false 3 180 161 true 5641947 read 6 true 5599942 currently-reading 13 true 5599727 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74805829 to: Fast ganz die Deine (Gebundene Ausgabe) by Marcelle Sauvageot
If I could, I would give the book six stars. It is an extraordinary, outstanding book about love, hope and despair. An attempt to understand what is beyond our possibilities to understand: love, rejection.
This is one of the most honest and staggering examples of literature I know. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74805827 Laissez-moi (Commentaire) by Marcelle Sauvageot
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66864245 to: Herr der Seelen: Roman (Taschenbuch) by Irène Némirovsky
What I particularly liked about this book is the first sentence "I need money." So simple and intriguing, one cannot conceal the curiosity how it will go on with the poor guy asking for money. Again, Nemirovsky manages to take the reader on a trip through the hell of fears and nightmares of an immigrant. It is gripping and like in all her novels she manages to create interesting contradictory characters. The only reason why this book will not get five stars is that I was not quite satisfied with the description of the way Dr. Asfar tried to "help" his patients. What was really going on between him and them and how exactly did he manage to get their souls? It was interesting but she stayed on the surface. Like a picture, too quickly drawn to see the details.
I also liked the essay in the end of this edition about the way Nemirovsky pictures a Jewish character, which seems to be quite problematic, because it seems to support the common disgusting antisemitic utterances of her contemporaries. It made me think a lot. I come to the conclusion that it is part of her examination of identity as such, which begins on the basics of what you hear about your identity in social environment. It is definitely worth further investigations. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74555880 Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History (Victorian Life and Times) by Andrea Broomfield
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72672893 Jennifer's review of Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History (Victorian Life and Times)
by Andrea Broomfield

Oh, this books sounds awesome. Need to ad it too :) ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74553999 Die Hunde und die Wölfe: Roman (Taschenbuch) by Irène Némirovsky
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38675305 Jennifer's review of The Brothers Karamazov (Everyman's Library, #70)
by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Hey Jen, I like your comment on that book.
And would agree on it apart from boringness. Somehow I really liked the brothers in their special imperfection due to their characters. Also Alexei. He is a naive character, merely more sensitive that his brothers but far away from being reliable. But I really enjoyed the contradictions and stubbornness of the brothers due to their characters and their beliefs.
Even if Alexei was celebrated for any reasons by Dostoevsky, the author himself was far from being an ideal human being. Just thinking of his antisemitic tendencies. I really dislike it when people adore Dostoyevski as a person and not merely his writing skills. He was really able to get deep into characters and plot structures, but taking a closer look at his own persona it will reveal the same problems as the brothers themselves. The way to deal with the contradictions and to confront himself with his dark sides and naive hopes is quite ingenious but everything else, well. When I was reading this book, I was quite intrigued by the description of the way they all communicate with each other and their arguments. Nothing has changed, I could think of quite similar characters I know in real life and their problems are quite the same (even if not that tragic, but almost - they just do not know about it). So they are quite good prototypes to certain characters and their relations. The prototype of Alexei is actually also a quite dangerous character in some way. Relying on this character as the "hero" would be as problematic as picking any of the brothers as an ideal of human being, or "true" human being. It has been a while since I have read the book, but as far as I remember it is the Zosima part which reveals the problems of Alexei as a character.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69381589 Voller Entsetzen, aber nicht verzweifelt (Hardcover) by Mihail Sebastian
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67473662 Tristram's review of Britannica & ich
by A.J. Jacobs

Der Typ ist ein Original, offensichtlich. Sympatisch. Ich denke ich werde da mal reingucken. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38759731 Lavinie's review of L'accompagnatrice
by Nina Berberova

Thanks for recommending it, Lavinie. I will try to get more of Berberova's works.
Somehow some passages of the book reminded me of the movie "La Tourneuse de pages" by Denis Dercourt. ]]>