Kvinna med födelsemärke

Titel: Kvinna med födelsemärke
Författare: Håkan Nesser
Bonnierpocket, 1998 (1996)

En kvinna med agg mördar män på löpande band. Jag läste romanen för andra gången med elevögon eftersom romanen har blivit framröstad av en klass och vi ska läsa den nu i början av terminen. De kommer nog att anmärka på språket, vilket jag dock, som alltid, är förtjust i. Jag måste bara komma ihåg att slå upp vad "till yttermera visso" egentligen betyder. Och så måste jag kunna sätta ord på varför Nessers smått arkaiska , prudentliga språk skänker en viss air till hela hans påhittade mellaneuropeiska samhälle. Tur att folk blir ihjälskjutna och våldtagna också. Det brukar tilltala - ifall nu inte språket skulle göra det.

Låt den rätte komma in

Titel: Låt den rätte komma in
Författare: John Ajvide Lindqvist
Ordfront förlag, 2008 (2004)

Ja, jag är lättskrämd kan jag börja med att säga. Men den här boken, även om jag var skeptisk till hela upplägget från början, sträckläste jag och en dunkel eftermiddag blev jag till och med lite skraj för min ettåring för att han satt alldeles tyst och nymornad i sin säng och tittade på mig... på ett konstigt sätt.

Vampyrer i förorten kan man sammanfatta storyn med och den håller en bra bit av vägen om ändock inte hela vägen fram. När en purny pedofilvampyr lämnar sjukhuset efter att ha lemlästat en bårhusvaktmästare, och med ansiktet förintat av syra och ett präktigt stånd, försöker våldta en vampyrflicka, som egentligen är en pojke, ja, då köper inte ens jag det riktigt. Fast lite rädd var jag ändå.

Johnny Got His Gun

Titel: Johnny Got His Gun

Author: Dalton Trumbo

Bantam Books, 1989 (1939)

A young soldier of the Great War wakes up in a hospital and slowly realises that he has lost his legs, arms, nose, eyes, ears and mouth. The only sense left to him is touch. The narrative is a hodge-podge of his dreams, memories and thoughts, interspersed (and these are the most interesting I think) with his persistent efforts to find ways to tell time, to get to know the environment he's in and, finally, to try to communicate with his caretakers. The novel could have been a lot tighter; It is quite difficult to get through and I would not give it to students. For anyone looking for an account of trench life, this is not the novel for you. It is, simply put, a comment on the futility and insanity of war.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian
Author: Sherman Alexie
Andersen Press, 2008 (2007)

At first I thought this was a cross-over between adult and teen fiction, but after reading it, I have to say it is decidedly for younger readers. The story, although engaging, is not that credible. It does, however, raise important questions about cultural loyalty and it has made me more interested in the life of today's native Americans. Ellen Fornay's cartoonish drawings are a plus!

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People

Title: The Marriage Bureau for Rich People
Author: Farahad Zama
Abacus, 2008

I know there is a Bollywood movie based on Pride and Prejudice and one of these days I'll get around to seeing it. Until I do, this novel is a wonderful substitute. Storywise it only has a few parallells, but the tone and spirit of this book is the same and therefore, I fell in love with it. That I am fascinated by India's way of arranging marriages does not hurt. If you do not like Jane Austen and smirk at stories that end happily - take a rain check.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Title: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Author: Junot Díaz
faber & faber, 2008

This year's Pulitzer Prize winner is quite good but can't hold a candle to The Road, which won last year. Oscar Wao is a fat, virgin Dominican living in the States, and this novel tells the story of his family and the might of Dominican dictator Trujillo. Quite a bit of the narrative is in Spanish, which made me feel a bit left out. A touch of magic realism is to be found for those of you who fancy that.

The White Tiger

Title: The White Tiger
Author: Aravind Adiga
Atlantiv Books, 2008

This award-winning novel shows us the underbelly of Mother India. I felt I read it in a stutter. Snatching time for a few pages here, a few pages there. Maybe that was the problem and the novel demands a more devoted, full-time reader. Nevertheless, it never really got to me and the only two reasons I finished it was that I wanted to find out how the hell the protagonist killed his employer and, well, it won the Booker so I felt I had to make an effort. Turns out, I really shouldn't have bothered.

The Fire Gospel

Titel: The Fire Gospel
Author: Michael Faber
Canongate, 2008

I have always been keen on Michael Faber and the idea for this novel was very promising (a greedy, mediocre scolar stumbles upon an additional, hidden gospel to the Bible and introduces it to the world.) The introduction is a model of swiftness and Faber manages to launch the whole story in three pages flat. Sadly, from there, it is mostly downhill. This great idea for a novel was simply not handled with enough care and consideration by the author and left me feeling disappointed.

