10 Word Reviews: about humans and other animals

STATISTICS:
Title: Een Tafel Vol Vlinders (A Table Full Of Butterflies)
Author: Tim Krabbé
Genre: Novel
Publisher: Prometheus (CPNB, 2009)
Pages: Hardcover, 90
Language: Dutch
Rating: 8/10
5 WORDS SUMMARY: First stepfather's story, then son's.

10 WORDS REVIEW
Shift in point of view changes perspective in shocking way.

STATISTICS:
Title: Piep (Peep)
Author: Midas Dekkers
Genre: Essays
Publisher: Contact (CPNB, 2009)
Pages: paperback, 60
Language: Dutch
Rating: 7.5/10
5 WORDS SUMMARY: Essays about animals in literature

10 WORDS REVIEW
Not as sarcastic as his usual style, but entertaining nevertheless.

STATISTICS:
Title: Ik Heb Altijd Een Roos Klaar Staan Op Het Balkon, Voor Het Geval Dat (I Always Keep A Rose Ready On My Balcony, Just In Case)
Author: Loesje
Genre: Politics, Sociology, History
Publisher: A.W. Bruna, 2008
Pages: Hardcover, 175
Language: Dutch, some others (see excerpt/picture below;)
Rating: 9/10
5 WORDS SUMMARY: Posters that changed the world

10 WORDS REVIEW
In hindsight these provocative statements make an even bigger impact.





Do You Have Room In Your Head For Amazing Plans?
More about Loesje

3 BOOKS by Tonke Dragt

Title: Verhalen Van De Tweelingbroers (Stories Of The Twinbrothers)
Author: Tonke Dragt
Genre: Children's Adventure
Publisher: Leopold,1961
Pages: Hardcover, 346
Language: Dutch
Rating: 7/10
Summary: Twinbrothers Jiacomo and Laurenzo look exactly alike, but have different ambitions. Laurenzo loves to create beautiful jewelry and studies to be a silversmith. Jiacomo doesn't want to settle down, but is eager to explore the world and considers a career as a thief to pay for his travels. As expected their likeness gets both of them in trouble.

Review
For these twelve seperate stories about the two brothers, Tonke Dragt was inspired by motives that have been used in legends and fairytales for ages. The apparent predictability of these kinds of stories is what she is aiming for. The result is an enjoyable collection of adventures, with the occasional original twist. Lessons learned are obvious, but never patronising, neither to the characters nor to the reader. It's very convenient that the source of the original tales is mentioned at the beginning of each chapter, because these stories make you long to read more fairytales.


Title: De Brief Voor De Koning (The Letter For The King)
Author: Tonke Dragt
Genre: Children's Adventure
Publisher: Leopold,1962
Pages: Hardcover, 444
Language: Dutch
Rating: 9/10
Summary: On the night before he is to become a knight, fifteen year old Tiuri breaks his vows when a mysterious figure asks for his help. He takes on the challenge to pass on a letter to one of the most famous knights in the kingdom of Dagonaut. But things do not go as expected and Tiuri has to deliver the message to the king of neighbouring country Unauwen himself. While tensions between the two nations are rising, he is faced with a dangerous journey.

Review
Generations before and after me have been mesmerized by this original story. The book won 'the Award of Awards' for best Dutch children's book written between 1955 and 2004. It's one of those stories that keeps a special place in your heart for the rest of your life. Tonke Dragt has the ability to create wonderful worlds that come across like a genuine piece of history. Even though the names of people and places sound like nothing we know, it feels very familiar. That doesn't mean we can anticipate what's going to happen; the characters have a mind of their own and Tiuri's journey is never predictable, alsothanks to the people he meets on the way.
This is one of those children's books that is not limited to any age, because it keeps you on your toes and you have to deal with life and death situations just like in the real world. I love the adult and matter of fact tone of the book. Even though Tiuri may be considered too young for his unexpected assignement, he is treated with respect and that is exactly how I felt while reading. I recommend this book with a passion, just like the million or so people before me.


