Eva
Claustrophobia, heat, hunger, violence, madness. 18year old Andrea arrives in 1940ies Barcelona to study and moves in with her extended eccentric family into a crammed oppressive apartment. Poverty and past conflicts, that only partially unfurl, are weighing on all family interactions. A stifling unease, coupled with a curiosity peaked by an enigmatic mysterious uncle, gives the novel a dark gothic mystery feel.
In a dystopian colony people are controlled by bureaucracy, rules and language. Family life, work choices and all social activities are organised by the government. No one dares fall out of line or question why certain events of the past are hushed up.
I feel conflicted about this novel, because I loved the idea it is toying with, and also appreciated the ending, but I was too lulled into boredom by the rather austere and dry narration of most of the slow buildup.
J'ai absolument commence lire en pensant que ce livre est un biographie. Ca, et le fait que j'ai fait ca en audio probablement manquant quelques indices, a me cause un peux de confusion plus tot dans l'intrigue que ce que d'autrice avait probablement prevu pour provoquer de la confunsion pour ses lecteurs.
Ce livre augment lentement de la vie d'une autrice dans un periode de blocage de l'ecrivain, qui ouvre la porte de sa vie a un harveleur, et se termine par un puzzle psychologique de questions sur la realite el la verite. Mon engagemetn avec le livre a monte en parallel avec les aspects thriller de l'histoire.
U livre tres intelligemement construit.
There was a moment where the best friend clearly lines out why the whole fake-dating trope is below the protagonist's sense of morals and self-worth and would cause troubles, and I agreed, questioning the whole premises considering the care was taken in setting up the main character. Still, enjoyable, but the ending felt very rushed.
It's been 3 years since I read the first installment of Undset's Olav tetralogy. Here, Olav and Ingunn start their life as a properly married couple in 14th century Norway, but all their doubts and pains are still grounded in the events from the first book. A little summary at the beginning could have been good :)
Undset's writing still has this calming quality on me, the way she has her protagonists battle their inner turmoil while observing the nature around them. The wild sea beating at the cliff, the sweet sickly smell of willow tree flowers, the harsh nature of the Norwegian winter. Amidst it all questions of sin and guilt, of God's punishment, of the local customs at the time of paying retributions for your sins, of gossip and human nature.
I enjoyed this more than the first part, there was a smoother flow to the narration I felt, which kept me invested in the characters. Even though there was too much misery by the end.
Ce livre est inspire par la vie de l'autrice Rwandaise mais n'est pas une autobiographie.
On rencontre trois generation d'une famille Rwandaise: Immaculata, la mere, qui vit et survit le genocide de 1994. Blanche, la fille d'une pere Francaise, qui a fui le pays avant le genocide et vit depuis lors en France. Et Stokely, le grand-fils, qui commence a apprendre et a donner un sense a l'histoire de sa famille.
L'histoire parle de les repercussions et les blessures des atrocites du genocide, mais aussi de ce que signifie avoir deux couleurs de peau et de appartenir a deux mondes.
Un livre magnifiquement ecrit sur un sujet incroyablement triste.
A story of belonging and of independence.
Of a mother and her daughter, and of a whole region.
South Tyrol / Aldo Adige was given to Italy after the first world war. Over the next couple of decades Italy tried to rule over and make sense of this new province that looked and sounded so very Austrian. In a typical first move for annexed territories worldwide the Italian government moved in a bunch of Italians to dilute the population, and tried to suppress the local language (mainly German, but also Ladin). Locals reverted to secret schools to teach their children their mother tongue. The second world war and Austria's annexation by Hitler presented the South Tyrolians with an ultimatum of loyalty (the ‘option'), and the 60ies and 70ies were marked by attacks from terrorist groups fighting for the region's independence.
Guiding us through the history of the region is the story of Gerda and Eva. Beautiful Gerda who stands up against conventions and raises her daughter Eva fatherless. And Eva who follows her mother's example of independence, but who also secretly laments the loss of the only man she every came close to regarding as a father.
As people constantly questioned to choose their allegiance (see WWII options, or the ‘Sprachgruppenzugehörigkeitserklärung' in the 70ies), I really liked the answer the novel ultimately gives: that South Tyrolians see themselves as neither Austrian nor Italian, but rather belonging to the Alpine folk of this wider region that encompasses South Tyrol, Tyrol and even some of Bavaria.
As an Austrian who grew up after South Tyrol's fight for independence made waves, this was a fascinating and very educational read for me. Even though I found Vito's story came a bit late, considering how much of Eva's travel hinges on it, the ending ultimately really got to me.
Haskell is our tour-guide on the history of sound on earth. We learn about the first insects who learn to rub their wings together to create a buzz, and how the evolution of flowers caused a huge motivation for the development of auditory communication for winged creatures.
He takes us under water to listen to snapping shrimps, and to remote mountains to discover the geographic differences in bird song. Haskell's writing is beautiful, immerses you in the moment, teaches you to listen and to wonder.
Of course, there's no nature story without a focus on all the ways humanity is causing destruction. It's very hard nowadays to listen without noticing humanity's creations rumbling, hammering, screaming and droning. We're not only destroying animal habitats and causing biodiversity loss, our artificial noises are also invading and actively harming nature. The chapter on the effects of boat traffic and seismic measurement noise in the ocean was particularly eye opening.
A book to savour and to read while immersed in nature and its soundscape.
There was unevenness in some chapters, in the balance of poetics and science. And it could have been a bit shorter, maybe cut the chapter on musical instrument, but all in all very inspiring.
Sound and song is such a weird thing, in its ephemerality.
