Hartnett, Sonya "Thursday’s Child"

Hartnett, Sonya "Thursday’s Child" - 2002

A book about the Great Depression in Australia, a novel about a family who struggles like any other family during the time, a story about a boy who is different, who is born on a Thursday and, therefore, according to the famous nursery rhyme "has far to go". This story borders on Magic Realism.

An interesting story, supposedly for young adults but I think, any grown-up will enjoy, too.

The book is well written, interesting storyline, you grow to like the characters and fear with and for them.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"Harper Flute believes that her younger brother Tin, with his uncanny ability to dig, was born to burrow. While their family struggles to survive in a bleak landscape during the Great Depression, the silent and elusive little Tin - 'born on a Thursday and so fated to his wanderings' - begins to escape underground, tunneling beneath their tiny shanty. As time passes, Tin becomes a wild thing, leaving his family further and further behind.

With exquisite prose, richly drawn characters, and a touch of magical realism, Sonya Hartnett tells a breathtakingly original coming-of-age story through the clear eyes of an observant child. It’s an unsentimental portrait of a loving family faced with poverty and heartbreak, entwined with a surreal vision of the enigmatic Tin, disappearing into a mysterious labyrinth that reaches unimaginably far, yet remains hauntingly near."

Grass, Günter "Crabwalk"

Grass, Günter "Crabwalk" (German: Im Krebsgang) - 2002

This book had been my suggestion because we always look for novels by authors from different countries. We haven't read many German books, so I thought, let's read a Grass. This author has never been an "easy" person, born in Danzig to Polish-German parents, raised Catholic, moved to West Germany as a young guy, he is strongly left-wing and will say what he thinks needs saying. He is a journalist and a sculptor/graphic artist.

A lot of our members found the book very hard to read. Why do translations of books into English always have to be so bad? We've made this experience again and again. Mind you, in this case, I can't really blame the translator too much, a lot of the conversations, especially by the narrator's mother, are in Pomeranian and even difficult to read in the original German version.

We had various members who started a couple of times until they finally finished it. Some of their remarks: I appreciate that he wrote it. This book caused a big stir in Germany when it came out. I understand German shame factor. I realized how oppressive and burdensome it is for children to have to live with parents' ambitions. Paul Pokriefke wanted to be a normal person, his mother Tulla wrote him off completely and transferred all her ambitions to her grandson. Germans shouldn't dwell on their past. A lot of people don't want them to forget, the hatred is still there. They show it on TV, remind you every year. "Victimization gives them power." I appreciated the father's love for his son, he stands by him. You need not stand up against this great machine. What is going on at the moment? We talked about the Neo-Nazism in several European countries. The truth is, all European countries had and have Nazis.

Even though this was probably one of the toughest reads for most, it was a great foundation for a very interesting discussion. It leads to so many different topics. I don't think anyone should be surprised to know that the author was awarded the Nobel Prize.

Oh, and someone remarked they were astonished by the fact that there were six times as many deaths on the Wilhelm Gustloff as there were on the Titanic, yet you never hear about it.

We discussed this in our international book club in August 2012.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"Günter Grass has been wrestling with Germany's past for decades now, but no book since The Tin Drum has generated as much excitement as this engrossing account of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. A German cruise ship turned refugee carrier, it was attacked by a Soviet submarine in January 1945. Some 9,000 people went down in the Baltic Sea, making it the deadliest maritime disaster of all time.

Born to an unwed mother on a lifeboat the night of the attack, Paul Pokriefke is a middle-aged journalist trying to piece together the tragic events. While his mother sees her whole existence in terms of that calamitous moment, Paul wishes their life could have been less touched by the past. For his teenage son, who dabbles in the dark, far-right corners of the Internet, the Gustloff embodies the denial of Germany's wartime suffering.

'Scuttling backward to move forward,' Crabwalk is at once a captivating tale of a tragedy at sea and a fearless examination of the ways different generations of Germans now view their past."

Günter Grass "whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history" received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999.

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

Elwell Hunt, Angela "The Tale of Three Trees"

Elwell Hunt, Angela "The Tale of Three Trees" - 1989

I bought this children's book a long time ago. It was at an event for parents and it was not easy to buy English books at the time, let alone children's books. So, I jumped at the opportunity without even knowing what it was about. All I knew, one of the other mothers recommended it.

Am I glad I listened to her. This has been one of the best books for children about religion that I have ever seen. The story of three trees that want to become something great, they want to hold treasures, sail the seven sees or become the tallest trees ever. None of their dreams comes true the way they imagine but they find that they were destined for something so much greater.

I have not only read this book to my own children but also used it in my RE group at church every Christmas and Easter time. It teaches children about religion but also tells them that sometimes our dreams do come true, only in a different way. If you are into Christianity and look for a good children's book, this should be it.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"Once upon a mountaintop, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up... This lyrical retelling of a popular folk tale is suitable for any time of the year, but has particular links to Christmas and Easter. It tells of the hopes and dreams of the three little trees that are surprised by the way their dreams of greatness come true."

