Category: Publication Date

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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

Categories
2010 Audio Book Memoirs

BBC Radio Dramatisation of Direct Red by Gabriel Weston

I have been wanting to read this book ever since I heard Gabriel Weston talk at a library event last year; so when I spotted that the BBC had created a dramatised version I started listening immediately. This book is just as witty, intelligent and insightful as I had hoped it would be and I urge you to listen to it before it disappears from the BBC iplayer* tomorrow evening (10:00PM GMT Fri, 18 Mar 2011).

Direct Red is a memoir of the author’s life as a surgeon. In a series of short stories she reveals the truth about life inside a hospital. She explains exactly what doctors are thinking about as they deal with patients – revealing everything from the initial embarrassment of dealing with genitalia to the heartbreak of seeing people die. I’m sure that some people in the medical profession will object to the public learning that their minds are not always on the task in hand, or that lives are often put in danger by a lack of staff, but I found the insight into hospital life fascinating.

If you are squeamish then this book probably isn’t for you as there are many graphic descriptions of medical procedures. I must also warn you that some of the scenes are very distressing and most do not have a happy outcome.

If you have ever thought that audiobooks are a waste of time then I urge you to give this a try – the cast of excellent actors add an extra dimension to the text.

This is a well written, emotional, insight into the mind of a surgeon. Highly recommended.

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* I think there may be problems listening to this outside the UK. If this is the case then I’m sure the text version is worth reading.

Categories
2011 Other Prizes

Annabel by Kathleen Winter

 Shortlisted for the 2010 Giller Prize

Five words from the blurb: baby, secret, boy, girl, struggle

Annabel begins in 1968 with the birth of a baby in a remote part of north-west Canada. Everything about the infant is normal, apart from the fact it has both male and female sexual organs. In order to fit in the parents decide to bring their child up as a boy called Wayne, keeping the dual sex a secret from almost everyone – including Wayne. This book is a coming-of age story in which Wayne slowly learns the truth about his birth and battles against the inner female feelings he calls “Annabel”.

The writing was very crisp and precise, with many beautiful descriptions of life in this harsh, cold community. Unfortunately the distant, almost clinical writing style made it hard to connect with the characters on an emotional level. I longed to know what was going on inside Wayne’s head, but instead the reader is just an outside observer, witnessing only the major events in his life. I wanted to know his thoughts on a day-to-day level, but unfortunately I was only able to get brief glimpses of his inner turmoil. 

The child knew that a grim, matter-of-fact attitude was required of him by his father, and he learned how to exhibit such an attitude, and he did not mind it because it was the way things were, but it was not his authentic self. His authentic self loved to fold paper in half and cut out elaborate bilaterally symmetrical shapes: curlicues, geometrics, architectural planes that bore elaborate sills at the bottom and came to luxurious apexes.

Much of the book was written from the perspective of the parents and this raised some complex parenting issues. I initially enjoyed thinking about the pros and cons of letting a child be themselves versus the importance of fitting into society, but I quickly realised that I really wanted the book to concentrate on Wayne. Every time the narrative followed another character I became frustrated and longed for the focus to switch back to him. The last few chapters almost managed to satisfy my craving for knowledge of Wayne, but it was too little, too late.

Annabel was compelling enough to draw me through to the end, but I was left unsatisfied by the novel as a whole. In comparison to the wonderful Middlesex this book was lacking depth and emotion.

Recommended to those who like their fiction restrained, without any hint of melodrama.

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Opinions were mixed on this one:

The whole story was heartbreaking and beautiful. Amy Reads

To be honest, I had a hard time with the first half of this rather large book. The Mookse and the Gripes

I feel like I’m doing a lot of gushing lately, but I really, really loved this book. Reading Through Life

Categories
2010 Books in Translation Novella

Portrait of the Mother as a Young Woman – Friedrich Christian Delius

  Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch

Five words from the blurb: Rome, German, woman, war, daydream

Beside the Sea was one of my favourite reads last year and so I am always keen to try books from Peirene, a wonderful new publisher.

Portrait of the Mother as a Young Woman is set in Rome and follows a young, pregnant German woman as she walks through the city. It is 1943, but the war seems a long way away. She feels safe as she daydreams about her baby, but she slowly realises that her husband isn’t in the same environment. He is in Northern Africa and there is a good possibility that he will not return to see his child.

The book is very unusual in that it is written as a single 125 page sentence. Unfortunately I failed to warm to the writing style and it irritated me throughout the book. I longed for a full stop and thoughts about how nice a chapter break would be began to occupy my mind. The endless sentence gave the book a rambling feel which stretched my tolerance to breaking point. The addition of a few full stops would have done a lot to improve an otherwise beautifully written book.