Hey Dolly

Titel: Hey Dolly
Författare: Amanda Svensson
Norstedts, 2008

Att Amanda Svenssons första roman är lovande är väl inget att diskutera, men som författare är hon klart oslipad (diamant eller inte kan bara tiden utvisa), vilket kanske inte är så konstigt eftersom hon är väldigt ung. Bildspråket är så mustigt och ivrigt använt att det blir ansträngt och lite genant och huvudkaraktären är inte riktigt trovärdig. Jag känner mig dock inte snuvad på min värdefulla tid eftersom novellan bara tog någon timme i anspråk och den lämnar mig definitivt nyfiken på vad Svensson kan åstadkomma i framtiden.

The Elephanta Suite

Title: The Elephanta Suite
Author: Paul Theroux
Penguin, 2008 (2007)

This book contains three novellas about modern-day-India. The different protagonists are all looking and expecting something particular from India and getting something entirely different. The first two pieces were alright, but when I got to the third one I felt that Theroux was wasting my time. There are a lot of other things written about India that are more interesting.

Life Class

Title: Life Class
Author: Pat Barker
Penguin, 2008

Arty youth in the year of 1914 discover love and sex in the shadow of the Great War. It is mildly interesting for someone who is hung up on the era and the theme (i.e. me!) For anyone else, get Barker's Regeneration Trilogy about the war. It surpasses this watered down novel as well as most things written on about this interesting historical period.

Vernon God Little

Title: Vernon God Little
Author: DBC Pierre
faber and faber, 2003

I finally got around to reading the Man Booker Prize Winner of 2003, and it says 'Snap, Crackle and Pop' in a big way. Vernon Little is a weirdo whose only friend, Jesus, blows his own head of after murdering a bunch of his class mates. Now, Little gets the blame! The language is hilarious, bull's-eye Starburst-commerical fun, without the sugar but with all the bile!

Lee Burke, Kureishi and Chabon

I was lucky enough, in some respects, to catch a really bad cold, because it gave me some time for reading! I found Two for Texas by James Lee Burke in the book case and really enjoyed it. Two convicts, the American frontier wars and impeccable style is here for the taking. Sidle up to a sneezer and enjoy!

For some reason, I just can't warm to Hanif Kureishi's writing. I've tried (twice before) because his usual subject matter - East meets West in England - appeals to me. However, his style, which I find contrived, does not. I will now stop trying. For a while.

Michael Chabon's last novel, The Yiddish Policemen's Union, really impressed me. Therefore, my expectations may have been running high when I tried this one, Gentlemen of the Road. The story is simple, two adventurers fight wars and save ladies during the 10th century, but the language is not. It is quite difficult at times, but for no real purpose (if there ever was a good one). It is not clever, beautiful, evocative or thought-provoking. Just tough to get through. If you are interested in trying Chabon, any one of his other novels will beat this one. By a clear margin.

The State of the Blog

Ja, de som fortfarande troget har vägarna förbi här har väl inte kunnat undgå att märka att blogginläggens frekvens har sjunkit drastiskt. Att vara mammaledig och läsa böcker var inget problem; det ska ingen komma och säga. Men - att jobba heltid, känna att man får tid över till plutten (och sambon) och samtidigt inte bara hinna läsa (vilket är svårt nog) utan också blogga det man läser, det visade sig vara svårare det. Anledningen att jag har tid att skriva det här inlägget överhuvudtaget beror på att jag är kanonförkyld och hemma från jobb.

Summan av kardemumman är att ambitionsnivån för bokbloggen nog får sänkas och inläggen komma när möjlighet finns helt enkelt. Jag ska försöka lägga in så att man kan prenumerera på feeds från The Poor Player. Det blir nog det enklaste sättet att följa mina allt färre turer i litteraturens värld. Passar på att flagga för Two for Texas av James Lee Burke som jag hittade i bokhyllan nu under min ömkliga sjukdomstid: kanonroman om två flyende fångar som hamnar mitt i den råa historien om slaget om the Alamo!

Slam

Title: Slam

Author: Nick Hornby

Penguin, 2008 (2007)

I have been a fan of Nick Hornby for quite some time, my absolute favourite being About a Boy. Therefore, I was a bit disappointed in Slam. It takes a while for the story to kick off at all, and when it does it is repetetive. Also, the timewhizzes that, now and then, throws Sam, our teenage dad-to-be hero, into the future seems a bit contrived and uncalled for. For those of you who haven't discovered Hornby yet, try something else by him and for those of you who have, skip this one.