Scandinavian writers somehow know how to write a good book. At least, this is my experience, but I probably just read a small fraction of Scandinavian authors. Of course, they must be good in order for them to be translated into English or Dutch. Anyhow, I was very eager to read this one because I read so many positive reviews! Was it as good? Let’s find out!

Book cover

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

My first impression

My first chuckle was while reading the first page. Okay, this must be good! My first emotion was not long after. Wow, this book seems to be funny and emotional at the same time. A heartfelt read!

The story

Ove is a man set in his ways. He loves his routine and likes to complain about the world around him. However, soon you find out that there is more to him. He loves and misses his late wife. She was “the color” in his life. This love is endearing and feels very pure. He doesn’t really want to go on without her.

Ove didn’t have the easiest life, working from a young age and being betrayed multiple times. He handles it quite well by moving on, but the reader is left with feelings.

The main character Ove is withdrawn, until new neighbors move in. He learns he actually does not dislike the woman (Parvaneh) and the kids are okay too. The man remains a doofus in his eyes. Parvaneh challenges him to come out of the house, help others and live life. The friendship that unfolds is heartwarming.

The story is about life, love, loneliness, friendship, human connections and challenges.

My opinion

I simply love this book. I think it’s special that a book can make you laugh and nearly cry. The book touches your heart to the core!

The character Ove is developed well and throughout the story you grow more fond of him with every page you turn. Ove is the person you’d like have as your neighbor or grandfather. It is also endearing that Parvaneh encourages him to live, even if it irritates Ove in the beginning. Everyone needs a Parvaneh now and then.

Conclusion of A man called Ove

This book is amazing. It is hilarious, heartfelt and it makes you feel all the feelings. Moreover, the characters and the story are developed well and the writing is great. I would highly recommend this book! I am sure I will read it many more times. The story somehow really stays with you for a while. Perhaps because the book is deeply human.

Verdict

There’s this episode of Gilmore Girls, it might even be the first one, where Sookie sings “Rory and the Chilton and the Chilton and the Rory”. Somehow, I hear the title Cat’s cradle exactly as sung by Sookie. “And the cats and the cradle and the cradle and the cats”. I don’t know why. It has little to do with the book though. Let us review!

Back cover

Kurt Vonnegut’s ”Cat’s Cradle” is an irreverent and highly entertaining fantasy about the playful irresponsibility of nuclear scientists, beautifully repackaged as part of the Penguin Essentials range. ‘All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies.’ Dr Felix Hoenikker, one of the founding fathers of the atomic bomb, has left a deadly legacy to the world. For he is the inventor of Ice-nine, a lethal chemical capable of freezing the entire planet. The search for its whereabouts leads to Hoenikker’s three eccentric children, to a crazed dictator in the Caribbean, to madness. Will Felix Hoenikker’s death wish come true? Will his last, fatal gift to humankind bring about the end that, for all of us, is nigh? Told with deadpan humour and bitter irony, Kurt Vonnegut’s cult tale of global apocalypse preys on our deepest fears of witnessing the end and, worse still, surviving it …

My first impression

This is gonna be fun! The book starts off with the writer/narrator contacting the children of the fictional creator of the atom bomb Dr. Hoenikker (who passed away). They are all peculiar. He contacts them because wants to write a factual account of Dr Hoenikker. I am curious to find out what will happen!

The story

Cat’s cradle revolves around the narrator, traveling to an island in the Caribbean named San Lorenzo. He follows Dr. Hoenikker’s children there. On this island, the people secretly practice bokononism and speak some sort of English. Bokononism is created by a singer who roams the jungle and adds pages to the book very often. The president forbids bokononism and the people are scared of him. Is he really this strict dictator that he seems to be though?

The eldest son of Dr. Hoenikker, turned out be the right-hand man of the San Lorenzo president. He is getting married, this is why his brother Newt and his sister Angela visited him on this island. It turns out they are all carrying a secret.

