Dickens, Charles "Barnaby Rudge"

Dickens, Charles "Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty" - 1841

I'm a huge Charles Dickens fan. I have never read a book by him that wasn't fascinating. This was so great, as well.

I didn't know that this was another historical novel (next to "A Tale of Two Cities").

What I loved about this book was just what I normally love about Dickens. His description of the little man, the life of people at the time he writes about. How did they live? What were their problem? Why did they revolt in this case?

We get a good view about the lives and the problems of the people in the 18th century even though it wasn't the time Dickens lived in.

I can see why this is the least read of his books though it doesn't really deserve it. The topic might not seem as interesting to readers or maybe they are missing a really feel-good romance. No matter the reason, this is a great book and if you are a fan of classic literature, you should consider reading at least one of Dickens' books. And if you don't want to carry on then, it is your loss.

I would love to read this with a book club since there is so much to talk about. But I don't want to give spoilers on my blog, so I will not go into details.

From the back cover:

"Dickens's first historical novel is set against the infamous 'No Popery' riots that were instigated by Lord George Gordon in 1780, and terrorised London for days. Prejudice, intolerance, misplaced religious and nationalistic fervour, together with the villains who would exploit these for political ends, are Dickens's targets. His vivid account of the riots at the heart of the novel is interwoven with the mysterious tale of a long unsolved murder, and a romance that combines forbidden love, passion, treachery and heroism.

A typically rich cast of comic characters, from the snivelling Miss Miggs and the posturing Simon Tappertit to the half-witted Barnaby Rudge of the title, ensures high entertainment."

Vargas Llosa, Mario "The Feast of the Goat"

Vargas Llosa, Mario "The Feast of the Goat" (Spanish: La fiesta del chivo) - 2000

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

This was one of the toughest books I ever read. The descriptions of the torture are quite vivid and detailed. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who has a weak heart.

Rafael Trujillo was the dictator of the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. Of course, I had heard about the dictatorship and recently read "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez, so I should have been forewarned enough. But I wasn't. The way, this dictator ruined almost everybody's life and what people can do to other human beings, it's just unbelievable.

The story is told by Trujillo himself, by Urania Cabral who is the daughter of one of his followers, and by his assassinators taking turns and making the story even more suspenseful than it is already. We see the different points of view - not that it makes us understand the dictator any better, I wouldn't want to anyway. Supposedly, he loved his country and its people but how can you treat someone like that if you love them.

It is unbelievable how the author managed to put this remarkable story on paper, I guess you have to be a Nobel Prize winning writer for that.

Comment from one of our book club members.
"This book provides wonderful insights into Rafael Trujillo, once dictator of the Dominican Republic. The reader can see his strength, his discipline, his idealism and the corruption of all that into a hideous corrosive force degrading himself, his collaborators and the innocent alike. The writing and storytelling are compelling. This is the best book I have read in a long time."

She is right. Unfortunately, her description fits many dictators.

Another comment:
"Reading the book started out quite slow for me, because of the different time and point of view changes, but after about half the book I could not put it down again until I finished it. It was really horrifying and revealing about history and places I had no idea about. And I dont understand at all how people can be so evil, cruel, manipulative. I absolutely also can recommend this book!"

I totally agree. It is unbelievable what people can do to each other.

"One of the most valuable things about this superb piece of literature is that it gives us a close-up, vivid, and personal view, partly factual and partly imagined, of the perpetrators of gross injustice so we can begin to understand how people can be so evil, cruel and manipulative. It worked for me."

Book Description:

"Haunted all her life by feelings of terror and emptiness, forty-nine-year-old Urania Cabral returns to her native Dominican Republic - and finds herself reliving the events of 1961, when the capital was still called Trujillo City and one old man terrorized a nation of three million people. Rafael Trujillo, the depraved ailing dictator whom Dominicans call the Goat, controls his inner circle with a combination of violence and blackmail. In Trujillo's gaudy palace, treachery and cowardice have become the way of life. But Trujillo's grasp is slipping away. There is a conspiracy against him, and a Machiavellian revolution already underway that will have bloody consequences of its own. In this 'masterpiece of Latin American and world literature, and one of the finest political novels ever written' ('Bookforum'), Mario Vargas Llosa recounts the end of a regime and the birth of a terrible democracy, giving voice to the historical Trujillo and the victims, both innocent and complicit, drawn into his deadly orbit."

Mario Vargas Llosa received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2010 "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat".

Mario Vargas Llosa received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (Friedenspreis) in 1996.

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

Alvarez, Julia "In the Time of the Butterflies"

Alvarez, Julia "In the Time of the Butterflies" - 1994

This was my first novel taking place in the Dominican Republic. I wanted to read "In the Time of the Butterflies" for ages, somehow I never got to it. The story breaks your heart. As we live in a time of war at our doorstep again, this might be even more important than it was ten years ago, at least in our part of the world. There have always been wars, there have always been dictators. Julia Alvarez tells us about a family that was giving it all, fighting for a free and better life of their compatriots and who paid the highest price possible.

