Summary of five very good books read in August

 

Out of the 12 books I read in August, five of them stood out above the others. Usually, one or two sticks out, but five out of twelve is good. Here a short review for each of them.

Przewalski's Horse by Maja Lunde

The third book in her climate series of four books. We find ourselves in the past, present and future where we follow different protagonists during different time lines with a common theme; the wild horses. Mikhail lives in Russian in 1881, works in a zoo and finds himself enrolled in an expedition to capture wild horses in Mongolia. It changes his life in more ways than one. Karin and her son Mathias, in 1992, are taking Przewalski horses from France to Mongolia to try to re-introduce the race into their natural habitat. Mother and son have a difficult relationship, but maybe the horses can bring them together. Eva is living with her daughter in Norway in 2064, trying to save the last species of her wild animals, including the wild horses. Her daughter wants them to leave, but then Louise arrives and all of their lives changes.

As her earlier books The Book of Bees and The End of the Ocean this book is about survival in a world hit by a climate catastrophe. There is draught, which is a theme in all her books. Maja Lunde's writing is beautiful and she is a master in describing relationships, and how people act under hard conditions. At the same time she puts her characters in a fascinating, but scary world. On the book cover was a comment from a reviewer that this book was more positive about the future than her earlier ones. I think so to. The first two left you in a sort of despair at the end, but here there is a glimpse of something that might indicate a slight piece of hope.

I can really recommend you to read the series. One of the best series, mixing a serious subject with beautiful writing and characterisation. She sets the future parts not too far in the future so we can all imagine the stories she tells. 

The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster

I have been a fan of Paul Auster ever since I read his The Book of Illusions. This book has been on my shelves for ages. Once I started reading, I could not put it down. 

"Nathan Glass has come to Brooklyn to die. Divorced, retired, estranged from his only daughter, the former life insurance salesman seeks only solitude and anonymity. Then Glass encounters his long-lost nephew, Tom Wood, who is working in a local bookstore—a far cry from the brilliant academic career Tom had begun when Nathan saw him last. Tom's boss is the colourful and charismatic Harry Brightman—a.k.a. Harry Dunkel—once the owner of a Chicago art gallery, whom fate has also brought to the "ancient kingdom of Brooklyn, New York." Through Tom and Harry, Nathan's world gradually broadens to include a new circle of acquaintances. He soon finds himself drawn into a scam involving a forged page of The Scarlet Letter, and begins to undertake his own literary venture, The Book of Human Folly, an account of "every blunder, every pratfall, every embarrassment, every idiocy, every foible, and every inane act I have committed during my long and checkered career as a man.""

Nothing much seems to happen with Nathan Glass, but actually it does. He has no expectations on his life when he moves into an apartment in Brooklyn. But, as usual with Auster, the perspective opens up and, voilà, there is a set of fantastic people. Trying to mend his relationships with his daughter and nephew he somehow ends up like a "spider in the net" and everything evolves around him. He is such a fantastic character, and you just can't help loving him. With his wonderful writing Paul Auster lets us follow a man, and his interaction with people around him, during a short period of his live. 

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

I think this book is better than The Girl on a Train. The story is more complex as are the characters. A single mother turns up dead in what is called the drowning pond. She is not the first. She leaves behind a teenage daughter. Her mother's sister reluctantly comes back to the place she once ran away from. The daughter is not entirely happy about having her aunt there. 

Somehow the aunt cannot imagine that her sister committed suicide. She starts talking to family and friends to find out what really happened. There is a story behind the drowning pool, once upon a time it was used to determine if a woman was a witch. 

"Beckford is not a suicide spot. Beckford is a place to get rid of troublesome women."

Lots of psychology in the story, about emotions and memories. But, can we trust memories? What really happened that many years ago? Hawkins builds up the story little by little and it is really at the very end you get to know what happened. At least I could not guess it earlier, although there are many suspects. 

A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies, and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment by John Preston

About the true story of Jeremy Thorpe, the then Liberal Party leader in England, and the scandal that shook Britain in the 70s. It is a story, that if you had made it up, people would probably say that it is not realistic. 

Jeremy Thorpe had a relationship with Norman Scott. Scott was young, beautiful, but very unstable. Homosexuality had just been legalised, but it was still probably best to keep it secret if you had a position in society. As Scott demands more and more from Thorpe, whose career is brilliant, Scott becomes a hazard. The only way Thorpe sees a way out is to silence Scott for good. He enrolls fellow politicians and friends in this scheme. One day it all blows up.

It did end in a trial, where he was acquitted. The Establishment cares for its own people. Preston has done excellent research and it is a thrilling encounter of how ruthless politicians can be. "Illuminating the darkest secrets of the Establishment, the Thorpe affair revealed such breath-taking deceit and corruption in an entire section of British society that, at the time, hardly anyone dared believe it could be true." It has been made into a TV-series with Hugh Grant excellently portraying Jeremy Thorpe.

Kingdom of Shadows by Barbara Erskine

"In a childless and unhappy marriage, Clare Royland is rich and beautiful – but lonely. And fueling her feelings of isolation is a strange, growing fascination with an ancestress from the distant past. Troubled by haunting inexplicable dreams that terrify – but also powerfully compel – her, Clare is forced to look back through the centuries for answers.

In 1306, Scotland is at war. Isobel, Countess of Buchan, faces fear and the prospect of untimely death as the fighting surrounds her. But passionate and headstrong, her trials escalate when she is persecuted for her part in crowning Robert the Bruce, her lover.

Duncairn, Isobel's home and Clare's beloved heritage, becomes a battleground for passions that span the centuries. As husband Paul's recklessness threatens their security, Clare must fight to save Duncairn, and to save herself from the powers of Isobel…"

One of the best of Erskines book that I have read.  I love the dual timelines she is using. She is also very well researched on the historical parts. I must admit I sometimes was a little bit irritated with both the protagonists, Clare and Isobel. They are strong personalities, but seemed sometimes to lingering into total inactivity instead of taking action that actually meant something. Maybe more with Clare, Isobel's options were less. What is so interesting with Erskine's stories is that both characters' lives are similar, but depending in which time they are living their conditions are so different. As a modern woman we can appreciate the times we live in. 

The pocket version I have is 771 pages long. The stories tended to drag out sometimes. But, Erskine is a story teller, so she kept up the excitement until the very end.