ansay, A. Manette "Blue Water"

Ansay, A. Manette "Blue Water" - 2006

I read a book by Manette Ansay (Vinegar Hill) a couple of years ago and really liked it. Talking about it a while ago, I felt I really needed to read another one of her books. And I didn't regret it.

The story was captivating and suspenseful. You couldn't wait to turn the page. The author has a great writing style. The protagonists are well described, the plot good to follow and you can feel with the characters.

As in her other book, we ask ourselves how much a person can endure but also, how can we forgive someone. You find all kinds of emotions in the novel, love and hate, anger and hope, grief and forgiveness. There are solutions but also problems that cannot be solved. An interesting story.

Certainly not my last book by Manette Ansay.

From the back cover:

"Aboard their sailboat, Chelone, Megan and Rex Van Dorn look like a couple living their dream. But when people ask, 'Do you have children?' Meg doesn't know how to answer. For their only child, Evan, was killed in a car accident, and behind the wheel was Cindy Ann Kreisler, Meg's one-time best friend.

The couple's only plan, as they set sail, is to put as much distance between themselves and Cindy Ann as possible. But when Meg returns to shore for her brother's wedding, she is forced to face the ties that bind her to the woman who has wounded her so badly. As Meg well knows, Cindy Ann has secrets and sorrows of her own - which date back to the summer of their brief friendship."

Kingsolver, Barbara "Pigs in Heaven"

Kingsolver, Barbara "Pigs in Heaven" - 1993

This is a follow-up of the novel "The Bean Trees", not necessarily my favourite by Barbara Kingsolver, whose stories I usually really like. But I think the main reason that was not my favourite, and this one won't be either, is what happens to the protagonists.

First, a baby is left with a young woman who then tries to bring her up without much help from outside. A couple of years later, someone finds she shouldn't have been able to adopt the child after all because the little girl is Cherokee. Well, I understand the native Americans but I really feel for the mother who fears having to give up her child. Such an impossible dilemna which doesn't seem to be so rare, after all, the story is based on true-life stories.

I like to read about different cultures, I like to read about problematic scenarios, maybe this was just a little too much for me, I don't know. I still liked the writing and will read more books by Barbara Kingsolver.

From the back cover:

"When six-year-old Turtle witnesses a freak accident at the Hoover Dam, her insistence, and her mother's belief in her, leads to a man's dramatic rescue. But Turtle's moment of celebrity quickly draws her into a conflict of historic proportions that will envelop not only Turtle and her mother but everyone else who touches their lives."

I have also read other books by Barbara Kingsolver, you can find my reviews here.  She remains one of my favourite authors.

Bellow, Saul "Humboldt's Gift"

Bellow, Saul "Humboldt's Gift" - 1975

I try to read the latest Nobel Prize winner for Literature and at least one former one every year. This was my fourth one since the last laureate was announced. I still need to get a copy of one of Abdulrazak Gurnah's books before the next announcements in October.

Apparently, this book didn't just get the Pulitzer Prize, it is also said that it won Saul Bellow the Nobel Prize. In his acceptance speech, he called on writers to be beacons for civilization and awaken it from intellectual torpor.

An intense book, there is so much to talk about. The relationship between Charlie Citrine, our protagonist, and his friend Von Humboldt Fleisher, a renowned author who takes Charlie under his wings. Whilst he is only at the beginning of this career, he tells us this story from the point of view when it has more or less ended.

When I was reading the book, I'd been wondering whether this might have been a biography, or at least partly a biography. I then found out, that this is a "roman à clef" (French for novel with a key), a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction. Aha! In this case, it's about the author's friendship with the poet Delmore Schwartz with Bellow being Citrine. Well, I'd never heard of Delmore Schwartz and now I have learned a lot about him (not just form the book, I also looked him up on Google and Wikipedia.) Very interesting, read the information in the links.

While this is probably a good account of Bellow's and Schwartz' relationship, the book also tries to come to terms with the constant changes in the world, especially in culture. The difference between the ideal world and the real one is a big topic in this book that was only supposed to be a short story but then ended up with almost 500 pages.

