Category: 2013

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2013 Books in Translation

The Dinner by Herman Koch

The Dinner Translated from the Dutch by Sam Garrett

Five words from the blurb: teenage, sons, crime, protect, responsibility

The Dinner is a fast paced roller coaster of a read. It is set over a single evening in which two couples get together for dinner in a fancy restaurant. They need to discuss what to do about their teenage sons, who have committed a terrible crime. Over the course of the evening the reader slowly finds out what happened and sees the effect this has on the different members of the family. 

The book is a psychological thriller that looks at parental responsibility and questions how far parents should go to protect their children. The dynamics of the relationships between the different individuals were captured perfectly and it was interesting to see how their interactions changed as they revealed secrets to each other.

There were wonderful snippets of humor and observational insight, particularly around restaurant etiquette. This added a lightness that prevented the otherwise dark subject matter from becoming overbearing:

The guests, however, pretended not to notice; in a restaurant where you had to pay ten euros for the apertif of the house, the rules of etiquette probably didn’t allow for an open display of recognition. They all seemed to lean a few fractions of an inch closer to their plates, all apparently doing their best at the same time to forge ahead with their conversations, to avoid falling silent, because the volume of the general hubbub increased audibly as well.

I can’t fault the structure or pacing of the book, but I’m afraid that the content was dwarfed by the genius of We Need to Talk About Kevin. Although The Dinner was highly entertaining, it didn’t have the same emotional impact as Kevin and it failed to add anything new to the discussion on parental responsibility. I also found the twists towards the end a little unrealistic and so this reduced my enjoyment of it slightly. 

I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a gripping read. It has more depth than the average thriller and the number of discussion points make it the perfect book club choice.  

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

…a very well-balanced read, that touched a number of different taste buds. Kevin from Canada

There are many inner monologues that, while interesting, halt the flow. Dog Ear Discs

The repressed violence and cold manipulation that infects and bursts out of the characters in The Dinner is chilling. Words of Mercury

Categories
2013

Dirty Work by Gabriel Weston

Dirty Work

Five words from the blurb: abortion, taboo, confronts, truth, tribunal

Before reading My Notorious Life I don’t think I’d read a book with the central theme of abortion, so it was slightly strange to discover another book, published on exactly the same day, covering the same theme. Is this a strange coincidence, or have we reached a point in time where authors finally feel comfortable talking about this emotive subject?

Two years ago I listened to a Radio 4 adaptation of Gabriel Weston’s memoir, Direct Red, and was very impressed. Dirty Work is much slower in pace, but gives the same wonderful insights into the mind of a doctor. 

The book follows Nancy, a gynaecologist, who finds herself performing abortions. One day a routine termination goes horribly wrong and Nancy must take part in disciplinary proceedings so she and her management can understand what happened.

As I was reading the book I was slightly confused as to its purpose; it was only when I finished the final page that I appreciated how clever it was. The book doesn’t look at arguments for or against abortion, instead it looks at things from an entirely new perspective: that of the abortion provider. It made me feel deep empathy for those who perform abortions as they go from performing life saving gynaecological surgery one minute to termination the next. They often hide their profession from friends and family and face persecution from society. There are no easy answers, but any book that asks such difficult questions is well worth reading. 

Julia’s fond of saying I did my first abortion with my eyes half shut. That I never signed up for the events that dominate my life now. It makes her angry that no one ever sat me down and asked explicitly whether I wanted to learn how to perform a termination. And of course I see her point. It is surprising, with all the namby-pamby talk in the medical world these days, the communication skills this, and cultural diversity that, that no such discussion ever took place.

For a book containing such a disturbing theme the writing was surprisingly quiet. The only section containing a graphic description of abortion was right at the end. This passage was written in italics so could easily be avoided by the squeamish or those who don’t want disturbing images in their head, but I felt this section was extremely important and I’m glad I read it. 

Overall, this is an important, thought provoking book. It asks many difficult questions and I recommend it to anyone who’d like an insight into the mind of a gynaecological surgeon. 

