January 2010: Book no 1

Infanta by Deon Meyer (Available in English as Devil's peak at Amazon.com and also as a Kindle book.)

In a sense this book is written in a slightly different style than all the other books by Deon Myer that I have read. From the first few pages you are aware of who the murderer is, but it's the question of whom the guilty party is that haunts you to the end. Excellently written and as usual so well researched, this book also provides and insight into the post apartheid police force and the escalating crime and violence in our country.

It is however the excellently and sympathetically drawn characters that provides the real strength of the book. Each and every one is so very real - each with their own ghosts from the past and dreams for the future.

Not only is Deon Meyer seen as the best crime thriller writer in South Africa, but having his books translated into 20 languages just proves how popular his books are.

I see that 13 uur (13 hours) that I read last year has now been released in the USA, UK France and Russia.
A good 9,5/10.

January 2009 - Book 1

Things without a name by Joanne Fedler.

When I saw this book at the Bookclub I was immediately attracted to the cover (unfortunately no image available on Amazon) and that was the sole reason I chose it. The main character of the book works as a social worker with a woman's rescue centre and one is immediately struck by the sense of hopelessness that this type of work sometimes involve. Her personal and family life ill equipped her to deal with theses situations and at best, she is emotionally unstable herself.

However the book turns at a stage towards a positive message - as her personal life takes an upturn you spot the positive in her work as well. At the end of the book, a list of names used reflect real life abused people as a sort of eulogy which gives the book a new meaning. I found myself paging back and looking for the characters and reflecting on the connection with their real life counterparts.

This book really made me reflect on a subject that seems to only surface once in a while in a newspaper article or on the TV news. It makes these poor abused people so much more real in your mind.

In general, a good and provocative read. It does have the obligatory romance at the end, but in this case it serves well to turn towards the positive.

A solid 7/10