I try to avoid reviewing two or more novels in one post because I like to give each author their due, but these two books were begging to be compared against one another, and quite frankly, I’m reading so much these days that keeping up with my book reviews is getting challenging. I read The…
I think this book may be the most ‘masculine’ thing I have ever read, except for maybe a GQ magazine article about belts. The Plotters by Un-Su Kim, translated into English by Sora Kim-Russell features men, lots of men, and they’re either fighting, drinking, joking around, or doing all three at the same time. There’s…
This is the first book I’ve ever read that has been published by Amazon Crossing. After a bit of research googling I’ve discovered that Amazon Crossing is the translation arm of Amazon Publishing, so it’s not self-publishing, but you can propose a book to be translated on their website. Regardless, I was fairly happy with…
Today’s story is called “One Gram Short” by Etgar Keret, translated by Nathan Englander. It’s my favourite one yet!
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this before. Hunting Houses by Fanny Britt* is a three day snapshot into Tessa’s life; a middle-aged, married real-estate agent with three boys and a husband who adores her. But we don’t just follow Tessa for this short time, we also get glimpses of her…
In the past, I’ve made comments on this blog that basically follow the theme of “it’s usually the parents’ fault” when referring to stories about adult break downs and shortcomings. I of course say this a bit tongue-in-cheek because I’m a parent myself, and now that I know how difficult being a parent is, I…
Graphic novels are hot right now, it seems everyone is talking about them and with good reason; they are a wonderful way of communicating a story in a unique and visually delightful way. For those who aren’t familiar with the format, I’ve included a few pictures throughout this review to give you a better idea…
I tend to roll my eyes these days when I read a description of a book that includes the term ‘psychological thriller’; it seems to have turned into a catch-all label for stories that have little violence but many twists, however unbelievable. Recently though, I have met my match with Fear by Dirk Kurbjuweit, as…
It’s hard to imagine a woman named “Norma” as exotic (sorry to all the Normas out there, but you know it’s true), but the latest release from famed Helsinki-based writer Sofi Oksanen features just that: a “Norma” with a fantastic secret. Oksanen’s Norma has hair that grows at an incredible rate, she has to cut…
Most people would readily claim that someone in their family suffers from mental illness. Mind you, many of these cases are undiagnosed (or completely imagined), but everyone suspects at least one family member of theirs is crazy, because that’s really the only explanation for why they drive you crazy, right? Fire and Air by Erik…
“The Brothers Grimm Meets Stephen King” is a quote from the French media outlet La Presse, found on the cover of Claudine Dumont‘s Captive. This book is another translation (side note: I seem to be reading a lot of these lately, which makes me feel much more intelligent than I really am), so it was originally written…
Like the title suggests, A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler (translated from the German by Charlotte Collins) is literally about a man’s whole life, in only 139 pages. Apparently this book is also an international bestseller, so I had high hopes when I cracked it open. Unfortunately, it was a bit disappointing. I can’t say why…