What is amazing in this book is that there are very little things how you can become an enemy of a dictator without even wanting to get involved in the first place. Revolutionaries, or so-called revolutionaries are not always some weird people who stand up and say, hey, I don't like that guy, let's do something about it. Often, there is not much you can do about being on the blacklist. I have read many books about wars or slavery, other dictatorships, and often have found that I probably would have ended up just the same as the protagonists. However, here I am sure I would have, although, having said that, I am not as pretty as the Mirabal sisters were, so I might have gone unnoticed.

What I liked about the style of the book, there are four sisters and they all tell their stories, mostly in a kind of diary. They all get their say and you can see how each one of them thought about the dictator, the country, how each of them was affected in a different way. A little like "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver where the four sisters tell their stories.

There is no page that doesn't captivate you. From the beginning, you are right there, in the middle of the family, living with them, fearing with them.

While this is not a non-fiction book, the novel is based on the life of these courageous women. We need more like them.

Julia Alvarez mentions that she "believes in the power of stories to change the world". I think she contributes to this and we must read more by this brilliant storyteller. We need authors like her to make us aware of what is going on in this world and that we should fight for a better one.

One quote I loved a lot:
"I am pro whoever is right at any moment in time." We all should be.

From the back cover:

"They were the four Mirabal sisters - symbols of defiant hope in a country shadowed by dictatorship and despair. They sacrificed their safe and comfortable lives in the name of freedom. They were Las Mariposas, 'The butterflies,' and in this extraordinary novel Patria, Minerva, Maria Teresa, and Dedé speak across the decades to tell their own stories - from tales of hair ribbons and secret crushes to gunrunning to prison torture - and describe the everyday horrors of life under the Dominican dictator Trujillo. Now through the art and magic of Julia Alvarez's imagination, the martyred Butterflies live again in a warm, brilliant, and heartbreaking novel that makes a haunting statement about the human cost of political oppression."

If you don't have the time, yet, to read this fantastic account of some wonderful women, read their story here on Wikipedia.

I read another book on the subject, this time about the dictator Rafael Trujillo:

Vargas Llosa, Mario "The Feast of the Goat" (Spanish: La fiesta del chivo) - 2000

Lahiri, Jhumpa "The Lowland"

Lahiri, Jhumpa "The Lowland" - 2013

I've read a few books by Jhumpa Lahiri and I've had this on my TBR pile for a while. I have no idea why it took me so long to start it. Oh, wait a minute, must be those hundreds of other books on that shelf. LOL

Whilst I have read many books about India, and quite a few about the independence (e.g. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie) and the fight for it, I didn't know much about the Naxalites, just a general knowledge that they existed. In this book, we get acquainted with the organisation and its followers. And the story also touches the reason why Indians would leave their country plus the role of women in society back then, both in India as well as in the USA.

I knew it was a violent time but it's different when you hear about individuals and how they fared under certain circumstances, even if they are fictitious. Since I always like to research the background of my books, especially if they are historical ones, I learned that the group still exists and there are still many conflicts with them and numerous people are killed every year. We hardly ever hear about that in the rest of the world. What a shame!

And then there is also a "next generation" in the book and all the implications that arise from growing up in a country where your parents weren't born.

I found this novel extremely interesting and well written.

From the back cover:

"The Lowland is an engrossing family saga steeped in history: the story of two very different brothers bound by tragedy; a fiercely brilliant woman haunted by her past; a country torn by revolution. A powerful new novel - set in both India and America - that explores the price of idealism and a love that can last long past death.

Growing up in Calcutta, born just fifteen months apart, Subhash and Udayan Mitra are inseparable brothers, one often mistaken for the other. But they are also opposites, with gravely different futures ahead of them.

From Subhash's earliest memories, at every point, his brother was there. In the suburban streets of Calcutta where they wandered before dusk and in the hyacinth-strewn ponds where they played for hours on end, Udayan was always in his older brother's sight. So close in age, they were inseparable in childhood and yet, as the years pass - as U.S tanks roll into Vietnam and riots sweep across India - their brotherly bond can do nothing to forestall the tragedy that will upend their lives.

Udayan - charismatic and impulsive - finds himself drawn to the Naxalite movement, a rebellion waged to eradicate inequity and poverty. He will give everything, risk all, for what he believes, and in doing so will transform the futures of those dearest to him: his newly married, pregnant wife, his brother and their parents. For all of them, the repercussions of his actions will reverberate across continents and seep through the generations that follow.

