Book

Review – Wake by Anna Hope

~ Hanna ~ 6 Comments

Hi,

Last week, I had the pleasure of reading the German edition of Anna Hope’s Wake which is published by Rowohlt and called Abgesang. I won an ARC from Buchboutique. Thank you! The English original was first published by Transworld.

Wake
Image provided by Transworld¹
Synopsis quoted from Transworld¹:

Five Days in November, 1920:
As the body of the Unknown Soldier makes its way home from the fields of Northern France, three women are dealing with loss in their own way: Hettie, who dances for sixpence a waltz at the Hammersmith Palais; Evelyn, who toils at a job in the pensions office, and Ada, a housewife who is beset by visions of her dead son. One day a young man comes to her door. He carries with him a wartime mystery that will bind these women together and will both mend and tear their hearts.
A portrait of three intertwining lives caught at the faultline between empire and modernity, Wake captures the beginnings of a new era, and the day the mood of the nation changed for ever

My Thoughts:

Two years after World War I, the city of London still hasn’t fully recovered. While we walk the streets, we encounter men physically and mentally wounded by the war, but they try to keep smiling, just like the city tries to shine. In Wake, Anna Hope leads us to a glamorous dance hall, an underground club, a pensions office, the homes of different people and back to the battle fields. All these places have a unique feel to them and mirror the emotions of the characters moving within their walls and boundaries.

The three main characters, Ada, Evelyn and Hettie, are women in different stages of their lives. You could say that they stand for all women living through these years of sorrow and hope. I felt most drawn to Evelyn, as she is a well crafted character who allows us a vivid look at not only her past and her present, but also her possible future. Of course Wake offers male characters as well. One of them is charming Ed. He is quite a surprise and I really wish I could have found out more about his person, his thoughts and his dreams.

The connections between the three women slowly unfold and some don’t come as a surprise. But in my opinion Wake isn’t about suspense and thrill, it’s about the invisible wounds of war which won’t heal that fast, and it’s about finding happiness in a situation that seems hopeless. While its main focus is on the story of Ada, Evelyn and Hettie, Wake also has a second, parallel storyline that shows the funeral ceremony preparations for the body of the Unknown Soldier. I loved how much emotion was put into this sub plot. It was as if I had been there myself. Wake is a heart-wrenching debut that will transport you back in time and give you the women’s view on the consequences of war.

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¹http://www.transworldbooks.co.uk/editions/wake/9780857521941

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Review – The Road To Reckoning by Robert Lautner

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Happy Monday everyone,

I spent this weekend as a boy devouring an adventure novel. Yup, you read right, a boy 😀 That doesn’t happen often. I read Robert Lautner’s The Road To Reckoning which I was lucky enough to win in a Twitter competition by The Borough Press. We had to tweet our top three country & western songs that we would pick as a soundtrack for the book. I chose the following:

  • Ian Tyson: Cowboys Don’t Cry
  • Randy Newman: Gonna Take You There
  • Loretta Lynn: Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’

Now that I’ve read the book, it’s kinda creepy how well they fit. The titles of the first and second song fit perfectly and the third one is up to interpretation 😀

There’s something else I’d like to show you. The Borough Press posted a special on how the cover was designed and I think it’s worth a read. You can find it here.

Road To Reckoning
Image provided by The Borough Press¹
Synopsis quoted from The Borough Press¹:

Set in 1837, this is the remarkably poignant story of 12-year-old orphan Thomas Walker and his treacherous journey home through the wide open lands of America.‘I, to this day, hold to only one truth: if a man chooses to carry a gun he will get shot. My father agreed to carry twelve.’
Young Tom Walker cannot believe his luck when his father allows him to accompany him on the road, selling Samuel Colt’s newly-invented revolver. They will leave behind the depression and disease that is gripping 1830’s New York to travel the country together.
Still only twelve years old, Tom is convinced that he is now a man. Fate, it seems, thinks so too …
On the road west the towns get smaller, the forests wilder, and the path more unforgiving. A devastating encounter cuts their journey tragically short, and leaves Tom all alone in the wilderness.
Struggling to see a way home, he finds his only hope: ageing ranger Henry Stands, who is heading back east. Tom’s resolve to survive initiates an unlikely partnership that will be tested by the dangers of the road ahead, where outlaws prowl.

