BOOK REVIEW: "The Prisoner of Heaven" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

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I’ve heard a lot of praise for the works of Carlos Ruiz Zafón from friends who have read his books. “The Prisoner of Heaven” was picked up by chance at an airport, mostly because I was intrigued by the description on the back.

“The secret World of the Cemetery of Forgotten books, hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona... a novel full of creaking trapdoors, a novel where even the subplots have subplots.”

This pretty much sums up what this story is about. But first of all I have to honour the author’s style which is impeccable, captivating & simply a delight to follow through all the pages. In times where all those “Twilights” & “Shades of Grey” dominate the bestseller list, this book is like a breath of refreshing spring air.

With about 280 pages it’s a quick read but the author still manages to envelop you in the magical atmosphere of the story. Set in Barcelona, you almost feel yourself sitting on a park bench of that exact city and reading the book there. In a short description - the book is intriguing, with quite a few twists & turns and extremely atmospherical.
By the time you reach the ending, you have probably managed to build a close connection with the main characters, so that the final outcomes are heart touching.
My judgement consists of 4 out of 5 stars, so just a minor reduction for some parts which weren’t as exciting as the rest and most of all because I’m not such a fan of open endings :)

BOOK REVIEW: „Before I Go To Sleep“ by S. J. Watson

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I bought this intriguing sounding book in New York at Barnes & Noble and finished it within 3-4 hours (unusual for me!). Its plot had me from the beginning onwards and didn’t leave my thoughts. 

After an accident, a 47-year-old married woman wakes up every day with a deleted memory and has only her little notebook to check who she is and where she’s at in her life, at the moment. But how true is the content of the notebook really?! And what was the accident really all about? Time after time, her memory returns…

The writing style of the book has the right pace. It’s not about details here but about getting further in the events. The structure is such that putting the book away is made impossible, very Dan Brown-like!

However, the “50 Shades” syndrome can be found in “Before I Go To Sleep” as well – it’s not even THAT good; neither are the characters nor the credibility but you simply don’t care and that’s okay I guess. So grab an exciting easy reading book that is definitely thrilling, has shocking moments, a superb pace and some interesting plot aspects, but lacks some originality.

 

 

BOOK REVIEW: "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" by Aimee Bender

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For me, this was the summer of books! After reading my third book by Jeffrey Eugenides, I read a very high-paced thriller about amnesia when I was in New York (“Before I Go To Sleep”) and my last Stieg Larsson book from his trilogy. However, Aimee Bender’s international bestseller (with one of the most intriguing names I’ve ever heard for a novel) was special.

I bought my “lemon cake” in Chicago and finished reading it during sight-seeing in a record-breaking 4 hours. The plot had something that didn’t let you leave the happenings emotionally. The events in this strange, rather short book are extremely thought-provoking. Bender tells the story of a girl from California who tastes the feelings of the person making the dish she’s eating. The farther on in the plot, the stranger the incidents get and the more the girl’s special power starts to get a meaning.

In general, it’s a coming-of-age story with a specialty to it that is not 100% realistic or credible, but that is not Bender’s purpose. Everything that happens in “The Particular Sadness…” can be interpreted into something happening in our subconscious and standing for something real. Thus, the novel is not obtrusive but brings across its message very subtly.

Unfortunately, the message is so complex to such an extent that I spent more time on forums on the internet taking in other people’s thoughts than reading the book itself!! Something different, for sure! Take a few hours and try this one. Bender’s writing style may not be spectacular, but the images she conveys are quite vivid and not seen-before. 

Trivia: Bender is bffs with American writer Alice Sebold from “The Lovely Bones”-fame. In fact, thinking about it, I don’t know two books more alike than those two!

