All The Light We Cannot See

I woke up this morning, it’s a Friday, and I read through the last one hundred pages of All The Light We Cannot See. I finished it an hour ago. Although it feels it’s been more than an hour, because I have been walking around the flat more slowly, responding to questions only when necessary, and all the while thinking about the story I have just finished.

I’ve written several reviews before but none of them was written at this desk; a desk that faces a corner of our living room, with everything else going on behind me. The TV is on, Sofia the First singing her signature opening theme and my daughter singing along. That was usually the setting to which I wrote all the reviews before; facing the TV and watching my daughter. Today, this time, I am keeping them behind me, in the background, with the smell of fresh baking coming from the kitchen where my wife is probably wondering why I have been a little cranky over the past hour. Maybe she will know if she reads the same story I have read.

I think I read somewhere lately that no two people ever read the same story; that our experiences and perspective and personal histories are as much a part of the story as the words themselves. So, I guess this review is more about me than you; more about my journey with Marie-Laure, Werner, Frederick and Volkheimer, than the book itself.

Countless before me and countless after will speak of books they read and loved and how they were transformed or mesmerized or a dozen other adjectives that we all wear out as we try to convey and share our feelings with the world. I’ve done it and will do it again. But this time, I just want to let it flow, hoping that my rationalization and logic will not kick in and ruin it. This is probably more about me than you. But I hope you continue reading.

Right before I sit down and type away, this image flashed before me that to an extent explained why I have been treading lightly around the house for the past hour and avoiding conversation with my wife. The image is of this dark space, ghosts and phantoms swirling around, some of them peaceful and quiet and others menacing and loud; like the dementors in Harry Potter. And at the center of this dark space, among all these flying phantoms, is a sphere, bright and glowing, inside it, the memories, feelings and images that have been created in my mind by reading this story; the city of Saint-Malo, Marie-Laure’s house, Werner and Jutta crouching in the attic listening to the radio. The sphere protects them, but with every step, with every word, with every thought, the sphere grows smaller. That’s why I’ve been trying to stay quiet and calm. To preserve it. But it still grows smaller. From experience, I know that at some point later today or probably when I crack open the next book on my To-Be-Read list, the sphere will break, and whatever is inside will spill out into the dark space surrounding it and join the phantoms. And hopefully from time to time the spectres will coalesce and I will be able to see them for some fleeting moments and remember how I felt that first time I read the story.

I believe since I’m writing a review and you are reading it for that purpose that I owe you the courtesy of at least touching on some points about the book itself. But as I said, I am afraid of ruining it with worn out clichés. This book has been rated on Amazon over 9000 times. I’m sure somewhere in there someone has written a review that is technically more worthy than mine. For me, I am hoping that I can convey to you how you would probably feel after turning that last page of the book. My story will differ slightly from yours, but I don’t think that will make a big difference.

I will give you some points to explain why this book is great, even though I know I might tint it.

The book is about a blind girl, and without you noticing how or when, the author will bring to life all your other senses, just like Marie-Laure needed to do. You will hear, and listen, you will taste, you will smell and you will feel. You will feel with your skin, and with your heart.

The last thing I will mention, for it is the most important, are the people in the story; the children. For a very long time I had forgotten what it’s like to feel so strongly for fictional characters in a book. And in this story, I am grateful to the author for not giving me just one memorable protagonist, but a whole bunch of them. They are children and their innocence just seeped out from the pages and settled down over me. I will not speak of them in the past tense like I usually do when speaking about books. They are children; they will always be children and they will always be innocent and their innocence will always find someone to touch as long as someone reads their story.

I could keep going on and on, feeling the sphere grow smaller, trying to slow down the process as much as I can. But it is inevitable, and you have probably tired of reading. I’ll end this now and enjoy whatever minutes or hours or hopefully days I have left with the remnants of this reading. And as for you, I hope, for your sake, that you go read this story too.

Revival

“Lightning never strikes the same place twice,” or so the common wisdom goes. However, unlike lightning, Stephen King strikes over and over and over again.

With his latest book, REVIVAL, released in November of last year, American author Stephen King adds yet another juicy, entertaining and well-thought story to a long line of successes that started with Carrie and ending with Mr. Mercedes (his last novel published before Revival in June of 2014). Although Revival might not rise to the status of some of his other stories such as The Shining or IT, it still does present us with a very rich reading experience. And here’s why.