Epic in its canvas and intimate in its portrayal of lives undone and forged anew, The Lowland is a deeply felt novel of family ties that entangle and fray in ways unforeseen and unrevealed, of ties that ineluctably define who we are. With all the hallmarks of Jhumpa Lahiri's achingly poignant, exquisitely empathetic story-telling, this is her most devastating work of fiction to date."

Camus, Albert "The Just Assassins"

Camus, Albert "The Just Assassins" (aka The Just) (French: Les Justes) - 1949

I'm not the biggest fan of reading plays but I love Albert Camus. And what should I say, this almost read like a novel. It probably helped that it was about a subject I am very interested in. Apparently, this is based on real social revolutionaries.

The big philosophical question of the play is: Can you kill for the sake of revolution? Is it just or is it still murder? Do you kill a few in order to save thousands or even more? It's for you to decide.

Not just with the location, also with the subject and the way he asks the questions, does he remind me of my favourite Russian authors, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy.

In any case, this book leaves us with a lot to ponder about. Perfect.

From the back cover:

"Camus’s The Just (Les Justes) is a five-act play based on the true story of a group of Russian revolutionaries who assassinated Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in 1905. First produced in 1949, The Just is a significant, eerily resonant, moving, and highly theatrical work. With a humanist perspective, Camus delves into the hearts and minds of five idealists who each grapple with a heinous choice and ultimately commit murder, in the name of justice. Now, more than ever, the play provokes and reverberates with a troubling yet necessary line of inquiry. Do the ends justify the means? Is terrorism ever a viable choice? What is the true cost of resistance? What is the difference between a freedom fighter and a murderer?

What The Just makes so compelling and haunting is the way Camus uses clearly drawn characters to tell such an intimate yet horrific story. He completely understands and sympathizes with his characters but never apologizes for their actions. And although it was written more than fifty years ago and set in another era, The Just feels entirely contemporary and vital. In this play, Camus attempts to understand what it would require to take violent action and assassinate someone in power yet somehow maintain a sense of justice and morality. Is this even possible?"

Albert Camus received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957 "for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times".

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

Gorky, Maxim "Mother"

Gorky, Maxim (Максима Горького) "Mother" (Russian: Мать/Matj) - 1906/07

I love Russian literature. Their style is quite unique. This book makes no difference. The author was not only active in the emerging Marxist communist movement, he founded this style, the socialist realism literary method. We meet Pelageya who is abused by her husband. After his death, her son Pavel starts fighting the Tsarist regime. His mother is at first hesitant and fearful, but then she supports the young people because she realizes that things cannot go on like this. She "adopts" all her son's friend and is a second mother to them, sometimes more a mother than their own one.

We learn how hard life is in a village in Russia at the turn into the 20th century and how difficult it is for the ordinary man to feed his family. They had nothing, not even hope that under this government anything would ever get better for them. I don't know what many of us would do in those circumstances nowadays.

The book is mainly about the revolutionists, the underground résistance and why they fought their tsars. We can all imagine but this puts it on paper for all to follow. It's also about the love of her mother to her son and how far she would go in supporting and defending him.

A great book.

Apparently, he was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize for Literature. What a shame he never received it. Would have been well deserved it.

From the back cover:

"Maksim Gorky was a Soviet author and founder of the socialist realism literary method. He was also a political activist who spent several lengthy stays in Capri and Italy. Gorky traveled throughout his native land and at one point became friends with Lenin. His travels overwhelmed him with the vastness and beauty of his country and they also made him sharply aware of the ignorance and poverty of its people. This novel tells the story of the common proletariat who protested against the czar and the capitalists which eventually led to the October Revolution. Pelageya is the wife of a factory worker who ignores the political upheaval in her country in favor of caring for her personal life. She represents hundreds of workers who are concerned with living their lives. Her son Pavel takes a different path and joins the revolution inspiring many Russians who were living under a capitalistic society in Russia. Gorky saw the 'mother country' as supporting her children as they fought for their rights.
…
Every day the factory whistle bellowed forth its shrill, roaring, trembling noises into the smoke-begrimed and greasy atmosphere of the workingmen's suburb; and obedient to the summons of the power of steam, people poured out of little gray houses into the street. With somber faces they hastened forward like frightened roaches, their muscles stiff from insufficient sleep. In the chill morning twilight they walked through the narrow, unpaved street to the tall stone cage that waited for them with cold assurance, illumining their muddy road with scores of greasy, yellow, square eyes."

Khorsandi, Shappi "A Beginner's Guide to Acting English"

Khorsandi, Shappi "A Beginner's Guide to Acting English" - 2009

Since I don't live in England anymore, I can't go and see stand-up comedians live. But there are panel shows and quiz shows and other shows where they appear as hosts etc. So, this is how I got to know Shappi Khorsandi. She comes across as a lovely person, very funny, very comical. When I learned that she had written a book about coming to England as a three-year-old, I was very interested. I imagined it to be just as nice and funny as the author herself.

