Friday, January 27, 2012

A myth revisited

Binu and the Great Wall by Su Tong is part of the Myth Series. Previously I have read Alexander McCall-Smith's take on Scottish myth of Dream Angus. It's an interesting concept taking old myths and re-energise them, taking traditional storytelling taking to a new level.

In short, Binu and the Great Wall is the story of Binu travelling across China to the Great Wall to give her husband a winter coat where he was conscripted by the King to work on the wall. However, the story behind the story is about sadness and greed that Binu meets on her travels, at the heart she is a traditionalists believing in the good of people but her heart is shattered again and again by the people she meet on the way.
Josefine

Title: Binu and the Great Wall Author: Su Tong ISBN: 978-1-84195-904-7

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Amateur orchestra saves the world

La's orchestra saves the world is a different book coming from Alexander McCall-Smith, in so many ways it is more serious than his previous books I have read. It's set during the Second World War in England in Southern England countryside in a small village next door to a RAF airbase. La (or Lavender which is her full name) has moved there from London after her husband first abandoned her and then suddenly passed away. She is doing her lot for the war, working on a farm, taking care of the hens, befriending a military man, when the idea for an orchestra is born.
Despite the title, as often is with McCall-Smith's books, the orchestra is not the dominating feature in the book, rather it is a book about the war and the effect it had on people in all walks of life, even a sleepy village in the back country of England.
Well written as many other of McCall-Smith's books are, I am hoping for a second book.
Josefine


Title: La's orchestra saves the world Author: Alexander McCall-Smith ISBN: 978-0-349-12205-2

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The smell of sunshine, sandy beaches and frangipani blossom

Just like I imagine Tahiti to be warm and sunny, so is Célestine Hitiura Vaites book Frangipani which takes place in Tahiti. It's a story about relationships between mothers and daughters, but also about taking chances when they are given to you. It is sad, serious, sweet and funny all bundled into one fast paced, flowing novel.
Read this book for a taste of the flavours of Tahiti and family life in general.
Josefine


Title: Frangipani Author: Célestine Hitiura Vaite ISBN: 978-0-0917-9715-2

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

And, it's over

I have now finished all three books in the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. I must say I like the first book (Girl with the dragon tattoo) best, even though the language left more to be desired.
What I liked with The Girl who played with fire was that you could read it without having read the first book. It shows great talent from an author to write a second book in a series without tying it to the first book.
However, in The girl who kicked the hornet's nest, the same talent was not used, you had to read the second book to understand the plot already from the first page. The book also felt slow, it is difficult to keep up the pace with one of the main characters in a hospital bed. It wasn't until the last pages that I realised what it was the last book lacked and it was the interaction between the characters. There was so much technical writing that the relationship between the different characters disappeared and with that my desire to care about the characters disappeared as well. It's a pity I think.

The three books in the series were good overall and they bring up a serious problem in society about men who does not only hate women but also see people in general as something you can buy and sell as any product and that is frightening.

Josefine

Title: Millennium trilogy: The girl with the dragon tattoo, The girl who played with fire, The girl who kicked the hornest's nest Author: Stieg Larsson

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The year is off to a good start

Happy New Year!

It is always nice to start off the new year with a really good book. The Confession by John Grisham has kept me on my toes these first couple of days of the new year. The book has an intriguing, thought-provoking plot and is well written.
Donté Drumm was convicted for a murder on a fellow school mate in East Texas in 1999. Nine years later with all avenues for appeal exhausted, an execution date is set. This is when, several hundred miles away in Kansas, a man walks in to a church office and admits his guilt of the murder to the minister. Reverend Schroeder sees the faintest glimmer of hope, it seems as if Drumm can be saved. If only it was that simple.

It was my first Grisham and with his reputation, I was expecting the best and of course he delivered. It is the kind of book that makes you think not only about the death penalty in the U.S. but crime and punishment around the world as well. It also thought me much about the legal system in the U.S. And the culture of guns in a state where most people own one and see it as their right to use it if they feel threatened. It is a scary thought.

Josefine

Title: The Confession Author: John Grisham ISBN: 978-1-8460-5715-1