First off, if you’ve ever listened to any of King’s interviews you will know one important fact about his story telling (and if you haven’t listened to his interviews, I am about to tell you anyway!), he always builds his stories around ideas of What If? Regular, mundane, everyday occurrences that he might encounter which then beg the question, What If? Then he takes that What If, runs with it, and then brings us these entertaining stories that he’s been sending out into the world since the seventies.

Revival is no different in being another one of those What If stories. I can’t really tell you the What If in this book because then I would be giving away some important plot points. But it begins with a young priest, a 5-year old boy, and a lot of what ifs in between until it reaches the climactic ending.

Another important fact about Stephen King’s story telling that shows very well in Revival is his complicated multi-dimensional characters. In Revival, the character of the priest, Reverend Jacobs is the one that stuck with me more, but it was a fulfilling experience to follow this character’s development over the course of the 400+ pages and the five decades over which the story unfolds.

Revival was released worldwide last November but is hitting our shelves recently, and you should pick it up because it has something for everyone. If you never read a Stephen King novel before, this could be a good starting point. If you are a fan, well you really don’t need this review anyway; we both now you’re going to read it no matter what I say. If you are in it for an entertaining read, then you will get the great characters, interesting plot line, and an above-average ending, that doesn’t take away from your overall journey.

But after all that being said, the beauty and strength of Revival and the reason I chose it as a subject for this review is that it’s thought-provoking. In this story, the author tackles so many themes, I’m not even sure he intended to highlight all of them but they struck a chord with his readers nonetheless. There are aspects of friendship, religion, faith, family, addiction, recovery and the big question of what happens after death. The great thing about King is that he does not force his opinions on the reader. He does express them, but he gives you, the reader, room to make up your own mind. And man is your mind going to be tripping after this book!

I can easily say that Revival is one of the most influential books that I have ever read. And the theme of lighting that runs through the whole story felt like the perfect metaphor for what I felt was going on in my mind after finishing it. Even if you don’t want to bother yourself with too many existential questions you are still in for a great ride. I can at least promise you that within the first fifty pages you will encounter one of the few scenes that will linger in your memory or a long time after closing the book.

Revolution

I have just finished reading REVOLUTION by British comedian and actor Russell Brand, and to feel moved enough to HAVE to write this review now and not later is a testament to how strong the ideas in this book are and how well written it is.

You could argue that I am just another blogger with ADD or something and my rush to review the book says more about me than the book itself. Could be true. I have no way of proving to you that this is not a habit of mine, but despite what our opinion of me or my reasons for writing are review is, please don't make it stop you from picking up this book and giving it a go.

Russell Brand (I just found this out after buying the book) is not only a comedian and actor, he also does stand-up comedy and has published to other books before this one. For me, I had only heard of him because I watched Get Him To The Greek, and I know he starred in Arthur. I didn't really consider him funny and his portrayal of the characters he played was too over the top. As you read this book you will find him admitting to this persona and he doesn't hide it, so I wasn't mistaken in my opinion, but when I turned to the first page of the book when I saw it on the shelf in the bookshop, and after reading the first few paragraphs, I knew I was in for a treat, and that not only is this guy funny, but as one review says on the dust jacket "the bloke can write".

The message of the book basically is that we need a revolution, based on love, non-violence, and more importantly is that it is a personal revolution from within first.

As much as the book is funny it is heavy with information, and IDEAS. And that's why I don't think I can or should try tackling these ideas here in this review, I wouldn't want to ruin it for you anyway.

So since this is a review of the book, I'll stick to the broader elements. First off let me say it again if you missed the point up till now: I believe you should read it.
The writing is witty and funny, so you are guaranteed a few laughs, dependant on your understanding of British humour in general and Brand's brand (see what I did there?!) of humour specifically. At times I did find the topics tedious and repetitive, but thankfully this doesn't happen a lot and usually took place in the last third of the book so you won't be cheated or anything. Also, considering that this is non-fiction and the chapters are short, you can just skip what you don't like and still get huge value for the money you will have paid.
The author is promoting a spiritual revolution and is obviously very invested in spiritual practices that I can't really elaborate on because I didn't understand all of them. Because of this, at time he can get bogged down by talking about what I considered to be esoteric topics that I didn't always grasp. Again, this doesn't happen too often and is grossly outweighed by the value of all other ideas presented in this book. And if you are thinking "what great ideas could a recovering drug addict comedian bring that I don't already know?", let me tell you that the good thing Brand does here is collect for you the ideas of other men much smarter (and socially active) than himself or most of his readers, and that's why you are probably going to pick up a few new things you never really knew about.