The narrator learns that when the atom bomb dropped, the creator was playing with some strings making a cat’s cradle. So while all those people died, the creator was simply doing that. The day the Dr himself died, he was also playing, but with ice. He created the deadliest weapon of all: ice-nine. What will happen, now that the three children carrying this deadly weapon, are all together on an island?

My opinion

Vonnegut wrote a fun satirical science fiction book. I appreciated the symbolism. His creation and writing of Bokononism is brilliant. I feel like the author aimed to symbolize that all religions are narratives. Whether you agree with or not, it’s clever writing.

The characters were well-written and easy to imagine. However, I feel like the story itself was more important than singled out characters. The concept of scientists inventing irresponsibly and all their consequences is a good base for a story. This combined with a made-up religion, tension of what will happen next and funny/strange characters makes it an interesting read!

Conclusion of a Cat’s cradle

It’s a fast, nice read. Kurt Vonnegut is a clever and witty writer. I like that he both pays attention to human’s scientific and human’s religious mind. I think I will the re-read book because I am sure I will discover more with every read.

Verdict

Nachtschade van Karin Slaughter is het eerste deel in de Grant County serie. Het boek is in 2001 voor het eerst uitgegeven, bijna 20 jaar geleden dus. Ondanks de goede reviews van deze thriller, vroeg ik me dus af of het nog van deze tijd was. Niet te langzaam? Niet wat saai? In deze recensie kom je erachter. Officieel is een “Karin Slaughtertje” altijd wel goed, toch?

De flaptekst

“In het slaapstadje Grant County ontstaat grote deining als een jonge lerares wordt verkracht en vermoord. De vrouw wordt gevonden door Sara Linton, de plaatselijke kinderarts en lijkschouwer. Samen met politiecommissaris Jeffrey Tolliver, haar grote liefde van vroeger met wie ze op gespannen voet staat, probeert ze het mysterie van de moord op te lossen. Intussen verricht ook Lena, de zus van het slachtoffer, op eigen houtje naspeuringen. Dan dient het volgende slachtoffer zich aan.”

Mijn eerste indruk van Nachtschade

Whoohoo, veel personages, even wennen, maar wel spannend! Vanaf de eerste pagina is alles heel gedetailleerd geschreven. Een beetje “CSI-achtig”, daar ben ik gek op!

Waar het boek over gaat

In Grand County, een stadje in Georgia, wordt een lerares verkracht en vermoord. Het slachtoffer wordt gevonden door Sara Linton, de plaatselijke kinderarts en lijkschouwer. Haar ex-echtgenoot Jeffrey Tolliver, hoofd van politie, leidt de zaak. De twee moeten ondanks hun verstoorde relatie samenwerken en de moord op te lossen.

Tijdens het onderzoek lopen de onderlinge spanningen steeds hoger op. Sara draagt een geheim uit het verleden met zich mee dat licht op de zaak zou kunnen werpen, maar zwijgt als het graf. Intussen lijkt Lena zich te vergalopperen aan het onderzoek. Dan dient het volgende slachtoffer zich aan…

Wat ik ervan vond

Tjonge jonge wat een spannend boek. Dit boek blijft echt boeien tot het einde, af en toe te luguber om te lezen, maar zo perfect omschreven situaties dat je je echt helemaal in de wereld van het boek waant! Een boek wat je eigenlijk in een ruk wilt uitlezen en niet weg kan leggen door de nieuwe ontwikkelingen die zich telkens weer voordoen. Daarnaast zijn de karakters (en dit zijn er aardig wat) goed gedetailleerd en geloofwaardig neergezet. Chapeau!

De conclusie van Nachtschade

Nachtschade zit goed in elkaar en Karin Slaughter heeft zich duidelijk goed verdiept in het onderwerp. Dit is naar mijn mening een echte page-turner. Hou je van spannend en goed geschreven verhalen, en heb je de tijd om achter elkaar door te lezen? Begin dan met Nachtschade en je zult, net als ik, heel snel de rest van de serie willen lezen!

Beoordeling