Categories
2000 - 2007 Memoirs

Gluten-Free Girl by Shauna James Ahern

 Source: Personal Copy

Five words from the blurb: pain, avoid, bread, embrace, fresh

Shauna James Ahern was diagnosed with celiac disease at the age of 38. This meant that if she ingested any gluten her small intestine would be damaged. She had to completely change her diet – avoiding bread, pasta and processed foods in which gluten could be hiding. Rather than become upset by the food she’d be missing, Shauna took the news positively – looking at it as an opportunity to improve her cooking skills and investigate new recipes.

Gluten-Free Girl isn’t just a book for people who’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease – anyone who enjoys reading about food will love it. Her passion for new ingredients and recipes shines throughout. She describes food in one of the most vivid ways I’ve ever encountered:

There is simply nothing like real butter. The first taste is smooth and full and has a certain cleanness. Then comes rushing in a hint of richness, as the butter starts to melt around the tongue. High, clear notes sing out. Like good cheese, butter has a taste of its origins – pastures, sunlight, green grass, and a farmer who wakes up early to milk the cows,

Unfortunately the recipes let this book down. Many were very basic and their only adaptation to being gluten-free was the word ‘gluten-free’ before ‘flour’ or ‘pasta’ in the ingredients list. I wish she’d included recipes for naturally gluten free dishes – especially the ones involving millet, amaranth and sorghum that she described so well within the text.

The only recipe that sounded tempting enough to make was the chocolate and banana bread, but unfortunately the inclusion of rice flour in the recipe meant it tasted gritty. I think gluten-free cookery has advanced a lot since this book was published and I’m sure that Shauna’s own recipes have progressed from this initial publication in 2007.

Luckily the recipes are only a minor aspect of this book and they should not put you off reading it. I recommend Gluten-Free Girl for the way it passionately encourages people to experiment in the kitchen.

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Categories
2000 - 2007 Chunkster Classics Memoirs Recommended books

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Shantaram Source: Personal copy

Five words from the blurb: India, slum, fugitive, prison, redemption

Shantaram is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It is an amazing story and the fact that most of it actually happened makes it even more incredible. It may be long, but every single page is a joy to read and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, The Mountain Shadow, when it is released in October.

In 1980 Gregory David Roberts escaped from a high security prison in Australia. He travelled to India using a fake passport and hid from authorities in a Mumbai slum. Shantaram chronicles his adventures as he integrates with the local criminal community; learning how to make money and protect himself in this dangerous environment. He commits many crimes, but the most interesting aspects of the book were the good things he did – setting up a health clinic in the slum and going to extreme lengths to help those around him. This book will make you question the boundaries between right and wrong and to admire the strength of the human spirit.

When all the guilt and shame for the bad we have done have run their course, it is the good we did that can save us. But then, when salvation speaks, the secrets we kept, and the motives we concealed, creep from their shadows. They cling to us, those dark motives for our good deeds. Redemption’s climb is steepest if the good we did is soiled with secret shame.

Shantaram contains everything I like to see in a book – fantastic writing, a cast of well-rounded characters, a compelling plot, and thought-provoking moments of deeper contemplation.  I was gripped throughout and found myself feeling sympathy for even the most notorious criminals. I loved the way everyone was deeply flawed, but most managed to conquer their problems and live a happy life, even when faced with unimaginable hardship.

This book explained a way of life that was unfamiliar to me, but by the end of the novel I felt as though I understood exactly what it would be like to live in this lawless society. The vivid writing created an atmospheric picture of their unconventional lives. Everything was described in unflinching detail, occasionally making the reader feel uncomfortable, but writing with a honesty that can only be admired. 

This is one of those rare books that is almost impossible to criticise. It is a modern classic and should be read by everyone. Highly recommended!

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Categories
2000 - 2007 Books in Translation Chunkster

The Book of Fathers by Miklós Vámos

The Book Of Fathers Translated from the Hungarian by Peter Sherwood

Five words from the blurb: Hungarian, family, generations, gift, epic

The Book of Fathers is an epic piece of historical fiction. It follows twelve generations of first-born sons through 300 years of Hungarian history. The book has been a bestseller throughout Europe, but has had less success here in the UK. This is a shame because it is the sort of thing that fans of historical fiction love.

The Book of Fathers is very readable. It is packed with period detail and has been incredibly well researched. I immediately bonded with the characters and enjoyed learning about Hungarian history. I was especially grateful that everything was explained in sufficient detail for me to understand what was happening, despite knowing little about the country’s history.

Unfortunately as the book progressed I became frustrated by the way the years slipped by so quickly. New characters were continually introduced and I began to lose track of who was who. Each chapter concentrated on a new generation and it began to feel more like a series of short stories. I wish that it had contained a fewer number of sons; enabling us to see each life in greater depth.

Szilard showed him the pocket timepiece and the medallion he guarded with his life. Yanna gave a squeal of joy when the face of her firstborn stared back at her from the gold locket. Richard Stern’s hook of a hand pulled Szilard towards him and the old man’s wet kisses fell upon the boy in a shower. This is how it is with us, though Richard Stern, moved: We keep losing members of the family, only to get them back again in the course of time.

Each son was also blessed with a clairvoyant ability. I was initially worried that this might interfere with the realism of the text, but these concerns proved unfounded as Vámos seemlessly blended the magical realism with the historical fiction. I think those who enjoy reading contemporary fairy tales will appreciate the folklore involved in this story.

I’m pleased that I read The Book of Fathers as I now have a greater knowledge of Central European history, but I’d only read another Vámos if I knew it concentrated on a smaller period of history. Recommended to those who love historical epics, especially when they’re sprinkled with folklore.

