pickThus is an interesting read of course because of its historical significance, but also because it is a true coming of age story of a girl in hiding with her family during WWII. It‘s a bit hard to read as it‘s the ramblings & misspellings & grammatical errors of a teen, but worth it all the same.
May 4th #Bibliophile BkBasedOnPainting. Based on Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earing @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
pickSo far so good! The fact that I usually like books that have been translated makes me think I need to move.
so-soApproaches to grief: 1) screaming at trees, 2) leaving voicemails for the dead. Slim volume, sparse and deadpan. Solid trans. from the Dutch by Jozef van der Voort. 2020
9 “One guy I spoke to suggested I get some therapy. What kind? I asked. I didn‘t dare tell him I‘d already tried just about everything and my last therapist and I had both given up in the end.”
11 “I had no time at all for a lot of things that happened all the time.”
pickWell-written with beautiful depictions of idyllic Dutch countryside, its deeply unlikable characters, paranoid staid Isabel and artificial encroaching Eva, made this book initially hard to get into. I saw the first “twist” coming but it‘s the second one that takes this book from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Passion, paranoia, and revenge intermingle in this story of the long shadow of history. Well done.
“Originally written in Dutch and told through Roya‘s eyes, this award-winning book is funny, sweet and touching. Readers will enjoy the playful moments between Roya, her brothers, and Mishka, particularly as Roya discovers Mishka‘s unique way of expressing deep comfort and security.“ Read more about this USBBY Outstanding International Book here: https://wowlit.org/on-line-publications/review/xvii-2/7/
pickA very short volume that challenges our perceptions of those we think of as “the good side” in World War II. The nameless narrator is fighting alongside Dutch partisans and others when he leaves the unit and ends up at a large empty house. He settles in and German troops arrive to billet there. Eventually they leave and the unit he was with returns and the novel descends into a climax of violence. (Cont‘d in comments.)
so-so"If we don't remember all that we want to forget, we are exposed to the danger of forgetting to forget certain things."
This one starts so promising but then it feels all over the place in terms of writing and ideas. The narrator arrives at an old-style grand hotel that seems to have lost its past glory and the story moves back and forth between the time of his stay in the hotel, and his memories with his former lover Clio.