That being said, the great thing about this book; the thing that has gotten me to rush to the laptop to send this review out into the world, is that it moves you. After reading through 300 pages of Russell's words most of the time  hearing his characteristic British, Essex accent echoing in your head (could be just me?) you can't help but feel a revelation, an epiphany, even if only a minor one. He presents ideas, theories and statistics in a simple, easy and approachable manner that eventually they stick, they get you to think and if you do your own research, you will be unable to deny them.

I am not sure if I should share with you some examples of these revelations that I had after reading this book, because I don't want to spoil it, but I could tell you this, there are statistics here about imports, exports, politics, elections, agriculture and homelessness that will force you to question many of your own beliefs and all of those that have been forced upon you.

In short, Revolution is an eye opener. They could put the book's cover in the dictionary next to FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

Let the Game, of Thrones, begin

I know, it's cheeky. Just had to be done.

Now, I haven't updated this blog for a while now. Between the job, relocating to a different country and working on a new novel in Arabic, there was just no time for the blog. But twenty pages into A Game of Thrones and I was moved once again to speak up, or write down. Sorry again for that!

I've always read about how in order to garner more readers for your blog you should write about topics that interest your target demographic and stuff like that. I'm sure the advice is true, but I still find more pleasure in putting down what comes to mind when I am moved to write and hoping that a like-minded soul will find it, enjoy it, and that it might make the few minutes of their day it will take him or her to read it just a little bit better. And yes, I don't intend to keep you reading for more than a few minutes.

So, A Game of Thrones. I've watched all four seasons of the TV show and I have read about the books a lot. One of the reviews said, quoting loosely, that "it grips you from the first page and never lets go". Or something like that. But when I began to read it, keeping that quote and many others like it, in mind, and expecting to enjoy the ride, I did not expect it to be THIS good. Reviews usually exaggerate. But not these ones. A few pages in and I was like WHAAAAAAAT! I must tell it to the whole world. And here I am telling it to you. Could you please share it with the whole of your world? I need more views on this thing. Just kidding. Not really. (cue awkward laugh)

Those who read the books will relate

Back to A Song of Ice and Fire. After watching a few episodes of the show, being the book addict that I am (you can check how addicted I am by reading my other posts here and here), I decided I must read the books. I was trapped in the age-old dilemma of book lovers "Book first or TV show/movie first? And will one ruin the other?". It's not really age-old, just as old as the age when they started making books into TV shows and movies.

But nonetheless, I had started watching and I was hooked and from what I understood the books were so much grander in scale, I was bound to have fresh surprises anyway. I went ahead and did my research (again, book addict, some would say, nerd, but that is neither here nor there) and decided I wanted the hardcover Bantam copies and in the part of the world where I live they were not available. So I ordered them online from a bookstore in Dubai. Kinokuniya, if you must know. Visit if you are ever in this part of the world and you won't regret it. I picked them up myself after giving them strict instructions to store them well and keep the books in mint condition. I handled the books as a careful cargo should be and they travelled with me on three flights till they landed safely on my bookshelves, all set next to each other taking up almost half the space on that shelf. They look beautiful. And the sheer size of them is a clear indication that there is A LOT to enjoy in these tomes even if one has watched the show. It didn't take much to realize that. As I said, twenty pages.

The great thing I liked is that watching the show first is actually helping keep all the characters, Houses and geography a little clearer than it would have been if I were reading the books first. And although all the scenes in the few pages I have just read are all included in the opening fifteen minutes of the show, the prose itself is enjoyable; savory; melts in your mouth and goes down smoothly. Again, addict, what do you expect!

The other thing is realizing that if the writing and the story is this good on the first few pages, how great will it be when we get to the parts where people start to get their heads, and hands, chopped off. Reading a story when you know nothing about it is a journey of discovery and is so much better when the story is actually good. But I think it's safe to say that with the scale of this epic fantasy, George R.R. Martin, created a work that is so grand that no matter how good the show is, you can still be excited about the book. And knowing what is yet to come within the next pages and be anticipating it is another great feeling I only felt once before when I read The Godfather.