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Categories
2013 Historical Fiction Recommended books

My Notorious Life by Kate Manning

My Notorious Life by Madame X

Five words from the blurb: poverty, midwife, controversial, trust, downfall

My Notorious Life is the best 2013 release I’ve read so far. It is an atmospheric and engaging story about Axie, a midwife in 19th century New York who begins to perform abortions.

Axie has a difficult start in life. After the death of her mother she is separated from her brother and sister and finds herself working as an apprentice to a midwife. She learns the craft and begins to realise that some women face persecution, and even death, if they continue with a pregnancy. Axie begins her own clinic performing a wide range of midwifery services, but spends some of her time performing secret and controversial acts that prevent or terminate pregnancy.

The wonderful thing about this book is the sensitive way it handles such a difficult subject. It skillfully shows both sides of the abortion argument, leaving the reader to make their own judgement about what is right or wrong. Much of this book is based on historical fact and it is heartbreaking to know that so many women suffered in the ways described within these pages. I think this book will make many people look at abortion in a new light, or at least help them to realise what a difficult choice these women made – with both decisions leaving deep emotional scars for life.

The writing was wonderfully vivid and I loved the way the sights, sounds and smells were described so evocatively that the reader is made to feel as though they are there:

-It is so dark, said the Gentleman when he started up our stairs. I saw the wrinkle of his toffee nose as the smells choked him in the nostrils, the cabbage cooking and the p*** in the vestibule, the chamber pots emptied right off the stair. Mackerel heads and pigeon bones was all rotting, and McGloon’s pig rootled below amongst the peels and oyster shells. The fumes mingled with the odors of us hundred-some souls cramped in there like matches in a box, on four floors, six rooms to a floor. Do the arithmetic and you will see we didn’t have no space to cross ourselves. As for the smell we did not flinch, we was used to it.

If that’s not enough to persuade you to give this book a try then I should also add that all this is rounded off with a satisfying plot, characters you really care about, and fascinating snippets of information about life in 19th century New York. This wonderful book will appeal to a wide range of readers and I can see it becoming a modern classic.

Highly recommended.

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Categories
2013 Books in Translation Other Prizes

The Son by Michel Rostain

The SonTranslated from the French by Adriana Hunter

Winner of the Prix Goncourt 2011, Selected for Waterstones 11 2013

Five words from the blurb: meningitis, death, son, grief, life

Michel Rostain’s teenage son died suddenly from a virulent strain of meningitis. The Son is the fictionalised story of a family who lose their son to the same disease. It is written from the perspective of the teenage boy, Lion, and this omniscient narrator gives the book a special inquisitive perspective. The realistic nature of the text leads me to believe that much (all?) of this book is based on real events and this insight makes other books about grief seem insignificant.

This is one of the most emotionally powerful books I’ve ever read. It is one of the only books that has enabled me to completely understand what it is like to go through a devastating sequence of events. I hope I never have to experience anything like this, but if the worst happens this book has given me the comfort of knowing that life can go on afterwards.

The depth and range of emotion present in this book is breathtaking. It never becomes overly sentimental or shys away from showing the darker side of humanity. Shortcomings are open for all to see and this vulnerability only adds to emotional impact of this book.

I’ll be dead four hours later and Dad’s spending money in a supermarket. As of now, he will forever loathe the inevitable stop-off for the weekly shop. He’d always been disparaging about those nowhere-land places – shitty music, mediocre products, insidious layout, stooped ghost figures trundling from one shelf to another. But he still went every week, one of many contradictions. To think he lost some of the last few moments he could have spent with me alive – the memory of it destroys him.

The deep sadness is layered with hope; showing how friends and family can help each other through grief. It is a roller-coaster of emotion, and does have more downs than ups, but I think it is worth the emotional investment. The ending is beautiful and I only hope that Michel Rostain and his family had a similar outcome to their own tragedy.

Highly recommended.

