Victor Travis Travis itibaren 4131 Milevo, Bulgaristan itibaren 4131 Milevo, Bulgaristan

Güzel bir şekilde yazılmış bu hikaye, sayfa sayfa merak etmenizi sağlar.

My local library system has three copies of this book, at three different branches. One branch files it under science fiction, one branch files it under fiction. At my library I tracked it down in the mystery section. What is it, then? Like Jasper Fforde's Tuesday Next books, it is set in an alternate England in which certain wars went another way than in real life. Also like Tuesday Next, the protagonist's brother was killed at war, and she married his best friend. That's where the similarity ends. Where those books are exercises in absurdity, this one feels gut-wrenchingly real. Jo Walton has created a world in which Hitler's march on Europe went unchecked. A group of politicians known as the Farthing Set brokered an agreement with Germany that allowed England to remain autonomous. The US, under President Lindbergh, is increasingly isolationist, and has closed its doors to Jews. Europe's Jews live with yellow stars and ration books and ghettos and camps. England's Jewish population is free, but faces strong prejudice. This alternate history is the only SF aspect of the book, which otherwise reads as political mystery and social commentary (on the British class system, justice, anti-Semitism, and homophobia). A few months ago a friend suggested that I try reading Dorothy Sayers, but warned me that her books could be read as somewhat anti-Semitic. I found that in those cases I could dismiss it as a product of the time; not so with this book. I found the treatment of the Jewish characters in this system of casual ingrained bigotry to be absolutely gutting. The author really managed to make me feel that things could have as easily gone this way as the way they did. Walton is an excellent writer: I found it hard to put the book down. Her style feels breezy and effortless in a way that takes an enormous amount of work to achieve. The main characters feel real, and the split narrative (alternated first and third person chapters) works in a way that such things often do not. The only reason I'm rating this book four stars instead of five is the somewhat "to be continued" ending. Luckily, the second book is at my library (filed under literary fiction).

4.5/5

Okay, not as good as "In the Woods".

Interesante reflexión sobre la revolución que Internet está suponiendo para nuestras vidas. El mensaje más importante es que el mundo está cambiando aunque tú no quieras y te opongas a aprovechar todas las herramientas que están ahora a tu disposición. Toca varios temas, entre ellos el futuro de algunos negocios que se basan en el control de la distribución (p.ej. música) y que están cambiando ya. El contenido es claro y directo, sin entrar demasiado en detalles técnicos y haciendo muchas sugerencias, tipo "empieza un blog". Si no tuviera uno ya, me hubiera convencido!!

I think the short story is the perfect vehicle for Milan Kundera. Writing a tight, focused narrative is definitely not one of his strengths as a writer, and these stories aren't long enough to get the reader perturbed by that. Also, he can't get overly preachy within the confines of a 40-page short story. Kundera's main strength, of course, lies in his investigation of psychology through male/female relationships, and then drawing sobering life philosophies fron said relationships. The short story format works perfectly for this, as Kundera can delve into may different issues efficiently, and without needing to detract from an overall narrative arc in an attempt to fit all of these ideas inside. "Laughable Loves" definitly gets the reader to look at various aspects of human relationships in a different light. Kundera is simply a master of understanding how people think, and underscoring the absurdity of these subconscious thought processes. Additionally, "Laughable Loves" happens to be hilarious, and a lightning quick read.

Best book on herbs there is, with instructions on growing herbs, their culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses, arranging an herb garden, and the history of herbs and their uses.