L'homme à l'envers, by Fred Vargas

With the memory of how much I enjoyed Un peu plus loin sur la droite, by the same author, I immediately decided to borrow this book. I liked it. The cool dialogues are there one more time, with a good plot and a nice story about the wolves and the road trip. I don't want to spoil the book too much, but .. I was sad somehow to discover who the murderer was. Also, this book had less of an effect on me, compared with the first one I read. I wonder if it is because the dialogues, mood and plot style aren't new anymore, or if it is just that the book wasn't as good as the first. Oh well .. I am definitely going to keep reading Fred Vargas, in any case.

Attentat, by Amelie Nothomb

A very short novel by a young French author. I read it in no time, fascinated by the horror and ugliness. I admired the style, and both liked and disliked the book. It is quite voluntarily disgusting anyway. I am glad I read it, but this is the second time I read a book from Amelie Nothomb, and she definitely seems to like moody/disugsting/fatalistic moods. Not my favorite type of mood.
Still, a good book. I am wondering if the reaction of Ethel at the end is realistic, but I suppose it is. Still, what an end !

Restless, by William Boyd

Had a good surprise at the library: they had just received a bunch of books in English. Although I always borrow books in German (I am trying to read through "Die Farbe Blau" right now, but of course it's a slow process), I enjoy a lot more reading in English and French. And I do like reading brand new books.

Anyhow, this is a really nice spy story. A page turner, two lifes told simultaneously. I enjoyed both lifes, and the different perspective it gave on WW2. It was a good read, but I think this is one of these book that would slip out of my memory really fast, if not for this blog.

L'empire des anges, by Bernard Werner

From this author, I have also read the ants trilogy (loved the two first books, mixed feelings about the third) and "L'ultime secret", a real page turner, even if I didn't love the book.

One more time, I had mix feelings about one of Bernard Werner's books. The story is very interesting, the book is a page turner. The perspective is unusual and I liked it. I was annoyed by the pseudo-scientific data (such as animals evolving from plants). Also, I wonder what's the good thing about becoming an angel .. it sounds terribly boring. I also wonder why people would want to stop re-incarnate into humans. I suppose it is because I am lucky with the life I have, but I would rather go on for another one and have some more fun rather than become a guardian angel.

Messieurs les enfants, by Daniel Pennac

A friend introduced me to Pennac a couple of years back, with "Aux fruits de la passion". I found the book completely crazy but enjoyed it. That's why I immediately pulled "Messieurs les enfants" out of their shelf in the library and put them in my basket.

The book was pure pleasure. I enjoyed the spicy dialogues and the diverse characters. The subject: "You wake up one morning and realize that during the night you have been turned into an adult. Freaking out, you run to your parents' room. They've been turned into children. Tell the continuation.

(That's my translation .. I might change it when I find more appropriate phrasing)

I'd definitely recommand this book to anybody who can read it in French. And to anybody who comes across a translated version too :D

Sheltering Rain, by Jojo Moyes

This book is the reason why I wrote that "Bad Chili" was really different from my usual romantic books. I (without any big surprise here) borrowed it from the library because I liked its cover very much and thought a little romance would be nice.

I found the first half of the book rather slow and boring, with the same things repeating again and again. This is why I left "Sheltering Rain" to read "Bad Chilli" and only went back to it after I finished the latter. However, the last third becomes increasingly interesting and involving and I had difficulties putting the book down yesterday night (although I had a terrible headache) and again this morning (although I should really have hurried up and gotten to work). I finally managed to settle in tonight and finish it of.

A story across three generations of women (grand-mother, mother and daughter), I realise now. With long accumulated resentment and differences in lifestyle. Quite nicely done, from Hong Kong to Ireland to London. Well, I liked the book, liked how the characters evolved even if it was very classic. There was some unpredicted (by me) events to keep the story entertaining.

Right. I think I have one more book in French, and then I'm left with the German books I borrowed from the library.

Bad Chili, by Joe R. Lansdale

Andrew lent me that book. Quite a change from my usual romantic books :D

I enjoyed the writing style, learned new vocabulary and expressions. The book is a real page turner, but that keeps a relaxed atmosphere (I mean, there is no equivalent to super stressing music in bad horror movies in this book -- if anybody can understand what I mean here, I'll be happy). Somehow it reminded me of the style of "The stranger, by Albert Camus". Except that there isn't any swearing in Camus' book.

The two main characters are witty and good fighters, which is quite vital in the story. It is full of violence. A friend told me she couldn't read all the description about the violent videos. But what I found the most disturbing in the end was the description of domestic violence. It also reveals life in smaller towns in Texas, and describes a cool tornado. In any case, I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from the author.

I don't think I'm ever going to be asked to write book reviews if anybody in the business reads my blog .. I hope you don't mind my style and senseless remarks. This is just what comes through my mind without any structuring or anything (in case it wasn't obvious already).


[Joe R. Lansdale's entry on Wikipedia]

Portrait Sépia, by Isabel Allende

I have read several books from Isabel Allende (Daughter of Fortune, City of the Beasts, Kingdom of the golden dragon). I have also bought "Forest of the Pygmies" in Spanish but it isn't that easy for me to read Spanish and I find the plot surprisingly stupid. In any case, this book on the French shelves of the library attracted me and it landed in my (already well loaded) basket.

It is a sequel to "Daughter of Fortune" and tells the story of that first book very quickly (so I'd recommend reading Daughter of Fortune first, or the book would be spoiled by this one). Isabel Allende has a nice way of telling stories, with enough historical context and events that you feel involved in the story, and you learn things (particularly regarding Chili history), but not going into too many details, names and dates so that it doesn't become boring. The characters are interesting and very likable. There might just be too many of them to properly know them all in detail, and even Aurora seems a little bit hollow at times, submerged by all the strong characters around her.

All in all, it was a very entertaining novel with a little bit of mystery (not too much, it isn't too hard to imagine what it is), nice characters, and an historical touch.

[Isabel Allende's Website][Wikipedia article]