My Thoughts:

Set in the early 19th century, The Road To Reckoning takes us on a trip to the American frontier. Thomas Walker and his father make their way from New York to Pennsylvania and as I’ve never traveled that road, I had problems imagining the landscape that surrounded Thomas on his adventure. Too often, my mind created Wild West scenes where the woods and meadows of Pennsylvania should have been.

Twelve-year-old Thomas Walker is the main character in The Road To Reckoning. By letting the adult Thomas Walker narrate what happened in his childhood, Robert Lautner avoided all the difficulties that come with stepping into a little boy’s mind. This approach also added a touch of nostalgia to the tale which fit perfectly. I also really liked the character development of Henry Stands. I don’t want to take away too much, so you’ll only get three words: What a man!

The Road To Reckoning is an exciting tale that has everything you expect from a western-style adventure: horses, dirt, bad guys and guns. It reminds me of the western novels my father used to read when he was a boy. The Road To Reckoning might look like it’s targeted at adults, but I think teenagers will also take pleasure in a trip back to the American frontier.

bohnen4s

¹http://www.boroughpress.co.uk/titles/9780007511310/the-road-to-reckoning

Review – Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Hi,

This post is part of an upcoming series of four posts on American 18th & 19th cent. Gothic novels. I have to read them in preparation for my final exams at university. If you now think, “Oh dear God no, how boring, I had to read that stuff in school,” be at ease, it’s just four reviews. And still, these books give me the creeps. Okay, I’m scared easily. You see, these writers laid the foundation for all those great books you are reading now. This first review is about Charles Brockden Brown’s Wieland, or the Transformation, an American Tale which was first published in 1798.

Image Source
Image Source
Synopsis:

Clara Wieland lives in a house on her brother’s estate in Mettingen, Pennsylvania. When they were children, the siblings’ father died a mysterious death. Now, the inhabitants of the estate start hearing strange voices and soon after, a brutal murder takes place.

My Thoughts:

Wieland leads us to 18th century Pennsylvania and a great part of the novel is set on the Wieland family estate. Charles Brockden Brown created a grey and dreary setting that is perfect for what’s about to happen. While reading, I sometimes imagined that the Wieland estate could easily be the setting for a much happier story. The estate would feel completely different, by just changing the right words. But we don’t need that for Wieland 😉 .

The events that take place are told by Clara Wieland, sister of Theodore Wieland. Clara is a very brave and smart woman. Sometimes her actions are so brave that they can be classified as plain stupid. When I gave it some thought though, I noticed that it was somehow strange that this brave woman falls gravely ill every time someone tells her something shocking. That doesn’t make sense. Nevertheless, I never doubted the female voice Brockden Brown used to tell this story.

Charles Brockden Brown starts his novel with an introduction of the characters and their background. It takes some time for the story to get going but when it finally does, it’s full of suspense (at least if you have no idea about the outcome). In the end, everything seems to be clear. However, when you think about it, a few things just don’t add up. Wieland is a novel for those who are bored with today’s thrillers and those who want to see how the American Gothic novel started out.

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Review – Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin

~ Hanna ~ 4 Comments

Hi,

This is a book review, BUT I’m pretty exited about today’s release of the movie Winter’s Tale! If you haven’t heard about it, here’s the trailer:

When I first saw the trailer, I remembered the book the movie is based on, Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin. I had come across it a few months before, but I decided not to read it because the reviews were sharply divided. For me it looked like one half was raving about the book being brilliant, while the other half was complaining about it being boring. I was intrigued by the synopsis but I didn’t want to risk reading a 700-page book that would bore me. But then came the trailer and I was fascinated. I mean, they wouldn’t make a movie out of a boring novel, right? There had to be something about the book that made it worth reading. So I read it. And here comes a review that was very hard to write.

Synopsis:

New York City is eagerly awaiting the 20th century when a burglar is saved by a white horse. This incident will change his life forever. About a hundred years later a young, formerly very rich, man makes his way east across the country to find out more about the mysterious golden salver his father left him. He intends to board a ship to Europe, but something seems to hold him in New York City. The city has changed with the years, but some things are still the same. Things like the cloud wall.

My Thoughts:

Winter’s Tale is a very complex novel. It’s main focus lies on New York City, but not the New York City we know. Not even New York City as it was around 1900, which is the time the first part of the novel is set in. Mark Helprin created his own version of this famous North American city we all know. If it doesn’t feel weird for you in Part I of the book, wait until you reach Part II. I was really confused! I had no idea what time I was in. Was that still the past (because the language and other details suggested that)? No it wasn’t, but where was I? If you try to find that out with the help of clues you usually pick up on the way, you’re lost. Well I was. I just started to accept it. This world is different even though it shares lots of similarities with ours.

