Dickens, Charles "Martin Chuzzlewit"

Dickens, Charles "Martin Chuzzlewit. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit" - 1843-44 

I'm a huge fan of Charles Dickens and am glad I read this novel. But I wouldn't recommend it if you haven't read anything else by him. For me, this was one of his worst novels.

Too many characters, even though he was able to include many interesting names. This also meant that some things got lost, such as the main love story, which is what everything supposedly revolves around. But it's barely portrayed. We hardly see the couple together. Otherwise, too much confusion, chaos, one catastrophe after another.

I read somewhere that this is Dickens' most underrated book. I wouldn't say that; I think it landed exactly where it belongs, somewhere at the very bottom of all his fantastic books.

I recommend "David Copperfield" for starters.

From the back cover:

"Old Martin Chuzzlewit believes that greed is so endemic in his family that he disinherits his grandson and hinders his courtship of Mary Graham. As the intricacies of he plot develop the story passes from sunny comedy to the grimmest depths of criminal psychology. Domestic tyranny is tellingly depicted through the household of Mr Pecksniff and public villainy - leading to blackmail and  murder - revealed in the activities of the Anglo-Bengalee Disinterested Loan and Life Assurance Company...

A brilliant satire on selfishness and hypocrisy revolving around a stubborn young protagonist. Martin Chuzzlewit is also one of Dickens's comic masterpieces. Peopled with a cast of characters - including Mrs. Gamp, Poll Sweedlepipe, Montague Tigg and Chevy Slyme - unequalled elsewhere in his novels."

Vonnegut, Kurt "Cat's Cradle" - 1963

Vonnegut, Kurt "Cat's Cradle" - 1963

We read this with our international online book club in June 2025.

While science-fiction is not really my thing, I would say this is more a dystopian novel. And a very good one. Granted, part of it is sci-fi though that is the case with a lot of dystopian novels. Here, the author even explained, how it happened that the world came into this distress.

I have only read one other book by Kurt Vonnegut before (Breakfast of Champions) and that was fantastic. So was this one. Kurt Vonnegut loves to play with words. And he always finds new ones that we haven't heard before but that makes a lot of sense.

As it says in the book description, our deepest fears are witnessing Armageddon and, even worse, surviviing it. My sentiments exactly. Should there be one, I'd rather not survive it than having to build up the earth again. Must be terrible.

Well, here we get the chance, We meet all sorts of different kind of quirky people who meet on a fictional Caribbean island where they witness the "End of the World". With his dark humour, the author manages to describe the encounters everyone has with Ice-Nine, a chemical that can destroy everything. And their reasons for getting engaged in the turmoil. His irony shows especially when he describes the fictional new religion Bokonon. So many witty insights that make us think about every existing religion.

He more or less ends with this quote: "Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, It might have been". One of the most true sentences there are.

If I haven't said it before, this is a great story. Definitely makes me want to read more of his books.

And here are some comments from the discussion:

• Most members thought it was really well written, and humorous in a satirical way. While at the same time having some underlying themes of criticism of religion, dictatorships, science, all in a writing style very unique to Vonnegut.
• I really liked the chapter layout, with short chapters of about only 1-2 pages, that as the chapter is read you realize the title of the chapter was really descriptive and inventive. While the end-of-world-science that happened was very quickly unfolding at the end of the story and not at all believable, it was written as a quite humorous conclusion to the story.
• I was prejudiced against it before I started reading it, so got pleasantly surprised that I really enjoyed it after all. I dislike reading about wars and horrors, but enjoy some dystopias, of which this one was a quite thoughtful fun version. I was happy we chose it as I would never have read it for myself.

From the back cover:

"With his trademark dry wit, Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle is an inventive science fiction satire that preys on our deepest fears of witnessing Armageddon - and, worse still, surviving it. 