I was not disappointed. This book doesn't just tell us how it is to grow up in a strange country, it tells us a lot about Iran, as well. And not just about the politics but about the ordinary family life. How they lived under the Shah, how they lived after the revolution. And with her hints about how her parents were different from English parents, I also learned a lot about Iranian culture.

It's not a hilarious book but you can see where Shappi Khorsandi gets her sense of humour. It certainly is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. You get to know both the author and her entire family very well, you get to fear with them and mourn with them, laugh with them and love with them.

I also had the chance to compare how the Khorsandi family lived in England as foreigners and how we lived in England as foreigners. Two very different worlds. Granted, it was not exactly the same place and some twenty years later but we never really felt "foreign" or weren't treated as such. Someone told me that's because we spoke English and "fitted in" but I'm sure there are some more reasons behind that. In any case, I'm happy that the Khorsandis could make England their home and that their daughter became such a great comedian.

I loved this so much, I've already ordered her next book "Nina is not okay".

From the back cover:

"When you're young just growing up seems hard enough. But if you've been shipped to a news country, away from all your beloved aunts and uncles, where you can't understand anyone it's even harder. And if the Ayatollah wants you and your family dead, then that's when it gets really tricky …

This is a story of growing up a stranger in a strange land with fish fingers and kiss chase and milk and biscuits. But it's also a story about exile, survival, and families - wherever they are."

Rand, Ayn "We the Living"

Rand, Ayn "We the Living" - 1936

I found this book on one of those shelves where you can leave books you don't want any longer and others can donate something for a charity. I always liked Russian authors but I wasn't aware Ayn Rand was one. Had she used her real name, Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, I might have guessed it earlier.

According to her own words, "We the Living" is as near to an autobiography as she would ever write. I can see how she pulled a lot of the background information from her own experience. Of course, she made it to the States, so there's already a hint that this is not a biography. But it must have been much easier for her writing this novel after leaving Russia or the whatever it was called then. (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic first, then USSR or Soviet Union).

This book is so great, so informative. Russia post-revolution in its early days when you had a lot of enthusiastic young people who thought they might make the world a better place to live for everyone. I can understand their dreams, I probably would have belonged to that group because I always believed that everyone should have the same chances. I still do. And I admire countries that achieved at least a little of that, similar wages, health insurance for everyone etc.

But back to Russia at the beginning of the last century. They certainly did not get what they wanted and for a lot of the enthusiastic new communists, the dreams were shattered quite quickly. Ayn Rand describes very well how they felt, and also what happened to the rest of them. If you'd owned something or belonged to the richer part of the people before the revolution, you had no rights whatsoever, couldn't study, couldn't work to earn a living, they just turned the tables around and left those people with nothing who had run the factories or the large farms etc. Not really such a good idea.

If you're interested in this time-frame, I highly recommend this novel. I will certainly read more of her books.

From the back cover:

"Ayn Rand's first published novel, a timeless story that explores the struggles of the individual against the state in Soviet Russia.

First published in 1936, We the Living portrays the impact of the Russian Revolution on three human beings who demand the right to live their own lives and pursue their own happiness. It tells of a young woman’s passionate love, held like a fortress against the corrupting evil of a totalitarian state.

We the Living is not a story of politics, but of the men and women who have to struggle for existence behind the Red banners and slogans. It is a picture of what those slogans do to human beings. What happens to the defiant ones? What happens to those who succumb?

Against a vivid panorama of political revolution and personal revolt, Ayn Rand shows what the theory of socialism means in practice."

Taylor, Andrew "The Ashes of London"

Taylor, Andrew "The Ashes of London" - 2016

This is a highly exciting book. I am seldom tempted to check out what happens at the end of the book but I really was this time. Didn't do it, of course, because that would spoil the surprise.

This is a combination of historical novel and crime story, I can see them turning it into a very successful movie one day. Although, they probably are going to change something. As they always do.

We have all read something about the Great Fire of London, well, if we read historical novels we have read one or two about it, if not, we have heard that it happened, that it was in 1666 and that it started in a bakery in Pudding Lane. But how did the people live at the time?

A while ago I read Daniel Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year" and that happened just ten years before the fire. Whilst the plague killed many people and brought the city to ruin, the fire brought work and helped to bring it back to its former glory.

If historical novels are your thing, this is a MUST.

From the back cover:

"A CITY IN FLAMES London, 1666. As the Great Fire consumes everything in its path, the body of a man is found in the ruins of St Paul's Cathedral - stabbed in the neck, thumbs tied behind his back. A WOMAN ON THE RUN The son of a traitor, James Marwood is forced to hunt the killer through the city's devastated streets. There he encounters a determined young woman who will stop at nothing to secure her freedom.

