Category: Book Review
The Left Hand of Darkness
So, I have this YouTube channel. I entered a contest that CineRam had, and my prize was a video of my choice. I asked him to read and review one of my favourite science fiction books, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guinn. It’s a brilliant book, and CineRam made an excellent review for me:
Book Review: Little Star, by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Little Star is written by the very same author who is known from the book, and the film, Let the Right One In. I have read the book in its original language, Swedish, Lilla stjärna, which was released in 2010. The English version is due to be released 29 September 2011.
Little Star starts with the former pop singer Lennart Cederström, who one day finds something in the woods he not at all expected to: Half buried, in a plastic bag, a baby girl. Lennart gives her the kiss of life, and to his surprise, her first cry is a pure, musical note. He takes the baby back to his wife, and persuades her that they should keep this remarkable child. They hide her in a room in the cellar, and keep her secret from the outside world. The girl turns out to be a strange and disturbed. When she reaches puberty, a terrifying scene sees her kill both her parents. Her adopted brother, Jeremy, takes care of her, but she is still a scared and lonely girl.
Not far from Stockholm, another lonely and strange girl lives an unhappy life. Bullied by her fellow school mates, she finds comfort in poetry, trolling the Internet and learning about wolves. After a while, the two girls get in touch, and forms a special and scary friendship. They form a powerful bond and soon they do things most people wouldn’t even dream of doing.
Yet again Linqvist has managed to create a chilling story. It is at times grotesque, and is not for the faint hearted. Since I read it in Swedish, I don’t know how the translation will turn out, but I found it to be well written. At times he used some slang, but in the setting it was used, it worked very well.
There were parts of the books I almost felt like the need to turn away, as it wasn’t pretty, but I kept on reading. It gripped me from the very beginning, and I am already looking forward to read another book written by John Ajvide Lindqvist.
Book Review: The book of tomorrow, by Cecelia Ahern
I first came across this in a book shop, and when I read the back it intrigued me. However, it was a Norwegian translation, and I generally prefer to read books in their original language, as long as I can read it. I ended up adding it to my bookcrossing wish list. Earlier this summer an Icelandic bookcrosser contacted me asking if I still wanted it, and it didn’t take long before the book arrived in my mailbox.
The book of tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern is about the 16-year-old Tamara Goodwin, whose father recently passed away. After discovering he had huge economical problems, he decided to commit suicide, and Tamara and her mother are forced to sell the house and move to their relatives in the Irish countryside. Tamara, who has lived all her life in Dublin, finds the countryside boring, but one day a traveling library arrives, and here she finds a book that will change her life forever.
When I first started reading this book, I must admit it was slightly boring. But I have a standing rule that I give a book at least a hundred pages before I give in on it, so I continued reading it. Besides, it had been a gift from a bookcrosser in Iceland, so I felt obliged to finish it. Fortunately, it did pick up after a while, and with all its intrigues and secrets it actually turned out to be rather exiting.
This was an easy read, and though it had more than four hundred pages, it didn’t take long to get through. I brought it along on my summer holidays, and it was the perfect read on the plane, at a café or on the beach.
Book Review: Green Angel written by Alice Hoffman
Green Angel by Alice Hoffman came to me as a bookcrossing book ring book. I was actually quite excited, as the first Alice Hoffman book I ever read was the Norwegian translation of At risk. I can’t quite remember at what age I was, but my best guess would be early teens. Back then I loved the book, and I’m pretty sure I would at present day as well, though I’d prefer to read the original English one instead. But I digress.
This book is about the 15-year-old Green who loves to work in the garden. One day her parents and her beloved sister goes to the city, but they never return: They all die in a terrible fire, and Green is left on her own. Everything is covered by ashes, and Green struggles with both the pain of loosing her loved ones, and to survived in a gray environment. She does what she feel is the right way to protect herself, and starts to tattoo bats, vine of thorns and ravens onto her own skin.
I thought it was a beautifully written story, and I enjoyed Alice Hoffman’s poetic language. The book touched me, and made a great impression, even though it wasn’t very long. Some new characters are introduced along as we go, and even though you don’t feel as if you know then through and through, you start to love them. They are in so many ways some complicated and beautiful souls.
Have you read this book? If so, what do you think of it?