Laurent Binet - 'HHhH' & Markus Zusak - 'The Book Thief'

I thought I'd mention a couple of WWII books I've read recently. They're both interesting in the point of view they take, which gives an intriguing twist to the stories. I also felt like they had a theme in common; that of the task of writing and the power of words.

Ever since going to Berlin I've been really interested in learning more about the Second World War, particularly due to my interests in psychology. I remembered seeing this book when it came out and picked it up after finishing some of my exams a while ago.

HHhH depicts the events surrounding Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of the high-ranking Nazi Reinhard Heydrich in 1942 carried out by Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, two paratroopers from Czechoslovakia. The book explores the lives of the people involved and surrounding events, including Heydrich's role as part of the SS and the development of the assassination plan, from Britain to Prague. 

As well as giving an insight into these events to those unfamiliar with the specifics (such as myself), the book is also written in a style which sees the author switch between describing the history itself and his own journey to discovering this story, including his thoughts on trying to be faithful to the actual events that occurred. The observations on the actual process behind writing a book were fascinating to explore, particularly the difficulties of trying to writing a historical accurate scene. 

Overall, this is an entertaining account of the events and their circumstances, and it really got me thinking about the paratroopers actions in relation to current events. But I'd get a bit rambly if I went into all that, I think. 

The Book Thief, by comparison to HHhH, is fictional but uses the war as the backdrop for the story. The story is narrated by Death, and tells of a young German girl who goes to live with foster parents. Throughout she deals with the loss of her family, the struggle of learning to read, the development of a close relationship with her foster father, hiding a Jew in the family basement, along with the normal activities of a child: namely, trying to win at football with her best friend. 

She also steals books; these act as the initial challenges to conquer whilst learning to read, and become a way she can connect with those around her, especially when the war begins to hit its stride. 

I really enjoyed this book and the way it views the war through innocent eyes, alongside the other dramas of growing up and building relationships. Its sweet, sad and overall an enchanting read and I seriously recommend giving this book a go. 

Italian Treats

Being a total foodie and lover of all things Italian due to my Italian Grandma, her and my mum put together an amazing hamper full of delicious treats for my Christmas present. I've been steadily experimenting with them throughout the month and can't wait to get around to trying out the rest. I thought I'd share a selection of some of my favourites with you.

I have yet to try out the olives, but I think they would go perfectly in a big sauce or stew type dish, or cooked with beef and cherry tomatoes in a Nigella-inspired Beef Pizzaiola, after a nibble or two of course. 

The Wild Rocket pesto has been used in a lot of things recently - stirred into veg as a flavourful side dish, drizzled over home-made pizzas, and spread onto baguettes with cheese to serve with pasta. I adore pesto anyway, and the rocket gives it an extra, subtle tang. I have a feeling that the sun-dried tomato paste used in place of normal tomato purée will bring out even more rich flavour in sauces.

The 'Lievito Pane Degli Angeli' (literally translating to Yeast Bread of Angels) is a raising agent that can replace baking powder in recipes, but is made that extra bit better by also including vanilla flavouring, and therefore smelling absolutely amazing! I could quite happily just sit and smell the packet all day... but when I do bake with it, it adds a wonderful lightness to my usual cupcakes. 

The pasta is tiny star shapes that would be perfect in soups. I've been meaning to start making soups for the past couple of years now and still haven't got round to it, so hopefully having these in the cupboard will push me to finally get on with it before Winter is over.

This nougat is by far the best I have ever had. Tom and I couldn't believe just how delicious this is - soft, squidgy nougat with huge crunchy chunks of almond, with strips of rice paper on the top and bottom - amazing!

A friend of my Grandma's brought this to England from where she's from in Italy, making this an extra special treat. 

And for a place to get started, I received the Quick Cook Italian book, which includes 3 ways to cook different dishes using similar ingredients, such as tomato risotto, tomato and rice soup, or tomato and rice salad, offering even more flexibility depending on the exact ingredients and time you have available. Basically, even more recipes! So far I've tried out lemon and rosemary pork with a cannellini bean salad, and chilli and lemon cod; both were straight forward to cook and tasted incredible.

The latest Nigella Lawson cook book is also brilliant. It's actually the first one of hers I've got hold of and I'm already in love with it. Whereas I tend to avoid 'celebrity' cook books, due to the recipes seeming too complicated with fancy ingredients, this book is perfect for everyday meals. The Italian Tray bake with Tuscan fries is already a favourite with my fiancé. 

A huge thank you to my family for getting me these, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect gift! :)

China Miéville - 'The Scar'

The Scar is the second of three books written by China Miéville set in his fictional world of Bas-Lag. The first, Perdido Street Station, is set mainly in the large city central to the stories, New Crobuzon, and introduces readers to the vast range of races that inhabit this world, including humans, cactacae (enormous plant people), khepri (a race where the females have human bodies but their heads consist of a large scarab beetle), and garuda (humanoid birds of prey). The books are science fiction/fantasy, along with other influences, and include magic and steampunk technology.

The Scar moves away from the city of New Crobuzon to explore other parts of the Bas-Lag world by sea. The story begins with the characters sailing away from the city. Before their journey is complete they are captured by pirates and become citizens of the pirates' city of Armada, a floating city on the sea comprised of a huge number of ships. While some of the captured settle into their new life, Bellis, the main character, is desperate to return to New Crobuzon and in her attempts to find a way home becomes wrapped up in the plans that Armada's bizarre scarred leaders are leading the city towards.

