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Ich bleibe hier, von Marco Balzano

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Ich bleibe hier , von Marco Balzano Es ist keine 24 Stunden her, als ich tief seufzend neben meiner Frau ins Bett sank und mein Schicksal beklagte, schon wieder ein… komisches… Buch zu lesen. “Über Südtirol ”, sagte ich und meine Frau antwortete, “Oh, nein, Südtirol - Faschismus und Nationalsozialismus, lies doch etwas Leichteres…” Sie hatte - wie (fast) immer Recht - und Unrecht zugleich. Ja, die Geschichte ist nicht leicht verdaulich: Trina, eine zu Beginn des Romans junge deutschsprachige Lehrerin, lebt im inzwischen buchstäblich untergegangenen Alt-Graun, einem kleinen bäuerlich-geprägten Dorf mit ihrem Ehemann Erich. Trina durchlebt die Italianisierung (also die versuchte Ausmerzung alles deutschsprachigen und des altösterreichischen Charakters) durch den Faschismus, auf- und überlebt Aufstieg und Fall des deutschen Nationalsozialismus und bleibt in ihrem Dorf, obschon die persönlichen Verluste ihrer Familie ans Unerträgliche grenzen. Schlußendlich weichen Trina und E
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All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1), by Martha Wells

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All Systems Red by Martha Wells My rating: 5 of 5 stars “ And in their corner all they had was Murderbot, who just wanted everyone to shut up and leave it alone so it could watch the entertainment feed all day. ” I’m not a Science Fiction fan. I’m not especially fond of novellas. This one, though… I can’t even really explain what appealed to me about this novella: Murderbot neither really feels like a robot nor like a person but still strangely… plausible. Murderbot’s actions feel logical, yet simple. It does what it has to do. It’s ambiguity as an artificial lifeform makes it feel both familiar in, e. g. its shyness and some other emotions - not to speak of its entertainment addiction. Plus: An artificial lifeform that (sometimes) acts more humanely than its human counterparts? Fascinating! Murderbot is literally strange enough to go through a contrasting melange of emotions as well. This contrast, the SecUnits conflicting feelings and survival strategies is probably wha
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Repentance, by Andrew Lam

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Repentance by Andrew Lam My rating: 3 of 5 stars “ The fact that they had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor didn’t matter. They were guilty by association, by the color of their skin and the slant of their eyes. It didn’t matter that they didn’t speak Japanese, or that they were American citizens. The bottom line was that their kind had perpetrated a horrid crime that came from the land of their ancestors. The shame was a burden that all Nisei silently bore, a burden every soldier in the 442nd was fighting to be free of. ” I got this book for free as a win from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. Thanks! “Repentance” tells the story of Daniel Tokunaga, a successful surgeon, who is confronted with his estranged father’s past during the Second World War. Daniel’s father is of Japanese descent and fought as part of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, the most decorated unit in U.S. military history. During (mostly) alternating chapters narrating of 1944 (Daniel’s fathe
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The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides

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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides My rating: 2 of 5 stars “ I didn’t know it then, but it was too late—I had internalized my father, introjected him, buried him deep in my unconscious. No matter how far I ran, I carried him with me wherever I went. I was pursued by an infernal, relentless chorus of furies, all with his voice—shrieking that I was worthless, shameful, a failure. ” but “ It’s not hopeless. You’re not a boy at the mercy of your father anymore. ” It all started out so well: The narrator, Theo Faber, is a psychotherapist who goes out of his way to help Alicia, the “Silent Patient”. Alicia has been put into a psychiatric hospital after her husband was murdered with her standing next to him, the weapon at her feet. She refuses to (or can’t) speak at all. Theo himself is damaged as well by an overbearing father who has always made him feel insufficient, worthless and a failure (cf. opening quotation). He feels like he’s pretty much the only person o
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The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway

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The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway My rating: 1 of 5 stars This is my second approach to the work of Ernest Hemingway and I thoroughly hated the experience. I dimly remember my first attempt when I had just seen “Hemingway”, 1988’s mini series about the author. I think at the time I read “A Farewell to Arms” and put it aside about half way through. Now, more than 30 years later, I thought it was time to revisit Hemingway and maybe I would like his work better this time. Cautiously, though, I opted for “The Old Man and the Sea”, fearing I might still be bored. Which I was. Thoroughly. The old fisherman going out to fish, ill-prepared, being pulled out onto the deep sea in a small boat, a skiff, by a fish that’s about as large as said skiff, battling it out, may be impressive to an author who loved bull-fighting, women and drinking hard but it’s nothing I care about anymore. For me, this is it: A Farewell to… Hemingway View all my reviews https://turin
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Peace Talks (The Dresden Files #16), by Jim Butcher

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Peace Talks by Jim Butcher My rating: 4 of 5 stars Here we go again… Yet another Harry Dresden and yet it’s both more of the same as well as different. The first nine books were all mediocre to me - three stars because I felt generous - and ridiculously stupid for reading nine ok’ish books in a row till the Stockholm Syndrome set fully in with book 10 . So, we’re at number 16 (!) now and most series have become bland, boring and/or been warped beyond recognition (cf. George's Lynley !). In fact, it’s somewhat similar with respect to the “beyond recognition” part: Harry Dresden, who used to be a “a male chauvinist pig; […] a misogynist arse” by my own words, has turned into a mostly-decent human being. A very long-lived human being (think centuries!) and a wizard to boot. “ It’s not about who they are,” I said quietly. “It’s about who I am. And the example I’m setting. ” Maybe it’s all me who enjoys a Dresden who - in the midst of a pitched battle - thinks that “ S
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Age of Legend, by Michael J. Sullivan

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Age of Legend by Michael J. Sullivan My rating: 5 of 5 stars “ Time had sneaked in and stolen her recklessness. ” Michael J. Sullivan has done it again: He has written a book that doesn’t need to hide behind any other work in contemporary fantasy. His latest masterpiece, Age of Legend, the Kickstarter of which I had the honour to participate in, begins after the Battle of Grandford at the end of the previous book, Age of War . This makes “Age of Legend” the fourth book in Michael’s “The Legends of the First Empire” series which I whole-heartedly recommend to, well, actually anyone who reads. (In fact, my wife isn’t really into fantasy but thoroughly enjoyed Michael’s Riyria books.) I already wrote it in the review for the previous book but this latest instalment solidifies this feeling: More and more, “Legends” turns into Michael’s magnum opus. The Riyria books, which are fairly different from Legends, are undoubtedly great but the narrative depth of Legends is a
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