BOOK REVIEW: "The Furies" by Fernanda Eberstadt

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When I googled “dramatic love story novels” this book was one of the two out of the lot that interested me the most (the first one was “The Pact” by Jodi Picoult, as recommended by me before). In the bookstore, the woman working there was all nuts about it telling me to bring loads of tissues while reading it. Would be a good sign…

Unfortunately, this 700-pages novel needs 250 pages to gather momentum with the reader. It just fails capturing your interest and the story was somehow too creepy for me to get involved. Every character seems to be weird and have strange attitudes and habits and, what’s more, everyone is described to be ugly and unattractive. How could Eberstadt do such a thing? Not good.

However, at some point, you just can’t stop reading as you simply get to know everything about the characters and you can’t help but get involved and want to know what happens to them. And then there’s the ending. The ending (the last 150) is truly read-worthy. It’s written in a very endearing style and moves the heart (as the woman from the book store told me :)) by daring to be unconventional.

All in all, though, this novel doesn’t offer enough to make me recommend it. Its plot is too freaky, its characters too unsympathetic and the first 250 pages are a pure nuisance. 

BOOK REVIEW: "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" - Marisha Pessl

photo source: [viliflik.wordpress.com]

To start off, everyone to whom I told that I was reading a book called „Special Topics in Calamity Physics“ looked at me in a weird way and probably wondered who and why forced me to do it. I guess it’s quite improbable to imagine me engaging in a new passion of the highly complex subject of physics ^^ I was tempted to read it when I once saw the book cover in a library being praised with a quote from Audrey Niffenegger (whose book “The Time Traveler’s Wife” I really enjoyed).  Another one compared Marisha Pessl’s style with that of “The Virgin Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides which is one of my favourite books. But wasn’t there some kind of wise saying advising you not to judge a book by its cover? Well, this book is probably the proof to why the saying is plausible.

In the beginning you feel quite enthusiastic. The style seems unusual and unique, you get interested in the characters being crafted, and at first there are only Blue and her father Gareth. Yes, a girl named Blue. And she does present an account of how much she had to suffer while growing up and in school because of that name. Guess someone should have given this book to Beyoncé while she was pregnant to prevent her from naming her daughter Blue Ivy.

With time you just realize that the story is not interesting enough. It’s difficult to stick to continue reading the book as there is absolutely nothing that makes you want to carry on and find out more about. The next thing is the style which you thought of as entertaining in the beginning, but which simply becomes plain annoying. Believe me, it’s not fun to see quotations being made to other books in almost every third sentence. Besides from that, the story gets somewhat more captivating only way past the middle of the book.

And then the shock. The ending. It’s devastating. By this point you’ve already come to accept the weird style which you even consider charming – BUT! Even with an ending like that, and it’s extraordinary, you can’t make up for 450 pages of dreadful reading. Why on Earth does this revelation needs to stay secret until the last 50 pages?! Sure, it improves the whole judgment of the book, but you know what? It’s just too late! And in addition to that, the whole conclusion is a bit far-fetched. It reminds me of a detective story I once read: a man is killed in an apartment behind locked doors and locked windows; and there are simply no clues inside of that room. That’s the way you feel when trying to solve the mystery behind “Special Topics in Calamity Physics”. The resolution in the end of both stories are comparable, when in the detective story it’s a monkey, which traveled on a ship from Peru to Great Britain, climbed through the window and strangled that man. Pretty absurd? Something you wouldn’t have ever guessed? But you’re still not satisfied with that solution because it’s just so surreal?  You can expect something similar with Marisha Pessl’s book as well!

You can see that I wasn’t really impressed by this story and I’m still having a hard time reading it. Is the story bad enough for 2 stars? Yes! Would I recommend the book to anyone else? Maybe, but probably only to hear an other person’s opinion about it. Did I enjoy reading it (which usually automatically deserves the minimum of 3 stars)? Surely not, except for the last 100 pages. Would I really want anyone else to go through the same reading experience I had to endure? I really wouldn’t! So with this short analysis I was finally able to make up my mind: giving it 2 stars and banning it to the list of disappointing reads.  

