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(no subject)
Happy Birthday, Greg!!!
2008-02-01
Happy Birthday, Greg!!!
Entry tags:
50 book challenge
8.
7.
6.
A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian, by Marina Lewycka.
I loved that book and I fell in love with the notion of mixed languages that is ever present in the book right away - even though there are no passages in Ukranian, there are frequent references of things being said in Ukranian or a mixture of Ukranian and English, and I know how that feels well enough to enjoy the reference a lot. I also fell in love with the main character and her idiosyncratic ways of describing her family right away.
It's not as funny as I thought it would be, it's a tragicomedy more than a comedy. Still, the relationships of the characters and the light they shed on the history that many people in my country would probably not find on their internal map is great.
Even though there are many books on migration and immigration and otherness in a strange country, there are not many books that address the situation of immigrants from Eastern European countries, that made it even more interesting for me to read this novel.
I loved that book and I fell in love with the notion of mixed languages that is ever present in the book right away - even though there are no passages in Ukranian, there are frequent references of things being said in Ukranian or a mixture of Ukranian and English, and I know how that feels well enough to enjoy the reference a lot. I also fell in love with the main character and her idiosyncratic ways of describing her family right away.
It's not as funny as I thought it would be, it's a tragicomedy more than a comedy. Still, the relationships of the characters and the light they shed on the history that many people in my country would probably not find on their internal map is great.
Even though there are many books on migration and immigration and otherness in a strange country, there are not many books that address the situation of immigrants from Eastern European countries, that made it even more interesting for me to read this novel.
7.
Tintenherz, by Cornelia Funke.
Yeah. I whined about it here. I do not like the characters, the names, her language, the way female characters are treated (sigh. Again.), the way she always immediately ends any suspense she might create, the predictability. I don't get why this is so popular. But maybe I never gave her a chance. I'm going to re-read it in English and see if there's a difference, I am really curious about that. I have the feeling that many of the things that set my teeth on edge- for whatever reason - like the names ("Staubfinger") will probably sound better to my ears in English ("Dustfinger". Huh).
I kind of want to buy the book because the cover is so amazingly pretty, though. Silly. Still, maybe Crocky's and my F1 will enjoy the books when they are ten and under.
(Oooh, there's an interview with the author here. Huh, her English is better than I would have thought it would be.)
Yeah. I whined about it here. I do not like the characters, the names, her language, the way female characters are treated (sigh. Again.), the way she always immediately ends any suspense she might create, the predictability. I don't get why this is so popular. But maybe I never gave her a chance. I'm going to re-read it in English and see if there's a difference, I am really curious about that. I have the feeling that many of the things that set my teeth on edge- for whatever reason - like the names ("Staubfinger") will probably sound better to my ears in English ("Dustfinger". Huh).
I kind of want to buy the book because the cover is so amazingly pretty, though. Silly. Still, maybe Crocky's and my F1 will enjoy the books when they are ten and under.
(Oooh, there's an interview with the author here. Huh, her English is better than I would have thought it would be.)
6.
The Stone Gods, by Jeanette Winterson.
I love this book and I was really sad that I had to take it back to the library, I would have loved to re-read it. I rather enjoyed Winterson's style and the refrain-like passage:
The new world – El Dorado, Atlantis, the Gold Coast, Newfoundland, Plymouth Rock, Rapanaui, Utopia, Planet Blue. Chanc'd upon, spied through a glass darkly, drunken stories strapped to a barrel of rum, shipwreck, a Bible Compass, a giant fish led us there, a storm whirled us to this isle. In the wilderness of space, we found...
Even though I usually do not like love stories, especially not if they are so freighted with doom and foreboding, I did like this one, and the circular world it is set in.
I love this book and I was really sad that I had to take it back to the library, I would have loved to re-read it. I rather enjoyed Winterson's style and the refrain-like passage:
The new world – El Dorado, Atlantis, the Gold Coast, Newfoundland, Plymouth Rock, Rapanaui, Utopia, Planet Blue. Chanc'd upon, spied through a glass darkly, drunken stories strapped to a barrel of rum, shipwreck, a Bible Compass, a giant fish led us there, a storm whirled us to this isle. In the wilderness of space, we found...
Even though I usually do not like love stories, especially not if they are so freighted with doom and foreboding, I did like this one, and the circular world it is set in.