Isprinsessan (The Ice Princess) - Camilla Läckberg

The first book of the Fjällbacka series introduces the characters of the long standing mystery series set in a little town of Sweden where too many deaths seem to happen. Young, pretty and a little snobbish Alex is found dead in her house at Fjällbacka. Her old friend Erica, a non-fiction writer, is one of the first to find the corpse, and decides to investigate (or put her nose into other people's lives) to see what was behind the killing. Not only her, policeman Patrik Hedström is also trying to find the killer of Alex. Cue your typical whodunit where Erica and Patrik go around trying to find clues and the truth behind the death of Alex. It is your typical story with lots of conversations, and with little tidbits that advance the story. Läckberg doesn't go for the Sherlock Holmes mold of analyzing clues and little details and lots of mental work, but more into the Miss Marple of the 'heroes' going talking around trying to find the truth in their interrogations. Actually, the feeling I got is that it is not a book that cares a lot about the mystery per se, and more about the world construction and the development of the characters. The reader will enjoy being with Erica and Patrik and seeing them investigating and their relationship and their interactions with others. But they will have more problems with the mystery per se, as the author throws new information out of the blue just to further the plot and the reader can't really know what happened and who is the killer based on the information that appears in the story (maybe closer to the end of the story, but not from early on; there is no change for the reader to play detective). As a mystery story it lacks in real mystery. Isprinsessan (The Ice Princess) is an entertaining book that the fan of mysteries will enjoy (even if they will not be very surprised by it). A perfect reading for those free afternoons (with a coffee and some pastries). The best: the characters interactions; there is way more than just the mystery; it is easy to read and engaging The worst: no chance to play detective; the mystery isn't great; the new information out of the blue just to further the plot; the resolution is just ok Further Reading: Any book of the series would be a good option, probably, but I have just read "The Drowning", which was entertaining but had a weak ending; Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes if you want oldies; Yusuke Kishi, Keigo Higashino, Miyabe Miyuki,Ranpo Edogawa or Natsuo Kirino if you go for Japanese mysteries; maybe "Gone Girl" for a different kind of 'mystery' novel or "Fever Of The Bone" by Val McDermid. 6.5/10 (English Translation by Steven T. Murray)

Death and the Penguin (Смерть постороннего) - Andrey Kurkov

A man, a penguin, and mysterious deaths. What could go wrong? Well, nothing goes wrong, but nothing goes particularly well either in "Death and the Penguin", a quirky, dry and sometimes humorous novel by Andrey Kurkov. The story goes around writer Viktor, a writer of short short stories who just keeps on living without much purpose on his life, his only companion his penguin Misha. But one day he finds a job writing obituaries for a newspaper, a job that sparks a change in his life. What we get from that moment is a dry and detached criticism of a society and of an era, while adding some little attempts at humor that normally fall flat. The novel never seems to have very clear what its purpose is, and the tone is flat and uneven, changing from one page to the other. Sometimes it brings a smile to the face of the reader or even touches some interesting human commentary. But in general it is so dry and cold that the reader will feel they are reading the book through plastic film. And its social criticism is just your typical people from the cold of Europe drink a lot, are corrupt and can only open up with alcohol in their blood. It is a little bit repetitive. It doesn't help that Viktor is not a particularly compelling character and that the penguin, Misha, seems to be an afterthought. Also many of the events of the book seem to happen just to fill pages, without much purpose or interest. "Death and the Penguin" is an easy enough to read novel. But nothing to call home about. The best: some human commentary The worst: the same 'lots of alcohol in ex-Communist European countries'; the same 'lots of corruption in ex-Communist European countries'; the weird relationship between Viktor and Nina; its tone is uneven; it has no clear purpose or objective, its journey just going around in circles; too dry (just in case I hadn't made myself clear) Further reading: read Dostoyevsky if you want a better look into human hearts from the cold, or you can read "Entanglement" by Zygmunt Miłoszewski, a mystery novel from Poland; "The Master and Margarita" is another interesting option 5.5/10 (English Translation by George Bird)