(Also available as a board book. I haven't seen it but I'm sure it must be cute.)

Vilar, Esther "The Manipulated Man"

Vilar, Esther "The Manipulated Man" (German: Der dressierte Mann) - 1971

This book is either a joke or, no, if I had never heard of Esther Vilar, I would have thought it's the most hilarious satire ever. However, I grew up in Germany and, at the time, the television was full of emancipated women having huge discussions with Esther Vilar who would stand her ground and defend her position. She means it. Or meant it. Who knows what she thinks today.

In her eyes, women are all dumb and play the little wife in order for men to support them. None of them really marries for love, no, they marry to have a slave who will provide her with everything so she can have an easy life.

I think this is a wonderful book to discuss in person, but you can definitely not take it seriously. At least not today, more than forty years after it was first published.

From the back cover:

"Esther Vilar's classic polemic about the relationship between the sexes caused a sensation on its first publication. Her perceptive, thought-provoking and often very funny look at the battle between the sexes has earned her severe criticism and even death threats. But Vilar's intention is not misogynous: she maintains that only if women and men look at their place in society with honesty, will there be any hope for change."

And no, this book is  in no way comparable to Allison Pearson's "I Don't Know How She Does It" or Iris Krasnow's "The Surrendering to Motherhood: Losing Your Mind, Finding Your Soul".

Judge a reader by his books

I already talked about judging a book by its cover or not (which I think we should). But what about the reader?

I can't resist. Whenever I come to a person's house, the part that interests me most is their bookshelf. I don't care for their furniture, their drapes, their coffee cups, it's their books I'm interested in. The question is, can I judge them by the books they read or display? (Of course, the next question would be, does he read the books or are they just there to show off.)

Or in public, someone reading in the train or in a waiting room, my eyes wander instantly to the book someone is reading.

So, do you or don't you? Judge them. I know I do. If someone has a similar interest to mine, I instantly feel we share something, have something in common, something to talk about.

Doesn't mean I dislike the person who has different books. People I have the biggest problem with, you guessed it, are those with no books at all. What kind of a world is that?

Shreve, Anita "The Weight of Water"

Shreve, Anita "The Weight of Water" - 1997

I read this novel ages ago and really had to think about what it was all about. Reading the description on the back "Compelling and beautifully written etc. etc." really didn't help. But, having a glance at the book helped a little.

If I don't remember a novel, it usually says that it didn't make a big impact on me.

I do remember two different kind of stories, one in the 1800s, the other one today. A murder that happened in the first time-frame and a journalist uncovering it all a century later. Not normally my type of reading and, as it didn't leave an impact, this one was no exception.

From the back cover:

"On Smuttynose Island, off the coast of New Hampshire, more than a century ago, two Norwegian immigrant women were brutally murdered. A third woman survived by hiding in a cave until dawn. In 1995, Jean, a photographer, is sent on an assignment to shoot a photo essay about the legendary crime. Taking her extended family with her, Jean stays in a sailboat anchored off the coast, and finds herself gradually becoming more and more engrossed in the bay's mysterious and gruesome past. Wandering into a library one day, she unearths letters written by Maren, the sole survivor of the murder spree. Jean's fear of losing all that she cares about is reflected in Maren's poignant tale of love and loss, and her obsession with the ancient story drives her to wild impulsive action -- with unrecoverable consequences."

Rutherfurd, Edward "Dublin"

Rutherfurd, Edward "Dublin: Foundation (The Princes of Ireland: The Dublin Saga)" - 2004

Amazon writes that "few authors are as ambitious as Edward Rutherfurd". I couldn't agree more. The amount of research that must go into his novels can only be described as vast, enormous, gigantic. After reading "London" and "The Forest", I was determined to read all of his books. This came up next. I love Ireland as much as England which I still very much call my home, even though I have moved away a long time ago.

Reaching from the fifth into the 16th century, this novel introduces us to the Ireland of the druids and the ancient Celts until the beginning of the Tudor reign. Rutherfurd draws a picture of a fierce and proud people, he carries on his tales through the centuries by introducing families the reader can follow through time. Unbelievably interesting, a fascinating read that teaches you history on the side.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"Edward Rutherfurd's great Irish epic reveals the story of the people of Ireland through the focal point of the island's capital city. The epic begins in pre-Christian Ireland during the reign of the fierce and powerful High Kings at Tara, with the tale of two lovers, the princely Conall and the ravishing Deirdre, whose travails echo the ancient Celtic legend of Cuchulainn. From this stirring beginning, Rutherfurd takes the reader on a graphically realised journey through the centuries. Through the interlocking stories of a powerfully-imagined cast of characters - druids and chieftains, monks and smugglers, merchants and mercenaries, noblewomen, rebels and cowards - we see Ireland through the lens of its greatest city."

Looking forward to reading part 2 of this saga, "Awakening" that takes us from the end of this book into our present time.

Find a link to all my reviews on his other novels here.