Category: 2000 – 2007

Categories
2000 - 2007 Books in Translation

Absent – Betool Khedairi

Absent Translated from the Arabic by Muhayman Jamil

Five words from the blurb: Baghdad, apartment, bombings, arrests, honey

Absent is set in a crowded Baghdad apartment building and follows the lives of the residents as they endure bombings, arrests and the international sanctions of the 1990s. The central character is Dalal, a young woman who was abandoned at birth. Living with her aunt and uncle the three manage to avoid the worst of the poverty by taking up beekeeping. This book does a fantastic job of explaining the difficulties faced by Iraqi citizens,  as well as providing a fascinating insight into the problems of setting up a honey production business.

I join her at the window to share her amazement. The smoke from the bombing over the past few weeks has combined with the rain from last night, painting bars of loathsome solution everywhere. The local weather forecasters failed to predict the sudden downpour. Its smell is like a mixture of burnt engine oil and the stench of a rat that had died a while ago.

The book begins with a series of short passages, each describing a different unrelated scene. It was a bit like reading several short stories that happened to be set in the same place and I struggled to connect with it. It took about 40 pages for everything to become clear and for me to begin to bond with the characters, but once I’d managed to fit the pieces of the jigsaw together I was hooked.

I never formed an emotional connection to the characters, but I was intrigued by their lives; curious as to what would happen to them all. The writing/translation was of a very high standard and I loved the way that gentle humor was sprinkled throughout the text to lighten the mood.

My edition of the book also contains a short postscript, explaining the author’s motivations for writing the book. This added an extra dimension to the text and made me feel especially lucky to live in such a safe country.

This can never be described as an enjoyable book, but it is an important one. Recommended to anyone who wants a greater understanding of what the ordinary citizens of Baghdad had to endure at the end of the 20th century.

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How did I hear about this fantastic little book? Come back tomorrow and I’ll explain all!

 

 

Categories
2000 - 2007 Science Fiction

Speed of Dark – Elizabeth Moon

Speed of Dark

I love reading books that feature autistic characters and so ordered Speed of Dark the moment Judith mentioned that it was one of her favourite books set in the future.

Speed of Dark is set in the near future, at the moment they find a cure for autism. The book follows Lou, a man with autism, who works in a department specially set up to enable autistic people to maximise their ability to analyse data. The department provides trampolines, soothing music and other comforting objects that enable the group to work as efficiently as possible, but cutbacks are forcing the company to re-evaluate the amount of money they spend on these facilities and so, in an effort to reduce costs, they try to persuade their employees to undergo surgery to remove their autism. The book follows Lou and his colleagues as they decide whether or not to become “normal” citizens.

Speed of Dark reminded me of Flowers for Algernon in that the premise of the book is whether or not people are happier when they match the majority of the population, but whilst I found Speed of Dark interesting, it wasn’t in the same league as Flowers for Algernon.

Speed of Dark accurately captures the autistic mind, giving the reader a real sense of the difficulties they face. The problem is that it isn’t necessarily pleasurable to see the world through their eyes. There were times when I became bored by the excessive detail of some descriptions and I found the continual confusion over the simplest incidents repetitive and dull.

He did not say he was sorry I had four flat tires. That is the conventional thing to say, too bad or how awful, but although he is normal, he did not say either of those things. Maybe he is not sorry; maybe he has no sympathy to express. I had to learn to say conventional things even when I did not feel them, because it is a part of fitting in and learning to get along. Has anyone ever asked Mr Crenshaw to fit in, to get along?

The sad thing is that I know this is what they have to go through each day and so I feel guilty for admitting that I found simply reading 400+ pages about it too much. I think this book would have benefited from being 200 pages shorter, but perhaps that wouldn’t have given such a complete picture of their frustrations.