Peter Lake for example. He looks human. He is human. If he would have had a better past, he might have become a normal, working-class citizen of New York. Things turned out a little different though and he starts to do things you can’t comprehend. You could call Peter Lake a main character, but I could be biased by the movie trailer. I’ve thought about it. There are so many characters in this novel. Every one of them is introduced in more than just two pages. At some point it got quite confusing to remember who was who. Many of these characters (e.g. Hardesty & Virginia) are very important and take up large parts of the novel. I can’t say if there really is a main character. What do you think?

As you can see, Winter’s Tale is a rather confusing adventure, but there is one thing that makes it worthwhile: the language! Okay, two. There’s also Athansor, the flying horse. If I had the time, and I hope I’ll have it someday, I would sit down and just read passages of the book for sheer pleasure. Mark Helprin can turn words into magic. Though I have to be honest with you. I did not fully understand Winter’s Tale, but as I’ve seen on the internet, there are many who didn’t, even after rereading it for the xth time. Do I think you should read it? Yes, if you have time on your hands. If you are terribly busy right now, read something light and get back to Winter’s Tale when you feel relaxed.

3 Star Rating: Recommended

I’m wondering how they made such a complex book into a movie. I’m looking forward to Akiva Goldsman’s interpretation!

Review – Seriously… I’m Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres

~ Hanna ~ 11 Comments

Hi,

I’ve been circling around this book for a while and when I was confronted with a three-hour train ride, I decided on buying it. Seriously… I’m Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres is what people will read if they only get to watch youtube clips of her show because it isn’t broadcast in their country.

Seriously
Image provided by Grand Central Publishing¹
Summary quoted from Grand Central Publishing¹:

I’ve experienced a lot the last few years and I have a lot to share. So I hope that you’ll take a moment to sit back, relax and enjoy the words I’ve put together for you in this book. I think you’ll find I’ve left no stone unturned, no door unopened, no window unbroken, no rug unvacuumed, no ivories untickled. What I’m saying is, let us begin, shall we?

My Thoughts:

In Seriously… I’m Kidding, Ellen takes us on a journey through her world in the spotlight and her innermost weird thoughts. She describes situations that are too strange to be true and more than once makes us laugh out very (!) loud. So be careful if you are in public. Let’s just hope you don’t read on an e-reader or listen to the audiobook. 😉 People can’t see what you’re reading, you know.

Unfortunately, there are chapters in this book that are less fun and, to be honest, quite boring. I had the feeling that those chapters were just there to fill up the pages. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather read a book that’s short and fun than long and boring.

As you can see, I have mixed feelings about Seriously… I’m Kidding. But as this book isn’t a novel, you could just skip the boring chapters as soon as you notice they get boring. I did read them all though. I’d say Seriously… I’m Kidding is a book for the quick laugh on a train, in the bathroom, or waiting for your doctor’s appointment. It’ll be like Ellen is right there with you, if you want to listen to her stories, or not.

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¹https://www.hachettebookgroup.biz/titles/ellen-degeneres/seriouslyim-kidding/9781455547784/

Review – The First True Lie by Marina Mander

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Hello,

It’s the weekend again and I hope you’re enjoying it! In January, I got to read a shocking novel by Italian writer Marina Mander called The First True Lie (Italian title: La Prima Vera Bugia). It will be released in five days, on February 6, 2014. Canongate provided me with an ARC.

The First True Lie
Image provided by Canongate¹
Summary quoted from Canongate¹:

‘They always tell you that you shouldn’t tell lies, but without lies I’d already be in an orphanage.
This, in any case, is my first true lie’
Luca and his mum are like two peas in a pod in their special, fragile world.
Then, one winter morning his mother doesn’t wake up. Luca suddenly finds himself alone for the first time. Terrified of what telling the truth might bring, he decides to keep the biggest secret of his life. Luca goes along to school every day, pretending everything is as it always has been. But he returns home every night to a cold, dark house. So he begins to build a protective bubble with the memories of his mother, the words and stories he so loves – and his cat Blue – against the truth on the other side of the bedroom door.

My Thoughts:

The First True Lie leads us into Luca’s world which, from the start of the novel, mainly consists of the apartment he lives in. Marina Mander created a dull place for Luca’s story to take place. You have the feeling that as days go by, the walls are closing in on the little boy and his cat, the air becomes thicker, the light fades. The author skilfully sets the scene for this horrific plot.

