The 2011 book quest: Books 8 & 9.

The last week has been very busy, and so I only just finished book 8 yesterday. More on the business later, now on to the book. The Other Hand by Chris Cleave, here it is in the read-pile:

I shall try not to spoil anything that happens in it, just as the back cover asks not to. I did enjoy the book, though I found the story to be a little slow. The language however was very impressive, how it changed with the different characters was amazing. The author managed to give each character his or her unique speech pattern and so the reader is never in doubt of who is talking.
The story is very real in the global community we inhabit, and the reality hits you and gnaws at you until you accept it as true.

I was supposed to post this yesterday, and I had started writing it, but something got in the way. That something being the realization that it was St. Patrick's Day. Now I am not Irish, and all my Irish friends live in Copenhagen so it was not the "Kiss me I'm Irish" part of St. Patrick's that was calling, it was more the "oh beer" part.
So instead of finishing what I started, I instead went to the bar, had a few beers and a couple of games of pool and then went home slightly buzzed.
I am in no way dissatisfied with my decision.

The thing is, when I went to bed, I could not sleep. So I naturally picked up the nearest book. It turned out to be an old one of my own, which means I have read it before, but not for a long time.
I have done the Google-thing and as I suspected it is not translated to English, but the version I have is called "Hævnens Time" which basically means "The Hour of Revenge" and it is also published under the title "This is how War is made". It is by Flemming Jarlskov and is written for a teenage audience.

However it has a very adult theme even though all the main characters are 12 to 14 years old. It is not a manual for how to start a war, but it describes how a group of schoolboys take on the older boys in school and savagely start a war that they cannot control or even understand the full consequences of before it is too late. And why do they start this war? Because of a tarmac football field in the schoolyard.

At one point in the book, the protagonist compares their battle against the older boys to the Palestinian fight to have their land back. He watches a documentary about how their land was taken and how they use any means to get it back, and he realizes that what he and his friends are doing is exactly the same, just on a smaller scale.

The whole book is written as an essay from the protagonist to his teacher, to explain why they did what they did, and especially to explain to the teacher that the grown-up rules do not always apply to the children's world. The book has many of the same themes as book 7: The Evil, there is a secret world that adolescents live in that adults do not understand, and cannot be bothered to understand.

The next book will be a recommendation from a good friend of mine, he says he has read it quite a few times and always cries, so let us see if I can make it through without having my heart broken.

And so I shall leave you with:

Book 10: Mister God, This is Anna by Fynn.

The 2011 book quest: Book 7.

So when I finished Robin Hood last night I knew The Evil would be a quick read. Not this quick though. I admit I am a fast reader, but I'm not usually this fast.

Book 7 was The Evil by Jan Guillou, a semi-autobiographical story of the violence in the authors childhood and teens.

Like I wrote in my previous post I find this book to be amazing. It is well written and even if Erik, the protagonist, is in fact part of the evil he tries to fight, you never once hate him. His understanding of the human psyche and the way he uses it to gain control of his opponents makes him seem emotionally distant, but at the same time his thoughts and discussions with his roommate tells the story of a boy who just wants to be in peace with his surroundings.

If I were to recommend any of the first seven books I have read during this quest, it would most certainly be this one. The unforgiving tone seems harsh at times, but it only strengthens the story and the conviction of the reader that this is just a boy who tries his best to fit in, even if it means sticking out.

I repeat my plea from the previous post, that if anyone reads this and finds it the least bit interesting, please comment. And any recommendations of books are more than welcome.

I have decided that the next book will be one that has been sitting on my shelf for about a year unread. The reason I bought it is also the reason it as remained unread; the text on the back. Instead of a short introduction, a little bit of a teaser and at least the name of the protagonist, it just says:
 

"We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it.

Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it so we will just say this:

This is the story of two women.

Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice.

Two years later, they meet again

- the story starts there...

Once you have read it, you'll want to tell you friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds."

Now how could I ever resist that, huh? So book 8 will be The Other Hand by Chris Cleave. This one will most likely take a little longer to read since it is in English.

Now let us not say farewell, but as the French have it; Au revoir!