Tag: recomandari carti

Posted in Ruta Sepetys

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

Posted on by roxtao

SYNOPSIS:

Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.

Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.

Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

A gut-wrenching, startling window into communist Romania and the citizen spy network that devastated a nation, from the number one New York Times best-selling, award-winning author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray.

REVIEW:

My blood was trembling in my veins during this entire read. I’m familiar with Ruta Sepetys’ work, so when I found out that her next book is about the Romanian communism and revolution I didn’t know how to get it faster. I have no idea if her new novel will impress readers from other countries as much, but as a Romanian born during the communism, I have to take my hat off to the impressive work the writer has done. I’m in an awe that such a well documented book can be written by someone who not only is not Romanian, but had absolutely no previous connection to Romania until just a few years back. I can’t imagine how many years Ruta worked in order to aquire such amount of information, but the fact that there is a list of five (5!!) pages of sources at the end of the novel, gives you an idea about the amount of documentation needed in order to create such a realistic story.

It’s not just the romanian words that are thrown everywhere in the book. If the writer wouldn’t have used any, the impact would have been exactly the same. But every single description of the places, the atmosphere, the interactions or the feelings is literally screaming “Romania”. The book might not impress by the amount of shocking events. Or at least not until the last few chapters. But it builds such a dense tension that you can feel it covering your soul, your thoughts, just by recreating the normality of those years. The scepticism, the doubt, the constant feeling that you’re being watched and heard, the habit of always looking over your shoulder. The hunger, the darkness and the cold. The whispers, the suffocation. And over everything, the fear. The constant fear, the paralyzing fear that never goes away since you are a child and until you die. In you and in every single person around you. The fear becomes as normal and everlasting as your breathing, crushing your mind, your will, your dreams, your voice, bending you as a human being, bending an entire society.

Any revolution is a fight for freadom, a scream against suffering and distress. But what we often forget and what this book emphasizes is that a revolution is not only agains the system. It’s also against your deepest fears, agains your survival instinct that tells you to stay hidden, to stay safe, against your mother telling you not to go out, because outside it’s dangerous, against you leaving your friends in danger in order to go out there and confront an even greater danger. Because it’s not just about you, it’s about everything and everyone around you and all the generations following.

Between the pages of I Must Betray You are decades of pain that an entire country had suffered. Things that, depending on our age, we either lived or heard so much from our parents or grandparents that seem almost normal or unimpressive. For us, this is just how things were, that’s it. But for readers born in countries that were always free, for people unfamiliar with what communism meant, all our normality will look appalling. Ruta Sepetys doesn’t offer a history lesson. She literally takes you from your comfortable present and throws you in the past, in the middle of the history, living and feeling along with the characters inside the book.

Posted in Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Posted on by roxtao

SYNOPSIS:

This is the extraordinary love story of Clare and Henry, who met when Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry was thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future.

In the face of this force they can neither prevent nor control, Henry and Clare’s struggle to lead normal lives is both intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

REVIEW:

I have a lot of feelings about this book but all of them are kind of floating in a pool of boredom. I believe the main reason for that is the fact that the book is so unnecessarily long and stuffed with details that don’t really contribute to anything. There are authors that have the talent to narrate even shopping list in an extremely captivating way. Unfortunately, for me, Audrey Niffenegger was very far from that. But putting this aside, the novel does have an intriguing side and that’s why I didn’t abandon it midway.

There is something unsettling about this book, especially the first half of it, when Clare is still young. Yes, the story is interesting, cute, funny (although sometimes the humor feels a bit forced) and sweet, but somewhere above all these nice feelings, you cannot stop feeling uneasy. Despite the fact that the characters are doing their very best to do everything morally right, something still feels wrong. You cannot exactly pinpoint how you would expect them to behave in such a situation. And I believe the author was very intentional for the readers to feel this way.