Brilliant storytelling with lots of fields covered: literature, culture, divorce, relationships, parenting, alcoholism, madness … and also all types of characters from all levels social classes, including a Mafia boss. Oh, and there's quite a bit of humour in the story, as well.

The Times mentions that "Bellows is one of the most gifted chroniclers of the Western World alive today." Apart from the fact that he has passed away in the meantime, I totally agree. So, if you're in for a great read, this is worth picking up.

From the back cover:

"For many years, the great poet Von Humboldt Fleisher and Charlie Citrine, a young man inflamed with a love for literature, were the best of friends. At the time of his death, however, Humboldt is a failure, and Charlie's life has reached a low point: his career is at a standstill, and he's enmeshed in an acrimonious divorce, infatuated with a highly unsuitable young woman and involved with a neurotic mafioso. And then Humboldt acts from beyond the grave, bestowing upon Charlie an unexpected legacy that may just help him turn his life around."

Saul Bellow received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1976 "for the human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture that are combined in his work" and the Pulitzer Prize for "Humboldt's Gift" also in 1976.

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

Adams, Sara Nisha "The Reading List"

Adams, Sara Nisha "The Reading List" - 2021

I received this book from a friend who had read and loved it. Thank you, Lisbeth.

And I loved it just as much. We all have reading lists with books that are special to us. They might have helped us through a hard time, inspired us, taught us, informed us, reminded us of something or someone, or just made us feel good afterwards.

Here we have a reading list that has been compiled by somebody anonymous and turns up at several places. It helps a widower get over the death of his wife, a teenage girl who finds a lot of examples to get through a tough time in her life, a little girl to take her first steps into a more "grown up" thinking.

This is what the Reading List says:

Just in case you need it:
To Kill A Mockingbird
Rebecca
The Kite Runner
Life Of Pi
Pride And Prejudice
Little Women
Beloved
A Suitable Boy

I think most of us have a feeling where the reading list might come from. I discovered that my idea was right from the beginning. Which made the book even more special.

I have read all of the books except for two:
Lee, Harper "To Kill a Mockingbird" - 1960
Du Maurier, Daphne "Rebecca" - 1938
Hosseini, Khaled "The Kite Runner" - 2003
Martell, Yann "Life Of Pi" - 2001
Austen, Jane "Pride & Prejudice" - 1813
Alcott, Louisa May "Little Women Series" - 1868-86
Morrison, Toni "Beloved" - 1987
Seth, Vikram "A Suitable Boy" - 1993

At the end, the author adds more books that she would have liked to include in the list, had it been "hers". She mentioned that they found her at just the right time in her life.

Lahiri, Jhumpa "The Namesake" - 2003
Roy, Arundhati "The God of Small Things" - 1997
Smith, Zadie "White Teeth" - 1999
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi "Americanah" - 2013
Heiny, Katherine "Standard Deviation" - 2017
Mistry, Rohinton "A Fine Balance" - 1995
Kawakami, Hiromi "Strange Weather in Tokyo" (センセイの鞄/Sensei no kaban) - 2001
Carter, Angela "The Magic Toyshop" - 1987
Angelou, Maya "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" - 1969
Hosain, Attia "Sunlight on a Broken Column" - 1961
Smith, Ali "There But For The" - 2011

As you can see, I have read most of those books, as well, I might have to check out those that I didn't. I noticed that all but one of the books have been written in English. I bet that my list would have had books from more than just two countries. There are so many great authors out there in this world.

From the back cover:

"When Aleisha discovers a crumpled reading list tucked into a tattered library book, it sparks an extraordinary journey.

For the list finds Aleisha just when she needs it most, the stories transporting her away from everything - her loneliness, her troubles at home - one page at a time. And when widower Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to connect with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha introduces him to the magic of the reading list. An anxious teenager and a lonely grandfather forming an unlikely book club of two.
Some stories never leave you.

And some change your life, forever."