BOOK REVIEW: "The Marriage Plot" - Jeffrey Eugenides

photo source: [goodreads.com]

This is the first book I have read on my kobo-ereader. I would have never expected myself to support this kind of reading, opposing the printed word and the feeling of turning paper pages in your hand. Still, this was a special experience and I’m going to continue reading many more books this way. The most obvious advantage is that I can even read the thickest books and take them everywhere with me, without carrying their actual weight along! ^^ The other thing is that it’s just a totally different experience. Maybe I’ll get bored with it as I get used to it, but for now, it’s a nice change up to what I have been used to before.

And now finally to the book. I’ll say right in the beginning that I’m contemplating of giving it either four or five stars. I always write my reviews right after I finish reading the book and sometimes I even start when I’m on the last 50-100 pages and revise it once again when I’m done.

With “The Marriage Plot” I was so captivated by the book that I simply didn’t want it to end. With the ending having inevitably approached, it was a shock, enhanced to an even greater extreme because I wasn’t expecting it, so caught up, not even looking at the number of pages left anymore. It was entertaining from the very beginning until the very last page. After this being the third book I read by Jeffery Eugenides he has definitely made it into my list of favourite authors. I’d say that this time the style is quite similar to the “Virgin Suicides”, not being as complex as in “Middlesex” but still fitting perfectly to the whole story.

Here the emphasis is placed on three main characters, which was a huge relief for me. I’m really bad at remembering names (even in the course of reading a single book) and I prefer just a few but masterfully crafted personalities, rather than a bunch of people all just involved in a minor way in the plot. Madeleine, Mitchell and Leonard were depicted in such a relatable way that you felt emotionally close throughout the whole time of the portrayal of this triangle-relationship. But believe me, this isn’t just some trivial tale of how a girl gets to choose between two guys, this is a deep, complex and gripping narrative.

To me, I’ve had the experience of reading a book and getting the sensation of the story enveloping like walking down a straight road. Even if it was written in an incredible way, there was something missing, it just felt flat. Well here with this account, there was a totally different sensation about it. It all almost felt three-dimensional, not like a simple road going on for miles but like a weirdly formed 3D object floating in space. You were able to have a look at all of its sides and even dive deep inside of it. The narrative is so perfectly constructed that you get to know the story from all of its possible sides. This was a book that I didn’t want to put down and I’d say that it’s the main goal of a writer, which has been achieved here brilliantly.

Thinking about the only point for which I would have reduced the rating by a star, I actually have to cancel it out. The only thing which I could have criticized would have been the lack of depth, but analyzing the whole book once again, this isn’t the case at all. Jeffery Eugenides takes you on a journey of the emotions of three totally different people, which lapse from hysterical joy, dropping to profound sadness and depression, describing their development after getting out of college and starting a “real” life.

It’s enveloping, it’s impressive and I would recommend it to each and everyone! Just read it! :)

BOOK REVIEW: „Room“ - Emma Donoghue

photo source: [unrealityshout.com]

"Room" is a one of a kind book. It's hard to describe it without letting any spoilers slip, but I can say that it's fascinating, intimidating, touching and unique - imagine all of that packed into one book and into one story. While reading it you feel confused and clueless, desperate and depressed, frustrated and compassionate. It's hard to compare "Room" to anything I have ever read before, it's special in its' own unusual way.

What I can reveal is that it's written from the perspective of a 5 year old child. After having finished the story you keep the feeling of experiencing everything, meaning your own world, in a slightly different way. By getting to know the process of how a child gets to know the whole world you start to question and examine your own.

This is a gripping story and I can recommend it to each and every one. Even this book being about 400 pages long, I finished it in almost a single sitting, surprising mysel of how fast I was able to read during the most captivating parts.

BOOK REVIEW: "1Q84" Part 3 - Haruki Murakami

photo source [goodreads.com]

This book leaves you off wanting more. It's special. Just as so many of Haruki Murakami's books, this one envelops you in an extraordinary atmosphere, where you feel so close to the characters. It's a touching, but at the same time an exciting story. Once you start reading it, you simply don't want to put it down. Even though my edition probably weighed about a ton (because it included all of the 3 published parts), I still carried it around everywhere until I finished it.