I promised to only keep you for a few minutes and thanks for sticking around. Go see the show if you haven't. But more importantly, go read the books, even if you have. I have started a series of blogs called Project: Ulysses about my plan to prepare myself for, then actually, reading Joyce's classic novel. Yes, as you expected, there is only one post in that so-called series, but I will update it, after I finish A Game of Thrones. And in the meantime, I am thinking of beginning a Project: Game of Thrones series. Go to your local independent bookstore, buy a copy of A Game of Thrones, then come back and tell me what you think. Maybe we can do this project together.

Perfect

“I’m beginning to think chaos is underrated”; a central quote in a story about how imperfect life is, and the price some people pay in their quest to make it what it will never be; perfect.

Rachel Joyce, the British author who brought us the award winning debut novel The Unlikely Pilgrimage of HaroldFry, returns with her second novel, Perfect, published in 2013, to discuss some very profound topics, yet basing her story on a very simple premise. At the beginning of the story, in 1972, 11-year-old Byron Hemmings, is told by his highly intelligent and observant friend, James Lowe, that the government will add two seconds to time, because of some anomaly in the alignment of time with the spinning of the Earth. Just two seconds. Can two seconds change a life? Can two seconds disrupt the perfection of one’s life? Or was the perfection all but a fragile stage set waiting to be blown over to expose what was hidden?

Rachel Joyce’s novel Perfect tackles these questions and much more. She never really states these questions out loud so as not to be too preachy, and she also doesn’t force a certain answer down the reader’s throat. The ensemble of characters is not large, and all of them are consistent throughout the story and act in manners realistic enough for us to believe them.

I’ve read both her novels and although they lack some of the characteristics of more experienced authors, I still liked both books because of the subjects she tackles. Although her plots are not the strongest or most intriguing, her stories make you think about your life and that is enough to keep you reading.

Her style is soft, and her language easy, which will make for a quick read, but you’ll still be left with a lot to think about. If I were to have one comment on this book is that it shows signs of being the author’s first novel (she announced that she started writing this novel first but it wasn’t completed and published till later). Since I am trying to work on my first novel myself, I could sense the similarities between her writing and my own. It’s clear that many of her characters and also scenes in the story are based on things from her real life. For some, this maybe a signal not to pick up this book, but for me it was the great thing about this story; it was written because it is a story that the author felt the need to tell, something she needed the world to hear, and that, at least in my opinion is what writing is all about.

It’s challenging to write a review and tell the readers about the merits of the story without giving any of it away, but I’ll tell you this much; issues of obsession, mental illness, peer pressure and the stress of trying to please everyone around you are only a few of the themes in this story and the author touches on all of them nicely.

Byron and James are two central characters in Perfect and Joyce puts us inside their heads and succeeds in making them believable. Diana, Byron’s mother, is another pivotal character whom, at times, makes you feel sorry for her and at other times will irritate you; just like most people you know. Even Byron’s father, Seymour, although he doesn’t have much “stage time”, his presence is always felt and his influence in the story is far from little.

Perfect may well be the author’s actual first attempt at a novel, but it is true enough and sincere enough to make you cheer for her, and value what it means to sit down, pour part of your life and soul into a story and share it with the world. So, despite its flaws, isn’t that enough to make it, Perfect?

The Goldfinch

The Goldfinch isn’t just a story; it’s an experience.

As I was reading through The Goldfinch I struggled with how I’m going to write this review. At first, the book took off to a very quick start and the opening scenes are enough reason to read The Goldfinch. Then for a while it was slow (at least I thought so) and I didn’t find much merit in the book to talk about (beyond that opening part I mentioned). But after that I realized the problem was how I was approaching the story. Because of the fast pace with which the story kicked off, I was misled to thinking this was what the book was about; a fast-paced, keeps-you-turning-the-page thriller. Although it wasn’t fast-paced, it kept me coming back to it whenever I had free time, and it definitely kept me turning the pages. And then, about half way through (which wasn’t much because most of the good stuff was still to come), it hit me what this book was really about. It’s about life. And you don’t rush life, you live it. You experience it.