Waugh, Evelyn "Brideshead Revisited"

Waugh, Evelyn "Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder" - 1945

This was our international online book club novel for March 2022.

I don't know for how long I wanted to read this book. I never watched the TV series with Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews, either, even though I like most of the actors that play in it.

So, I wasn't unhappy that our book club chose it for this month.

The story reminds a little bit of the life of "The Great Gatsby", people with nothing to do than spending money. So, I couldn't say that I warmed to any of the characters, they were just spoiled brats.

However, the novel itself is beautifully written, it accentuates all the facts of life for a generation long gone and a lifestyle so out of fashion that whoever lives like that nowadays can only be ashamed. Well, with some exceptions who populate the social media, of course, and I can't warm to them, either. The names, however, could have been picked from a Dickens novel, Ryder, Flyte, Marchmain, they only had "regular" first names.

I especially like the portrayal of the change in society. Some people get there slowly but those that are kicked from their high horse have a rather hard landing to deal with.

A good modern classic that will become a good mirror of the times.

Comment from a book club member:
"The book really surprised me, in a positive way. The story was much more entertaining and interesting than I expected. I agree it really brought out the old culture and country vs. the new generation. Like you said like the Great Gatsby. I was fascinated by the difference in attitude between the upbringing styles of Charles and the aristocratic Brideshead and how the characters developed along with the story, but I also didnt get so attached to the main characters either."

From the back cover:

"The most nostalgic and reflective of Evelyn Waugh's novels, Brideshead Revisited looks back to the golden age before the Second World War. It tells the story of Charles Ryder's infatuation with the Marchmains and the rapidly-disappearing world of privilege they inhabit. Enchanted first by Sebastian at Oxford, then by his doomed Catholic family, in particular his remote sister, Julia, Charles comes finally to recognize only his spiritual and social distance from them."

Leky, Mariana "What You Can See From Here"

Leky, Mariana "What You Can See From Here" (German: Was man von hier aus sehen kann) - 2017

In 2017, this novel was awarded The Favourite Book of the Independents and that is the only reason I was made aware of it. I liked the first one I read from that list and every other one that I read subsequently. Because the one that received the prize last year still isn't available in paperback, I went to one of the older ones, this one.

And I am glad I did. This was such a lovely book, a story of a small village where everyone sticks together, no matter how hard it is sometimes, where everyone looks after everybody else, whether they like them or not. A great description of a functioning small community. The novel has been described as "warm". Yes, it is that but it is so much more. It's a love story as well as a philosophical quest, a coming of age story as well one about old age.

This book is described as "magic realism" and I have tagged it accordingly, though it really is more a touch of superstition in my eyes.

It is hard to describe the book without giving too much away, only this, there is a lot to be said about loss and how to deal with it and this book does it beautifully.

Mariana Leky is certainly an author to be watching out for, I will read more of her novels, so far she has written nine. Where do I begin?

From the back cover:

"In this international bestseller by the award-winning novelist Mariana Leky, What You Can See from Here, a heartwarming story unfolds about a small town, a grandmother whose dreams foretell a coming death, and the young woman forever changed by these losses and her loving, endearingly oddball community

On a beautiful spring day, a small village wakes up to an omen: Selma has dreamed of an okapi. Someone is about to die.

Luisa, Selma’s ten-year-old granddaughter, looks on as the predictable characters of her small world begin acting strangely. Though they claim not to be superstitious, each of her neighbors newly grapples with buried secrets and deferred decisions that have become urgent in the face of death.

Luisa’s mother struggles to decide whether to end her marriage. An old family friend, known only as the optician, tries to find the courage to tell Selma he loves her. Only sad Marlies remains unchanged, still moping around her house and cooking terrible food. But when the prophesied death finally comes, the circumstances fall outside anyone’s expectations. The loss forever changes Luisa and shapes her for years to come, as she encounters life’s great questions alongside her devoted friends, young and old.

A story about the absurdity of life and death, a bittersweet portrait of small towns and the wider world that beckons beyond, this charmer of a novel is also a thoughtful meditation on the way loss and love shape not just a person but a community. Mariana Leky’s What You Can See from Here is a moving tale of grief, first love, reluctant love, late love, and finding one’s place in the world, even if that place is right where you started."