Dr Felix Hoenikker, one of the founding 'fathers' of the atomic bomb, has left a deadly legacy to the world. For he is the inventor of ice-nine, a lethal chemical capable of freezing the entire planet. Writer Jonah's search for its whereabouts leads to Hoenikker's three eccentric children, to an island republic in the Caribbean where the religion of Bokononism is practised, to love and to insanity. Told with deadpan humour and bitter irony, Kurt Vonnegut's cult tale of global destruction is a funny and frightening satire on the end of the world and the madness of mankind."

McCourt, Malachy "A Monk Swimming"

McCourt, Malachy "A Monk Swimming" - 1998

The name McCourt is well known in reading circles, almost everyone knows Frank McCourt and his stories about his family. And he has mentioned his siblings. Well, Malachy is one of them. 

Same as his brother, this family member talks about his family. It is interesting to compare the experiences both brothers had with an alcoholic father in a dead-poor family. And how they both turned out in later life.

This story is a lot more negative than the "Angela's Ashes"-series. But also much funnier. The author comes across as the stereptypical Irish guy who likes drinking, singing etc. But he also shows that he has a heart. And after everything he went through as a child, we know he could have been a lot different.

One funny thing I have to tell. The weird title comes from his misunderstanding of a line in the Hail Mary when he was a child: "Blessed Art Though Among Women." He thought it meant "A Monk Swimming".

From the back cover:

"Slapped with a libel suit after an appearance on a talk show, Malachy McCourt crows, 'If they could only see me now in the slums of Limerick, a big shot, sued for a million. Bejesus, isn't America a great and wonderful country?' His older brother Frank's Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Angela's Ashes, took its somber tone from the bleak atmosphere of those slums, while Malachy's boisterous recollections are fueled by his zestful appreciation for the opportunities and oddities of his native land.

He and Frank were born in Brooklyn, moved with their parents to Ireland as children, then returned to the States as adults. This book covers the decade 1952-63, when Malachy roistered across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, but spent most of his time in New York City. There his ready wit and quick tongue won him an acting job with the Irish Players, a semiregular stint on The Tonight Show hosted by Jack Paar, and friendships with some well-heeled, well-born types who shared his fondness for saloon life and bankrolled him in an East Side saloon that may have been the first singles bar. He chronicles those events--and many others--with back-slapping bonhomie.

Although McCourt acknowledges the personal demons that pursued him from his poverty-stricken childhood and destroyed his first marriage, this is on the whole an exuberant autobiography that pays tribute to the joys of a freewheeling life."

Osman, Richard "We Solve Murders"

Osman, Richard "We Solve Murders" - 2024

I absolutely loved Richard Osman's first books because I do love him as a person and also got to love him as an author, So, I was quite happy, when my son gave me this for Christmas.

If this was a movie, this would be an action thriller rather than a murder mystery. I love watching murder mysteries (though I don't read them much) but I really don't like action movies. Far too loud for me.

I must say, this was almost the same with this book. I heard people complain about his first books that there were too many characters and that you did confused. Well, if you got confused with the first lot, this one will certainly not do for you. It took me quite a while to even understand who was who and what they were up to. My book has 464 pages and I think I got into the story at around page 200. Far too late and I would have given up if it weren't for the author.

There is some humour in this book but not the humour I am used to from Richard Osman. Such a pity.

From the back cover:

"Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job...

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?"

Mak, Geert "The Dream of Europe"

Mak, Geert "The Dream of Europe. Travels in a Troubled Continent" (Dutch: Grote verwachtingen. In Europa 1999-2019) - 2019

This book was a present by my son for Christmas. While I usually try to read Dutch books in Dutch, this was an English edition. In the end, I was not unhappy about that because now I can pass it on to my sons. They both speak Dutch but wouldn't read such a large book in that language.

I have read a few book by this fantastic journalist and author. All of them having to do with the changes of our continent in modern times. Totally interesting and very well examined and described.

He wrote this book six years ago and he predicted many events that are true today. That shows how well he observes. This can be seen as a follow-up to "In Europe. Travels through the Twentieth Century". A very-well deserved and very well executed follow-up. His observations about the first twenty years of our century are shocking and frightening. We should listen what he has to say about the future.

