Category Archives: Literature & Fiction
Never Let Me Go
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Kathy is the narrator of the book. In her early 30′s, she starts telling us the story of her childhood in a boarding school called Hailsham, in England. She introduces us to Tommy, a troubled but sweet boy who suffers bullying and for whom she develops strong feelings; and Ruth, a very outgoing girl with a strong character who becomes her very good friend (and Tommy’s girlfriend). At first, you may not know what they are or why they are there – isolated from the world – but even the students themselves don’t really know it, which will be revealed very soon.
Mornings in Jenin
Author: Susan Abulhawa
In 1948, the Abulheja family is forced to leave their homeland in Palestine due to an Israeli invasion – they settle in a refugee camp in Jenin, where the protagonist of the book is born and will tell us the story of four generations of her family, desolated by war, death, losses, but also love and hope.
A Secret Kept
Author: Tatiana de Rosnay
I bought this book wishing that it would be as great as Sarah’s Key, but I was disappointed.
As a birthday present, Antoine takes his sister Melanie for a weekend in Noirmoutier Island, the place they used to spend the summer holidays in their childhood and had never returned as grown ups. The weekend brings lots of memories, especially of their mother, who died soon after their last holiday there.
Driving back to Paris, Melanie suddenly remembers something that has been tormenting her the whole time at the Island, and she ends up crashing the car and suffering serious injuries – while Antoine gets only some minor scratches – and when she wakes up in the hospital, she cannot remember what it was, leaving Antoine more intrigued.
The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs
Author: Irvine Welsh
This is the story of Danny Skinner and Brian Kibby.
Danny Skinner is a heavy drinker who works for the health inspection department of Edinburgh. His mother is a former punk and his father is unknown. Skinner is obsessed about his father, but his mother won’t tell him who he is.
Brian Kibby is a very shy person who likes videogames, collects model-trains in the attic of his house and basically has no social life. Once a year, if I’m not wrong, he attends the Star Trek Convention.
When he starts working in the health inspection department, Skinner develops a hatred feeling towards him, apparently for no reason, so he’s bullied all the time, and this hate becomes an (other) obsession to Danny.
Sarah’s Key
Author: Tatiana de Rosnay
In July 1942, in Paris, the French police is arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night, on what was called “Vel’d’Hiv Roundup”. A 10 y.o. girl, Sarah, hides her little brother in the cupboard just before she and her parents are taken, and she promises him she will come back very soon. But they are taken to concentration camps – first the men, then the women and then the children. In the camp, Sarah befriends with another girl, Rachel, and they manage to escape with one of the guard’s help. They end up in a farm, where the couple who lives there helps them. Sarah is able to go back to her old apartment (now occupied by another family), but when she unlocks the cupboard she finds only the remains of her brother’s body. She goes on with her life, but never recovers from what happened.
Breath
Author: Tim Winton
A couple of weeks ago, they were talking in the news about the death of a 15 year old girl who was playing the “choking game”, which instantly reminded me of Breath.
I don’t recall if the asphyxiation has a proper name in the book, but definitely it was not choking game, and to be honest, I didn’t quite understand what the author was talking about at that time. It seems the game is to either put your head inside a plastic bag and strand it to the neck with a belt or just use the belt, to provoke “an euphoric high through self asphyxiation”, but the person has to know exactly when to loosen the belto so not to die. According to the news, there are videos in YouTube teaching how to do it properly (seriously???).
We need to talk about Kevin
Author: Lionel Shriver
I guess this is a good book to start with, especially because the movie is coming soon to cinemas (November 17 in Australia).
The book revolves around a school massacre in the USA, but from the perspective of the killer’s mother, who writes letters to Kevin’s father (her husband), trying to understand the reasons for their son to commit the murders, and also describing the struggle to cope with her “new” life after the incident.