Let me break it down for you first. The Goldfinch is the latest novel by American author Donna Tartt published in 2013. Her last novel before that was published in 2002 and she only wrote three novels in her whole career! But after reading The Goldfinch, I appreciate that she took her time.

The Goldfinch has been described as “a modern day epic”. I must admit I haven’t read many books that have been described as such but now that I’ve finished the book, I’d say that that description is quite true. The way I’d put it is this: The Goldfinch is the life story of Theo Decker, but we will each see resonances of our own lives in it.

The story begins with a tragic incident that happens to Theo when he is only thirteen years old. From there on his life becomes linked to this rare painting called The Goldfinch, and it’s up to us, the readers, to follow his story, enjoy it, and reflect on our own lives as we go on.

I don’t want to get into too many details about the plot so as not to spoil it for you, but I can tell you this much: the story may seem slow (it’s about life, not car chases) but when you let your guard down and think nothing new is going to happen, something does happen and you keep turning the pages. The other thing I’d like to tell you is that the last two hundred pages are worth the time and money you will invest in this book.

Donna Tartt does two great things in The Goldfinch: (1) her characters are some of the most vivid and loveable characters I’ve read. (2) She breaks down the book into parts that can be separate short stories on their own, each with a different setting and mood. When immersed in the story you might not notice it, but every once in a while, if you step back and look at the whole picture, you will realize how different the writing is from one part to another; very different that it sets a different mood, yet consistent enough to maintain the voice of each character despite the passing of years and the characters growing up.

As far as characters are concerned, there are four main ones in The Goldfinch; Theo Decker, the protagonist, Boris, his friend, Pippa who, for lack of a better description, I’d call the love interest and last but not least, James Hobart, also known as Hobie. These may be the four main characters, but the cast of The Goldfinch is more than just four, and they are all as important and as well-written as the ones I mentioned. It’s probably worth noting that even Theo’s dog has a personality that comes across clearly and that the author manages to keep consistent throughout the whole book. Another fascinating aspect is that another character, Welty Blackwell, despite having only a short dialogue in the whole book, is still an imposing presence in the story and is someone I know I will remember long after the story ended.

The Goldfinch may suffer from some slow parts when the author gets too hooked up on details specially when it comes to art and antique furniture (which are a big part of this book), but that same attention to detail injects most of her scenes with a liveliness that I came to appreciate. I felt gloomy when it was cloudy in New York City (where Theo lives), I could hear his wet footsteps on the carpet after walking in from heavy rain, I could feel the same warmth he felt when he was in the antique shop surrounded by old furniture and by the warmth and love of the people who loved him the most. Some of the best parts of this book were the scenes with Theo and Pippa together. The description of the settings, the mood Theo was describing, and the words they exchanged; everything was so real! (One of those best scenes is in the last two hundred pages I told you about)

So, the verdict: The Goldfinch is a big book, a heavy book; it’s a book you savour and read slowly with a cup of coffee in a comfortable chair, not a book to rush while sitting in a metal chair in the airport waiting for the last call for your flight.

Doctor Sleep

Stephen King’s latest novel has been flying off shelves here in Doha and around the world, so I knew I had to read it and write about it for you. And with more than 5000 reviews on Amazon in less than six months, you are bound to find those who love it and those who hate it. Some have even said that “Doctor Sleep will put you to sleep”. I am not one of those. And I can safely say that Stephen King has managed to keep me up reading his books. Again.

This is not to say the book has no flaws. God knows I have my qualms about it. But with more than 50 published books, including The Shining, one of the flagships of the modern horror genre and the prequel to Doctor Sleep, it was inevitable that this review would not only be about the book but also about its author.

Stephen King is considered by many to be the master of modern horror fiction. He’s been rolling out dozens of books since the seventies, and unless you were living under a rock you will have either read his stories or watched them on TV. He’s the one who wrote Carrie, The Shining, Cujo, Misery, Dolores Claiborne, The Mist, and...Yes, you heard me, Shawshank Redemption!