On a positive note, this book did raise some interesting questions and I loved the debate about whether or not we should remove autism from society. I am still thinking about what all this means for my own son, but whilst I’m not hoping that they find a cure for autism, I am hoping that employers come to realise the benefits of autistic staff and begin to provide the wonderful facilities mentioned in this book.

Recommended to anyone with an interest in autism, but everyone else should read Flowers for Algernon first.

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Categories
2000 - 2007 Books in Translation Thriller

Piercing – Ryu Murakami

Piercing  Translated from the Japanese by Ralph McCarthy

Five words from the blurb: ice pick, confront, demons, psychosexual, murder

Piercing is a dark, fast paced thriller set in Tokyo. The book begins with Kawashima, a new father, stroking his daughter’s skin with an ice pick. He has a strong desire to cut her tiny body, but knows this is wrong. In order to prevent himself from murdering his baby he decides that he should redirect his longing to cut flesh by targeting an older woman. As he plans his crime we get an insight into the terrifying mind of a psychopath. 

Gripping the ice pick lightly to minimise trembling, he placed the point of it next to the baby’s cheek. Every time he studied this instrument, with its slender, gleaming steel rod that tapered down to such needle-like sharpness, he wondered why it was necessary to have things like this in the world. If it were truly only for chopping ice, you’d think a completely different design might do. The people who produce and sell things like this don’t understand, he thought. They don’t realise that some of us break out in a cold sweat at just a glimpse of that shiny, pointed tip.

This book was totally gripping – I read it in a single, terrifying sitting. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the shocking events that were unfolding; equally intrigued and repelled by the meticulous planning that went into organising a murder.

This book doesn’t have any deep insight or complexity – it is pure entertainment. The plot drags you forward with an ever increasing sense of dread and although the graphic scenes of violence were just understated enough for me to be able to cope, I’m sure that some people will struggle with a few sections.

Recommended to anyone looking for a chilling thriller.

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This is my first Ryu Murakami, but I am keen to try more. Have you read any of his books?

Which is your favourite?

 

Categories
2000 - 2007 Crime Mystery Thriller

In The Woods – Tana French

Five words from the blurb: detective, body, woods, family, secrets

Tana French is an author who has been raved about so much that I have forgotten where I first heard about her. I am often disappointed by thrillers and so was nervous about approaching this book, but I shouldn’t have worried – In the Woods is just as good as everyone says it is.

The book is set in Ireland and follows Detective Rob Ryan and his partner, Cassie, as they investigate the murder of a little girl. The case brings back difficult memories for Rob, as two of his childhood friends disappeared in the same wood twenty years earlier. The pair try to establish if the cases are linked, whilst trying to hide Rob’s connection to the previous investigation.

There was a time when I believed, with the police and the media and my stunned parents, that I was the redeemed one, the boy borne safely home on the ebb of whatever freak tide carried Peter and Jamie away. Not any more. In ways too dark and crucial to be called metaphorical, I never left that wood.

The book was gripping all the way through and there were plenty of twists and turns to entertain me. The pacing was perfect – keeping me hooked on every word at the beginning and then speeding up towards the end.

The writing was simple, but effective and I was especially impressed with the character development – all were well formed and I connected with them on an emotional level quite quickly.

There were a few moments when I had to suspend my disbelief as police procedure was abandoned for the benefit of a more thrilling plot. HIGHLIGHT TO READ SPOILER (for example the fact no-one searched the archaeological site or the tool sheds at an early stage in the investigation), but I was willing to overlook these minor problems as they did make the story more entertaining.

I loved the ending. It tied up many of the questions raised by the book, but left some things unanswered so that the sequel is now calling to me very loudly.

There isn’t anything profound or informative in this book, but as a piece of pure entertainment it is almost flawless. Recommended.

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

The wonderful thing about this novel is that while it’s ostensibly a mystery, it’s really a character-driven story dressed up in a mystery’s clothing. Fyrefly’s Book Blog

Tana French is a goddess. Not just any goddess, but the Goddess of Mystery. You’ve Gotta Read This!

