Category: Books

My list of read books

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The curious incident of the dog in the night-time

I found this book by coincidence. Close by there are book cabinets located where everyone can exchange books. Just leave the ones that you have read and bring home new ones. It’s fantastic!

The narrator is Christopher Boone, a teenager with Asperger’s syndrome. He likes patterns, structure, math, anything you can put into a sytem, however he’s a bit challenged on the social side. At school he has an amazing teacher to help him understand people and what their behavior means.

Mark Haddon’s portrayal of this very special young man is outstanding and absoultely worth reading. Anyone who would like to try a different book, because they feel that the last 10 books looks almost alike, this is one to break that flow. Normally I don’t read young adult books but when reding the cover, it made me want to give it a go, and I’m so glad that I did.

Christopher Boone found his neighbour’s dog dead in her garden and decides to solve this murder mystery. It forces him to go out of his comfortzone, which is beyond the end of the road and beyond where the school bus takes him.

Actually I don’t want to tell to much about this book. It’s one of those books that must be read. It’s remarkable and different, its a breath of fresh air!

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Bunny Munros død – Nick Cave

Det er et stykke tid siden jeg læste Nick Caves bog om Bunny Munro, så jeg vil gøre mit bedste for at skrive et par ord om den.

Det er det første jeg har læst fra Nick Cave. Han skriver meget gribende og man føler sig trukket med ind og ned i historien. Og jeg siger ned i historien fordi det er en historie som beskriver hovedpersonen Bunny Munro og hans liv. Han er en yderst  ubehagelig person, et frygteligt menneske, et dumt svin, ubevist om andre, og selvglad der grænser til det urimelige. Nej, det grænser ikke til det urimelige, han er urimeligt selvglad. Engang imellem i korte øjeblikke får man medlidenhed med Bunny og det han går igennem med hans kones død og hans kamp for at gøre noget godt for sin søn, og så vender han på en fem-øre og det dumme svin han er springer frem i fuldt flor igen. Han er utiltalende hele vejen igennem, og hans sociale kompetencer mht. at forstå og føle andre mennesker er nær ikke eksisterende, og ifølge ham selv er han guds gave til kvinder.

Historien kører rundt på en følelsesmæssigt motorvej, uden fartbegrænsninger, i en nedadgående spiral hvor hastigheden på Bunnys nedtur kun går op. Bunny besidder et mørke som Nick Cave formår at beskrive så du næsten føler at du selv sidder svedig, storrygende, bagstiv fra dagen før og med hånden i skridtet i en faldefærdig gul Fiat Punto.

Bogen er sort, deprimerende, beskriver det værste i folk og Nick Cave gør det på den smukkeste og mest poetiske måde. Så hvis du har lyst til at læse noget andet end den sædvanlige krimi, der alligevel minder lidt om den forrige du læste, vil du i Bunny Munros død få en oplevelse udover det sædvanlige!

Nick Cave er en fabelagtig kunstner!

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John Steinbeck – Tortilla Flat

I’ve read a few of John Steinbecks books and it always amazes me how his writing leaves me with a feeling. I can’t remember the details of the book but the feeling of the characters, the smell of the streets, ocean, cheap wine, smoke from the fire place, dirt roads, the rising sun on your skin, the pine forrest still lingers.

After having reads hundreds of books in my life so far, I still can’t put words on what it is in his writing that just makes me completely absorbed when reading his books. I literally fell like a fly on the wall or a bystander.

Back to the Tortilla Flat (1935) the story revolves around the main character Danny and his friends in the books mentioned as paisanos living in Tortilla Flat in the outskirts of Monterey and actually working really hard to work as little as possible. The group of friends only own the shirt on their back until Danny inherits two houses. The freedom Danny knew from his days where he slept under the stars slowly began to decrease. He felt the weight of having to think of the house that he rents to his friends.

Their friendship goes way back and seem to be for life. On the other hand they can easily argue why one of the friends should have a good beating. They have their own set of unwritten rules and some things in a friendship is sacred to them. As an example, it is strictly forbidden to steal the Pirates money, but it is ok not to pay rent to Danny.

It is a very humorous book and it easily brings a smile to your face. Eventhough it seems to be a light and funny book it stills shows the difference between the poor paisanos living in Tortilla Flat compared to the people in Monterey, the difference in way of life. But also how important friendship is to people, what friends will do for each other.

It’s a beautiful book!

 

 

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My first book to read “The prophet”

The first book I’ll write about is “The prophet” by Khalil Gibran.

Actually I haven’t read it yet, but.. It was recommended to me by a stranger last year on my summer vacation, and I bought it 6 months ago. Now I’m on my way for another summer vacation and I’m bringing “The prophet”.

I believe that it’s a book that needs to be read slowly and without stress and disturbance from the everyday life. So with my feet in perfect blue water, sun warming my body, I will block out the noices of the other people on the beach and enjoy the thrill of living a new and unexplored (for me) book.

…. Vacation!!….

Well rested and back from vacation, I have as promised read “The prophet”. The book is about Almustafa and the day where he is about to leave from his 12 year long stay in the city of Orphalese. I don’t know if there is any meaning to the wordplay towards “orphan”, does he regard himself as an orphan or the people of Orphalese as orphans? Well this is the day the ships comes to take him home to his isle of birth.

Khalil Gibran writes quit beautifully and has some wonderful ways to say things or emotions. I will mention some of them here:

“Suffer not yet our eyes to hunger for your face”

What a brilliant way for the elder of the city to express they feel about his departure. It is so simply and yet the sentence says all there is to say.

The book brings a very philosofic view on mans view of the world: Filled with questions most people have asked at some point of their lives. The people of Orphalese ask Almustafa in hope that he can answer them for them. Khalil writes short and precise, he doesn’t need 10 sentences to get to his point, he can do it in 1 sentence. And he’s done it so well that the book that is almost a hundred years old is still a very popular book to read.

All in all the book has a somewhat religious view on things and at the same time mixes beautifully with philosofical thoughts and spirituality. The book is for everyone who thinks and wonders about humans relationship with each other and nature and the universe.

It also makes you wonder. Why is Almustafa at Orphalese? Why does it take 12 years for a ship to arrive to take him home? Why does he still feel like a stranger after so many years? Has he really lived in his 12 years in Orphalese?

You can take as much as you feel like from this book. It is beautifully written and it is absolutely worth a read.

Enjoy 🙂