To me it's hard describing Haruki Murakami's books, probably because they are somehow so different. Even though the third part of "1Q84" slightly differs from the author's well known and loved style, the story described is one of the most interesting ones I have read by the author so far. For readers wanting to get to know Murakami for the first time, I would recommend some other book (such as "South of the Border" or "Kafka on the Shore") to truly get to know his signature style.

Even though the ending leaves you off craving for more of the characters and the story, it is still a satisfying finish. That's what I missed with the first and the second parts, you actually felt frustrated that you couldn't read once when you finished each one. Waiting for the third part was pure torture! And just to mention one last thing - I have never been a part of a certain type of hype, when I felt compelled to buy a hardcover version of a book that has just come out. Well, this time it was different. This is the first book that I actually preordered through Amazon and it was worth every single cent!

BOOK REVIEW: "The Undercover Economist" - Tim Harford

photo source [goodreads.com]

This book was an attempt to read something out of my usual comfort zone. And also a small starting step towards the quest of writing a review for every single book I read (really helpful for myself too because I forget the contents of a book I finish terrifyingly fast O.o). Well, to say it right from the start "The Undercover Economist" wasn’t as bad as the rating suggests. I felt compelled to only give it 2 stars after comparing it to all the other books in my collection, when some  were actually really good and only got a rating of 3 stars!

I had quite some trouble getting through the book, maybe because of the topic (I’m not such a huge fan of economics) or maybe due to the author’s slacking style (at some point he was just getting way too complicated)… The most surprising thing to me was when I finished the "Undercover Economist" and made a list of what I thought of it, the things I liked outweighed the ones I didn't like!! This lead to my conclusion that even though there were only a few bad parts in it, those were so bad, that they are responsible for making the overall rating so low.

After reading the book you do get a nice overview over all the major theories and most important key aspects of economics. It is written in an entertaining style, with lots of "taken straight out of daily life" examples and it is much more fun to read than any "schoolbook-economics-explanations"!

Here the parts I really enjoyed, finding out about: who pays for your coffee, what supermarkets don't want you to know, the "inside story" (background information about health insurances), why poor countries are poor, how China grew rich and the chapter "Beer, Chips & Globalisation" (dealing with the pros & cons of globalisation and actually offering possible solutions towards global and environmental problems). And here the ones which messed everything up: a chapter about "rotten investments" (an explanation of banking crises in excruciatingly long details) and the chapter "the men who knew the value of nothing" (covering the subject of auctions and all the little things which can be done wrong about them... yawn!).

This was actually the most memorable part of the book to me: how to order cheaper coffee at Starbucks! This probably isn't anything new to US readers but here in Europe the "short cappucino/ caffe latte/ espresso" seems to be well hidden. I tested it in Austria and it worked! The size is about the same as a normal "tall" but there's more coffee in it and seems to be much tastier! And it's cheaper too! So it could even go by the slogan "make it short, make it tasty, make it cheap!" Try it out for yourself ;)

BOOK REVIEW: "The Pact" - Jodie Picoult

photo source: [jodipicoult.com]

After watching “My Sister’s Keeper” in the cinema, I was eager to read a novel by Jodie Picoult as it turned out to be one of my favourite movies. I chose “The Pact”. The story centers on two closely befriended families whose son and daughter Chris and Emily (both 17) have been a couple ever since until one day, however, the girl commits suicide. Chris being with her during this event, he is of course suspected to have murdered her.

The story itself is very touching, even though you only get to know on the last few pages what really happened on the day of Emily departure. The story is brought to the reader on two different levels: the whole past of Chris and Emily and the history of their relationship and the present with the consequences of Emily’s death for Chris, Emily’s parents and the inevitable war between the two families who have been friends for so long. The most important aspect of the plot, however, is the process of the case in court on the last 200 of the 600 pages.

Until you reach those last 200 pages, you have to struggle to keep up your interest as some actions of certain characters are quite questionable and make certain parts of the book somehow not really compelling. The bits and pieces told from the two young people’s past fail to always make a mark, as well.