Having time off this summer has meant I have been able to spend whole afternoons sat with this book, immersing myself in the events, and I haven't been able to put it down once I've got stuck into it. There are plenty of action and twists throughout due to the secrecy and controversy of the characters' plans, and coupled with the writing this is an excellent book.

China Miéville's style of writing is difficult to accustom to at first, but it's worth bearing with because once you're used to it, you can appreciate his beautiful use of language to describe the incredible characters and events that he has created. His writing is some of the best I have come across, with an expansive vocabulary that brings this strange and exotic world to life.

So far I have read all three of the books based in Bas-Lag: Perdido Street Station, The Scar and The Iron Council. The series aren't a trilogy, so you don't need to have read the preceding books to understand the story; however I personally think Perdido Street Station is the best place to start, as it goes into slightly more detail introducing the different races and the lifestyle of the world.

Stephen King - 'Lisey's Story'

I'm currently reading this book for the second time, after not having read much Stephen King for a while. I went  through a phase a few years back of reading loads of his stuff. I'd read some of his older ones and then got 'Lisey's Story' not long after it came out.

It's slightly different to Stephen King's other books, still with supernatural elements but focusing on the story of a marriage through the eyes of a widow of 2 years. As she begins to clear out her deceased husband's office, finding his work from his days as an author provokes memories of their relationship and of the troubled man that her husband was.

The thing that struck me the most when I first read this book was less the actual story (though it is an enjoyable read) and more how good the writing was, particularly it's consistency. This is something that has disappointed me with previous Stephen King books - a brilliant story that I've been eager to read and find out the ending... and then oh, it's rubbish. For me, some of his endings have never wrapped the story up in a way that I've felt it deserved, and in a way kind of seemed quick and half-hearted, just a way to get the story finished and out of the way.This book ended at what felt the natural place and in a way that felt like this is what the story had been leading to, this is why the other events took place. An explanation for some incidents seemed to lack in some of his previous work.

A lot of his stories have also tended to focus less on one or two particular characters and sometimes more on a town, and the way an event affects different people. Therefore the story would consist of different parts, with a chunk of the story dedicated to a certain character, before switching tactics and focusing on a related but separate group of people ('The Tommyknockers' is a good example that comes to mind of this style). While this does work for the type of story Stephen King is trying to tell with some of his books, it does mean the plot can feel a little drawn out at times. Having one main character who is followed for the length of the book in 'Lisey's Story' helped me engage better with the character and the overall plot, as more empathy is created.

After having read books from different points in Stephen King's career, it is commendable that the quality of his stories has noticeably improved over time: in general his other recent work that I have read has proven to be a better read and I'm looking forward to getting hold of his latest couple when I get chance.

If you're not sure where to start with Stephen King's work, I recommend 'Four Past Midnight' (the first of his that I read consisting of four short stories), 'The Shining' (an obvious classic), 'The Dead Zone', 'The Stand' (very long but worth sticking with) and 'Duma Key'. I've been meaning to try out one of his recent books, 'Under the Dome' next, hopefully worth the wait!

Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything

If you haven't checked this book out and are interested in anything science-y I definitely recommend it. Impressively, the author manages to do what he claims, covering everything from the beginnings of the universe to the evolution of human beings, stopping off along the way to describe how the significant discoveries that make up our current knowledge of the world took place (though judging by the personalities of some of the scientists described it's a wonder in itself we've found out this much!).

As so much is covered, there will probably be some parts you'll find more interesting than others - the geek in me loved the bits about space and DNA, though I have to say, I'm not one to get excited about rocks. The entertaining style of Bill Bryson's writing manages to keep all of the material engaging however, with just the right amount of information about each topic without getting bogged down in anything.

Accessible and enjoyable - who would of thought this could be said about science?

James Patterson - Violets are Blue

I'm a big fan of crime thriller type books, films, TV etc., and started reading James Patterson a while back. His main series of books revolves around the character Alex Cross, a homicide detective/psychiatrist, hunting down serial killers. The first book in the series, "Along Came A Spider" is brilliant in my opinion, it's one of the most twisty turny books I've read (please please please don't watch the film though - it's absolutely TERRIBLE).

Violets are Blue is the seventh book in the series, and features Alex Cross investigating a series of vampire-style murders taking place in different locations in the USA, and involving everything from tigers to magicians. The book also continues a running storyline from previous books featuring the 'Mastermind', a serial killer with a personal vendetta against Cross, who is also responsible for murdering some of those close to Cross.  

Now, I didn't exactly get bored by this book, but it just didn't have anything to it that I thought was new or exciting. Not after reading the first six in the series anyway - if this had been number one I would probably think differently. But this book again consisted of: the killer having a personal problem with Alex Cross (I'm really intrigued as to how often this actually ever happens in real life); another new relationship that is probably doomed; and Cross doing lovely family things in between visiting gruesome crime scenes. 

I might read some of the more recent ones at some point, to see if they start to go in a different direction, but otherwise after reading a handful of these I don't really feel the need to read any more. 

Not that I don't recommend them: they're good, easy to read thrillers with a mix of an older running storyline involving Alex Cross' personal life and unclosed cases; as well as a new crime investigation. I just feel they're a tad predictable after a while.