Categories
2013

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

A Tale for the Time Being
Five words from the blurb: diary, girl, tsunami, change, life

A Tale for the Time Being is an unusual mixture of Japanese and Western literature. The book begins with Ruth, a woman living on a remote Canadian island, discovering a lunchbox on the beach. The lunchbox is one of many items to be washed across the ocean by the tsunami and on opening it she discovers the diary of Nao, a teenage girl who is being bullied at school. Through reading the diary Ruth learns about Nao’s family: her suicidal father, her great-grandmother’s life as a Buddhist nun, and her great-uncle’s experience as a kamikaze pilot during WWII. Ruth develops a bond with this family and begins a quest to find them; longing to know whether or not they survived the tsunami. 

The book begins really well. I loved Nao’s modern, chatty style and quickly warmed to her; feeling as though I understood her thoughts and motivations.

I don’t mind thinking of the world without me because I’m unexceptional, but I hate the idea of the world without old Jiko. She’s totally unique and special, like the last Galapagos tortoise or some other ancient animal hobbling around on the scorched earth, who is the only one left of its kind. But please don’t get me going on the topic of species extinction because it’s totally depressing and I’ll have to commit suicide right this second.

The diary format worked well and this the first book I’ve read that successfully manages to include you tube, mobiles and the Internet without feeling forced or experimental. 

Ruth’s character was also well developed and I particularly enjoyed her vivid descriptions of life by the sea. The entire book was packed with atmosphere and, although this made the book slow to read, it was well worth the time. 

I enjoyed reading the entire book, but it didn’t impress me as much as I thought it might. The main reason for this is because the majority of the philosophical elements were familiar to me. The ideas were beautifully presented, but Schrödinger’s cat and multiple universes have been done many times before. I also found that the Japanese elements, for example the ghosts of the dead and the crow symbolism, didn’t feel as fresh and alive as they do in the hands of Murakami. It feels wrong to criticise this novel when there is technically nothing wrong with it, but the scientist in me didn’t quite accept some of the theories.

Despite my minor quibbles, the positives far outweigh the negatives. It perfectly captures life at the present time and I recommend you read it soon, before it inevitably becomes dated.

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

…the line between fiction and reality is not clear-cut in this novel, which makes it all the more enthralling and appealing. Bookmagnet’s Blog

 A Tale for the Time Being isn’t a bad novel, but it doesn’t need all the padding that the meditations on time and quantum physics require; I think it could be shorter and better. Necromancy Never Pays

The humanity of the novel is enormous and takes your breath away in most places. Of Books and Reading

 

Categories
2013

The Engagement by Chloe Hooper

The Engagement

Five words from the blurb: weekend, handsome, man, property, trap

Chloe Hooper was shortlisted for the Orange Prize her debut novel, A Child’s Book of True Crime. Her new book, The Engagement, is getting a lot of positive press in Australia and since I had an unsolicited review copy sitting on my shelf I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

The Engagement is psychological thriller with a Gothic atmosphere. The book is set in Melbourne, Australia, where Liese is working for her uncle’s estate agency. She agrees to show Alexander around a range of properties and they end up having sex in each of them. Alexander then offers to rent Liese for the weekend, leading to the strange situation where Liese is locked, voluntarily, in his house.

The writing in this book is fantastic. I loved the atmospheric descriptions of the Australian landscape and the Gothic feel of narrative.

As we drew closer the house was all windows, reflecting the blankness of the darkening sky. Grey clouds rolled over the glass, camouflaging whatever waited behind it. This building sat in the dust, expectant and watchful, emitting a low piercing sound. Every nearby tree was alive with bird-din. Hundreds, thousands of them were seething in the branches. They signalled to each other, the garden vibrating with their calls – although more truly the sound seemed to come from the stone walls of the house, from deep inside one of its rooms.

Unfortunately the plot wasn’t of the same standard as the writing. Liese and Alexander were both well developed characters, but their actions were unrealistic. I couldn’t understand their motivations, several of the plot twists were bizarre, and the ending left me feeling particularly unsatisfied.

If you enjoy reading books just for their brooding atmosphere then this is a must, just don’t expect any realism from the plot. 

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

…a strange mixture of banality, naivety and menace… Euro Crime

…a brilliant novel that disturbed and enthralled simultaneously… Write Note Reviews

 …if you loved Gone Girl then this is it’s grown-up cousin. The Writes of Woman