A KILLER SEEKING REVENGE When a second murder victim is discovered in the Fleet Ditch, Marwood is drawn into the political and religious intrigue of Westminster - and across the path of a killer with nothing to lose..."

Mahfouz, Naguib "Sugar Street"

Mahfouz, Naguib "Sugar Street" (Arabic: السكرية/Al-Sukkariyya) - 1957 (Cairo Trilogy 3) 

Seldom was I so sad than when finishing this novel. Not because of its contents although they were not all happy events but because this is the end of the story about the family Abd al-Jawad. I would have loved to carry on following their lives and that of their descendants even into the present day.

After reading "Palace Walk" and "Palace of Desire", the first two novels in this trilogy about the author's home town Cairo, I couldn't wait to read the next one.

Same as in the two previous books, we don't just meet the family but also learn about the Egyptian history. This book takes us through the years 1935 to 1944. We can tell the difference in society between the beginning of the saga in 1917 and the (almost) end of WWII. There is quite a difference between how women are treated, what they are allowed to do, even though there are still some people who live in the previous century. Same as today, I guess.

I would love to read more about Egypt later on. There is another Egyptian author that I really like, Ahdaf Soueif, I have read her novel "The Map of Love" and a collection of short stories "Aisha", and I am sure I will find other good Egyptian authors that will continue this story. If anyone has a suggestion, I am always happy to receive recommendations.

From the back cover:
"Sugar Street is the final novel in Nobel Prize-winner Naguib Mahfouz’s magnificent Cairo Trilogy, an epic family saga of colonial Egypt that is considered his masterwork.

The novels of the Cairo Trilogy trace three generations of the family of tyrannical patriarch al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household with a strict hand while living a secret life of self-indulgence. Sugar Street brings Mahfouz’s vivid tapestry of an evolving Egypt to a dramatic climax as the aging patriarch sees one grandson become a Communist, one a Muslim fundamentalist, and one the lover of a powerful politician. Filled with compelling drama, earthy humor, and remarkable insight, Mahfouz’s Cairo Trilogy is the achievement of a master storyteller."

Naguib Mahfouz "who, through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous - has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind" received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988.

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

Mahfouz, Naguib "Palace of Desire"

Mahfouz, Naguib "Palace of Desire" (Arabic: قصر الشوق/Qasr el-Shōq) - 1957
(Cairo Trilogy 2)

"Palace of Desire", Part 2 of the Cairo Trilogy, starts in 1924, five years after "Palace Walk" ends. The children have grown up, even the youngest son and the family moves on after several backdrops. al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, the Patriarch, still tries to control his children but he is less successful than in the first book.

Again, we meet all the friends and neighbours of the family, the sons-in-law, the girls pursued by the sons - and the father. A story that really deserves the title "saga".

We also learn again about the Egyptians' view of the British occupation and can totally understand them. Why should one country rule over another?

I know I mentioned I love big books but what I love even more is a continuation of a big book that makes it even bigger. This is one of those cases. I'm looking forward to the third part, "Sugar Street".

From the back cover:
"The sensual and provocative second volume in the Cairo Trilogy, Palace Of Desire follows the Al Jawad family into the awakening world of the 1920's and the sometimes violent clash between Islamic ideals, personal dreams and modern realities.

Having given up his vices after his son's death, ageing patriarch Al-Sayyid Ahmad pursues an arousing lute-player - only to find she has married his eldest son. His rebellious children struggle to move beyond his domination as they test the loosening reins of societal and parental control. And Ahmad's youngest son, in an unforgettable portrayal of unrequited love, ardently courts the sophisticated daughter of a rich Europeanised family."

Naguib Mahfouz "who, through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous - has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind" received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988.

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

Mahfouz, Naguib "Palace Walk"

Mahfouz, Naguib "Palace Walk" (Arabic: بين القصرين/Bayn al-qasrayn) - 1956 (Cairo Trilogie 1)

Part 1 of the Cairo Trilogy. I love big books, I love family sagas, I love historical fiction, I love books by Nobel Prize winners, so this should definitely the book for me.

And it is. The story of an Egyptian family between 1917 to 1919. We get to know al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad who rules his family like a tyrant, his wife, his daughters and his sons, they all have to obey him without question. He is by far not a perfect person himself but expects this from everyone around him. Given the time, everyone accepts this as a God-given law.

Brilliantly told, Naguib Mahfouz is a fantastic observer, he mentions so many things, describes people's feelings in a way that is unique and highly commendable. We can imagine being a fly on the wall who notices everything that is going on. I would love to read a book Mahfouz would write now about the same family, well, their progeny. The author managed to create a family that seems so real, so alive. We can well imagine meeting them somewhere. A very realistic story.

I already have the follow-up "Palace of Desire" on my table waiting to be read next and will certainly also read the last part "Sugar Street".