Cather, Willa "Shadows on the Rock"

Cather, Willa "Shadows on the Rock" - 1931

A couple of years ago, I read "My Ántonia" with my book club and loved it. It was a great description about new settlers in America. So, when I came across "Shadows on the Rock" which was about Quebec in the 17th century, I thought this will certainly be a great book to add to my list, something like her former book, just about Canada.

I suppose the author must not have had as much experience with Canada, not known as many settlers from there or whatever but this book didn't ring as true as her other one. It was an alright read but it didn't catch my interest in the story as did her other one.

What it did, though, it made me want to know more about the real-life people she mentions and I found a lot of information about them on the internet, so that was something.

I usually love historical fiction but this one was not for me.

From the back cover:

"Willa Cather wrote Shadows on the Rock immediately after her historical masterpiece, Death Comes for the Archbishop. Like its predecessor, this novel of seventeenth-century Quebec is a luminous evocation of North American origins, and of the men and women who struggled to adapt to that new world even as they clung to the artifacts and manners of one they left behind.

In 1697, Quebec is an island of French civilization perched on a bare gray rock amid a wilderness of trackless forests. For many of its settlers, Quebec is a place of exile, so remote that an entire winter passes without a word from home. But to twelve-year-old Cécile Auclair, the rock is home, where even the formidable Governor Frontenac entertains children in his palace and beavers lie beside the lambs in a Christmas créche. As Cather follows this devout and resourceful child over the course of a year, she re-creates the continent as it must have appeared to its first European inhabitants. And she gives us a spellbinding work of historical fiction in which great events occur first as rumors and then as legends - and in which even the most intimate domestic scenes are suffused with a sense of wonder."

Brooks, Geraldine "Foreign Correspondence"

Brooks, Geraldine "Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey from Down Under to All Over" - 1997

Geraldine Brooks describes how she started writing to many different people from all over the world because she felt so far away from everything. That was the same for me, even though I lived in the middle of Europe. But at the time, the little village in Northern Germany might as well have been on the moon.

Other than that, there wasn't a huge difference in her upbringing and mine. We are about the same age and grew up in similar circumstances, though my parents were purely working class, no former singer or anything, and they were from the same area where they lived and died.

So, I really liked this story because it was also mine. When I was fourteen, I had my first penfriend. She was from Romania, and I met her once even though we are not in touch anymore. But I have two very good penfriends who started writing to me shortly afterwards, from France and the USA, and we are still in touch. The French friend has visited me several times (first alone, then with husband and family) and I have visited her, as well, same thing, first alone, later with husband, then with children.

I have lived abroad for more than half of my life. I think wanting to meet people from other countries stems from my first friendships by letters. I started to learn Esperanto when I got the opportunity and went abroad as soon as I was able to. Having penfriends certainly encouraged me to explore the world further.

But even if you don't belong to the keen letter writers, Geraldine Brooks has a fantastic way of describing her life as well as that of others, totally interesting.

So far, I have only read this book and "March" by Geraldine Brooks. Must change that.

From the back cover:

"As a young girl in a working-class neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, Geraldine Brooks longed to discover the places where history happens and culture comes from, so she enlisted pen pals who offered her a window on adolescence in the Middle East, Europe, and America. Twenty years later Brooks, an award-winning foreign correspondent, embarked on a human treasure hunt to find her pen friends. She found men and women whose lives had been shaped by war and hatred, by fame and notoriety, and by the ravages of mental illness. Intimate, moving, and often humorous, Foreign Correspondence speaks to the unquiet heart of every girl who has ever yearned to become a woman of the world."

Towles, Amor "A Gentleman in Moscow"

Towles, Amor "A Gentleman in Moscow" - 2016

I love Russian authors and stories about Russia. And I've heard a lot about this novel by American author Amor Towles. Both praise and not so much praise. So, when I came across this copy, I knew I'd have to give it a try.

