translated by Michael Hofman Given all the tragedy, destruction, and horrors of World War II I don’t often stop to consider what life was like for “normal people” under the Nazis. But of course Hitler was a dictator and a tyrant, the Nazis were made up of people who supported him and his rise to […]
rec’d by Wobuffat (Metafilter) based on Michael Chabon’s review Acclaimed as one of the best historical novels ever written, this engaging saga of Viking adventure in 10th century northern Europe has a very appealing young hero, Orm Tostesson, whose story we follow from inexperienced youth to adventurous old age, through slavery and adventure to a […]
On the 31st March 2016 Imre Kertész died. I hadn’t heard of him before I saw the post on Metafilter marking his passing, but in the thread his first book, Fatelessness was mentioned. It is a fictionalised account of Kertész’s own experiences as a teenager in Hungary and then Auschwitz and Buchenwald. He was fourteen […]
Remembrance of Earth’s Past : book 1 Translated by Ken Liu Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, […]
Ove is a man who knows what is right, and what is wrong. The rules are there for a reason, and just because every body else in society seems to have stopped following them is no reason for him do break them. It is the right way to live. He owns a Saab. He will […]
Reread in April 2015 and it was just as good as I remembered. Original review from 22nd April 2006. ISBN: 0098461560 Trans from the French: David Bellos Yes again a cover influenced purchase, so I am glad to report that a good cover can lead to a good read too. I really enjoyed this book. […]
Sometime in the fifteenth century, an unnamed Albanian citadel is under siege by the Ottoman army. Among the besiegers is Mevla Celebi, the chronicler or historian. He will record the events for posterity. His job is to compose the story of the Ottoman’s campaign. He is the reader’s main viewpoint, among others, including two or […]
One day, in the depths of a Swedish winter, a little grey puppy gets lost in the woods. He had followed his mother as she followed the snow ski, but he couldn’t keep up. The owners searched for him. But they didn’t find him, and gave up, believing that he couldn’t have survived a night […]
Translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson Fredrik Welin, our first person narrator, lives alone on an island he inherited from his grandparents. His only regular visitor is the postman, Jansson, even though Welin rarely receives any letters. Still Jansson calls more than once a week for a medical consultant. Frederik may no longer be […]
Author: Fred Vargas ; trans from the french by Sian Reynolds
An Adamsberg novel
Chief Inspector Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg has recently been transferred to Paris. His police methods aren’t exactly standard procedure and his inspectors have a lot to get used to. But they can have no doubt that he is a born policeman, and while even he is unable to explain how he arrives at his conclusions he is usually correct. In this case he thinks that there is something strange about the blue chalk circles that have been appearing in the Parisian streets. He is convinced that there is something sinister about them.