山椒太夫・高瀬舟 - Ōgai Mori

Well, if you know about Japanese literature/movies, you have probably heard of "Sansho the Bailif" or "山椒太夫" in its Japanese original. Well, this book includes this famous story of two children sold into slavery and what happens to them afterwards. It is just one of many in this varied compilation. Because, even if it is the most famous of the stories that can be read in this volume, it is basically forty pages long. So, what have we got here? A little bit for everyone. From stories of samurai having to commit suicide for different reasons, to the story of two children of a good family that become slaves, to a thief not much of a thief, going to the last story, the trip on a boat of a man that has been condemned by killing his brother. And what can we say about the collection? First, that it is good. Mori knows how to write and how to make his characters human. You will care about the two small children that have become slaves, or about the samurai with death in their future. Mori is clearly interested in (self-)sacrifice and also in patriotism and what makes a Japanese be a Japanese (clearly shown in the in-your-face way he writes about the reaction of a French character to Japanese samurai committing suicide by 'seppuku'). He is good in creating a vivid world and in making the reader feel immersed in the story. He also does a good job in the more humorous moments, as with the not 'very good thief' story. The obsession in this volume with characters killing themselves for different reasons, though, makes one think about the limits and the sacrifices one is willing to make and why some sacrifices are seen as justified and others as wrong. Mori seems to be in awe of the 'seppuku' ritual, and this raises interesting questions to the whole of the book and on his views about patriotism. It is not a perfect compilation though. The language has become stiff after more than a hundred years since his works were published, and in the samurai stories there is so long a list of names and so repetitive they are that it becomes a drag sometimes to read and reread them. Don't be surprised if you happen to disconnect from the story while your head curses on the long names Japanese samurai seemed to have in their era. Because, how many times you want to read 10-kanji-long names of samurai and of whom is helping them to commit suicide by cutting their heads? Interesting, fascinating, a little bit slow on parts, and a look on how Japanese literature created a world around the image of the samurai during the Meiji/Taisho era. The best: the look on another era; the "Sansho the Bailif" story, the thief story and the last one; Mori raising questions about self-sacrifice, suicide or the relationship between country and its inhabitants; samurai? The worst: the long list of names of samurai; it irks a little bit Mori's fascination with suicide Further reading: you can read "Kwaidan" to have a look on Japanese famous old stories, or Jun’ichirô Tanizaki or Natsume Sôseki for Japanese literature of the era; Shusaku Endo to have a different look on old Japan; and if you want blood, Ranpo Edogawa is your man. 6.5/10 (Original Japanese)

Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf

This is a book very difficult for me to review. I loved Woolf's look into her character's minds, how she looks into Dalloway's or Septimus's inner world. But at the same time there was no moment where I felt comfortable reading her jumbled writing style, where one character is thinking something, the next moment some other character is thinking something else, and then there is a description of something else and before you know we are back to the first character; but no, because now we are on a third, but back to the first, then second, then fourth... It becomes tiring, and, worse, it becomes very easy to disconnect. "Mrs. Dalloway" is a novel the understanding and enjoyment of it would probably be heightened by reading it at least a couple of times (with some months or at least weeks in between), but why would anyone go back to a book that is like one's own mind, when one moment you are thinking about what went wrong today, to then start thinking about what you need to prepare for lunch tomorrow, and afterwards to what is gonna happen when you are old and all by yourself? It may be realistic, and have some moments of brilliance, but it is also tiring and not particularly engaging.

The best: the way Woolf's gets into the character's minds; some more or less (not much) subtle social criticism

The worst: the writing style is a mess, and it is so easy to disconnect from one jump to another that it makes all jumbled and purposeless; it may be needed to be read four (ten?) times before one starts to get the gist of it

Further reading: "A Room of One's Own/Three Guineas", even if non-fiction, is way better than "Mrs. Dalloway"; the same could be said of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" or "The Blind Assassin". You could also read Lucia Berlin or Jane Austen. For a touch of male's inner worlds, Yasunari Kawabata or Kenzaburo Oe... So many options.

6/10

(Original English)

愛と死 (Love and Death) - 武者小路 実篤 (Saneatsu Mushanokouji)

This book is a compilation of different works by Saneatsu Mushanokouji of which the first, "愛と死" (Love and Death) is probably the most famous. It is an interesting and entertaining compilation, but nothing that you haven't seen before.

The books consists of seven stories. The first and the one that gives the title to the story is the love story between two young people, and the connections to the author's own life seem pretty clear in the story (like Lucia Berlin's short stories, for another example of someone I have read lately). It is one of those cute, telegraphed stories where you know everything that will happen, but that it still holds the interest of the reader (on top of offering a view of another era). It is good but not particularly memorable.

The other stories contain some works for the stage, the tale of a first love, or the author and his relationship with his grandson (probably the best one, with the quiet, relaxed writing style of someone who has seen a lot). As with the first, they are all interesting enough, and if you are a fan of the author, they offer a look into different of his works. But none of them is a great work of art (and the 'older' writing style make them a little bit difficult to read for nowadays tastes). There is also the problem that there isn't any kind of connection within the different stories and the tonal shifts in the book are great (not that this will stop the reader from enjoying one or another story). There is also some ambiguous nationalistic comments, that can be taken on a more positive light (we can all learn from different cultures) or a more negative (Japan doesn't have to envy anything from anyone, Japan is the best).

All in all, not the best book if you want to get into Japanese literature. But not a bad one either.

The best: the humanism; they are small, cute stories; trying to offer a look into a person's fears and desires.

The worst: The compilation is all over the place; none of the stories is groundbreaking; the ambiguous 'nationalistic' tone

Further reading: "友情" (Friendship) by the same author is a more well rounded work in my opinion, but both come from the same mold. If you like one, you'll probably like the other. Soseki or Tanizaki are other authors that are not so far away in style and topics.

6/10

(Original Japanese)