And here are some important quotes (from many):

"I wrote Enraged Citizens to show how it ought to be. The Capital (Die Hauptstadt)  is what it actually is." Robert Menasse

"But let all those idiots gather together in politics without sufficient resistance of any kind and you get a dictatorship of idiocy". Jacques de Kadt, Dutch essayist, in 1936

"He [one of the Republican candidates in 2015] lacked even the most basic respect for facts, institutions and democratic principles. To him, political opponents were enemies, a compromise was not a dignified agreement but a capitulation …" Doesn’t that apply to all of them???

From the back cover:

'Mak is the history teacher everyone should have had' Financial Times

How did the great European dream turn sour? And where do we go from here? From the author of the internationally acclaimed In Europe, a stunning history of our present,examining the first two decades of this most fragile and fraught new millennium. The great European project was built out of a common desire for peace, prosperity and freedom; a wish for a united Europe striving towards a common goal. The EU was to set an an arena for close cooperation, tackling crucial shared concerns from climate change to organized crime, promoting open borders and social security. But the first two turbulent decades of this century have been times of rapid and profound change. From the shores of Lampedusa to Putin's Moscow, the continent threatens to tear itself apart. What's happened to Europe's optimism and euphoria? How has it given way to nostalgia, frustration and fear, the fragile European dream in danger of turning into a nightmare?

In The Dream of Europe, Geert Mak, one of Europe's best-loved commentators, charts the seismic events that have shaped people's lives over the past twenty years. Mak's monumental book In Europe defined the continent on the verge of a new millennium. The Dream of Europe brings us up to the present day, through the rocky expansion of the EU, the aftermath of 9/11 and terrorist attacks across Europe, the 2008 financial crash and the euro crisis, the tragedy of the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, the rise of right-wing populism and Brexit.

Like no other, Mak blends history, politics and culture with the stories and experiences of the many Europeans he meets on his travels. He brings this continent to life, and asks what role does Europe play now, and how might we face our challenges together, in the spirit of solidarity and connection.

'A powerful, humane and serious mind' Guardian

'Mak is a truly cosmopolitan chronicler' Independent"

Capote, Truman "Breakfast at Tiffany's" - 1958

Capote, Truman "Breakfast at Tiffany's" - 1958

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

I saw the film many, many years ago. I always wanted to read the book, but somehow I never got around to it. Of course, too many books, too little time. Now we have read it in our international online book club.

It really is an excellent book, but unfortunately much too short.

The description of the characters, especially Holly Golightly and the nameless narrator, is excellent. You can feel the relationship between the people, the problems that people had back then. Would the book be written like this today, would the characters still live like this today? Certainly not, but that makes the story even more interesting.

Comments by other readers:

I think the book was interesting and well written, but it was not a great discussion-book. We had much to say about the stereotypical set of characters and her relationship types. But not that much else. I found it very sad anyway.

From the back cover:

"It's New York in the 1940s, where the martinis flow from cocktail hour till breakfast at Tiffany's. And nice girls don't, except, of course, Holly Golightly. Pursued by Mafia gangsters and playboy millionaires, Holly is a fragile eyeful of tawny hair and turned-up nose, a heart-breaker, a perplexer, a traveller, a tease. She is irresponsibly 'top banana in the shock department', and one of the shining flowers of American fiction."

Thoreau, Henry David "Walden"

Thoreau, Henry David "Walden; or, Life in the Woods" - 1854

Everyone told me I should read the book. I like to think about and speak about philosophy. But this was not for me. I saw it as the ramblings of a guy who thinks the world of himself. He reminded me of a certain president of these days ….

Yes, he had the idea to live on his own with no support from anyone. But he met people all the time, didn't live far from civilization where he could get help if he needed it. And - he didn't just live of nothing. He had a house to live in, albeit a cabin that was small and had just the bare essentials, but many, many people had to live with less than that. And still have. Not exactly the heroism he likes to portray.