This book is also on the list of "The non-western books that every student should read".

From the back cover:

"Palace Walk is the first novel in Nobel Prize-winner Naguib Mahfouz’s magnificent Cairo Trilogy, an epic family saga of colonial Egypt that is considered his masterwork.

The novels of the Cairo Trilogy trace three generations of the family of tyrannical patriarch al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household with a strict hand while living a secret life of self-indulgence. Palace Walk introduces us to his gentle, oppressed wife, Amina, his cloistered daughters, Aisha and Khadija, and his three sons - the tragic and idealistic Fahmy, the dissolute hedonist Yasin, and the soul-searching intellectual Kamal. The family’s trials mirror those of their turbulent country during the years spanning the two world wars, as change comes to a society that has resisted it for centuries."

Naguib Mahfouz "who, through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous - has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind" received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988.

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

Landers, Brian "Empires Apart"

Landers, Brian "Empires Apart. A History of American and Russian Imperialism" - 2010

This was a great recommended from a good friend of mine. It summarizes almost all of Europe's history as well as the North American one, compares both "empires" in chronological order and gives a great overview over today's' troubles, as well. There is so much information with so many details in this book, it's amazing how the author managed to put it all on under 600 pages.

It is interesting to see the similarities in the two great super powers of the cold war as well as the differences, the approach to expanding their territory and their influence on anything in the world.

The work is written in quite an easy manner, so even if you are not used to historical works, you should get through this with no problems. I am sure there are people who dislike the book because it doesn't just emphasize on the difficulties and problems caused by the Russians but also those the USA is responsible for but I believe it is quite an impartial view and therefore worth a read. Thought-provoking.

From the back cover: "The American road to empire started when the first English settlers landed in Virginia. Simultaneously, the first Russians crossed the Urals and the two empires that would dominate the twentieth century were born. Empires Apart covers the history of the Americans and Russians from the Vikings to the present day. It shows the two empires developed in parallel as they expanded to the Pacific and launched wars against the nations around them. They both developed an imperial 'ideology' that was central to the way they perceived themselves.
Soon after, the ideology of the Russian Empire also changed with the advent of Communism. The key argument of this book is that these changes did not alter the core imperial values of either nation; both Russians and Americans continued to believe in their manifest destiny. Corporatist and Communist imperialism changed only the mechanics of empire. Both nations have shown that they are still willing to use military force and clandestine intrigue to enforce imperial control. Uniquely, Landers shows how the broad sweep of American history follows a consistent path from the first settlers to the present day and, by comparing this with Russia's imperial path, demonstrates the true nature of American global ambitions."

Here are a few quotes I liked for one reason or another:
"He [Constantinus VII] is said to have proposed marriage to her [Olga, Svytalov's mother]; clearly it was a truth then [950] universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a large fortune must be in search of a husband." (page 24)
This link to my favourite author, a sentence everyone who likes classic books will know, shows how little times have changed.

"History is not what is taught in the classroom or buried in academic journals. History is the random collection of pictures and phrases, stories and prejudices that accretes drop by drop in the mind." (page 295)
I think that is one of the reasons we should read as many different kind of books from different authors with very different background. In order to learn from the history.

"... much of the twentieth century can be characterised as a Tale of Two Empires ..." (page 512)
Yes, indeed. The question is, is that a good thing or not? I think we should always have more than one superpower in order not to be overrun by the one and only but having two alone is not that great, either, because one will always try to overcome the other. And in the end, the "little man" pays, as always.

Aboulela, Leila "The Kindness of Enemies"

Aboulela, Leila "The Kindness of Enemies" - 2015

Such an interesting book. A lot about history and also a lot about current politics. A woman with a Russian mother and Sudanese father who lives in Scotland and researches the life of a 19th century Muslim leader. What's not to like?

The story of the Imam mirrors the story of the protagonist which could probably be the story of the author. There is a huge struggle for all the characters involved - fictional or real - and we can follow Natasha, the protagonist, in the 20th century with her struggle to see where she really belongs, Europe or Africa, or Russia? The same goes for the Imam who fights for his country, his son who is kidnapped as a young boy and then raised in Russia, Anna, the Georgian princess whose husband feels more Russian, her son who is also right in the middle of it. And then there are the modern day Muslims living in Scotland, Malak and her son Oz, who struggle for their identity and get into trouble just be being themselves.

A lot of people here who have a problem with who they really are, with knowing who they really are. I think if you are in a situation like that, you probably need as many characters to put it all in. And maybe that's why they all ring so true, they all seem to come from the author's heart. I am sure Leila Aboulela goes through the same questions and worries as Natasha Wilson in her story.

Great book. I will read more by this author. But I think everyone should read this book, I believe it makes us understand our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters better and the struggles they have to face every day in a world where they are marked as terrorists even before they open their mouths.