French’s writing is extremely evocative and effective at ratcheting up the suspense. Steph & Tony Investigate!

Categories
2000 - 2007 Other Prizes

This Blinding Absence of Light – Tahar Ben Jelloun

Translated from the French by Linda Coverdale

Winner of the 2004 IMPAC Award

Five words from the blurb: prison, struggle, survive, darkest, terrible

This book is based on the real experiences of a survivor of Tazmamart – the secret prison in which sixty people were imprisoned for taking part in the 1971 failed coup to oust King Hassan II of Morocco. They were locked in appalling conditions –  with no light, little food and virtually no protection from the freezing cold winters or the stifling heat of summer. For twenty years the men battled against disease and boredom, before the survivors were finally released in 1991.

This book is a gripping, but harrowing account of an almost unimaginable suffering.

The cold interfered with my thinking. It made me hear friendly voices, like a mirage for a man lost in the desert. The freezing cold muddled everything. It was an electric drill piercing holes in the skin. No blood spurted out; it had frozen in the veins. It was vital to keep our eyes open, stay awake. Those so feeble they succumbed to sleep died within a few hours.

Very little actually happens in this short book, but the full range of human emotion leaps from the page.

It could never be described as an enjoyable read, but it is as an important book. It is a vivid account of the terrible things that humans are capable of doing to each other, but also proof that with the right frame of mind it is possible to survive in even the harshest of conditions.

Recommended to anyone interested in imprisonment and its affects upon the human mind.

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Thank you to JoV for sending this book to me!

Categories
2000 - 2007 Books in Translation

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers

 Translated from the German by John Brownjohn

Five words from the blurb:  Bluebear, marvels, myth, satire, entertaining

This book is crazy! It is like walking through a series of the strangest dreams and fantasies that are possible to imagine.

The book begins with a tiny baby blue bear floating on the sea in a walnut shell. Suddenly he feels the shell start to rotate and he is dragged towards a whirlpool. At the last minute he is rescued by Minipirates – exceptional seafarers who try to capture other vessels, but are so small that no-one notices their valiant attempts at piracy. The Minipirates teach Bluebear all about knots and waves, but he grows fast and soon becomes too big for their ship. This leads to Bluebear being abandoned on an island, but as with everything in this book, it isn’t a normal island.

After breakfast I made a regular habit of touring my domain. The island wasn’t very big, only a few hundred yards in diameter, perhaps, but chock-full of minor sensations. The singing flowers learned a new song every day, and I spent hours listening to their silvery voices and watching the butterflies perform their flirtatious aerial ballets. The squirrels, too, were fond of showing off their acrobatic skills. Most of the time one sat perched on my head or shoulder and let me carry it around.

Each section in the book describes one of Bluebear’s lives, so by the end we have witnessed the first 13 1/2 of of his 27 lives. The creatures that Bluebear meets and the situations he encounters are weird, varied and frequently stretch the imagination to breaking point. This could have been a problem for me, but I found it all very entertaining and I loved the fact that anything was possible.

I should probably warn you that this book is almost 700 pages long, but don’t be too daunted – it is illustrated throughout and so is much shorter than it seems.

 

It took me a long time to read this book because I found I needed time to absorb each bizarre new world. By taking it slowly I was rewarded by noticing the deeper meaning behind the words. It all seemed totally mad, but with careful analysis a lot of insight into the human psyche was revealed. It also worked as a fabulous satire of fairy tales and science fiction novels.

If you are willing to try something completely new then I recommend that you give this a try. I’m sure you’ll be charmed by this cute Bluebear!

 

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

The reader is allowed the unique experience of witnessing a character learn to speak, cry, feel fear, and so forth all for the first time.  Adventures in Reading

If you can imagine The Odyssey crossed with Doctor Who then you’ll have a pretty good idea of what this book is like.  Old English Rose Reads

Now this is just brilliant!  Now this is just brilliant! Bogormen