I thought maybe it would get better and I could learn something in the end. I didn't.

Book Description:

"Originally published in 1854, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and compelling books in American literature. This new paperback edition-introduced by noted American writer John Updike-celebrates the 150th anniversary of this classic work. Much of Walden's material is derived from Thoreau's journals and contains such engaging pieces as 'Reading' and 'The Pond in the Winter' 

Other famous sections involve Thoreau's visits with a Canadian woodcutter and with an Irish family, a trip to Concord, and a description of his bean field. This is the complete and authoritative text of Walden - as close to Thoreau's original intention as all available evidence allows. For the student and for the general reader, this is the ideal presentation of Thoreau's great document of social criticism and dissent."

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."

Oates, Joyce Carol "Blonde"

Oates, Joyce Carol "Blonde" - 2000

I find it hard to write this review. I love books by Joyce Carol Oates, I think she deserves the Nobel Prize. I am intrigued by the figure of Marilyn Monroe, I read the book "Marilyn" (Goodreads) by Norman Mailer ages ago. I think I was expecting something along that line.

What I got was a description of a child who didn't stand a chance in the world. How she became one of the greatest icons in the film industry? That was a long and arduous way and it didn't bring her any joy.

I had to remind myself often that this was just a book based on the real life story of the film star, even though most of the facts were true.

It was a long and heavy read. Did I enjoy it as much as the other JCO books? I'm not sure but I'm glad I read it.

From the back cover:

"In 'Blonde' we are given an intimate, unsparing vision of the woman who became Marilyn Monroe like no other: the child who visits the cinema with her mother; the orphan whose mother is declared mad; the woman who changes her name to become an actress; the fated celebrity, lover, comedienne, muse and icon. Joyce Carol Oates tells an epic American story of how a fragile, gifted young woman makes and remakes her identity, surviving against crushing odds, perpetually in conflict and intensely driven. Here is the very essence of the individual hungry and needy for love: from an elusive mother; from a mysterious, distant father and from a succession of lovers and husbands. Joyce Carol Oates sympathetically explores the inner life of the woman destined to become Hollywood’s most compelling legend. 'Blonde' is a brilliant and deeply moving portrait of a culture hypnotised by its own myths and the shattering reality of the personal effects it had on the woman who became Marilyn Monroe."

Tevis, Walter "The Queen's Gambit"

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

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

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

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

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

Comments by other members:

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

From the back cover:

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

Towles, Amor "Rules of Civility"

Towles, Amor "Rules of Civility" - 2011

After reading "A Gentleman in Moscow", I definitely wanted to read more of this author and when one of my book club members offered to lend me her copy of this one, I happily said yes.

It is not the same as the aforementioned novel but it is also a good one. A completely different area, a different situation, but you get a similar feeling. This one takes place in New York around the life of a young girl who comes to New York.

We don't hear much about the parents who immigrated from Russia but it is her background that get her into her jobs, as she is able to speak Russian.

We get to know her friends, the circles she moves in. A well-written account of life in the first half of the last century. Amor Towles is certainly an author who knows how to capture an audience.

In the epilogue we find what is probably one of the most important lines from the whole book:

"The thing of it is - 1939 may have brought the beginning of the war in Europe, but in America it brought the end of the Depression. While they were annexing and appeasing, we were stoking the steel plants, reassembling the assembly lines, and readying ourselves to meet a world-wide demand for arms and ammunition. In December 1940, with France already fallen and the Luftwaffe bombarding London, back in America Irving Berlin was observing how the treetops glistened and children listened to hear those sleigh bells in the snow. That's how far we were from the Second World War."

The title is based on George Washington's "Rules of Civility" and you can find them here.

From the back cover:

"In a New York City jazz bar on the last night of 1937, watching a quartet because she couldn't afford to see the whole ensemble, there were certain things Katey Kontent knew:

· like how to sneak into the cinema, and steal silk stockings from Bendel's

· how to type eighty words a minute, five thousand an hour, and nine million a year

· that if you can still lose yourself in a Dickens novel then everything is going to be fine

By the end of the year she'll have learned:

· how to live like a redhead and insist upon the very best

· that chance encounters can be fated, and the word 'yes' can be a poison

· that riches can turn to rags in the trip of a heartbeat ..."