I clearly prefer the Seethaler who writes about the [b:mountains 22550484 Ein ganzes Leben Robert Seethaler https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1406198884l/22550484.SY75.jpg 42007512] to the one who writes about old Vienna. You can feel the same melancholia, of cycles of life, or human bonds. But, I am less a fan of his gentle tapestries of characters, as is the case here.
Je trempe a nouveau mes orteils dans les livres audio français:
Ici, quand tu ne peux pas lacher prise, meme si cette personne est deja un cadavre!
J'apprecie vraiment que les auteurs introduisent de la musique dans leur texte, et aussi - comme ici - s'ils paratagent une liste de chansons qui ont servi d'inspiration pendant l'ecriture (la liste compilee par quelqu'un sur spotify)
Another win for Caroline Wahl in my book. Ida is not unlike her sister Tilda, and therefore Windstärke 17 has a lot of similarities to [b:22 Bahnen 63886925 22 Bahnen Caroline Wahl https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1669725248l/63886925.SY75.jpg 99839161]. She's a loner, has her talents and her idiosyncrasies, comes from a fraught family, and prefers to battle her demons alone. Until she meets a fellow traveller, who seems just as damaged as her. Wahl's narration style just tickles me in all the right ways. It's lightweight and wry, and yet also dark and emotional. All the Tilda and Victor cameos make me want to reread the 22 Bahnen. So curious where Wahl will go next, there's no 3rd sister after all. The music in the book:Smetana's Moldau https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G4NKzmfC-Q and Christian Löffler's Moldau interpretation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ycon840AEA
My first impression of this novel was how different in style it seemed to [b:Forbidden Notebook 61026364 Forbidden Notebook Alba de Céspedes https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1673717495l/61026364.SY75.jpg 1599775], which felt meticulously plotted, sparse and pulled along by narrative, while this one was more stream of consciousness of an anxious mind. And yet the topic of both is similar: womanhood, family, love and the expectations placed on Italian women mid last century. I enjoyed the range of female portraits the first half of the book provided: as we follow Alessandra's upbringing and then her stay in the countryside. The writing was immersive, you felt the allure and languor of the moments that girls and women spent dreaming, waiting, obsessing, wanting to create their own narratives. In a world that's very much controlled by a patriarchal society. But then the second half slows into meandering and repetition, with Alessandra stuck in a marriage and us stuck with her in her illusions. And as I hadn't apparently properly read the book's synopsis beforehand, I wasn't even sure that it would go anywhere. More stars if it hadn't been for the second half.
Fantastic documentary graphic novel giving voice to the Dene people of Canada's Northwest. A history of stealing land, of stealing kids, of erasing culture, of damaging a people and a people's resilience, which once was their ultimate strength. There's hope in here too. But it always feels so hard to hold onto that, when confronted with the downward spiral that yesterday's colonization and today's resource extraction have inflicted upon the original inhabitants.
Super fascinating and thought-provoking look at utopian/different visions for how societies can treat women, love, form families, raise children, educate, and consider ownership. How did we end up with the nuclear family being the go-to model? Why do governments discourage other forms of family structures? What utopian communities have failed and strived in the last 2000 years?
Are we okay with only the privileged having the opportunity and leisure to dream up better futures? Are we okay with them leaving for their utopian pockets, instead of fighting to change the established orders? How can we nurture our hope for a striving humanity and channel it into constructive change?
Why aren't there more utopian stories?
Did not expect this when I stared the book, but I think I might give Star Trek a chance now.
A plot-driven immersive story of two Russian brothers - one a drug addict, the other a talented student who gets to go to America as an exchange student. It's also a portrait of two places and societies: On one side a bleak Russian former mining town in Siberia, ruled by scarcity, hopelessness and a looming oligarch. And opposing it: the bible belt of America, people defined by their religious beliefs, optimism and in possession of mundane riches that Russians can only dream about.
The plot pulls you along, it's engaging. But, there was also something about the ‘plottiness' that bugged me. The twist was pretty obvious from the start. And all the pieces fitting together in the end felt a bit too forced.
Every few years to read a book that originates from the Hans Rosling school of data analytics and positivism, feels like a good medicine for all doomsday thoughts.
Ritchie does a good job reminding us that three things can be true at the same time:
- things are bad (people die due to air pollution, ocean warming kills off coral reefs ...)
- things are good (green energy solutions are now cheaper than fossil fuel, a lot of endangered species are now thriving again ...)
- we can still improve (let's catch all the plastic escaping into the ocean, let's not use so many land and water resource only to feed cattle ... )
The book tackles 7 areas: air pollution, climate change, deforestation, food, biodiversity, ocean plastics, and overfishing. Ritchie picks apart related doomsday headlines, explains the misinterpretations, gives accurate data, and tells what to stress less and what to stress more about.
Good lesson to take from this:
- What food you buy is more important than where it came from and how it is packaged!
It's crazy how much impact eating-less-beef would have on all the problems we're facing.
Vote in elections and vote with your money!
Mon troisième Vonarburg et je l'aime moins que les deux autres. Probablement parce que cela semble parfois être plus fantastique que scifi.
Cela commence comme un thriller paranoïaque, dans un Montréal froid, dans un environnement politique croissant. Et petit a petit, cela se transforme en un mystere psycholgique. Cela m'a beaucoup intrigue. Mais le developpement s'est deroule aun rythme tres modere.
Le mystere des illusions et des hallucinations pose des questions intrigantes sur la manipulation des croyances et le developpement des mouvements religieux. Et le liens eternels entre les croyances religieuses et politiques.
Etait-il vraiment necessaire que nos protagonistes assistent a un bal costume? C'est l'une de choses qui m'a fait lever les yeux au ciel.
Mais dans l'ensemble, j'aime toujours beaucoup l'auteur.