And I'm glad I did. This novel is not just a great story which vivid characters and an unusual plot, it is a mystery and history, a love story and a political report, a story of friendship and kindness, a fairy tale and a psychological essay. I know I read a review about the book and I was told to better read it in one go otherwise I'd lose the connections but I didn't find it as challenging. I kept the link to that post in order to go there again and see what the blogger had written but it looks like it has been removed because I get referred to the main page of it and the post about the "Gentleman in Moscow" isn't there.

The characters in this book are all beautifully described and very much "alive". A completely different take on Stalinism, Russia and communism in general. I loved how all the people, especially the women he met, enabled the Count to have a halfway normal life and not despair. For those of you who have read it, I found the ending not too surprising, yet, wonderful.

There are so many layers in this novel. We can also see the way people react to the old hierarchy and the new way of life after Stalin. Whilst some embrace it, others just live in the past and can't let go of whatever happened during that era. I have seen this everywhere in real life. Guess who are the happier of the people?

One of my favourite quotes from this book: "If a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them." If only I could follow that advice all the time.

I think this is also a great introduction to Russian reading. Other than the Russian authors I love so much, this one doesn't jump from one name of a person to the next. They always ae mentioned by the one name they are given from the beginning. Something not too unimportant because I have heard a lot of people complain about that when reading or attempting to read Russian authors. There are also footnotes to explain the background of Russian history, where necessary. And a great explanation why Russians have three different kind of names (on page 100 in my paperback edition).

The story sounds so true, I had to check at the beginning whether the Count was real or not. Nope, he's not, totally fictional yet so alive that you would love to meet him.

I was told that Kenneth Branagh has bought the film rights for the story and will play Count Rostov himself. While I don't often like films made from books I loved, I am really looking forward to it because I think Kenneth Branagh is one of the best actor-directors of all time and totally love his work.

And I'd love to read his first book, "Rules of Civility" and the next one he has written, "The Lincoln Highway".

From the back cover:

"On 21 June 1922 Count Alexander Rostov - recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt - is escorted out of the Kremlin, across Red Square and through the elegant revolving doors of the Hotel Metropol.

Deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the Count has been sentenced to house arrest indefinitely. But instead of his usual suite, he must now live in an attic room while Russia undergoes decades of tumultuous upheaval.

Can a life without luxury be the richest of all?"

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.

Zusak, Markus "The Messenger"

Zusak, Markus "The Messenger" (US: I am the Messenger) - 2002

A couple of years ago, I read "The Book Thief" with my book club and really loved it.  Not just me, the other book club members were also full of praise. I always thought that was the author's first book but that is not the case and when I found out, I had to read at least one more of his books. And this will probably not be my last one, either. Because I loved this even more.

We get to know Ed Kennedy and his friends, all more or less "losers" who don't have a brilliant future in their lives. Ed's siblings went to university, he is a taxi driver with not formal education. His friends are in similar situations. That's when Ed becomes "The Messenger".

I loved all the messages he had to deliver, they were compassionate and showed a lot of empathy. And that's how I came to love Ed, as well. What a wonderful young man. And most of the recipients of the messages are wonderful, as well. We learn that we can help others just by being there, lending an ear, buying them an ice cream … It doesn't need much to be the hero in someone else's life and we don't always need a reward for that, either. The book itself contains a great message.

Spoiler:

I wasn't too sure about the twist at the end. But then I decided, I know someone wrote Ed, he isn't real. But I would have liked another ending, one that made me believe until the end what he existed and what this was all about. Now, I still don't really know what the reason behind those messages are.

* * *

Needless to say, I love his writing style.

From the back cover:

"protect the diamonds
survive the clubs
dig deep through the spades
feel the hearts

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.

That's when Ed becomes the messenger.

Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?"

See, Lisa "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan"

See, Lisa "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" - 2005

Lily and her friend Snow Flower were both born on "the fifth day of the sixth month of the third year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign" which translated into June 5, 1824 in our calendar. Because of that and some other traits they have in common, they are destined to be "laotong", we would probably say BFFs (best friends forever) today. Yet, same as their husbands, they don't choose the laotong themselves, it's the stars that predict it.