Keyes, Daniel "Flowers for Algernon"

Keyes, Daniel "Flowers for Algernon" - 1959

This was our international online book club book for August 2024.

I wasn't really keen on reading this, you know how much I dislike science fiction. But this is a different one, yes, it's about science and it's about fictional science but it's got nothing to do with aliens or made-up planets, it wouldn't be an action movie with loud noises if the turned it into a film. Actually, they did turn it into one and it doesn't look like an action movie.

This is an interesting story about a young man who can hardly write his name let alone a decent sentence without any mistakes. They perform an operation on him and his IQ increases to astronomical heights. We see the change in Charlie. Phenomenal. As he understands more and more what they have done to him, the story reaches a different perspective.

Quite a good read.

From the back cover:

"Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, the powerful, classic story about a man who receives an operation that turns him into a genius...and introduces him to heartache.

Charlie Gordon is about to embark upon an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually low IQ, he has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that researchers hope will increase his intelligence - a procedure that has already been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon.

As the treatment takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment appears to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance, until Algernon suddenly deteriorates. Will the same happen to Charlie?"

Daniel Keyes has received both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for this novel.

Steinbeck, John "Cannery Row"

Steinbeck, John "Cannery Row" - 1945

For the Classics Spin #38, we received #17 and this was my novel.

I have read several John Steinbeck novels and loved them all. With this one, I was expecting something along the line of "The Grapes of Wrath", some story about the people who lived during the Great Depression and how they managed. Instead, I read about a group of unruly people whom I couldn't care for.

I'm sure you have read novels where your thoughts did not stay with the plot. Where you had to go back and read whole paragraphs over and over again. I had this with this story, well, I wouldn't even call it a story. It was an amalgamation of characters who couldn't bring together one decent idea.

I have heard several times that this is a funny novel. I cannot agree with that. I didn't see any humour in it. Sorry.

From the back cover:

"Unburdened by the material necessities of the more fortunate, the denizens of Cannery Row discover rewards unknown in more traditional society. Henri the painter sorts through junk lots for pieces of wood to incorporate into the boat he is building, while the girls from Dora Flood’s bordello venture out now and then to enjoy a bit of sunshine. Lee Chong stocks his grocery with almost anything a man could want, and Doc, a young marine biologist who ministers to sick puppies and unhappy souls, unexpectedly finds true love. Cannery Row is just a few blocks long, but the story it harbors is suffused with warmth, understanding, and a great fund of human values. First published in 1945, Cannery Row focuses on the acceptance of life as it is - both the exuberance of community and the loneliness of the individual. John Steinbeck draws on his memories of the real inhabitants of Monterey, California, and interweaves their stories in this world where only the fittest survive - creating what is at once one of his most humorous and poignant works. In Cannery Row, John Steinbeck returns to the setting of Tortilla Flat to create another evocative portrait of life as it is lived by those who unabashedly put the highest value on the intangibles - human warmth, camaraderie, and love."

John Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception".

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

Allende, Isabel "City of the Beasts"

Allende, Isabel "City of the Beasts" (Memories of the Eagle and the Jaguar #1) (Spanish: La ciudad de las bestias) (Las memorias del Águila y del Jaguar #1) - 2002

I found this book ages ago but my TBR pile is so large that it took me half a decade until I tackled this book. Not for want of interest. I love Isabel Allende.

I wasn't aware that this is supposed to be a young adult book but it definitely is also suitable for "old" adults like me. I love this story about a teenager who is taken out of his usual habitat and has to get on in a totally different world. First, he has to find an address in New York without any help but with many obstacles. But the real adventure starts when he leaves for the rainforest with his grandmother. Together with the daughter of their local guide, he explores the area. They rely on each other for their different knowledge and he grows up.