He is known to write big books. Most of his works go well beyond 400 or 500 pages. The epics like IT and The Stand are easily over 800 pages. But he’s easy to read. And Doctor Sleep is no exception. Some times when you’re hungry you like to treat yourself to a gourmet meal at a fancy restaurant. But at other times you just want to order that 500 gram (17 ounce) steak so you can sink your teeth in it and devour bite after bite without fear of running out too soon. That’s how Stephen King novels feel like! And the worst steak dinner is still a great meal.

Doctor Sleep is supposed to be the sequel to The Shining and this, in my opinion, is the source of most of its bad reviews, because The Shining is just too good and Doctor Sleep will never match up to it. However, if regarded as a standalone novel, Doctor Sleep has its merits.

Before I get into further details about Doctor Sleep, let me tell you this, if you have read The Shining, read it again. If you haven’t, then go read it whether you want to read Doctor Sleep or not. And if you only saw the movie, do yourself a favour, and read the book.

The main common factor between both books is the main character Dan Torrance and his supernatural gift that is called the shining. We left Dan at the end of the first book as a five year old boy who had gone through hell at the world famous Overlook hotel. Now we pick up with him again as a middle-aged recovering alcoholic. The author fills us in on a lot of what happened to Dan in the time between then and now, but he also takes off with another story altogether after that, one that involves more shining, more people with the shining, and more and more people who want to kill those who have the shining.

The major difference I felt between the two books is that while both have supernatural phenomena at the centre of them, The Shining felt creepy while Doctor Sleep felt more real. At first this was upsetting, because I went into it expecting to read a story continuing along the same lines as its predecessor, but after embracing the new story I got used to it. In the first book, for a big part, it seemed that King only alluded to the supernatural in a subtle way. It’s their and it’s not their at the same time and he left it to your imagination to fill in the gaps which is probably why the book was scary on so many levels. Then all of a sudden he would shock you with a scene that was so graphic and detailed, it would stick with you for a very long time afterwards. In Doctor Sleep, on the other hand, he treats the supernatural phenomena in his book as if it is an everyday thing. He mentions it more frequently and rather casually. Almost all of the characters in this story have something otherworldly about them to some degree or another and there is nothing subtle about it. This gave him room to concentrate on more real, gritty stuff, like substance abuse, anger, violence, torture and death. Not to mention friendship, family and redemption.

Some of the characters here are very well developed like the young Abra Stone who has an even stronger shine than Dan, but many other characters, specially the villains seem too shallow and rushed. King attempts to create an epic battle between good and evil, however, the ending is very predictable and somewhat anticlimactic. The story is about middle-aged Dan, living peacefully in a small town using his gifts to help dying people pass over. But then he meets Abra, a young girl whose abilities are even stronger than his and who is hunted by a group of semi-immortal beings, called the True Knot, who hunt kids with the shining and feed on the steam they release when they are tortured. It seems pretty obvious where King is going with this and how it will end. But if you decide to read this book, then do it for the journey not the ending.

In my opinion, those who read Doctor Sleep before reading its prequel will enjoy it more because they won’t have any preconceived notions and they won’t have created any emotional bonds with fiver-year old Danny.

I’ve read a few of Stephen King’s books, some I’ve liked and some not very much but all were easy to read and kept me entertained. His new book Mr.Mercedes comes out in June of this year, so let’s hope he doesn’t make the same mistakes again. Until then if you feel like having a literary steak that you can easily chew, pick up Doctor Sleep, you’ll enjoy it!

Blackberry Wine

Layman’s alchemy, the magic of everyday things, that’s what Blackberry Wine is all about. A pleasant, smooth and enjoyable story told from the point of view of a wine bottle

Published in 2000 after her smashing bestseller Chocolat, Joanne Harris revisited many themes from that first novel, the most central of which is “magical realism”. It’s not fantasy in the strict meaning of the word, but her stories have a thread of magic weaved through them that, whether you choose to embrace it or dismiss it, you will nonetheless savour it.

Narrated by a Fleurie ’62, a vintage bottle of wine from the year Jay Mackintosh was born, Blackberry Wine follows the story of Jay, a once-successful writer who hasn’t been able to write anything of value since his breakthrough novel fourteen years earlier. Jackapple Joe was the only bestseller he wrote and it was based on his childhood adventures during three summers he spent in the Yorkshire town of Kirby Monckton. Joe Cox, or Jackapple Joe, was the old eccentric man Jay had met during those three summers and who had disappeared abruptly at the end of them. He was the one who taught Jay about the simple magic around us in everyday things.