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I read this for Stu’s Eastern European Month. Head over to his blog for more recommendations from this part of the world.

 

 

 

Categories
2000 - 2007 Crime Non Fiction Uncategorized

In the Time of Madness by Richard Lloyd Parry

In The Time Of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos

Five words from the blurb: Indonesia, violence, cannibalism, besieged, crisis

People Who Eat Darkness is my favourite true-crime book so I was excited to read another of Richard Lloyd Parry’s books. Unfortunately In the Time of Madness wasn’t in the same league and I found the brutality too much to bear.

In 1997 Richard Lloyd Parry found himself in Indonesia, reporting on the elections there. By chance he heard about the terrible violence that was taking place in other areas of the country and decided to investigate it.  This led him to witness some of the most savage violence in recent history; including beheadings and cannibalism.

Richard Lloyd Parry is a fantastic journalist, clearly explaining the situation without bias or sentimentality. I loved the way that this book explained the history of Indonesia to me. I was aware of the violence that took place there, but I have to admit that I didn’t know the reason behind it or anything about the different tribes at war with one another. Unfortunately his lack of emotion was a problem for me. It was good to read that it troubled him too:

I had never worked in such conditions before, and nor had anyone I knew. The experience produced two contradictory reactions. The first was relief, together with a guilty pride, in finding myself unable to confront horror without nausea or fear. The second reaction took the form of more troubling questions, which nagged me at odd moments. Why wasn’t I more upset my this? What was wrong with me? I don’t know what to call such an emotion, but it is something close to shame.

The graphic (but never gratuitous) descriptions of violence were too disturbing for me and I found myself skimming sections to avoid adding the terrible imagery to my brain. As the book progressed I was skipping more than I was actually reading.  It lacked mystery/intrigue and it didn’t have the outstanding structure of People Who Eat Darkness so there was no imperative to read on. In the end I had to admit this book wasn’t for me and I abandoned it at about the half way point.

If you have an interest in the history of Indonesia then this book is a must-read, but don’t go near it if you have a delicate nature.

DNF

 

Categories
2000 - 2007 Books in Translation

Minor Angels by Antoine Volodine

Minor Angels Translated from the French by Jordan Stump

Five words from the blurb: postcataclysmic, immortal, angels, avenging, dark

I bought a copy of Minor Angels after seeing several people (I’m afraid I can’t remember who) raving about it on Twitter. I can see why the book is highly regarded, but my opinion of it is very mixed.

Minor Angels is set in a postcataclysmic world and revolves around a nursing home where all of the residents appear to be immortal. It is narrated by 49 different angels, each given their own chapter (or narract, as the author likes to refer to them).

The book could be described in two ways:

  1. A masterpiece, which reveals more with every reading.
  2. An confusing, impenetrable piece of work.

I can’t decide which it is! The writing was outstanding and individual scenes were dazzlingly vivid, but I struggled to understand the overall concept. Each chapter was so short that the book felt fragmented and I failed to see many links between the narracts. Volodine states that the connections will only become obvious in the dreams of the reader;  but I’m unlikely to dream about it so it remains a mystery to me!

I loved the imagery of the book and admired the portrayal of the angels:

A dense arch took shape over me, formed of warm breath and arthritic hands and coarse, rutted faces. The intermingled fabrics whirled this way and that, the dust wheeled from one mouth to the other. Their words described the state of things after and before the world revolution, pelting me like falling hail. I took all this in, all these sentences, all those gutturals recounting a universal disaster, and, second by second, my understanding of the situation grew.

It all felt incredibly realistic. It’s just a shame that I failed to understand the overall concept as I’m sure a lot of the wisdom was lost on me.

Recommended to those who enjoy piecing together the symbolism in a complex set of texts.

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Categories
2000 - 2007 Books in Translation

Strangers by Taichi Yamada

Strangers Translated from the Japanese by Wayne P Lammers

Five words from the blurb: ghost, parents, grief, isolation, reality

Strangers begins with Harada, a recently divorced scriptwriter, spotting a man who looks like his father. This is impossible as Harada’s parents died when he was just twelve-years-old, but a deep longing leads him to ignore this fact and he finds himself in a relationship with the parents he lost all those years ago:

A thirty-something couple could not possibly be the parents of a 47-year-old man – no, make that a 48-year-old man, as of today. But being with them had made me feel like a boy again. Of course, a boy could not have been drinking whiskey, but in a moment of alcohol-induced carelessness, I had actually addressed the man as “Dad”, and he had answered “Yeah?” exactly as if I were indeed his little boy.

Strangers is one of those rare novels that can be enjoyed on many different levels. It may simply be read as a gripping ghost story, but it also contains many layers beneath the surface and with thought it quickly becomes more complex than it initially appears.

This book encapsulates everything I love about Japanese literature. It is weird, but wonderful and contains a unique approach to literature that you won’t find in many Western novels. The simple, but powerful text seamlessly blends the Japanese spirit world with reality – creating a strangely convincing situation that the reader never questions.

I loved the way it captured the emotional intensity of grief without becoming depressing. The need for an adult man to maintain a relationship with his parents was wonderfully portrayed and I found the entire book touching. There was also a beautifully creepy atmosphere, but it retained a hopefulness and never became overbearing or scary.

The pacing of the book was perfect and I was gripped throughout. The simple, pared-back language allowed the reader to fill in the blanks and, whilst this won’t appeal to everyone, it allowed me to immerse myself in this bizarre situation. The ending was particularly satisfying and I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

Highly recommended, especially to those wanting to try Japanese literature for the first time.

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I read this book for Tony’s January in Japan project. Head over there to find out about many more wonderful Japanese books!