I have already read another book by Lisa See, "Peony in Love", where she mainly writes about the Chinese culture about death and how to take care of your dead ancestors. This one is more about the living, especially the women, the way women in the 19^th century in China lived. Not only were they more or less confined to the women's chambers (and the kitchen) of the house, they also had to endure foot binding. This horrible custom gets described very well in this book and while I have read many books about China (my first ones were by Pearl S. Buck when I was a teenager), I don't recall it ever being described so vividly. It's also interesting to see how important it was to have small feet, the smaller, the more marriageable a young girl would be, the better her station in life later on.

It is hard for us today to even understand how parents could do that to their children. And how women were treated in general. How could a mother do that to her daughter? Well, first of all, they all get told all their life that women aren't worth anything and that they raise their daughters for another family. But they want them to have a comfortable or at least half-way decent life. And culture dictated that women had to have small feet. The smaller the feet, the better the marriage. I doubt I could have done that today but it's easy to make that judgment from our point of view. We can decide not to get married or choose our own husbands without big problems. But back then it was essential for survival.

But we also read about Nü Shu, a secret phonetic form of 'women's writing which is something that fascinated me from the moment I heard about it. And the custom that a woman only started living with her husband (and his family) once she had given birth to her first child. Until then, she stayed with her parents and then she would only return to them on certain days of the year when everyone else did the same.

In the book, Lily starts looking back at her life from the view of an 80-year-old woman. She tells us all about her life in her native family, her married family, her friendship and breakup with Snow Flower, her life during the Taiping Rebellion (Wikipedia), her roles as daughter, wife, mother, friend. She doesn't leave anything out.

I also thought it was interesting how important horoscopes were. Lily and Snow Flower were horses which meant they were free-spirited and independent, but also hardworking.

But the language in the book is also beautiful, makes you want to read on and on.

A very interesting novel if you are interested in history, China, or the life or women in general.

From the back cover:

"In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, 'old same', in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men.

As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart."

Barbery, Muriel "The Elegance of the Hedgehog"

Barbery, Muriel "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" (French: L’Elégance du hérisson) - 2006

This book had been on my TBR pile for too long and since I was determined to get it a little smaller by the end of the year, I finally started. Plus, I wanted to read more in French, so hopefully that's a start.

While this book is about philosophy and Russian literature, it's not that high brow to read because it's also about normal people and it makes you think about the meaning of life. If you love Russian literature, it's even better because one of the protagonists loves it, as well.

The story unfolds by the reports of two very different women, 12 year old Paloma Josse and 54 year old Renée Michel who is the concierge in the building Paloma and her family live in. You would think, they have nothing in common but this is where we can learn that even with a very different background, we can find a soulmate everywhere.

A nice read. I wouldn't mind a second book to see what goes on in Paloma's life when she grows up.

From the back cover:

"Renée is the concierge of a grand Parisian apartment building, home to members of the great and the good. Over the years she has maintained her carefully constructed persona as someone reliable but totally uncultivated, in keeping, she feels, with society's expectations of what a concierge should be. But beneath this facade lies the real Renée passionate about culture and the arts, and more knowledgeable in many ways than her employers with their outwardly successful but emotionally void lives. 

Down in her lodge, apart from weekly visits by her one friend Manuela, Renée lives resigned to her lonely lot with only her cat for company. Meanwhile, several floors up, twelve-year-old Paloma Josse is determined to avoid the pampered and vacuous future laid out for her, and decides to end her life on her thirteenth birthday. But unknown to them both, the sudden death of one of their privileged neighbours will dramatically alter their lives forever.

By turn moving and hilarious, this unusual novel became the French publishing phenomenon of 2007: from an initial print run of 3,000 to sales of over 2 million in hardback. It took 35 weeks to reach the number one bestseller spot but has now spent longer in the French bestseller lists than Dan Brown."

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."