At the age of 37 and suffering from writer’s block, Jay, on a whim, buys an old farmhouse in the French country side hoping to escape from his life and his demons. With him he takes his typewriter and six bottles of wine, called “The Specials”, the only thing he salvaged after Joe disappeared.

As Jay works on rebuilding the old farmhouse he also rebuilds himself and begins to explore the village of Lansquenet and its people. Gradually, the sceptical residents of the village begin to accept him as one of their own and among them and in the bottles of The Specials he finds the magic and inspiration that help him pour out page after page of what could become his new novel.

Over the course of 400 pages, Joanne Harris takes us back and forth exploring Jay’s life today in his old house and the fictional French village of Lansquenet and his childhood in Yorkshire with Joe. Little by little the story comes together as Jay faces his demons and once again embraces the magic in his life.

Blackberry wine is one of those stories that you want to keep going back to. Through her prose, Joanne Harris achieves for you, the reader, the same simple magic her characters talk about so that when you finish Blackberry Wine you will feel elevated and satisfied without knowing why. “Layman’s alchemy. The magic of everyday things.”

Joanne Harris has a thing for food. She has written 16 novels and two cookbooks! Her three novels, Chocolat, Blackberry Wine and Three Quarters of The Orange, are known as The Food Trilogy. She is at her best when describing flavours and the different feelings and moods those flavours evoke in her characters as well as he readers.

A story about childhood nostalgia, a writer’s journey a French village and the secrets of its townsfolk, Blackberry Wine will not disappoint. A delicious read that will go down easily.

 

The Book Thief

     The Book Thief, among other things, is a tribute to the love of books and the power of words set on a backdrop of Nazi Germany. Oh, and it’s narrated by Death.

     Written by Australian author Markus Zusak and first published in 2005, The Book Thief has won numerous awards and was listed on the The New York Times Best Seller list for over 230 weeks.

     The book follows the story of Liesel Meminger, a German girl born in 1929 and, during the events of this story in World War II Germany; she is in her early teenage years. From the opening scenes we see that she is sent to live with a foster family and right before that she witnesses her younger brother’s death. That is when Death first meets Liesel.

     Having Death as a narrator made for a very interesting point of view, and I was impressed by how the author was keen on showing how Death only knew things that he witnessed himself and didn’t use Death as a narrator just to make it easy for him, the author, to describe things or give back stories.

     The story takes a close look at what it meant to be a German citizen, in Nazi Germany, while not actually accepting Nazi practices. But don’t let that deter you from picking up this book just because you are not interested in this particular angle of things because this story is about so much more. Nazi Germany is no more than a backdrop to tell a tale of human suffering and human endurance in the face of calamity and distress.

     Liesel forges a very strong bond with her foster father, Hans Hubermann, who, among many life lessons he bestows upon Liesel, teaches her to read. She starts stealing books to find solace and meaning among all the suffering she is living through. Cold, hunger and violence are things she witnesses regularly just as we complain about heat and humidity in the summer.

     Hans Hubermann, for me, was an even more interesting and touching character than Liesel. Up until the final pages that was! Because that was when Liesel’s story all came together in one fine, moving ending. Hans is a great father figure, and being a father myself, I was deeply touched by the scenes with him and Liesel together as he comforted her, played with her and just plain was being a father to her, and I am sure any father who reads this book will agree too.

     There is a medium-sized ensemble of characters, which doesn’t make it hard to follow, but not all of them are as developed and engaging as Liesel and Hans.

     The book pulls you into the story pretty quickly but close to half-way through it slows down. I must admit, at that point, I wasn’t liking the book much. But the language was easy and it read quickly so I kept going. By the final one hundred pages or so, I was rewarded for my perseverance. I read through them with no interruptions, blocking out all sounds around me. I smiled. My eyes welled up and, for a reason still unknown to me, I felt changed by this story of this little book thief. And people, when a book leaves you with a feeling that you are not the same person you were before reading it, then that is a good book.

     The Book Thief is available in paperback and runs a little over 550 pages, but the ease of the language will make it quite a quick read; it took me less than a week to finish.

     This book review first appeared in Society Magazine, distributed monthly with The Gulf Times in Doha, Qatar. Check out their PDF archive here.