From the back cover: "It’s 2010 and Natasha, a half Russian, half Sudanese professor of history, is researching the life of Imam Shamil, the 19th century Muslim leader who led the anti-Russian resistance in the Caucasian War. When shy, single Natasha discovers that her star student, Oz, is not only descended from the warrior but also possesses Shamil’s priceless sword, the Imam’s story comes vividly to life. As Natasha’s relationship with Oz and his alluring actress mother intensifies, Natasha is forced to confront issues she had long tried to avoid - that of her Muslim heritage. When Oz is suddenly arrested at his home one morning, Natasha realizes that everything she values stands in jeopardy.

Told with Aboulela’s inimitable elegance and narrated from the point of view of both Natasha and the historical characters she is researching, The Kindness of Enemies is both an engrossing story of a provocative period in history and an important examination of what it is to be a Muslim in a post 9/11 world."

Dickens, Charles "Hard Times"

Dickens, Charles "Hard Times" - 1854

I think I mentioned before that I love Dickens even though I haven't read all that many of his novels. I decided it was time to devour his next novel and happened upon "Hard Times". My first thought was, that could be the title of any of his novels. And I still think I was right there.

Anyway, Charles Dickens is one of the best authors that ever lived. He manages to describe people, their traits and personalities, the interaction between them, their lot in life, he does all that just wonderfully and still it sounds like it was the most normal thing in the world. As most of my friends know,  I do prefer large books, this was not THAT large but it had all the components and told a great story. Another tale of how different lives were for the rich and the poor, how hard it was to get through life if you were not born on the lucky side. And still, there is so much humour in this story, The characters are all brilliant. Every single one of them is so special, some of them quite warm hearted, others not so much.

I really enjoyed reading this story and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic novels and maybe even for a starter novel for those who pretend not to enjoy them.

From the back cover:

"Hard Times is both a tragic story of human oppression and a dazzling work of political satire. It depicts Coketown, a typical red-brick industrial city of the north. In its schools and factories children and adults are caged and enslaved, with no personal freedom until their spirit is broken. Against this social backdrop where harsh regimes are enforced by the likes of Josiah Bounderby, the pompous self-made man, and Gradgrind, the censorious disciplinarian, the personal tragedies of Louisa Gradgrind and Stephen Blackpool are played out. Despite its vivid portrait of the horrors of the newly mechanized society, Hard Times is shot through with a wit, good humour and a conviction that entertainment is essential for human happiness, making it one of the most uplifting of Dickens's novels."

Read about the other Dickens' novels I read here.

Follett, Ken "Edge of Eternity"

Follett, Ken "Edge of Eternity" - 2014

When I first learnt there was a trilogy about the past century, each part concentrating on a different war: First, Second and Cold, I thought the last one might be the one that least interests me. After all, I've been there, I lived during the Cold War, I keep telling my kids how it was - and probably bore them to death.

However, I only was there during part of the Cold War, I only lived the West German one, not the East German, the Russian or the American one. I think my part was closest to that of the English and Welsh families in the story, after all, we had free elections and could do as we pleased.

As in the previous parts, the author introduces the characters from the different families one by one and most of them are very close to some important people. They either work for Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, Khrushchev or there is a fictional character who resembles Solchenitsyn ... lots of true life connections that explain what happened in that time. Of course I knew about the civil rights movement but this book has taught me more about it, and I am sure it teaches others more about the parts they don't know.

I was surprised that some people had given this book a bad rating, I think that is mainly because they didn't agree with the way history was portrayed, their view were a little (or a lot) different from Ken Follett. Compared to American Republicans, most Europeans seem to be communists and that is the most evil of them all.

Well, I enjoyed all three books. A lot. I grew to love the characters, I felt like I was part of their families or at least a close friend of them. All together, I read about 3,000 pages of wonderful storytelling. And I am still in awe of the amount of research Ken Follett must have done for this.

From the back cover:

"Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy follows the fortunes of five intertwined families - American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh - as they make their way through the twentieth century. It has been called 'potent, engrossing' (Publishers Weekly) and 'truly epic' (Huffington Post). USA Today said, 'You actually feel like you’re there.'

Edge of Eternity, the finale, covers one of the most tumultuous eras of all: the 1960s through the 1980s, encompassing civil rights, assassinations, Vietnam, the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, presidential impeachment, revolution - and rock and roll.

East German teacher Rebecca Hoffman discovers she’s been spied on by the Stasi for years and commits an impulsive act that will affect her family for generations… George Jakes, himself bi-racial, bypasses corporate law to join Robert F. Kennedy’s Justice Department and finds himself in the middle of not only the seminal events of the civil rights battle, but also a much more personal battle… Cameron Dewar, the grandson of a senator, jumps at the chance to do some espionage for a cause he believes in, only to discover that the world is much more dangerous than he’d imagined… Dimka Dvorkin, a young aide to Khrushchev, becomes an agent for good and for ill as the Soviet Union and the United States race to the brink of nuclear war, while his twin sister, Tania, carves out a role that will take her from Moscow to Cuba to Prague to Warsaw - and into history.