Luca is the main character of The First True Lie. The novel is written from the little boy’s perspective and this is where its weakness lies. It’s written in an interior monologue and Luca’s thoughts often sound too grown-up to be a child’s. While the interplay of feelings like fear, stubbornness, strength and resignation is what makes Luca believable and lovable, certain thoughts leave the reader puzzled.

The First True Lie is a dramatic novel. It’s like a spiral that goes down. The plot is actually quite simple, but the book as a whole has maximum effect. Even though I had some credibility issues with Luca’s character, this haunting novel works out. The First True Lie left me shocked and thinking.

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¹http://www.canongate.tv/the-first-true-lie.html

Review – The Golem And The Jinni by Helene Wecker

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Happy Friday everyone,

I’ve recently finished a wonderful book, The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. I heard about it a few months ago and thought that I might read it some time and as soon as I started reading, I regretted that I didn’t pick it up earlier ;). Warning: This isn’t just a novel with magical elements in it, it’s a great take on late 19th century immigration to the U.S.!

The Golem and the Jinni
image provided by HarperCollins¹
Summary provided by HarperCollins¹:

Helene Wecker’s dazzling debut novel tells the story of two supernatural creatures who appear mysteriously in 1899 New York. Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a strange man who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic. When her master dies at sea on the voyage from Poland, she is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York Harbor. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire, born in the ancient Syrian Desert. Trapped in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard centuries ago, he is released accidentally by a tinsmith in a Lower Manhattan shop.

Struggling to make their way in this strange new place, the Golem and the Jinni try to fit in with their neighbors while masking their true natures. Surrounding them is a community of immigrants: the coffeehouse owner Maryam Faddoul, a pillar of wisdom and support for her Syrian neighbors; the solitary ice cream maker Saleh, a damaged man cursed by tragedy; the kind and caring Rabbi Meyer and his beleaguered nephew, Michael, whose Sheltering House receives newly arrived Jewish men; the adventurous young socialite Sophia Winston; and the enigmatic Joseph Schall, a dangerous man driven by ferocious ambition and esoteric wisdom.

Meeting by chance, the two creatures become unlikely friends whose tenuous attachment challenges their opposing natures, until the night a terrifying incident drives them back into their separate worlds. But a powerful menace will soon bring the Golem and the Jinni together again, threatening their existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.

My Thoughts:

Helene Wecker’s novel about two unusual immigrants is mainly set in New York City around 1900 and she takes you right there. In The Golem and the Jinni, you’ll visit cramped, stuffy tenements as well as stately, airy mansions. You will explore a city that you’ve probably never seen before. Ms. Wecker has a gift for setting. I only wished there would have been a map somewhere in the book to place all the streets and to get a feeling for the distances the characters traveled.

The novel follows the two main characters, a female golem and a male jinni, on their search for freedom and happiness. Chava, the golem, is new to life. She learns fast and adapts to the Jewish immigrant society quickly. Her greatest fear is to hurt someone and so Chava stays wary. Ahmad, the jinni, was free to do whatever he wanted and now he is trapped in human form. His self-conscious and impatient character makes him roam New York City night after night. While Chava wants to be like anyone else, Ahmad only wants to be free again to return home to Syria.

In my opinion, these two main characters are the archetypal immigrants. They are very different from the rest of the people already living in the U.S.. Chava comes to stay and to make a living. She wants to fit in and still has to learn everything to survive. Ahmad is in the U.S. with the goal to return to Syria as soon as he is free again. He resembles those immigrants who came to America to work and make money just to return home again, although lots of them stayed in the end.

As you can see, The Golem and the Jinni is a novel about immigration and different cultures in New York City around 1900, but this book has even more to offer. It is a book about friendship and trust and it’s a riveting read.

bohnen4s

¹http://harpercollins.com/books/Golem-Jinni-Helene-Wecker/?isbn=9780062110831

Review – Dear Life by Alice Munro

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Hi everyone,

I hope you’re enjoying Sunday! Today I’ve got a review of Alice Munro’s short story collection Dear Life for you. Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 and this is the first time I’ve read something she has written. I have to thank Random House UK for this copy. I got it to discuss it with other readers on Lovelybooks and to write a review.

Dear Life
Image provided by Random House UK¹
Summary quoted from Random House UK¹:

Alice Munro captures the essence of life in her brilliant new collection of stories. Moments of change, chance encounters, the twist of fate that leads a person to a new way of thinking or being: the stories in Dear Life build to form a radiant, indelible portrait of just how dangerous and strange ordinary life can be.