I loved the dinamic of knowledge between the two protagonists. Although you would expect Henry to be the only one with all the information – and in the beginning, everything seems to encourage this belief – later things switch to the exact opposite, for a period of time. It kind of makes sense, but it’s still a very unexpected twist.

I did like the fact that science gets to play a role in the story even if it doesn’t solve the mystery. But the fact that the protagonist looks for a medical explanation for his condition does offer a more realistic approach. Unlike some of the other aspects that are making it very hard to see the characters in a relatable way: the house full of servants, the unlimited flow of money, the artsy vibe of the protagonists. But still, those things are enabling the characters’ story so they were only mildly annoying.

I heard about this book for such a long time and was always curious about it, so I’m happy that I finally read it. But I am more happy now, that I’ve finally finished it than I was during the reading. And it’s never a great sign when a book feels more like a task.

Posted in Julie Clark

The Last Flight by Julie Clark

Posted on by roxtao

SYNOPSIS:

Two women. Two Flights. One last chance to disappear.

Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of ten, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he’s not above using his staff to track Claire’s every move, making sure she’s living up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn’t know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish.

A chance meeting in an airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets — Claire taking Eva’s flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire realizes it’s no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva’s identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.

The Last Flight is the story of two women — both alone, both scared — and one agonizing decision that will change the trajectory of both of their lives.

REVIEW:

I just turned the last page of The Last Flight and I’m at a loss for words. I here declare my forever loyalty to this writer and promise to read every single book that she releases 🤩

10 pages into this book and my heart was already in my throat! Whaaaat a ride it has been! The whole book, every single page, every phrase buzzes with electricity, keeping your heart pounding and giving you permanent goosebumps. Even the recollections from the past, the side stories that should throw a wave of calmness and nostalgia don’t manage to dissolve for a second the tension and suspense.

And compared to most of the thrillers published in the last few years, the character’s portraits are anything but bland or stereotypical. I’m absolutely mesmerized by the depth of the two heroines’ personalities and how the author managed to merge the incredible tension with such profound backgrounds, detailed psychological features and intense and relevant message for the present days.

There is absolutely nothing missing from this book, nothing that feels missmatched or inaccurate. Every action, every trait, every step that either Claire or Eva take are deeply rooted in their past, from their childhoods to their recent years. I’m not even sure if some other readers will feel like some parts of the protagonists’ personalities have negative sides. Perhaps Eva might look too dark and too cold or Claire too paranoid and weak. But for me, the background given to them was so well depicted that makes it impossible to judge them even for a second or to feel like they would have had any other choices at any given time.

And over everything else, you can’t stop feeling their fear constantly, like a heavy blanket that covers everything they do, think or feel. Both Claire’s and Eva’s fear feels like a drowning moment on a loop, over and over again. Impossible to forget for even a moment, impossible to be completely free or relaxed even during the simplest activities. Whatever actions they take, whatever thoughts they have, they feel like gulps of air taken between desperate attempts to move, to survive. And yet, both of them find enough strength to fight, to find ways, to give themselves a chance to calculate the difference between reality and the paranoid thoughts seeded inside their minds by the constant terror.

I loved the side characters as well, how colorful they were sketched and how well the writer illustrates the impact of their choices over the lives of Claire and Eva. How a small gesture for someone can mean the world for someone else.

I don’t even know how to end this review, other than highly recommending it. I feel like nothing I could say gives enough justice to how intense the book is or to the way it will throw you on a roller coaster of emotions from the first to the last page.

Posted in Liane Moriarty

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Posted on by roxtao

SYNOPSIS:

Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever? These nine perfect strangers are about to find out…

Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.

Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer—or should she run while she still can? It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.

Combining all of the hallmarks that have made Liane Moriarty’s writing a go-to for anyone looking for wickedly smart, page-turning fiction that will make you laugh and gasp, Nine Perfect Strangers once again shows why she is a master of her craft.

