Good Reads & Views

Miss Iceland by Auður A. Ólafsdóttir 
Fiction 

What it’s about: Moving to 1960s Reykjavik to pursue her literary ambitions, an aspiring novelist moves in with her gay childhood friend only to be confronted by a male-dominated literary community that does not believe women belong in the art world.

Reviewers say: “In this excellent introduction to her work, Ólafsdóttir creates a world where either escape or hiding one's true nature are the only choices” (Library Journal); “This winning tale of friendship and self-fulfillment will inspire readers” (Publishers Weekly). 

Want a taste? “I, the undersigned, Hekla Gottskálksdóttir, hereby resign from my job as a serving girl at Hotel Borg. The reason for my resignation is the indecent behaviour of the hotel’s male customers who have been harassing me both at work and in my private life.” 

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Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
Fiction

Settle down over a cup of spice tea with Angel, master cake baker of Kigali, Rwanda, and listen as Angel's customers reveal their secret fears, hopes and desires. In a country recovering from war and genocide, and ravaged by disease and poverty, there are still many things to celebrate with a cake: family members found and reunited, births, marriages and graduations. Each celebration comes with its own story, and with each story another connection to the astounding community of men and women who rely on Angel’s insights. Angel has secrets and stories of her own, and must come to terms with them. Bittersweet and reflective, Angel’s gentle character makes this an upbeat read.

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
Fiction

This haunting coming of age tale opens in a shanty town of Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, where 10-year-old Darling and her gang of friends roam freely, raiding guava trees in a nearby posh suburb and inventing games based on their idea of American pop culture or stories they caught a glimpse of on someone else’s television. Darling’s life changes completely when she moves to “Destroyed, Michigan” in the United States, where she struggles to belong to her new country, yet remains tied to her origins. Despite bleak situations, inventive language, funny situations and joyous characters make this a rewarding read.

The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky
Fiction

Rosa Achmetowna simply knows that she is a wonderful, kind, loving and highly intelligent person. Unfortunately, her husband and daughter are the ones who have to bear the brunt of her self-centered and controlling nature. Granddaughter Aminat, on the other hand, is the apple of Rosa’s eye. Rosa’s determination will take the three women out of the Soviet Union and into paradise Germany, a country where “they wash the streets with shampoo there.”  Publishers Weekly called Rosa “a one-woman wrecking crew with no remorse, an acid tongue, and a conniving opportunist's sense of drive and desperation. Bronsky lands another hit with this hilarious, disturbing, and always irreverent blitz.” For those who can take their stories dark and quirky, with a twisted sense of humor thrown in.

The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch
Fiction

The year is 1659 and in a small town in Bavaria, Germany, a young boy is found dead with a suspicious “witches mark” on his body. Soon, the local midwife is determined to be the cause of his death, thrown in jail, and the local hangman, Jakob Kuisl, is charged with getting a confession out of her. Convinced of her innocence, Jakob, his daughter Magdalena, and Simon, the town physician’s son, begin a race against the clock to prove her innocence. Vivid portrayals of town life and the local characters that inhabit it make this mystery a good choice for both readers of historical fiction and suspense (you will find a new appreciation for modern plumbing). As an aside, the author himself is descended from a line of hangmen, the real-life Kuisl family.

Doghead by Morten Ramsland
Fiction

Winner of Denmark’s Book of the Year and Author of the Year awards and a big seller across Europe, this quirky novel is the tale of a rather dysfunctional Scandinavian family, told as a series of sometimes disturbing but often very funny vignettes. Ramsland describes his style of writing as “grotesque realism” and he does not seem to subscribe to any taboos but loves improbable situations. The family members’ tales may –or may not- be truly told, but their stories are never dull. Amongst the many members of this colorful family, there is grandpa Askild, obsessed with cubism which always seems to find its way into his work designs at the shipyard (and repeatedly gets him fired); nephew Applehead, who is the first (but not last) to have a certain part of his anatomy tattooed; Askild’s wife Bjork, a woman to reckon with; and Jug Ears, born in an outhouse and father of narrator Asger (who believes himself responsible for his grandfathers death). Definitely not for everyone, this book can seem bizarre and exuberant at the same time, it zigs and zags all over the place and bodily fluids make a repeat appearance. Those who stick with it, however, will be rewarded by quite an exciting ride and a story with characters that will stay with you long after the last page has been turned.

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
FIC Petterson, Per

This award winning novel, beautifully written, tells the story of retired widower Trond who moves to a lone cabin in rural Norway. There, he ends up confronting  memories of his younger years, especially the summer he spent with his often absent father in 1948. A poignant coming-of-age story coupled with the attempts of an old man to make sense out of his life, this novel may not appeal to those who look for a climactic finish or a lot of action; if you don’t mind a fragmentary approach, however, and enjoy a well-told story, give this one a try.