lunedì 27 dicembre 2010

Hyper versum, by Cecilia Randall (2006, Florence)


Daniel's an american university student. He loves playing Hyperversum, a videogame that can virtually move players to every historical and geographical location they choose. But one day, while he, his brother Martin, his girlfriend Jodie, his best friend Ian and a couple of friends are playing, sth that can't be explained happened and all of them are really moved into France of 1214, with no chance to get back.
Very particular, detailed, changing points of view and page-turner.

giovedì 16 dicembre 2010

Perché l'amore qualche volta ha paura - Que serais-je sans toi?, by Guillaume Musso (2009, France)

Martin, 20-ish, experiences a summer in the USA. He meets Gabrielle and it's devastatingly love. But then Martin heads back to France and, as he dates her in New York, she doesn't show up. This marks Martin's life ..until, 13 years later, a complex plot makes them meeting again in San Francisco ...and a magic step's crucial too.
Although pretty involving, the plot sometimes turns out too forced and not particularly enlightening.

sabato 11 dicembre 2010

Ti vengo a cercare - Je reviens to chercher, by Guillaume Musso (2008, France)

Ethan grew up poor and never thinking to be able to choose His Way. Then, suddenly, he changed his life, literaly disappearing. In a few years he gets successful, rich and famous, although he's got no love, no friends, no family: he could be a father, but he neither know his daughter's living, and he left the only Love of his life, the beautiful Céline.
Then, on a 31st October, Céline shows up and so does Jessie, his unknown daughter. But nothing changes ..and at midnight he's killed. The very next morning, he wakes up on another 31st October ...and the plot gets complicated.
Really page turner and enlightening.

mercoledì 8 dicembre 2010

Il dono - The Gift, by Cecelia Ahern (2008, Dublin)

Great nowaday locations: Dublin and Howth.
Lou is a young successful business man, meeting by chance Gabe, a mysterious homeless about to change a piece of his life in a completely unexpected way, giving Lou an unusual awakening.
Fascinating, highly page turner, definetely well written.

lunedì 6 dicembre 2010

Terrore e mistero, by Edgar Allan Poe - Joseph Sheridan LeFanu - Robert Louis Stevenson - Arthur Conan Doyle (1982, Italy)

A collection of classical, intriguing, whodunit stories; mysterious and page turner.

mercoledì 1 dicembre 2010

Gli Ultimi Guardiani - Poslednij Dozor (Last Watch), by Sergey Luk'janenko (2005, Moscow)

Anton is now a Big Wizard and he's involved in mysterious cases linked to some magical objects once created by Merlin. Different stories (set in Edinburgh and Samarcanda, other than in Moscow) linked to a peculiar and unknown group of Others, the Last Watch, and having sth to do with the sixth and seventh level of the Dusk (the ones where dead Others are) ...Anton, finds out important truths about that!
Page-turner and fascinating gothic novel.

giovedì 25 novembre 2010

I guardiani del crepuscolo - Sumere Nij Dozor (Dusk Watch), by Sergej Luk'janenko (2005, Moscow)

As usual, the plot is composed by different frames, finally finding the proper composition. The main character is Anton, now familiar, getting stronger, although still confused.
Everything is about the meaning of Light and Dark: they're confused, often mixed... and the danger makes them working together. Inquisition included. Zavulon and Geser, Anton with Edgar and Kostja. And, even though the enemy turns out not being that bad, the menace is big.
Acute and brilliant.

mercoledì 17 novembre 2010

I guardiani del giorno - Dnevnoj dozer (Day Watch), by Sergei Luk'janenko (1998, Moscow)


The point of view now is different: the main character is Edgar, a dark wizard bound to Praga, where the Inquisition is going to bring an action between Igor, a Light wizard, and the Day Watch. This trial reveals to be the crux of the previous dark stories. Although a mystery remains about the global plot, Anton, Sveta, Alisa, Igor and some other characters' roles begins to get clear.
Intriguing.

giovedì 4 novembre 2010

I guarduani della notte - Nocnoj Dozor (Night Watch), by Sergej Luk'janenko (2004, Moscow)

Anton has got magical powers and is being trained as wizard by the Night Watch, the light corporation of modern knights secretely fighting in Moscow to protect people from the Dark, the Day Watch.
Despite at the beginning the plot doesn't look that turning and twisting, it's really page turner and the final is unexpected.
Fascinating.

martedì 26 ottobre 2010

Racconti - Tales, by Edgar Allan Poe (1845, USA)

Considering we're in XIX century, these short novels are amazingly gothic and mysterious. Really good.

giovedì 14 ottobre 2010

Racconti d'amore di follia e di morte - Cuentos de amor de locura y de muerte + El salvaje, by Horacio Quiroga (1920, Buenos Aires)

Despite only novels, they can catch the reader and make them inside Argentina life, both wild and urban.

sabato 9 ottobre 2010

Insolito e crudele - Cruel And Unusual, by Patricia Cornwell (1993, USA)


Mark died in a bomb attack in London and Kay's still struggling to get a certain emotional stability. A series of crimes seem to be interlinked and strangely connected to Ronnie Joe Waddell, who's been killed by electrified chair in jail. And somebody's trying to let Kay appear linked to those crimes.
Marino, Wesley and Lucy play an important role in clearifying the situation...that cover a previous scandal of a powerful politician.
Turn pager as usual.

mercoledì 29 settembre 2010

Quel che rimane - All That Remains, by Patricia Cornwell (1992, USA)

Mark and Kay just split up, she's going on working in Richmond and a new case comes up: the daughter of an important politician is killed. And so her boyfriend. They're found months later. A killer's been killing couples for some years and bodies are found only months later: Kay can find really few over their skeletons. This time sth is different: Pat Harvey (the politician) does all she can to avenge her daughter. Maybe CIA and FBI are involved too, although their role isn't clear. Besides, a journalist, Abby, Kay's friend, plays an unclear role too.
Page turner.