Title: Geheimen Van Het Wilde Woud (Secrets Of The Wild Forrest)
Author: Tonke Dragt
Genre: Children's Adventure
Publisher: Leopold,1965
Pages: Hardcover, 465
Language: Dutch
Rating: 8/10
Summary: The stand alone follow-up of De Brief Voor De Koning (The Letter For The King) with the continuing adventures of young knight Tiuri. There is a threat of war between the kingdom of Eviellan and neighbouring countries Dagonaut and Unauwen. Tiuri and his fellow knights are on a quest to find the mysterious Red Knight who seems to be the instigator of the upcoming battle.

Review
The Secrets Of The Wild Forrest is a worthy sequel to Tonke Dragt's most famous book The Letter For The King. This time Tiuri is not only dealing with war, but he also falls in love. Of course he doesn't allow himself to be distracted by women and bravely soldiers on. But when the dust settles he has some important decisions to make.
Being the socially awkward person I am, I prefered the lack of these emotional issues in the first book. However, I love the women he encounters; unlike what you may expect in a book based on the middle ages, they are very strong individuals. So even though I'm not a fan of the weakness and doubts that come with crushes, I enjoyed the development of all the relationships, also because those romantic explorations are only a tiny part of the story and don't really interfere with the main part of the book. The most important story is all about big exciting battles and with the lovey-dovey stuff kept to a minimum, that is my kind of book.

BOOK: Mystiek Lichaam - Frans Kellendonk

Title: Mystiek Lichaam (Mystical Body)
Author: Frans Kellendonk
Genre: Novel
Publisher: Salamander Klassiek
Pages: 202
Language: Dutch
Rating: 7/10
Summary: Old grumpy Gijsselhart is not dealing very well when his adult children return home. He adores his daughter Magda, but she's not his little girl anymore and she got herself pregnant. He is disappointed in his son Leendert, who's gay - another reason to despise him. When Magda invites the father of her baby into the house, Gijsselhart and Leendert both hate him and seem to bond together to get rid of him.

Review
This book was a gift and came highly recommended, but I found the characters too annoying. The point of view of an antisemite homophobe is not a very enjoyable read, especially not if he gets to indulge in all his hate and ignorance. The story is filled with flash-backs and very confusing. Once I put everything together I realized non of the characters are likable; these people are all scheming bastards and doomed to fail in life. There is simply nothing uplifting about the story and I felt very depressed afterwards. Read at your own risk.

BOOK: Slimme Vrouwen (Smart Women) - Ten stories from Decamerone

Title: Slimme Vrouwen (Smart Women) - Ten stories from Decamerone
Author: Giovanni Boccaccio
Genre: short stories
Publisher: Salamander Klassiek
Pages: 108
Language: Dutch (translated from Italian)
Rating: 6/10
Summary: A selection of stories from Decamerone (1350 AD), a classic book from the Middle Ages known for its depiction of strong women, which is quite remarkable since in that time in history women were not very important. These stories show where the real power lay.

Review
While the summary sounds promising, the way these women show their supposed strength is quite despicable. Apparently the only way a woman can have some sort of leverage over a man, is by cheating on him and then rubbing it in his face to get her way after all. Charming. It would have been nice to see some variations in the plots, but most of the stories start and end exactly the same with only different names and surroundings in between. It's very noble the translator wants us to believe these stories were written to teach about equality in relationships, but I suspect they were not so much meant to educate as to titillate. If you like the kind of set ups with a rich lady, her drunk husband, the farm hand and the occasional priest added for a bit of spice, this might be the collection for you. I like my stories and women with a little more depth.

BOOK: The Tales Of Beedle The Bard - J.K. Rowling

Title: The Tales Of Beedle The Bard
Author: J.K. Rowling
Genre: Fairytales
Publisher: Bloomsbury, 2008
Pages: Hardcover, 108
Language: English
Rating: 8/10
Summary: From the universe of Harry Potter: a collection of (bedtime) stories written for young wizards and witches, accompanied by notes from Professor Dumbledore.

Spoilerfree review
To my surprise these stories were more than just a variation on the well-known fairytales of our world; they have original characters and unexpected endings. Everybody who is familiar with Harry Potter already knows that magic is not the answer to all of life's dilemmas and besides the usual lessons to be learned, that is the one that's added especially for the intended audience. If you happen to miss the moral of a story, Dumbledore's notes will clear it up. His added point of view gives this book the same tone of voice as the Harry Potter books and makes it must read for every fan.
Once again J.K. Rowling does not shy away from gore and adult insights; I especially liked the not so subtle stabs at censorship. My favorite tale is The Warlock's Hairy Heart, because that was very bloody and all about me. No, really. If you want to know what makes me tick: that story tells it all.

BOOK: Een Tipje Van De Sluier - Joris Luyendijk

Title: Een Tipje Van De Sluier (A Tip Of The Veil)
Author: Joris Luyendijk
Genre: non fiction, sociology, religion, politics
Publisher: Podium, 2001
Pages: Paperback, 107
Language: Dutch
Rating: 7/10
Summary: A step by step explanation of Islam, its history, influence on culture and the different interpretations around the world. Joris Luyendijk (1971) studied politics and Arabic and lived in Cairo, Beiroet and Jerusalem. He's a journalist and writer.

Review
I've been a fan of Joris ever since he presented interview-series 'Zomergasten' on Dutch TV. He is very eloquent and knowledgable on the subject of Islam. I loved his boek "Een Goede Man Slaat Soms Zijn Vrouw" (A Good Husband Sometimes Beats His Wife) about his year at the university of Cairo in the 90s. That book is filled with conversations between him and fellow-students and shows the misunderstandings between his Western point of view and their way of thinking. I expected the same intriguing stories in this book. I was disappointed to find a serious lack of humour; when the tip of the veil is lifted it only reveals facts and figures about Islam.
That would have been interesting if there were any new insights, but due to events in the world since 2001, I already knew most of the history and information that are provided. If only I had known this book was more of a tourguide than a personal account, I would have passed on it and read his latest book "People Like Us". That is still on my list, but in the mean time I recommend A Good Husband Sometimes Beats His Wife. Even though that was written in 1998, it is still relevant today, because it doesn't focus on numbers but on people.

BOOK: Happiness™ - Will Ferguson

Title: Happiness™ (originally published as 'Generica*')
Author: Will Ferguson
Genre: novel
Publisher: Canongate, 2003 (*Penguin 2001)
Pages: Paperback, 309
Language: English
Rating: 8/10
Summary: Edwin de Valu is an editor for self-help books. His job is to go through manuscripts and find the next big thing, or at least the book that will make the publisher some money. Edwin hates his job, his wife, his life. When he once again fucks up at a meeting and needs to impress his boss fast, he desperately mentions a massive manuscript he had already dismissed as worthless. The author promisses it will be the self-improvement book that will make every other book redundant. It offers solutions for EVERYTHING: how to stop smoking, become rich, lose weight, how to have a phenomenal sex life, etcetera. To Edwin's relieve the book is a best-seller. What's even more of a surprise: it seems to work! Suddenly there’s a shift in the country; people actually manage to stop smoking, they make money, they lose weight. As for the phenomenal sex life... exactly: everyone is… happy. It's annoying and unnatural. It has to stop.

Review
I LOVED IT! The book starts as a satire on the publishing industry with lots of (in)jokes at the expense of editors. It's so filled with sarcasm that at first I wondered how the manuscript was approved. After a couple of pages I knew why: it's brilliantly written. Although there are some very absurd scenes, most of the conversations, day-dreams and especially the inner monologues are very recognizable. Since I'm a true cynic I of course did not buy that self-help crap for a minute. If those methods worked, there wouldn't be any of those books, isn't that ironic.
I found it very amusing to read about a world where life is turned upside down and was very pleased to be confirmed in my suspicion that nothing good could come of it. I was as irritated as the main character about the happiness cult. I understood completely why he couldn't just let it be. But I did feel he stepped out of character at the final third of the book. It was hard to go along with the story and it was quite a drop from the high I felt while reading the first part of the book.
But even if I was a bit unsettled by the solution, this book is still very much recommended. I will definitely check out other work by Will Ferguson. I just hope his next editor will be a bit more on his case *g*.