REVIEW:

Some books just don’t give you that addiction feeling that doesn’t let you to put the book down until you don’t find out what happens next or until you’ve finished one more chapter. But in the same time, they are so cozy and comfortable to read that you wouldn’t mind if they would last forever.

This was the case for me with Nine Perfect Strangers. The book doesn’t have any wow factor, it’s not mind blowing in any way. Everything is balanced and mild: the drama, the characters, the mystery. But in the same time, slowly, with every page you read, you get attached to each one of the completely normal and non-spectacular characters, you want to find out more about their boring lives and just dive deeper into their minds. They’re all absolutely normal people, but they’re all nice and funny and the connection that forms between them creates the same pleasant atmosphere.

I’ve read other books from the same author and until now, Nine Perfect Strangers was the most superficial of them all. You know those thin commercial books that used to come when you were buying women magazines in the 90’s? This novel has the exact same vibe. Light, summer read that keeps you entertained enough but without leaving any marks in your memory once you’ve finished it. I wasn’t disappointed by reading it but it’s clearly not the book that I would enthusiastically talk about.

Posted in Frances Cha

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

Posted on by roxtao

SYNOPSIS:

A debut novel set in contemporary Seoul, Korea, about four young women making their way in a world defined by impossibly high standards of beauty, secret room salons catering to wealthy men, strict social hierarchies, and K-pop fan mania. “Even as a girl, I knew the only chance I had was to change my face… even before a fortune-teller told me so.” Kyuri is a beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a “room salon,” an exclusive bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Though she prides herself on her cold, clear-eyed approach to life, an impulsive mistake with a client may come to threaten her livelihood.

Her roomate, Miho, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but won a scholarship to study art in New York. Returning to Korea after college, she finds herself in a precarious relationship with the super-wealthy heir to one of Korea’s biggest companies.

Down the hall in their apartment building lives Ara, a hair stylist for whom two preoccupations sustain her: obsession with a boy-band pop star, and a best friend who is saving up for the extreme plastic surgery that is commonplace.

And Wonna, one floor below, is a newlywed trying to get pregnant with a child that she and her husband have no idea how they can afford to raise and educate in the cutthroat economy.

Together, their stories tell a tale that’s seemingly unfamiliar, yet unmistakably universal in the way that their tentative friendships may have to be their saving grace.

REVIEW:

If I Had Your Face promises to allow you to dive in some of the most notorious trends that are “leaking” lately from the contemporary Korean culture into the international media: the plastic surgeries turned into a norm, the K-pop mania, the obsession with impossible beauty standards, the pressure of social hierarchies, the lack of balance between work and family life. Frances Cha manages to deliver an insight into these strict standards, showing how five young women struggle to live within all the restrictions imposed by the modern Korean society.

I was honestly expecting something a bit deeper, an explanation on how people are “digesting” all this pressure, an active reaction from the characters forced to submit to such unattainable ideals. Instead, all of the five women just… go with the flow, conforming to the cultural norms, without questioning or opposing them. I know it somehow makes sense, because… how unbearable life would be if you wouldn’t internalize the rules of the society around you? If the collective mentality wouldn’t become embedded into your core like it would be your own? But I still cannot help feeling unsatisfied by the fact that what we see is just acceptance and nothing of the process that’s shaping the personalities of the characters.

Despite this, I didn’t dislike the book. It’s mildly entertaining, like a little innocent gossip that you hear on the brunch with your girlfriends. Not bringing any depth or substance, but offering enough amusement. The book lacks on tension, even if there is a visible attempt to create some suspense here and there. But Frances Cha still manages to keep you reading without frustration. Honestly, if the author decided to write extra 500 pages about the same day-to-day casual experiences of her characters, I probably wouldn’t have minded or became bored of it.

The only problem I had with the book is that the characters’ voices are so similar. Even if every chapter has the name of each woman, I still struggled to recognize who’s story I’m reading. And this issue lasted until the very end of the novel, it was not something that faded by becoming more familiar with the particularities of each individual.