Bookworms untied

Yet another overview of books we have read in the last months. We do this, of course, to inform you of worthy books, but also to keep a record of what we read. The present list is a little shorter that the previous one, thanks to Mr. Dosto(y)evsky and Mr. Garcia Marquez (we thought that our Spanish teacher Renate suggested reading his books, but she suggested other writers).

The underdogs, Mariano Azuela
A story about revolutionaries in Mexico; they are described in different stages of success: as bandits, heroes, decadents and fugitives. A mozaique of history. Not brilliant, but certainly interesting to read.

The lincoln lawyer, Michael Connelly
Perfect beach literature. Read this book during the time I had to wait at the beach during my open water PADI dives.

Dos Crimenes, Jorge Ibarguengoitia
Comical story about a man who is sought by the police and hides with his dying uncle. His cousins see him as a competitor to the heritage and try to get rid of him. Fun and very readable, even in Spanish. Although it became a lot easier after we had bought a small dictionary.

Life of Pi, Yann Martel
Very imaginative (but not @yahoo.com, of course) tale of a boy (Piscine) who is shipwrecked together with a tiger. Definitely recommended!

The feast of the goat, Mario Vargas Llosa
Read this impressive book about Trujillo, the dictator of the Dominican Republic!

Skinny Dip, Carl Hiaasen
A woman gets pushed off a cruise ship by her husband, but survives. She wants revenge. Quite funny, not great.

Into thin air, Jon Krakauer
Impressive story about an attempt to climb Mount Everest where several people die. Krakauer is a good writer and adds several smaller storylines to keep the book interesting. Read this if you like (walking/climbing in the) mountains.

Fatherland, Robert Harris
What would have happened if the Germans won the second world war? What if a over-zealous policeman found out the truth? Good vacation book.

A short history of nearly everything, Bill Bryson
The writer tries to explain physical aspects about life, the universe and everything, but is mainly very succesful in describing how natural scientists conduct their research, all the miserable failures and personal problems that led to or derived from the research. Very interesting read for people who are interested in natural sciences and history of science.

Heart of darkness, Joseph Conrad
Story about a man who travels to congo to make a quick buck but a very different experience and returns home a sick man. Based on actual trips made by Conrad. Not the easiest book to read.

The valley of light, Terry Kay
A man returns from the second world war to a tiny town somewhere in the USA. For the first time he feels like he could settle down.

The sheltering sky, Paul Bowles
Husband and wife with a very strange relationship travel through northern africa, but encounter many problems. Interesting psychological profile of the characters, although the whole book is not entirely satisfying. I actually found all characters rather strange.

De Endstra-tapes, Middelkoop & Vugts
Do not read this book, just the introduction and the epilogue. It is the transciption of interviews that criminal investigators had with Willem Endstra, before he was shot. Interesting and freightening insight in the goings-on of the Dutch underworld.

A map of the world, Jane Hamilton
A grown up book about a grown up topic: a woman babysits her neighbour's children and one girl drowns in the pond. This of course wrecks her life and that of her family. Maybe a little too serious for my liking.

The Karamazov brothers, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Still reading... I thought that the descriptions were nice to read but the actual dialoge is a bit tiresome at times.

The man who smiled, Henning Mankell
Good pool-side literature about two solicitors murdered in a provincial town in Sweden. Nothing great.

Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi
The story of a lecturer who tried to teach 19th century English literature to her students. The book gives a lot of detail about life as a woman and intellectual in Iran after the 1979 revolution. It was criticised as it gave the picture with a view from the 90s (as the author moved to the USA in 1997). Still a very interesting read, although not fully up-to-date.

The boy in the striped pyjamas, John Boyne
The second world war seen from the eyes of a 9-year old boy. Interesting, not brilliant.

As you can see, it is getting more difficult to find really good books. Hopefully the selection will become better in South America. Any suggestions for good books are welcome.