Life Support

One after another, Life Support after Harvest. Mysterious symptoms and sudden deaths of healthy retirees. A doctor who starts to get suspicious, digs too much and gets haunted for that.

Idealization of youth can be dangerous. The topic of Life Support is still current and continues to be that. Almost all people want to look younger, wrinkles are frightening and raddled body terrifying. There’s no cure for that,  you just have to accept the course of one’s life. That doesn’t mean you can’t take care of yourself, you must do just that. But not at the expense of other people’s lives.

Life Support, basic medical thriller that doesn’t break any molds. Enjoyable and forgettable.

Beastly things

I’ve read a lot of books written by Donna Leon. They are not the greatest books in the world but I still like them a lot.  They are easy to read and there’s some nice portrayals of the landscapes and foods of Italy. I also like Guido Brunetti.

The latest Donna Leon’s book I just finished was Beastly things.

Beastly things was an average detective story and I think that it was not the best of Donna Leon. Momentarily the book was just a little bit boring and I noticed that my thoughts escaped to other things. Still, there was something familiar and safe, something intriguing. Guido Brunetti was Guido Brunetti, enjoying lunch and some wine with his wife (I love how their relationship is so comfortable and loving), drinking coffee with his coworkers. And, on the side, solving crimes.

Guido Brunetti doesn’t have any serious problems like his other literary colleagues do, no alcoholism (although he does drink quite a lot of wine), no depression, no ugly divorce or loneliness. A fully functional marriage and family. I like that.

When you read Donna Leon’s books you know what you’re going to get. They are a safe choice. Not too violent, peaceful atmosphere, good food and drinks, beautiful landscapes. Donna Leon has an unique way of telling a story, somehow restful and beautiful. Unbelievable, after all I’m talking about crime novels.

And (I’m not going to reveal any details) after reading this book I felt incredibly happy that I’ve chosen to be a vegetarian (over 25 years already).

All The Truth That’s in Me

There has been many words of praise about this book, “A distinctive novel that incudes a powerful message”, “A tale of uncommon elegancy, power and originality”. That’s what some say about All The Truth That’s in Me, by Julie Berry. It’s just confusing when you read a book and you don’t see those highly praised elements in it.

Is there any other who didn’t love the book, because I didn’t like it. Usually I don’t like books that are written in second person narrative. This book was no exception. I get the idea, acceptance, survival, growth, courage and all. They are good things and the main character of the book is a survivor. I agree and I love it, but the way this book was written just wasn’t for me. And it was a surprise that this book was actually a historical novel, I didn’t see that coming. The cover of the book didn’t give any clue nor did the back cover.

All The Truth That’s in Me was a letdown and I didn’t enjoy reading it. I was happy when it ended. I really wanted to like this book, but I can’t.

Bridget Jones – Mad About The Boy

I love Bridget Jones -movies and I’ve read the books also, so I was excited to hear that there’s a new Bridget Jones -book. Mad About The Boy.

What I love about Bridget is that she has the ability to laugh at herself. The books (and movies) have humour, love and silly everyday events, and the reader (and the viewer) can relate to them. Bridget is a girl next door, added with little silly features.

Mad About The Boy was also funny, there was love and silly everyday events. There was motherhood and children, lice and bedtime stories. It has a happy ending.

But I also felt that Bridget was a little too immature and very desperate. By desperate I don’t mean her grief over dead husband Marc but the despair about ageing and finding a man in her life. Nonetheless, these are the topics that are familiar to many women. Ageing scares people, so does loneliness.

Besides, it sucks that Marc died. Why couldn’t Bridget have her happy ending with him after all the fuss? That would have been a good way to finish the story of Bridget.

Mad About The Boy was a good read, one time. If they make a movie of it, I may see it. Another book to leave behind.

PS. 70 followers, thank you!

Winter’s Tale

This time the book, a novel written by Mark Helprin. I saw the movie (review here) and decided to read the book that the movie was based on. So, I went to the library and borrowed Winter’s Tale.

What a disappointment. I tried to read and read. I did read about 200 pages (the book was over 700 pages) and then I stopped. Too much details, too much portrayals of things and scenes. Winter’s Tale was not a book for me.

The movie was silly (and I liked it) and it was much better than the book. Maybe because the movie makers had to take everything unnecessary away. Which was a good thing.

I can’t say much about this book. An interesting fairy tail ruined with too much irrelevant details. That’s all.

Dog Day

Dog Day (Petra Delicado Mysteries, # 2) is a detective story written by Alicia Giménez Bartlett.

The lead characters in this book are detective Petra Delicado and her policeman partner Garzon. What I liked about this book, as well as in book Death Rites (Petra Delicado Mysteries, #1), is the friendship between these two very different people. They are colleagues but they also care for each other as friends. Their discussions are humorous as well as moving. Their support to each other is genuine and sincere. They are humane, they are like real people.

The story dealt with dogs. I’m not an animal person, but the dogs didn’t bother me. What bothered me that the story was not very unique or addictive. It was good, but it was not brilliant. To me, the narration was a little plain, too simple. I had this feeling that the book didn’t quite get to it’s peak and left me wanting something more. The crime was solved, so it wasn’t that.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell exactly the missing elements that you would’ve liked to have in a book. Some books have those elements, some don’t and some rest in the middle. Dog Day is in the middle. I probably will read the next Petra Delicado mystery, if it comes, so Death Rites or Dog Day were not that bad.

The Stonehenge Legacy

Another book from the sale, Sam Christer’s The Stonehenge Legacy.

I’ve read quite many books about conspiracy theories and old cults or secret societies. The Stonehenge Legacy was one more to that collection.

This book was a quick read. The story moved at a fast pace and had some interesting details in it yet some of the rituals described in the book were a bit disgusting. The story was interesting but not brilliant. The book held my attention throughout but it didn’t leave me with a feeling of a great reading experience.

I may remember this book later from Stonehenge which was an essential part of this book. I will not remember this book from it’s spectacular language or unusual plot. Just another thriller among other thrillers.

The Casual Vacancy

No happy people in J. K. Rowling’s book The Casual Vacancy. The book deals with politics, social problems, class division, poverty, drugs, rape, racism, envy, child abuse and other ugly sides of the human race.

The Casual Vacancy was well written but it was so, so heavy and dark. The atmosphere was tense, people were unhappy and depressed. I had some difficulties reading it and I had to force myself to keep going.

The book left me some uneasy feelings. I kept thinking that the life described in this book is a reality to many people and I felt very lucky. So, despite all that depressing stuff and anguish the book somehow touched my heart.

For the record, I’ve never read Harry Potter -book, I’ve only seen the films, so I’m not comparing The Casual Vacancy to them. It is a certainty that The Casual Vacancy is not a book for children.

Jane Eyre

My friend recommended Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Brontë) to me. I’m not so much into historical novels but I decided to give this book a change. It was worth it. I absolutely fell in love with this book, I was captivated by the story. I have no idea why, but I was.

Some books don’t become outdated, they are current and fresh always, at any time. I think Jane Eyre is one of those books. Jane Eyre is a book about a woman’s life told with vibrant and beautiful language. I think the novel was ahead of its time and is dealing subjects that are still relevant, women’s independence, love, social class and many  more.

If I had to choose books to take to a deserted island, Jane Eyre would be one of them. And I think that, when some time has passed, I will read Jane Eyre again.

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” ― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre