The importance of a powerful first sentence in a novel is a necessity all of us book lovers agree on. It must catch our attention and grip us to make sure we read on. In Daniel Kehlmann’s novel Tyll, first published in Germany in 2017, I read one of the most potent introductory phrases I … Continue reading Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann
Tag: book review
Die On-Off-Generation: Über den Bestseller „Normale Menschen” von Sally Rooney
Sally Rooney ist ein neuer Star der Literaturszene. Nach ihrem Debütroman Gespräche mit Menschen (2017) gelang der 29-jährigen Schriftstellerin aus Irland mit ihrem zweiten Roman Normale Menschen 2018 der internationale Durchbruch. Allein in den USA wurden in den ersten vier Monaten nach der Veröffentlichung über 64 000 Hardcover-Exemplare verkauft. Im Jahr 2020 folgte die Fernsehadaption. Die … Continue reading Die On-Off-Generation: Über den Bestseller „Normale Menschen” von Sally Rooney
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
The Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk has been publishing novels in her home country for over three decades now. Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych was published in 2009 and exactly ten years later, the translation Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by the incredibly talented Antonia Lloyd-Jones finally conquered the international book … Continue reading Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Under a Dancing Star by Laura Wood
Imagine you open a book and are suddenly drawn into another world: Italy in the 1930s. You get to escape your boring life at Langton Hall, a gothic castle and your family's ancestral home. You get to escape your parent's expectation to behave accordingly and to marry a respectable man they pick out for you. … Continue reading Under a Dancing Star by Laura Wood
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
"Let me begin again". With this phrase, Ocean Vuong, introduces his debut novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. But how do I begin? After reading Vuong's epistolary novel, I am struggling to find the words that would help me express my thoughts on this book, simply because he manages to play and experiment with language, … Continue reading On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong