BOOK: De Tuin Der Onschuldigen - Kristien Hemmerechts

Title: De Tuin Der Onschuldigen (The Garden Of The Innocent)
Author: Kristien Hemmerechts
Genre: Family saga
Publisher: Pandora 1999
Pages: Paperback, 223
Language: Dutch
Rating: 7/10

Summary: Three sisters are on their way to a small village in Spain where they used to spent their summervacations wth their parents. Behind the wheel is Judith, the eldest, who organized the trip. She feels overly protective for Heleen, the sister in the middle, who’s very nervous when she’s not taken care of by her mother or husband; she needs structure to survive. In the backseat sits actress Nora, always the main character in the family dramas. During the long ride they travel through their childhood memories.

Review
Bought in a second hand store because I read my name on the back;) I tend to stay away from stories about sisters, since I really can’t relate.This book was no exception. The whole dynamic between women is utterly strange to me; the petty bickering always gets on my nerves.
Although the women are shown at their worst during the roadtrip, most of the book deals with the different points of view of the sisters on the events that happened in the past. As it turns out their personalities as kids shine through in their adult behaviour. Even though they are related, they have their own memories and way of dealing. The family secret that is eventually revealed is not that spectacular, but I was mostly annoyed by their characters. Judith is too controlling (obviously the eldest daughter;), Heleen is too brainless and Nora is too selfabsorbed for me to care about either one of them. Even though they complement each other (a little too) perfectly, I’m so glad I never had to deal with sisters.

BOOK: Two Women - Harry Mulisch

Title: Twee Vrouwen (Two Women)
Author: Harry Mulisch
Genre: Romance
Publisher: De Bezige Bij 1975
Pages: Paperback, 131
Language: Dutch
Rating: 7,5/10

Summary: Laura, whose husband left her for another woman, meets Sylvia, a young woman from the provinces: they become lovers. The relationship soon strains under the weight of their differences in upbringing, age and education.

Review
Published for ‘The Netherlands is reading 2008’, this book was handed out at libraries for free, so we as a nation could read and discuss it. Obviously there was a lot of media-attention for it, which is usually a reason for me to avoid a book. I’m not a member of the library because I prefer to keep the books I read, but my mom got an extra copy and despite my dislike of Harry Mulisch (I was rather disappointed with the ending of ‘The Discovery Of Heaven’) I decided to give it a go. Once again I learned that my preconceptions often prevent me from discovering beauty. *slaps head* While reading it I knew why Mr. Mulisch is considered one of our great writers; his language and story-structure is simply brilliant. Again the ending fell a bit short for me, but I enjoyed getting there immensely.

BOOK: The Book Of Everything - Guus Kuijer

Title: Het Boek Van Alle Dingen (The Book Of Everything)
Author: Guus Kuijer
Genre: Children's tragedy
Publisher: Querido 2004
Pages: Hardcover 102
Language: Dutch (available in English!)
Rating: 9/10

Summary: Thomas knows what he wants to be when he grows up: happy. But how do you do that? His neighbour, whom he's sure is a witch, knows: 'if you want to be happy you have to stop being afraid'. But Thomas has a lot to worry about: his religious father is very controlling and the rest of the family has to move around cautiously as not to do anything that will invoke his wrath.

Review
I don't want to give anything away and that is not easy with a book about everything. It's a children's book written in a very mature style. As usual Guus Kuijer addresses the readers with a sincerity that is not very common in children's literature. It's what I love about his books. The voice of main character Thomas is taken very seriously; his thoughts and actions are of the same importance as all the decisions made by the adults in his life.
Thomas is not allowed to read any other books than the Bible, but he manages to get his hands on some classic literature (like Nobody's Boy by Hector Malot) and he learns to think for himself and starts to question his father's opinion and power.
The story is not all doom and gloom; Thomas is not completely alone is his quest for happiness. His sister has a mind of her own and challenges their dad too, his neighbour not only introduces him to books, but also to music and Thomas talks to Jesus about his problems. And even though the latter doesn't offer much practical support, he does give Thomas perspective on his father's way of thinking.

This is a gripping story about coming of age and dealing with the constricting side of religion. I highly recommend it.

BOOK: Bonk - Mary Roach

Title: Bonk - The Curious Coupling Of Sex And Science
Author: Mary Roach
Genre: Non fiction, Science
Publisher: Canongate 2008
Pages: Paperback, 303
Language: English
Rating: 7,5/10

Summary: Mary Roach went behind closed doors to find out the how and why of research into human sexual physiology. What has been going on for centuries in laboratories, brothels, Alfred Kinsey's attic, and, more recently, MRI centers, pig farms, and sex-toy labs?

Review
This is very informative and funny book. The only critique I have is that Roach sometimes tries to be funnier than the subject. As if people observing others having sex in the name of science isn't amusing enough. But giggling aside, this is an interesting look into laboratories and other research facilities. It makes you wonder why investigating this essential part of human life doesn't get the funding it deserves. Most researchers have to be incredibily inventive to manage to do the tests, because the subject of sex is surrounded with suspicion. (Because obviously people who are interested are perverts) I was pleasantly surprised to learn they don't have any problems finding willing subjects. And it is to everyone's credit they were all willing to talk to Roach about the experiments; we get an incredibily insightful look from both sides of the testing experience.

An entertaining and educational read. Recommended.

BOOK: Girls Are Weirdos - Todd Harris Goldman

Title: Girls Are Weirdos (but they smell pretty)
Author: Todd Harris Goldman
Genre: Comic
Publisher: Workman Publishing 2007
Pages: Hardcover, 80
Language: English
Rating: 6/10

Summary: Single picture cartoons with a lot of text about all kinds of supposedly girly subjects -from Accesorizing to Undies- by a man who proofs men really never grow up.

Review: Meh. I loved the title and some of the cartoons are funny and even clever, but a lot of the observations are rather familiar and/or insulting, and made me roll my eyes. ("I'm a huge fan of the silent treatment and wish you girls used it more often". haha). Good for a little giggle, but not very original.

Book: Jippus et Jannica - Annie M.G. Schmidt

Title: Jippus et Jannica
Author: Annie M.G. Schmidt
Genre: Children
Publisher: Athenaeum
Pages: Paperback 140
Language: Latin. Original Dutch included.
Rating: 9/10

Summary: A Latin version of stories about childhood favorites Jip and Janneke. Translated to interest people for ancient languages. Such a joy to read.

For your entertainment I'm sharing an exerpt and the adorable cover.


Cover, left page in Dutch, right page in Latin (click to read;)

Recommendations: CSI Nick & Greg

Here are (some of) my favorite Nick/Greg authors and stories. (a WIP;)

I'm pretty sure the first Nick/Greg stories I read were by Caroline Crane, founder of the Nick/Greg archive What Makes The Desert Beautiful (From 2023 on AO3!).
She's not in the archives for personal reasons, but When she was in the proces of moving her fic to her own journal, I saved my favorites in this library (with permission!), check them out:

Sweet Cool Water (NC17)

The Fetish Series (NC17)

Four Things...(and one) (PG13)

All The Way To Paris (NC17)

Sunglasses At Night (NC17)

ETA: Now also available in her own LiveJournal: Caroline's Complete CSI Fic Directory: go take a look, it's massive!