giovedì 23 settembre 2010

Oggetti di reato - Body Of Evidence, by Patricia Cornwell (1991, USA)

Beryl Madison is a young beautiful writer. Sb begins and persecute her, until she's finally nastily killed ..and, after her, other people she used to know die as well.
Kay and Marino look for the solution of the mystery between Richmond and Key West, Kay even bumps into an old lover of hers, who isn't anymore who he looks like. Then Kay gets persecuted as well.
Nice.

venerdì 17 settembre 2010

Il venditore di storie - Sirkusdirektorens datter, by Jostein Gaarder (2001, Norway)

Petter is born in Oslo at half XIX century and, since very very young shows an extremely lush creativity. While growing, this peculiar ability of his turns into a clever way to have a beautiful life: first at school and then as an adult. Until sth comes up..
The idea of the novel is definetely brilliant, although sometimes the rythm gets a little too slow.

lunedì 13 settembre 2010

I ragazzi di Anansi - Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman (2005, UK)



Charles has a normal life, although not very successful: he lives in London, working in a company and he's going to marry his girlfriend Rosie. Then sth happens: he's got to go in Florida for his father's funeral. Since that moment, many events happen to turn upside down his life... his father turns out to be a god, Charlie's brother comes around and everything get different and troubled.
Interesting, very well written (meaningful unusual style), great.

mercoledì 8 settembre 2010

Il palazzo della mezzanotte - El Palacio De La Medianoche, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (1994, Spain)


Calcutta, 1910s. Ben and Sheere are a couple of twins born by the so called Princess of The Light, who's killed as they come to the world. They're saved by a fire ghost who, they suppose, killed their father and wants to destroy them too. Their grandma divides them to protect them, so that Ben grows up in an orphanage, surrounded by great friends, the Chowbar Society. But when they're 16, the nightmare comes back ...and the plot begins twisting and turning.
Kind of guys novel.

martedì 7 settembre 2010

Il deserto e altri racconti - El desierto, Mas Alla, by Horacio Quiroga (1935, Argentina)

A very diverse collection of Argentina set novels: from the psychological novel to the surreal one. Some sadness as a backdraw of each. Some real life in each.
Despite they're brief, they can very easily let the reader enter them. Interesting.

domenica 29 agosto 2010

I ragazzi di Charleston - South Of Broad, by Pat Conroy (2009, USA)

Charleston, half of XXth century; Leo is the teenage son of her school principal. His brother made suicide and he had got various troubles after that, but he's stronger than we can expect and he saves his own life and his new friends' ones: Sheba and Trevor, Starla and Niles, Ike and Betty, Molly, Fraser and Chad.. As they're adult, their friendship's still strong, but Trevor's in trouble. Various dramas are waiting for all of them, but they get through them, although not uninjured.
Conroy's clever style doesn't disappoint: he can be ironical although talking over dramatic events. Deeply introspective.

sabato 14 agosto 2010

E' nata una star - Not A Star, by Nick Hornby (2006, London)

Two days told by Lynn, 49 years old, Mark's mum. One of her neighbours makes her find out her son is a porn-star. Through shock, irony, discussions to, finally, easily, a new pretty fine normality: there are miles deeper troubles than this one!
Nice.

venerdì 13 agosto 2010

Che fine ha fatto Mister Y - The End Of Mr. Y, by Scarlett Thomas (2006, UK)


Ariel is a MSc student writing a thesis on mind experiments and ability to travel by thought.
She accidentally bumps into an ancient book, The End Of Mr. Y, by the author she's studying, Lumas: it's one of a kind and said to be cursed... and it leads Ariel to a vitally dangerous adventure that will completely change not only her life, but even her perspective on world, on time and place link ..and perhaps the all world.
Complex character and kind of philopsophically interesting novel, mind opening.

giovedì 5 agosto 2010

La mano sinistra di Dio - The Left Hand Of God, by Paul Hoffman (2010, UK)

1000ish years have gone since the Redentor's been killed. The Redentors that follow him are, now, preparing the end of the world educating children to fight, terrorising and torturing them. Cale, Kleist and Henri can do to escape and they end up in Menphis, the biggest city in the area. Cale’s huge ability in fighting and killing brings them in the army and, at the end, to protect the most precious object for those people: Arbell, the most beautiful girl ever. But the final battle with the Redentors will be reach in big surprises…
Really intriguing and turn pager, although the plot is not that deep.

venerdì 30 luglio 2010

La rabbia e l'orgoglio, by Oriana Fallaci (2001, Milano)


11th September 2001. Oriana Fallaci is in New York and she can't help but writing down all she feels and thinks of what happened, of the responsibles but also of Europe and Italy and many important people she met in the past, of her relatives and parents that had important roles in Italian history.
It's a sermon, sometimes very sensible, sometimes very irrational. Her style is dynamic and colourful and it would be easy to agree with her. Nevertheless she chose really carefully the episodes to tell. It's crucial to remember there's another face of the medal to consider.

giovedì 29 luglio 2010

Buongiorno Los Angeles - Bright Shiny Morning, by James Frey (2008, USA)


Using pieces of many diverse people and pieces of its history, the author tells what Los Angeles is, how it's born, grown up, changed.
Old Man Joe is a good and kind of wise homeless, Dylan and Maddie escaped from violent families and try and survive being happy, Esperanza is a young brilliant girl that ends up having a hope, Amberton is a famous actor secretely gay. Everybody tries and be happy.
It's effective. A true complex picture of LA can be painted.