Alsanea, Rajaa "Girls of Riyadh"

Alsanea, Rajaa "Girls of Riyadh" (Arabic: بنات الرياض‎ Banāt al-Riyāḍ) - 2005

What a fabulous story about life in a part of the world so unknown to us. The Girls of Riyadh are all friends of the author. Sadim, Kamra, Michelle and Lanis let us take a glimpse into their world.

I have grown up in a Western country. Even though in my times girls didn't have the chances they have now - and I don't want to say they have equal chances, they just have more in modern times - we were never as limited as those girls in the novel. I was allowed to go to public dances as a teenager, I was allowed to go to parties in homes that my parents didn't know. And I don't know anyone who couldn't marry the guy they wanted to marry. Well, I know some cases, where the parents weren't happy with the choice but that doesn't mean they could prevent a marriage.

I myself couldn't imagine marrying someone I don't know, someone I didn't choose myself. It's hard enough as it is, so many divorces tell us that it's not easy to keep up a relationship but just getting hitched to someone your parents chose, just sounds impossible to me. And all the other restrictions, those girls can't decide much about their own life. How sad.

An interesting book.

I quite like the cover of the Arabic edition, little emojis. How cute.

We discussed this book in our international online book club in May 2019.

From the back cover:

"When Rajaa Alsanea boldly chose to open up the hidden world of Saudi women - their private lives and their conflicts with the traditions of their culture - he caused a sensation across the Arab world.

Now in English, Alsanea’s tale of the personal struggles of four young upper-class women offers Westerners an unprecedented glimpse into a society often veiled from view. Living in restrictive Riyadh but traveling all over the globe, these modern Saudi women literally and figuratively shed traditional garb as they search for love, fulfillment, and their place somewhere in between Western society and their Islamic home."

Lundberg, Sofia "The Red Address Book"

Lundberg, Sofia "The Red Address Book" (Swedish: Den röda adressboken) - 2015

This is the story of Doris, an old lady. She is 96 years old and dying. Of all her friends, only her grand-niece Jenny is left. And the only connection to her are their weekly Skype sessions. Isn't technology great? Without that, she would have nothing. We can begin to imagine how lonely a lot of old people are and that the computer can be a life-saver.

This is a lovely story about an elderly person who reflects on her life. We accompany Doris from when she is very little through her working life as a model and writer, get to know her family and friends and what they meant to her. A quiet story, yet full of events.

Apparently, Sofia Lundberg also had a great-aunt called Doris and she found an address book after her death, just as the one described.

Did I love those address books that I also owned? Indeed, I did. But I'm happy to have my lists on my computer now. My friends move far too often for me to keep up with changing them on paper.

But there was another part that struck home. Jenny lives in the States and speaks Swedish with her kids. When questioned about their ability in this language, she mentions that her little girl understands it well because she only speaks Swedish with her and she watches Swedish kids' shows online. Her older boys are "so-so". Jenny talks to them in Swedish and they reply In English. That's exactly what happened in our family (only replace Swedish by German). I had to smile when I read that.

This is the first novel by this author and I'm looking forward to reading more.

Doris' motto, given to her by her mother. I think it's a good one for all of us.
"I wish you enough. Enough sun to light up your days, enough rain that you appreciate the sun. Enough joy to strengthen your soul, enough pain that you can appreciate life's small moments of happiness. And enough friends that you can manage a farewell now and then."

From the back cover:

"Meet Doris, a 96-year-old woman living alone in her Stockholm apartment. She has few visitors, but her weekly Skype calls with Jenn - her American grandniece, and her only relative - give her great joy and remind her of her own youth.

When Doris was a girl, she was given an address book by her father, and ever since she has carefully documented everyone she met and loved throughout the years. Looking through the little book now, Doris sees the many crossed-out names of people long gone and is struck by the urge to put pen to paper. In writing down the stories of her colorful past - working as a maid in Sweden, modelling in Paris during the 30s, fleeing to Manhattan at the dawn of the Second World War - can she help Jenny, haunted by a difficult childhood, unlock the secrets of their family and finally look to the future? And whatever became of Allan, the love of Doris's life?