That is the beauty of this story. It's magical, they meet not just the natives but also their spirits, something totally alien to them as well as to us as readers.

There are two more books about Alex and Nadia, "Kingdom of the Golden Dragon" (El Reino del Dragón de Oro), and "Forest of the Pygmies" (El Bosque de los Pigmeos). I totally intend to read them.

From the back cover:

"An ecologial romance with a pulsing heart, equal parts Rider Haggard and Chico Buarque -- one of the world's greatest and most beloved storytellers broadens her style and reach with a Amazonian adventure story which will appeal to all ages Fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold has the chance to take the trip of a lifetime. With his mother in hospital, too ill to look after him, Alex is sent out to his grandmother Kate -- a fearless reporter with blue eyes 'as sharp as daggers' points'. Kate is about to embark on an expedition to the dangerous, remote world of the Amazon rainforest, but rather than change her plans, she simply takes Alex along with her. They set off with their team -- including a local guide and his daughter Nadia, with her wild, curly hair and skin the colour of honey -- in search of a fabled headhunting tribe and a legendary, marauding creature known to locals only as 'the Beast', only to find out much, much more about the mysteries of the jungle and its inhabitants. In a novel rich in adventure, magic and spirit, internationally-celebrated novelist Isabel Allende takes readers of all ages on a voyage of discovery and wonder, deep into the heart of the Amazon."

Shute, Nevil "On the Beach"

Shute, Nevil "On the Beach" - 1959

"It's not the end of the world at all," he said. "It's only the end for us. The world will go on just the same, only we shan't be in it. I dare say it will get along all right without us."

I like dystopian novels. They tell us about what could happen if we don't stop what we're doing. Everyone should read at least one of them. This one isn't such a long story (fewer than 300 pages) and thererfore something for everyone.

And yes, the quote I mentioned at the beginning is true. The world will exist, no matter whether the earth is still there or there are people on it. So, no worries. Nobody can destroy the WORLD. We can, however, destroy everything we loved and wish for our children to still be there when they and their kids and grandkids die.

This story makes us aware that we are all in the same boat, that we cannot get away from the evil others planned. The book is from 1959. Nevil Shute was a clairvoyant.

The book was much loved by the book club, especially the different views on the subject based on age and geographical location. It was all new information to many and much appreciated.

From the back cover:

"After a nuclear World War III has destroyed most of the globe, the few remaining survivors in southern Australia await the radioactive cloud that is heading their way and bringing certain death to everyone in its path. Among them is an American submarine captain struggling to resist the knowledge that his wife and children in the United States must be dead. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up, transmitting from somewhere near Seattle, and Captain Towers must lead his submarine crew on a bleak tour of the ruined world in a desperate search for signs of life. On the Beach is a remarkably convincing portrait of how ordinary people might face the most unimaginable nightmare."

Apparently, the phrase "on the beach" is a Royal Navy term that indicates retirement from service.

Hyde, Catherine Ryan "When I found you"

 

Hyde, Catherine Ryan "When I found you" - 2009

A member of my book club mentioned she really liked the books by Catherine Ryan Hyde. I had never heard of her before, so she lent me one of her titles.

It looks like Mrs. Hyde is a very diligent writer because she has published 24 books sind 1997, this being her eleventh.

A lot of topics are touched in this book. Not that it makes it superficial or anything, the whole story is very touching and the different topics float into each other perfectly. Abandonment, foster care, professional sports, early love, late love, poverty. You would think with all those subjects, it is more a chick lit type of book but it was not. I quite liked it.

From the back cover:

"When Nathan McCann discovers a newborn baby boy half buried in the woods, he assumes he's found a tiny dead body. But then the baby moves and in one remarkable moment, Nathan's life is changed forever.

The baby is sent to grow up with his grandmother, but Nathan can't forget him and is compelled to pay her a visit. He asks for one simple promise - that one day she will introduce the boy to Nathan and tell him, 'This is the man who found you in the woods.'