However, in the end when the whole story is clear it is actually really moving, if not heartbreaking. Things make sense that didn’t make any before and you can’t but feel with the main characters. The message is really well presented compensating for the not so absorbing middle part of the book. 

BOOK REVIEW: "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4" - Sue Townsend

photo source: [forbookssake.net]

This classic British novel by Sue Townsend set in the suburbs of 1982 which is read by almost everyone in 7^th or 8^th grade in Great Britain is famous for its highly sarcastic and cynical as well as far ahead of his age main character!

The book is written in short diary entries in the time span of about a year and a half. Poor Adrian Mole has to deal with his mother who is currently having her midlife crisis and his clumsy father who doesn’t seem to be good for many things. He only has one friend as he regards himself too intellectual for kids his age, however, he has a good relationship to his grandmother who is there for him when his parents are not.

To begin with the positive aspects, the character of Adrian manages to make you laugh at least thrice per page and his attitude is simply hilarious. His comments to himself, his perception of life and his always knowing everything better are one-of-a-kind. Townsend’s style of course supports this attitude wonderfully, as if she truly were Adrian Mole or at least a 13 ¾ year old teenager feeling exactly these puberty driven feelings.

However, I myself lost interest in the not so spectacular contents of the book and couldn’t help but ask myself if Townsend ran out of ideas at two thirds of the book. What is more is that Adrian’s oh so funny attitude slightly loses its drive and its charm towards the end of the book coming off as rather annoying by then.

All in all, it’s a very quick, fun read with a superb entertainment value most of the time, however, the story loses its focus and creativity at some point. For me, comparing it to other 4 stars books, it’s not as engaging, so…

 

BOOK REVIEW: "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" - Jonathan Safran Foer

photo source: [amazon.de]

The second novel by acclaimed author Jonathan Safran Foer of “Everything Is Illuminated” fame tells the story of 9-year-old Oskar Schell wanting to find out a secret his father left behind after dying in the tragic events of 9/11. It’s a book about the effects of the death of a loving father on his son, but also about the effects of the birth of the very same man on his parents, 40 years before, and their stories.

The novel starts out with some heartwarming scenes explaining the loving relationship between father and son which the son thinks about a few years after his father’s death. His memories are caused after finding a key in his dad’s old stuff with the name Black on it. He decides to go meet every single person with the surname Black in New York in their apartments and ask them if it was theirs. He regards this mission as his father’s last will and in his subconscious this project helps him get closer to his dad and not have to admit that his father is no more with him.

In the meantime, we get to read a letter by Mr. Schell’s mute turned father to his unborn son, some 40 years before the key-event, and in addition to that a letter by Mr. Schell’s mother to her grandson. Both are war refugees originally from Dresden and we get to know their tragic and extremely moving stories in these very personally written parts.

All in all, Foer manages to make the stories of the three main characters quite engaging and touching. However, whereas the story of all New York’s Blacks seems somehow unrealistic at some point and, even more, a bit useless and over the top, as it has no positive effects on anyone, the grandparents’ letters (especially the ones telling the grandfather’s youth and early adulthood) appear to be quite overwhelming. Their letters are very honest and the content is quite extraordinary and therefore highly interesting and captivating.

I liked the language Foer uses for the respective characters very much as this style of writing is quite special. Little Oskar has a very entertaining and amusing attitude and the language he uses suits this attitude perfectly. The grandfather often has to speak through written words as he is mute and so what he writes is even more important, for him as well as for us to read. The grandmother’s story is calmly written and not as eventful as the rest of the novel’s contents, but the more heartfelt and touching.

As a conclusion, I think the book could have turned out even better with Oskar’s story a bit more realistic and the ending more inventive, but even so, all the three stories about becoming an orphan, being a refugee in war and handling an unfulfilled marriage are extremely moving & incredibly close.

P.S. Let’s hope that the movie releasing next year with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock as Mr. & Mrs. Schell in the leading roles will be a truthful attempt to picturize a novel that is driven by such strong feelings.