Short reviews - part I

  I have not been in the mood to write reviews lately, even if I have read some really good books. As you might have noticed, not in the mood for any posts. Well, I thought I will make an effort and at least write a short summary of some of the books I have read in the last couple of months. 

Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa

"Forcibly removed from the ancient village of Ein Hod by the newly formed state of Israel in 
1948, the Abulhejas are moved into the Jenin refugee camp. There, exiled from his beloved olive groves, the family patriarch languishes of a broken heart, his eldest son fathers a family and falls victim to an Israeli bullet, and his grandchildren struggle against tragedy toward freedom, peace, and home. This is the Palestinian story, told as never before, through four generations of a single family."

Through Amal's eyes, we see the fragile existence of her family and friends. Her story is very touching and dramatic and highlights the ups and downs of their insecure lives. A beautifully written family saga in a world of turmoil and violence. I really loved this novel. 

Vågspel (Venture) by Ann Rosman

"On June 5, 1916, the British warship HMS Hampshire sinks off the Orkney Islands. It takes 700 men, including the Minister of War Lord Kitchener, with it into the sea. World War I is ongoing and according to rumours, the ship was on its way with expensive cargo to Russia when it hit a German mine. Many divers, with their lives at stake, have tried to find and salvage Hampshire's mythical treasure.

Almost a hundred years later, a sailboat drifting off the same coast is found deserted. There are traces of blood and signs of a fight on deck. The boat belongs to Bo Stenman, a retired diver based in Marstrand. When it is clear that it was Bo himself who sailed the boat,  Detective Inspector Karin Adler and her colleague Folke go to Orkney to assist the police in the investigation. In a search for answers to what happened, the find that the connections between the missing Bo and the ship that sank a long time ago become stronger. 

Ann Rosman's sixth book with Karin Adler from Marstrand in the lead role takes place on the green and the windswept Orkney Islands, a place with strong folk beliefs and deep secrets. A place of death and sincere love."

One of my favourite thriller writers. Her present-day crime stories always have a historical background. Cannot be better for someone who loves historical fiction.  As usual, Rosman manages to keep up the pace of the story, keeping the secrets and mysteries hidden until the very end. 

The Magic Lantern by Ingmar Bergman

" 'When a film is not a document, it is a dream. . . . At the editing table, when I run the strip of film through, frame by frame, I still feel that dizzy sense of magic of my childhood.' Bergman, who has conveyed this heady sense of wonder and vision to moviegoers for decades, traces his lifelong love affair with film in his breathtakingly visual autobiography, The Magic Lantern.

More grand mosaic than linear account, Bergman’s vignettes trace his life from a rural Swedish childhood through his work in theater to Hollywood’s golden age, and a tumultuous romantic history that includes five wives and more than a few mistresses. Throughout, Bergman recounts his life in a series of deeply personal flashbacks that document some of the most important moments in twentieth-century filmmaking as well as the private obsessions of the man behind them. Ambitious in scope yet sensitively wrought, The Magic Lantern is a window to the mind of one of our era’s great geniuses."

I bought this book second hand, thinking I should read this autobiography about one of our most famous and skilled filmmakers. I was completely taken in by this account of his life. It is not a very detailed memoir, but he takes us through the ups and downs of his life. It is interesting, exciting and also explains from where his inspiration came and his thoughts (I think we all think they are dark and peculiar sometimes) about his productions. He also includes bits of his private life, being quite open about his relationships and why they did not last. It is a refreshing account, and you are feeling that you come a little bit closer to the man Ingmar Bergman. 

Last year we visited Fårö where he had a house. The island outside Gotland was a great inspiration for his work and many films were shot there. There is a small, very good museum of his work and his time on the island. The Magic Lantern added another piece to the man Ingmar Bergman. 

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I bought this book at 221, Baker Street. We did not go into the museum, the queue was too long, but we visited the museum shop. It contains several novellas on the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I had only read a very few of his mysteries before and was not overly interested in reading more. However, it was a nicely printed book.  

To my surprise, I was totally taken in by both the writing and the stories. They were not so dry as I had imagined them to be. Furthermore, Watson seemed to be a little bit more spirited than you normally see him in the film/series adaptations. Here are the stories: 

A Scandal in Bohemia - The Red-Headed League - Five Orange Pips - The Blue Carbuncle - The Speckled Band - The Beryl Coronet - The Hound of the Baskervilles.