A charming novel that prompts reflection on the stories we all should carry to the next generation, and the surprises in life that can await even the oldest among us, The Red Address Book introduces Sofia Lundberg as a wis - and irresistible - storyteller."

Burnett, Frances Hodgson "The Secret Garden"

Burnett, Frances Hodgson "The Secret Garden" - 1911

After reading "The Clockmaker's Daughter", I read a review by my faithful blog friend Judy from "Keep the Wisdom" about "The Forgotten Garden" by the same author, Kate Morton.

While discussing that book, I had to reveal that I never read "The Secret Garden" as a child, probably because it was not as popular in Germany as it was in the English-speaking world.

Why that would be the case … I have no idea. It is a sweet book. I know I would have enjoyed it as a child, probably even more than I did now.

It's a story about how important it is for children to love the outdoors, to have access to other children, to be loved. Even if it is just by a little robin.

I totally agree with Martha and Dickon's mother, Susan Sowerby, who says "Two worst things as can happen to a child is never to have his own way - or always to have it". The latter is even worse than the former since there is no reason why you should always give in to a child. They will throw tantrums like a three-year-old even when they're in their nineties. She seems to have her act together anyway. I think I liked her most of all the characters in the novel.

In this story, an arrogant young girl who grew up in India, has to come and live with her uncle and her arrogant young cousin. Only through the discovery of a secret garden, do they manage to grow into lovely young children. Wouldn't it be nice if all children were given this chance?

The only story by Frances Hodgson Burnett that I know is "Little Lord Fauntleroy" because they turned it into a beautiful film and show it on German television every year at Christmas. No need to say that we have it on DVD now so we can watch the non-dubbed, original version.

I also remember seeing an adaptation of "A Little Princess" years and years ago.

Looks like it's time I read both those books, as well.

From the back cover:

"'One of the most delightful and enduring classics of children's literature, The Secret Garden by Victorian author Frances Hodgson Burnett has remained a firm favorite with children the world over ever since it made its first appearance. Initially published as a serial story in 1910 in The American Magazine, it was brought out in novel form in 1911.

The plot centers round Mary Lennox, a young English girl who returns to England from India, having suffered the immense trauma by losing both her parents in a cholera epidemic. However, her memories of her parents are not pleasant, as they were a selfish, neglectful and pleasure-seeking couple. Mary is given to the care of her uncle Archibald Craven, whom she has never met. She travels to his home, Misselthwaite Manor located in the gloomy Yorkshire, a vast change from the sunny and warm climate she was used to. When she arrives, she is a rude, stubborn and given to stormy temper tantrums. However, her nature undergoes a gradual transformation when she learns of the tragedies that have befallen her strict and disciplinarian uncle whom she earlier feared and despised. Once when he's away from home, Mary discovers a charming walled garden which is always kept locked. The mystery deepens when she hears sounds of sobbing from somewhere within her uncle's vast mansion. The kindly servants ignore her queries or pretend they haven't heard, spiking Mary's curiosity.

The Secret Garden appeals to both young and old alike. It has wonderful elements of mystery, spirituality, charming characters and an authentic rendering of childhood emotions and experiences. Commonsense, truth and kindness, compassion and a belief in the essential goodness of human beings lie at the heart of this unforgettable story. It is the best known of Frances Hodgson Burnett's works, though most of us have definitely heard of, if not read, her other novel Little Lord Fauntleroy.

The book has been adapted extensively on stage, film and television and translated into all the world's major languages. In 1991, a Japanese anime version was launched for television in Japan. It remains a popular and beloved story of a child's journey into maturity, and a must-read for every child, parent, teacher and anyone who would enjoy this fascinating glimpse of childhood. One of the most delightful and enduring classics of children's literature, The Secret Garden by Victorian author Frances Hodgson Burnett has remained a firm favorite with children the world over ever since it made its first appearance. Initially published as a serial story in 1910 in The American Magazine, it was brought out in novel form in 1911.'"