….in any case it was better to keep quiet, and as a woman it was even more important to restrain oneself, how quickly an idea or thought can escape one’s lips, improvident words could help the enemy, The enemy is listening!, she had learnt, or it might be dangerous on a personal level, there is the weapon of silence and the weapon of words, she had learnt with the League of German Girls, and as she preferred to remain silent anyway, especially if she was not confident of her thoughts and her faint doubts were not assuaged, she knew what she had to do, to trust patiently in God, and continue undeterred along her path,…

With words these profound I think it is important to take the time to pause and reflect, but this was impossible given the structure of the book. My problem with the writing style was quite sad, because some wonderful ideas were buried under the gimmick.

Another problem I had is that nothing actually happens. The entire book consists of one scene in which a woman walks across the city, reflecting on her life.  I’m afraid I like my books to have a plot and so books that give an isolated insight into a woman’s mind do little for me.

I know a lot of people love this book, but it was too experimental for me.

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I seem to be the only one who doesn’t love it:

….my favourite of Peirene’s titles so far, and possibly the most convincing narrative voice I have read for a very long time.  Stuck in a Book

What the author does quite cleverly is to create a mood where time feels suspended. Novel Insights

….a mesmerizing work. Caribousmom

….a meaningful and original glimpse of the mind of one women during the Second World War. Iris on Books

Categories
2011

When God Was a Rabbit – Sarah Winman

When God Was a Rabbit is the story of a brother and sister growing up in England during the 1970s. The family seem to be a magnet for literary themes – with everything from paedophilia, murder and terrorism affecting them. Initially I worried that too much was happening, but I quickly realised that this book isn’t meant to be realistic. The ridiculous number of tragic events meant that it was impossible to take anything seriously and so the mood was far lighter than should have been possible given the amount of suffering taking place.

I found myself laughing as someone was kidnapped and rolling my eyes at the mention of cancer, but I was also moved by many of the events – especially those towards the end of the book. This combination of humour with dark themes is difficult to achieve and I was very impressed.

My father’s Evening News was handed around in a quiet daze. All vital signs were missing and so his Atheist family had agreed to turn off the life support machine.

“Christ that was quick,” said Nancy. “What were they doing? Saving electricity?”

“Not funny Nancy,” said my mother hiding her face. “Not funny at all.”

But even I saw my father laugh and my brother, and Jenny Penny swore that she saw my mother laugh as she looked up from her hot chocolate. She loved moments like that. The inclusiveness of family. I guess because she had none.

I especially loved the beginning of the book – the childhood innocence added to the charm. Naming a pet rabbit “God” is something only a young child can get away with, but I loved the way it allowed for all sorts of profound statements to be sprinkled through the text.

“And so at Christmas, god finally came to live with me.”

I’m sure that some people will find this sort of thing distasteful, but I loved the originality.

The book was easy to read and had a gripping plot. I can see it being a big hit with book clubs as I’m sure it will generate a lot of discussion.

The enormous number of themes in this book should have been a recipe for disaster, but somehow Sarah Winman managed to make it work. Recommended to anyone looking for an entertaining, original book that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

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Categories
2010

Whatever You Love – Louise Doughty

Five words from the blurb: daughter, killed, grief, haunted, love

Whatever You Love is a heartbreaking read. The book focuses on Laura, a mother whose nine-year-old daughter is killed by a car. Her grief oozes from every page and I found the first chapter so sad that I didn’t want to continue reading.

Muscle has memory; the body knows things the mind will not admit. Two police officers were at my door – uniformed, arranged – yet even as the door swung open upon them, which was surely the moment I knew, even then, my conscious self was seeking other explanations, turning round and around like a rat in a cage.

Unfortunately the writing had the ability to suck me in and I found that I couldn’t put it down. I became completely wrapped up in the terrible situation and descended further into her depression.

The second half of the book was a bit different in that it moved away from the grief and became a slightly bizarre tale of revenge. Laura decides to track down the driver of the car, but her mental instability meant it was obvious that this would never lead to good things. I felt that the plot became a little unrealistic at this point, but it did give the book more pace and allowed the reader a little respite from the sadness of the first half.

Whatever You Love  was very easy to read, but I ended it feeling a bit empty. Many parts were so painful that I could barely read them, but the book seemed to offer little more than a glimpse of total misery. It reminded me of The Crying Tree, but without the sentimentality.  

Recommended to anyone who likes emotionally raw page turners, but it was a bit too depressing for me.

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

This is a book written from the heart and with deeply perceptive attention to that fine descriptive detail that never feels overbearing but adds to the whole. Dovegreyreader Scribbles

…isn’t high-brow literature by any stretch of the imagination, but it is accessible and enjoyable. Reading Matters

Laura’s grief is palpable, which makes this a harrowing book to read. Books Please