BOOK REVIEW | NAAMLOOS BY PEPIJN LANEN

Title: Naamloos
Author: Pepijn Lanen
Published: 2016
Language: Dutch
Pages: 254
Rating: 4/5

In 'Naamloos' we follow a month in the life of a man who can not remember who he is. We read about his confusing time, in a battle against addictions and fear, and a fight against himself. 


Pepijn Lanen is in the Netherlands very famous for his work as artist in the band 'De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig'. When I saw he had a book coming out I was very curious about it. I was excited to see what he had to offer - Dutch literature wise. 

This book surprised me very pleasantly. Pepijn is just as inventive, witty and original in this book as in the songs he writes. The writing style is easy to follow, and the short chapters keep it fast paced, even though the writing sometimes got a little monotone. 

I would really like to see this book gets translated, so that non-Dutch reading countries can see what a Dutch writer like Pepijn has to offer to our modern literature. 

This book is available to listen for free on Spotify (in Dutch). 

BOOK REVIEW | A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU BY CLAUDIA GRAY

Title: A Thousand Pieces of You
Author: Claudia Gray
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 358
Rating: 4/5

"Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him. Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected."

This was a bookclub pick and I was very excited to pick this up. Mostly because the cover was so appealing, and when I read the back I saw it was recommended to 'Orphan Black' fans. I was super enthousiast to start this book. 

In this book we meet a handful of different characters but we deal the most with Marguerite, Paul and Theo. All three of who were awesome characters! The character building was great and I can't wait to see how they evolve in the next two books.

What I loved as well was the world building. We travel through different dimensions within the live of Marguerite and see the different versions of her living in different places/time. This was super awesome to read about and very well executed. 

I would recommend this book if you are a fan of dystopian's with a girly twist to it!

Get your copy of 'A Thousand Pieces of You' here!

BOOK REVIEW | CESAR BY MATTHIJS KLEYN

Title: Cesar
Author: Matthijs Kleyn
Published: 2016
Language: Dutch
Pages: 221
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: 5/5

"Matthijs Kleyn writes in a loving and honest way about his son Cesar. Cesar was born 5 weeks to early, and turned out to have one blind eye. Matthijs writes about the hard moments of the pregnancy, and the beautiful moments as well."

This was such a moving book. The writing style of Matthijs Kleyn is vivacious and made me finish the book in one sitting. The love for Cesar radiates from every page I read. 

I can't really say much more than this. I loved every page of this book. The pictures within the book makes it even better, such an adorable little kid is Cesar. What I also really loved, was that there were also bits of poetry in this book. I never read Dutch poetry before, but reading it in here, makes me want to give Dutch poetry a chance. 

This is the first book I read by Matthijs Kleyn, and I'm really curious about his other work. I hope that this will be published in English in the (near)future!

I would definitely recommend this book for all fathers and mothers (to be)!

NEW ON MY WISHLIST | III

Get the books here:

Tribe by Sebastian Junger

The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson

Nine Island by Jane Alison

All We Shall Know by Donal Ryan

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee

No Virgin by Anne Cassidy

The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry

BOOK REVIEW | ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE BY ANTHONY DOERR

Title: All The Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 531
Rating: 5/5

"Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge."

I loved this book. All The Light We Cannot See really intrigued me from the moment I had heard of it. I was really curious to read from the perspective of a girl who is blind. Besides that, the fact that the other main character, views the war from a totally different point also got me very interested.

This book was so well written. I love short chapters, which this book definitely had (most chapters were 3 to 5 pages). I loved the characters, not only Marie-Laure and Werner but also the side characters like Jutte and Etienne. 

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. It's touching, devastating and wonderful.

Buy your copy of All The Light We Cannot See on Book Depository here!