Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick - first published 2007
Written for young adults and set at the time of the Russian Revolution, this novel is a fictionalised account of the time that the author Arthur Ransome spent in Russia as a journalist/spy. He falls in love with Evgenia, Trotsky's secretary, whom he later married. As things become more and more dangerous for them in Russia, Arthur and Evgenia have to flee the country. Some of the book is told in the form of a fairy tale, which I wasn't that keen on. 6/10
14th April 2010
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Book 8, Country 8 - Finland
House of Orphans by Helen Dunmore - first published 2006
16 year old Eevi lives in a Finnish orphanage in 1901 . She is sent to work as a housekeeper for Thomas Eklund, a doctor in a rural village. He falls in love with her but she has a boyfriend called Lauri in Helsinki, with whom she is desparate to be reunited. Thomas accompanies her on a long walk to the nearest railway station, so she can go to Helsinki, although he is very sad to see her leave. The second half of the book is set in Helsinki, where Lauri and his friend Sasha are involved in resistance to the Tsar's rule. The first half of the book is more interesting than the second but it enlightened me about an area of history about which I knew very little, for example I had no idea how much influence the Swedes had in Finland at this time. 6/10
6th April 2010
16 year old Eevi lives in a Finnish orphanage in 1901 . She is sent to work as a housekeeper for Thomas Eklund, a doctor in a rural village. He falls in love with her but she has a boyfriend called Lauri in Helsinki, with whom she is desparate to be reunited. Thomas accompanies her on a long walk to the nearest railway station, so she can go to Helsinki, although he is very sad to see her leave. The second half of the book is set in Helsinki, where Lauri and his friend Sasha are involved in resistance to the Tsar's rule. The first half of the book is more interesting than the second but it enlightened me about an area of history about which I knew very little, for example I had no idea how much influence the Swedes had in Finland at this time. 6/10
6th April 2010
Book 7, Country 7 - Norway
Black Seconds by Karin Fossum - translated from Norwegian - first published in 2007
9 year old Ida Joner goes missing on her way to the local shops. Inspector Sejer and his colleague Jacob Skarre investigate the disappearance but they have little to go on. The characters of Ida's mother and aunt and her children and that of a simple local man called Johannes are well drawn but I found the ending a bit of an anticlimax. 5/10
24th March 2010
9 year old Ida Joner goes missing on her way to the local shops. Inspector Sejer and his colleague Jacob Skarre investigate the disappearance but they have little to go on. The characters of Ida's mother and aunt and her children and that of a simple local man called Johannes are well drawn but I found the ending a bit of an anticlimax. 5/10
24th March 2010
Book 6, Country 6 - Sweden
Return of the Dancing Master - Henning Mankell - translated from Swedish, first published in English in 2003.
This is a stand alone novel about the detective Stefan Lindman, who is a colleague of Kurt Wallander but he doesn't feature in this story. If you have watched the Swedish verion of Wallander on the television, don't expect Stefan in the book to resemble the character in the TV series. Stefan is on sick leave when he hears that a former police colleague has been murdered. He decides to investigate himself. He uncovers a dark side to Swedish society - Neo Nazism. Not the greatest plot or my favourite Henning Mankell novel but a well written story. 6/10
8th March 2010
This is a stand alone novel about the detective Stefan Lindman, who is a colleague of Kurt Wallander but he doesn't feature in this story. If you have watched the Swedish verion of Wallander on the television, don't expect Stefan in the book to resemble the character in the TV series. Stefan is on sick leave when he hears that a former police colleague has been murdered. He decides to investigate himself. He uncovers a dark side to Swedish society - Neo Nazism. Not the greatest plot or my favourite Henning Mankell novel but a well written story. 6/10
8th March 2010
Book 5, Country 5 - Denmark
My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time by Liz Jensen - first published 2006
This is a story about two 19th Century Danish prostitutes, who time travel to 21st Century London. A surprisingly enjoyable book with engaging characters. 8/10
2nd March 2010
This is a story about two 19th Century Danish prostitutes, who time travel to 21st Century London. A surprisingly enjoyable book with engaging characters. 8/10
2nd March 2010
Book 4, Country 4 - Germany
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - first published 2007
A wonderful book. Don't let the fact that it is narrated by death put you off. This book is one of those rare novels that is utterly different from anything else I have ever read. If you aren't crying by the end or are at least moved by it, then you are indeed hard hearted. It is the story of Liesel, who is sent to stay with foster parents Hans and Rosa in a town near Munchen at the beginning of the Second World War, and her friends and neighbours on Himmel Street. 10/10
20th February 2010
A wonderful book. Don't let the fact that it is narrated by death put you off. This book is one of those rare novels that is utterly different from anything else I have ever read. If you aren't crying by the end or are at least moved by it, then you are indeed hard hearted. It is the story of Liesel, who is sent to stay with foster parents Hans and Rosa in a town near Munchen at the beginning of the Second World War, and her friends and neighbours on Himmel Street. 10/10
20th February 2010
Book 3, Country 3 - the Netherlands
Girl in Hyacinth Blue - Susan Vreeland - first published 1999
This novel is arranged as a series of short stories about the lives of the people who have owned a fictional Vermeer painting known as the Girl in Hyacinth Blue, starting with the most recent and moving back through time to Vermeer and his family. Some of the stories were more enjoyable than others - my favourite was the one set at the time of the Christmas Flood of 1717 - but on the whole it was enjoyable and gave me a good flavour of life in the Netherlands. It reminded me greatly of Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, which was also first published in 1999. 6/10
14th February 2010
This novel is arranged as a series of short stories about the lives of the people who have owned a fictional Vermeer painting known as the Girl in Hyacinth Blue, starting with the most recent and moving back through time to Vermeer and his family. Some of the stories were more enjoyable than others - my favourite was the one set at the time of the Christmas Flood of 1717 - but on the whole it was enjoyable and gave me a good flavour of life in the Netherlands. It reminded me greatly of Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, which was also first published in 1999. 6/10
14th February 2010
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