These characters and many others find their lives inextricably entangled as they add their personal stories and insight to the most defining events of the 20th century. From the opulent offices of the most powerful world leaders to the shabby apartments of those trying to begin a new empire, from the elite clubs of the wealthy and highborn to the passionate protests of a country’s most marginalized citizens, this is truly a drama for the ages.

With the Century Trilogy, Follett has guided readers through an entire era of history with a master’s touch. His unique ability to tell fascinating, brilliantly researched stories that captivate readers and keep them turning the pages is unparalleled. In this climactic and concluding saga, Follett brings us into a world we thought we knew, but now will never seem the same again."

And these are the first two books of the trilogy:
Follett, Ken "Fall of Giants" - 2010 - World War I
Follett, Ken "Winter of the World" - 2012 - World War II

Follett, Ken "Winter of the World"

Follett, Ken "Winter of the World" - 2012

The second book of the trilogy about the 20th century, certainly one of the most dramatic centuries, ever, and definitely one that is still with us because it has only just ended.

After our five families have made it through what they thought would be the worst part of their lives, the "War to end all Wars", later called World War I, they now embark on an even darker time, World War II. A lot of our heroes from "Fall of Giants" have grown up, had children and/or died, so it's on to the next generation. They don't have it any easier than their ancestors, they have to fight against their friends, and sometimes even against their family.

Just like in the first book, the author gives a good insight into the lives of the people in the various countries, he introduces both the people who anticipate the war and the evil that will come as well as those who think their country can do nothing bad, that it is all for a greater good.

We see all the negative sides of any war but especially of this one that was so different from all wars ever fought before and hopefully from all of those following. I love that a lot of the characters are directly involved with some of the important events and people throughout this time because it makes us look at the incidents even more closely. We can read some very detailed accounts of battles and other war atrocities and since we got to "meet" the characters before, it makes it even more shocking.

We learn how the Nazis took over Germany and then tried to do this with the rest of the world, how everyone who opposed them was "quietened" in very different ways. We see how the Germans tried to fight them (or not) and how that ended. And if we didn't know it already, we now know for sure that they didn't kill just the Jews but anyone who didn't fit their view of a "decent" person. Whether someone was from a race they didn't know or opposed them, was handicapped or gay, nobody who didn't fit into their "norm" was safe from their persecution. I have heard a lot of stories from my parents who were still little children when Hitler was elected, but there are a lot of younger people who never had these time witnesses in their lived and there are even more people around the world who don't know about these details, either.

A book mentioned/read by one of the characters: "All Quiet on the Western Front" (Im Westen nichts Neues) by Erich Maria Remarque, a novel by a WWI veteran, it's been on my waiting list forever, so I probably should give it a go soon. *

A great quote given by one of the protagonists: "Why was it, Lloyd wondered, that the people who wanted to destroy everything good about their country were the quickest to wave the national flag?" I've been asking myself the same all my life and I guess you must have grown up in Germany (even post-war) to have a weird feeling every time you see people proudly waving their flags. There is always a strange aftertaste.

An excellent narrative of a time that still lingers with us even seventy years later. A fascinating story of one of the worst time in history. Well done, Mr. Follett.

From the back cover:

"Winter of the World picks up right where the first book left off, as its five interrelated families - American, German, Russian, English, Welsh - enter a time of enormous social, political, and economic turmoil, beginning with the rise of the Third Reich, through the Spanish Civil War and the great dramas of World War II, up to the explosions of the American and Soviet atomic bombs.

Carla von Ulrich, born of German and English parents, finds her life engulfed by the Nazi tide until she commits a deed of great courage and heartbreak. . . . American brothers Woody and Chuck Dewar, each with a secret, take separate paths to momentous events, one in Washington, the other in the bloody jungles of the Pacific. . . . English student Lloyd Williams discovers in the crucible of the Spanish Civil War that he must fight Communism just as hard as Fascism. . . . Daisy Peshkov, a driven American social climber, cares only for popularity and the fast set, until the war transforms her life, not just once but twice, while her cousin Volodya carves out a position in Soviet intelligence that will affect not only this war - but the war to come.

These characters and many others find their lives inextricably entangled as their experiences illuminate the cataclysms that marked the century. From the drawing rooms of the rich to the blood and smoke of battle, their lives intertwine, propelling the reader into dramas of ever-increasing complexity."

Third book of the trilogy: "Edge of Eternity"

* I read it in the meantime, see here.