DISEGNANDO.. LAST READ BOOKS

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.