My Thoughts:

Dear Life is divided into two parts. The first one consists of ten short stories, the second of four autobiographical pieces. I’ll only review the short stories. As far as I can remember, all of them are set in Canada, many in the 20th century. Of course, Alice Munro knows her trade. She understands how to set the scene and how to transfer atmosphere.

In Dear Life, Alice Munro’s characters often seem to share similarities. The oppressed woman, the confused man and sometimes a child to tell us all about their problems. What struck me most, was how Mrs. Munro told stories from a child’s perspective. Especially in “Gravel”. You really think you are a child experiencing what the narrator experienced.

Unfortunately, technique isn’t everything. Don’t get me wrong, “To Reach Japan” was perfect! I also enjoyed “Amundsen” and “In Sight Of The Lake”. But the remaining seven short stories didn’t do the trick. They were okay, but I really expected more than just “okay”. While “To Reach Japan” was captivating and left me thinking, “Dolly” for example, left me indifferent.

As Alice Munro has won the Nobel Prize, I’m sure there are better short story collections out there. If life is like it is shown in Dear Life, it’s mostly dull, gray and tedious.

bohnen3s

¹http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/dear-life/9780099578635

Review – Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Hi,

I still got some books I read in December that I didn’t write a review for. One of them is Left Neglected by Lisa Genova. I found it in a local bookstore that sometimes has great bargains and I thought “Wow, this book sounds like a must-read.” So here’s what I’ve got to say about it.

Left Neglected
Image provided by Simon & Schuster¹
Summary provided by Simon & Schuster¹:

One typical morning, Sarah Nickerson, a woman in her mid-thirties, is late for work, racing in her car after dropping her kids off at school and daycare. She tries to phone in to a meeting she should already be at when she takes her eye off the road for a second too long. In that blink of an eye, all the rapidly moving parts of her over-scheduled life come to a screeching halt.
Sarah suffers a traumatic head injury. Her memory and intellect are intact, but she has lost all interest in, and the ability to perceive, information coming from the left side of space. The left side of her world has gone. Sarah only eats the food from the right side of her plate. She can’t see her watch, or her engagement diamond or her wedding ring. She tries to use a wheel chair but can only spin in circles as her left arm dangles by her side.

My Thoughts:

Set in present-day Boston and Vermont, Left Neglected leads you into the world of a business woman who only perceives the right side of everything, including herself. I think it is quite challenging for an author to make the reader see through such a person’s eyes, but Ms. Genova succeeded. In my mind, I was constantly trying to look beyond that grayish area to see that left hand, or that ring, let alone that watch to read the time.

Sarah, the main character of the book, is a business woman and as you can imagine, she is struggling hard to cope with her new situation. I never doubted this character for a second and understood her trains of thought, her fears and her decisions. There are other important characters in Left Neglected, but telling you about them would be a spoiler. They each have their own little story to tell.

As I already knew that an accident was about to happen, I was rushing through the first couple of chapters to finally get there. I’m really impatient when it comes to things like that. So I perceived the beginning of Left Neglected as a little too slow. But from the accident onwards, I was spellbound and didn’t want to stop reading. I actually read the book within two days. I can fully recommend this gripping and moving story to anyone who needs a timeout, wants to broaden their horizon, or just wants to read a good book.

bohnen4s

Happy New Year

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year 2014!

NewYearThank you for staying with me through these first nine months that I’ve been writing All That Magic! You are the people who keep me reading and reading is what makes me happy. I really hope that I made you buy one or two books (or 20, or 30,… I know how it is. You enter a book store, online or real, because you want to buy a book and you come out with four additional books.). Maybe you also read one of my reviews and thought “Nah, I don’t like this one.” and bought three other books instead. (Or a box of really expensive chocolates, or you just saved the money.) That’s also great 😀 What I’m trying to say is, I hope you are enjoying yourself on here. Most people do by having a look at that book stack cake I made for my late grandpa.

In 2014, I could do a few more food posts. My time is limited, but from time to time, I do take pictures of the things I cook and bake. I will, of course, continue to read and write reviews about the books I read. My TBR pile isn’t that small, so don’t be afraid. And I’ll definitely do something crafty. There might be a bit of an interruption in spring when I’m supposed to do my university finals, but I’ll warn you in time 😉 I think that’s all for now.

Thank You! And Happy New Year!