March Reading Wrap-Up

March was a busy month. My father celebrated his 100th birthday and we had a family gathering. He is healthy, and live by himself, taking care of everything in the household. It is good to see. Back home again, I got a sinusitus infection and was mostly in bed. I did recover in time for my five day trip to the Basque country with a group of former colleagues. If you are interested you can read about it on my Newsletter.

I have not had the time, or energy, to do a lot of reviews, so here a wrap-up of the books I read during March, which was six books.

Read in March

• The Gentle Spirit by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - I felt it was time for a novella by Dostoyevsky and found this one. It is a typical Dostoyevsky story about a man and a woman and complications arising between them. Mostly the fault of the man, I think, who could not, or dared not, follow his feelings. As always, there is a sad note lingering above the story.

• The Burning Secret (Brennendes Geheimnis) by Stefan Zweig - Zweig never disappoints and it is amazing how he can make a rather thrilling story out of simple actions. "The suave Baron, bored on his holiday in an Austrian mountain resort, begins a flirtation with a beautiful woman. When his advances are rejected, he seeks a new way to her heart - by befriending her twelve-year-old son. To the Baron all this is a game, but he cannot begin to imagine the effect he is having on the boy's life..." Review will follow

• ABC-bok för vuxna by Sara Lövenstam (NF) - Sara Lövenstam has written several books about grammar, and she does it in such a humourous way, that it is a pleasure to read. Here we get the roots, and background, of the letters of the alphabet. Great read.

• The Lost Café Schindler by Meriel Schindler (NF) - In Innsbruck there used to be a Café Schindler. Meriel Schindler is the granddaughter of the last owner. Being Jewish they lost the café during WWII. She grew up in England, and it is only when her father dies, and she goes through his old photos and pappers, she becomes interested in the family saga. Personal account on what the buisness meant for the family and the tragic way in which they lost it.

• Min bokvärld by Kerstin Ekman (NF) - Kerstin Ekman, famous Swedish author and former Academy member is a great writer. Here she looks back on her life and the books that made an impact on her. Interesting reading.

• ​Simmaren (The Swimmer) by Joakim Zander - found this in a second hand shop and it turned out to be an interesting thriller and story. "Klara Walldeen, orphaned as a child and brought up by her grandparents on a remote Swedish archipelago, is now a political aide in Brussels. And she has just seen something she shouldn’t: something people will kill to keep hidden.

  
  

  On the other side of the world, an old spy hides from his past. Once, he was a man of action: so dedicated to the cause that he abandoned his baby daughter to keep his cover. Now the only thing he lives for is swimming in the local pool.

  
  

  Then, on Christmas eve, Klara is thrown into a terrifying chase through Europe. Only the Swimmer can save her. But time is running out..." Excitement until the very end, and you really did not know how it would end. Great story. Turns out to be the first book in a series, so I have downloaded the next two.

At the end of the week, I am heading for another trip, to Crete this time. I will read Zorba, the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. He was born in Crete and is buried in Heraklion, the biggest city of the island. It seems he rests on one of the bastions of the city wall. We will also visit Knossos, where King Minos ruled. I have already read Ariadne by Jennifer Saint, so know the story behind.