Years pass and Nathan assumes that the old lady has not kept her promise, until one day an angry, troubled boy arrives on his doorstep with a suitcase . . ."

Harris, Robert "Fatherland"

Harris, Robert "Fatherland" - 1992

What an awful thought. Hitler resp. the Nazis had won the war. I always say, the Germans didn't lose the war, that were the Nazis. The Germans effectively won the war. In this book (and in various others, like my favourite "The Children's War") we can all see why.

The story itself concentrates on one particular case. A policemen who is not a fan of the Nazis but still has to wear their uniform for his job, tries to find the secret behind a murder. And with that, he could transform the whole world.

We need people like that everywhere, people who don't just blindly follow some dicatators, even if it is an advantage for them.

I think, right now is the right time to read this book again. Right now, where the Right is on the rise in many, many countries. Too many, if you ask me. How can people forget what it was? Even if you haven't lived during the war, most of us haven't, lets be honest. My parents would have been ninety had they still lived. And they were five when the Nazis were elected, so anyone responsible for the regime must be about a hundred. Not many of them alive anymore. But we have to remember what our parents or grandparents told us and see where we are heading if we elect those idiots that tell us the foreigners are our enemies. Nope, those who want to abolish our hard-earned democracy are.

We should all be happy that the war ended the way it did, this book shows us what could have been had it been different.

From the back cover:

"April 1964.

The naked body of an old man floats in a lake on the outskirts of Berlin. In one week it will be Adolf Hitler’s 75th birthday. A terrible conspiracy is starting to unravel…

What if Hitler had won?"

Yates, Richard "Revolutionary Road"

Yates, Richard "Revolutionary Road" - 1961

For the Classics Spin #36, we received #20 and this was my novel.

A story about a young American couple in the 1950s. They go through the typical problems many young couples have, not enough money, too little time for each other because the children need a lot of it, just the usual couple, you would think. However, they are both pretty selfish and therefore can't deal with the usual problems.

All in all, I found this quite a depressing story, nothing too exciting, just listening to a bunch of selfless people fighting each other. I doubt I will read another book by the author.

From the back cover:

"In the hopeful 1950s, Frank and April Wheeler appear to be a model American couple: bright, beautiful, talented, with two young children and a starter home in the suburbs. Perhaps they married too young and started a family too early. Maybe Frank's job is dull. And April never saw herself as a housewife. Yet they have always lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. But now that certainty is now about to crumble. With heartbreaking compassion and remorseless clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their spiritual birthright, betraying not only each other, but their best selves."

Clinton, Hillary Rodham "It Takes a Village"

 

Clinton, Hillary Rodham "It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us" - 1996

"No Family is an Island" is one of the chapter titles in this remarkable work by Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton is a wonderful person. If you don't agree, read this book. You can tell how dedicated she is to help children and families to raise their children. This is what her politics is based on, how most politicians should base their values on. We all need to stand together to help the next generation.

The contents of her book can already be seen in the chapter titles. Aside from the one mentioned above, there is "Every Child Needs a Champion", "Kids Don't Come with Instructions", "Child Care Is Not a Spectator Sport", "Children Are Citizens Too", and many more.

I totally agree with her in her point. We all need to help each other out. When my children were in school, I always had other kids over to help them with the subjects that were difficult for both themselves and their parents, to feed them or just to give them a home after school when their parents were at work. I was in the lucky position to be at home with our boys but I opened it up for many other kids most of whom are still in touch with us.

But that's not the main aim of the book. Society in general should help the children to find their way into this world. Often, when I hear about American politics its those who are against guns (as am I) against those who are against abortion (as am I). We can be against both. We can support children and make sure they don't get pregnant as teenagers. And if they do get pregnant, as long as we don't help them, there will be abortions, and illegal ones are very dangerous. If you I pray for the unborn babies, you should also pray for their mothers for whom it was the last resort, the only way out. And for those kids who get killed in the schools and on the streets through the gun laws. Educate kids better, give everyone access to healthcare, help single mothers that they don't end up in total poverty, those are the things that avoid abortions, making them illegal only makes it worse. The United States has 3 times as many abortions as Germany. They also have one of the highest known rates of adolescent pregnancy and births in developed regions. Being pro-birth and not pro-life increases abortions. So, don't just pray for the unborn children but also for the poor girls who are pushed into a situation where they see only one way out. Amd for those who have their children and end up in poverty because of it. And that those who make the laws will make it better for those girls who do get pregnant and can't help themselves.

All in all, Hillary Clinton gives great examples on what we can do better, and we should all strive for a better world, especially for the poorest and weakest among us.

Here are some quotes that give us food for thought:

"Some of us can recall an aunt who longed to go to college, a grandmother who kept voluminous journals she showed to no one, a female cousin with a head for figures. Much of the fiction written by and about women over the centuries contains an undercurrent of disappointment, dissatisfaction, or simple wistfulness about roads not taken."
I was one of those women, and I had to regret all my life that I was not given the opportunitz to go to university.

"Roosevelt's words reflected the popular view that would dominate much of this century. As the private sector grew, people assumed that the excesses of unbridled competition had to be restrained by government. As a result, consumers have been protected by antitrust laws, pure food and drug laws, labeling, and other consumer protection measures; investors have been protected by securities legislation; workers have been protected by laws governing child labor, wages and hours, pensions, workers' compensation, and occupational safety and health; and the community at large has been protected by clean air and water standards, chemical right-to-know laws, and other environmental safeguards.
…
Over the course of the century, our environment has become cleaner, we have become healthier, our workers safer, our financial markets stronger."

"But government is a partner to, not a substitute for, adult leadership and good citizenship."

"In Germany, too, there is a general consensus that government and business should play a role in evening out inequities in the free market system and in increasing the ability of all citizens to succeed. Compared to Americans, Germans pay for higher base wages, a health care system that covers everyone but costs less than ours, and perhaps the world's finest system of providing young workers who do not go on to college with the skills they need to compete in the job market. As a result of such investments, German workers command higher wages than their American counterparts, and the distribution of income is not so skewed as ours is."

There are also many great people whom she quotes in the book, but I will leave it at this one:

"There is not one civilization, from the oldest to the very newest, from which we cannot learn." Eleanor Roosevelt

From the back cover:

"For more than twenty-five years, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton has made children her passion and her cause. Her long experience with children - not only through her personal roles as mother, daughter, sister, and wife but also as advocate, legal expert, and public servant - has strengthened her conviction that how children develop and what they need to succeed are inextricably entwined with the society in which they live and how well it sustains and supports its families and individuals. In other words, it takes a village to raise a child. This book chronicles her quest - both deeply personal and, in the truest sense, public - to discover how we can make our society into the kind of village that enables children to grow into able, caring, resilient adults. It is time, Mrs. Clinton believes, to acknowledge that we have to make some changes for our children's sake. Advances in technology and the global economy along with other developments society have brought us much good, but they have also strained the fabric of family life, leaving us and our children poorer in many ways - physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually. She doesn't believe that we should, or can, turn back the clock to 'the good old days.' False nostalgia for 'family values' is no solution. Nor is it useful to make an all-purpose bogeyman or savior of 'government.' But by looking honestly at the condition of our children, by understanding the wealth of new information research offers us about them, and, most important, by listening to the children themselves, we can begin a more fruitful discussion about their needs. And by sifting the past for clues to the structures that once bound us together, by looking with an open mind at what other countries and cultures do for their children that we do not, and by identifying places where our 'village' is flourishing - in families, schools, churches, businesses, civic organizations, even in cyberspace - we can begin to create for our children the better tomorrow they deserve."

Kingsolver, Barbara "Demon Copperhead"

Kingsolver, Barbara "Demon Copperhead" - 2022

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

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

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

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

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

This might even become my favourite book of the year.

From the back cover:

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

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

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